Aqua and Daisies

Day 4 of 4 sharing my finished baby quilts.  Phew!! I feel soooo accomplished!! :)  If you see the last three posts this week you'll see all my quilts.  I'm selling them all in our shop :)

Aqua and Daisies

36" x 48"

Denyse Schmidt prints (9 patch)

Michael Miller (daisies)

Yesterday and today's quilt were both made while stranded this past summer.  We moved from AZ to VA and had unexpected problems getting into our town home.  You mean massive student loans cause problems?? :)

So Katie from Swim Bike Quilt was incredibly kind and gracious and helped us find an apartment to rent for 6 weeks.  All of our stuff was in storage, I literally had 1.5 weeks worth of items since we were just planning on a road trip.  I received some fabrics while I was there and decided to use my time wisely and so at night I sewed!  Katie lent me her Bernina and I hit JoAnns for a few coordinating prints, a new mat and cutter (I can totally justify that right?).

These daisies I have always thought were just so sweet!! So I focused on them and brought in coordinating 9 patch prints.They're 12" finished blocks.  I believe the daisies are 6" squared with 3" white sashing.  The 9 patches are 4" squared.  These are all FINISHED numbers, not cut (add .5").

Bound with a coordinating green and kept the back really simple with a floral aqua.  For quilting I stitched around all of the blocks.  And I'm a big fan of hand stitching my bindings :)

It's fun to play on traditional girl colors.  My personal favorite colors are blue and green!  Trust me you'll find at least one in every room of my house :)

Thank you so much for stopping by!!  We're truly touched by those of you who stop by and read or comment...it means a lot!!

Like I said these are all in OUR SHOP.

To receive 10% off use the coupon code MEGSFRIEND,

Have a great day!!

Sampler Chain Quilt Finish and Fab Tues!

I did it!!  My Block of the Month quilt is entirely finished.  And it makes me really really happy :)  It all started with this lovely stack of Backyard Baby fabrics:

And here it is, quilted, bound and ready to be snuggled with.

Our series was for a year, a block each month with a theme right?  Ie star, hst, pinwheel, etc..  I decided that I wanted to make my quilt a twin, so in the end I doubled the amount of squares and did 12 nine patches to make it a Chain Sampler quilt.  Each square is 15" finished.  It is 68" x 90". 

 

My aunt did the quilting, this was too big for me and not even the time to consider it on my limited machine!  She did wavy lines to show the chains better, stippling throughout the blocks and then each sampler block she did some great custom quilting.  On all of the blocks with trees she'd follow the shape of the tree.  I love how she did it!

I backed it with gray minky and the orange print seemed perfect for the binding.  I actually almost wish I'd used orange in each block, or used it more.

There you have it!  Soon one of my boys will have this on their new extra big boy beds.  Now I'm going to lay under it and watch New Girl. I'm done for the night :)

Heather will be sharing her Block of the Month quilt finish tomorrow so check back!!

Fabric Tuesday!

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Let's see your creations!

Urban Nine Patch from Color Me Quilty

This quilt is so dynamic!! My eye went straight to the tiny thumbnail when Pat from Color Me Quilty linked it up on Fabric Tuesday.  I love the fabrics she chose, the colors work awesome together in this pattern.  And her FMQ is fabulous!!  You can see more of Pat's work in her 2011 finishes, 2012 finishes and tutorials/tips & tricks.

I love it when a plan comes together! Finished up my baby Urban Nine Patch this morning.  My first curved pieced and first all solids (except the back) quilt. I'm really proud that I did this all myself. The FMQ is a little organic (read wobbly), but I don't know how else you learn without actually doing it (over and over again)!

Lots of FMQ

I like how this part of the design looks like a flower.

The back. I really like the orange binding.

I originally set out to do this quilt as part of the FLMQG (Finger Lakes Modern Quilt Guild) solids challenge that we talked about last October. The quilts were supposed to be finished in April. Well, it's July and I think I'm the first one finished, although there was some discussion about it last night on Facebook. The new date is August. Does this mean I'm done a month early??!! ;)

Color Me Quilty!

