{umbrella prints}

i'm pretty excited about this quilt. i've had a package of umbrella trimmings for two years with the intention of making a quilt to enter into the contest. this year i pushed myself to complete it.

lately, i've found myself quilting based off of a lot of patterns, and while i have enjoyed what i'm making, i've felt rather bound. the arrival of daintytime's book into my library and the endless inspiration and creative options in it pushed me to pick up the trimmings pack and set to work. this quilt was inspired by this textile and without a ruler. how freeing to just cut fabric and sew!

i started with a basic block of the triangles, with that as my only 'parameter'. seeing a pile of traingle-ish scraps, i decided the next 'parameter' would be to use all of the umbrella prints scraps, down to teeny tiny bits. the quilt was intentionally left not square.

this quilt was a great intro into the options this book inspires. i'm excited to work on the next project!

quilt stats

size: 55"x45"

fabrics: solids and umbrella trimming package

pieced and quilted by me

{hello}

{hello} little lonely space of internet. i didn't mean to be gone for so long, but sometimes that just happens. i have a few quilts i finished in february for the STLMQG's WOW {war on wips} that i am just LOVING and am so glad to have finished.

this is my FWQAL {farmer's wife quilt along quilt} i started at the beginning of 2012 with a group of other online folks who wanted to tackle this pattern. this project was a growth builder for me in the piecing of these small blocks, both in accuracy and fabric choices. i've read other patchwork ladies talk about how they chose fabric they like for the individual blocks when they worked on them, but not necessarily coordinating between all blocks, somehow still ending up with a quilt you love. through the questioning of myself and my fabric choices as i worked on this {over YEARS} and having those choices change, i am completly in love with the final product. it makes me want to do another even scrappier quilt.

the other appealing thing for me on a project like this is the speed in which one can make a 6" block or two. a block here and there add up until you have a quilts worth.

i also really wanted to finish this whole quilt myself. the spiral quilting i thought would soften the block edges and was a technique i really wanted to try. i'm really pleased with the results.

i'm also linking up with the Blogger's Quilt Festival. 

quilt stats

pattern: Farmer's Wife Quilt

size: 90"x99"

piecing, quilting: me

fabrics: AMH fabrics, DS fabrics, and others

{year end}

whereas blogging has not been a strong suit this year, the same hasn't been true of my sewing. i'm wanting to do a quick post with some quilts i have finished in time for the end of the year and stlmqg's wow {war on wips}. i may add some more details to these later, but for now, pictures and a short recap are good for me {yay for finishes!! and a lengthy post!}.

 quilt pattern: spell it with moda {free}

size: 60"x60"

fabrics: all different

pieced and quilted by me {a free motion practice and success!}

 pattern: modern alphabet by Tula pink

size: 66"x78"

fabrics: random

pieced and straight line quilted by me

 pattern: scrappy trip around the world {free tutorial}

size: {there are actually two made, only one pictured} 48"x48"

fabric: dream on by urban chicks

pieced and quilted by me {the second is another loopy free motion practice and success!}

wip since may 2012

 quilt pattern: summer sampler series {free}

size: 52"x52"

fabrics: kona solids

pieced and quilted by me

wip since may 2011 {i had made two others to give. this one was for me}

 quilt pattern: interlocking stars, later called sparkle punch by E.H.;
guidance for the tree skirt from Cindy's book

size: 44"

fabrics: red and green and yellow

pieced and {star free motion!! yay!} quilted by me

wip since feb 2012

 my masterpiece {i kid, kind of}

pattern: x plus 12"block

size: 96"x96"

fabrics: all of the lovely AMH hoarded stash

pieced and quilted by me

wip since feb 2013

excited for a productive year and to have crossed off some of my resolutions from last year off my list.
cheers to a new year!

{H.P.}

another sweet baby to be celebrated, whose parents are HUGE harry potter fans. they made the decisions for this quilt easy.

it started with a few screen printed blocks from amanda at the craft junky. she was delightful to work with.

searching online for free paper pieced harry potter blocks led me to this site, rounding me out with the crest, wands, and the deathly hallows symbol.

improv-ing {yes, a word} my way along, with some solid advice from friends, i added some color with the low volume background. this quilt, then, is my first official dive into the 'low volume' aesthetic. it's also my first REAL attempt at free motion quilting, and while it's not perfect by any means, i feel confident about gifting it away to this special babe.

