Wedding Quilt #1

This one is for one of our nieces.  Her wedding colors were champagne tan and blush pink. My pink ended up a little brighter than I was hoping but finding just the right pink wasn't in the cards for this quilt. 

 

I went with the geometric slide pattern found in Vintage Quilt Revival.  What a fun book full of great patterns.

 

 Since such a large part of the quilt is background I wanted something more than just a solid color. I used a Moda grunge basic in tan.  I love how it looks, and I think it works well with the backing fabric, since it also has a grunge feel to it.

 

 

The backing is from Frances Newcombe's Cherie line. I ended up just doing a single fabric for the back as I was getting short on time. 

 I quilted an all over flower pattern in pink thread.  It was a fun pattern to quilt and gave it a great texture, I will have to keep it in mind for another project.

 

 

I think the binding is my favorite part.  I went with a stripe on the suggestion of an employee at a local quilt shop.  I love it.  It adds a fun feel to the quilt.

And for the final touch I added a corner quilt label with their names and wedding date, and also who it was from. Just in case they forget in fifty years or so.  =)

 

 

 

Skill Builder BOM Finished!!

It's finished!  I love how it turned out.  It was a fun BOM and I enjoyed learning new skills and practicing some that I don't do very often.  I really like learning the freezer paper method for paper piecing, so much less paper to peel off at the end. 

I just smile every time I look over at it.  Hopefully it all washes up well.  There is always that slight fear when washing a new quilt for the first time.  They have all held up so far, hopefully this is one does the same.  

 

I love the back too.  It is fun with the different blocks of color.   I still can't decide if I like the quilt as you method as well as quilting a whole quilt though. It is much easier to quilt smaller blocks but I don't know if I like adding the sashing at the end.  I have been wanting to try this method here.  I will have to test it out one of these quilts.

 

 

It's so exciting to have another finish to add for the year.  Hopefully 2015 is just as good.

 

Still sewing

 I have a few finishes to share.  The first one is a quilt I made for my sister.  She wanted more color in her living room so she choose some fabrics and we found a pattern.  I did the sewing and quilting.

We went with the tutorial  movin' on up on Crazy Mom Quilts.  I did add a row and column to make it a little bigger.  It looks great hanging up above her fireplace.

 

I will post the other finishes soon. 

 

Vise Versa finish!

The quilt top anyways, quilting it will have to wait a little while. I have the back all pieced and ready to go, now to find the time to finish it. I had a lot of fun with this BOM and I love the non traditional layout of the blocks.

 I have one more wedding quilt to finish and then onto my ever growing list of quilt tops waiting to be quilted.  I think I am up to 5, no wait 6 tops that need quilted.  No more new projects until I get some of those finished up. Yeah, right as I am sitting here planning three more quilts for my boys for Christmas next year and still thinking about doing another BOM. Gotta keep life fun right. =)

Wonky Roads!

Wahoo! I finished my Wonky Roads quilt top.  It went together pretty fast really.  The fabric is a fat quarter bundle of Road 15 and a few coordinating Kona Cotton solids. I followed this Stack & Wack Wonky block tutorial.  The first few cuts were pretty nerve wracking. =) I'm not one for just slashing away at fabric, I usually like a clear cut pattern.

But it turned out great.  I think this is one of my favorite quilts so far.  (of course I say that about each new one)

 

 

Sorry for the less than stellar photo.  It is hard to get a good shot of such a large quilt. It measures approximately 84x96. This one is going to be quite the challenge to quilt. 

 

I am linking up with My Go-Go Life for SEWjo Saturday!

More WIP's...

...someday I'll have a finish to share. I have the next two blocks finish on the Pile O' Fabric Skillbuilder BOM.  These ones were a little  more work than just simple piecing.

