Little Miss Mk- big girl room!

Kelley from Littlemissmk has this darling blog here. She makes some darling fun projects. How much do you love this first photo of her little girl in her "big girl room"? Priceless! She made this darling "small quilt" here, love this idea! And this sweet post about her Grandma and a quilt she made with her, love it! Be sure to check her out, great little corner of the blogosphere. 

Macy turned three and we decided to re-do her room. Her room had been very gender-neutral (ie- boy) because before she was born we decided not to find out if she was a boy or a girl. So it was time for a change. There is no denying it- Mace is very very girly. Very pro-pastels. So when I thought about making her a big girl bed quilt I wanted it to scream girl so I could always remember just how pinkalicious she was at age 3.
I used this Folksy Flannel fabric that I love. It is so so so soft. I never really sew with flannel but the few times I have I've thought "why don't I sew with this more often?..." Macy insisted that the dominant color of the quilt be pink (shocking,) so I chose brick shot cotton and I think it goes pretty well. Its woven with pink and orange threads and it has a pretty orange shimmer in the sunlight (Alton, if you are reading this I know you are rolling your eyes. Go with it. And thanks for reading my blog.:)I used this wonderful hexagon quilt-along tutorial. It is super clearly written and I was so happy to find it online- for free- what you can't find online these days...I really wanted to work in this Alice in Wonderland fabric. Its actually a robe from a fabric designer that makes PJ's as well. My girl has quite the Alice obsession. So I worked her in to be falling down the center of the quilt- down the rabbit hole I guess. When I finished the quilt I wasn't super pleased with how the pale blue Alices looked against the other bright fabrics, but such is life.I included a bit of his yellow shirt to remind her of how much he loved her.
I made a label for the quilt as well and sewed it to the back- my first label, I think. I hesitated posting it because its syrupy sweet and might make you think I'm overly sappy. And I guess I am when it comes to my girl, so I'm posting it anyway... Of course I couldn't have completed this quilt all myself. I had major help again. Lori helped me work out a few (tons) of my headaches. And then she even hand bound the quilt when I was done. Just to be kind. I know, I'm lucky.I updated her bulletin board with matchy-matchy fabric and new pictures of family and friends we love. Helps us remember them in our prayers- seeing them right above her bed. Also found a sweet Alice print and made some fun flowers from this Martha tutorial to make it feel a little more golden afternoon-ish. I go back and forth between thinking the flowers are cute and then cheesy, but they took me more time than you would think so for now I'm sticking with cute...A few days before her birthday and before I had done the big room re-do, she was talking about her favorite topic- Disney movies. I asked her "Who is your favorite, Mace?" She looked at me and without missing a beat said "Mulan, Mama." Interesting. So naturally I pretended I didn't hear her and changed the subject.This is her fake sleeping while I snapped pictures. The fake snoring was pretty comical. Goodnight, miss Mulan.

Fabric Tuesday...show us your fabric projects!

Oh my goodness, every fabric Tuesday Megan and I each look through every link. You guys are amazing! It makes me want to sew sew sew! I could have linked all your projects from last week, but that would have been more time on the computer for me and less crafting!

I just got in from a camping trip to Bryce Canyon. I stink, I haven't even showered yet, remembered about fabric Tuesday.

Hopefully you all had a good long weekend too!

Super pretty Bricks Quilt, love the colors! From JaQs studio

Yards and  Yards, super darling bunting, makes me want to make one up right now for no good reason!

Darling ruffle handbag from artfully caroline...

A great Charity Quilt from A quilting Reader's Garden

For a refresher on Fabric Tuesday rules, click here.

Also, try to post on a couple link ups, sometimes Megan and I leave comments, and some people have no comments. Just take a minute if you can!

Can't wait to see your projects!

Circus Stack...new quilt pattern...

Here is another pattern I (Heather) created a few months ago. I thought my baby boy Weston didn't have enough quilts yet (he is going on 6 so far, far and beyond my other children) I had four girls, so when I finally got my boy, I think I was making up for lost time. 

Anyhow, I loved this cute Urban Circus from Robert Kaufman, that my brain went a little wild.

Megan and I were discussing upcoming quilt pattern designs and I suggested this line.

Then I said an elephant on a ball...(our Mother smirked)

Meg added...how about a giraffe on top of the elephant....(Mom had the giggles hard at this point)

I say "how about a bunny or monkey on the giraffes back.... (I think Mom was peeing her pants at this point)

Then Megan adds....how about it is juggling?  (Mom is such an easy crowd, no crickets from her, snorts in fact.)

The funniest thing is, she thought we were just being silly girls up to late, little did she know,

We were perfectly serious!!! Welcome Circus Stack. 

You can buy the pattern here...

Hope you had a good giggle...

