Blogger's Quilt Festival, Spring 2014 #2

As I've mentioned before, we live in a military town.  So, there's lots of moving in and moving out.  Glass half empty - all your friends eventually move :( Glass half full - but there are always new ones moving in! :)

One of my favorite friends ever moved away last year.  I had every intention of making her a quilt before she left, but I was a little busy growing a baby.  And trying my best not to kill to help my older three children survive the summer with a terminally pregnant mom.  It was a long summer.  With a super cute reward at the end.

Anyway, I got a little behind on my sewing and didn't finish it until earlier this year.  Amy came down to visit last month, so I got to give it to her in person.

Last year, before Amy moved, we made a baby quilt together for a mutual friend.  We pretty much copied this quilt.  Bonnie and Camille's Ruby line plus aqua = awesomeness.  Plus, the baby's name was Ruby.  Of all the baby quilts we have made together (at least fourteen!), this was Amy's favorite one. 

So when it came time to make Amy's quilt, I remade it one more time, this time using half of a layer cake (left over from my daughter's quilt).  And once again, Ruby plus aqua = awesomeness.  Seriously.

For the quilting, I mixed things up a little (for me, anyway).  I went with a traditional 1/4" on either side of the seams in the pieced portions. 

But on the aqua sections, I quilted an orange peel design.  I love how it turned out!

For the backing, I used two of my favorite prints from the line, with a pieced portion using extra pieces from the front. 

Have I mentioned how much I love Ruby???

You can't go wrong with a good sundae scallop for the binding.

Everything about this quilt makes me happy - the recipient, the fabric, the simple layout that does such a great job of showing off the fabric, you get the idea.  Now I just need to make myself a quilt with all the Ruby I've hoarded stashed.

Thanks for stopping by, and go enjoy all the other lovely quilts at the Blogger's Quilt Festival!

Blogger's Quilt Festival, Spring 2014

As I've mentioned before, we live in a military town.  While this gives us opportunities to meet lots of new people and make a number of good friends, this also means that those new people and good friends all eventually move.  Summer, the moving season, can be rough that way.

This year, three of our closest friends and their families are moving.  It's a doozy of a year.  So, my sewing machine has been busy making them a little something to let them know just how much they meant to us. 

First up is Teri.  We used to live down the street from each other and worked together for two years in our church's youth Sunday School program (Primary).  She also has four kids, and she and her family have been such good friends to us while they've been here.  A few years ago, we co-hosted a baby shower for another friend, and I pulled some fabric in the chosen colors to help with decorations.  She loved the combination, so when it was time to start her quilt, I knew where to go.

The pattern is by Megan at Canoe Ridge Creations, called Chevron and On.  It was super simple, but a great way to show off some favorite fabrics and some fun, spunky colors.  Just like Teri :)

And oh, are there some favorite fabrics.  Kate Spain's Central Park and Verna, Bonnie and Camille's Ruby and Happy Go Lucky, Amy Butler's Lark, lots of good Riley Blake polka dots and chevrons, V and Co's Simply Color and Simply Style, Lizzie House's Red Letter Day and Happy Pilgrim, and even some Neptune.  I'm smiling just thinking about it all :)

I kept the quilting simple - just 1/4" on either side of the diagonal seam lines.  Not only did I like the simplicity of it, but I also discovered her movers were coming a full month earlier than I had been thinking, so time was not my friend.

Some Happy Pilgrim stripes to bind it off - stripes make for such great bindings!

Later this summer, this quilt (and Teri and her family) will be setting off for lots of new adventures in Singapore.  And while I'll miss Teri a lot, at least a little piece of me will be coming along for it all.

Now go see all the other lovely quilts, and thanks for stopping by!

