Rainbow Blur Quilt

Welcome back!  I know these posts have been few and far between, so thank you for visiting or visiting again if you've been here before.  I continue to be occupied with graduate studies and am happy to fit in any sewing or quilting possible. 

This quilt is a free pattern from Anna Maria Horner and Free Spirit called Rainbow Blur.  It is an easy quilt to put together with the large blocks of fabric.  I love this Sweet Dreams line, the large Source Code print in navy is spectacular.  Even though it is a large scale print I used it for the binding.  Lately I've been using these types of dark colored floral prints for binding as a nice frame around the quilt. 

The backing is another Anna Maria Horner 108 inch wide fabric, Halos. 

The edge to edge quilting is by AB Quilting Studio in the Fandango pattern that has a pretty fan with a heart in the center.  It really shines on the darker fabrics. 

I recently gifted this to my niece to use on her twin bed, it's perfect for a teenager.  There's another smaller version of this quilt coming soon...stay tuned. 

Linking up with From Bolt to Beauty. 

I love small projects...

A while ago I made two That's How I Roll tote bags using Anna Maria Horner Honor Roll fabrics. (It's a free pattern from Make it Coats, check it out!)  One of them was for my mom.  I have to tell you that my mom is also a quilter but our styles are very different, so I was surprised when she liked my tote and asked me to make her one in the same fabric.  I was happy to make it for her and she takes it with her to guild meetings and to her weekly quilting class.  She's been getting lots of compliments on the bag from her fellow quilters, which is really nice.  The other day we were both at my aunt's house where my mom regularly hand binds quilts during tea time.  She took everything out and realized she had no needle, which reminded me of a binding kit tutorial I had seen online.  Well, you know how hard it is to find the perfect gift for your mom who sews?  Not this year....

After I  made this awesome Goody Goody binding kit from Lella Boutique, I couldn't stop.  Enter the notebook cover....

....and the zip pouch.

If you're looking for some great tutorials on making your own zip pouch I recommend this tutorial from Julie Hirt at 627handworks.  You can see my versions here.  I also like this one from Sew Lux. You can find the binding kit tutorial here and the notebook cover tutorial here.  If you are interested in ideas for other small projects check out my project Pinterest board.

How do you feel about small projects?  Do you fit them in as quick finishes, or do you prefer sticking to quilts?

Linking up with Sew Fresh Quilts, My Quilt Infatuation, and Crazy Mom Quilts!  Enjoy the week!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Botanique Quilt

Three weeks ago I was excited to find out that my cousin was getting married in this month.   Of course this means a quilt was in order.  Even though I have five other quilt tops finished, none were a match for her, so it was time make another.

Luckily I had a bunch of Joel Dewberry Botanique fat quarters on hand and a pattern I've been wanting to try called Busy Bee by Villa Rosa Designs.  It's a simple quilt with two different blocks.  One block is made up of two strips, the other is made up of three strips to make 9.5 inch squares.  There were a few very pretty, large scale floral prints in the collection which I didn't want to cut up, so I tweaked the pattern a little to include 9.5 inch square blocks of a single fabric.  I also eliminated the charm squares as a border and added an additional row of blocks.

I'm excited about this quilt because it was easy to put together and I had all the materials in my stash.  I quilted it myself using loops...which I'm still practicing.  I spray basted it with help from this post from Julie at The Crafty Quilter.  I machine bound it with help from this post from Allison at Cluck Cluck Sew.  I'm really pleased with how it turned out, and the spray basting and machine binding really helped me finish the project in time for the shower this past weekend.  Win, Win!

 Linking up with Kelly at Needle and Thread Thursday and Amanda Jean at Crazy Mom Quilts. 

That's How I Roll Tote

Right now I have five quilt tops that need to be put together and quilted.  But somehow I just keep finding quick short projects that give me instant gratification...I'm sure you can relate!  Here is a quick tote in Anna Maria Horner's Honor Roll line.  I got it as a kit from Craftsy on sale a few weeks ago.  I just love the colors and the beautiful patterns on the fabric.  It's a larger size tote, so it's great for packing all your summer essentials. 

The pattern is actually a FREE pattern on the Make it Coats website, so you can download the pdf now if you like the tote. Their website is not that easy to navigate, but I've found a few patterns from kits on Craftsy are actually free patterns on that website, so check there if you like the pattern but want to use your own fabric. 

From past bag making experience I did use Pellon Shape Flex 101 on the handle fabric to make it more sturdy.  I find the handles a little long at 32 inches, so you may want to shorten them a little.  The pattern calls for cutting the handles WOF, but you really could cut at 32 inches or less and have some leftover fabric.  The instructions call for a 1/4 inch seam for everything, which is fine for piecing the strips, but I used a 1/2 inch for the rest of the bag so I could easily open the seams to match them on the sides when I put the bag together.  I used fusible fleece for the batting, but you could use Soft and Stable if you wanted a more structured bag. 

Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts!

Norwegian Flag Mini

My good friend Jim is Norwegian and he just celebrated his 50th birthday, so I made this little flag for him.  I kept the quilting simple to keep the flag looking accurate.  I love the backing fabric, it is such a great shade of blue, it's from Riddles and Rhymes by Tina Givens for Free Spirit Fabrics. I used this site for the dimensions and added a 1/4 inch seam allowance. 

Linking up with Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation and Finish it up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts.