Summer Quilts - Simple Strip Quilt

Well - I had a slightly different idea for a quilt in my head before I started this. But it didn't quite work out as planned. I'd wanted to make it a scrappy herringbone quilt with different widths of strips and only a small amount of yellow. But I cut all the pieces wrong at first and had to just do this instead. I think it still worked out okay. And I'm pretty sure my niece loved it. And that's really all that matters.

I had been hoarding 2 + yards of this orchid colored Matryoshka fabric designed by Heather Ross. I found that there were 2 prints from Weekends by Erin McMorris that went perfectly. Also - that Echo by Lotta Jansdotter print that is the exact same color. They all went together so well. And then that touch of yellow to break it all up.

Once I sewed everything together I didn't like it. It seemed so busy and there was a lot more yellow than I'd originally wanted. I think if I were to do it again I'd add in some purple solids or white to break it up even more. I'd also cut the strips bigger and only have a few small ones.

I quilted this on my machine with just a simple loop. I like the loop when there's a line to follow. It was a bit difficult on this one because I didn't really follow a line.

The back is my favorite. I kind of wish it were the front and that I'd just backed it with a solid. Maybe next time I'll do that.

Summer Quilts - simple squares

This was a very quick top to put together, and truthfully, I'd sewn the top up in the early spring. I just didn't get around to quilting it until July.


I believe the blocks were 6.5 inches cut (6 inches finished). There are 7 blocks across and 9 blocks down. Which would make the dimensions of this quilt about 42 x 54.

For the quilting I used my walking foot. I made a small circle - about 1/2 inch - and then spiraled away from it about 1 inch away. I think spacing became further and further apart as I got closer to the outside and I think next time I'd try to space it at almost 2 inches.

I really love how it turned out even though it's not exactly perfect. Also - this batting was quite thick, which made the quilting really show up.

Summer Quilts - Hello Betty Matryoshka

Hello to anyone who still reads this blog. It seems like the summer flew by, didn't it? I did get some quilting in, but I think I burned myself out making 6 quilts in July, all for nieces and nephews. I haven't done much since.

I'm going to write about them all in their own posts.

First up - the Hello Betty Matryoshka.

I started with 2 fat quarters of this cute Kokka Folklore Matryoshka fabric, which I think you can still get online (it also comes in other colors). I cut those fat quarters into 12 6.5 inch squares (finishing at 6 inches).

Then I bordered each square with white strips cut at 1.5 inches (finishing at 1 inch).

Luckily I had some leftover Hello Betty fabric that was just the right colors. I cut several 2.5 inch strips to border the white-bordered matryoshka squares (ending up 2 inches finished).

Then I sashed everything with 2.5 inch cut strips (2 inches finished) and added a 2.5 inch cut (2 inches finished) border.

 

The quilting was just a straight, diagonal stitch. Which was really easy because I just followed the lines of the backing fabric (which I got at JoAnn). I did have to buy the backing and the binding, but everything else was used from my stash.

The final dimensions for this quilt are 44 inches x 58 inches. Thanks for reading :)

100 quilts for kids

Hi everyone. Today I'm part of Katie's 100 Quilts for Kids Blog Hop. Thanks so much for having me, Katie!

Today I'm sharing a couple of quilts that have just been sitting here for a few years. I had been planning to give them to a charity, but had no deadline and so they just sat. Then Katie asked me if I'd be part of the blog hop and I knew exactly what I'd do. I'd finish up these two quilts.

I have a hard time throwing scraps away and I also have a hard time using them again in quilts for my house. So they end up being perfect for charity quilts.

First up is my Hello Betty Scrap Quilt. The original quilt top is done, but I still haven't quilted it and the only photo I have is in this post. I used this tutorial from Cluck Cluck Sew and I had all these little double half square triangles left over. If they had all gone the same direction, I could have had a double pinwheel going on, but I didn't think of that while I was cutting and so this is what I came up with.

After the center part was done, I added a few borders (I especially love the outer border), quilted it, and bound it, washed it, and now it is all ready to give away. I'm not sure which charity I'll give it to, but I'd like it to stay local.

I happened to find this perfect zig zag for the backing at JoAnn. Quite the find!

This next quilt was made from scraps from this quilt. I this flickr photo as inspiration. It was a quick quilt to make and used up some tiny scraps as well as some bigger ones.

