Happy Belated Valentine's Day!

Hey there!  Happy belated Valentine's Day everyone!  I'm celebrating all month with red and pink decorations on the brain. 

Good news - I have a new Moda Bake Shop tutorial posted today called Snuggly Hugs and Kisses!  Go check it out and tell me what you think.  What fabrics would you use?  I think pink Liberty of London fabrics will be my next version.  Or maybe all solids.  Or maybe ombre fabric?  The possibilities are endless! 

PS this is my 3rd finish of 2015!  I'm starting this year out on a roll...

Choose Your Own Adventure Quilt Pattern Available at Moda Bake Shop

Hi everyone!  I've been working hard baking up a delightful new quilt pattern for you at the Moda Bake Shop.  My Choose Your Own Adventure string quilt uses two Modern Neutrals jelly rolls by Amy Ellis for the front of the quilt, with leftovers to make a fun modern quilt back too.  What are you waiting for?  Go check it out!

Did you know I'm a chef?

A Moda Bake Shop Chef to be exact!  Go check out my tutorial for quick Honeycomb Wine Coasters at the MBS today.  I'm always so tempted with those cute Honeycombs and was stumped with what to make with them.  So I made something up myself and I do say, they turned out nicely.  Have a look!

Quilt Showcase: Flights of Nature Quilt

I finished this lovely quilt January 21, 2013.  The pattern is Flights of Nature by Charlie Scott of Qubee Quilts from the Moda Bake Shop and the free PDF can be found here.  

I love the blues, aquas, and teals in this line of fabric Cherish Nature by Deb Strain.  This was one of the first layer cakes I bought for myself back when I started quilting.  It definitely waited a long time to be turned into something!  Now it's residing on the quilt ladder my dad made for my birthday last year.  

Back, you can kind of see the quilting

Quilt Stats
Pattern: Flights of Nature, 43"x51"
Fabric:  Cherish Nature by Deb Strain for Moda
Quilting:  Baptist Fan, see Elizabeth's tutorial 
Finished 1/21/13

How about a recap?

I realized that I never got around to showing off my finished first Triple Irish Chain quilt - how silly of me!  I used the Moda Bake Shop pattern featuring a Snippets Honey Bun and Kona white.  This pattern really struck me because of the flowers in the centers of the chains.  Aren't they gorgeous?

I machine stippled this quilt and used DS Quilts Fairgrounds prints for the backing and binding.  My grandmother was the lucky recipient of this quilt at Christmas last year.  I made a matching pillow cover to go along with it.  

Flights of Nature WIP

This WIP has been sitting on the shelf for a very long time.  Since I finished up the Triple Irish Chain the other day, I was itching for a new project.  I decided it would be better to work on this one than to start something else totally new.  Besides, it seemed like a new project since all I'd done before was trim the layer cake down and sew the rectangles together.  The fabric is a Cherish Nature by Deb Strain Layer Cake and the pattern is Flights of Nature quilt from MBS.  Unfortunately, when I went back to the MBS to link to the pattern, I'm unable to find it online anymore :(  If you'd like a copy, I have it printed out and can send you one if you send me a message.  

Update: I found the PDF online with a Google search - here it is!

http://www.unitednotions.com/MBS-flights-of-nature.pdf

I'm currently selling a great used Bernina Record 830 sewing machine on eBay.  It ends Sunday, so if you need a sewing machine, please check out my auction!

A 2012 Finish!

I finished my second MBS Triple Irish Chain quilt tonight!  For this one, I used the leftover Snippets honey bun strips from the first quilt I gave to my grandma, and added some DS Quilts from JoAnn along with the Katie Jump Rope orange hankie print for the flower centers.  I wish it were more colorful like the first quilt, but maybe it'll grow on me.  The backing is a DS Quilts pattern and the binding is Flea Market Fancy grey seeds reprint.  I wasn't sure if I'd ever really cut into it or just stare at it on my shelf :)  My boyfriend thought it would look good as the binding and I listened (for once ;P ).  

Charity Quilt Top for DMQG

I finished up a quilt top for the DMQG this evening.  We were given baggies of fabric - mine had almost a full layer cake in it - and told to do whatever we wanted.  I immediately thought of the perfect project for my lovely mix of Modern Workshop and Oasis.  The It's a Hoot Baby Quilt by Amy Ellis went together so quickly and used a minimum of extra fabric beyond the precuts - perfect for charity quilts!  

