Marquise and NTT

Happy Needle and Thread Thursday, friends!  I'm not going to lie, this week's party really sneaked up on me, which is surprising because I have a finish to share!

I have been burning the candle at both ends lately, but I did manage to squeeze in a few hours to finish my latest quilt, but anything other than stippling just wasn't happening.  That's okay though.  Y'all know stippling is my fave anyway!  It's hard to tell in the photo, but I quilted it with light blue thread and it adds just enough dimension to the quilt.

This chevron in shades of blue, paired with Kona Berry was perfect for the back, and I went with a Kona Navy binding to frame it.

I absolutely love how this quilt turned out.  Of course, the fabric-lover in me wants to see what it would look like in some saturated, fun prints.  That might happen when I get a little more time.

I decided to name this one Marquise, since both the blue diamonds, as well as the faceted shape in the negative space remind me of marquise shaped jewels.  I have to work on this pattern little by little, but I'm planning to get it finished as soon as I can so stay tuned!

*Edited to add- I used all Kona solids in this quilt- Candy Blue, Berry, Navy, and White.  :)

Ready to check out the awesomeness from last week?  Oh. my. gosh!  Look at this spring granny square quilt from Quilty Therapy!

Shelley at The Carpenter's Daughter Who Quilts linked up this amazing HUGE Swoon quilt, made from her dad's shirts.  There are several quilts included in this post, so definitely take a look if you missed it.

and this sweet Elephant's Parade quilt is from Celine at Esprit Patch-

Let's link up and party, y'all!

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!

*If you're new to the party, here's a helpful tip for linking up- select "Auto Crop"  when selecting your thumbnail photo.  For some reason, trying to crop your own image results in the dreaded "white question mark box," and we definitely want to see your awesome work!  :)

NTT, Winners, and A New Pattern

Welcome to Needle and Thread Thursday, y'all!  Sometimes I sketch new patterns and it takes awhile for me to get around to actually turning them into quilts, and other times, I design it and start creating it immediately.  Such is the case with this newest one.  I was so excited to see this quilt come together, that the process from idea, to sketch, to quilt top only took about a week.

It seems that I'm on a bit of a solids kick lately, doesn't it?  I almost made this one with prints, but I wanted the lines of the pattern to really show.  I love the diamond shape, as well as the secondary faceted jewel shape in the negative space and I was afraid that the secondary pattern would be less prominent with prints.  I know this one would really benefit from some creative quilting designs (especially because of the solids), but I have to level with you.  I'm so engrossed in working on my book these days that it will probably get an allover stipple.  Though I have branched out in my quilting lately, stippling is still my favorite, hands down.  It is relaxing for me, and I also love how it looks on a quilt.  I'll be finishing this one up between writing and editing sessions!

So, I owe you three winners from last week's sponsor news post.  Just in case it's not obvious, I have the best sponsors around, and I love working with them!  

The winner of the gorgeous spring bundle from LouLou's Fabric Shop is comment number 113, Ann!

The winner of the $50 gift certificate to Fat Quarter Shop is Carole, comment number 5!

And finally, the winner of the happy, vibrant bundle from Fort Worth Fabric Studio is comment number 10, STH.  Congratulations, ladies!  Have fun with your prizes!

Last week's party was full of drool worthy projects!  Y'all amaze me with your creativity week after week!  Jess at Quilty Habit shared this stunner, called Fall Spectrum-

Tanya Quilts in CO linked up this pretty rainbow bubble quilt. 

and Shauna's World shared her *king size!* version of my Courtyard Tiles pattern.  It's a beauty!

Wow, wow, WOW!  Y'all are just amazing.  It is truly one of the highlights of my week to get to browse through all of the fantastic projects you have going on, especially right now, when I'm not getting to sew as much as I would like. (not that I don't love working on my book!)  So let's party, friends!

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!

*If you're new to the party, here's a helpful tip for linking up- select "Auto Crop"  when selecting your thumbnail photo.  For some reason, trying to crop your own image results in the dreaded "white question mark box," and we definitely want to see your awesome work!  :)

Revelry and NTT

Happy Needle and Thread Thursday, friends.  My solid improv quilt is officially in the books. (and check out my improv curve sewing...this is a win for me!)

It is so bright and graphic, and just FUN!  With all of the color and pattern going on, it looks like a big party, so I decided to call it Revelry.  I really struggled with how to quilt this one.  It is super busy, and I didn't want the quilting to compete with the patterns in the quilt.  That being said, I felt that straight lines or a simple stipple were the best options for this one, and let's face it- I find straight lines to be so tedious and love stippling, so that settled it!  I'm pleased with the way the quilting disappears and lets the piecing madness really stand out.

This quilt was fun from start to finish, and really opened my eyes to a different side of improv.  Though I have improv pieced lots of quilts, I have never sewn specific blocks improv-style.  I incorporated churn dashes, braids, pinwheels, hourglasses, flying geese, crosses, log cabins, snowballs, strings, and triangles, and filled in space with strip sets and crazy improv- all without the use of a rotary cutter or ruler (though I did use them with the equilateral triangles and improv curves).  It kept things interesting to grab a few scraps, make a few blocks, and then move onto something else, never worrying whether the block was a certain size, or whether my points were perfect, etc.

On the back, I used a small, gray and black houndstooth print, which really makes those colors pop; and I added a strip of Kona Breakers for interest.

