WIP Wednesday

Even though I have only finished a single quilt this year, I have been keeping busy making some blocks for a couple of projects.  I have made blocks each month for a virtual quilt bee.  I have one more set that I am working on for May (it is a double block month, yay!).Spinning Stars for April

Scrap Jar Star quilt block – March

 

Schoenrock Cross bock for February

Alaska Homestead Block for May

Up next for May is a supernova quilt block.  There are lots of pieces for these blocks, but hopefully they will be finished up by the end of the weekend!

Jungle ABCs

A friend of mine asked recently if I could make a baby quilt for a friend of hers.  I love making baby quilts, so any excuse is welcome!  The fabric for kids is adorable and the quilts come together so much faster than the larger quilts. This particular quilt was going to be for a little boy and the nursery was being done in an woodland theme.  After a little looking around I found the Life in the Jungle fabric by Doohikey Designs for Riley Blake.

 This great quilt on Etsy served as inspiration for design.It was adorable and my friend loved it.  It looked like it would be easy enough to make as I only had a week between arriving back in the country (I was leaving for vacation a couple days after she emailed me) and when the baby was due.  I picked up a fabric panel and a jelly roll and had them waiting for me when I got back.  Using the original quilt as inspiration I started cutting – the precut strips made putting this together a breeze.

I cut out squares from the panel and gave them each a border with a jelly roll strip.  I had to do a little measuring for the longer rectangle as it was a little skinnier than the other blocks from the panel.  I think it worked out okay with a border that is a little wider.

Along the bottom I raw edge appliqued the baby’s name and then quilted with a simple stipple.  The binding is a scrappy binding that I made with the leftover strips of the jelly roll that I had not used to border any of the panel blocks.  The backing is Roll Call in green fabric from the Life in the Jungle collection.

It is going to its new home this week!  It feels good to finally complete a quilt this year!

20 Years in the Making

Years ago when I was a little girl my mother took a quilting class.  I remember the fabric covering the dinning room and loving it even then.  Sadly after finishing the top, pinning the entire quilt and doing one row of quilting, she was never able to finish.  This quilt has sat in her closet for about 20 years unfinished.  As a child I would go and sneak a peak at the quilt, always being careful to to unwrap the whole thing.  I was fascinated and enthralled by the project, and would even try to steal the scraps of fabric that were leftover for various craft projects.  My mother has never touched a quilt since that first attempt, but as evidenced by this blog quilting has stuck with me all these years.

Currently my parents are in the process of redoing their bedroom.  I have always known that this quilt was supposed to go in their room, so I thought what would be a better birthday present for her than finishing her quilt?

When I received the quilt from my Parent’s home it was in rough shape.  The backing had been torn in areas and stained at some point over the years.  The poly batting had been tattered and pulled around the edges, so there was batting missing as much as 10 inches in from the edge in some places.  I proceeded to remove the quilting that had been done (with thick thread that resembled fishing line) and remove all the pins.  New backing and batting was ordered and I made an appointment at Sparrow Studios to rent a long arm.

I love the way it turned out – the nice loopy leaves scrolling across the quilt goes nicely with the light fabrics and keeps it nice and soft.  It was very different that the diamonds she had originally started, so I was a little nervous of how she would like it.

In working with my Dad I was able to be on the phone with my Mom when she opened her new quilt and her reaction was great.  She was surprised at the different feel the new batting gave it, but loved the leaves.  She is now busily deciding how to decorate her room around the quilt!  I am happy that after 20 years she will finally be able to have her quilt on her bed.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Happy Birthday Dr Seuss

It is the birthday of one of my favourite childhood authors – Dr. Seuss!  In honour of his birthday I am going to share with you my latest finished quilt top – Dr. Seuss Improv Pods.  This quilt top is from the Craftsy class Inspired Modern Quilts.  I loved the look of it and knew it would go well with the scraps of my Dr. Seuss fabric.  I used one of the squares from the panel that came with my fat quarter pack as one of the pods and love how it calms the look of the other two very fun blocks on the quilt.

