a baby finish - Shimmer

I am still getting back into the swing of actually documenting my projects but I just had to share this particular one. Going though the pictures on my camera, I realized I have quite the backlog of projects to share.

Somehow, despite knowing for months (MONTHS) that a baby is about to join the family, somehow the baby quilts never get made until the month or week (or day??) before the shower. I have yet to figure out why this is, and I wish I could say that this was the time that was different. But, this quilt didn't get finished until 1:30 AM the morning before gifting. Oh well, next time will be different. :)

I really looked forward to making this quilt for my new niece. Her mum is a quilter friend too and we love a lot of the same colors, particularly red and aqua. I had a pull selected for her quilt long before I decided on the pattern. I kept waffling between Modern Vintage by Bonnie and Camille (in American Patchwork and Quilting) or something else. And then Alison Harris of Cluck Cluck Sew released her new pattern Shimmer. And I was sold.

The baby version consists of nine blocks which was perfect. The way the quilt is constructed, there are a lot of little corners that are cut off. I decided ahead of time that instead of just cutting them off and throwing them into my scrap bin, that I would bite the bullet and make them Half Square Triangles (HSTs) right off the bat. So for every seam I sewed that would involve the removal of triangles, I would sew a line a 1/2" away and then cut as normal. This made a generous pile of half-square triangles to trim and press but I knew that I would be more likely to use them this way than if I let them get lost in my scrap bins.

I used a Hello Darling pink strawberry print to back the quilt - I absolutely LOVE this print and wish I had a bolt of it.

For quilting, I fell back on my new favorite free motion quilting, swirls and hooks. It adds so much texture and I just love the effect.

Since time was of the essence, I machine bound this quilt with a lovely mint from Pat Sloans collection, whose name evades me at the moment.

While it was a bit of a gamble that I would finish this quilt in time, sometimes, that crazy self-inflicted pressure can brew the best ideas.

Case in point, not wanting to tear apart the closet to find gift wrap, I wrapped this quilt in tissue and then in a favorite and hard to find print from Aneela Hoey's Sherbet Pips line. Tie it with twine and call it a day. :) And since it's going to a quilter, I know they'll use it and there will be no waste. Win win.

I'll have more later this week on what became of all those little HSTs. Can't wait to share that project!

A Scrappy Norway Quilt

For Fall Quilt Market, Camille Roskelly of Simplify released a gorgeous quilt pattern called "Norway". I immediately added it to my "one day" list. I just love the blocks.

My initial plan had been to make it the way the pattern indicated, with each block dedicated to a fabric. But then I started thinking about a scrappy look... and that was it. Once I had it in my head, I couldn't stop thinking about it.

It all started with this block, to see if a scrappy look would work.

 And then there were two.

Then, nine.

And after a whole lot of rearranging, a quilt top!

And, since I'm not the type to let a quilt top linger, it was basted and quilted in record time (for me). I tried something new and practiced swirls with the periodic hook as a quilting design. Once I found the rhythm of it, I fell in love. It's my new favorite quilting pattern. And when the quilt has been washed and is all crinkley and gorgeous, the texture is phenomenal.

The weather hasn't cooperated lately, so I had to take what I could get for a photo shoot. I bundled up the three kids and took them for a cold, misty walk.

There is a definite advantage to having children available to hold quilts.

For the backing, I pieced yet another Norway block in grey and added two fabrics from Emmy Grace by Bari J. The darker fabric is voile and it makes for such a luscious quilt. I can't get over how soft and lightweight it is. This will be the perfect summer quilt. 

 

This is the last one, I promise. (By this point in the afternoon, the kids were hankering for hot chocolate and carrot cake.)

This has been such a fun quilt to make. I love the rainbow spectrum that I worked into it. I love that the top is made entirely of scraps. With such a grey and cold winter, a happy quilt is exactly what we needed.

a hexagon quilt, finished

This has been a big month for me. I finally feel like I'm making progress on some old (old) projects that have been sitting around the sewing room.

It is amazing how good that feels.

My first big finish of the year in the world of old WIP's is my Chinese Lantern Hexagon quilt.

I started this quilt around 3 years ago. I was struck by the fabric at a local quilt store and had recently been bitten by the hexy craze. (In retrospect, I believe that this is also where my obsession with teals and turquoises and blues and greens came from.)

The pattern was something I designed myself. It is really simple. I drew a hexagon (using the circle method) onto template plastic using a compass. The radius was 5.5 inches, and from point to point the hexagon measures 11 inches. After using the template to cut out my hexagons, I laid them out in a off-set hexagon pattern, one row with 7 hexagons, and the next with 6 hexagons and a half hexagon on either end.

