Rainbow Brite {a finished quilt}

I’ve never been much for making ornamental quilts, more interested in utilitarian and larger projects, but lately I’ve been focusing on smaller and more decorative creations.

Before Christmas I started a scrappy rainbow quilt intended to be for a baby with foxes as the focal point.  I was using different colors to frame each fussy cut fox, but plans for that quilt got sidelined when I didn’t like the way it was turning out.   As I found out later when reading a magazine article about color, the value of the gray and light blue sections were outshined by the jewel tones of the other blocks.  I didn’t realize exactly what the problem was at the time, but something about the quilt felt “off.”

So I took out all the foxes, used them and the gray and blue sections to sew this pillow, made squares to fill in the gaps in the blocks, and chose two other intense colors to replace the lighter colors. 

Score!  The quilt turned out better than I imagined!

 

It may sound boring but stippling will ~always & forever~ be my favorite look for a quilt.  Maybe because the modern quilt movement was just picking up steam as I was learning to sew, and stippling was on every quilt I admired, but there’s just something about that texture that appeals to me.

How cool is the back of this quilt?  The fabric is an Alexander Henry print.  Colorful and bold, a perfect match for the front.

The binding is also an Alexander Henry print called heath in a light violet color.  My husband actually gave me lots of advice (some solicited, some not!) about the fabric choices in this quilt and helped me pick out the binding.  He was right about the lighter colored binding; it really reins in the bold colors of the front and back.

A big thanks to Bea for holding the quilt a million different ways for photos.

And thanks to Ronnie for helping me figure out a layout.

And a super-huge thanks to CeLynn for sending me the Sew Red glasses that helped me “see” the perfect layout.  What a difference they made for those of us who are “color-challenged!”

Now it’s hanging in my sewing room as a bright and cheerful reminder that even if things don’t work out how you planned, you can still make something beautiful out of it. 

Have a wonderful weekend!  Linking up to Crazy Mom Quilts and Fort Worth Fabric Studio.

Moving Along

Last week was rough.  I was sick, which was no big deal but I just didn’t want to be around people for a few days.  That can be hard when you are a full-time stay-at-home mom with two little kids home all day.  On top of that I gained about 10 pounds from eating scones and tea or hot chocolate for every meal while I was feeling under the weather.  I am feeling back to normal today, yay!  Back to exercising, eating healthy, and getting outdoors.  To celebrate, my husband helped me get a few photos of the Penny Patch quilt top all sewn up!

I am so happy with the way it’s turned out.  My favorite part of the quilt by far is the little diagonal rows the penny patch blocks create.  I always have a hard time visualizing how things are going to look, and the effect was such a happy surprise! 

Now it’s time to decide what to use for backing and binding.  I had a little bit of penny patch scraps left over, so I made a horizontal scrappy stripe for the back.  I’m leaning toward Kona Ash for the rest, and either Alison Glass sunprint text in charcoal or her bike path in teal for binding.  Any suggestions would be appreciated! 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

{Just Three} Goals for May

Last month I missed the linky for {Just Three} due to a husband on travel and very limited computer time and was really bummed.  I just returned from vacation last night and—yay!—the linky party is still open!  Here are my goals for May:

1.  Finish my twirling around quilt.  This one is basted and ready to quilt, I just need to get some time and get it done.  The picture is an old one, but it gives you an idea of what it looks like.

2.  Finish my granny squares quilt.  I started hand-quilting it and I’m not sure if I like it or not.  I think I need to get more done to decide, but I’m pretty sure I’m committed now and won’t be ripping out the stitches.   Again this is an old pic.  I have twenty squares already joined in a quilt top, backed with a DS Quilts pink floral print.

3.  Make my bee block for Beejeebers.  This one looks relatively easy, so I should be able to cross this off my list quickly.  The photo above is courtesy of Linzsews.

Here’s to a great month of sewing…and finishing!!!

Overwhelmed!

In a good way…by fabric!  My cousin is learning to quilt, and we’ve volunteered to test a pattern called Colorblock by Holly at Bijoux Lovely.  My cousin has already picked out her fabric, but I thought I’d make one for Veronica and I am completely overwhelmed by my fabric choices, although I have narrowed it down considerably.

Never in my short-quilting-life have I ever had so many choices!!!  And this is the first time I have enjoyed trying to put different fabric collections together.  The pattern only uses 7 fabrics for the top (not including sashing), but I have accumulated so much great fabric that it’s so tough to eliminate some of the prints.  I have definitely decided to use that leafy print on the bottom left for the backing.  It is one of my first fabric purchases ever—and from Joanns.  It feels thinner than the designer fabric, but I distinctly remember getting it on a half-off red tag clearance sale, so I didn’t pay more than $1.50 a yard for it.  It is high time I used it and it really coordinates well with the other fabrics.

I am overwhelmed in other, not so wonderful, ways.  My husband has been on business travel this entire week, so I haven’t done any sewing. at. all.  My oldest is home on spring break this week, which has mostly been really helpful,  but it also has been crazy…a lot.  Last weekend I finished quilting my Flora quilt, and I cut strips for the binding one night after the kids went to bed.  But when I held it up to the quilt, I hated it.

The quilt has a yellow lattice print border, and the binding against it looks green.  I am really disappointed at how it looks together, so I am just going to use the rest of the border fabric I had left over to make matching binding and leave it at that.  

