Cotton + Steel Stash Buster

I've kept this one under wraps for a little while, but now it has been gifted so I can share with you.  I made this quilt for my niece for Christmas and she loved it!  It's a simple pattern with rectangles using quite a few fat quarters of Cotton + Steel fabrics.  I love the color scheme on this one.

This is a simple design that doesn't require much concentration, so it's perfect for a quick sew.

I used a Cotton + Steel basic XOXO in navy for the back and it is quilted in an aqua colored thread.

Each block finishes at 9 inches square, so the quilt is 63" x 81".  Quilting by AB Quilting Studio.  

This was one of two gifts I made this year, and was a finish for Quarter 4 of the 2016 Finish-A-Long. 

Linking up with Let's Bee Social, Needle and Thread Thursday, Finish it up Friday, and Finished or Not Friday.  

This quilt was inspired by Marissa at GoBeWonderful, see her original here.  

2016 Finish-A-Long Quarter 4

It's the final quarter of the 2016 Finish-A-Long, which means the end of the year is coming soon!  I didn't make a lot of progress for Quarter 3, but I did have one finish and I did work on some other projects from that list.  So here's my hopeful list for Quarter 4:

First up (again) is my Anna Maria Horner scrappy trip around the world quilt.  I actually finished all of the 24 blocks I had planned for last month.  When I laid everything out on my design wall, I decided it needed another column, so I'm back at it for another 6 blocks.  This quilt has taught me so much during the process of making it, and I hope to finish it this quarter.

I did start my second project from my Q3 list which is the Follow My Lead quilt.  I have most of the fabric cut and ten blocks made, so I'll keep working on this one as well.

I haven't made any progress on the Anna Maria Horner Mod Corsage quilt, but we'll try again!  The pattern I have for these is called Grandma's Garden, but I'm open on this one.

I'm also going to be working on a scrappy quilt with Cotton + Steel fabrics.  The inspiration is from this quilt.

My last project will be to make the O Holy Night paper pieced mini from Paper Panache.  I've seen a few versions and I think it will be a great Christmas present.

I hope you have success with your 2016 FAL Quarter 4 finishes, can't wait to see what everyone makes!

Link up here to participate!

Quick and Easy Baby Quilt

Do you find yourself making baby quilts when there's no baby in sight to gift them to? Yeah, me too!  I have this thing with making something quick, easy, fun and with fabrics I love. I'm also happy that I'm practicing my FMQ skills on these low pressure projects, that's a win.

This is a fun pattern that uses just six fat quarters for the baby size and you can cut all the pieces out at once with the six layers stacked together...super quick!  There are no seams to match and the hardest part is getting the fabrics in the order that you want for each block.

I did a medium meander stipple all over this quilt.  The texture on this quilt is so nice because the batting is Warm and Plush from the Warm and Natural company.  I've heard mixed reviews on this batting, but I'm in love.  It's just a little bit more loft than the regular version and it has a lot less of the little dark bits in the cotton.  It quilts up beautifully.

The fabrics are from the Pippa collection by Ana Davis for Blend fabrics, I've had them for a while and I'm so glad I found this great pattern to use them with.

Here's to a fast first finish for the 3rd quarter of the 2016 Finish-A-Long.  Also,  a big thank you to the Finish-A-Long hosts and to Sara Lawson at Sew Sweetness for the awesome Windy City Bags prize!

Linking up with Let's Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts, My Quilt Infatuation, and Crazy Mom Quilts.

2016 Finish-A-Long Quarter 3

Quarter 2 of the Finish-A-Long was a success with five out of seven projects finished.  You can read about the five projects here.  Now onto Quarter 3,  here's my current list of hopefuls!

First up is an (mostly) Anna Maria Horner scrappy trip around the world quilt.  I've got all the strips cut and seven out of twenty-four blocks completed.  It takes a good bit of time to make one of these blocks, so I work on it here and there.

Next is a new quilt that uses a fun pattern from Quilt Basket, a local quilt shop in NY.  They have a great concept with fabric bundles called Cutie Collections along with a selection of patterns to use them.  I'm making the Follow My Lead pattern with some Alison Glass fabrics and solid background fabrics.  I don't use a lot of solids so I'm excited to see how this combination works out.

I'm using a bunch of Ana Davis's Pippa collection to make a quilt using a pattern called Big and Tall by Sunnyside Designs.

I've got some new stash treasures from Anna Maria Horner, her Mod Corsage collection.  I got it as a kit with a pattern called Grandma's Garden, so I'll be working on that.  I LOVE these fabrics!

Last on the list are a few zipper pouches using these fun Cotton and Steel fabrics.  I've made a few totes with these fabrics here and here, so matching pouches it is!

This list is pretty ambitious, but it's great to have something to work towards, we'll see how it goes.  I hope you are participating in the 2016 FAL, looking forward to seeing what everyone makes!

2016 Finish-A-Long Quarter 2

It's time to set some more penalty free goals for the second quarter of the 2016 Finish-A-Long.  It was so exciting to see everyone link up their work for quarter 1, so many amazing projects!  I'm happy to say that I did finish a good portion of my quarter 1 goals, you can check out my recap here.

Here's the next list of hopefuls:

1- Finishing my king size Interlock with Basic Grey's Persimmon Line.  More about that here and here. I was so close to finishing for quarter 1, but I still have a little more binding (okay...a lot) to do.   

2 - I  made this mini and this mini for quarter 1, and I'm going to go for one more in quarter 2, the Tissue Box mini from Jeli Quilts.  Not sure I'll wind up using these solids, I might use some prints that read like a solid instead.

3,4,5 - I have a pillow sham to match my Interlock quilt that needs finishing and two other quilts that just need binding.

6 - One small quilt using V and Co. Color Me Happy...top and back are done, needs quilting and binding.

7 - I've never done a wholecloth quilt, but I'm going to try using these two fun fabrics, it will be good practice for FMQ.  

Are you joining the 2016 Quarter 2 Finish-A-long? Can't wait to see what you make!

Quarter 1 Finish-A-Long Update

When I decided to participate in the 2016 Finish-A-Long I didn't realize what a great motivator it would be.  It really helped keep me focused on finishing things...and isn't that the point!  I had seven potential projects on the list and I finished four of them.  One of my projects is super close to finishing, just needs binding, but it just didn't make the finish line.  Not a problem, I'll add it to the quarter 2 list!

I had four quilt tops on my Q1 list.  I managed to get two finished, my Mustang Quilt and my Bluebird Park Quilt.

I made two mini quilts, one from Cluck Cluck Sew, the Pow Wow Mini, and one from Jaybird Quilts, Off the Rail Mini.

Will you be joining the 2016 Finish-A-Long for quarter 2...I hope so!

Linking with Fabric Frenzy Friday.

2016 Finish-A-Long Quarter 1

I'm not a big fan of resolutions, but I like the low risk opportunity to set some penalty free goals, so I'm joining the 2016 Finish-A-Long.  Here's my hopeful list for Quarter 1!

Interlock King Size Quilt using this pattern  by Amy Friend and Persimmon fabric by Basic Grey for Moda.



Mini quilts, at least one,  maybe two or three.  I completed one over the Christmas break, but I'd like to make a few more.  Right now I'll aim for one from the Cluck Cluck Sew booklet and one of the Off The Rail.  I have a stack of Anna Maria Horner prints from a few lines, and some Carolyn Friedlander that I'll be using for these.



And lastly, I'd like to finish one of my four quilt tops from 2015.  This requires getting more comfortable with my own machine quilting skills and being more confident in deciding how to quilt them.






















Linking up with Debbie at A Quilter's Table for the Q1 FAL.