Best of 2015

Cheryl at Meadow Mist Designs is hosting a Best of 2015 Linky Party.  There are many ways to pick your five best, and I've decided to go with my own favorites for this post.  This is my highlight reel...

1.  Honey Honey Quilt - Such beautiful fabrics by Kate Spain

2.  Mod Hexagon Quilt - Amazing design by Rashida Coleman-Hale with Cotton + Steel fabrics

3.  Flour Pouf  Great book/pattern by Anna Graham, Everyday Style with Cotton + Steel (again!)

4.  Color Wheel Star mini-quilt - Pattern by Camille Roskelley from Simply Retro

5.  Lotus Pond Quilt - In love with this fun, bright fabric from Rae Hoekstra

Looking forward to 2016...see you in the New Year! 

Handmade Style Floor Pouf

After making the Carry-all Pincushion from Anna Graham's amazing book, Handmade Style, I decided to make the Floor Pouf.  I'm really happy with this project.  It is similar in construction to the pincushion, but a lot bigger.  It was definitely an effort to wrangle this thing together, but totally worth it.

The top is 24 inches square.  I quilted the top with (not so) straight line quilting in three different colors, off-white, gold, and dark pink.  For the side panels I used a curved shell stitch on my Bernina which has come in handy on a few projects now.  It's fast and looks really good.

 I used an orphan block I had on hand and made a finished bottom for it as well, just in case the recipient wants to change it up every once in a while.  It has a zipper closure in case you need to wash it.

I recommend Handmade Style, so far both patterns I've worked with have been excellent.

One more gift checked off the list...though it's going to be tough to part with this one.  Can't get enough of the Cotton + Steel fabric either!

Linking up with Kelly at My Quilt Infatuation, Lorna at sewfreshquilts, and Amanda at crazymomquilts.

WIP Handmade Style Floor Pouf

The real WIP today was Thanksgiving preparation... a lot of hard work, but so worth it in the end! I'm working on a floor pouf for a present for Christmas. This project is from the book Handmade Style, which I recommend, it has great projects and clear directions.

First I made this top, which I quilted in three different threads, a dark pink, beige, and gold. They match the cotton + steel fabrics really well.

The pattern doesn't require a pieced bottom but I had on hand a block (Mystery Quilted Pillow pattern from In Color Order) made out of another set of scraps and decided to add some strips from the top fabrics.  This is how it came out:

Now I'm not sure which is the top and which should be the bottom...it generally wouldn't matter but the sides I have are made with the directional bee fabric...any thoughts?

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Linking up at WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced and Let's Bee Social.