New quilt finish: Woodland Trails...

I created this fun quilt within the last few months. I don't normally go with these colors, but they really called to me. I think it was mostly the owls and hopping foxes. I mean, come on! I love this line a lot!  It is Les Amis by Patty Sloniger for Michael Miller. LOVE LOVE LOVE! There is the same line in a gray and aqua colorway. You will die! (or already have) 

I have a mix of applique. I just did fusible. Way to much turning under for me. I liked how the white squares made a trail, and the peach squares made a trail. That is how I came up with the name Woodland Trails...

I tried to machine free motion quilt it to make the peach trails stand out more, didn't really work, but I am still very happy with this quilt...

We don't have it in the shop just yet, but have it ready. Email me if you are interested in ordering this pattern.

Hope you like my entry into the Bloggers Quilt Festival from Amy's Creative Side. This is so much fun to see all the great quilts! It is so much fun to see all the creative people!

I am also entering this into the quilt-photographer category of the festival..

Cancer is so limited by Robot Mom Sews

This sweet quilt comes from Robot Mom Sews. Made for a friend's Dad diagnosed with cancer. What a kind gift to give. Cancer has hit so many of us so close to home. Megan and I recently had an Uncle diagnosed with a very aggressive cancer. Heartbreaking! I am sure this quilt will bring this man peace. Be sure to check out Robot Mom Sews, and visit her etsy shop too!

My best friend's Dad was recently diagnosed with cancer and I knew right away that I wanted to make him a quilt.  I talked to her about it and she mentioned she saw this wonderful saying at the hospital about how cancer is so limited, it cannot destroy families, it can't take away love, our dreams etc.  She wanted to cross-stitch it and we decided what a great idea to incorporate it into his quilt.  She copied the saying and cross-stitched it and I got started on the quilt.

I wanted this quilt to be so perfect, I gave myself stress over it.  I kept running into problems, my machine was not cooperating, I ran out of thread, then I bought the wrong color thread!  It was one thing after the other and I kept thinking, I've never had this many issues on any other quilts.

I wanted it to be comforting to their family and this quilt means so much more than my other quilts. 

It's not perfect.  There are mistakes everywhere.  But this quilt needed to get to him and I just hope that this quilt can bring comfort to him and their family, regardless of it's imperfections.

We've all known someone or a loved one that has been stricken with cancer.  I love this saying and I'm glad my BF found it - it can remind us all that cancer is so invasive and can take away so much, but it can't take away everything from us.

♥

HST Doll Quilt from Plum and June

Happy Monday! :)  Sometimes the simplest quilts are the most interesting!  I love this doll quilt by Beth from Plum and June.  And it's her first go at HST...I would not have guessed! Stop by Plum and June, I was just going through her last few posts and saw some really sweet baby quilts!  I love this quilt she entered into the blogger's quilt festival and this simple patchwork quilt...cute stuff.  Thanks again Beth! 

I finally tried making Half Square Triangles and now I know what all the fuss is about!  They really are fun and easy to put together.  Whoever came up with the right sides together, draw a line down the middle, sew two lines, and cut was genuis! 

I used this charm pack from the "big order" from months ago that I had regrettably prewashed.

Made one and squared it:

Made many more and squared them:

Then I just started arranging and rearranging and mixed in some of the now completely gone solid yardage that I had in my stash (actually, I had to cut some off one of my WIPs - Yikes!) 

And, the Sun and Water Blocks doll quilt was born (have I mentioned that my kids name the quilts???)

I'm again not sure this is exactly my aesthetic but I guess my aesthetic is growing.  And I really enjoyed the HST method so I think when my new fabric order comes, I'll make another one. 

This was another doll-sized, stroller-size quilt.  I like making this size because it can be done in a few nap times, allows me to experiment with new techniques, and it is actually the most practical size for me right now - great for the stroller and floor for the baby AND great for my older girls for their dolls and for gifts for other little girls who love getting things for their dolls.

Tanner Reunion modern quilt from a maidenhair fern

Today's feature is from Linda of a madienhair fern.  Linda is a mom to 5 and has been sewing most of her life, but took up quilting in 2007 (same as me!).  She has become quite skilled with her free motion quilting, you can see a lot of her work in pictures here.  Also here are her finished quilts, an impressive list!  I really love the quilt we're featuring today, the Tanner Reunion quilt. I love the fabric line, Sweetwater's Reunion from Moda, her design is great and so is the quilting!!  Thanks Linda, and make sure to say hi at a maidenhair fern!  

Tanner Reunion . . . finished!

stats:

65" x 65"

25 -  11.5" blocks

fabric is Reunion by Sweetwater for Moda, jelly rolls and fat quarters

Warm and Natural

organic/straight line quilting

Picking a quilting design is almost as hard as designing the quilt. There are so many fun options!!

Jacquie from Tallgrass Prairie Studio has a great blog with lots of good information, pictures and tutorials.  I studied her tutorial on Organic Line Quilting before quilting this quilt.  Mine doesn't look quite organic as hers, it probably borders on the line of straight line quilting.

Have you ever quilted words into your quilt?  I've been fascinated with the idea ever since I saw a verse quilted into a quilt by Angela Foster.

It takes a little practice on paper, and even chalking onto your quilt what you're going to write.  It reminded me of typing class in 7th grade, a gazillion years ago, before computers.  Remember figuring out how to center your title on your page?  Count total number of letters, divide by 2 . . .  

