Three Finished

Well, it made me a little bit crazy to have three WIP's going on at once, but I have to admit that since they were all similar, it went more quickly that I expected.  I know that three WIP's is nothing compared to some of you, but I usually only work on one quilt at a time!  From cutting the shirts to delivering the finished quilts to my friend, it took one week to get them done, and I just might be persuaded to work this way more often.

If you missed my last post, these quilts are made from the shirts of my friend's late husband.  The first two quilts are for her granddaughters, and are the most similar, both using HST's and measuring 48 inches square.

The third quilt is for my friend herself, and I made it a little bit bigger, measuring 54 x 57 inches.  She loved the fact that all of the logos and pockets are incorporated into hers.

I kept the backing and binding the same for all three quilts.  The Kona Navy is the perfect frame for the shirts, and the chambray backing with the stripe of scraps fits the feel of the quilts perfectly!  Some of the shirts had a thicker woven texture, so I quilted these with a wide stipple so that the quilt would drape nicely without being too stiff.

I'm so glad I was able to make these quilts for her and her granddaughters.  She absolutely loved them, and I know they'll be treasured for many, many years to come.

Happy Summer, NTT!

Welcome to the first summer vacation NTT, friends!  If it's not summer for you yet, I surely hope it's coming soon.  I have been super busy these last few days, making the most of my newfound abundance of time.  First of all, I've been working like a crazy person to get my Girl's Best Friend pattern ready to release, and I'm happy to report that it is now available in my Craftsy and Etsy shops.  Yay!  I really enjoyed designing and creating this pattern, and I hope you'll check it out!

Another thing that has been taking my time lately is working on a few memory quilts for a friend.  She saw the four quilts I made from my grandfather's shirts and asked if I would be willing to do the same for her using her late husband's shirts that she saved.

The chevron and HST quilt each measure 48 inches, and will go to her two granddaughters.  I chose a pattern using HST's for both of them, because I wanted each to be slightly different, but look like a set.

The third quilt is a little larger, measuring 54" x 57," and is for my friend, herself.  I incorporated all of the pocket logos in the quilt for her.

The trickiest part of these quilts was finding a pattern that wouldn't waste too much fabric, since there were only 17 shirts.  My friend primarily wanted the two quilts for her granddaughters, and the third was to be made only if I had enough fabric.  I am so glad I was able to make this third one for her, and have it be such a generous size.

This is the first time I have worked on more than one quilt in tandem.  When I finish, I'll have to decide whether I prefer my usual one at a time method, or if this is faster and easier.  We shall see!

Okay, time to check out some of the fantastic highlights from last week's party!  Let's rock and roll!

Diana at Red Delicious Life showed off her newly finished scrappy string quilt.  I love all of the bright, happy fabrics!

This turquoise and purple beauty from Jess at Quilty Habit is a stunner!

and I love this Dogwood Blossom quilt from Michelle of From Bolt to Beauty!

Okay, y'all!  I can't wait to see what's going on in your sewing space this week!

1.  You can link finished projects or WIP's , but just keep it about quilting and sewing!

2. Link to your specific post (not to your home page!) to make it easier for others.

3. Please remember to spread the word and post my button or a text link.  

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A Few Things

Happy summer, my friends!  Yes, I know that the official start of summer isn't until June 21st (ish), but Memorial Day weekend always feels like the kickoff of summer to me.  I also wrapped up the school year yesterday, so life feels pretty free and easy right now.

On that note, I have some exciting news to share.  I have decided to leave teaching, and spend more time pattern designing, as well as some additional commission quilting.  I can't wait to experience all of the fun stay-at-home-mom-benefits that this new flexibility will allow as well.  This is a giant leap, but one I felt I needed to take.

On this glorious first day of summer, I have finished the two preemie donation quilts for the local children's hospital.  The first quilt is made from the leftovers from my Bubble Bath quilt.  I sewed the scraps together using my improv method, then created half square triangles with white.  I've never laid out HST's like this before, and I think it is so fun!  The backing is a pretty gray quatrefoil, and I love the pink binding on it.  This quilt measures 40 inches square.

Incidentally, my Bubble Bath quilt is entered in the Original Design category in the Blogger's Quilt Festival over at Amy's Creative Side.  Voting opened yesterday, and I would love to have your vote in that category!

The second preemie quilt is made from leftover strips from my First Light quilt.  It is 40 inches square as well.  I thought the gray and aqua chevron was just perfect for the backing, and this one has a soft gray crosshatch binding that blends right into the quilt.

