Quilt Tops Become Finished Quilts

A few months ago as I was preparing for my baby's arrival, I was really getting annoyed with all the projects in my sewing space that were in various stages of incompletion. I think it was part of my nesting phase. So, once the baby was born, I set out to turn all the quilt tops I had laying around into finished quilts. I finally finished the last one just before Christmas (which was sitting around without binding for several weeks).

First up is the zigzag quilt I made for one of my sisters. I started it some time in 2010, finished the top in July, and finished the quilt in November (?) so I could finally give it to her for Christmas. I used a charm pack of Blush by Basic Grey, a charm pack of Bella snow, and some Blush fat quarters. I densely quilted the white zigzags with free motion meandering loops, regular loops in the first border, and then large meandering loops in the outer border.



As I was trying to a) finish these quilts as fast as possible and b) use fabric from my stash, I used a single print from the Panache line (can't remember the designer). It was a hair too small to cover the whole back so I added a little strip of some green solid. The back doesn't look as nice as I would have preferred, but it works.



Next up is the quilt that I started way back in 2007 (my first quilt block ever!). I finished this top sometime in July too and decided to finish it up to give to one of my nieces for Christmas. With the exception of the solid blue (a Kona cotton), all the fabrics came from Hancocks and Joanns. I bought them all several years ago when I didn't think fabric quality mattered. You can really feel the difference when you compare this quilt to another made from quilt-shop quality fabrics.



I alternated between straight lines one-inch apart and meandering loops for the quilting on this one.



This one didn't get finished before my baby was born like I wanted it to, but we've been able to get good use out of it since I finished it. It makes me happy to see my sweet baby with it.



I quilted loops in the white sections and then flowers, swirls, and snails in the Freebird sections. I used a brown and cream dot from the Freebird line for the binding.



My first quilt-along, in 2010, was for a jellyroll sampler. The mister's aunt is like another grandma to my kids so I wanted to finish this quilt up so I could give it to her for Christmas. It was well-received as she now considers herself part of the family. =)



I quilted meandering loops in a red thread for this one and really like the contrast it adds to the quilt. The binding is smaller than what I normally do, so I struggled a bit with it. But, I wanted to use the leftover jellyroll strips, which are 2.5 inches. My usual binding width is 3.25, which I'm much more comfortable working with.



Next up is my final quilt of 2011. I love it so much that I almost had a hard time giving it away. Good thing I love my dad so much.

WIP Wednesday #35

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After reading over what I wrote for this post, I think I should call this "Wordy WIP Wednesday." Sheesh! Oh well, at least it goes to show that I've made some progress on my WIP list.


I finished one of the tutorials I had planned on doing using my new AccuQuilt GO! Baby.



I also made some headway on the quilt for my daughter's bed. I changed my mind on the color sashing I wanted to use so now I just need to get the fabric ordered. Say goodbye to off-white and hello to light gray. (This quilt deserves a post of its own so stay tuned for that.)

I really wanted to feel like I was accomplishing something this weekend (rather than sewing things here and there and not feeling like I was getting anything done). So, I pulled out the star blocks I started making WAY back in 2007. AND...

I PIECED THE TOP!



I bought these turquoise and bright green fabrics from a local Hancocks back when I didn't have a clue about fabric, so the quality isn't the greatest. This was also my first attempt at placing blocks on-point in a quilt. I didn't use any fabric other than what I bought four years ago, with the exception of the solid blue, which is a Kona that I bought a few months ago just to have.



I was able to keep the momentum going and got another quilt top pieced last weekend, but I can't show you that for another week or so (it's a surprise for someone special).

I managed to sew Megan's bee block and I also cut out the pieces for the blocks I'll be sending to the ladies in my hive in the 4x5 bee. Hopefully, I'll get those sewn up in the next day or two.



I also started another project: 10 gathered clutches for my son's AMAZING teachers (yes, he has 10 of them). Next week is his last week of school and I'm sad that he'll be moving on to a different program next month.

I haven't made any progress since my last update on any of these projects:

• Kona Solids Challenge quilt
  
  
  
  
• Sew Beautiful Bee circle of geese quilt
  
  
  
  
• Jellyroll Sampler quilt
  
  
  
  
• Patching Up quilt
  
  
  
  
• Orange and Blue Goldfish quilt
  
  

In piecing those two tops this past weekend, my total for quilt tops awaiting basting, quilting, and binding is up to six. Yikes! I seriously don't like the basting process, so I may have to give spray basting a go. Have any of you tried it and swear by it? I'd love to hear of any tips or tricks you may have.

