Woodland Animals Baby Quilt

My cousin is having her fist baby next month and she and her husband aren't finding out the baby's gender. How fun is that nowadays!?  One of nature's most wonderful surprises :).  Her shower was last Sunday and I was so excited to give her a quilt that was practically still warm from the dryer. 

37" x 52"   ~~  Hands and feet are an illusion.

The colors for their nursery are brown, tan and cream with the theme of woodland animals.  Awwww ... can you say "cute??"  I found the woodland animal print at Joann Fabrics and that led to a simple patchwork quilt filled with the beautiful colors and some framed blocks with fussy cut woodland animals. 

Baby quilts are so fun and enjoyable to sew.  Small enough to layout and quilt easy enough, yet can be large enough to show off a pattern.

Quilting lines in place

Hand quilted with perle cotton #12.

I posted most of the progress pictures on my instagram feed if you would care to follow the (mis)adventures of me and my Rottweiler in our quilting journey.  She's still my assistant but she has slowed down recently.  Most of her help comes from the sidelines now as she is loath to get off of her orthopedic bed.  I've really gotten into the habit of only posting my finished quilts on this blog.  I feel like over the years I've pretty much touched on every topic I can in a quilting blog so I was starting repeats.  Also, it's such a hassle to drag out my real camera to take pretty pictures and then hook it up to the real computer, download, etc. etc.  My iPhone does take nice pictures but for some reason they always looked washed out and grainy on here.  Why???

I think you should move the polka dot print over one space

The big reveal!  It  was a hit :)

The Waiting for Craig Quilt

Another finished quilt and another learning experience.  I do start each quilt with the hope that this will be the “perfect” one.  Perfect points, perfect color combinations, perfect seams, perfect everything.  I think that is what keeps me going despite my disappointments.This is not that quilt for me.  

56" x 71"

The things I learned from this quilt:

Lesson #1.  I don’t like sewing with pre-cut packs.  These blocks sprung from a layer cake I had won and a Missouri Star Quilt Company tutorial for making church dash blocks.    I just don’t like the hodge podge of matching prints.  Same prints, different colors.  Different colors, same prints.  Solids that are the exact colors of the prints.  So booooooring.  I added black sashing to try and give it a more cohesive look and I think that did help a little.   
 

Lesson #2.  I don’t like big blocks.  These blocks finished at over 13” and they just seem so bloated and large.  Ok … I'll admit that’s how I feel most of the time so maybe a little transference was going on there.  

Bloated.  Right??  Quilted with Perle Cotton #12

I did take the time to hand quilt and gave each center a different look (that's actually kinda cool).  It involved twirling the large quilt around in a circle on my lap all night while dodging a dog head that wanted to lay on it constantly. 

Is it my eyes or is this blurry?

If you're wondering about the name it's because I had the layer cake and the five inch solid squares sitting by my machine and every time I was all-dressed-up-and-ready-to-go-but-waiting-for-Craig I’d work on a block.  It’s an OK quilt and I’m leaving it at that.  I feel a little sorry for it now that I’ve downplayed its appearance so much.  Craig loves it and it’s his now, he thought it was worth the wait :)

I love how Craig is always up for a photoshoot :)

Blogger's Quilt Festival Fall 2013

I'm submitting my newest quilt in the Blogger's Quilt Festival and entering it in the hand quilted category.  Apologies to my regular peeps for the repeat, but how can I not enter a quilt I named "ode to autumn" in a fall quilt show.

The beginnings and ideas sprang from a color challenge in the Old Red Barn Co quilting group and a stack of Lotta Jansdotter fabric.  The large prints were a challenge in themselves as I wanted to showcase some of the fabric and was looking for a way to leave big chunks of print.  An improv coin quilt turned out to be the perfect solution.  With autumnal solids and the fall palette I was set on creating a quilt that would honor the warm slices of colors seen throughout the Northeast.

I hand quilted the entire quilt top in mostly straight lines but with some random patterns thrown in there to break it up a little.   Yes, I quilted the whole entire quilt top by hand.  Are you gasping?  I hope someone is because I have to admit I've received less than stellar reactions from my non-quilting friends.  "Wow. That looks like a LOT of work" with a slow head shake was my most popular reaction.  Prompting me to agree and gush, 'Yes, but it's amazing, isn't it?!" Geesh people.  Make me draaaaaaag it out of you .....