The Scrap Jar block uses a inset piec-lique method developed by Sharon Schamber.  It took a bit of work sewing around those curves.  Mine did get a little wonky as you can see, but I am hoping that with quilting and washing the extra fabric will blend in. =)

 

The Pin Cushion block is an appliqué block.  I have done some appliqué work before, but this was my first time using mono-filament thread.  That stuff takes some getting used to.  I had to set my tension pretty low to keep the bobbin thread from pulling to the top. The mono-filament thread also kept unspooling and wrapping around the spool pin which caused lots of issues, so I did have to pick out a section of stitches. But in the end I finished it. =)  And I do like how well the mono-filament thread blends in. 

 

These are just a few more of the Wonky blocks for my queen sized quilt.  I am getting there. Slow and steady wins the race, right? =) I only have four more sets of blocks to sew up before I can put the quilt top together.  It is so fun to see how all the blocks are turning out.

 

 

I am linking up with WIP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced.

Come check it out!

A finish, but still a WIP

I finished! Well almost.  I have the quilt top all pieced. The baste, quilting, and binding will be put on hold for awhile until I figure out how to get my machine to FMQ again.  Maybe I should just get a new machine. =) 

Here it is.  My finished book quilt top.  I used this tutorial from Happy Quilting over at the Moda Bake
Shop.  I love it!  And it stopped raining just in time for the pictures.

I am linking up with WIP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced.  Come check it out.

A New WIP

Yeah, another one. Cause I don't have enough already. =) Of course I think it might just be an excuse to buy more fabric.  I am going for queen size and need a little more fabric. (I always need more fabric, right?)

 I finally cut into my Road 15 bundle.  It took a little bit before I actually made the first cut.  I am using this Stack & Whack Wonky Block  tutorial.  These were just test blocks to see how it would turn out.  I do need to vary my whacking a little more and can make bigger cuts for the border.  I am excited to see how this one turns out. I am going to use all the prints with a few repeating and am going to throw in some solids also.

 

 

I am linking up with WIP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced. Come check it out!

 

BOM Progress

I have been pretty good on keeping up with my BOM blocks.  (not so much with blogging)

I love the Pile o' Fabric blocks.  They are turning out so cute. It will be exciting to see all the blocks together.  The machine stitches block is February and the bottom one is for March. 

It is a quilt as you go BOM, but unfortunately my machine still does not like FMQ anymore.  I get about two inches and it starts skipping stitches and shredding thread. (sigh) It is a little frustrating to say the least.

 

The Gen X blocks are so fun.  I like seeing how different the blocks are just by making the inverse. The top picture is February's blocks and the bottom is March's.

 

  I am linking up with Sewjo Saturday of at My Go-Go Life.

WIP Wednesday

I won!  So excited I won a $25 gift card from Intrepid Thread for last weeks link up to WIP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced.  Wahoo!  At first I thought it was unusual to get an email about the winner, then after reading it a few more times, I finally realized I was the winner.   Now to decide what to buy.

I do have progress to show.  I was able to sew up a few of the book blocks.  Hopefully this week I will be able to finish them up.

I love the Noteworthy line.  It makes me think of Spring, which I am so ready for. I am linking up with WIP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced.  Come check it out!

 

 

First BOM Blocks Done!

I have finished the first set of blocks for both on my BOM's. Yay!  Now I have to try and patiently wait for next months.  I am not a patient person so it is going to feel like a long wait.

 

These are the first two blocks for the Gen X Quilters Vise Versa BOM.  I am making the twin size for my little Tiger. Over Christmas break we switched rooms and boys around so he is now in his own twin bed.  And my oldest, the Monkey is in his own room.  When did my boys get so big. They are growing up way too fast.

 

 These are the first two blocks for the Pile O' Fabric Skill Builder BOM. So far I love how it is looking.  And yes the thread on the spools is supposed to be wonky.  It turned out a little more crazy than planned but I still love it. 

I am linking up with WIP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced.

The Farm

This is actually a 2013 finish, but it turned out so well I have to share it.  It is my favorite quilt so far.

I grew up on a farm and next door to my Grandparents.  In between the two houses was a big red barn.  I spent many hours playing in that barn and around the farm.  I think we (brothers, sisters, and cousins)  were outside from sun up until dark most days in the summer.  Lots of fun memories.  Sadly the farm has since been sold and the houses and barn are no longer there.

