Yay! Another finish!

It seems that my progress on any quilting projects these days is so slow but then the finishes come all around the same time.  In my last post, I mentioned that I needed to find time to sandwich and quilt the baby quilt that had been hanging on my design wall. Drum roll please....

Not only did I need to get it done because the baby shower is coming soon but I also needed room on my design wall for the piecing of a wedding quilt. 

All the block pieces are cut, and 6 blocks are made...only 24 more to go! Pictures later!

This pattern is a version of a 9 patch with sashing separating the squares. I got my inspiration from this quilt.

All the fabric is from my stash! The main zoo print fabric is 2-d Zoo by Alexander Henry and the background is Kona White. I used a combination of 6 different print fabrics for the blocks. 

The back is pieced from fabrics from the top and the binding is scrappy...also made from pieces left over from the top.

I quilted a large X through the blocks and then overlaid a diamond shape. 

You can see it better in the first 2 pictures.

Along the larger sashing and the borders, I straight line quilted 1/2" apart. This gave it some structure yet allows it to be soft with some drape.

All labeled and is ready for the baby shower. I named this quilt Blue Zoo.

Another finish that I am so happy with!  

Definitely a feel good moment!

A small finish!

I have had this quilt pieced for a few months and finally got around to quilting and binding it. That seems to be my life lately...but school will be out in another 4 weeks and summer can officially begin! MORE TIME for quilting!

I had bought a few mini charm packs of Soho Chic for Moda by Sandy Gervais. I really love the colors but didn't have a plan in mind. I came across a quilt made with combining a snowball block and a nine patch and setting it on point. So I sketched it out and did some math and the results are in!

I used Kona natural for the snowball blocks. For the corners of the snowball block I found a matching deep orchid color. 

(I don't remember what cotton but I know it wasn't a Kona.) 

Since I only had so many squares to work with, the quilt isn't too big so I needed to find some yardage of Soho Chic to add some borders. This can be a little tricky because this line had come out a bit ago. 

Searching the internet, I came across Old South Fabrics which had some of the floral and leaf linen (binding fabric). They had only been on the internet for 5 months when I found them. Their service was great and they regularly sell Moda at $9.20 a yard.  

I am not getting anything for promoting them, I just was impressed with their price and service.

The backing is an old print by Jinny Beyer (1999) from my stash,  pieced together with a bit of fabrics from the front.  

I quilted a tic tac toe pattern through the 9-patch blocks, some octagon shapes in the snowballs with 1/4" spacing and straight lines in the borders using an deep orchid thread. 

Even my DH commented that he loved the colors in this quilt which, quite frankly, took me by surprise! 

Finished size: 36 1/2" square 

Another finish, albeit a smaller one, feels real good! 

Now to get to the sandwiching and quilting of the baby quilt that is hanging on my design wall and continue the wedding quilt piecing....

Blogger's Quilt Festival

Welcome to my blog! I have chosen the quilt that I made for my niece's wedding to share in the Home Machine Quilted category for the spring Blogger's Quilt Festival. This quilt is a variation on the traditional log cabin block. The blocks create an off-centered star with a diamond shape framing the star.

The fabrics used are 9 by Sanae and Kona natural. The quilt finished 

at 72" by 84".

I quilted this quilt with concentric circles centered around the offset star. I started with a small circle and echoed the circle varying the widths between 1/2" and 1".

This was my first attempt at quilting concentric circles. I really love how the back shows off the quilting.

I'm happy to say that the new couple loved the quilt! 

Now hop over to Amy's Creative Side to find links to many quilts 

from all over the world.  Thanks to Amy and her countless hours of

dedication to put this together and to the many generous sponsors. 

Sewing in Austin and some Pillows

Over my spring break, I headed down to Austin, TX to visit my DD2, SIL, and DD3. I had a fantastic visit with warm, sunny days (which we still haven't seen much of here at home!) When I visit, I like to do some projects with my daughters. 

PROJECT 1

My DD3 wanted to make a shower curtain. She showed me her idea and then we brainstormed on how to make it. After figuring the dimensions of a standard shower curtain, we started with a full size flat sheet in a cream color...Target! We cut the width to size and hemmed the sides. 

Using the top of the sheet as the bottom (where the wide hem is) we measured  1 1/2" from the hemline. 

We then measured and sewed 1 1/2" pleats...10 in all...across the width of the sheet.

My DD3 did all the sewing!

Once that was finished and we figured the math, we alternated the pleats up or down to form diamonds. Then stitched them down where you see the pins.

After this step was complete, we measured from the bottom for a standard length shower curtain allowing enough for a top hem. 