{you can see his mom's post about it here}

quilt stats

size: 43"x43"

pieced & quilted by me

{pink+gray}

with a load of boys running amok in this house, it's rare that i get to sew with pink. it's probably the smallest color represented in the hoarde stash. when some dear friends of ours had a sweet girl, i couldn't resist.

i've been wanting to try out this pattern since i saw it years ago. the search for pink in the stash and grays from the scrap bucket were complimented by the ease with which i found this pattern to be followed.

this quilt is the first i've used quilter's dream batting for, and it will certainly not be the last. it truly is a dream, and the drape!...seriously worth the extra money.

quilt stats

size: 45"x45"

pattern: lemon squares by fresh lemons

pieced & quilted by me

{challenge} quilt

i really should know better than to rely on my memory to keep an accurate account of {well, anything, really} how inspiration moves. i know it started by looking at the spindl-y fabric, to circles-radius'-stars, to dissecting above items, to this randomly finished project.

the thing i love about this project is that i really had no idea where i was going with it. it morphed at each stage. it's not my favorite quilt at all, but i am glad to have finished it and to have tried something new and pretty outside my normal asthetic. the curves are free-handedly cut and sewn back together. 

i wanted to play with the negative space, but didn't feel like curvy-line-quilting would have done it justice. i went with 1/4" straight line quilting instead. i like it, but feel like maybe a different kind of quilting could have stepped it up a notch. not to mention learning that unless it's a small quilt, there may never be 1/4" quilting in my future again {takes for.e.ver.}.

i'm glad to be joining my fellow guild members in the michael miller fabric challenge open wide to the modern quilting guild.

quilt stats

size: 40"x42"

fabrics: michael miller fabric from STLMQG, solids

pieced & quilted by me

{diving in}

at the beginning of the year, the continued {resolution} was to USE the STASH! i decided to cut into the good stuff, tired of only looking at it on a shelf. in one sitting, i cut into my Anna Maria Horner stash for two small projects and a quilt {that is still in process}. here are the two smaller projects, and i couldn't be more pleased!
the first is a mini color wheel inspired by alex and purl soho's. purl soho offered a {free pattern} that i cut from single pieces of 16 fabrics. Finished it measures about 20.5". fabrics are AMH's dowry and true colors and architextures.

the second is the sew together bag from sew demented.

this one was a little tricky to put together, but well worth the effort. picking out the gorgeous fabric was definitely the fun part!

i love having these projects in rotation of daily life. it makes life much more colorful!

{lou}bee quilt

my last quilt done from 2013. this is our {lou}bee quilt from 2012/13, where we each picked/designed a block to put in a sewing themed quilt. you can read some of my posts about this quilt in process here and here.

it was a bit of a puzzle to figure out how to lay it out. i paper pieced 8 {bee}blocks, the free pattern from badskirt, one per {bee}member. the rest was a use of the fabric i had leftover and a few pieces of specific sewing-themed fabric i had.

i decided to quilt it using straight lines in hopes that {besides, of course, it being my favorite} it would be a unifying but not destracting element to the quilt. i think it worked.

the back was pieced with leftovers and a timeless treasures retro sewing machine fabric i about died over for this quilt. this is such a special quilt to remind me of the sweet community of sewing ladies i've the pleasure of knowing.

quilt stats
size: 65"x65"
fabrics: see previous post
pieced and quilted by me

{baby} quilts

i'm catching this space up with a few more quilts from the end of 2013. here are 3 baby quilts i made this fall.
the first is the pattern busy city by teaginny. i have been adoring this pattern since i first found her quilt. i was ecstatic to be the winner of the pattern and would recommend it to anyone. it's a fabulous pattern, with all of the paper pieced vehicles on cd. i'm happy to call this quilt a scrap quilt {even the background}. this was a lot of fun to make and i'm sure there will be more little trucks in my future.

the quilting is a mimic of the plaid print that is on the back.

pattern: busy city 

size: 36"x36"

pieced quilted by me

fabrics: random kona solid scraps

the next 2 are the same block. it's the modern maple block that has been all over the internet. i thought i'd try it on a small scale first. i ended up with enough blocks for two quilts.