So when I saw the barn block on Bee in My Bonnet, it reminded me so much of the old red barn I knew I had to make something with it.  Then I saw the tractor block, and knew that had to be included also.  I wanted to make it for my mom for Christmas. It was close but she did have a fully finished quilt to unwrap on Christmas.

 

 

My original plan for the layout wasn't going to work out, but then I saw the Bee in My Bonnet Row Along and thought how great some of those blocks would work with the barn and tractor. I did have to wait for the book Quilty Fun to come out for the patterns.

 

I was toying with the idea of quilting each element separately, but do to time and since it is already pretty busy,  I went with an allover stipple with little flowers thrown in.  I used Aurifil 50wt in #2311.  I love how the quilting turned out.  The little flowers are just so fun, and the chicks in the barn make me smile every time I see them. =)

 

I found some fabric sheets at JoAnn's made for running through an inkjet printer. It is a bit more papery feeling than regular fabric though, so I'm not sure if I like that.  I will have to do some research and see if I can find a better method for labeling.   

All in all a great finish to the end of 2013.  I loved making this quilt and loved giving it away even more.

I am linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts for finish it up Friday.

A New Start

While waiting on some fabric for my BOM and other things I decided to cut into some fabric.  I am excited to finally get started on this one.  It has been on the "Quilt Bucket List" for a while now.

I saw the tutorial for it on Happy Quilting.  I love reading and the noteworthy line so this is the perfect quilt.  I figure it will be something to work on between my BOMs.  Hopefully it won't take to long to get it all pieced together.

I am linking up with WIP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced.

Sunday Stash

Yay! My fabric for the Pile O' Fabric BOM is here. Choosing fabrics from a computer screen is not the easiest thing to do. Luckily these all work together. Now my fabrics for the Gen X BOM...didn't go so well. I am still waiting on one more that I changed my mind on. I decided to go with Kona Solids for both BOM.


Cerise, Lime, Storm, Oasis, Dk. Violet, Silver

I am going to add in a couple of other shades of purple and grey, but these are the main colors.  They are a little different from what I had originally decided to go with, but I am glad I went with these instead. 

Here is my original color inspiration and coloring sheet. I just wasn't too sure about the orange color.

And this is what I ended up going with. There will be slight variations in some of the fabric placements but it will hopefully look similar to this in the end. I am so excited to start on the blocks!

                                                  

Pile O' Fabric BOM

I am linking up with Molli Sparkles Sunday stash.

 

Starburst Quilt

 I decided to make quilts for my mom and mother in law for Christmas. I started planning around July and figured I'd have plenty of time to get them both done. Ha! Procrastination is my specialty. Luckily I was able to finish this one in time to get it to my mother in law before Christmas.

The pattern is Starburst from Happy Quilting.  It ended up being about 57" x 57".  This is the biggest size quilt I have quilted so far.

I did have a few problems with skipped stiches and thread breakage. My machine worked great until I took it in to have it cleaned and serviced. Of course when I took it back in they didn't have any problems with it. Doesn't it always happen that way though. I did manage to get it done anyway, just took a little longer.

 There is always a bit of fear that my marking lines won't come out in the wash, but thankfully they did. It was great to see it all finished.  I am pretty happy with how it all turned out in the end.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy New Year!

Where did 2013 go. Seems like we were just celebrating it and 2014 is here already. I was not very good at keeping up on my blogging, but I did get a few finishes in for 2013. It was a year full of learning and fun. I did meet my goal for 2013 of learning FMQ. Yeah!

 

My goals for 2014

 

~ Keep up on blogging. I love having a place where I can look back at the things of made, and see the progress I have made.

~ Keep practicing and improving my FMQ skills. 

~ Improve my photography skills.

~ Learn new sewing skills. I have signed up for a BOM again, and am looking at signing up for  another one also. I am excited to keep learning.

 

I will post about my 2013 finishes soon, but for now I will just end with my finished Mama Said Sew quilt top.