The quilting commenced in March and finished in September with serious lulls during the humid months. Perle cotton #12 is my current favorite quilting cotton.  It's a bit finer than #8 but is still chunky enough to be noticed. 

41" x 63"

I can see already that I'm going to be spending many quality hours perusing the beautiful quilts over at the Quilt Festival.  I'm sure I'll find tons of inspiration and with the cooler fall weather I'll be invigorated to start some new projects. 

My next quilting goal in the works

Gen X Quilters Sisters Ten BOM Blocks

I had an epiphany moment a while ago while watching a Fons and Porter quilting show on TV.  The mother/daughter duo were chattering away discussing how they aim to get their quilt blocks perfectly sized as they sew them and not trim them down after sewing. 

Huh? 

You mean you CAN sew a 12.5 inch block and have it actually measure 12.5 inches on all sides when you're finished?  Doesn't everyone just trim them later to a smaller size?   It made me realize I'm really lacking in the most basic of piecing skills.   I decided right then my next quilting goal is to actually read and follow directions and finally master that 1/4" seam.   Is it possible that I could make perfectly sized blocks right from my sewing machine?  I guess I was about to find out .....

At the beginning of my summer sewing lull I joined two block of the month alongs (Gen X Quilters and Sew Lux Fabric) and decided that the least I would do these hot months is to sew the monthly blocks with the mindfulness and carefulness I was missing before. 

My lone 9" block.  The result of  a direction reading deficit.   

First observation:  I don't read directions well.   The Gen X Quilters BOM gives two sets of cutting instructions.  One for a 12.5 block and one for a 9 inch block.  Right off the bat I cut all my pieces and took a break.  Went back later and thought, "Why did I cut all these pieces wrong?" and trimmed them all down to the correct (I thought) size.  That is why you will see one 9 inch block amongst all the 12.5 inch blocks.  For each block I've made so far I've cut at least one piece of fabric the wrong size.  READ DIRECTIONS MOLLY! 

Second observation:  My 1/4" foot makes my seams too large.  When I finally took it off and followed this tutorial to find my perfect needle setting and stuck a piece of tape on my machine as a guide I made much smaller seams.  Now my blocks are actually the correct size when I finish.

Third observation:  Wanting perfection is a learned art.  A couple times when my seams didn't match up nicely or my points were blunted I really just wanted to shrug and say, "good enough."  But I picked apart and re-pinned and re-sewed and re-cut where necessary.  Now seeing how nice the blocks look with everything all aligned and sharp really makes me want to continue in this vein. The gratification I get from seeing a nice, neat block really makes me wonder about myself.  When and why did things like this start giving me pleasure? 

This month's block came out all wrong and I don't know what I did.  Obviously I cut some strips the wrong size so I haven't mastered the following directions part yet but I didn't freak out.  I just left it and figured out a way to fix the problem without scrapping the whole thing.  Now I've got another perfectly pieced block under my belt.  Yes, I feel happy.  At least one tiny corner of my world is neat and orderly. 

Aha!! Another epiphany moment.  I think I just answered my previous question .....

Modern Quilting 1970s Style

I found this quilting book, the Mountain Artisans Quilting Book by Alfred Allan Lewis, from 1973 at the library book sale a few weeks ago and I'm totally obsessed with it!    

"The Mountain Artisans Quilting Book is the best book on the contemporary adaptation of the old craft of quilting.  It tells the story of the famous West Virginia cooperative started by a group of idealistic young women and how their efforts to market the products of a centuries-old craft overcame seeming insurmountable obstacles to achieve national recognition." 

THESE women were the original modern quilters!  In fact, the words modern and contemporary are used continuously throughout this book, almost as much as it is on the internet today.  It's like a little slice of the groovy 1970s right from their perspective. 

The clothes made from quilts are what really got me hooked though.

I noticed one thing that these models have in common is that they are all tall and rail thin, two qualities I have in the exact opposite. I would look more like a rumpled quilt someone discarded on a floor, but still ... the idea intrigues me. 

Clothing for a horse ? I think this is my favorite quilt project!

A lot of the book is kitschy and outdated but one quote still rings true today. 

What more can any hobbyist want?  Here is a craft that is at once inexpensive, productive of immediate results, self-contained, portable, solitary, and social. 

Well, the inexpensive part was obviously before they invented designer fabrics. 

