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.

Bubble Bath

I am so excited to share my snowball quilt finish with you!  The more I worked on this quilt, the more I loved the design of it;  so much that I've actually started writing the pattern for it in lap and twin sizes.

Believe it or not, of all of the baby quilts I've done over the years, I've never made a pink and gray one.  Calling it a baby quilt is a bit deceptive, because it is actually a twin size (72" x 92"), but it is going in a nursery.

Almost all of the scraps went into the backing, plus some wide stripes of my favorite pink from the quilt.  The pink tonal orange peel print is too cute, and the photo of the label shows it really well.  I decided to use the softest gray (Kona Shadow) for the label, rather than white.

I thought that the floating pink and gray snowballs looked like bubbles, and since this was made with a baby girl in mind, I decided to name it Bubble Bath.

The design of this quilt was kind of a different process for me.  Usually I set out to design a block that looks pretty and makes a secondary pattern when they are put together.  This quilt started with an idea for the snowballs to "float" across the quilt like bubbles, so the quilt was designed all at once, versus designing a single block.  I had to play around with it for awhile before I was happy with it, but I think the illusion is successful.

My very favorite fabric in the quilt is one that I almost didn't use at all.  This Riley Blake pink and white gardening text print is just awesome, and I think it adds a perfect whimsical touch to the quilt.   It's called Flower Patch Words by Lori Holt.   I really worried that the white background would be too light, and that those snowballs wouldn't show up very well, but I'm glad I went ahead and used it.

"Earth laughs in flowers."  Isn't that just a wonderful quote?  The fabric is full of gems like this, and I think I might have to get more of it since I used every last bit.  I am delivering this quilt to its new home this evening, then I can really get down to business on the pattern.

Snowballs for a Nursery

I finally finished putting my snowball quilt top together last night and I am so happy with how it turned out.  I wanted to do something a little different from a traditional snowball quilt, so I just started sketching and this is what I came up with.

I used three different sizes of snowballs- 12 inch, 8 inch, and 4 inch, and constructed the quilt in sections.  I like the way the snowballs "float" across the quilt, making it difficult to see where the sections are.  I think when it is quilted the illusion will be even cooler, that's what I'm hoping for anyway.

This quilt is destined for a twin bed that is part of a sweet nursery, all decorated in shades of pink and gray.  I can't wait to finish it!