Chenille

One of my favorite projects of 2011? I'd say yes. This was definitely in the top 10!

A very good friend of mine had a baby girl, and I knew I wanted to make her something special. I wanted to do something different than I've ever done, so that I could learn a new technique. I came across a great tutorial on Pinterest (here) for making 'Heirloom Cheenille Baby Blankets.' It was just the 'cool & unique' that I was looking for!Whew! It was a labor of love, but the outcome was fabulous. I honestly can't wait to make another! I was prepared, yet still shocked at how much thread it took to sew so many lines. This quilt took me as long to make (actually even a little longer) than most of my pieced infant quilts.
Once all finished and given it's first wash and dry, the texture of this blanket is DELICIOUS! No other word can describe it's yumminess!Making one of these quilts is not difficult, just time consuming. If you can sew somewhat of a straight line, than whipping one up is easy as pie. I'd give it a 'Beginner Sewer' rating, as long as said beginner can be patient and avoid going cross-eyed from sewing line after line!

ruffled edge 'quilt'

I had to put the word quit in quotations in the title, because this isn't a 'true' quilt to me, with batting and lots of quilted stitches! But no matter what we call it, it's pretty cute and sassy if you ask me!
My friend bought this material months ago, when she was just a wee bit pregnant with her third child. Back in the fall I even helped her cut out the squares and gave her a sewing lesson. Fast forward a few months. She approached me the last week in December and asked if I could just sew it for her. She ran out of time and energy. With very little guidance from her, other than she wanted a 'random' pattern and the ruffley satin edge, I came up with the quilt above.
She also didn't want batting in between the top and back minky-dot material, so really this is just a larger, glorified receiving blanket. I kept the 'quilting' very minimal and only stitched in the ditch along a few of the seams (to keep the top and back from shifting.)
I'm not going to lie. This quilt was a little bit of a challenge for me. It combined two of my least favorite types of material to sew with...Satin and Minky Dot. I'm not saying I don't LOVE both of them for their luxurious textures, they are just a pain to work with. I think I conquered them both this time though and produced a dang cute quilt.

It was a different experience sewing a quilt with material that I didn't personally choose. I probably wouldn't have put the color combination together that Jen did, but it looks great. Props to her for 'seeing' what she wanted. - I have one more quilt to do just like it. She is going to use them for her daughter's beds as soon as the 4 year old and the new baby start to share a room. I learned a few things from working with the satin and minky dot material on the first quilt, so the second should be a little easier.

First finished quilt of 2011!

Okay, so I confess that I started the quilt the last week of December, but I can still call it the first quilt of 2011, right? Afterall, it wasn't completed until just last night.

I'm not sure what to call this quilt. I was thinking 'Spots & Dots' or maybe 'Spottydots'! What ever the name, It ranks up in the top three quilts I have ever made. I think it is something about the combination of colors and the simplicity of the pattern that draw me in.
When trying to decide how to quilt this, I played with a couple different ideas from just stitching in the ditch to stippling the white space or possibly quilting in circles. Then, for some reason I decided to do something that I've never tried and straight line quilted the whole thing. I am really loving the outcome. This is one of those cases that the quilting adds a TON of personality to the quilt.

The quilt measures about 38"x38". The perfect little size for a baby. I can't wait to deliver it to it's new home!

*The fabric used is Make Life... by Moda.

Frost Bite Quilt

Isn't this quilt adorable? (I can say that because I didn't make it! *wink*) My mom finished this quilt top a few months ago. For her Christmas gift she asked me to quilt it for her. It was my pleasure!The thread I used blended so well with the top of the quilt that it was actually really difficult to quilt. Not being able to see where I had already sewn posed quite the challenge, it was kind of like quilting blind. Although, a quick peak at the backside shows just how it was quilted...
I didn't get any direction from my mom on how she wanted it quilted, so I hope she likes what I came up with!