Okay, folks. That's all. Now head on over to Lee's and check out everyone else's WIPs.

SLMQG Sewing Saturday

For our quilt guild activity this month, we got together for a sewing Saturday. Four hours of uninterrupted sewing IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY!

I took a lot of WIPs with me because I didn't know how much I could get done in that amount of time.

First thing, I finished sewing the blue trim to the bottom of my Bloom and Grow skirt.



Next I finished the last few blocks for my Swirling Stars quilt. My SIL helped me come up with some layout ideas. Now I'm wondering if I should use this quilt for cuddling up on the couch instead of for my daughter's bed since it's not overly girlish. I have more girly prints in my stash that would probably lend themselves better to a quilt for a girl's room rather than a quilt to be partly used by the male members of my family.






Two of the girls in the guild with me demonstrated free motion quilting, one of a cute vine design and another of stippling and loops. Both girls, Leigh and Kati, said over and over that free motion quilting takes a lot of practice. But, they made it look so easy that I thought it would be a piece of cake. Uhhh...not so much. (These next two images don't even show the worst of it.)

Even though I made this baby quilt to practice on, I don't want it to look like crap because I really do like the fabrics and the quilt top.


When the mister got home from work that night, I asked him to give it try. He quilted a small section and decided it's not for him. When he finishes the quilt he's working on (hooray!), he said he'll be doing a different type of quilting.


When I picked up the Bloom and Grow fabric at my LQS, I saw these Christmas goodies. I want to make an advent calendar this year and this fabric, especially the panel, will work wonderfully!


I love the retro look to it. It reminds me of my grandma.



I also had to pick up some Rainy Days and Mondays by Melimba and Beccabury for Riley Blake. One of my older sisters sang that song so much when I was younger. She even has a beautiful deep alto voice and sounds just like Karen Carpenter. Maybe I'll have to make a quilt for her out of this fabric.

More on Life Is What You Make It Quilt

I spent the evening last night piecing the back of my Life Is What You Make It quilt. After that was finished, I cut the batting and basted the quilt. I shouldn't have cut my nails yesterday morning...it made closing those pins extra hard (not to mention ouchy). I haven't decided how I'm going to quilt it yet, but I hope to get some of it done before the quilt guild meeting on Thursday night so I have something to show off.

Instead of separating the two backing fabrics with the row of charms 2/3 of the way up, I opted to just split it half since the fabric width was pretty much perfect. (If I can find a way to make things easier, I will.) And even though the fabrics are different colors, I think the white paisley print is busy enough to balance out the green dots.





I also cut out another Buttercup bag for my good friend, Terre. Don't you love the fabric she picked out?


Joann's has been having some great fabric sales this month. I went the other day and picked up a few more half-yard cuts for a new quilt that I haven't planned out yet (surprise, surprise).


I also got the backing fabric for my Swirling Stars quilt. This pattern will look great with some free motion quilting (if I get the hang of it before I get around to finishing that quilt).

Fabric-Related Birthday Goodies

I celebrated my 28th birthday on Wednesday. I had to work. The mister had to work. It felt like a regular day. But then I tracked a package I had ordered the previous week and it was scheduled to be delivered on my birthday. Hip, hip! I ordered some yardage and a turnover of Figgy Pudding to add to my small stash.


I didn't learn about Figgy Pudding as early as the rest of you so I've been searching high and low for shops that still have some of it left.


I'm using Momo's Odyssea for the Jellyroll Quilt Along with Moose on the Porch Quilts. I bought solid Kona cotton in green, brown, and cream for the backing, sashing, and binding. When I ordered the Figgy Pudding, I decided to buy an extra yard of some Odyssea to supplement the quilt somewhere when we're done with all the blocks.


Yesterday, I stopped by my sister's house and was as giddy as a schoolgirl when I opened her gift. There was a new quilt book with really fun quilts for kids;


a quilt journal,


complete with blank pages for sketching


and graph paper for layouts;


some blackboard material for making chalkboard pillows for my two kiddos;


a scrapbook page for inspiration on a family tree quilt (we tossed around a lot of ideas for putting that one together);


and last, but certainly not least, a 24-piece fat quarter pack to make this kite quilt from my new book!


There's some Blush, Bloom & Grow, and others that I don't know the names of.


Yum,


yum,


yum!


Thanks, Hawl! You made my day!


The only downside of my birthday was that my back went out and I haven't been able to stitch an inch since Sunday! I'm dying to make some more progress on my Life Is What You Make It quilt as well as finish off the blocks for my Swirling Stars quilt.