It is Wednesday, right?
Basting this gorgeous custom wedding quilt today.
My sister came and picked up my girls, so I suddenly had a whole afternoon to get stuff done! I debated doing something practical like cleaning out the car, but basting and quilting won :)
Off to utilize my alone time!!
I have my last November finish to share now!
I LOVE this quilt! It is so bright and busy and all GIRL! Once again, I started with a fun multicolor print that had been living on my shelf waiting for the perfect project. I pulled out that argyle print while I was supposed to be working on something else (surprise!), and the rest of the fabric practically jumped into a pile and screamed to be cut.
I used the same basic pattern as the quilt in my last post, but I deleted the sashing and made more blocks. I love that it is super simple, almost a plain square patchwork, but just adding the rectangles makes the quilt look like so much more!
I quilted with an all over meandering loop – definitely my favorite free motion pattern!
The back of this quilt might be my favorite part of the whole thing!! This huge yellow chevron (Riley Blake) is fan. freaking. tastic. Seriously.
I bound the quilt in Kona Bright Pink. I have a weird thing for solid bindings lately; I feel like I have done a lot of them! I love how they frame a busy quilt.
The quilt finishes 48” x 56”, and is available in my etsy shop here.
Whew! Now the only finish I haven’t posted from last year is a Christmas gift, and I haven’t gotten pictures yet :) I feel much more caught up, even if I do still have 3 quilts to post (2 need pics…), plus all the fun little stuff I have been up to for the shop!
Today I am sharing a little boy quilt that I finished in November (in a rush so I could have it at all my craft fairs!).
Lime, teal, light blue, and orange is not a normal color combination for me, but it surprised me and I ended up loving it!
I pulled the color scheme from the fabric I used for the border (Riley Blake Wheels I think?). I figured if it made that print look way cool, why not a whole quilt? :)
I quilted a basic diamond grid design all over; not too heavy, so the quilt will be super soft, but heavy enough for a little boy quilt.
I backed the quilt in this fun blue and white dot. I got a few yards of it as an end of bolt a year or so ago, and I have loved it! I will be so sad when I run out.
I used a Me and My Sister Designs green grid print for the binding. Another one I will be very sad to use up!
This cute little quilt measures at 37” x 47”, and is available in my shop here.
ps- My BFF Melanie from The Crafty Cupboard is in a competition over at Project Run and Play, and has made it to week 3! Go check out her fabulous outfit (hers is the “Dean’s List”), the little jacket is to die for! And vote please!!!
Yeah, that blogging break wasn’t planned, but between holidays, a first birthday, and a brother getting married, well, life was busy!!
I have lots and lots to share, so how about two of the quilts I gifted way back in October and never shared!
This first one went to a friend for her baby shower (I had the quilt done BEFORE the baby was born!!)
I used Cluck Cluck Sew’s Kaleidoscope pattern. I liked it a lot, and it went together pretty easy, but I think one side of my template got shaved a bit o my pieces didn’t fit together perfectly and I had to trim my blocks down. Nothing I couldn’t fix!
I don’t know what’s up with the lighting in these pictures, but the solid fabric is actually a light pink. I have no idea which one, I stole borrowed it from my mom’s stash.
I quilted 1/4” inside each kaleidoscope pattern, and then made a small square in the center of each one too, since I opted out of the center circles that the pattern calls for.
I took one row of squares off the front and made a block on the back surrounded in some more light pink solid.
I used this pink and red dot from Bonnie and Camille’s Bliss line. I LOVE this dot! I wish I had a bolt of each color, because I feel like I need to hoard it!! It has been so long since I finished this that I don’t remember how big it was or anything! So, on to the next one!
I gifted this one in October, too, but the baby was ummm almost 4 months old then…oops!
This quilt was fast and cute and easy, and it was so fun getting to play with boy fabrics and colors! I have to admit, this quilt(and that big red white and navy herringbone) got me on a bit of a navy kick! My navy stash grew from 1 or 2 prints to ummm….a lot more :)
I attempted quilting flame-like swirls for this quilt. I call it a good learning experience…it doesn’t look great, but once it’s washed and loved a bit, it won’t be too noticeable. I definitely need to practice my free-motion more!! Seriously want a magna doodle…
I used the awesome print from Sweetwater’s Reunion line, plus some extra bricks, for the back. Oh. My. Heck. Reunion is SOOOO SOFT!!!
I love me a red binding! Well, I just love red…
And there are advantages to finishing a baby quilt AFTER the baby is born. I was able to quilt Roman’s name into the border. I love getting to personalize things!
So, there are a couple of my finishes from the end of the year…I still have two more from November, plus a Christmas gift to share. I will try my best to get them posted in the next few days!