size: 36"x36"

fabric: julianna horner, rosette, for Joanns

pattern: modern maples

pieced & quilted by me

owls in the stars

i'm here, though i can't believe it been almost THREE months since my last post. i have not meant to be so quiet. when the choice is to sew or blog, sewing usually wins out....and i'm *pretty* sure i'm amongst friends on that one.

it doesn't help when there has been secret sewing going on. i'm excited to finally get to share a little quilt i made for my nephew, who will be making me an aunt the beginning of novemeber.

this quilt was part of a couple of projects we did with the STLMQG. the first is a workshop we were lucky enough to participate in with Jacquie Gering. what a blast!! this lady was real and genuine and i so loved hearing her stories about how and why she creates the way she does. it was a morning well spent! i had other ideas for my 'crazy piecing', but in the end the crazy was getting a little TOO crazy. i used it as the 'grass' part of my quilt.

the other challenge we did was the 'ohio star' challenge. basically we had to make a quilt using the traditional block in a more modern way. my sister has a loose owl theme going for my nephew's room. stars+owls seem to make the perfect quilt to me.

this was the first time i did a more patchwork background on a quilt. i was pretty nervous about how it would turn out. keeping the blocks in a light-dark progression and the stars in the consistant white gave some structure to the improv. i LOVE how it turned out!

i finished the back with some leftover blocks and blues i had on hand. the quilting is wavy line quilting with my walking foot and Starry Night inspired swirls around the stars.
i am so pleased to be able to give this to my sis and her little one. it's one of the main reasons i love this craft in the first place.

quilt stats

size: 45"x60"

fabric: assorted scraps

quilting: wavy line by me

{drunk}love

it's done!!! i couldn't be more excited about this quilt being done. this quilt was begun in 2011 as part of my round of our {lou}bee quilt group.

    

quilt stats

pattern: inspired by DS Drunk love quilt

fabrics: details here

size: 90"x90"

pieced by: {lou}bee girls and me

quilted by me: straight lines 2.5" apart

{flying geese}

one of my girlfriends who received this quilt is having a little boy in august. her colors are mint, grey and yellow. i have LOVED this quilt and have also been wanting to have a go at flying geese {like these quilts} {on a small scale before i plan a huge quilt full of them}. combining inspiration and with great use of my design wall {which i finished for this project} here is the finished quilt.

i used this tutorial for the no-waste-method while making my geese. they finished 3"x6".

i decided to quilt wavy lines. i love the textures against all of the sharp points.

this babe's mom is obesessed with all things paris. i found a fabric by Kokka i thought was perfect.

i'm excited to meet this new little guy!

quilt details

size: 51"x48"

fabric: DS for Joanns, Kona aloe, gray linen, Kokka paris at night in black

pieced and quilted by me

{finally!}

this quilt is {almost} embarassing to share, having been a work in progress for over 2 years!! oh my.

this is a modern take on the i-spy quilt for my oldest son, who is NOW 4. this quilt started when his favorite color was green {i've been informed it's now red}. this was my first foray into collecting novelty prints for little boys. i had no idea how many prints i would need. apparently, not as many as i have now collected.

this quilt was completely inspired by a quilt Carolina Patchworks did for her son. i loved the simplicity of the pattern and the chance to let the fabrics stand by themselves. what i didn't take into account was all of the different size squares/rectangles and the time for cutting. even done in sections, the quilt took a while to piece.

the next decision with this quilt was figuring out how i wanted to quilt it. i'm not a free motion quilter, but i loved the thought of curved quilting with all of the straight lines already going on here. after it sitting for a YEAR i decided it just needed to be done. i found this tutorial on wavy quilting and jumped in. it's silly, now, to think that it took me so long to get this done. i love the quilting, LOVED doing it and am so glad to have this quilt for my boy.

you can see the quilting on the back. i had thought to go even a bit more dense, but ran out of green thread.

all in all this quilt was a stretch in growth for me in so many areas. i'm glad to have it done and be enjoyed by little munchkins.

quilt stats

size: 64"x84"

pattern: idea from carolina patchworks modern rose garden

fabrics: lots of boy novelty, kona grass green, alexander henry