Schools back

Well, summer got the better of me.  I didn't sew much at all, and what I did sew was very slow going.   We've been back in school now for a couple weeks and I have time again!  I'm having a hard time staying focused on one project...a little of this and a little of that.

First up, Shimmer.  (Pattern found here.)  I love picking fabrics to put together in these blocks, and they go together quickly.  

I couldn't resist April Rhodes new fabric line, Observer, and thought it worked really well with this HUGE block, it's 36 inches.  Pattern is from the Moda Building Blocks quilt booklet.  I don't want to make the entire quilt, but I need to figure out how to make it bigger.  I'm a little stumped on this one, so I put it away for a bit.  Maybe some inspiration will  strike.

And lastly I've been trying to use up scraps.  The never ending love/hate relationship I  have with scraps.  There are just so many of them, and they never run out.  I can't decide if I should arrange this pattern horizontally or vertically.

Actually, lastly, I'm wondering if anyone has a favorite charity they donate quilts to.  I would love to a place that takes quilt tops too.  Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

Hatched Quilt

My friend just had her 6th! baby, a boy, and this quilt will soon be his.  I really love this quilt and I really want to make one in my size.  

It's similar to this quilt and this quilt, but I added sashing, horizontally and vertically, through the middle for some variation.  I also added a border.  It's really not very different, so I guess it's no surprise that I love it.

For the backing, I used this large black polka dot fabric, that I designed and printed myself through My Fabric Designs.  I love how it turned out, my husband says it looks like black olives, and now all I see are olives.  

I wanted an almost ombre effect, but it just wasn't working until I added the grey, and then the greens really popped.

 I quilted straight lines on either side of the seams. 

Binding is a black crosshatch that I've had for a while.  I'm not sure who makes it.

Quilt stats:

Finished size:  38in x 45in (after washing and drying)

Pattern:  Inspiration here.  Half square triangles.

Fabric:  front--from stash   back--my own, printed and designed at My Fabric Designs  binding--stash

Batting:  Warm and White

Stash Builder Box

I recently received a fun package in the mail from Stash Builder Box, it's a monthly quilting box that features fabric, notions, patterns delivered monthly to your door.   

The unique thing about this box is for every box purchased, they donate a portion of the proceeds to making quilts for children in need.  Isn't that great? 

Inside my box were notions, beautiful Riley Blake Fabrics and patterns.  I'm excited to try them out, I love the floral prints, and even more excited to see people helping people.  If you want to help out, other than the subscription purchase, you can find out more here.

tiger lily

I am a long time fan of Heather Ross and LOVE her latest fabric line, Tiger Lily, especially those little ballerinas.  Another baby quilt, based almost completely off this quilt, and I am not finished with this design.  I love it, expect to see it again soon.

 Backing, girls in trees.

binding was hard for me.  I didn't have enough of any of the fabric to bind it, so I went with these feathers.  I love how subtle they are.

 Minimally quilted to keep it soft.  This corner is probably my favorite.

Quilt stats:

Finished size:  37in x 48in (after washing and drying)

Pattern:  Inspiration here.  Half square triangles (started with 5in squares).

Fabric:  front--Kona Snow and Tiger lily and pink solids.  back--Tiger Lily by Heather Ross for Wyndham.  binding--Wonderland, Cheshire Feathers

Batting:  Warm and White

My Fabric Designs

I was recently given the opportunity to try out a new to me fabric printing company, My Fabric Designs.  My Fabric Designs allows you to design your own custom fabric and print it by the yard.  

I am in no way a designer, but I have purchased and browsed enough fabric to know what I like.  I had no plans to actually design fabric myself, but I thought, why not?  This is the perfect opportunity.   My first batch were the two prints pictured above.  Plus signs and large polka dots.  I knew I wanted to use these as backing fabric, so I kept the design large, but it can be easily scaled down.

 After I gained a little confidence, I decided to draw to fruit.  I made pineapples, strawberries, watermelon and blackberries (although my family all say it looks like grapes).  I love the way the turned out.  They aren't perfect (my fault, not the fabric printer).  I am really impressed with how well the colors printed.  They are true to what I uploaded.  The pineapple, strawberry and watermellon were all made with brush markers(tombow) and pointed pen, the blackberries are watercolor, and the variations and shading that occur with water color came through so well on the fabric.  

I do not have any fancy computer programs, I don't even own photoshop or illustrator, I used pen and paper, scanned it into my computer and uploaded to My Fabric Designs.  If I can do it, anyone can do it!

As I mentioned earlier, I wanted the top fabrics for backing...I'll show them to you a little later, but I used the fruit fabric to make some placemats and napkins.  So fun to use something I made.

Both have been washed, and the colors held up really well.  No noticeable fading.

more farmer's wife blocks

I've been working on my Farmer's Wife blocks again.  I love making these blocks, they are small enough that most come from my scrap bin, some are really quick and others take more time.

I think I've settled on a size.  I'm going to make it throw size, so 8x10 (blocks)--maybe even 9x11.  So far I've made 48 blocks (see here), so I have 32 more to make.

Four Square

This is one of those quilts that I didn't really like until it was finished.  I started those blocks several years ago and put them away when I wasn't really feeling it anymore.  

A year or so later I pinned this quilt and knew I could make these 4 patch blocks work. 

I used Kona Essex Linen for sashing, and (I know I am going to be in the minority here) it was not my favorite to work with.  I'm not exactly sure what I didn't like about it, maybe the weight, and it definitely frayed easier.  But anyway, it's really pretty.  I do love the way it looks and in the end it turned out really great.

 I quilted figure 8's, my first time trying this pattern.  I used the grid in the quilt pattern as a guide and I love how it turned out.  I will definitely try it again.

I gave this quilt to my in-laws for Christmas.  I feel like it is a mellow enough pattern and fabrics are "neutral" enough to go with just about anything.

Quilt stats:

Size:  67in x 67in

Pattern:  none (each block measured 8.5 inches.  I strip pieced it.  Each strip was 2.5 inches.  I sewed 4 together and then flipped each row). 

Fabric:  4 patch blocks are mostly Glimma by Lotta Jansdotter.  Sashing is Kona Essex linen in Flax.  Binding is Denyse Schmidt, Hope Valley

Batting:  Warm and White.