Scrappy solids make a perfect binding, and I love how it just almost disappears when looking at the quilt.  Sometimes I like for the binding to frame the quilt, but in this case, I didn't want to contain the crazy at all.

It took awhile to build up enough solid scraps to make this quilt, but this has definitely prompted me to play exclusively with solids more often!

Now, let's check out some of the awesome links from last week's party, like this pretty hexie quilt from Quilts From the Little House-

and look at these cute scrappy, happy baskets from Fleur De Lis Quilts (there's a tutorial!)-

and this Intertwined quilt from deJong Dream House is fantastic!

Wow!  such lovely projects going on, and I wish I could have included several more. Whether you're enjoying some snow, fresh spring weather, or something in between, I hope you've got lots going on in your sewing space this week. Time to link up!

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!

*If you're new to the party, here's a helpful tip for linking up- select "Auto Crop"  when selecting your thumbnail photo.  For some reason, trying to crop your own image results in the dreaded "white question mark box," and we definitely want to see your awesome work!  :)

Solid Scrap Frenzy and NTT

Happy Needle and Thread Thursday, y'all!  In continuing my scrap busting mission of late, I realized that though I have successfully used up my print scraps, I had SO many solid scraps that they deserved a quilt of their own.  It's no secret that I don't usually make quilts using all solids, so this accumulation has been going on for awhile.  I had lots of fun with this one.  Since it has so many different elements, I sewed for two solid days and didn't get bored with it at all.

When I started, I had no plan for the quilt at all.  I started with the large braid, and started building the quilt from there.  I used strips of small squares, strip sets, or improv blocks to fill in any places necessary.  I started making a few of each kind of block, and filled the space little by little.  It was very free and fun, as I sewed without measuring anything.  Each piece was made to fit with the existing chunk I was working with, and any extra was trimmed off.  I didn't have to worry about keeping individual blocks perfectly square or preserving triangle points.  The only thing I did worry about was making sure I sewed with correct seam allowance.  Though the quilt looks haphazard, its construction is sound.

My rotary cutter was used very sparingly as well.  It was mainly used to square up large sections, but I also cut my equilateral triangles (bottom left), and the curves on the strip sets.  All of the other blocks and trims were done by eye with my scissors, which adds to the great wonkiness of the quilt.  This one measures 58" x 62" and I'm looking forward to finishing it up, and thinking of a great name for it (suggestions welcome here!)

Last week's party was just amazing!  I love this quilt by Sew Preeti Quilts, called My Twitter Feed (and love the name, too!)

The Lilac Cat shared this awesome quilt.

and check out this fun flying geese mini by Twiggy and Opal.  Love!

Y'all just rock!  Let's see what you have going on this week!

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!

*If you're new to the party, here's a helpful tip for linking up- select "Auto Crop"  when selecting your thumbnail photo.  For some reason, trying to crop your own image results in the dreaded "white question mark box," and we definitely want to see your awesome work!  :)

A Family Keepsake and NTT

Happy March, and happy NTT, y'all!  We have been getting a taste of spring around here, and I am loving it!  This week, I've been working on a very special keepsake quilt, made with a couple of my mom's old chambray shirts.  These shirts were hand embroidered by my grandmother when my mom was a teen, and my mom actually helped stitch some of the designs!  As soon as I saw the shirts, I knew this quilt needed to be made with Anna Maria Horner fabrics!

I started by cutting the shirts into useable blocks.  Most blocks finished at either 4 or 6 inches, except for Holly Hobbie in the center, which is a full 12 inches, and the row of penguins, which is 3" x 12."  Once I cut and counted the embroidery squares, I used the AMH fabrics to fill in around them, making 25 different 12" blocks.  The randomness works so well with the fun, quirky designs, and makes it look like the embroidery really belongs there.

I was even able to use the pockets, collar lapels, and the ric-rac from the bottom hem of the shirt.  Not a single bit of stitching was wasted!

You can see that these shirts were well loved.  The airplane and heart blocks were on the sleeves, and the lines you see are almost threadbare from ironing creases in them.

My very favorite design is the row of penguins.  On the shirt, they were marching from shoulder to shoulder across the back, and I think they are so cute!

I quilted this one with an all over meander in yellow thread, like blue jeans!  These shirts were very worn, so I didn't want to stitch the delicate fabric to death, but I knew that it needed enough quilting to stabilize it a little bit.

Lots of AMH leftovers went into the backing, and the chartreuse binding finishes it off!  The finished quilt measures 60" square, and I love how it turned out (my mom and grandmother do too!).  There are a couple of photos of my mom as a teen wearing these shirts while out on a date with my dad, and that alone makes this quilt special.  It's nice to know that even now, though the shirts have long been worn out, this beautiful hand work will have a new life in this quilt.

If you have some special fabrics and want to make a Keepsake quilt, I put together a graphic showing the finished block measurements to help you out (remember to add seam allowance when you cut!).  I color coded each block size, so it is easy to see how they all fit together.

Time to check out the features from last week's party!  This scrappy rainbow beauty is from Simply, Sarah-

and just look at this fantastic paper-pieced mini by Lori at Crossquilt-

and this modern pillow by Made by Chrissie D is just too much fun!  (ps- she has a tutorial for it!)

I can't wait to see what you're all working on this week!  Show me what you've got!

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!

*If you're new to the party, here's a helpful tip for linking up- select "Auto Crop"  when selecting your thumbnail photo.  For some reason, trying to crop your own image results in the dreaded "white question mark box," and we definitely want to see your awesome work!  :)