Pat

Boy Quilt from Lilabelle Lane Creations

Sharon from Lilabelle Lane Creations is a mum, quilter and embroiderer among many more things I'm sure!  And it shows in this quilt with the combination of piecing and embroidery.  Such a sweet quilt for a little boy!  Make sure to stop by Lilabelle Lane Creations, see her 2011 finishes, 2012 finishes and Mini Quilts for a treat!  Thanks Sharon for sharing your quilt!

A Boy Story Quilt

This quilt just makes my heart go all warm and fuzzy.

It was a Quilt that I was always going to make ... one day.

Well that day came when I thought my second son was going to need

surgery at Easter and if I was going to be at the hospital then I needed

something to work on.

We left the specialist and went straight to the fabric shop, supplies bought.

Home and then some stitchery's were traced.

I was ready and the journey of this quilt began and the self imposed

deadline was set.  My gorgeous Nephews 3rd birthday - 7th June.

I did it!

 and the matching Pillow

I even put a quilt label on it so it is a real finish!

It has been quilted with an all over Kite Pantograph by Linda at Ladybug Quilting.

Thank you Linda.

- Quilt Stats - 

Pattern 

"A Boys Story" by Annie Downs of

Hatched and Patched

Finished Size

54" x 68" (138cm x 170cm)

Every stitch of this quilt was placed with love for Liam

and Lily has finished it off by filling it with cuddles.

So and Update on Declyn. 

He never had surgery. 

A lot of time had been spent at specialist and physio appointments (still one more Specialist Appt) so the stitchery's were still well timed!  He is allowed to return to sporting activities on the 1st June. He has done no running or anything for over 11 weeks and has just been given the all clear to ride his bike, he still has to get his fitness back up .....

"Really Declyn, do you have to play football this year?"

Arghh ...  boys will be boys

 and on that subject, remember Aiden's little adventure into the 

"knee injury playing field" as well?  

Yes he dislocated is patella (knee cap) and has a small tear in his ACL.

Now boys, you know I love you both but no more Knee injuries OK

 and I know you joke about it now, but really, both of you at the same time?

I'm off now. 

Have to go buy some wrapping paper and a card and get this Quilt ready to mail.

Thank you for sharing the journey of this quilt with me.

Now what ..... something new?

Boys will be Boys Quilt from a maiden hair fern

We featured Linda from a maiden hair fern earlier this month with her Tanner Reunion Quilt.  Lots of times we get features where we know we'll be begging them to do another!! :)  (And to those of you who we've featured before...we most definitely feature twice! Or thrice!  So submit even if you've already been featured.)  Linda is a talented quilter as I mentioned before based on her impressive finishes.  I love this quilt she made for her nephew and the fabulous circle quilting.  Thanks again Linda for sharing!!

Shipped today to my new nephew.  Adapted from Reveille, of "another Bite of Schnibbles", Carrie Nelson's newest book.

 This darling fabric is from the Boys Will Be Boys collection designed by David Walker.  You can still find some on etsy.

UPDATE (5/3/12):  Last week I saw some of this fabric in Corn Wagon Quilt Shop, Springville Utah, if any of you happened to be headed there soon.

I used my new circle rulers for quilting.  They took some getting used to.  And I found that I preferred the 5" and smaller circles, more crinkle after washing.

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A quilt from Diary of a Quilter

Another obvious intro for you today! :)  Amy from Diary of a Quilter is sharing a quilt that she made for her husband's grandmother.  Great story and great quilt!  Amy is an excellent quilter and one of the nicest people ever.  She is seriously so sweet, we love her! :)  Make sure to stop by and see her many fabulous tutorials (quilts and more!) and stop by her shop for some one-of-a-kind patterns.  Thanks Amy!!

This weekend my husband's grandmother turns 87! When I looked up how old she would turn this year I was shocked by the number. For as long as I've known her (14 years) she has been such a goer and doer. How on earth did she get to be 87?  We visited 'Grammie' this past summer in New Hampshire and Maine.  It was the first time we'd seen her in a few years and it was bittersweet to see her in decline for the first time since I've known her. So we (and by 'we', I guess I mean, 'I') decided to make her a quilt. It's something I've wanted to do for a long time. 

