Ruby Hexagons Quilt by The Life of Riley

I'm excited to show you today's quilt! It's a gorgeous baby gift made by Rachel of The Life of Riley.  I'm excited because it is a little different than most quilts we feature, it's all hexies!  So sweet and a great baby gift.  Check out The Life of Riley, she's a great quilter as seen here on her 2010-2011 finishes and 2012 finishes but she's also a great cook!  She's got a great list of yummy recipes too!

The quilt is finished and delivered!  Welcome baby Lucy!

 99 Hexes.  33 fabrics - 3 of each in the quilt top.  80 diamonds.  20 half diamonds.  8 triangles and 4 half triangles.  The hexagon fabric is from  the Ruby line by Bonnie and Camille for Moda.  The white is a white on white leaf pattern.

 The hexes were pieced into rows by machine, the diamonds and triangles were pieced in by hand.  The border was done by machine.

 The back is a solid piece of flannel also from the Ruby line.  Soft as butter!

 I did some free motion quilting of flowers and leaves.

 A picture of the label which you can read about here.

Posts about how I put it together  Here.  Here.  & Here.
The quilt label post Here. 

Fabulous I*Spy from Kelsey Sews

Today is a great quilt and sweet story from Kelsey of Kelsey Sews.  I really love I*Spy Quilts and being a mommy of little ones I really should take the time to make one! Especially with so many darling novelty prints out there...I've got to do it.  Kelsey uses great prints and I think she found a great balance in making it a fun kid's quilt but it's still very pretty and not too "childish".  Visit Kelsey Sews for regular inspiration on quilt blocks, WIP's Wednesday and other fun sewing things...like this Bookshelf Modern Mini!


I've posted a bit about it before, but my husband's cousins have two adorable little girls and we spend time together every Friday night.  They were over at our house one day (which they find boring since we don't have cable or kid stuff haha) and I was trying to think of something for us to do.  We were down in my sewing space and I decided that I'd pull out the charms I got through the I-Spy Charm Swap and we could lay them out and play a little game.  That was when E informed me that it was almost her birthday and sweetly requested that I use these "pretty fabrics" to sew her a quilt as a present.  Melted my heart!! So the only logical thing to do was start planning and cutting.  

I have a tutorial *almost* done so hopefully I can get it up later this week - but I just couldn't wait to share the quilt until then.

Without further ado - The I*Spy Quilt!

I*Spy Top

Top & Back

Quilting

Top

I used 96 different charms and combined them with Kona White for the background.  I had the different colors of polka dots in my stash (they're from Connecting Threads) and backed it in purple gingham by Michael Miller and bound it in a Bella purple (not sure the name).

This was also the first big project I free-motion quilted on my home machine!  I won't deny that I need some more practice but once it's all washed and crinkly everything fades together.  I will definitely be doing some more FMQ at home soon.

The gift was a huge hit, she loved it and snuggled up with it that night!! Her older sister also informed me that if E didn't like it that she'd take it :) - Guess I better get working on a quilt for her too!

TUTORIAL FOUND HERE.

Would you like some Fly A Kite??

Well it's Thursday, and if it's Thursday and we're posting it's either a post from Heather and I or a giveaway.  And lucky you...it's a GIVEAWAY!! :)

What you need to know about Mad About Patchwork... They carry a great selection of solids and great stash prints.  Here are some lovelies from their blog that are tempting me:

Yummy right?  I could make great use of either of those bundles!!  At Mad About Patchwork the minimum cut is a fat quarter.  She also does custom cutting for charms and strips of Kona cotton (your choice of over 140 colors in stock), and kits available for many of the quilts in City Quilts.  How cool is that?

She has a nice selection of modern basics like Kona cotton and Essex Linen from Robert Kaufman, Painters Canvas from Michael Miller, Shot Cottons from Westminster, and Designer Essentials from Freespirit. Shipping from Canada and free shipping in Canada on orders over $150.