New Wave Quilt

When I saw this quilt back in March, I knew I just had to make it for somebody special. Lucky for me, my sister-in-law announced on Mother's Day that she was pregnant. Fast forward seven months, and here it is...
My take on Elizabeth Hartman's New Wave Quilt. I am happy with the outcome. It was dicey there for a while though. I was in love with all the prints, but had a tough time deciding whether to sash it with yellow or white. As you can see, I decided on yellow. I didn't love it at first, but after it was quilted and bound, I think it was a success.One of my new favorite things to do is piece a small portion of the back of a quilt, to give it a little character of it's own. I used scraps left from the front of the quilt to piece the back. The crazy thing with this back is that it can almost stand on it's own as a front...It's like two totally separate quilts in one. (Which I haven't decided is good or bad, there probably should be a little more continuity, but what's done is done!)
As you can see, I stitched in the ditch along the sashing lines with one line down the middle of the solid yellow, and then I did a pretty tight stipple through the hour-glass shapes. All in all, a success!Sweet Baby Ella was born just a few days before Thanksgiving. I didn't have the quilt finished and sent off quite in time for her arrival, but it found it's way there this week. Hopefully it can provide lots of years of warmth and love for my sweet new niece!

Fall Quilt

So my mother-in-law finished this quilt top last fall. She promptly sent it my way and asked me to quilt it.I put it on my to-do list...and there it sat. For almost a whole year. Oops! Now that fall is officially on its way, I knew there could be no more procrastinating. Just this last week I got it basted, quilted, bound and sent back to Utah!

I had a really tough time deciding how to quilt this, which is a great part of the procrastination. I LOVE free-motion quilting, but the inspiration on how to go about this quilt kept alluding me. I finally had to just jump in. Here's what I decided to do...

I 'traced' each of the pumpkins and leaves on the panel and stippled the dark brown 'background'. Then I decided to straight line quilt through the blocks bordering the panel, and then stipple the far outside edges. It's a little crazy, but I think I'm happy with how it turned out.

I'm excited to hear what my mother-in-law's reaction is to it. She didn't give me any direction on how she'd like it quilted, so I just hope she's happy with it.

Since she's family and all, and since I had the top in my possession for so long, I decided to bind it for her too, so she could get a finished quilt in the mail.

fun fabrics

Aren't these fabrics so much fun to look at? I got to go shopping (without the littles - thanks Mom!) at my favorite shop here in Utah, The Material Girls Quilting. There is so much there to dream about and lust over. These nine delightful prints are what I walked away with this time around. My plan is to use them in a baby quilt for a friend of mine. I can't wait to get home and start 'playing' with my purchases!!

Its a sCrapy quilt!

Now that our big spring show is over and we have lots of inventory in our shop, it's time for some 'fun' sewing and getting projects done that have been on the back burner!

I've had the idea for this quilt on my mind for a LONG time. I've never attempted to make a quilt completely from scraps. I knew it was going to be crazy, because my scrap pile is so diverse, but the intention of this quilt is to go to a charity, so I figured a little crazy would be okay.I'm actually pretty happy with how my first 'scrappy' quilt turned out. I seem to have a plethora of strips, so I sewed the strips together and then cut the long rectangle into four right-angle triangles, which I then sewed back together to form my squares. I think the blocks have some fun motion in them. The material is crazy and non-matching, but I think It worked for what I was attempting.I'm not in love with the white on white material I used for the sashing, but I had it on hand, so I used it! (I'm kind of glad I stash busted that one, now I don't have to ever use it again!) For the borders, I just continued with my strip theme and used up by last bit of scraps. I would have liked to try out some fun new quilting technique with this, but the youth from my church need to get in a few service hours, so I'm going to let them tie the quilt instead.

I made the goal at the beginning of the year to make two quilts to donate to a charity in 2010. One down, one to go!

selvage quilt update...

So when I started this quilt I knew that it was going to be a long term project. Something to sit down and do when I didn't have the bug to do something else. I am loving the process. Below are the blocks I have done so far...34 down and only 14 to go! I could stop with only two more, but I want a bit of a larger quilt. I don't know what it is about playing with a big stash of selvages that makes me happy. I can't wait to have it all finished.

My next dilemma is going to be figuring out how I want to quilt it. Any ideas?

starting a new project...

I am SO excited to be starting this project, I can hardly stand it! I've wanted to make one since I very first saw it, but it's taken until now to feel like my 'stash' is big enough.

I'll give you three clues.

