Simple Patchwork

Here's a rectangular patchwork throw quilt made with a scrap pack of fabric that I picked up quite a few years ago from Southern Fabric.  They put together WOF ends and sell them as a group.  I love the palette on this one, all I had to do was add a few extra fabrics from my stash to maximize what was in the scrap pack.  Most of the strips had at least six inches of width, so I made six by seven inch rectangles and decided on an eight by eight layout.  

The quilting is an edge to edge design and it is finished with a sweet peach fabric from Ruby Star's Add it Up basic line.  

 

Rainbow Blur II

Sometimes you make a quilt and you're done, you've gotten either the pattern or the fabric out of your system.  Other times, you just can't get enough.  Often, with a favorite fabric designer you find yourself really falling in love with something.  This happened to me with Anna Maria Horner's Sweet Dreams fabric and her Rainbow Blur pattern.

I started off with a set of fat quarters and a few half yards to make this Rainbow Blur quilt just as the pattern prescribed.  It was a fun sew, quick and easy, with lovely fabric to keep in large pieces.

After gifting that quilt to my niece, I made her this pillow with some scraps, just sewing fabric into the size pillow form I had on hand.

Finding myself with some decent size pieces left, and realizing I might get another quilt out of what I had, I decided to purchase a few more half-yards of the main print, Source Code.  To me, the navy version of this print is one of the most beautiful floral fabrics ever.

So, here's Rainbow Blur II.  I stuck to mostly the same pattern using a 3 by 4 grid, and worked to keep some of the color pattern intact.  I love how it came out, and it is a really nice size throw, super cozy.

I fussy cut some of the bird fabric, Cacophony, and used another AMH wideback, Halos, for the back.  Same quilting pattern as the original Rainbow Blur, Fandango, with longarm quilting by AB Quilting Studio.

I still have some of these prints that I'll keep in my stash...for now!  What fabric are you in love with at the moment?  I'm seeing lots of people enjoying Anna Maria Horner's newest line, Hindsight.  I'd love to hear what you're working with!

Free Rainbow Blur Pattern

Joining Michelle for her Beauties Pageant, stop by!

Carnival Quilt

Long time, no finish...but here's a nice one!  I started this quilt in January 2018 and finished up this past fall and then waited to gift it this past December.  This is the Carnival Quilt and it was designed by Ashely from Film in the Fridge.  She has a few versions of this quilt on her website with different fabrics.  This one was a kit that used Lotta Jansdotter prints.  I love the combination of prints and solids in this quilt.

I had the quilt machine quilted by Allison at AB Quilting Studio.  I really like the geometric pattern with the triangles.  It adds a beautiful texture to the quilt.  I also used this on a two color quilt you can see here.

And there was room for some extra square patchwork on the back.  

Linking with Brag About Your Beauties at From Bolt to Beauty and May Favorite Finish Linkup with Meadow Mist Designs.  

Dreamweaver Quilt

Today I have a big finish to share...literally as it is a king size bed quilt!  When I saw this pattern online done in Anna Maria Horner's Fibs and Fables line, I knew I wanted to make it for my bedroom.  Although I love Fibs and Fables, it's more youthful than the look I wanted.  I decided on her Mod Corsage line as a more grown-up alternative.  It's such a gorgeous collection of floral prints in different styles.

This was a relatively easy quilt to put together, although I did construct it a bit differently than the pattern to avoid a few extra seams.  If you have this pattern, the cutting directions are not correct for some of the sizes.  I couldn't find any corrections online so I fixed it myself, not a problem, but required some extra work.

I used another Anna Maria Horner print, Halos, for the back.  This is a 108 inch wide sateen and the hand is just so luxurious, I wish you could feel it!

The quilting is an allover edge to edge design done by Allison at AB Quilting Studio.

 

I'm delighted to have this quilt completed for the first quarter of the 2018 Finish-A-Long.  Will be getting this on our bed soon, can't wait!  How'd you do with your first quarter?  Looking forward to seeing all the linkup finishes.

My Quarter 1 2018 Finish-A-Long list is here.
Linking up with 2018 Finish-A-Long, My Quilt Infatuation, and Crazy Mom Quilts.

Follow My Lead

Although I'm not a fan of batik style fabric, the fabrics designed by Alison Glass in her handcrafted line drew me in.  The saturated colors called to me first, but the second benefit is the patchwork motifs in the designs. I choose the Follow My Lead pattern for these fabrics because of the flying geese in the prints and the pattern.

As I was making this quilt I realized that it was time to update my 6 year old son's bed with a new quilt, and so I added navy borders to the pattern to make it fit a twin.  He's super happy that he has his own quilt now. I love having handmade items for our home and was glad to get this on his bed.

This is my second finish for Quarter 2 of the 2017 Finish-A-Long.  You can see my original list here. 

Machine quilting by Allison Black of AB Quilting Studio.   

Big Star Finish

Last weekend I gave away this lovely quilt to my cousin for her wedding shower.  This is the Big Star quilt pattern by Victoria Findlay Wolfe.  It uses a large diamond template and the fabric is from Victoria's Mostly Manor collection.

I loved making this quilt, as it was a skill builder for me as a quilter.  I learned how to do y-seams confidently with this one.  I've already put that technique to use in another quilt I'm working on here with a mitered corner border.

At first I cringed at the amount of leftover fabric from the fussy cutting required for this kaleidoscope effect.  But the result was worth it.  Now I can't stop looking for fabrics to do this with again.  In the end, I've used a lot of the extra fabric for smaller versions of this block.  These finish at 40 inches square.

The fabulous rose floral quilting is by Alison Black at AB Quilting Studio.  Here's the backing fabric, from the Meadow Storm collection, also by Victoria Findlay Wolfe.

