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!

Sew & Tell Friday

Like Amy, I've caught the skirt bug.  It's a fun bug to catch :)

I'm going on a pioneer trek later this month with the youth from our church.  Since ankle-length skirts suitable for walking around in ninety-degree weather while pushing a handcart are a little hard to find at Target these days, I got to sew.  I used this large paisley print from Sandi Henderson's Secret Garden line.  I figured I might as well use lovely fabric, especially when you find it half off.  And blue and yellow together make me happy these days. 

This skirt was a fairly simple one to sew up, even for someone who last made a skirt in middle skirt.  This may be my second zipper ever, which would explain why there are no close-up shots of the zipper, facing, or any other fiddly parts.  Thankfully, none of said fiddly parts are in any shape noticeable to the casual observer.  Whew.  And when I get home from the trek, I'm planning on chopping off the bottom twelve inches and having a fun just-below-knee-length skirt for the summer.  Hooray!

Next up is one of Amy's semi-famous tiered skirts using this fabric.  I'm excited.

Go check out all the other finishes this week!

Bloggers' Quilt Festival, Spring 2012

Double hooray!  One for Bloggers' Quilt Festival and one for *finally* finishing this quilt!

This quilt has been a WIP for a very, very long time (at least for me).  You can read more about its history here.  The short story is that it's for my niece, whose favorite color is purple.  Purple is not the easiest fabric to find in the quilting world, but Kate Spain's Central Park (one of my all-time favorite fabric lines) is amazing.  Seriously gorgeous. 

The pattern is from Cara at Me? a Mom?'s Urban Lattice Quilt-along.  I used Kona White and Medium Gray.  I adapted the pattern slightly, choosing to focus more on Kate Spain's stunning fabrics.  I followed Lee at Freshly Pieced's modifications.  While I do love math, it's nice when someone else does it for you.  I think it came out pretty well.

The back is two simple panels of fabric with triangles between, referencing all the triangles on the front.  My favorite pieced backs are simple and have something to do with the front.  Check and check.

The quilting is minimal, with echo quilting around the diamonds and lattices and alternating horizontal and vertical lines.  It shows particularly well on the back.

The binding is another simple one, using the blue cobblestone from Central Park. 

When I talked to my sister about the quilts, she mentioned that she'd be sewing buttonholes right into the quilts to enable her to attach sheets and use them as duvets in the winter.  I (inwardly) about died and then suggested that I'd try to figure out something a little more elegant (and not so painful!).

On the back of the quilt, you'll notice a gray strip that runs around the outside.  That sneaky gray strip has the buttonholes that allow the quilt to double as a duvet.

Needless to say, I'm pretty excited about finishing the quilt and with how well it turned out.  I hope my niece loves it too!

Thanks for stopping by, and go enjoy the rest of the quilts in the Bloggers' Quilt Festival!