Finished Nordika Scrappy Trip Quilt

A couple days before Christmas, I wrote about some of my 2014 goals. The first item on my list was a scrappy trip quilt using Nordika by Jeni Baker. I really loved my first scrappy trip quilt that I made for my nephew. When I bought some Nordika and coordinating solids and oval elements from Art Gallery, I knew I wanted to make another scrappy trip quilt for me. After Christmas, I got the itch to start this quilt, and I finished it a couple days after the new year. Not bad for accomplishing my first goal of 2014 so soon into the new year.

I initially planned to use the same layout as my first scrappy trip quilt, but after piecing a couple rows together, I changed my mind and used this layout instead.

It's funny that my favorite block, which is made up of blue, gray, black, and berry, really jumps out at me in this quilt (fourth row from the left, fourth block down).

For the backing, I used a variety of solid flannel strips that coordinated with the colors on the front.

The binding is the yellow bias plaid print from Nordika, which ended up being the perfect fit! I stipple quilted on the sides and then I quilted the rest in meandering loops.

The quilt measures about 72 inches square and it's been in constant use at my house for the past two months--my favorite!

Finished Granny Squares Quilt

I started in on the Granny Squares craze early last year, but decided it could be one of those projects that I work on here and there as I was in the mood. As I've been on a mission to finish my WIPs this year, I knew I had to get this one done. The down side was that I didn't love how my blocks were looking in the traditional layout. So, I changed it up and pieced them on point - basically I made one huge Granny Square block out of my individual blocks. I then added a thin blue border (Dear Stella's Yard Sale in Sky) and a wider green border (Heather Bailey's Nicey Jane Hop Dot in Olive) to get a good size quilt (I think it's about 65 inches square).



For the backing, I used this blue flannel print that I picked up at Joann's a while back. I used Lizzy House's Pearl Bracelets in purple and Patty Young's Textured Basics Papaya Diamond for the binding strips. I quilted it in meandering loops. I thought I'd keep this quilt, but when I finished it, I kept thinking about one of my sisters. I haven't made her a quilt yet and her birthday was this month so I thought it'd be the perfect time to gift her this.

Last-minute flannel skirt

For Christmas, we bought my four-year-old daughter her own sewing machine. Technically, we bought it for our two older kids to share, but our son hasn’t gotten into it very much. The Middle, however, asks on a regular basis if she can sew.

Last night, I asked her if she wanted a new skirt to wear. She jumped up from the couch and ran to my fabric, where she pulled out the last little bit of this Anna Maria Horner Folksy Flannel print. This is my favorite AMH print. I got a 39” remnant earlier in the year and used most of it to make a pillowcase for myself. The leftover piece happened to be the perfect size for a 4T skirt…no cutting even required!

I happened to have a 1 ½” wide elastic in my line of sight, so I made a larger casing for the skirt than I usually would. A quick hem and voila! A finished skirt for my fashionista.

Finished Monopoly Mixtape Quilt

I finished this Monopoly Mixtape quilt a couple days ago. I used Elizabeth Hartman's Mixtape Quilts II pattern (for purchase here). I initially planned on making the Favorite Songs layout for a 47x47 quilt. Since I decided to make the quilt at 9 at night, I opted to leave out the sashing and just sew the 6-inch blocks into rows and columns. That way, I had a finished quilt top by the time I went to bed. Omitting the sashing left me with a 36x36 quilt.



As this is for a new little baby-to-be, I wanted to try quilting with a flannel backing to make it softer. I thought it would be really shifty, but it was surprisingly the same as with a cotton backing.



I like how the quilting adds another type of texture to the flannel.



I still need to work on getting a consistent stitch length as I'm quilting. For some reason, I just want to move the quilt fast and I have a hard time slowing down.

To save time, I trimmed the backing to about an inch and a half and then turned the edge over and then over again to self-bind the quilt. I did this a few weeks ago on a quilt my brother-in-law asked me to bind for his wife for a surprise Christmas gift. The corners didn't turn out as well as I would have liked on that one and I wanted to see if I could figure out how to miter them properly. I think it worked well this time. It certainly helped that the flannel I used wasn't shifty.



I think the quilt came together nicely and I think my friend will like it. She's having a girl, and since it's her first, she's really excited for all things pink. I'm not a huge fan of "baby pink" so I thought I'd add a little brighter pink to her nursery.

The only unfortunate part of this quilt is that I finished it before making my practice dresden plate. I think that flower would have looked so cute sewn onto the back of the quilt.

Baby Boy Rag Quilt

Here's another rag quilt that I made on Friday night for a baby shower this morning.


I used my standard 10 inch squares in a 4x5 layout.


The animals are part of a directional print so I alternated the squares so there wouldn't be a "right" direction to the blanket.


I really like how quickly rag quilts come together. Sometimes you just need a quick project to break things up from time to time.

Oakley's rag quilt and Make Life baby quilt update

A friend of mine had her second baby yesterday, a little girl named Oakley Jo (isn't that cute?). I had some flannel left over from my daughter's rag quilt so I brought it out last night, cut it up, and made a rag quilt for Oakley.


I didn't have enough full size pieces so the back is made up of some rectangles instead of just squares.


Once I finished the rag quilt, I finished practicing free motion quilting on my Make Life baby quilt.


Although it looks a little scary in some places, I'm pleased with the overall result.



Especially because it's starting to have that scrunchy look that I love.


Tonight I plan to piece the binding, which will be the green dots and white paisley. Then I will finish quilting my Life Is What You Make It quilt and get to work on piecing the binding out of these babies...Yeah, I know. I'm a glutton for punishment, but I can't bear to waste any of this fabric.


I'm sure I won't get to it tonight, but another friend sent me this fabric from Portland to make her a bag, but not a Buttercup bag. She serves as the Relief Society President in her area and needs a BIG bag to carry all her Church stuff around. I'm excited to try my hand at a different style. Cross your fingers that it'll work out.

Rag Quilts

Back in October, I bought a ton of flannel that was on sale at Joann's. I made my son a rag quilt before Christmas and never got around to taking pictures of it. I used seven inch cut squares that were finished to six inches, making the quilt 36 by 48 inches. A perfect size. He loves cars and emergency vehicles so I paired these together. It's really bright, but he loves it.


I didn't have quite enough flannel, so I cut up an old denim skirt and used some of it on the back.


Yesterday, I stayed home from church with my sick baby girl and made her this rag quilt. I cut the squares ten inches and finished them to nine inches, making the quilt 36 by 45. It came together a lot quicker using 20 squares rather than 48 and it turned out as well as the other.