Don't you just want to time travel back to the 1970s now?  I love these intrepid young quilters and their take on the revival of quilting.  

Twitter Bee Quilt .... My first Bee Quilt :)

My first quilting bee journey that began here and ended here is now complete!  I sewed together the top and started hand quilting on Columbus Day weekend (October 8th) and finished shortly before Christmas.  It was fun quilting each star a little differently and ended up making some squares in between each block.  I love the final look and think this quilt is bound to be one of my favorites.

Long and Lean ... 35" X 58"

It's so cool imagining each square being crafted in the home of another quilter and from fabric that was scraps from her previous projects.  Kinda makes me feel like this quilt has some history already ... ya know what I mean?  Definitely a favorite.

Two slightly different creams on the back.  I am trying to show off the hand quilting here. 

Now ... on to my favorite month of the year. 

Old Red Barn Quilt Challenge Throwdown

Ahhh fall ... how I love you. 

My quilt for this challenge came about from my love of everything autumn and my recent yearning for simplicity and sparseness in my life.  No need for anything overly complicated or overthinking the design.  Just an "ahhhh ... those colors look so perfect together."    Like looking over a grey and brown field into a brilliant woods.

The long hot days in the summer just wear me out and by August I feel all jangly and disjointed and sweaty.  My spirit always begins to lift when the colors start to subtly change and the evening grow cooler and longer.  When perusing the color palettes on design seeds I was instantly drawn to this one.

The fact that I was able to pull all the fabrics from my stash went right along with my new Almost Amish frugality.   Maybe I'll name this quilt simply autumn and leave it at that.

The quilt top measures 45" by 73"  I'll be hand quilting and then binding in one of the dark solids with maybe a splash of the prints. 



Unfortunately Hurricane Sandy came through here and ruined my fall photo shoot ... bye bye brilliant foliage.   Today is so dull and dark that I had trouble getting pictures that would showcase my fall colors.

This challenge made me examine my color choices and how they work together to form a pleasing aesthetic palette.  Just one more step in my quilting journey that started right here with the Old Red Barn Co.

The Hexagon Quilt ... Finally!

I've emerged from my summer torpor and am so ready to begin my favorite time of year.  Suddenly fabric is appealing again!  Apples, pumpkins, cool weather, long evenings to sew ...   Even the Assistant has perked up and is demanding her after dinner walks again.

42" x 57"

To start off my quilting season I pulled out the hexagon quilt-a-long I started  years ago.  This was one I started before I really had the skill level to finish (points!) and it got me very frustrated.  I was hopefully starting this project here .... and giving up here.  A while ago I had a few days alone where I could actually lay it out on the floor and take my time sewing the strips together.  I carefully pinned, pinned, and pinned the strips and was pleasantly pleased with the outcome.  Gotta admit .... pinning IS necessary to get those points .... bummer.

love this shot of the back :)

 I hand quilted with perle cotton #12 because I wanted a finer quilting to go with the classic hexagon look.  I did the bulk of the quilting while watching two straight seasons of Boardwalk Empire (thank goodness for an HBO promotion) in a two week stretch. A good violent series is perfect for handwork because you can look away and get really involved in your stitching when it gets overly gruesome. 

What's next you ask??  I sewed together all the blocks I got from my Twitter Bee peeps and am ready to start quilting.  I've finally broke out my Accuquilt Go Baby and made 194 half square triangle blocks ..  use to be determined.  I'm trying to figure out how to make a "non-lame" Buffalo Bills (stop snickering people) quilt  for a Christmas gift.  And to top it off I'm entering the Old Red Barn color palette quilt challenge.  Does that sound like a lot? Well, I'm still on my fall high so we'll see how far I get with these.

 My "almost Amish" project is beginning with a big clean up of my sewing and fabric area.  Soooo .... naturally I'm on the computer now instead of sorting. Hmmmm .... full-blown Amish really don't have this problem, do they?? 

Some gratuitous quilt shots taken at our local cemetery

Ahhhh.... see why I love fall ... so beautiful!