Both of these quilts ended up being about 42 inches square. I think that's a good size for a baby or kid quilt. Hopefully someone will be able to get some use out of them.

There is also another post I'd done about these tops that has a few more photos in it, if you're interested in seeing how the blocks fit together.

Thanks again for stopping by!

rainbow chevron - finished!

Well, I've finished my rainbow chevron quilt. My sister-in-law Emily was here a few weeks ago and brought it back with her to quilt. I asked her for Denyse Shmidt loops (is there another name for this?) because that's my favorite and I can't do it at home (or I'm horrible at it at home.)

 I love everything about this quilt! It's one of my faves for sure. I originally got the idea for the back from Crazy Mom Quilts (this quilt). I didn't quite leave as much white as I wanted on the left side or the bottom, but it turned out great anyway.

Here's another good close up of the quilting. If you're looking for a good quilter Emily is very meticulous and is great at this pattern. (I think this is the 3rd quilt she's done for me with this pattern.) Go check her out at Emerson Quilting.

For the binding I used Alexander Henry Heath in gunmetal. I really love that Heath print - I wish it came in every color!

And there you have it - I do finish things sometimes :)

And don't forget that I've got a tutorial for this quilt here. Thanks for stopping by!

WIP: Bee Tweet quilt

Last year I joined my very first quilting bee - Bee Tweet. It was a great experience! I loved making new blocks each month, some I'd never tried before. I loved making new friends and getting fun packages in the mail. When it was my month, somehow I never blogged about it.

This was the fabric I sent out.

The blocks I picked were based on Nettie's quilt that I had pinned.  These are my test blocks, below.

As of the beginning of March - here are the blocks I had gotten back. I'm loving it! Today I am only waiting for 1 more block, but I still have a lot of blocks to make. I think I'll make this twin size - my usually go-to size (that way, if any bed is missing a quilt, there's one all ready for it).

I should finish something

Before I start this post that could just keep going on forever, I want to let you all know that I really appreciate all the love from my last 2 posts. I know blogging isn't supposed to be about the comments, and I know they were giveaway comments, but I LOVE COMMENTS! So thanks for that. Also - I have contacted the winner and will be sending her the ruler. Too bad I didn't have 100+ so I could send you all one.

Now - I have a problem. The problem is that I LOVE to start projects but I don't really love to finish them. Something always comes up that has to be done, sometimes I just don't know what to do, or something else just pops up that is more appealing.

Last week I started the snake trail quilt. And while several of the other bloggers in the EZ Dresden Challenge actually finished their quilts, mine sits there with only 8 blocks. (The first 4 I messed up, but I'll still include them in my final quilt.)

I also finished my 48 blocks for my granny square quilt (pictures to follow as soon as they're uploaded.) But I didn't quite feel like sewing them together (maybe because I know basting comes next. I hate basting.)

I did okay on the teacher quilts because there was a deadline.

But what is my problem? And what am I going to do about it? If any of you have any suggestions - I'm all ears.

For now, I think I'll start posting my WIPs (works in progress) here. Maybe it will help me to be more accountable? We'll see.

First up - which is something I have been working on for at least 2 years (and will probably be working on for longer than that) is my hexagon quilt. It is English Paper Pieced and it's kind of my work-in-the-car-on-long-car-trips-project. I have no timeline to finish it, and I tend to like big quilts. So it will be a while. And I'm okay with that. I have a few other hand projects on the list, but haven't started any and don't plan to until this one is done.

When this photo was taken, a few months ago, there were 88 flowers on the quilt. Now there are 110. So it's a bit bigger. The size of the sides of the hexagons are 3/4 inch. So they are rather smallish. Not the smallest size you can get, but not very large for sure.

The next WIP I'm going to admit to is one I started sometime in 2009. It is a Hello Betty double hourglass quilt. The top is completely done at this point and you can see a little bit about it here.

I got stuck on what to do on the back. I've got 4 FQs of the line still left. I'd be okay with a nice solid turquoise or dark orange, but I can't seem to find one (I've only looked at JoAnn.) I thought something pieced might be nice, and I kind of wanted flannel. If I would just decide on something and buy it, I could probably get my sister in law to quilt it for me. I just need to do it!

Are you like me - do you have quilter's ADD? Or are you really organized and focused and finish one project before you start another one.

I will be back with more WIPs. And I'm not even organized enough to get them linked up to Lee's WIP Wednesday. But I've got a long list I plan to post. Unless something else comes up.