A little bit of basting...

Pin basting my second Moda Bake Shop Triple Irish Chain quilt.  I used my left over Snippets honey bun pieces and added some Katie Jump Rope and other DS Quilts prints.  The backing is also DS Quilts.  I'm thinking of binding in Flea Market Fancy grey seeds :)

Wow I've been busy sewing this week!

I've made progress on the Christmas stocking - it's quilted and sewn together!  Now all I need to do is add the cuff and hanger.  Sweet deal!  I'm considering making these for a lot of other people since they were so easy.  

Next, since my scrap bin was overflowing, I decided to sort them into piles by color and make scrappy log cabin blocks.  Here's the first one I attempted in yellow.  I am very pleased with the way it turned out!

I've been collecting selvedges for awhile now too and made a string quilt with them.  It turned out nicely also.  I must have confused selvedge and string quilts though, because some of the strips turned out to be 1/4" wide since I cut them so skimpy to begin with, then sewed on both edges of the strip.  I may change my sewing pattern on the next one.

Lastly, here's a few more blocks finished in my second version of the triple Irish chain.  At first I wasn't crazy about how neutral it was appearing, but now that I have a few more blocks finished, I am much happier with the results.

Happy sewing!

My current list of projects:

Finished!

Bliss Sampler

Completed tops needing backings & quilting:

Verna Friendship Braid
Simply Squares Vintage sheets 

Central Park Charming Stars

Hunky Dory Bubblegum

Vintage Sheets Mod Sampler

Tops in pieces:

Scrappy Triple Irish Chain

Sew Cherry Snapdragon Quilt

Cherish Nature Circle in Squares 

Vintage Sheets New Wave 

New projects this week: 2

Finished projects this week: 1  

Fall 2011 Bloggers' Quilt Festival

Presenting my entry in the Fall 2011 Bloggers' Quilt Festival from amyscreativeside.com!  I've chosen to submit my Central Park Moda Bake Shop Ritzy Cracker Quilt because it is so bright and cheerful, not to mention it was a breeze to whip up.  I quilted this using all straight line quilting, which was a new area for me.  Previously, I'd only free motion meandered because I'm a type A++ and if a line isn't ruler-straight, I want to rip it out and start over!  For this one however, I let myself relax and I think it turned out great.  It is perfect for the chillier nights we've been having lately.

Another Scrappier Triple Irish Chain

I had some leftover strips from my first Triple Irish Chain quilt and, being a quilter, didn't want them to go to waste.  I cut more strips from DS quilts fabric and other 30s prints I had to combine them all for another Triple Irish Chain quilt.  Here's a look-see at the result.  My conclusion: I don't dig it.  There's not enough color for me and too many polka dots (never thought I'd say that!).  I'm going to finish it of course, so hopefully it will grow on me as it gets bigger.  What do you think?

I've also decided to make a pillow to match the first Triple Irish Chain.  It's coming along nicely :)

My current list of projects:

Being Quilted:

Cowboy quilt for Lincoln

Bliss Sampler

Completed tops needing backings & quilting:

Verna Friendship Braid
Simply Squares Vintage sheets 

DS Quilts Zig Zag

Central Park Charming Stars

Hunky Dory Bubblegum

Vintage Sheets Mod Sampler

Tops in pieces:

Sew Cherry Snapdragon Quilt

Cherish Nature Circle in Squares
Hunky Dory Pandora's Box 

Vintage Sheets New Wave 

New projects this week: 0

Finished projects this week: 0  

Central Park Quilt Finish

I've been a slacker lately.  And not just since I sliced part of my finger off.  I'm doing much better, thanks!  It started before that incident.  Here is my lately finished Central Park Ritzy Cracker quilt, finished and fabulous!  


Moda Bake Shop Ritzy Cracker pattern
Moda Central Park by Kate Spain fabric


I decided to try some shadow quilting in the background spaces and absolutely love how it turned out.  To stabilize the printed area, I quilted a square in the middle.  The back is pieced.  It's really my favorite at the moment.