Adding to the feeling of urgency, we had planned to visit my husband's other grandmother while on the same trip this summer and she suddenly passed away 2 weeks before we came. Sadly, she had been suffering from dementia for years and probably didn't remember us, but we would have liked our kids to see her one more time so that they could remember her. I also feel bad that I never made something similar for Nana Jean. That experience was a good reminder not to wait when Grandmas are concerned. Because you never know. So I feel relieved that this quilt is on it's way. 

I made the label using AmandaJean's tutorial. It was SO ridiculously easy. I am finally committed to doing this for every quilt. In the past I have been terrible - I never do it. Honestly.  I am finally getting my act together. 

Grammie decided when she became a great-grandma that she wanted to be called Nonna.  Both her parents and her husband's parents were Italian immigrants to the United States in the early 20th Century. So even though she grew up in Maine, her family was very proudly Italian.  (See? You can tell by the tomato harvest.) I'm glad she has passed that heritage on to her great-grandchildren and glad that they will always remember their Nonna.

This quilt has a good backstory.  See how the 9-patch blocks are rectangular? Well, that wasn't on purpose.  These blocks were part of a kit we sold at American Quilting. One afternoon I was working alone and a lady who'd purchased the kit called to ask for help and I (really helpfully) gave her the wrong measurements. As a result, her blocks ended up as rectangle instead of square nine-patches.  So I remade all 80 blocks for her. And in return I've had these rectangular blocks hiding in my fabric mess collection for the past 7 years or so.  

I came across the blocks again this summer, right before our trip and halfway thought of trying to pound a quilt together in a couple of days while trying to get ready for the trip itself. Then I came to my senses and decided to take my time and put it together for her birthday.  Good decision.  I pulled all the fabrics from the stash and was happy to use some patiently-waiting fabrics that have been sitting around for a long time, and finally give them a good home.

Two quilts finished in the past two weeks - one modern and one that's more traditional. It's been good to have quilts to bind recently so that I have a good excuse to just sit still and watch Downton Abbey. :)

Bloggers quilt festival...our new quilt...

For those of you visiting for the first time welcome!  Stay a while :)  We are sisters who share writing this blog, design quilt patterns and are fabric nuts!  Every week we feature three different quilters and their finished quilts, and we'd love to feature YOU!  We also share our own quilts and projects :)  You can check out the sidebar on your left for different types of quilt stories or to see our projects.  

This is the reason that I go to my Mom's house all the time to craft! Seriously this view looks photoshopped! She lives about 20 minutes away, and she is a super clean freak. Plus she loves to take care of us, feed us, sew for us. We couldn't ask for a better mother or a better location for her to build a gorgeous house!

Fabric: Peacock Lane for Michael Miller       Size: 60" x 72"

Last time Megan was out here we sewed and sewed. We created this quilt for our super cute niece who just turned 20! We thought it would be a fabulous quilt for college. She loves it!

We did super soft minky for the backing. Just so nice to snug up in, especially since our darling niece lives in a nice winter town. Our wonderful Aunt did the quilting.  The quilt was a total collaborative effort, Megan and I each did half the blocks and our mom pieced the top :)  We just looooved some of the prints of Peacock Lane, it is perfect to fussy cut.

The pattern will be available in our shop shortly.  Let us know by email or in the comments if you would like a notification when the pattern is available. We will contact you..

Our Mom doesn't like the quilt!  She thinks we went a little out of control with the colors, that we should have been so much more unified. I was a little surprised just how open she was about not liking it! She is a little old school about color combination. Bless her heart!

We hope you love it! Thanks for visiting us here at Quilt Story. Again check out how you can be featured, find out more about us, join our weekly linky party and stay a while :)

Megan's got another quilt on Fresh Poppy Design (our other blog) so check it out, here's a sneak peak:

Thanks to Amy for hosting such a fun event!

Breast Cancer Awareness Quilt

Today's features is of Suz from Inspiring Creativeness...and her first ever quilt!!! Not only is it her first quilt, but she's donating it to an auction for Breast Cancer Awareness, nothing more appropriate than featuring her this month!  Suz has had many many people in her life effected by cancer...this is her way to help those effected and spread awareness.  Hopefully this can make us all more aware and thoughtful.  Thanks to Suz for inspiring us to not only have fun creating but to also do good!!


