Alex's twin size quilt

I finished the quilt top for my son's twin size quilt. It turned out way more busy than I originally anticipated.

Even though it's very busy, I love all the fabrics in this. I have quite a bit of the older Sarah Jane fabrics, along with some Sweetwater, scraps from Joseph's quilt and other odds and ends. My son helped pick out quite a few of the fabrics and I filled in the rest. I think if I were to do it over, I would make the smaller squares more consistent. Instead of using low volume fabrics, I would use a solid white to break it up and give your eye somewhere to rest. Or just follow the pattern and use a color solid and a white solid. Just a thought.

I'm having trouble finding the perfect backing fabric so this one may be a while until it's quilted. But I'm hoping not too long.

Quilt Stats:
Pattern: Scrappy Summer by Cluck Cluck Sew
Size: 64" x 88"
Fabrics: Mix of Sarah Jane, Sweetwater, DS Quilts, and others

More pictures can be found on my Flickr with some close ups of my favorite fabrics.

Jelly Roll Race

My dad took an out of country job and will be leaving soon. So I thought he needed a quilt from me as a goodbye gift. He's been a cyclist my whole life and so when I saw this new fabric line I knew who to buy it for. Under a time crunch I decided to go with a jelly roll to make a Jelly Roll Race. This pattern really is super quick and easy, but they were not kidding when they said the first seam was a doozy. But I'd definitely do it again and again. I love how fast it comes together and the way the strips randomize themselves. You never know what you'll get until you're done! All that's left now is to find some backing, batting and binding. I plan on quilting it myself to make sure it gets done in time. I'll post again with the finished quilt after I gift it.

My favorite print is the little bicycles popping wheelies

Fabric: Cycles of Life by Kite Flying Society for Maywood Studios
Pattern: Jelly Roll Race (do a Google search, there are some great videos and tutorials)

Fair Isle Quilt Top

It's done! It's done!! I can't believe it! (Warning: picture heavy!)

The reindeer row! I love how the snowflakes turned out.

Check out the sparkles!! I chose this fabric specifically because of the sparkly snowflakes. They are very subtle, you can only see them in the right light. I'm in love! :)

I nicknamed this quilt the "$500 Dollar Quilt", any guesses why?? ;) Truly a labor of love and if I sell it (and that's a very big IF) I won't take a penny less than that.

I found this flannel sheet set at the thrift store for $3! I'm going to piece together the back using it. For the batting I'm using Warm and Plush so it's going to be extra warm and snuggly. :)

Once the backing is pieced this baby is off to the long arm quilters to get the sweater treatment (ie a cable quilting pattern!). I can't wait to show you the finished product!

If you are making this quilt here are a few tips that I've learned along the way:

1. Starch is your friend. Seriously. Starch all your fabric before cutting for accuracy and then after piecing the blocks/rows starch the back side and iron. It makes your seams lie really flat. 
2. Get yourself a strip cutting ruler (any size will do). I so wish I had this ruler when I first started but it was a huge life saver for the last few rows. Go get one. Now!
3. Stay stitch the blocks with lots of pieces. Especially on the reindeer. Stitch 1/8" away from the edges to make sure all the seams stay together. Something else I wish I would've done. I ended up hand stitching a handful of seams closed.
4. Sew your blocks into rows as you go. Give yourself one less thing to do by the time you get to sashing. 
5. Definitely check out the sew along for more tips and tricks for each block. You especially want to check out the post on cutting.

Stats:
Pattern: Fair Isle by Freshly Pieced
Fabric: Quilter's Linen in Silver by Robert Kaufman
           Raphael Snow in Pearl by STOF Fabrics

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2015 Finish: Feed Company BOM

My first finish of 2015!

I had cut the fabric a week or so ago but Sunday I got the urge to sew the quilt top together. I sewed the quilt top minus the borders that day and yesterday I put the borders on. I'm so pleased with how it came out!

I have no idea when this will be quilted. I plan on mimicking the quilting used on the original, so I need to save my pennies for a custom job. My hope is to have it quilted by the end of this year, but who knows if that will happen. But I'm so glad this is one quilt top I can cross off my list.

Pinwheel Sampler Top

I got my pinwheel sampler top finished this past Saturday. Despite cutting off a few points, I am happy with how it turned out.

I already got the binding cut and ready to go, but I'm still undecided on the backing. I'm thinking either a solid or tone-on-tone grey, so the quilting will stand out. I plan visiting the fabric store this week and then it's off to Abby for quilting. I can't wait until it's finished and I can snuggle with it. :)