Tuesday, September 30, 2008

the morgan quilt

(inspired by this quilt)
i thought i was going to put this away for a while, but i changed my mind and decided to just finish it!i found an 'error' in this quilt. a very minor error, that i don't really mind at all. can you see it? on the right side of the quilt, the mustardy yellow is butted right next to the aqua just above it. there should be some white in between. i can't believe i didn't notice until it was completely finished! i kind of like these kind of accidents. i like to think they give the quilt character and make it look handmade.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

favorites

This quilt is a custom order through my etsy shop. My client requested fabrics from heather ross, denyse schmidt and the wee play line from American Jane. Seriously? These are all my favorites. I am loving this quilt.

It was inspired by a recent doll quilt I made, and I can't wait to see it quilted and washed. I would love to keep this one for myself.

Monday, September 22, 2008

zig zag quilt kit tutorial


(This tutorial is for a kit available in my etsy shop . inspired by this quilt.)

Your kit should include 120 five inch square blocks, backing fabric, and binding fabric.  I have now produced 5 different zigzag kits, one of the above images.  Each quilt combines different fabrics, but the method is same for all!

This quilt is made up entirely of half square triangle blocks, arranged into a zigzag pattern.

EAch 5 inch square will be paired up with another 5 inch square...the pair will become 2 identical half square triangles.  Each row is made up of 5 pairs, which will become 10 half square triangles.  You will have 12 rows.

Check your kit to be sure you have all the squares, once you have them all, separate them into pairs:  Amounts and pairs are listed below.  Again, you will need 5 pairs for each fabric combo.

Country life zigzag

Wee wander zigzag

Out to sea zigzag II


Mendocino zigzag

Instructions for ALL kits (regardless of fabric) are as follows...
take your first pair:

place right sides together
using a pencil (or fabric pen), draw a line from one corner to the opposite corner.stitch 1/4 inch away on each side of the pencil line. (I use a 1/4 inch foot, if you don't have one, draw a line 1/4 inch from pencil line on either side, and stitch on both lines.)
repeat on other side of pencil line
Your pencil line should now be sandwiched between two stitched lines, 1/4 in away on each side.
using scissors or rotary cutter, cut along pencil line.
you should be left with 2 pieces
press seams toward darker fabric
you now have 2 half square triangle blocks! Repeat this process until all your blocks are complete (120 total).  I like to trim my blocks to 4.5 inches, but if you feel confident that they are square, trimming isn't necessary.

As you complete your blocks, you can start lying them out to make a zigzag.
once you have all your blocks (10x12) laid out in order (follow the list of pairs above), begin assembling the quilt top.

Using quarter inch seams, first sew each block in a row together, forming a long strip.
you will have 12 strips with of 10 half square triangles.
Next sew the long strips together until your quilt top is complete.

Now you are ready to "quilt" your quilt. :). There are several options, take it to a local quilt shop and have them quilt it for you, or you can do it yourself.

if you choose to quilt your quilt yourself, see my stripes baby quilt kit instructions for tips on basting your quilt and quilting your quilt.

To bind your quilt, go here.
finished quilt measures approximately: 40in X 48in.
questions? email me nettiepete at gmail dot com

Friday, September 19, 2008

ike weekend

i finished this quilt top about a week ago, and had hopes of quilting it last weekend, but hurricane ike moved in and left us without power for 4 days. i knew it would be a crazy weekend with the storm coming, but i naively thought we wouldn't lose power and i'd be able to sit at home with nothing else to do but quilt...

it ended up being a peaceful machine-free(no tv, computer, sewing machine) long weekend. fortunately, we had no damage to our home, and never lost our running water--we know we had it easy compared to others, and are grateful for our blessings.
now other projects are looming, and this one will be put on hold. it's for my daughter. she has been begging me to make her a new quilt. i'm not sure why i agreed to make another quilt for her. she has a dozen quilts, and only uses one, but she came to me with a stack of fabric and said, mom, i want these fabrics in my new quilt. I couldn't resist, and she did a fairly good job at picking out fabric (I did have to make a few substitutions and eliminations.)

Monday, September 8, 2008

stacked coins doll quilt

I used leftover scraps from this quilt to make another doll quilt.

here's why I LOVE doll quilts:
For me, doll quilts are meant to be imperfect. I don't usually measure, iron, or plan ahead on doll quilts. I actually start working on it, and add to it as needed. I also like to try different quilting designs, in this one I tried circles...it was fun and I realized I need to work on circles.

I used whatever size scraps of white I had lying around, the white borders are all different sizes, which I discovered I really like. After attaching all my white borders, I wanted the quilt to be a little bigger, so I added the pink to one side, and voila...perfect. The pink strip has become my favorite part about this quilt. If I had planned and measured, the pink never would've happened. I wish I took this approach with larger quilts, I love how it turned out.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

half-square triangle doll quilt and a giveaway

this is not very exciting, but I finally put the binding on this doll quilt. I like it much better now, and my daughter has even agreed to let me hang it on her wall!

I do have something exciting to share...I'm giving away some goodies (quilt kit!) from my etsy shop over at a room somewhere. Hurry go check it out and enter to win.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

square by square

(inspired by this quilt)

after completing the first 10 squares of this quilt I was very nervous (again). I wasn't sure it was going to look right. I contemplated scratching it and starting completely over, but my husband (and voice of reason) told me it was just because I don't work with purples very often.

I kept at it, afterall, I don't often redo things, and I am glad I did. These plums and pinks and golds are so pretty! The design is simple, but striking. I have become pretty attached to this quilt.

The backing is mostly yellow, but I pieced one side...I always love a pieced back. I used to do fabulous pieced backs, it was my thing...lately I have been lazy and haven't been piecing. I need to un-lazy myself, because I really love the surprise a pieced back gives a quilt.
Available in my etsy shop, I'll be sad to see this one go...
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...