Gorgeous Stargate Quilt by From the Blue Chair

Kati from The Blue Chair is not only a momma to three little ones, but a very talented quilter!  You must spend a few minutes browsing through her finished quilts...I just spent at least 10 minutes!  I am amazed by these Subway Quilts, hers is lovely.  Her Stargate Quilt we're featuring today, I am smitten by.  Really truly.  And her backing???  It's like two quilts.  So beautiful.  Thanks Kati!

This quilt began when Lynne over at Lily's Quilts asked me to participate in her quilt-along and put my own twist on her Dresden design.  I decided to strip piece the individaul petals of the Dresdens.  I originally planned to make this quilt square with four Dresden blocks, but felt the design wasn't working as I hoped.  I decided to use only one Dresden on the front.  I then used the remaining Dresden petals on the back in a design inspired by Oh Frannson's New Wave Pattern.

 I debated quite a bit on the final design for the quilt front.  I had about 300 half square triangle blocks pieced and ready.  After trying out various designs, I ultimately went with the pattern I first saw from Red Pepper Quilts.  I love how the focus is on the Dresden circle, yet the arrangement of the HSTs creates an interesting secondary design.  A bit of trial and error went into piecing this correctly with the block set on point. 

I machine quilted it using my standard loopy quilting style, except the Dresden center which is quilted with pebble quilting.  The fabrics are a scrappy assortment, all from my stash.  The grey is Kona Coal, and the white is Kona White.  The binding is from the Sherbet Pips line.  The finished size is approximately 60"x70".

My finished quilt looks much different than my original plans.  I love the process of designing a quilt.  I tend to arrange and rearrange the quilt components multiple times.  My design wall (which is simply a large piece of felt tacked to the wall) is critical during this process.  The final result is a quilt that is uniquely mine while using others ideas and patterns as a springboard for my design.

I call this the Stargate Quilt, named after the 90's movie which I hadn't seen since high school.  A few weeks ago the hubs and I sat down and watched Stargate again.  The name seems even more appropriate now after rewatching the movie.  It's such a great geeky movie and was fun to relive the old days--cuddled in my quilt of course.

A little love story from Distant Pickles

Today's a cute little feature of a little love story and quilts to match!  Julie from Distant Pickles was so creative when she came up with a gift for these newlyweds.   Make sure to stop by their blog for some great tutorials, like a fabric clock, or cute projects, like this quilt top.

I actually made my deadline of last Friday and finished those gift quilts, yay! Just in the nick of time too. I needed to send them to Texas with my mom, who was leaving Saturday morning. I pulled them out of the dryer at about 5:00 pm Friday night, whew!

So here's the story...

My little sister is getting married to this awesome guy

Look at how cute they are!

Kevin was accepted into our family right away. We even joked that if they ever split up, that we would get him in the divorce. We always got quite the dirty look from her when we said that.

So, our family is from SC. None of us were born here, but we were all raised here and she definitely calls SC home. 

Kevin is from Texas. And like all Texans, he's proud of that state of his. 

So, Crystal wanted to leave the small town life and went to Texas to live with our older brother (who was sent there when he joined the Army). It was a classic case of boy meets girl, girl moves back home, boy follows....

So they spent some time here, some time there, some more time here and then finally decided to settle there. They loved both places so much but decided Texas was just the right place to be. 

Then After about 5 years of dating he finally popped the question! 

They are getting married this Friday and I knew right away that I wanted to make them a quilt for a wedding gift. But what? I was having a hard time deciding and thought I had it narrowed down until her and I spoke on the phone one day. She mentioned this quilt I had made, it was a commissioned job for a friend.

She told me she loved it and to put it on her shopping list for quilts she wants me to make for her.

A light bulb went off! 

So in the spirit of a girl who is SC born but a Texan in spirit, and a boy who is Texas born and a South Carolinian in spirit, I came up with these....

I decided to stay true to the flag of each state for these. My biggest dilemma was whether I should make a bedsize one that was reversible, or two throws. The two throws won. I didn't want them to have to fight over which one they displayed ;)

Crystal and Kevin, I wish you all the love and happiness in the world. Crystal, you are the best sister a girl could ask for and Kevin, I am proud to call you my Brother-in-Law. 

Congrats guys!!

Happy Birthday Megan!! Fabric Tuesday...

Happy Birthday to Megan!!!

Megan is turning 28 today. Baby. She is the baby in our family. The accident, no blessing surprise at the end of 7 children. She is five years off.  She is still looked at as the little girl that we must all love and protect.  I think she went to Europe 3 times with my parents, guess how many times I went with them? NONE. She got all her car/insurance/housing paid for even after she was married. Guess when I got cut off? The night I got engaged. Seriously! The next day at Christmas at least 7 times I opened a gift of some cute clothing item, and my Mother would gasp apologetically and say "oh, that is actually for Megan" I nearly cried, but my new fiancée was there and I didn't want him to think I was petty. She was and is SPOILED!