This quilt top came together very quickly and I love how it turned out.  Now to decide how to quilt it.

Fabrics:

Pods: Dr. Seuss scraps

Sashing: Kona snow

Background: Kona ash

WIP Wednesday

I haven’t had many finishes lately, as my quilting time is dwindling with semester getting into full swing.  Without many finishes I thought I would share some of the projects that I have on the go right now.  I try to have a few small projects so that I have something to work on for 10 minutes here and there between marking papers.

 

I finally broke down and decided to do the half square triangle BOM from In Color Order.  I am only a year late getting on this one, but I do love the way this block looks with the Simply Color fabric!

This is a block from the Kitchen Window quilt that I am making.  I picked up these fabrics on my vacation to Maui last year and have finally started getting the quilt top together.  I am loving all the bright colors and can’t wait to see it finished.  I am keeping an eye out for the perfect backing (there wasn’t enough room in the suitcase to bring back that much fabric last year).

I stated this project one night after watching some of my Inspired Modern Quilts Craftsy class.  I made this using the improv pods lesson and a the last of my Dr. Seuss scraps.  Now to get a couple more and get a top together.

And last, the blocks that I have made for the Ima Bee Quilting Bee.  I decided to join my first quilting bee this year, and have loved making this first block.  I can’t wait to see all the blocks come together in the final top!  You can see more of the blocks and a start of the top here.  Up next is the Schoenrock Cross block (more paper piecing to try out, hopefully it goes smoothly).

That is all I am working on right now, hopefully I will have something finished soon!

Scattered Squares

Over the holidays when trying Craftsy classes (it is so nice that I can watch the videos at home by my sewing machine at 11pm when I get the urge to make something) I signed up for the Creative Quilt Backs by Elizabeth Hartmen.  I loved her class, and decided to also sign up for her Inspired Modern Quilts class.  This quilt is a mix from both classes.

For what I am calling the front of this quilt, I followed her directions for the Scattered Squares quilt from Inspired Modern Quilts.  I had 3.5” blocks leftover from my Gradations quilt and decided to go with that.  I went with the suggestion of getting a design wall (well I taped some batting to my wall) instead of laying things out on the floor this time.  (Sidenote: I love the design wall and actually ended up making myself a real one the next week!)

For the back, I used some scraps from the Gradation Backing and from my stash along with some techniques and tips from Inspired Quilt Backs to make my first pieced quilt back.  I love how it turned out – especially as this could be a quilt a top it is so fun.

For the quilting I used a design called Atomic Squares from Angela Walters book Free Motion Quilting.  It was fun to try out a new design, especially on a small project.  I love the way it looks with the squares on the front of the quilt.

I am not sure what I am going to do with this quilt, but apparently my dog likes it (she already has enough blankets including her own quilt – she doesn’t need this one too).

Circle of Geese Pillow

Over the holidays when I had a little bit of down time (meaning I wasn’t marking all evening anymore) I decided to give a Craftsy class a try.  I kept seeing ads for them, and they looked interesting.  I have  never taken a quilting class before, as most of the classes offered here are during the day – while I am at work.  With the Craftsy class I was able to watch the videos whenever I wanted, which was great.  I signed up for the two free classes to get a feel of what they would be like, and decided to try making the paper pieced block from the 2012 Craftsy Block of the Month.

I had some brightly leftover scraps from another project I am working on that (I will hopefully post a WIP about that soon) I thought would work great with the white.  I love the bright colours.

I quilted the block with straight lines just under a ¼ inch apart, and I love the way it turned out.  I don’t think I would do that on a whole quilt but it is great on the pillow I made this block into.

I had a great time making this block and following the videos that I have decided to make the whole quilt.  Of course I had to order new fabric for it (any excuse), so I will be getting started on that soon!