When I was 18 or 19, after visiting my ex-husband's (he was just my boyfriend then) grandma and seeing quilts in process of being quilted, I decided that I wanted to make a quilt and have her hand quilt it.  (She was one of those church ladies that you could 'hire' to hand quilt your quilt for you.)  She never made quilt tops, that I know of, but she quilted a bunch for other people.    Well......  THAT never happened....  I didn't have anyone to teach me how (I bought a pattern and fabric and - using scissors - cut out each individual piece, one at a time.....  what the heck was a rotary cutter???  I didn't know!!  I don't remember, but I'm pretty sure I didn't even get 1 block done......) and then after we got married, the kids started entering our lives, and with kids comes more things that take up spare time.......... 

Next month, I will turn *ahmm* 45......  (really???  THAT just CAN'T be possible!  Didn't I just tell you the other day that I'm only 24???  *wink* *wink*)....   Anyway - - I'll be 45, so I guess that it's been 26, 27 years or so that I've had the desire to make a quilt. 

Had I not started my blog and had I not started blog-stalking all of you wonderful quilters out there, I don't know if I EVER would have tried to make a quilt.   You guys gave me the courage to try.  And my MIL has been one of my cheerleaders!!  She told me that I could hand quilt it......  and she was right!!!  And all of the tutorials online for every step of the way also have helped me!!

And I am so impressed with myself that I started it and finished it, not only in the same YEAR, but in the same SEASON!!!  You crazy quilters out there that get MULTIPLE quilts finished in a year truly amaze me!!

OK OK - - here she is......

The front...... 

The back.....

Close up of the back (above) and then the front again (below)

A little better shot of the washed-up crinkly goodness...

My label........

I made my binding out of left over pieces of fabric from the blocks.  I think my favorite binding is the 'scrappy' binding.  This quilt turned out so well - - I'm so proud of myself.............  (And I want to thank you guys for:  A: urging me on and supporting me  and   B:  allowing me to tell you that I'm very proud of myself.   Seriously, if I were to go up and tell someone at work that I'm proud of myself, or tell one of my friends.......  wouldn't they think I was boastful, or at least weird??  but I can tell you guys and you relate!!!   I {heart} my blogging buddies!!)

When I finished it, I washed it.  It was AMAZING to pull it out of the dryer.......  So warm and cozy and soo crinkly - - just the way I wanted it to turn out.........  BEAUTIFUL!!!  yep - - I said the "B" word!!!  (I don't think I told any of you......   I don't like Pink......  so I purposely made the quilt Pink so I wouldn't get so attached to it.......  it didn't work......  I like Pink now.........  I'm such a goober!!)

I took it over to Sandy's house Sunday night after I washed it.  I REALLY wanted to sleep with it Sunday night but I figured that if I did that - - it wouldn't end up as the first item for the raffle.....  It wouldn't be in the raffle at all...........  It would be staying at my house...........

When I gave it to Sandy and she read the label, she got all teary-eyed.......  She lost a sister to Breast Cancer..............    Sandy's hubby is my boss.  Monday he started asking questions like "what's it take to make a quilt like that?"  "How much would you charge to make one?"  I told him that it would depend on the pattern, the size, and the cost of the fabric...........   Then he asked me if I thought I could make one for Sandy for her birthday........  Her birthday is Friday.  Yep -- like THIS Friday...   September 16!!!  I told him NO!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you for accompanying me on the journey of my first quilt.  And please understand.....  I will be posting about this quilt at least one more time.  Probably on October 5....  I'll have to let you know how many raffle tickets were sold ($1 each or 6 for $5....  any takers???  :-)  )  and I'll have to post a picture of the winner with the quilt......   Every story has a happy ending, and I want to make sure you guys get the whole story!!  (I just hope that the person that wins the quilt appreciates what it was made for and understands that it was made with love and that they cherish it for many years.....  you know??)

Have a happy day!!

Hugs ~~ Suz