So, I don’t think I’ve ever shared that I am into my SIXTH year of breastfeeding. Yes, you read that correctly. I am only 34, so I have been breastfeeding 17% of my life.  I know breastfeeding is a beautiful thing, etc etc, but I am ready to have my body back. 

Overwhelmed is definitely the way I have been feeling lately!  I’m hoping to get some sewing done this weekend and have a quilt top and a finish to share next week.  I hope you all have a happy Easter!!!

Fall Tablerunners

 

I’ve made quite a few tablerunners lately either as gifts or for swaps.  I bought a charm pack last year and have managed to make 4 tablerunners out of it.  I can’t remember the name of the line, but it’s a Moda fabric by Sandy Gervais.

It’s backed by a brown polka dot and bound by a fantastic modern dot fabric and machine attached.  I am loving the zig zag stitch!

I made another identical runner and backed it with a great large scale fabric that I might like even better than the actual top and bound with my favorite zig zag fabric.

And here’s a view of the back—it could be reversible.

The backing was a great find at Joanns.  I only paid $1.80 a yard for it during one of their 1/2 off red tag fabric sales.  I love it!

   

I’m working on another tablerunner with the latest fall line by Sandy Gervais (of course!) called Finale.

I can’t wait to get this one done.  Hopefully in time for Halloween!

Rainy Days Quilt Finished!

I finished up the quilt a couple of days ago, and my daughter Bea has been sleeping under this masterpiece at night.  It is not perfect, of course, but it is probably my best work to date.  The binding went on without a hitch (thank you, Jane W.) and I used a zig-zag stitch to affix it to the front of the quilt (thank you, Plaid Scottie). 

The backing is really my favorite part of the quilt. I was actually able to align the pieced vertical row with the center strip from the front of the quilt. It looks amazing! I put a mod log cabin around the label. I can't believe it turned out so pretty. This is the second pieced back I've done. It is incredible how much my skills have improved since I started quilting about two years ago.

It's quilted with light gray thread. I always have problems when I use different top and bobbin colors, so I went with gray on both sides. I did stippling and, although not perfect, it looks acceptable, and made with love.

Today was my oldest daughter's first day of kindergarten.  She enjoyed it immensely, but I feel like I've been run over by a truck--emotionally and physically--and maybe am coming down with something.  Kind of like back in college when I crammed for exams, then came home for break and spent the first couple days on the sofa recovering.  Good thing a hurricane is one its way.  Now I have an excuse to just lay around and not do anything:)

Lesson Learned!

I have so many stories of terrible, terrible, terrible mistakes I have made while learning to sew.  But one I am not going to make anymore is to ask for help if I need it.  I am lucky to have some quilty friends who have helped me out from time to time.  I am making a concerted effort to get into the habit of asking for help when I need it instead of trying to work it out on my own--wasting my precious free time, frustrating myself, and adding to my gigantic UFO pile.  And, I am going to start taking classes at the LQS. 

Today I took a private lesson in binding from one of the LQS instructors who happens to live basically across the street.  Doing a good binding has been so mystifying to me and I've seen so many tutorials on how to do it, that I was just bungling it up time and time again.  It was so frustrating to see my beautiful and time-consuming pieced quilt top get uglied up by my unprofessional looking binding.  But, I am happy to report that the private lesson paid off and was worth ten times the price I paid for it!   Exhibit A:

I have never met a more perfect mitered corner on any quilt I've ever put binding on!  Here's a photo of the complete quilt.  It's quite small--made with some leftover Deb Strain Love Is In The Air charms--and my 2 year old has already staked a claim to it.  I attached the binding to the back and have pinned it all down to the front except for a small 6 inch piece where I ran out of pins!!!  I plan to machine sew it to the front tonight after bedtime.

I also have ratcheted up my machine quilting skills and have branched out from just quilting squiggles.  This time I did nice little flourishes and curliques all over and it looks pretty great!

And I also finished up this table topper that I made for my cousin.  I have a square table topper of the same fabrics on a round table in our living room that she's admired before, so I made this one for her kitchen table.  I plan to give it to her for Mother's Day.

And I'm also partial to the quilting on this one as well.  I tried to make viney leaves on the back of this (it's backed with brick red linen) and I quite like it, too.  After my lesson in binding today, I've decided to sign up for a machine quilting class next month.

Halloween Table Topper Part II

Last night I finished binding the two table toppers and I think they turned out pretty splendid (at least my 4 year old thinks so). I let her choose which one to keep and which one to give away, so we are keeping the one with the "spider web" design on the back. It looks nice in our living room:

The binding is completely machine attached. I have been honing my machine binding skills lately and I think I'm getting pretty good at it. It just takes a little patience and a lot of pinning. I entered a couple quilts in the county fair recently (third was my highest placing), and on one table runner the judge wrote "interesting binding" as a comment on the back of my card. Not sure what he/she meant by that. Interesting=good or Interesting=do it by hand next time. I gotta tell you, though, I don't think I will ever hand sew binding on anything ever, ever, ever again in my life. I just don't have it in me. The only think I'll ever hand sew will be hems that need to be repaired, and if I ever learn how to use my serger, I might never have to hand sew in my life again!

Stay tuned as I share some easy Halloween crafts you can do with your kids. Not all of them involve sewing, but they are guaranteed to be fun! Also, coming up will be a countdown to Christmas with great homemade gift ideas for kids that you can make either with or for a child.