For our homeschool co-op director

 Now that it's been gifted, I can share the quilt I made for our homeschool co-op director. It's a gift from all the families to says thanks and show our appreciation for all the work she's done this past school year. 

 

This was by far the easiest quilt I've done because there was no piecing involved. The front is actually a panel and I used 108" wide backing with the scraps for the binding. I just sent everything to Jennifer for quilting and then sewed the binding on. Easy peasy!

 

Quilt stats

Front panel - grey colorway in Heart & Soul by Deena Rutter for Riley Blake

Backing and binding - 108" wide in Nest by Lella Boutique for Moda

Quilting - "Denise's Spirals" pattern, stitched by Jennifer Reed of Farm Fresh Stitches

Thread on binding (decorative stitches) - Gutermann color 602

A special first birthday quilt

A sweet first birthday quilt for our rainbow quilt. It ended up being a few months late but he didn't mind. I used a lot of my favorite Sarah Jane fabrics, even fussy cutting a few squares. She designs the sweetest childhood fabrics and I use them sparingly because they are my favorite.

Quilt stats:

Pattern - Scrappy Summer by Cluck Cluck Sew in a crib size 

Fabrics - scrappy mix with lots of Sarah Jane, Dear Stella, Sweetwater

A Christmas quilt

 I got this quilt done in time for Christmas as a gift for my boys. I fell in love with the Treehouse Club fabric collection from Sweetwater Fabrics. Such a cute collection for boys with all the tools. I made it extra snuggly by putting a teal minky on the back. Jennifer at Farm Fresh Stitches did the quilting and I just love the tool pattern she found.

Quilt stats

Pattern - Double slice layer cake with 2 additional borders

Fabric - The Treehouse Club by Sweetwater Fabrics for Moda (top + binding)

    teal minky, 90" wide (backing)

Quilting - "Tool Time" pattern, stitched by Jennifer Reed of Farm Fresh Stitches

A Wedding Signature Quilt

I haven't been doing much sewing lately. I have two babies under 2 that keep me very busy. But I had to dust off my sewing machine for this special occasion.

My husband's youngest brother recently got married and my gift to them was a guestbook quilt. I tossed around quite a few patterns in my mind but I finally decided on a pattern by Thimble Blossoms. I got the idea for using the labels on the back from another quilter. I thought it would make for a great reversible quilt.

Photo by Marion McClellan

Photo by Marion McClellan

Quilted by Marion McClellan of My Quilt Diet
Pattern: On A Whim by Thimble Blossoms
DMC # 3802
Fabric:

• Hazel Plum by Fig Tree & Co. for Moda
• Glimmer solids in Champagne by Cloud 9 Fabrics
• Bella solids in Fig Tree Cream by Moda
• Quilter's Linen in Smoke by Robert Kaufman
• Souvenir Labels in Pearl (#13740-11) by French General for Moda

My Daddy's Quilt

I put in the last stitch on the binding today and this quilt is in the wash as I'm typing. :) I can't wait to gift it to my dad.

I used a wave stitch on my machine to quilt it. I just followed the seam line so it's quilted every 2" or so. Of course I had to include my custom labels and my favorite PS I love you tags. My custom labels came from Mad Mad Graphics (they are the vintage care labels) and the PS I love you tags came from my local quilt shop.

Quilt Stats:
Fabric: Cycles of Life by Maywood Studios (top and binding)
          Spot On by Robert Kaufman (108" wide backing)
Batting: Warm and White
Pattern: Jelly Roll Race
Size: approx. 51" x 65.5"

More photos on my Flickr account

Crinkle love: Feed Company BOM

My Feed Company BOM quilt is done! It already been washed and snuggled with. I'm in love with it!

I have more photos posted on my Flickr account but I just wanted to share a few of my favorite here. Marion did the custom quilting and I have nothing but high praises for her work. She is truly awesome! I loved the quilting done on the original quilt so she mimicked it on mine. I'm so very very happy with it. If you have a quilt needed custom work please look her up. You won't be sorry!

Quilt Stats:
Feed Company Block of the Month by Sweetwater Fabrics
Started: December 2014
Completed: March 2016
Quilted by Marion McClellan

For those curious, the iron on designs do soften up quite a bit and get a bit more distressed in the wash. Just remember to wash them gently with cold water and let them air dry. After mine fully air dried I did toss it in the dryer for 10 minutes on low heat to soften it up a bit, but I wouldn't do more than that.

This quilt was part of my edited first quarter goals for the 2016 Finish Along. Well, 1 out of 3 ain't bad in my book. :)

Feed Company Block of the Month

I'm having lots of fun stitching up Sweetwater's newest block of the month featuring their new collection Feed Company.

When I saw it on their blog last year I knew I had to get it. It's my Christmas present from my husband (that I purchased while he was at work hehe) and I'm looking forward to seeing it completed.