I think I've written about this before, but in case you aren't aware, being able to donate these quilts holds a very special place in my heart.  My son was just 3 lbs. 10 oz. at his tiniest, and stayed in the NICU for 5 weeks.  He will turn 11 in a couple of weeks, so those days are long gone, but they will never be forgotten.  It makes my heart so happy to be able to give these tokens of comfort to families who are experiencing such a tough time.

NTT and Winners!

Welcome to Needle and Thread Thursday, friends!  Lately, I've been doing a little sewing to benefit the NICU/Infant Ward of our local children's hospital, which you know is very near and dear to my heart since my wild thing was just over 3 lbs. at birth.

If the fabrics look familiar to you, it is because they are leftovers from Bubble Bath and First Light.  I always try my best to add as little fabric as possible to my scrap jars, so if I think I have enough leftovers for a preemie sized quilt, I try to whip one up between bigger projects.  I love scraps, but they can get overwhelming quickly, and it feels so good to know that they are being used to bring comfort to babies and their families during a very tough time.

When I finish these up, that will make 5 preemie quilts so far for the year.

Okay!  Time to announce the winners of the May Fabric Deals giveaways!  First up is the $25 gift certificate from Fort Worth Fabric Studio.  The winner is comment number 137, aus_chick.  Congratulations!

aus_chickMay 19, 2015 at 6:24 AM

I love FQS! They have such fast shipping and great selection :)

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Second is the gift certificate from Fat Quarter Shop, valued at $25.  Comment number 9, Anita is the winner!

AnitaMay 16, 2015 at 9:33 PM

You are absolutely correct, one can get "lost" wandering through these shops looking at the gorgeous fabrics they have to offer, way too much to choose from! The color coordinated bundles are just to die from! But my favorite is the black and white bundle from C+S, sigh...

ReplyDelete

And finally, the winner of the oh-so-fabulous Black and White Cotton and Steel fat quarter bundle from Lady Belle Fabric is comment number 98.  Congratulations to PK Sews!

PK SewsMay 17, 2015 at 4:24 PM

What wonderful sponsors you have! Thanks for sharing their great selections. I visited them all! And thank you for your inspiring blog! 

ReplyDelete

I'll be contacting all of you very soon via email to let you know how to get your prize!  :)

NOW!  Onto last week's highlights!  Sometimes I think I'll skip the highlights when I have a lot in a NTT post, but I always do them because y'all BRING IT every single week!  I just can't help myself!

Marly's Quilts linked up this gorgeous rainbow modern sampler.  You know I love me a rainbow quilt.

Katelyn at Sing While Crafting showed off this fun and bright pineapple block table runner.  I happen to have seen this one in person, and it really is stunning.  I couldn't resist featuring it!

and Tanya Quilts in CO finished up her Journey of a Quilter quilt.  This one has been a year in the making and it really is beautiful!

I really could have picked several more to feature.  Last week's party was so filled with amazing inspiration.  I can't wait to see what you're working on this week!  Bring it on!

1.  You can link finished projects or WIP's , but just keep it about quilting and sewing!

2. Link to your specific post (not to your home page!) to make it easier for others.

3. Please remember to spread the word and post my button or a text link.  

4. Spread the comment love far and wide!

5. Following me is not a requirement to link, but is so very appreciated!

Blogger's Quilt Festival

Well, it's that time of year again!  The time when there is so much quilty eye-candy on display that it's hard to tear yourself away from the computer.  That's how it is for me anyway. Yep!  It's Blogger's Quilt Festival time over at Amy's Creative Side!

I really thought long and hard about the quilt I wanted to enter, and decided that my Bubble Bath quilt should go in the original design category.  It is definitely one of my favorites from the first part of this year, and I published the pattern for it as well.

My vision for this quilt was to have the the different sized snowball blocks float across the quilt like bubbles through the air.  It took lots of sketching and re-sketching, but I love the finished result.

I always try to use up the scraps in the backing, and this quilt was no exception.

I really loved creating this design, and it has really inspired me to dabble in more alternate grid work in my patterns.

Quilt Stats-

Name- Bubble Bath

Size- 72" x 92"

Quilting- free motion stippling by me!

Entry Category- Original Design

Be sure to head on over to Amy's Creative Side and check out all of the other awesome entries in all of the categories, and vote for your favorites on May 22nd!

Instagram and a New Finish

I feel like I've gone over to the dark side.  Okay, so I'm being a little bit dramatic, but yesterday I went to my monthly guild meeting, where we had a presentation on how to use Instagram, and I was totally strong-armed into setting up an account.  Again, I'm totally being dramatic, but the fact that I am so entrenched in social media and the modern quilting world, and had not yet taken the plunge into Instagram has been the topic of some good natured teasing lately.

