Quilt finish #2 from 2011

This is the second quilt I ever made and I finished it in early 2011. I made it for my son

I followed this tutorial: http://www.cluckclucksew.com/2009/12/raw-edge-circle-quilt-tutorial.html?m=1

I was clearly a novice and hadn't accumulated a ton of scraps yet, but I actually like this still. It's small--about 30x30, maybe, but it was perfect for a stroller/car seat blanket.

There were a lot of things I tried with this--self binding, mitered corners on the borders in the backing and raw-edge appliqué. I used a double layer of batting to make it puffier and it has held up really well.

We still use this as a car blanket for my son and he definitely knows it's his quilt, made by Mommy :-)

Feeling a little blue

My quilt guild is doing a show at a local gallery. I submitted three quilts, all of which have absorbed a lot of time and energy, and none was chosen.

I knew two of them weren't likely to get picked because they're not really "artistic," just made with meaning to me. The third I thought might fit the aesthetic of the show, but I'm not willing to sell it--it was made for a friend going through a rough time. So since it's a gallery show and the gallery is making money off the sales, I doubt they'd waste space on something not for sale.

Still, I guess I wanted that external validation from the quilting community. My friends, who aren't quilters, say nice things about my creations, and I value that feedback. But getting kudos from those who understand the time and thought poured into what is really just a bunch of cut-up fabric sewed back together again is something else. 

Oh well, maybe next time.

And in the meantime I'll have virtual quilt shows here on this blog.

Another 2013 finish--Helix quilt

I saw this in a quilt magazine over a year ago and thought it was gorgeous! I love orange and decided that aqua would be a great complementary color. Everything was from my stash.

I don't have a design wall, so I generally use the floor or sometimes the sofa.

Once the criss-cross blocks were made, I arranged them on the living room floor.

Then added side panels and quilted with an overall stipple.

I took pictures on a cloudy day, so this next one is filtered but shows the colors a little better.

Close up of quilting:

This was probably one of my best documented quilts. I loved making it and it went to the brand new daughter of a friend from college. 

I might make this pattern again someday but it was time-consuming for me--the points were numerous and while I got them to almost all match, it was definitely not a great pattern for someone like me who is more improvisational (meaning I don't have the patience to press and match points all the time!). Technically, this is one of my best quilts yet, although I can still point out quite a few things I missed or would change if I could do it over again.

linked to http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/2014/01/a-quilt-for-my-brother.html

First 2014 finish--blue gingham baby quilt

When I decided to do the fabric fast, I took a good look at my stash. I have a reusable shopping bag of fabric set aside to destash but I decided to take one more look and found the bright blue duck print. I always thought it was cute but didn't have anything to mix it with.

But the fabric fast got me to take another look! I put it together with a fat quarter of a pale blue nursery print I picked up at JoAnn Fabric during a 99 cent fat quarter sale, a blue baby themed text print and some other light blue scraps. I have seen some cute gingham pattern quilts made with solids and thought it could be cute in baby fabrics. 

This was a really quick project for me. I pieced the quilt top in one morning, and then added borders, basted, quilted and bound today. Quilting (free motion random stippling) took less than 1.5 hours, which is a record for me. 

The backing is a Crate and Barrel outlet find. It's a perfect baby quilt backing that is a yellow to blue ombré.

It will go to a friend who is having a little boy this spring. 

It's not the best quilt I've ever made, and I don't think it turned out quite how I hoped it would, but it's cute, warm and snuggly, and celebrates a new little baby with love.

Linked to http://www.confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.com/2014/01/can-i-get-whoop-whoop-ministry-quilts.html and 

Work in progress #4

This is my work in progress #4.

When Patty Sloniger's Backyard Baby line came out, I was enchanted. The soft colors are beautiful, the patterns are incredibly detailed and it was just perfect for little boys (and I have a little boy). 

I bought a bunch of half yards and then looked for a good pattern. 

I pinned this one and got started cutting half-hexies, which I guess are rhombuses (rhombi?).

I can tell you, I'm not a fan of piecing triangles/diagonal lines, but I did it. After my initial layout on the floor of our family room, I decided it needed a few more hexies and a splash of orange, which should maybe be a theme of my quilting. So I added a few of the orange snake print to break up the muted colors.

The top has now been done for well over a year. I found a great length of blue and gray striped seersucker for the backing that coordinates perfectly but I've been avoiding making a batting and quilting decision. 

The fabric seems very summery to me, as does the backing, so I want this to be a lightweight blanket. I'm contemplating just using a white flannel as batting for a flat, light cover or looking for a lightweight batting with a little more loft. 

Then there's the quilting decision. Obviously seersucker already has a texture so I think a stipple might be too much. So maybe I'll just stitch in the ditch. Or something else?  Any suggestions? 

Work in Progress #3

Here is #3 in my series of works in progress. 

This is a red, pink and aqua pinwheel quilt that was inspired by one I saw here.

I put this together almost two years ago, and have struggled with the backing.

I bought a aqua/turquoise fabric from the Crate and Barrel outlet (where I find a lot of my backing fabrics), and I even pieced most of it with some cute wonky log cabin blocks, but I couldn't figure out how I wanted it to look and put it aside. And whenever I've pulled it out again, I like the backing fabric less and less.

I really need to just finish it and am debating buying something new (for backing, so I won't violate the fabric fast!), or just using the old backing. I am fairly certain the recipient won't mind either way, but I want it to look the way it looks in my head, you know?

Quilter problems!

Linked to Work in Progress Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.

Stash report, Week 2

I didn't get any sewing time this week and I had to use up a living social deal to a local fabric store. I brought home 4.5-5 yards of fabric, including 3 yards of Dear Stella's Piper collection, and a couple of cute baby prints. My intention was to buy backing fabrics and solids but they had a pretty awful selection.  I paid $6 out of pocket and $25 for the living social deal, so I feel like it was a good deal, at least. 

Used this Week: 0 yards
Used year to Date: 2 yards
Added this Week: 4.5 yards
Added Year to Date: 4.5 yards
Net Used for 2014: -2.5 yards

To see other stash reports, go to Patchwork Times.