Right now there is a sale on all designer bundles – save 15% until the end of April, also coupon BIRTHDAY10 to save another $10 on orders over $75 (celebrating 4 years in business!)

Want to know the giveaway?

Half Yard cuts of 7 prints from Fly A Kite from Riley Blake

I have some of this line and I am loving it!!! So so sweet and the coordinating prints are awesome!!

How to win:

leave a separate comment for each please

1. Stop by Mad About Patchwork and let us know your favorite item or collection

2. "Like" Mad About Patchwork on Facebook

This giveaway is now closed.

Star Crossed Quilt from Don't Call Me Betsy

Elizabeth from Don't Call Me Betsy is no stranger to us...and probably not to you either...her work is fabulous! We're constantly checking out her cute stuff for inspiration! :)  One of my favorite things Elizabeth has done is her Kaleidoscope QAL...so cute!!!  Make sure to stop by Don't Call Me Betsy and her pattern shop, love this one!!

I am so excited to share the finished quilt with you!  This is definitely one of my favorite finishes in a while, thanks to the fun I had quilting this one and the great texture the quilting created.  I love densely quilted quilts like this one, so I'm quite sure it's going to be one of my favorites for a while to come.

before washing

after washing

A while back, I fell in love with a block I saw in a copy of Jinny Beyer's The Quilter's Album of Patchwork Patterns, on loan from the library, and sketched it out in my sketchbook.  Many months later, back in January, when the fabulously talented Betz White sent me some of her fantastic organic line of fabric for Robert Kaufman, I revisited the sketch and decided to finally make the block.  I called it a Star Crossed block, as it felt like a fab combination of a star and cross block, and I slowly started working on this quilt bit by bit, in between what feels like a zillion other obligations that I can't share yet.

I was super excited to finish this quilt...until I realized that I didn't have a clue how I wanted to quilt it.  Usually, I don't make that decision until after I see the finished quilt top.  When I looked at this quilt top, I just couldn't seem to decide.  I wanted to do something other than my usual smooth stipple, and I thought a pointy stipple would be fun, but rather than mocking it up to see how it would look, I just went for it.  Whoops.  I hated it.  Intensely.  So much so that I ripped it all out.  Note to self: always mock up the quilting.  Always.  (ETA: All I do to mock up my quilts is print out a photo and draw out my FMQ design on it with a highlighter.  It's uber-low-tech and fast.)

before washing

Somehow or another, I got baptist fans on the brain, and just couldn't let go.  So I did them.  And they were really fun to do!  The way I stitched these fans is indeed in a continuous line, with one start at the beginning of each row of fans and one stop at the end.  I'm putting the finishing touches on a tutorial of how I did this quilting to share with you all tomorrow, so stay tuned for that. 

before washing

I'm so happy I went with my gut and ripped out the pointy stipple quilting stitches I started with.  I'm also really glad I tried a new style of quilting, even though I really thought it was going to be either too difficult or too tedious.  Trying something new can be so much fun!

after washing

Thanks again, Betz, for sharing some of your lovely fabrics for this project!

Quilt Stats
Name: Star Crossed Stitch quilt
Block Pattern: Star Crossed block
Size: 34" x 44"
Fabrics: Betz White's Stitch Organic collection for Robert Kaufman along with some coordinating fabrics from Just Dandy, Katie Jump Rope, and So Sophie
Backing: Remants from Betz White's Stitch Organic collection
Quilting: All-over baptist fan free motion quilting (tutorial coming tomrrow!) by yours truly
Binding: Scrappy binding, using remants from Betz White's Stitch Organic collection, hand finished

Winner! And Fabric Tuesday...

Happy Tuesday!  Let me start off by quickly announcing our winner for the Heart to Heart Fabrics $25 giveaway!!

Mimi said...

I love the Hydrangea Bounty Floral fabric - wow, have never seen this one before. Thanks for the chance - this is an awesome giveaway!!
Also want to say that I love the free shipping with orders over $30 (even in Canada!!)- sweet!

