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!

Hello again!

I'm sorry to be less than regular in my blogging of late.  No worries - my sewing machine has been humming along at an impressive (for me) clip for the past few months.  But, if you might recall, last spring I finished a quilt for my niece.  It still makes me happy.  Well, there is supposed to be a matching quilt for my other niece, and in between some machine difficulties and general lack of enthusiasm for tackling what I now know from experience will be a long and tedious process, that quilt got put at the bottom of my sewing to-do list.  For an embarrassingly long time. 

So every project I've worked on since finishing that first quilt last year has felt like I've been two-timing that second quilt.  And since somehow not blogging about the other projects means that the second quilt won't find out about them, not blogging has made me feel better about my cheating.  Crazy, right?  Significant progress has finally been made on the second quilt of late, though, so I feel like I can come out of my sewing closet about my other recent finishes. 

Enough writing.  It's time for some pretty pictures, right?  So my friend AmyLouWho and I have been busy sewing up a storm for some of the many babies that have been popping up around here.  And can I just say, I love collaborative efforts?!?  They are awesome. 

This one was for a friend who was expecting her second, a little boy.  I've had a *major* crush on Nicey Jane since it first came out, and I *might* have stashed/hoarded a small mountain of it.  Seriously.  I finally overcame my fears, though, and made that first cut.  It was so hard!

I used Oh, Fransson's Charm square baby quilt pattern for this one, with a few modifications.  My favorite baby quilt size is 40" x 48", so I increased the square size to 6" unfinished.  The horizontal sashing also grew to 2.5" finished, with the top and bottom coming in at 5" finished. 

Amy did the quilting on this one - some happy loops/figure eights running horizontally.  Great work, Amy!

While I like the look of a pieced back, on a baby quilt, it's just too much work for me.  So a happy panel of the bubbles did the trick.

 With some lovely striped binding to finish it off.

While cutting into Nicey Jane may have initially been painful (and I may have taken advantage of some sales to restock/add to my mountain), in the end, it was worth it.  Seven months after finishing it, this quilt still makes me smile. 

And since Amy and I finished four more quilts in January and February alone, in addition to the one we're currently working on and some solo projects I've had, I've got enough happy quilts to keep this little blog going for awhile now!  Hopefully :)

Joseph's quilt

My younger sister (not so) recently had a son, which meant it was time to make him a quilt.  I love baby quilts - their size makes them quick finishes.

I mostly used the tutorial from Elizabeth at Don't Call Me Betsy's Sliced Coin quilt along.  I modified it somewhat to make it baby quilt sized.

I've loved these whales since I first saw them, and when I finally saw them in person, it was over.  They came home with me just for this quilt.  I also included the Half Moon Modern polka dots, the cross-hatch from Echo, and stripes and argyle from Remix to go along with the whales.  I think it makes a cheerful combination.

Those awesome whales came back for the backing.

The stripes made a fabulous binding.

I kept the quilting simple, just some double echo quilting around the columns, with double lines in the middle of the columns and evenly spaced down the length.  One of these days I'll venture into the world of free-motion quilting, but not quite yet.

My little helper :)

Anyway, I love how cheerful the quilt is, and I hope its new little owner loves it too!

Details -
Size - 40" x 49"
Quilted by me
Baby quilt

Thanks for stopping by!  Now enjoy all the other amazing quilts!

Just Three for June and July

Whew - June was a busy month around here!  I'm pretty thrilled, though, that I was able to get some things done.  Nothing big, mind you, but still my sewing machine was certainly not neglected this month.

June

#1 - Make another skirt - Done!  See here for the rest of the story.  And, I've already lopped off the bottom, awkward tier and worn it out and about for date night with my husband.  Double done :)

#2 - Make and apron - Done!  I don't have any photographic evidence, but it was finished and worn for its intended purpose.

#3 - Work on something else - Done!  I started a snowball quilt For. Myself. using Kate Spain's first line, Verna.  Here's what I've accomplished so far.  When I bought the fabric two years ago, I loved it.  Now, I wish I had waited for Bonnie and Camille's Ruby line to come out (my current favorite fabric crush), but the fabric is still nice, and it's paid for while Ruby is currently still in the store.  Oh, well.  Maybe it's time to swap some of my Neptune???