We used a length of twill tape in the hem for strength and stitched close to the edge. Using a standard shower curtain as a guide for the placement of the holes for the shower curtain hooks, we made button holes in the top hem.

Here is the finished project! 

(We were sewing at my DD2's place so we found a place to temporally hang the curtain) 

In its new home!

This was a fun project that looks very classy. 

Project 2

My DD2 wanted to make new pillow covers for her sofa and learn how to put in a zipper. So we headed to the quilt store to look for some fabric. After much deliberation, she decided on a pretty yellow fabric and a contrasting red for the back. Since we wanted to put in an invisible zipper, we headed to the local JoAnn's. After gathering all our supplies, we set off to work, cutting and sewing. 

Sorry I don't have pictures of the process. 

We made 2 pillow covers exactly alike. 

The frontside, yellow and the backside, red. They really add a pop of color to their neutral colored sofa...just what she wanted. Another fun and easy project!

Project 3

(back home)

Over at Amy's Creative Side, back in February she hosted the Pillow Collective. In looking through the line-up of the talented group of bloggers and their tutorials, I couldn't help but love one in particular! The French Bulldog Pillow Project from Heather at The Sewing Loft. 

My DD1 has a sweet little Frenchie, named Ole′. I just had to make one! I am not a very good artist and I was having a hard time, so I copied Heather's sketch and followed her tutorial to 'thread paint' the sketch onto fabric. 

After finishing the thread painting, I made the pillow cover with an invisible zipper as I did for my DD2's pillows project. 

I surprised my daughter on Easter! She loved it!

Here is Ole′ posing with the new pillow! 

Thanks Heather for the inspiration and tutorial!

I'm linking to SewJo Saturday!

What kind of fun projects have you been doing?

Me Bad...but some exciting news!

Once again, I have been away from my blog way too long! My time just seems to slip away.  I am happy to say that I do have my Art Journal completed for March and April is done except for the journaling. I have had it done for a while but just didn't have time to post. 

I did have a bit of trouble stamping in white. My white marker worked better so I hand printed my entries. 

For April, I made an Easter egg tree. Pretty simple but I like it. 

So you ask what is the exciting news? I have completed the flimsy of my hexagon quilt! YES! This is the first 100% hand sewn quilt that I have made. There are countless hours invested in this quilt. 

I will be adding one row of border hexagons all around the quilt...so I guess technically it is not a finished flimsy. It measures 37" x 52" now. 

The hexagons are 3/4" and each flower is made from different fabric scraps...no 2 are alike! I'm still trying to decide how to finish it...leave the uneven edges or straighten them? Please chime in and give me your advice. I'd really appreciate it. Thanks!

I'm linking to SEWjo Saturday!

Art Journal Update

Although I'm about a month behind, I am still working on my 365 Days Art Journals. I have finally finished recording on the February calendar and I finished my March calendar (before entries.) 

For March I went with a green Irish/shamrock theme. Here it is before entries. 

I had the background fabric in my stash from when I use to make banners for my garden. The kelly green squares are from a Kona swap. I am using a white stamp pad and marker for my entries. 

Life doesn't seem to be slowing down anytime soon. Slowly, I have been working on hand sewing my hexagon quilt and also piecing another small quilt top. Hopefully I will have some pictures soon. 

I hope to get back to blogging (and blog reading) on a little more regular basis. I miss seeing what everyone is working on and sharing with you. 

So Excited to Share!

I haven't had a finished quilt in quite awhile! Just my pages in my Art Journal challenge and they are a bit behind too! Life has been busy! 

So I'm so excited to share my finished quilt from the 2013 Rainbow Scrap Challenge. I really love how this quilt turned out. 

The pattern is called Russian Rubix by April Rosenthal for Prairie Grass Patterns.  I just fell in love with this pattern. It was so fun to make. I'm kind of a math geek so I was intrigued by how April figure how to work this pattern. 

The 2013 Rainbow Scrap Challenge (see my side bar) only included 11 colors so I added 5 additional colors so the quilt finished with 16 different colored rings. 

I added 3" borders to frame the quilt and give it a bigger dimension. This quilt finished at approx. 48" square.

At first I debated making 2 of each color but changed my mind. I pieced the extra orange block on the back.

I love the scrappiness of this quilt. It is fun to look at all the different fabrics pieces and remember where they came from or were used before. The binding was also made with pieces from each color in the quilt.

Bonus ~ the backing is also from my stash!

I quilted each octagon with a pinwheel design using thread that matched the color of the ring. In the negative space, I FMQ part of a design I found online. I adjusted the design to fit the inside of each ring. The border was straight line quilted in 1/2" rows. Hope you like it!

I'm linking up at SEWjo!