Thứ Năm, 4 tháng 8, 2011

All Wrapped Up...

All Wrapped Up - pattern by Heather Mulder Peterson in Stop, Drop and Roll. Made about a year ago...
And just back from the quilter...
Bound and ready to snuggle!

Chủ Nhật, 31 tháng 7, 2011

Churn Dash Block!

I was invited to participate in the Designer's challenge for Issue 6 of Fat Quarterly magazine. The theme was Churn Dash and here's my block. I think it deserves to be part of a quilt, so I'm playing with that idea. I'm in love with the orange, teal and gray color combo!Be sure to check out Issue 6 for lots of wonderful ideas!!!

Swoon 7, 8, and 9

And three more makes nine! Block 7...And 8...
And 9... {It's not quite as pale as it looks in the bright sunlight}
I'm excited to put these together!

And to keep up my paper piecing skills, I made this paper pieced block - part of the Summer Sampler series. Just love the block ~ there will probably be more...

Thứ Năm, 28 tháng 7, 2011

The perfect travel bag...

At least I hope so! In anticipation of an upcoming trip, I customized one of my favorite bag patterns - The Six pack Tote - and sized it to carry all my travel needs. The fabric is Outside Oslo by Jessica Jones in decorator weight.I think it's a good little travel companion!
A couple of new dresses are going with me. This one from Girl's World by Jennifer Paganelli, recommended by Mary Claire. It's a great book filled with tons of girly projects.
And this one Simplicity pattern 5695. Also a recommendation from Mary Claire.
And a cute pillow case. Could't resist this fabric.

Thứ Ba, 26 tháng 7, 2011

New fabric in the house!

I've been eagerly anticipating the release of Heirloom by Joel Dewberry. His designs seem so classic and modern at the same time to me. I chose the Ruby color way and was not disappointed. Just gorgeous!I had fun pulling some Kona solids to coordinate. Beautiful colors!
As I was playing, I had a thought that maybe some Loulouthi would also go nicely. Spot on with these pieces. Don't know what I'll make, but for now I'm just staring at these beauties!
I also wanted to share a new find with you. A student in my Machine Quilting class pointed them out to me. Called a Pilot ball Frixion pen - it makes a clean black line on fabric, then rubs off or is removed completely with an iron. We tried it on several fabrics and it worked great for marking. I bought a pack of different colors at amazon.com. It may be a marking miracle we've been looking for!

Thứ Năm, 21 tháng 7, 2011

Dresden Plate quilt finished!

When it's hot outside, what else can you do but keep sewing? I've managed to get another project to completion. I think I said it before - well, I know I have - love this quilt. It's my current favorite; if you're allowed to have favorite quilts.In case you missed it - I showed how to make the blocks here. There were a few changes from the original plan. I switched to solid centers and decided to use all white for the backgrounds. I had planned on using a variety of pastels for the background, but intuition told me after a few blocks that it just wasn't going to be right. Intuition is never wrong!
I'm pretty pleased with the quilting. You may remember I decided to hand quilt the centers with perle cotton. It took a couple of attempts and some unstitching before I found the perfect design to use there. I love how it mimics the Dresden block itself.
I stippled the background after some straight line quilting in the sashing. I was stumped as to how to quilt the plates and started searching on flickr for ideas. I found this and this and it was super easy.
The backing is Soul Blossoms with a strip of the solids to make the length.
I also struggled with the binding. I spent at least an hour auditioning different fabrics, including solids and stripes. I flipped the backing over the edge and found it was perfect. And luckily I was able to use the excess backing for the binding.
I feel like this quilt and I have been on a long road together! But i've enjoyed every minute of it! I discovered this last night. You may think it's a polka dot at first glance, but I'm guessing it's a drop of red wine. (Caution - don't drink and quilt!). Not sure how to get that out. Hmm... maybe I'll just leave it there to remember the good times we've had together.

Thứ Tư, 20 tháng 7, 2011

Sewing for the Home...

I just got a new kitchen table. Yeah! A new table needs a new runner. Right? I kept it very simple using some DS fabric from Joann's and some white linen. Then I added my favorite zig zag fabric for the binding.Quilted using 1/2" spaced straight lines that I've been admiring on lots of modern quilts, but have been too lazy to try. It went much faster than I thought! And I love the look!
I also spruced up the family room with some new pillows. It's it great having a stash - when you get the redecorating bug, you just find something on your shelf?
Both pillows are made from Valori Wells' line "Nest". With more of that 1/2" straight line quilting.
I also put an invisible zipper in both pillows following this tutorial. So easy - I did the second one without reading the directions.
Yesterday this is what I bought at the grocery store. I think the check out clerk thought ~ this must be one depressed woman! Actually I'm having the quilting girls over tonight and it's the perfect treat for this hot weather!