But it is not her fault, and we all love and adore her.  Okay, enough of my rant. I made this little journal for Megan's birthday. I used Steam a Seam interfacing, and did free motion quilting. I know I need practice, but check out how good the stitching is around the dog?

Anyhow, since it is Megan's birthday, I thought I would give you all a gift. I did a rough drawing here of the girl. Sorry she is a bit nerdy and the file is just a sketch, but you just need the outline for her shapes. I sent Megan the file of the nerdy girl and she busted a gut! She said I would be ruining my street cred if I let you all see her...oh well, she is good for a laugh at the very least.  The journal cover tutorial is here on bloom.

And if you wish Megan Happy Birthday in the comments and let me know which dog you want me to fussy cut for you and why; I will cut 3 dogs for 3 of you. Whoever makes me laugh or cry the most about the dog of their choice will win. I did a dalmatian for Megan because we had 3 dalmatians growing up. Cookie, Penny and Trixie. We loved them!

On to fabric Tuesday...
Click here for a refresher on rules...

I-Spy a boy quilt from FairyFace Designs

Sarah from FairyFace Designs is always linking up to Fabric Tuesday with such darling little projects!!  I especially love this little cozy...there's just something about tiny piecing that is too cute to deny (and is actually part of her giveaway!!)!  Today she's sharing a variation of an I-Spy quilt, and I love how she's done it.  I have many of the same boy prints she does and I have such a hard time because I don't want to chop them up!  Anyway, she does a great job explaining how she put the whole thing together.  Don't forget to stop by FairyFace Designs and get to know her better :)

The PictureBox quilt is finished! (*Jumps up and down with excitement*)

I'm really so thrilled with how this quilt turned out. The 3 people who've seen it in "real life" thought it was lovely too so that eased the nerves a little about it!

This quilt is all out of my own head. Its inspiration came from the idea of an I Spy quilt but I had some fabrics with large prints which I wanted to use for it and I jumped from there to the idea of framed pictures - my son has some jungle prints framed on his wall which were part of the inspiration.



As I've said in a previous post, the panels on either side of the centre were inspired by those long photo frames holding 3-4 pictures vertically.

This quilt is made for a baby boy and is part of a two quilt set - the other being for his sister. I quilted the Sophie's Dreams quilt with wonky straight lines and after a LOT of thought I decided to stick with that approach for this one too. I threw around a number of other quilting techniques in my head - it wasn't an easy decision - but I wanted to keep some consistency between the quilts as they're quite different design wise. Plus, I do love the effect of the wonky straight lines, they give a lovely texture to the quilt.

The foundation of the design is 3 large fabric panels. Each one measures approx 10" x 15" and is framed with a 1 inch strip of a calm blue/green print, and then 3" wide strips of fabric in varying prints and colours. I tried to keep the scrappy border prints to geometrical type designs, rather than featuring more animals although I made a couple of exceptions to bring in some prints from the sister quilt.

The 3 main panels are (from top to bottom) Lesley Grainger's Wild Friends - Jungle Animals, Riley Blake's Hooty Hoot - Kangaroo and Ann Kelle's Urban Zoologie Owls. Like the Sophie's Dreams quilt, this quilt is made to be midway between cot bed and twin bed size so that it can be used straight away on baby's cot, and then layered up over other covers on his bed when he gets older, or used as a throw. The quilt sits nicely on a twin bed:

I decided that a solid colour binding would work best on this quilt as there's so much going on in the quilt. I went for a lovely soft blue cotton and it frames the quilt really nicely.

The backing is a white with a blue polka dot and is a single piece of fabric. The little boy's full name is appliqued in the centre of the quilt using some of the navy fabric used in the quilt and raw edge applique.

All in all, I'm really happy with it. The white space created by the sashing makes the design pattern stand out and there's lots of interest there for any little boy - jungle animals, elephants, owls, whales, kangaroos, koalas and more, along with some cars and lots of colour and texture too! 

I was pretty pleased when I put the two quilts together this morning, side by side. I made a conscious effort to try and use some of the same fabrics in the quilts in order to link them, as well as making them the same size and using the same straight line quilting. This is the Sophie's Dreams quilt - you can see the continuity of fabrics and quilting:





Here they are, jumbled together and you can see they work well together:



I brought them outside and draped them across a couple of chairs in the garden, I really like the effect:

Now all I need to do is wash and dry the PictureBox one to give it the same lovely crinkly effect as Sophie's Dreams one has, and meet Anna to hand them over!



Sarah also has a great linky going on right now...you can link-up your summer sewing plans!  A fun way to see what everyone else is up to and maybe set some goals for yourself!!