So far I got three of the blocks done and I'm working on the fourth. I'm on the fence with doing more embroidery, I've only done the borders so far. I'm toying with the idea of embroidering the letters, but I haven't decided yet. I figure I'll live with it for a bit and see if I want to add any more later. I'm already looking forward to next month's blocks. :)

If you missed out on this BOM keep an eye on their blog, they are having another BOM featuring their Christmas collection Holly's Tree Farm. I can't wait! I'm getting that one too. :)

Looking back and moving forward

My original 2014 quilt goals were simple, I wanted to finish 3 quilts that have been lingering (either in my UFO pile or in my head).

1. My mom's quilt
2. My sister's quilt
3. My second son's quilt

Well, I succeeded in getting two of those checked off. Two out of three ain't bad in my book. :)

My pinwheel sampler quilt was the first quilt done off that list. I set a deadline and got it done by summer. This quilt was done in memory of my second son, Joseph, whom we lost to miscarriage.

My sister's quilt was her Christmas present this year. Super easy pattern, I just let it sit unfinished far too long. But she loves it so I'm happy. :)

And my mom's quilt? Well, it's half way through cutting. :) I cut all of the colors, and got through part of the white. She wants pictures on her quilt so I'm waiting on her to pick out her favorites.

I have a few quilts that are still unfinished (like the Great Granny Along and Fair Isle) but I'm hoping to get those done this year. I also purchased Sweetwater's newest block of the month featuring their upcoming collection Feed Company. I hope to at least have the top put together by the end of the year.

My quilt goals for 2015 are:
1. My mom's quilt
2. Winter Wonderland block of the week (a birthday present)
3. Fair Isle
4. Great Granny
5. Feed Company block of the month
6. Thanksgiving tablecloth embroidery (not really a quilt but still a goal)

A Quilty Christmas

My sister got a quilt this year for Christmas. It started out as silent auction prize for her fundraiser. But when the silent auction didn't happen (and I had already bought the fabric) I decided to make this her Christmas present.

It looks more complicated than it really is. It's actually a super easy layer cake pattern.

I quilted it myself on the diagonal about every 3 inches in a cream thread. I'm happy with how it turned out. :)

I made the tag on Spoonflower before the auction was cancelled. But I figured it could still go on the quilt since there's no auction-related details on it. I found the little heart tags at my local quilt shop and thought they were too cute. They say "P.S. I love you"

All in all I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. And she likes it too, so that's all that matters. :)

Quilt info:
Pattern - Double Sliced Layer Cake
Fabric - Sweet Serenade by BasicGrey for Moda fabrics (layer cake and backing)
              Serene (NOBU-86 in black) by Nobu Fujiyama for Kona Bay fabrics (binding)

Pinwheel Sampler: Finished!

My pinwheel sampler is finished! There's quite a story behind it but first, the photos.

 This quilt has been a long time in the making. It all started when we lost our sweet baby to a miscarriage on April 3, 2012. It was extremely difficult, and still is, but the worst part was that I didn't have anything tangible from him. We lost him very early in the pregnancy, way before I could start nesting, and we didn't even announce it to the family. So I was very alone in my grief, aside from my husband.

About a year later I made up my mind to make a quilt in memory of him. My firstborn got a quilt and I wanted to continue the tradition. So the spring/summer of 2013 I walked into my local quilt shop and picked out 10 fat quarters in a general blue-green-orange theme. No real direction, just picked out what I liked in those colors. They sat in my stash for a long time. It took awhile to find a pattern and once I did, it took awhile to get started. When January 2014 rolled around I made a small list of just 3 quilts that I wanted to finish this year. This was one of them.

I ended up pulling 2 out of the original 10 fat quarters and went out and bought a few more quarter yards to add more orange and some navy. Once I started I tried not to stop. There were a few times where I just let unfinished blocks sit for a few weeks but I set a goal to get it done and shipped to Abby by summer. I met that goal and now I have this pretty quilt to snuggle in whenever I feel the need.

 Abby Latimer did my quilting again. She is my go-to longarm quilter. She is so wonderful to work with! After looking through all her patterns I didn't find anything I like. Last year when I finally decided on a pinwheel sampler I fell in love with the cloud panto. I've been dreaming of pinwheels and clouds ever since. Abby didn't have that pattern on her list but she was so sweet and bought it to use specifically on this quilt. I'm so grateful she did that!

 I used Spoonflower to print this tag. I ended up needing tags for 3 other quilts so I printed all 4 at the same time. Each of the tags is 3.5" square when finished (4" unfinished) and they fit perfectly on their 8" x 8" sample. I used the option of Kona for the base fabric.

The tag reads:

In memory of Joseph

April 3, 2012

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones.

Psalm 116:15

With love always, mama

 My name, 2014 ~ quilted by Abby Latimer

The quilt has already been washed to get that perfect crinkle and it's been loved on nearly every day since. This quilt has been a labor of love and I am so happy to finally have something to snuggle whenever I think of my sweet angel.

Quilt Stats

Pattern: Pinwheel Sampler by Rachel Griffith (found here)
Size: 54" x 54"
Batting: 80/20 Hobbs 
Fabrics:  Top: Mix of green, blue and orange from various designers
               Backing: Grey Crosshatch Quilter's Flannel from Joann's Fabric (similar)
Quilting: One Cloudy Day by Abby Latimer
Tag: Created by me, printed by Spoonflower