Clue #1Clue #2Clue #3So, did you guess it? The third picture is kind of a dead give-away! I'm starting my first Selvage quilt! This time last year, I wouldn't have had any idea what a Selvage quilt was, but I came across this blog, and have been totally intrigued since. I love a bunch of the projects that she has featured, but my favorite for sure is her quilt titled 'Red Zinger'.

(This is the photo of her quilt from her blog.)

So I am attempting to make my own zinger quilt, but with the cool aqua/green color from above. It'll take some time to make, so don't be expecting any pictures of a 'done' quilt soon, but I plan on sharing my little progresses as they come.

A lot of the selvage edges that I am using are from my stuff, but I also want to thank my awesome friend Lynette, my sister-in-law Teresa, and my mom's good friend Janice for saving their selvages for me too. You ladies are the best!

Gift Set

Isn't this a fun layette/gift set?
I've been working on it for a bit and finally finished the bib today. I've been excited to post it but wanted to wait until I had the complete set all done. It's for a very special baby boy...MINE!!

I'm always making things for other people and to sell, it is so much fun to make something for myself. My mom was concerned that the baby wasn't going to get anything his mommy made, but it's been taken care of folks, this stuff is for him! (his arrival is only 8 days away!)

I got this Michael Miller Kids Toile panel a year or two ago on sale. I bought it with the intention of making a quick top for somebody as a gift. Turns out I ran out of energy to make anything too ambitious for my own baby and came across this material. Luckily I love it. It is SUPER simple. All I did was quilt the panel, but I love the simplicity and how it turned out. I 'framed' each picture and then quilted around each of the scenes.I had half a yard or so of material left over from the quilt back, so I made a few other fun accessories to match the quilt. A sleep-sack, burp-rag, and bib. All stuff that is totally necessary...why not make it cute?Now all we need is the baby!

My Productive Weekend!

Scott and Kyle have been away this weekend on a fun daddy/son trip. I took full advantage of the opportunity to craft my little heart out!

I was able to finish the top and quilt a quilt that I started a week or so ago. I can't say it is completely done, because I am still finishing the hand-sewing part of the binding, but you get the gist! I got the pattern and inspiration from the Moda Bake Shop (http://www.modabakeshop.com/2009/02/bettys-baby-bowtie-quilt.html) I thought the quilt was adorable but didn't love the colors they chose. I went with a different charm pack...Snippets, and fit the base colors more to my liking. The quilt is going to be a gift for someone, but it's a secret!The instructions suggested to do a grid pattern for the actual quilting, but I didn't love the look, so I went with a big stipple instead. I just stitched in the ditch around the small red border, and then in the yellow border did a fun loopty-flowery pattern.

I also took the time to do some scrapbooking. Another favorite past-time of mine! I didn't get a ton done, but enough to fully enjoy myself and make a big ole' mess of the kitchen table!

It's been a fun productive weekend!

Sharin' the Love!

I am so thrilled to finish this quilt that I can hardly stand it! Truth be told, this has been over two years in the making. It's been one of those projects that I've started and stopped a million times and always had something else take precedence over it. One of my new years resolutions was to finish THIS quilt... WAHOO! Goal accomplished!

Other than a quick quilt made for my son, this is the first quilt that I have EVER made to keep for myself! I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I LOVE IT!! The greatest thing about this quilt is that it has material on it from all over the world, literally. I know for certain that there is material from Cozumel, Mexico (I bought while on vacation), Egypt (my best buddy's husband brought home from a business trip for his wife and I), Annapolis MD, Laurel MD, and West Jordan UT. Also, the very first "real" quilt that I ever made was for my Best Friend, Jamie, as a wedding gift. There are a handful of scraps from her wedding quilt in here too! It has lots of fun memories, truly a quilt to treasure.

Quilting this specific quilt was a blast! I tried some new things and LOVED the outcome. All the light colored material was stippled. On the hearts I did a fun curly-q stitch (I think you can kind of see it on the last picture). The small plaid border had a loopy stitch, and then on the large red border I quilted the word 'love' over and over. SO MUCH FUN!

For anyone who may be interested the pattern I used is called... Ragged Hearts by Homespun Quilts (Designed by Anna Laura Reidt. Code HQ 105 (I borrowed it from my awesome sister-in-law)