To stitch them together, I watched a u-tube video on y-seams, and away I went. It only took me 3 years. (In all honesty, the actual piecing didn't take that long... it was all the life in between that was behind the delay. And procrastination - that may have had a part in it.)

In the last year, I completed the quilt top, and then I pieced a lovely quilt back. And then I had the brilliant idea (BRILLIANT) of hand-quilting the entire quilt. I started quilting it, and got pretty far along, but I got hung up on what to do in the middle of the hexagons. I hadn't thought out my plan for quilting when I began, so any ideas I had now wouldn't work with the existing hand-quilting.
 

And then it sat, and sat, and sat, while periodically being rearranged like a piece of furniture. Last week, I snapped. This quilt needed to be done, and it needed to be done immediately, because quite frankly, I was tired of looking at it in its unfinished state. And needless to say, it no longer inspired me with it's current quilting.

 My new bamboo Clover stitch ripper and I got busy.

The next day, within about 2 hours, the quilt was quilted with an allover stipple, and the binding was being prepared. The finished quilt measures 62 x 46 inches. It's not huge, but it's a great lap size.

I finished hand-stitching the binding this week and I am SO pleased that I went with quilting it this way. It had sat around long enough. Now it's done and ready to be enjoyed by someone that really loves it (and that hasn't been staring at it for 3 years).

I know just the person.

Linking up with Amanda Jean for finish it up Friday.

"starstruck", a finished quilt and lessons learned

If you've been following my blog for any amount of time, you have probably heard me going on and on about my star-flower quilt along quilt. I've been working on it since mid-summer. I'm happy to say that it is finally (FINALLY) done. Pieced, basted, quilted and bound. I don't think I've ever been happier to finish a quilt.

I'm calling my quilt "star struck". It measures 66 inches by 72 inches. The fabrics are Happy Go Lucky, by Bonnie and Camille, some Avalon, and a few other stash fabrics that I had on hand. The backing is Aqua Kona Cotton.

The back was pieced with the remaining diamonds from the top. I included a few tiny stars made from the little scraps left over. I love it.

I free-motion quilted it using stacked lines within the stars and stippling everywhere else. I am hooked on free-motion quilting now. And it doesn't scare me anymore, so that's something.

It was bound in a red and white bias print from the "Scrumptious" line by Bonnie and Camille.

I need to get more of this print. It is so pretty.



It's been a bit of a journey. Here's what I've learned:

-    Know what you are getting into when you commit to a project

-    Backstitch at the beginning and ending of seams

-    Take the time to fix your mistakes when you figure this out, even after your quilt top has been sewn together.

-    Remember it's just fabric.... It's really hard to wreck it and if you do, the world won't come to a halt

-    Stretch your comfort levels... Try new things or techniques that intimidate you

-    Be inspired by other crafters but don't compare

-    Press, press, and press some more

-    Break the quilt down into chunk sized tasks

-    Be proud when you accomplish one of these tasks

-    Press your seams open

-    Don't bite off more than you can chew (ie. a really complicated quilt back)

-    But if you do, chew it well, and admire the effect

-    Sleep periodically

-    Don't be annoyed when your family asks for dinner.... Again.

-    If you are having a bad sewing day and making really obvious mistakes, put it down and try again tomorrow

-    Know when to pick out stitches and when to embrace them

-    Remember. It's just a quilt... Not brain surgery. No one will die (or even notice) if you make a mistake. Hopefully.

-    When you've put upwards of a hundred hours into a project, savor every stitch of the binding. Revel in it. You are almost there.

-    When free-motion quilting, periodically re-tighten your machine foot. Apparently they can wiggle loose.

-    Try to remember that you have children needing to be picked up from school. (If applicable)

-    When doing that, try to remember not to show up at the school looking like you've been hiding in a cave for a year with thread in your hair.

-    Do your best, not someone else's.

-    Know when to give up on an idea if you just don't like it. Don't be afraid to take time and re-evaluate.

-    Blink when quilting. (Took me a while to figure out why my eyes were hurting.)

-    Acknowledge that your quilt will not be perfect. BUT, it will be perfect for you.

-    Bury your thread knots as you go.

-    Know when to take a creative "break", but remember to come back.

-    And most of all ... don't give up.


Linking up with Amanda at Crazy Mom Quilts for finish it up Friday.