Whispers of Spring and NTT

Happy Needle and Thread Thursday, friends!  I am so ready to be done with the doldrums of winter.  I'm ready to plant things in my yard, go outside without bundling up, and watch the plants and trees come back to life.  We've been getting little glimpses of spring weather every now and then, and that just makes me all the more ready for it to get here for good.  But, as I sit here with a wind chill of 33 degrees outside, I'm just going to say it, Punxsatawney Phil, with his early spring predictions, is a big fat liar.

My latest quilt is all finished, and I took some inspiration from the sprouting daffodils popping up everywhere around here.  These little green pops of color are so much fun, and add the perfect amount of interest to this otherwise neutral quilt.  Since those green strings look like sprouting bulbs against the whisper-soft low volume prints, I've named this one Whispers of Spring.

Since some of you asked after my last post, these string blocks finish at six inches, making this entire quilt 36" x 48".  Each string was cut at 1.5" wide, so they finish at just one inch.  I did not use foundation fabric or paper for these blocks.  Instead, I sewed them using my six inch square ruler as a guide, with THIS method.

Even though this quilt has a scrappy look, I didn't really use scraps for it.  Instead, I cut strips off of yardage and fat quarters in my stash.  Yes, this means that some of my cuts are no longer "whole" for future use, but I'm okay with that.  This quilt is worth it.  For the binding and backing, I just utilized more of my stash, and I love how the scrappy binding just disappears into the quilt.  I cut my binding strips at two inches, rather than my usual 2 1/4" or 2 1/2".  I definitely didn't want the binding to draw attention, and I think that was successful.

By far though, the (free-motion) quilting texture is my favorite part of this quilt.  It just takes center stage against the neutrals and I am in love with the way it turned out.  You can really see it best against the backing photo (though in person it shows up really well on the front too).

I confess that I don't usually block my quilts, but since this one is going up on the wall in my living room, I used a steamer to perfectly flatten the edges to make sure it hangs properly.  It wasn't super wavy, so I didn't need to get the quilt totally soaked.  The steamer was a lot easier, and it did the trick nicely.  Now that the photos are taken, this quilt is all ready to be hung!

Before we get to last week's highlights, let me fill you in on a project by LouLou's Fabric Shop that is near and dear to my heart.  LouLou's owner has recently welcomed twin preemies into her family, and is organizing a preemie quilt drive called Little Lou Quilts. LouLou's will be offering discount codes for fabric purchased for preemie quilts, kits for purchase at a great price, and a giveaway for those who send in quilts.  LouLou's is trying to collect 100 quilts in the first 30 days to be donated to the NICU where her nephews are, and then other NICU's after that.  Since my wild thing was born over 2 months early, this is an important cause to me, and I definitely wanted to spread the word.  You can find all of the details HERE!

Last week's party was smaller than usual (I think everyone except me was at QuiltCon, ha!), but no less amazing.  Julie at Pink Doxies showed off her progress on this lovely quilt-

This striking beauty is by Myra at Busy Hands Quilts-

I love this quilt by Alison at Little Bunny Quilts-

Rebecca at Cheeky Cognoscenti linked up this scrappy goodness-

And I love these cheerful rainbows from Anne-Marie at Stories From the Sewing Room-

Okay, y'all.  I know you all got tons of inspiration from QuiltCon last week, whether you were there in person or like me, just drooled over all of the photos floating around on the web. And now that it's over, I'm sure you're all just itching to create extra amazingness in your studios.  So, it's time to show off your stuff!  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 within your 

    post.  

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!  :)

Low Volume Strings and NTT

Happy Needle and Thread Thursday, friends!  I've been working on putting together a string quilt with lots of my low volume fabrics, and though I'm not done playing around with the block layout just yet, so far I love how it's coming together.

Mixed into the low volume strings are some of my favorite spring greens, just for a few pops of color scattered here and there.  These blocks are only six inches, and the strips finish at just one inch wide, so that means that every block has nine different strips in it.  The narrow strips look really cool, but they aren't exactly quick.

In person, this quilt is much warmer than it appears in the photo.  Many of the fabrics are cream and black prints, and there is even some metallic gold, and they are all photographing as gray.  I still think it looks cool, but the picture is just not quite true to life.  I'm going to play around with the layout of these blocks until I have it perfect, and then I'm going to get them all sewn together.  This quilt is going on a wall in my new home, and I can't wait to get it finished and hung.