So, I started this quilt MONTHS ago, before we moved. In fact, I took my first few blocks with me to the Phoenix Modern Quilt Guild meeting back in June!
I started working on blocks again last month (from my square in square block tutorial, though I want to revamp that now…), got on a kick, and pushed through to get them all done. In fact, I took plenty of photos on my phone, but I didn’t even take the time to get any with the real camera while I had all those beautiful blocks up on my *new* design wall!
Photography frustrates me. If I take the pictures in full sunlight, I get weird ugly glares, and it’s too bright. If I take them in the shade, they turn out dull, like these. Any suggestions from those of you that are better at this than me?? The colors are so much more vibrant in person!!
I combined two of my favorite free motion patterns, and quilted loopys and flowers, per my mom’s suggestion. It turned out so cute and I love it! And I love this block with the big chevrons. It is left over from the backing of another finished quilt that I just got photos of, and will share soon.
This picture does not even do the backing justice. It looks AMAZING in person. It is a Joel Dewberry print from Aviary 2 (L O V E!!), and the border is a BasicGrey grunge yellow. It is AWESOME.
I bound the quilt in Kona Charcoal. I love the way it frames the blocks. It was definitely the way to finish it!
Each block finishes at 10”, and the quilt is 50” x 60” finished size.
I seriously wanted to keep this and change my entire bedroom to match it, but my husband wasn’t too keen on the idea :( Too bad, it would have been fabulous!
Since I didn’t get to use it for my bedroom, I have listed this quilt in my shop here:)
Hey all! I am joining in on the fun over at 13 Woodhouse Road, and I have the honor of being the post on Thanksgiving! Woo hoo!
Anyways, head on over to enter for fabulous giveaways on Shruti’s blog after you read AAAAALLLLLL about my sewing machine :)
1. What machine(s) do you have? Brand and Model.
I have a Bernina Aurora 440 QE
2. When and where did you buy it? What were the reasons for selecting this(these) particular model(s). What was its approximate cost.
I bought it a year and a half ago at a local quilt shop called Quilter’s Ranch. I had been looking at the 440QE for a while, and had test driven one at a quilt show a few months before. The real selling point for me was the Bernina Stitch Regulator, which regulates your stitches while you free motion quilt. It is AMAZING! At the time, my machine cost me about $3,000(after tax, blegh) on sale. However, they have clearanced out my model since they have a newer one out now.
3. What do you like about your machine? Have you named it? Have you made a cover for it?
I like almost everything about my machine. I LOVE the BSR, my walking foot is awesome, and I especially love the heavy duty-ness of the entire machine. When you pick it up, you know there is more metal than plastic to it!
I have named my machine, though I rarely actually call her by it :) She’s Rory.
I have not made a cover for it. I use it way too often to bother covering it up. Besides, it’s in my sewing room(and my husband’s office), so I have no reason to cover it.
4. Does your machine give you any problems? Could you tell us a few?
The only problem I have run across is that I can’t wind a bobbin of heavy duty super thick outdoor thread. I was kind of sad about that, but that has been the only thing my machine can’t do so far. Well, I guess it didn’t really care for the super heavy canvas I sewed on this week…but we managed :)
5. What do you sew on it mainly? Quilts, Clothes, Bags etc. How much time do you spend sewing on it? What are the features of the machine that help you improve your work?
I sew mostly quilts. I also sew other small items occasionally, like drawstring bags, hot/cold packs, whatever I decide I want to sell at craft fairs, with an occasional little girl dress. I have also sewn custom pillows, outdoor cushions, indoor cushions, duvet covers, and who knows what else, in a variety of types and weights of fabric. Rory took them all like a champ!!
I sew almost every day for at least an hour, but it always depends on what naptime brings :)
6. What advice would you give others when deciding about which machine to buy?
I definitely recommend test driving a few machines before you purchase!!
7. Will you share with us a special memory associated with your machine?
Hmm, a special memory…she still feels “new” to me, so I don’t feel like I have that many memories yet, but one thing does come to mind. Occasionally my oldest sits on my lap and “helps” me sew(which really tries my patience, but I know it’s good quality time!!). Well, last year, she was sitting on my lap, playing with the pins, and next thing I know, she had stuck pins in two of the small holes on my machine!!! The holes were just barely big enough that the pins fell all the way into my machine. Luckily, they must have fallen straight through to the bottom, because nothing happened. I was very surprised not to hear anything about them when I took the machine in for her yearly service though!
8. If you had unlimited resources in the world, which machine would you choose to buy and why?
Oooohhhh…probably a Bernina 830. It’s my machine on steroids…so much more space…It has more functions than I would ever dream of being able to use, but oh is it pretty! And it has the ONE thing I wish my machine had…an automatic thread cutter.
Thanks for visiting!