My film crew .... Middle son Jason and Jada  ... the Assistant couldn't quite make it up the winding staircase

This blog has been interrupted by tiny triangles

Am I crazy?!?!  I started a nice, simple quilt and whipped the top together in a matter of days (well, weeks ....  but it COULD have been days if I'd applied myself) but now I've sidetracked myself with these darn triangles.   Four corners trimmed off of thirty-eight snowball blocks = 152 two inch triangles.   Here's the crazy part ... I have absolutely no plan for them but I just can't stand to waste them.  Make a border?  Use them in the back?  Zig zags?  Pinwheels?  Spikes?  What would you do with 228 inches of tiny triangles?

You could be finished now if your maker wasn't obsessed with small triangles

I did finish the quilt that my hairdresser's mother started many years ago.  She had made all the log cabin blocks and I sewed them together, put a small border of white around the edge, pieced a back and hand quilted.  I was able to take it to it's rightful home this week and now it has completed it's journey.  It's being used by her Grandson and I couldn't be happier for them both.

Tiny, tiny triangles

With each new quilt I like to expand my skills at least a little.  I'm wondering .... do you ever get to a point where you know and can do everything?  I'd like to think that before I leave this earth I'll make one "perfect" quilt.

This picture caught my eye on pinterest and I've been going back to it repeatedly so I finally decided to make it.  I don't have a pattern but I can see that it's just nine patch and snowball blocks.  I'm embarrassed that I actually did two pages of math (plus a glass of spilled wine) to figure it out. 

After trimming the blocks I've got a nice little pile of tiny triangles.  I'm sewing and sewing in my spare moments and then anticipate trimming and trimming but hopefully will have a sweet little border someday.  The tiny half square triangles are actually taking as much time as sewing the rest of the blocks all together.

In the end I'd like to showcase a simple hand quilting design  in the blank white areas.  I'm not a fan of hearts or swirlies but all my attempts at freehanding a design look shockingly like a pentagram.  If anyone has any simple design ideas I'd appreciate a link or a picture.

Thank goodness for a snowy, snowy Sunday to have a nice excuse to stay in and sew with Downton Abbey as my background noise.  What could be better?

Another woman's quilt blocks

Last Thursday I was getting my hair cut by my long-time hairdresser Kim and I was telling her of my new found love of quilting.  She mentioned that years ago her mother was learning how to quilt when she was sick so she could make a quilt for each of her grandchildren.  She died before she finished the last one ...  for Kim's youngest son.  Recently Kim found all the finished blocks and fabric and had been wondering how she could find someone that could put them together and finish the quilt.

I am so honored to be able to sew these blocks together and complete the wishes of a woman who wanted to leave each of her grandchildren a memento of her love.  I've thought of her a lot as I've been pressing and trimming and sewing the blocks that she made with hopes of leaving a gift of comfort for her grandson. 

I'm going to add a border and hand quilt and then bind with navy blue.  I really hope I can do this quilt justice and make it as nice as she would have and that a young boy thinks of her as he snuggles with it. 

Let's make dresdens!

This beautiful dresden is by the leader, Deb Robertson.

Sometimes it takes a quilt a long to push me out of my comfort zone and to try something new.  The Old Red Barn Company on Flickr is going to make dresdens soon.  No fancy rulers or templates required! 

I have decided to try and go for a baby quilt but if that is too daunting maybe just two pillows (errr.... one pillow?).  Anyone else in?  Hop over and check it out!

One block at a time sweet quilter

Is it wrong to rework the words of a hymn?  Well, that's the soundtrack in my head as I'm plugging away one block at a time ....

I've been enamored with some pictures I've found recently of brown quilts and I've always wanted to make another log cabin quilt so I'm combining my two wants and working on a wonky log cabin quilt that will have brown sashing with blue corner squares (that's the plan anyway).   I'm loving these colors and each one is almost like a little work of art for me.  I've come to accept that I will never be able to produce quilts at the speed and volume that one probably should have to justify a quilting blog, but I'm determined to plug away methodically.  One.Block.A.Day.  

At night I'm finishing up the hand quilting on the second of two baby quilts.   I have one finished but just haven't had the gumption or stamina to trudge outside to the neighbor's clothesline after work for any pictures. I'm now thinking that I might as well finish them both and have one photo shoot.  Especially since I've never really confirmed that my neighbor gave me permission to use his clothesline.  Ummmm .... better not make too many trips out there until I get some acknowledgment of OKness. 

It's bitter cold today and I'm tucked into my warm, cozy house in honor of President's Day.  Thank you great Presidents!  I'm making a dinner and sewing and watching Housewife 49 while hand quilting.  Perfect :)