My first finished quilt of 2011!

Wow, what a sense of accomplishment!  I've finished my first quilt of the year and January isn't over yet!  

I modified the Moda Bake Shop Ruffle Quilt to make a larger quilt for baby or cuddling.  I used a Moda Fandango scrap bag that I purchase for a steal on eBay a few months ago.  The ruffles and backing are coordinating prints from my local fabric store.  I bought a ruffler foot from JoAnn to make the ruffles but it didn't fit on my silly Bernina.  Doh!  Back it goes!

The quilting is a meandering pattern.  I made a pieced binding from the leftover scraps.  I'm super pleased with the way this quilt turned out!  I had planned on selling it, but now I may have second thoughts :D

Christmas Gifts!

I promised I'd post pics of the Christmas gifts I made and am finally getting around to it.  I felt like a busy little worker bee churning out all this quilted/sewn goodness! 


For my muse in the Shire: the curling iron/flat iron cover that I made for my tutorial.  She loved the flowers and said it fits perfectly.  

For my mom and my cat sitter: a patchwork plastic bag dispenser using The Pink Penguin's tutorial in the spring Stitch magazine.  Everyone who sees these falls in love!  I used scraps that I bought from the LQS and they all coordinated beautifully.  Both dear ones have red kitchens - sigh of relief!

love the bird!

For my grandma: a set of quilted patchwork placemats also from The Pink Penguin's online tutorial.  I used scraps from above projects, some leftover linen for the front, and a toile remnant on the back.  I wasn't able to give them to her personally at Christmas, but she called me after she opened it, sounded like she was going to cry, and kept telling me they were too pretty to use.  

For my brother: a Super Mario 1-Up mushroom pillow!  I was super excited to make this for my brother, who loves video games.  I saw one that someone else made on Flickr, and just had to make my own.  I don't consider myself a creator or innovator, but rather a stealer & modifier of other people's ideas.  

I couldn't think of anything for my dad, so I baked him his favorite peanut butter cookies.  I'm baking & sending him cookies every month or two for the next year.  He's very excited!

Work in Progress Wednesday

Currently I have 4, count em, 4 quilt tops just sitting around, waiting to be smooshed together to make a quilt sandwich.  This is a problem, and I'm not allowed to buy any more fabric until I finish one!  That's torture because I have a fabric wish list a mile long...


Last night I had just finished meander-quilting my smallest quilt top and was getting ready to bind it when I flipped it over and saw a fold in the backing that had been stitched down.  Gasp!!  I've realized quilting and my type A+ personality don't always mesh well (that's why I gave up garment sewing completely).  I had to set it aside because I didn't know how to fix it.  This morning, I was staring at it while eating breakfast and decided to get the seam ripper out.  I picked out the offending stitches and will probably try to stitch it in an unobtrusive way.  Lesson learned?  Don't lay out the quilt sandwich on carpet to pin baste.  

pre-quilting

threw one in of Carlton, just for fun :D

Viewer Poll

Recently I purchased a Moda Soiree jelly roll.  I'm trying to decide what to do with it.  Call me selfish, but by the time I finish a quilt or project, I've put so much of myself time and money-wise into it, that I just want to keep it for myself!  Plus they're beautiful and I want to keep it around to have something nice to look at.

http://www.everythingquilts.com/moda-soiree-fabric-jelly-roll.aspx

Anyways, if you have any suggestions for this jelly roll's fate, let me know!  I'm thinking something from the Two from One Jelly Roll Quilts book by Pam Lintott.  I just love her patterns!  


On a side note, I find it funny that when I called my dad last night he asks, "What sewing projects are you working on right now?"  He knows that's practically all I do outside of work these days!  Yeesh I need a boyfriend :D

Delayed Work in Progress

I finished this quilt top a couple nights ago.  It's a Friendship Braid from Jelly Roll Quilts by Pam & Nikki Lintott.  The fabric is Moda Verna by Kate Spain, which I bought for a ridiculously low price in the form of scrap bags on ebay.  I used most of 2 bags for this project.  I need to add a border and then it'll be ready to quilt.  I'm not sure what backing I'll use.  Any suggestions?

Sorry for the odd pic, I'm short & don't have a design wall :(

Work in Progress Wednesday

It is Wednesday, isn't it?  My week is flying by!


Last night I decided to work on the Cathedral Window blocks I've had sitting on my sewing table for eons. I had a few squares of the background put together and now that I have a nice variety of pretty scraps, I thought it was time to work on it.  So far I've sewn all the seams on the sewing machine and not by hand (shame on me!) because I don't want this to be a project I finish when I'm 80.  


Anyway, I'm excited how this is turning out and can't wait to add more squares.  Doesn't it seem so fresh and spring-like?  The scraps are various - Moda Verna, Moda Bliss, Aunt Grace, men's shirts, vintage sheets...  I think it's a fun way to remember previous projects too.  You can say, oh that one's pretty, I made an apron out of that!  Sorry the picture isn't the greatest, but you get the idea.  This little baby is about 8" x 12" and I have no idea how big it will get.  Does anyone know how warm this type of quilt is?  I feel like it's more for decoration than actually keeping a body warm.  I'll find out someday!  Have a wonderful week :D

Happy New Year!

This seems like the right time to show off all the wonderful quilts you've made in the past year.  I've actually only finished one in 2010, but I saved revealing it until now.  


My quilt is a simple rail fence pattern with an inner stop border and a wider outer border.  The backing is pieced with leftover material from the front.  I think I used Warm & Natural batting.  I machine quilted the center blocks with a diamond pattern and the outer border has a meandering free motion quilt design.  The binding is hand stitched.  I don't have a name for my quilt yet.  Any thoughts?  


I really love how this turned out!  It's the first quilt I've made all by myself!  I did learn a few things in the process.  I know I can quilt much closer together when doing free motion next time.  Also, think about it before you cut your fabric - don't let 4 cuts turn it into a bazillion pieces like I accidentally did for the backing!

Isn't it fun how it looks like two totally different quilts when folded?

Townhouse Redo on the Cheap: Dining Room

The chandelier is brass but everything else is silver – I hate it when metals don’t match.  To downplay the brass, I used the beige chandelier shades.  I think it makes the lamp look a bit more modern and less colonial.  

We put up curtains that match the living room since the spaces are open to each other.  

She had already put the floating shelves up but I accessorized with a few vases and other tchokies from Kohl’s, Marshall’s, and Goodwill.  I found a letter M and painted it in a really pretty pearlized white color.  

She had a huge red and orange modern painting on the wall opposite the shelves, but it didn’t match that well with the living room so we moved it to the stairway wall.  I think it makes a great statement there!  

To fill the space in the living room, we replaced the painting with a collage of pressed metal and painted art pieces that are from Kohl’s and Target.  

I'd really like to thank my Poppa Bear for hanging all of our wonderful finds.  I don't know what I'd do without him!  My parents came halfway across the US on vacation to see me, and I put my dad to work hanging everything.  Thanks Dad!