Sherbet Pips!

For my birthday last year,
my dad gifted me a layer cake
(that's thirty 10" squares)
of Sherbet Pips by Aneela Hooey.
It took me a while to decide what to do with them
(yes, I have decision making issues)
(duh)
but once I figured it out,
the quilt came together rather quickly.

This will be my first venture into free motion quilting
so I'm a little scared to officially start it.
But I'm sure that even if I screw it up,
it'll still be warm.

Even if it's not that pretty to look at.

Hey! Sort of like me.

Cheers,
A

Pinwheels!

This photo was taken in June:

The day after DRL and the girls piled into a car and headed to Minnesconsin.

I was alone for two weeks and occupied my time by sewing aprons.

A whole lot of aprons.

Which reminds me, I need to make more aprons!

After the above photo was snapped, I added a back to the queen-sized quilt top

and it became a duvet cover.
I threw it on our guest bed and didn't look back. 

Until I did.

I looked, and I did not like what I saw.
It just didn't look...finished.

So I tore some seams and folded the quilt top up and packed it in a box.

After we moved back home,

as I unpacked our little studio of space,

I came across the pinwheels and knew I had to finish it. 

It just so happened that Elena liked it,

and needed a fun, kid-friendly bedspread.

So the queen sized duvet was converted into a twin size quilt

with a fun, coordinated, turn-down-the-bed-in-style pieced back.

I absolutely love how it turned out.

Fabric: It's A Hoot by Moda, Kona Snow Cotton, It's a Hoot Home Dec for the binding.

Cheers,

A

Two Faced

My bff Nadia asked me if I would make a quilt
for the little boy she is expecting in October.
"Of course, love!" I said.

I sent her a few links to quilts that I liked
or that I thought would be perfect for a little boys' room.
"I like the zig zag pattern," she said.
So I sent her some fabric ideas.
"Mmmm....Ummmm...Er...ah...How about just solids? It looks like a lot of work to put a quilt together,
and I don't want it to get too....busy."
"Um...yeah. Sure. Okay, Nadj," I told her.

But I knew better.
There was no way I was going to use just solids.
No way, no how.

We talked colors.
She liked grellow.
But she also liked turquoise and coral.
"They don't really work together, honey," I told her.

"That's okay," she said.
"We can have a double-sided quilt. It'll be perrrrrrfect!"

mmmmmkay.......

"Yep! You've got it! I'm exCITEd." I choked out.

I set to work. I zigged.
And zagged.
I pieced the turqcoral side.
Then I hung them on my design wall.
Side. By. Side.

Crap.
No good.
I can't do it. I can't do this two sided quilt thing. It's no good I can't do it. Too busy. Too much.
OHMIGOSH It's just TOO much!!!

So I took a photo with my phone.
And I begrudgingly sent it off to Nadia and asked for her input.
BEGRUDGINGLY.

"I love it! It's going to be perfect!" she said.

Mmmmmkay......

So I basted.
I quilted.
I doubted, and doubted, and doubted some more.

Then I washed it.
Put some binding on it,
and fell truly,
madly,
deeply
in love.

And so, too, did Nadia.

*phew*

Cheers,
A

From Rags To...

A few months back, 

I happened upon some clearance charm packs

at a fabric shop near our old apartment. 

They weren't colors I'm traditionally drawn to,

but they were so inexpensive, I couldn't pass them up.

They sat in my fabric bin for weeks.

I had no idea what I was going to do with them.

I started sewing 1" strips of fabric to two sides of each square.

110 squares, total.

Then I started piecing them together, and realized I had erred.

Something huge.

And what I had envisioned was absolutely not what was developing.

So I ripped the seams from those white strips of fabric.

From all 110 squares.

And I started over.

Something easier, this time.

A rag quilt.

It came together in a day.

Literally.

One.

Single.

Day.

  And while it is not something that is my typical color palette,

I'm rather pleased with how it turned out.

It actually matches my living room rather well.

A happy accident.

I really like how the back turned out.

I am happy I decided to use more than one color.

It sort of looks like a game of Tetris...

Cheers,

A

Macaroni Love Story: A Strip Quilt

I finally finished the Heather Ross Macaroni Love Story quilt.
I chose the binding fabric,
stitched it on
and c'est fini.

I am so happy with how
the quilt that took me one day to cut, piece, and sandwich
and three months to actually finish
turned out.

For the back,
I made some wonky blocks using scrap fabric
and some selvedge pieces.
I also threw in a couple strips to tie front and back together.

I kept the quilting to a minimum and did straight lines.
I stitched in the ditch of every strip and then 1/4" on either side of each seam.
I love the straight, unevenness of it.

 When I first started quilting this,
I was using a wavy stitch.
After I had about 16" finished, I realized I hated it.
So I cut the bottom of the quilt off,
and turned it into two doll quilts
for my two girls.

Waste not, want not.

I used different binding for each
so they could tell the blankets apart.
Elena's is on the left,
Stella's on the right.

Although it's difficult to tell in the photos,
I machine stitched the binding on this quilt.
It's the first time I've not hand-stitched the back of the binding
on a large quilt,
and it turned out rather well.

I have a few more quilting projects in the works.
I'm going to try my hand at a rag quilt,
and I'm going to make something using Aneela Hoey's Sherbet Pips line.
Which I was lucky enough to receive from my father
for my birthday.

(Thanks, Dad!)

Cheers,
A

PS: Happy Cinco de Mayo! May you have a very festive holiday-from-another-country-that-is-only-celebrated-in-America.  Also, happy birthday to my dear friend George, and a belated HB to Lance Throttle, and Angie!

Help: Wanted

Last night I finally
FINALLY
finished quilting my
Macaroni Love Story
strip quilt.