I'll stick with names for now.

I love the back almost as much as the front.  For vivid colored pictures, leave your quilt a bit damp.

My next project to finish is the wall hanging that goes with this quilt, see below left.

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

Granny Squares Quilt from s.o.t.a.k handmade

Today's feature is from Svetlana of s.o.t.a.k handmade and I am convinced!  I've seen these Granny Squares quilts everywhere and been tempted, but she may have pushed me over the edge!  I love how bright and cheery her finish is.  Love all the colors she uses too.  She's already busted out a 2nd Granny Squares Quilt!  Check out her great quilt finishes , other projects and tutorials for some inspiration.  Thanks for sharing Svetlana!


I am so excited to be able to show you my finished Granny Square quilt. Isn't she a beauty? Just the way I like my quilts, bright, colorful, and cheery.

It was, of course, inspired by Jolene's fantastic Granny Square quilt. I was able to use up lots of my scraps, I only had one rule for the fabric to get into this quilt - I had to love it. This was the first block I made and it still is my favorite. Adore those little owls. 

I decided to use Anna Maria Horner's voile for the back of the quilt. I've heard so many great things about  voile, it was time to give it a try.

What I did not know, however, was that voile did not stick to the batting when I tried to spray baste my quilt. Noooooooooo!!!! Seriously, that was a major setback. The thing is, I am horrible at pin basting. I thought about using some other fabric for the backing, but at the end I went with the original plan and pin basted just the back of the quilt (the top was spray basted). I know, does not make much sense, right? I ended up with pins on the back side of the quilt. I wanted to hand quilt around the squares anyway, so I just took out the pins as I went. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I actually enjoyed hand quilting.

I used my trusty black and white stripe fabric to bind the quilt. I think it frames all those happy squares rather nicely. 

So, there you have it. My Granny Square, all finished , washed, and dried, ready to be snuggled under. 

You can read more about the process of making this quilt here and here. How about you, did you get on the granny bandwagon, also?

Hope you have a wonderful and relaxing weekend, Svetlana.

My New Blog Journey's Row 10 Quilt

Laura from My New Blog Journey is an amazing mom, quilter and sewist.  I was so impressed reading her blog and her love for her son, Aaron, who has special needs.  Her style is so creative and I just love this quilt she put together.  Here are a few of her finishes that our my favorite: Baby Quilt, Star Quilt and Baby Quilt 2! Check them out after you read Laura's story.

My Quilt Story: The Row 10 quilt

Hi! My name is LauraJ and I blog at MyNewBlogJourney. I am delighted today to bring to you the story of
a quilt that is near and dear to me, even though I just finished it recently. It all started back in December
2009 when I was asked to be part of an online quilting bee. We were all friends and this wasn't the first
time we had flickr bee'd together. We wanted to spice things up for our bee in 2010 and decided to work on rows of pieced fabrics in the chosen elements of the Queen Mama's month. We named our group Row 10.

My month was July 2010 and I thought long and hard and came up with the idea of a whimisical forest
theme for my son. Each member was to make a row 6 to 8 inches in height by 60 inches long that could
include forest critters, gnomes, trees, mushrooms. Anything that would be fun and would appeal to
a growing boy. I wanted this quilt for my son who has profound special needs in many areas of his
development. He's in a wheelchair and I can't very well take him to the forest but I can take the forest
to him. He's on his way to being a teenager soon and I wanted a quilt to mark the milestone in our lives
that we're both growing up.

The colours I chose for this quilt to be were bright colours and forest colours of green, blue, brown, red,
orange, aqua. Fabrics consisted of whatever the maker had. I love novelty fabrics and fun fabrics and a
lot of those were included by the members to each of their rows.

As the rows started coming in the mail I started playing with them.

And then I waited for the rest of my rows to come in. I went for an appointment with my son last summer
and I was told he needed surgery immediately. I wanted to have this quilt done for my boy so I put a call
out to my group if there were any members willing to help me make extra blocks to make up rows that
never came. Fortunately for me I had the best group of gals and they rallied the troops and I finally had
enough rows.While I waited for the surgeon's office to call us with a date I put the rows together and
eventually had a top.

I then had to find the right backing for this because finding a backing is just as important to me as the
quilt top. I want it to flow. If you're a quilt maker then you know how hard it is to come by masculine
fabrics. I finally scored some fabric that I just knew would be perfect for this whole forest theme I had
going on. Then I found some more fabric on sale which would complement the whole quilt nicely.

I sandwhiched the quilt and set about to quilting it. I just wanted simple quilting and so I outlined quilted
the main characters, gnomes, trees, houses, mushrooms etc, and I did a bit of free motion things here
and there.

I was going to go with a different binding but thought since I had this at home I might as well just use it
and I'm so glad I did.

Once the binding was on I took it outside for it's photoshoot. I trudged through the snow in the back
yard that was 2 feet deep. Well past my knees but oh so worth it for a splendid quilt such as this.

And the back:

And finally on his bed:

I really like this quilt for so many reasons! First being the privilege of being part of such a wonderful
group of women quilters. Second I love it for it's design, colour, and fun! Third I love that it's for my
wonderful amazing boy who keeps me grounded into my own reality. We did get that date for surgery
and I will cherish the month of February just a little more so than usual before "our normal" changes
completely come Spring.