Bloggers' Quilt Festival, Fall 2013 #2

It's that time of year again - Bloggers' Quilt Festival!  I love the opportunity to see so many other lovely quilts out there in Blogland, all in one place.  It *almost* makes up for seeing all the lovely new fabric at Quilt Market.  Almost ;)

Earlier this year, my sister and I made this quilt for my parents.  They were serving a mission with our church in Bogota Columbia for a year and a half.  They came home early last spring before heading out on another mission this past summer, this time serving in Huancayo, Peru for the next three years.  My sister came up with the idea to make them a quilt, so working with our other siblings, we made them this.

We decided that since we were working on this long-distance (she lives on the west coast, and we're on the east coast), a layer cake would be the way to go so that we could have a fun, scrappy, yet still coordinated look.  V&Co's Simply Color line was perfect - lots of fun patterns in great colors.

 

We used Amanda Jean's Fair and Square pattern, just sized up to make it a throw quilt.  I'm the oldest of five kids, and each of us and our families are represented by one block - a boat for a brother who sails, a globe for a sister in the State Department who lives abroad, the Union Jack for a brother who served his mission in England, mountains and a tree for a sister who camps a lot, and the beach for our family since we love the beach. 

Each of the eight grandchildren are represented by their handprint. The tiny hot pink, unnamed hands belong to our youngest daughter - we hadn't picked out her name yet :)

We also threw in some blocks that meant something to my parents or our family - the flag from our summer beach trips, maps of Peru and Columbia which is where my parents' missions have been, a map of North Carolina which is where we grew up, bikes since my parents love to ride, a watering can and shovel for my mom's love of gardening, and the Oakland temple where my parents were married.  

I had only done machine applique once before, so this quilt certainly stretched my abilities. 

I kept the quilting simple - just a wavy stitch on my machine lengthened out.  I think it turned out pretty well.

The backing was also simple, and definitely in my wheelhouse, with two large panels and a pieced bit in the middle.

A simple binding in the blue ikat finished it off.

My parents loved the quilt, and my mom even cried when she opened up the package.  They appreciated all the time, effort, and love that went into it.  And now they have a little piece of each of us while they're living so far away for the next three years.

Now go check out all the other lovely quilts over at Bloggers' Quilt Festival, and thanks for stopping by!

Bloggers' Quilt Festival, Fall 2013

It's that time of year again - Bloggers' Quilt Festival!  I love the opportunity to see so many other lovely quilts out there in Blogland, all in one place.  It *almost* makes up for seeing all the lovely new fabric at Quilt Market.  Almost ;)

This quilt is one of my current favorites.  I have a major crush on Bonnie and Camille's older line Ruby.  The stack of it that I've hoarded/stashed is impressive.  In my defense, this is my second finished quilt using it, I have a third in the quilting stage, and a fourth one planned.  But who's kidding who - that's only going to make a dent in it. Oh, well.  Time to plan more projects!

Anyway, not only is the fabric one of my favorites, but the recipient is one of my favorite people too.  Meet Anne.  She's our youngest daughter, born at the end of August.

The combination of Ruby and our new baby was a match made in heaven, I think.  But I am a little biased.

Anyway, I wanted to keep things simple to show off the amazing fabric and because I was finishing this in my last few weeks of pregnancy.  I literally finished sewing on the binding two nights before she was born.  Enter the lovely hourglass block.  Again, a match made in heaven.

 I kept the quilting simple as well - just straight lines 1/4" on either side of the diagonal seam lines.  Enough to keep it all together, but not so much that it overwhelmed the gorgeous fabric or made it overly stiff.

Who doesn't love a good stripey binding?

 And a simple backing in the pink large floral.  Perfect for a little girl.

 All in all, this quilt makes me so happy.  Hopefully Anne will love it too!

Now go check out all the other lovely quilts over at Bloggers' Quilt Festival and at Amanda Jean's, and thanks for stopping by!

I'm back! (again...)

So, do you remember how I was allegedly going to start posting regularly again?  Clearly, that didn't happen.  I have a really good reason, though, I promise.  While my sewing machine was certainly going throughout the summer, I was also a little busy on the home front.  Here's why :)

Meet Anne, our newest addition to the family.  She's a sweetheart, sleeping and eating happily throughout the day (the evenings are a different story, unfortunately). Her older siblings are quite taken with her, wanting to hold her and help with her all day.  The biggest disagreements they have these days are over whose turn it is to hold her.