Yes.  The quilt top that took me one day to cut and assemble
has taken me weeks
to quilt.

But that's beside the point.

I picked out two different fabrics
for the binding.
Because I'm about as good at making decisions
as I am at being patient.

I'd like your help.
Which do you prefer?

A:

Or B:

Or do you love them both
like I do??

Vote now.

Cheers,
A

Macaroni Love Story

On Sunday morning
I decided to sew a little.

I've had this fabric sitting around since the fall.
In a basket.
In the living room.
Waiting for my indecisive brain
to finally decide what to do with it.

Then I saw what Film in the Fridge
did with her stash
of this now extinct
Heather Ross fabric.

I liked it.
Simple.
Stripes.
Easy.

So I thought it was just the right project to start
and finish
on Superbowl Sunday.

It measures 72x72.
I have enough fabric left over to make another quilt.
A much smaller quilt.

Or enough
to make a very interesting back.

Maybe I'll piece the back.
Maybe I'll buy a sheet and have the back plain.
I'm on the fence....

...and open to suggestion.

Cheers,
A

Stars In My Eyes

A few weeks ago
a friend on facebook
asked if I would consider making her little boy
a quilt.

I of course said "YES!"
and we set to work deciding on fabric.

We narrowed the choices down
and I told Kari
I would surprise her with the quilt
once it was complete.

I finished it yesterday.
(it was so much fun to make!)

I washed it.
Got it nice and squishy and soft.

Perfect
for a sweet
baby boy.

I decided to make the quilt using Riley Blake's All Star 2 line.
It's boyish.
Retro.
Yet still hip.

I first fell in love with this fabric
when Luc made this quilt for bean.

But I have two girls.
Who already have quilts.

The pattern is simple.
It showcases the fabric nicely.

And I just loooooooooove
how the back looks.

But the quilting
is the best part.

Stars.
In three different sizes.
Randomly placed
all over the quilt.

A simple stripe on the binding finishes it nicely.

Kari,
I hope you love it!

Thank you for allowing me
to make such a precious heirloom
for your little boy.

I can't wait to see a photo of him
with his new lovey.

Cheers,
A

{almost} finished.

Remember this?
Remember how I was about to give up.
To stop sewing.
To rip seams and start over because I thought the quilt
was too
...
busy?

I almost stopped.
I almost ripped seams and started over.

But now,
today,
this very moment

I am
almost
done with the quilt.

It's been pieced.
Quilted.
And the binding has
been machined to the front.

I didn't free-motion
this quilt.

Mostly because I don't know how.
So I had to come up with a different method.
I quilted each triangle.
Separately.

I used light gray thread on the front
and dark gray on the back.

I am over the moon
pleased
with how it turned out.

Once it's finished,
I'll be cutting into
my stash
of Macaroni Love Story.

Cheers,
A

Little Folks

That is what Santa brought me for Christmas this year.
And since the days after Christmas
are seemingly filled with
bragging, boasting, exclaiming proudly
what you got from jolly ol Saint Nick,
I suppose
it wouldn't be
in very good holiday spirit
for me not to share.

28 fat quarters
of Anna Maria Horner
Little Folks
voile.

Arranged
in the following photos
by color.

Beautiful
isn't it?

Now....
what to DO with all of it.

Ideas?

Oh!
I also received
one
fabulous yard
of Anna's new line
Innocent Crush
in
Velveteen.

I need ideas for this,
too.

Cheers,

A

Tangled

I made another set of pillows the other day.
Using Heather Ross's Far Far Away II line.
I picked the Rapunzel print.
Fitting, I suppose
given Disney's newest movie...

I made them following the same pattern as last time
only I tweaked it a little bit.
I made the back flap longer.
Now the pillow doesn't peek out.

I have to admit
I am sort of addicted to making throw pillows.

The good news
for sleeping room on our bed, anyway
is that I don't have any more pillows
that need to be re-covered.

Which really is
too bad.

Cheers,
A

We Are Living in a Material World

And I am a material girl

Cheers,
A

Studio Sale

About a month ago
I participated in Heather Ross's annual studio sale.
It sold out in 20 minutes.

Here's how it worked:
Interested parties were instructed to send Heather a request
indicating
how much they'd like to spend
and what kinds of items they'd like to find in their mailbox
when all was said and done.
Fabric.
Stationary.
Sketches.
Out of print designs.
Clothing.
You get the gist.

I asked Heather
if she would
to please send me any out of print
or never released fabrics
in the pink/orange/yellow family.

I'd say she was spot on.
This,
for those of who who aren't as nerdy as I
is a stack of Mendocino fabrics.
Seahorses.
Mermaids.
Squid.
And a gorgeous pink polka dot swatch
that looks rather similar to some Flea Market Fancy
(according to Rebecca, and she would know.)

On top of all this gorgeous fabric,
Heather was ever so kind
and sent me
an autographed sketch.

I.
Love.
It.

Really love it.
I think it's phenomenal.

But....


yeah,
there's a "but."

I think the inclusion of the sketch
significantly reduced the amount of fabric I received.
And, while elated by my loot,
I am
also
a little bummed.

I can't help it.
I feel guilty about it.

I feel like
I'm a total
and complete
douche.

But, at the end of the day,
I really just wanted fabric.

So,
dear readers,
what do I do.

Should I email Heather?
Should I leave it alone?

What would YOU do?

Cheers,
A

(PS: I kinda sorta mostly already emailed Heather.
I thanked her, gratuitously for what she sent. And asked if the print decreased the amount of fabric that was sent. But still, I'm desperate for your input.  Am I a horrible, rotten, ungrateful little wench? Or, am I not? Or maybe just a little? Help.)