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.

Little Boy Blue

As I mentioned in my post a couple of weeks ago, this little quilt top was an antique shop find for only ten dollars!  It was well made, and in very good condition with no rips or stains, and all it needed was a little TLC to finish it up.

The top was only 32 inches square, so I decided to add a border to it, which makes it 38 inches finished.  The Kona Navy really is perfect with it.  How could it not be with all of those shades of blue?

I was able to pull the Kona Navy, and all of the backing and binding fabrics from stash as well to finish it off.  I love when I can finish a quilt without buying more fabric.  That's always a little victory for me!

This binding fabric has to be one of my favorite parts of the quilt.  The print is a tiny snowball and nine patch pattern in shades of blue, and the shade is pretty darn close to the star point chambray fabric- perfect!

It was such an honor to be able to finish this treasure from the past, and it will be a perfect quilt to donate to a preemie little boy!

Labor Day Giveaway!

Good morning, and happy Labor Day quilty friends!  I hope you are enjoying your Labor Day as much as I am.  I am currently still lounging in my pajamas with my coffee in hand, planning out my next quilt.  Can it really get any better?

I have been pretty productive this weekend, and finished my Stacked Squares quilt yesterday.  We've been getting lots of rain, so I hope it will dry out enough to squeeze in a photo shoot.  I do have a couple of things to share with you though.  A couple of weeks ago, I finished up a couple of donation quilts that I'm giving to the local children's hospital for preemies, and I just realized that I never posted about them!

This rainbow quilt was so quick and fun!  When I made the backing for Shattered Rainbow, I ended up with a perfect sized piece of each fabric.  I hated to put them into my scrap jars, so I decided to make a mini rainbow quilt, and give it a little bit more interest by doing a strip and flip.

Since these preemie quilts are small (36ish inches), I did solid backings on them, and I absolutely LOVE the rainbow flower print I found for this one!  The front is so straight and square that I think it's the perfect compliment!

You may remember my second preemie quilt from my stop on the Fat Quarter Style book tour.  I made the Tapestry block, and although I would have loved to make an entire quilt, my beginning of school schedule just would not accommodate.

I think the Chic Flora fabrics look great in this block, and I like the style of the block with the borders.  The shape of the block, with the star in the middle almost have a medallion feel.  With the borders, it is a perfect size for a preemie quilt, and I was able to use some Kona Navy that was in my stash.

This one got a sketch print backing in that pretty shade of cornflower blue.  Since these are so small, I didn't label or name them, which felt totally wrong.  You know I always label and name my quilts!

Okay, y'all!  Ready for the giveaway?  Amy at Dragonfly Fabrics is giving away $25 to spend in her shop!  The timing is perfect, because she is also extending her Labor Day sale through Wednesday, where there are coupon codes for 20% off of everything in the shop.  Check out some of her gorgeous fabric lines.  Keep in mind that these are just a few!

To enter the giveaway, leave a comment on this post, and let me know how you would spend the $25.  Easy peasy!  I'll use a random number generator on Wednesday afternoon to choose the winning comment and announce the winner on Wednesday evening's Needle and Thread Thursday post.

Edited 9/3- this giveaway is now closed!  :)

The button for Dragonfly Fabrics is always on my left sidebar, but I'll also add it here so you can easily pop over and browse!  Good luck in the giveaway!