APRIL 19, 2012 3:57 PM 

Congrats Mimi!!  Make sure to check out Heart to Heart Fabrics, it's a great shop!

We had some amazing link-ups last week...as always.  I cannot believe the amount of talent out there!! Seriously week after week of amazing projects, so inspiring.  Well this week I am going to be selfish and show off a finish of my own!  I am in a 4x5 Quilt Bee on flickr (thanks to Lindsay for letting me know about it!) and I love it.  Basically each quarter you can sign up, and you make the same block for 5 others who are in your bee.  They let you know the colors they want and you pull from your stash. Here's a look at the blocks I made:

And here they are all together:

It was so much fun!! Seriously I was surprised how much I enjoyed it.  I especially loved the black and rainbow prints block because it was so different from something I would ever do.  Can't wait to see their blocks all together.

I just received my last two blocks in the swap today so I will definitely share the 5 I received with you!

Fabric Tuesday #83

click here for my info

Let's see your fabric goodness!!

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Patchwork n Play's Sunnybrook Farm Quilt

I just love these farmer's wife's quilts, they are amazing blocks and great stories behind them.  Combine that with some fabulous Denyse Schmidt prints and you've got Suz from Patchwork n Play's Sunnybrook Farm Quilt!  Gorgeous!  I love her combination of prints and I think her use of the polka dot as the background print is fabulous!  After you read her story make sure to see Patchwork n Play, her tutorials and a fun to-do list!

Time and the weather have conspired somewhat against me this week.....

But I really wanted to share my 'finish' for March!

(That's three quilts finished in three months!)

So inside photos will have to do...

My FW quilt, AKA "Sunnybrook Farm" is done!

I stippled all around each of the 48 blocks.....

quite Denysely densely, as is my method!

The back folded over to the front

This is the biggest quilt I've ever quilted myself...

57 " by 72 "

The binding is a pretty DS print...

which contrasts nicely with both the sunny back and the spotty front!

The blocks all stand out proudly from the background, which is the effect I was 

after!

I think it let's all the blocks 'shine'!

And a view of the pieced back!

Can you tell why I have called it "Sunnybrook Farm"?

Apart from the obvious sunny backing, "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm" was one

of my Mother's favourite films.

And this reminds me of my Mum!

She was a bit of a farm girl when she was young.

I know my Mum would have loved this quilt....

Well, that's not quite true.....

My Mum loved EVERYTHING I made!

Doesn't yours?

Happy Sewing!

SUZ

Wonky crosses quilt...

Isn't this "wonky crosses" quilt great? I still want to make another red and aqua quilt, just not over the color scheme... These blocks were all part of a swap participated in by Emily of Creative chicks at play. A cute blog that together three sisters share their projects. (which of course makes me happy, that Megan and I share this blog makes it all so much more fun!) Stop by their site and have some fun...

Happy Easter everyone!

We enjoyed a low key affair ~ Beautiful church services, gorgeous weather, time with family, egg dying, too much chocolate, and yummy food.  The perfect way to spend the day! 

This quilt is the product of a little flickr swap I participated in last fall.  I thought it appropriate to reveal on Easter Sunday.

  

These wonky cross blocks are super easy to make and lend themselves well to slash and stitch type sewing.  Great for swapping.  All it took was one day of frantic cutting and sewing and I was able to make 35 blocks to swap.

For the backing I used a recycled turquoise gingham sheet I bought last year.  It works perfectly.  And makes the quilt amazingly soft.  The binding is a nice little red (nothing fancy) piece I had in my stash.  Red seemed the obvious choice.

  

This way of swapping is so great, in my opinion, because you get tons of variety without having to have tons of stash.  I sent it 35 blocks, but in reality they were all kind of the same looking.  But once you mix them all up with what everyone else sends in... look at all the awesomeness!

Wonky Cross Tutorial
My blocks are 10" finished
Quilt measures 60" by 70"
Teal We Meet Again Flickr Group
Quilted by Lynn