This is a finish for Quarter 2 of the 2017 Finish-A-Long.

Linking up with My Quilt Infatuation , Crazy Mom Quilts,  and TGIFF.

LIMQG Inspiration Board Swap

At the November Long Island Modern Quilt Guild meeting we worked on creating inspiration boards that highlight a particular color scheme.  We shared our boards and our inspiration at the December meeting.  We then each picked a secret partner, to make any project for, to exchange with at the January meeting.  

This was the inspiration board that Kim @lelandavestudios created.  Such a pretty board!

I needed to decide what to make that was pink, green, orange, floral and feminine, AND that would live up to this gorgeous inspiration board.  I started with some inspiration from Victoria Findlay Wolfe.  She has a very pretty Big Block Star quilt pattern using her Mostly Manor collection.  After fussy cutting for the star block I then created some improv made fabric using fabrics from Victoria Findlay Wolfe, Amy Butler, Anna Maria Horner, and Katy Jones.  

Some straight line quilting with the walking foot...

Some free motion quilting...

I love how this small quilt finished.  I think it's perfect as a large table topper or a wall hanging.  I loved this challenge and would recommend using an inspiration board and no rules to create something.  It's a real skill builder!

And here is my inspiration board and the AMAZING bag I received from Kim:

Made By Kim @lelandavestudios

Have a great week and happy sewing!

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.  

Interlock Quilt for BQF 2016

Amy Ellis is once again hosting the Blogger's Quilt Festival. This online event showcases so many wonderful quilts from the blogging world.  This is a great opportunity to share finished quilts, see what everyone's working on, and discover new blogs.

This is my king size Interlock quilt which I'm entering into the large quilts category.

You can read more about this quilt here.
The lovely orange peel quilting was done by AB Quilting Studio.
Fabric line is Persimmon by Basic Grey.

You can find my other BQF entry here.

Thank you for stopping by my blog, I hope you visit again soon.  Don't forget to visit all the categories of the festival!

Scrappy Trip Progress and Tips

Summer's gone by so quickly!  I've been working on my scrappy trip quilt with mostly Anna Maria Horner fabrics.  This is part of my Quarter 3 list for the 2016 Finish-A-Long.  I have a feeling I won't make the completion deadline for Q3, but that's okay, I'll just add it to Q4.

Making this has been a learning experience.  Since there isn't a true pattern, there are a lot of decisions to be made that you might not think of if you just follow a basic block tutorial.  I was inspired by this quilt in making my own.  I used seven strips for my blocks, which makes cutting the tube a little tricky.  I also didn't think carefully enough about contrast when I was putting all of my cut strips into groups of seven.  So here are a few pointers if you think you might work on a scrappy trip.

1. If you make the block with an uneven number of strips, be sure to lay the tube flat and even prior to cutting or you will get wonky strip sets.  
2. I found it easier to iron the already cut strip sets alternatively and then sew them back together with nested seams.  This is different than ironing the strips alternatively as the tutorial shows.  I know some of these will need to be pressed again, but it made matching the seams more precise for me.  
3. Pay attention to placement of your contrasting fabric...for that matter, make sure you use contrasting fabric!  I know this seems obvious, but it took me a while to figure out what looks best, and that's because when I grouped my strips together I didn't always consider contrast, but was considering more of what strips would look good together by color families.  You need contrast for this, otherwise it's just a bunch of two inch squares.  
4. If you are like me and need to find order in things (even in scrappy quilts) then you might want to think about your final layout and your contrast fabric.  In my finished quilt I've decided to do a vertical zig zag layout.  I realized (late) that it would be good to put a single different contrast fabric in each column of the quilt.  Since I decided this after making 12 of the 24 blocks, I'll need to resew or rearrange a few blocks to achieve the layout I want.  

 ....16 blocks done, 8 more to go!  Happy Sewing!

Linking with Fort Worth Fabric Studio.

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!

Flora and Fauna Quilt

This week I finished another project from my 2nd quarter Finish-A-Long list!  The quilt has been a work in progress for a long time.  Two years ago at the LIQS quilt show, one of the vendors was Tara from Amelia's Garden in Delmar, NY.  Despite living in a crowded suburban area, there are no local places to purchase modern fabric, so I was super excited to see the great selection Tara had at her booth at the show.

Later on, I joined a monthly fabric club where we received four half yards of fabric and a matching spool of thread in one color.  This was a great way to build up stash. Tara always picked amazing fabrics, I was never disappointed.  I decided to make the same block each month with the fabrics, and I choose a pattern from Amy Smart at Diary of a Quilter.  The pattern is from the May/June 2013 McCall's Quilting magazine and is called Boho Girl.  I love this version with the Safari Moon fabric line.

For my quilt I used a few other fabrics from my stash as well as the ones Tara sent.  I also used a different layout than the original quilt pattern, and I went with a color order arrangement of sorts.  I used an aqua polka dot for the binding which had a similar color that was in many of the blocks.  The back is a lovely print from Anna Maria Horner.  The beautiful swirl machine quilting is by AB Quilting Studio.

I'm calling this quilt Flora and Fauna because of the wonderful floral prints and the little creatures found in some of the blocks.  There are so many great fabric designers in this quilt: Amy Butler, Joel Dewberry, Tula Pink, Rae Hoekstra, Bonnie Christine, Violet Craft, Anna Maria Horner, Leah Duncan, Heather Bailey, and more!

It was so much fun to see this quilt change and progress over time.  It was a challenge not knowing what each block would look like, not knowing what each months fabric would be.  I love how it turned out in the end.  Have you had a similar experience, maybe with a BOM or mystery quilt?

Linking up with My Quilt Infatuation, Sew Fresh Quilts, and Crazy Mom Quilts.