Before we get to the highlights from last week's amazing party, I owe you a giveaway winner!  Congratulations to Barb, comment number 54!  I'll be emailing you soon so you can get your prize!





Okay!  Last week's party was full of fantastic eye candy.  Check out this fun, happy quilt by Liz at Savor Every Stitch-

I love this beautiful quilt top by Jan at The Colorful Fabriholic-

And this stunner is by Kris at Sew Sunshine-

Wow, y'all!  Your creativity is so inspiring.  I can't wait to see what you bring to this week's party.  Let's do it!

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 within your 

    post.  

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!  :)

Positive Signs and NTT

Oh. My. Goodness!  Somebody send me some wood so I can start building an ark over here.  We just cannot seem to get away from the rain for more than two or three days at a time, and this has been going on since the fall.  We did have two glorious days of sunshine this weekend and my parents were in town visiting, so my dad and hubs held up my latest quilt for some great photos.

I'm calling this one Positive Signs.  Obviously the crosses/plusses helped me decide on the name, but also, this is my first quilt finish after some pretty major life upheaval, and it feels so wonderful to be back in my studio.

All of my leftovers for this quilt (and there were a LOT after my cutting mishap) went onto the back, and I think the varied width of the strips make this really fun.

This quilt was finished with a nice, easy stipple, and I absolutely loved doing it.  There's just something about the smooth, gentle curves that is relaxing, especially when I have awesome music playing.

When cutting up my leftovers for the back of this quilt, I realized that I had a full half yard of this dark blue print, and decided it would be perfect for the binding.  Because I rarely buy fabric in larger cuts than 1/2 yard, that was certainly a pleasant discovery.  This is from the Macrame collection for Cotton and Steel, and though I usually prefer more solid bindings, this one turned out great.  Best of all, I didn't have to buy more fabric to get it finished!

This quilt has already gone home to live with my Mom (and Dad too, though this one's a little girly for him), and I've already started cutting fabric for a new quilt to hang on a wall in my new home.

What you're seeing here is a variety of 1.5" strips from about 35 different text, cream, tan, light gray, and metallic gold prints...plus a few bits of green for good measure.  This is quite a departure from the riot of color I've been working with for the past few weeks.  I'm so excited for this project to take shape, and I can't wait to reveal a little more to you so stay tuned for updates!

I'm super excited to show you some of the fantastic highlights from last week's party.  Sandra at mmm! quilts shared this stunning quilt-

I just love the scrappy beauty by Anorina at Samelia's Mum-

These curvy string blocks by Sally at Crafts, Cavies, and Cooking are gorgeous!

And finally, this lovely quilt is by Cynthia at Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework-

Y'all are just amazing, week after week.  Okay friends, party 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 within your 

    post.  

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!  :)

Riding a Bike and NTT

Happy Needle and Thread Thursday, y'all!  I've been making steady progress on my throw size Greek Cross quilt, and it's finally all quilted. (pouring rain outside though, so still no pretty photos).

Since I haven't done free-motion quilting (or any quilting, for that matter) since September, I worried that I might have trouble keeping my curves nice and smooth.  As it turns out though, for me, smooth stippling is like riding a bike.  Woohoo!  I put on some great music and got right in the zone.  You know what was out of practice and caused me to take more breaks than usual?  My arm and shoulder muscles.  I remember when I first started free-motion quilting, I felt like my shoulders were up in my ears after a little while.  Over time, I learned to relax and and built up some stamina, and eventually my muscles never protested even the longest quilting sessions.  Apparently it's a use it or lose it thing, ha!  Better get busy using them more often then.  :)

I still have the binding to put on this one, which is happening tomorrow for sure, and then if the rain will stop (please!!), I can get some pretty photos of the finish this weekend.  I am using this dark blue print from Cotton and Steel's Macrame collection, which I think will frame these happy colors perfectly.

Last week's party was full of creative inspiration as usual.  Angela at Better'n Dog Biscuits shared this gorgeous improv quilt-

Janine at The Sweetest Dreams linked up this adorable baby quilt finish-

And oh my goodness!  I'm in love with this sweet hummingbird by Jayne at Twiggy and Opal!

I could have chosen SO many more, but I am a little bit late with this post, and I want to go ahead and get this party started!  Sooo....show me what you've got!

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 within your post.  

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!  :)