A Simple Patchwork quilt

In over 30 years of quilting, I've never made a quilt simply of squares. Until now. You may remember this one, started early this Summer.

I enjoyed picking each and every fabric in colors of aqua, coral, gray and yellow. I love how this simple design really lets the fabrics sing!

The quilting design is "Flower Power" from Angela's book. It was super fun and easy.

Because I didn't count squares when I was cutting, there were tons left over that became much of the backing.

I used all my favorite bicycle prints and it makes me feel like hanging on to Summer just a little bit longer...  Cindy

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Field Study Play...

The wait is over! After seeing Field Study by Anna Maria Horner and Chicopee by Denyse Schmidt at Market last May, I knew I had better save up for these.

And lo and behold they really coordinate nicely. I wonder if they planned that?

{Field Study on the left and Chicopee on the right}

I have a plan for these!

But not ready to start a big quilt at the moment, I just played with these beautiful fabrics this weekend.

The Lone Starburst is a block that I've wanted to try from the moment I saw it.

And of course I had to try the Feather block, Anna's free pattern. I liked Molly's version, and decided to cut my right and left pieces the same.

I have no idea what I'm going to do with these blocks. They were made for pure fun. 

{And, no, I'm not giving them up!}

. . . Cindy

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Honey

I'm piecing an entirely different version of "Honey" than the original found on the cover of Modern Patchwork.

and I'm loving it! Can't wait to get the remaining rows on!

. . . Cindy

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100 Quilts for Kids

My first quilt for 100 Quilts For Kids is ready to go. I'm donating it to Project Linus. The STL Modern Quilt Guild will be collecting quilts for kids at our October 13th meeting. There's still time to make a quilt (I hope to make at least one more!) and be eligible for some great prizes!

My quilt is the result of 3 UFO blocks that I had made to practice some paper piecing. I added some sliced coin rows to make it a decent size.

It was a great opportunity to practice a free motion quilting design from Angela Walter's book. I used "Concentric Circles" and was pretty good at them by the time I finished the quilt.

Finishing up a UFO, practicing some free motion quilting and giving to a child in need ~ that's a winning combo in my book!

. . . Cindy

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Stems

One of my projects on retreat last week was this top. The pattern is "Stems" by Fig Tree Quilts. I love Orla Kiely and the quilt was inspired by one of her signature designs.

I first saw the quilt done by Caroline of Trillium Design. I could say I was inspired by her quilt, but really I totally copied hers. You can see her version here. Mine uses a gray Essex Linen background with prints from FMF, and Erin McMorris' line La Dee Da.

The back is ready and I'm on to quilting it!

. . . Cindy

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Dresden Fan retreat

I just returned from a productive quilt retreat with a wonderful group of talented quilters!

The Dresden Fan was the project of the week with 9 out of 14 of us working on our own version. Several chose polka-dots like the original and they were oh so cute!

Of course, there's always a rebel in the group who has to try something way out of the box. These blocks turned out awesome. I think the design has tons of possibilities!

I came home and finished up my last 4 blocks and they're ready to be sewn together. I think I'm going to love this one!

Here are a few other projects I was able to get a snapshot of:

And I finished a top that I'm so happy with. I'll get a picture soon, but one of our ambitious quilters sewed my cut-offs into these super cute little blocks (2 1/4").

You might want to head over to the Martingale blog for an awesome free pattern. It's also a great time to pick up something in the shop as everything is 25% off! Have a great weekend!

. . . Cindy

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STL Modern Quilt Guild Challenge

First, I have to say how much I admire all of you young mothers who manage to get so much sewing accomplished with little helpers at home. I babysat my 2 granddaughters last week, ages 2 and 4, thinking I may have a little time to sew every day during naps and bedtimes. Somehow the time disappeared or I was just too exhausted at the end of the day to do anything other than put my feet up! I enjoyed every minute of it, but to those of you who think I get a lot accomplished, it's nothing compared to what you do!

I had my challenge done early for the STL Modern Quilt Guild, which was revealed this Saturday. We had several choices for inspiration and I chose the song "Yellow Submarine". As a super, duper uper   (I've been with kids all week!) Beatles fan, it was the perfect inspiration for a quilt idea that's been on my mind.

My quilt is called "We Never Lived In A Yellow Submarine" and represents the 5 homes we have lived in. The house block is from Modern Patchwork by Elizabeth Hartman.

I included a girl...

and a boy to represent our 2 children...

For the roof, I printed out each address on a printable fabric sheet.

My practice block landed on the back to represent the next house. I found this wonderful scrap from an old Sweetwater line, "Make Life", and fussy cut my favorite adjectives for the future.

Here's the full back. Now I need to find a good spot to hang it!

So this week I'm off on a much anticipated quilting retreat. I've got a new project cut, my Dresden Fans, and a few UFOs to work on.

My camera's packed, so I hope to be back with some inspiring pictures! Have a great week!

. . . Cindy

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Striped Star

I stayed up sewing and watching the Olympics way to late last night.

This Striped Star pattern from the Purl Bee has been bookmarked for a while.

And I thought it might be the perfect block for my fat quarters of Summersville.

As much as I love the fabric, I found it a tough group to use with all it's light backgrounds. But I'm pretty happy with how the block turned out adding the gray Quilter's Linen.

The tutorial is spot on, but be aware that you waste a lot of fabric with all the trimming. I have a nice pile of pieced scraps and triangles left.

The block is around 20" square. I think I'll add some borders (maybe using some of those scraps). I'm thinking maybe a little pop of red around the star might be in order. I'm open to suggestions!!

. . . Cindy

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