In the spring, I set myself a goal to finish five quilts before she arrived.  I'm happy to report that I was able to finish all five and even sew another quilt top before the big day.  Hooray! 

My first finish was for my parents.  They were serving a mission with our church in Bogota Columbia for a year and a half.  They came home early last spring before heading out on another mission this past summer, this time serving in Huancayo, Peru for the next three years.  My sister came up with the idea to make them a quilt, so working with our other siblings, we made them this.

 We decided that since we were working on this long-distance (she lives on the west coast, and we're on the east coast), a layer cake would be the way to go so that we could have a fun, scrappy, yet still coordinated look.  V&Co's Simply Color line was perfect - lots of fun patterns in great colors.

 

We used Amanda Jean's Fair and Square pattern, just sized up to make it a throw quilt.  I'm the oldest of five kids, and each of us and our families are represented by one block - a boat for a brother who sails, a globe for a sister in the State Department who lives abroad, the Union Jack for a brother who served his mission in England, mountains and a tree for a sister who camps a lot, and the beach for our family since we love the beach. 

Each of the eight grandchildren are represented by their handprint. The tiny hot pink, unnamed hands belong to Anne - we hadn't picked out her name yet :)

We also threw in some blocks that meant something to my parents or our family - the flag from our summer beach trips, maps of Peru and Columbia which is where my parents' missions have been, a map of North Carolina which is where we grew up, bikes since my parents love to ride, a watering can and shovel for my mom's love of gardening, and the Oakland temple where my parents were married.  

I had only done machine applique once before, so this quilt certainly stretched my abilities. 

I kept the quilting simple - just a wavy stitch on my machine lengthened out.  I think it turned out pretty well.

The backing was also simple, and definitely in my wheelhouse, with two large panels and a pieced bit in the middle.

A simple binding in the blue ikat finished it off.

My parents loved the quilt, and my mom even cried when she opened up the package.  They appreciated all the time, effort, and love that went into it.  And now they have a little piece of each of us while they're living so far away for the next three years. Quilt #1 on my to-do list - done!

Now go check out the other finishes over at Amanda Jean's!

The Other Side of the Quilt

I'll be honest -  pieced backs are not my favorite aspect of a quilt.  While I love the look, the work involved is sometimes a bit more than I want to deal with right after finishing up the top.  So if it's a baby quilt, I just dial it in and use one piece of fabric.  I have four kids six and under.  Something's got to give.

For a bigger quilt, though, it's time to put on my big-girl sewing pants and piece.  I like for my backs to be simple and somehow reference the front.  So here are some of my personal favorites -

This back is from a quilt I made two years ago for a dear friend who was moving.  I love the two large panels with the vertical piece in the middle, taken directly from the front of the quilt. 

This next quilt was also made two years ago, for another dear friend who moved.  Again, it has two large panels with a pieced bit in the middle.  This time, the hourglasses loosely referenced the triangles from the front.

 

 

 This next back was for a baby quilt (my only pieced back ever for a baby quilt - you can tell it was a very good friend!).  This one was a joint effort with Amy over at amylouwhosews.  Maybe that's why I pieced the back - she quilted and bound this one!

This quilt is one I made last year for my niece.  Again, two large panels (anyone noticing a pattern here?) with some triangles, leftovers from the front.  I kind of really love this quilt, and Kate Spain's amazing Central Park fabric.

 

 This last back comes from a current WIP.  This time, I went with two horizontal panels (mixing it up a bit!) with a pieced strip using leftovers from the front.  I love Ruby by Bonnie and Camille.  I also love this quilt :)

And there you have it - all the pieced backs I've ever done.  All five of them ;)  Maybe one day I'll branch out and try something different for my backs.  Time to go visit Katie over at Swim Bike Quilt for some inspiration!