July

#1 - Make a skirt for my daughter.  She's been dying for me to make her a skirt since I made mine, so it's time to get that done.  As an added bonus, she's only three and she's skinny, so it should be a quick finish.  Much less gathering than mine.

#2 - Work on something else - I could continue working on my quilt or start my husband's quilt.  Who knows.  But something fun.

#3 - Having fun - I'm taking my cue from Tracey here.  We're heading out of town later this month, and none of the kids are in school right now.  So, to be realistic, I don't have a lot of quiet sewing time for the next little while.  But, we've been blueberry picking, had a fun 4th, and the beach is calling us.  There will be plenty of time for sewing in the fall.

This past month was productive - I was three-for-three!  Here's hoping this month proves as productive!

Another skirt

Another week, another completed skirt.  It feels good to get something off my to-do list, particularly since I'm wearing this one next Wednesday.  Nothing like a good deadline to get me motivated :)

 I used this lovely fabric, from Anna Griffin's Honoka collection.  I hadn't seen it anywhere previously, but my LQS had it, and it seemed a great fit.

I used Amy's semi-famous tiered skirt pattern, modifying it by only making four of the pattern's five tiers and eliminating one of the fourth tier's five panels to keep the volume and weight down.  I am walking/pushing a handcart for twelve miles in this skirt, after all.  In hindsight, I should have used all five panels - there wasn't enough of a difference between the bottom two tiers, so there was almost nothing to gather.  But at least it will be a little less full and heavy, right?  Plus, when I get home, it's losing that bottom tier anyway, and I need to wear it in five days, so I'm just leaving it as is. 

Hooray for finishing something else up, and now on to making my apron for the same trek.  I'll be relieved when all my trek sewing is done, and I can get back to my comfort zone - quilts.  Even if it is the next Central Park Urban Lattice quilt.

Now, go check out all the other finishes at Sew & Tell Friday!

Just Three for May and June

In some ways, May didn't feel like a terribly productive month.  But looking back, I got more done that I thought.  Hooray!

May -

#1 - The Central Park Urban Lattice quilt - it's done!  The quilt part, at least.  The duvet aspect still needs a tiny bit of work, but I'm still thrilled that it's almost done.  You can read more about it here.  It's sitting on my dresser now, needing to go through the wash, and it still makes me happy looking at it.

#2 - Continue working on the second Central Park Urban Lattice quilt - that's a no.  I didn't even touch it.  I think I was still going through a bit of a quilt hangover from the first one.  While that quilt is lovely, an overwhelming amount of time went into it, and I'm having a hard time getting excited to do it all. over. again.  Maybe in July I'll start again.

#3 - Finish Joshua's quilt - it's done!  You can read more about it here.  He's been sleeping with the quilt every night and nap since I finished it.  Seeing your quilts in action is one of the better feeling as a quilter.  And that it's your cute-as-a-button little one makes it that much sweeter.

#4 - Make a skirt - it's done too!  You can read more about it here.  This Secret Garden fabric worked out so nicely, and as a bonus, the skirt even fits.  And I successfully put in my second zipper ever.  Whew.

#5 – And in a crazy, unprecedented bout of productivity, I actually snuck in a bonus project.  I know – I was floored too. A friend is having a baby shortly, and three of us got together and made her a baby quilt.  I pieced the top, Amy basted and quilted, and Teri bound.  I love dividing and conquering.  And this makes up for the complete fail on #2, right?

Whew!

And on to June -

#1 - Make another skirt - I have the pattern, fabric, and if everyone can stay healthy, I have a sewing date with Amy for tomorrow night to get started.  It's one of her semi-famous tiered skirt.  I'm very excited.

#2 - Make an apron - For the same pioneer trek for which I'm making/made the skirts, I need an apron.  Boring, but necessary.  Blah.  I'm thinking Kona Medium Gray with the fabric from the skirts for the pockets?  We'll see how motivated I get.

#3 - Work on something else.  It could be the snowball Verna quilt I just started for myself, a quilt for my husband, or the second Central Park Urban Lattice Quilt.  I'll be happy with progress on any of the above.

There it is - my month in review, and my goals for this month.  It seems I use my sewing machine more than I think.  And that's awesome.  

So what about you?  What are your plans for June?  And go check out all the other completions for this month!