So it's done, and I'm glad I finally jumped into it.  I resisted for so long because I didn't want to over-commit myself to yet another social media platform, and because I love blogging so much that I didn't want this side of things to suffer.  By all accounts though, Instagram is the greatest thing since sliced bread, and super easy to use, so you can find me there at myquiltinfatuation!

This weekend, I finished up my latest quilt, and incidentally, my next pattern (in the works).  The diamond shape, with the negative space reminds me of a faceted diamond ring, so this pattern is called Girl's Best Friend.  I made a quilt in this pattern a couple of years ago, but I never wrote the pattern.  I have made some modifications to it since that first incarnation, and I like this one much better.

I really love the colors in this quilt, and I'm not one to use a ton of brown in my quilts.  This Joel Dewberry Aviary fabric is just yummy though. The palette feels very calm and warm to me.  The fabrics were specifically chosen to match a friend's bedroom, and I can't wait to give it to her.

I bought half yard cuts specifically so that I would have a quarter yard leftover of each print for the back.  I like how the front feels very airy with all of the white, while the backing is an explosion of print.

The chocolate brown pebble print fabric on the binding ties the whole thing together so well.

I had just enough small scraps leftover to make a couple of throw pillows for her bed to match the quilt.  They are backed in the same Tiffany blue damask, and have the same brown pebble binding.  Each pillow is 16 inches.

I'm so excited to take these to school tomorrow and give them to her, and I hope she loves all of them!

Needle and Thread Thursday Time!

Welcome to another NTT friends!  These days, I am on the countdown to the end of the school year BIG time, but I have still squeezed in some fun sewing in the evenings.  I have been turning this gorgeous Aviary bundle (plus a couple of extra fabrics)-

Into this quilt top.  I'm making this one for a friend to match her bedroom, and I love the soothing colors.

I've made this pattern before, and I call it Girl's Best Friend as a nod to the diamond shape in the blocks.  I changed it up a bit from the first time I made it though, and I like it much better this time around.  I'm actually writing the pattern for this one next!

There was SO much quilty awesomeness linked up last week.  It really was a tough job to pick only three to feature.  I've really been ogling this finished Gypsy Wife quilt top from Katie at Good Golly Ginger-

Heather at Modern Parti Quilts shared this fun, scrappy log cabin.

and isn't this Square Dance quilt from QA Creations is just gorgeous!

Oh my goodness!  There is so much fantastic sewing going on lately!  I can't wait to see what you show off this week!

1.  You can link finished projects or WIP's , but just keep it about quilting and sewing!

2. Link to your specific post (not to your home page!) to make it easier for others.

3. Please remember to spread the word and post my button or a text link.  

4. Spread the comment love far and wide!

5. Following me is not a requirement to link, but is so very appreciated!

First Light and NTT

Welcome to another Needle and Thread Thursday, friends!  It has been a crazy week around here.  I'm pretty sure I have been saying that a LOT in the last few weeks, but that's just the way it is at the end of the school year.  I am so excited to share my latest finish with you, along with a good shot of my roses in full bloom.

As with most quilts that are out of my comfort zone, I was relieved to get this one finished.  It actually grew on me the longer I worked on it.  My eyes just needed to adjust to the pastels, I think.  Brights are definitely still my preference though.

I pieced the backing with scraps from the back, and chose to bind it in the darkest gray chevron.  Instead of making my usual label, I included a simple message for the recipient.  I decided to name this one First Light, because the pinks, aquas, and soft grays remind me of the sun peeking over the horizon at dawn.  Even though the name isn't actually on the quilt, I decided to name it anyway for myself.

I can't wait to see her face when she opens it up (along with the matching burp cloths) at the shower.  I just know she's going to love it!

Without further ado, let's check out some of the awesomeness from last week's party.  Kate at Life in Pieces shared these beautiful blocks!

This triangle quilt from A Note to Follow Sew really caught my eye.  The colors are really gorgeous!

and this baby girl quilt top from Quilts and Such is super sweet!

Okay friends,  Time to party!

1.  You can link finished projects or WIP's , but just keep it about quilting and sewing!

2. Link to your specific post (not to your home page!) to make it easier for others.

3. Please remember to spread the word and post my button or a text link.  

4. Spread the comment love far and wide!

5. Following me is not a requirement to link, but is so very appreciated!