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. 

2018 Online Quilters Meet and Greet

Hello and welcome to Sew Some Sunshine!  I'm so glad you stopped by, especially visitors from the 2018 Quilters Meet and Greet hosted by Benita over at her Creative Space blog.  I'll be telling you a little bit more about myself and my quilting, along with other quilt bloggers who are participating.  Don't forget to visit the main page to find out more about all of the participating quilters.  There's also an incredible giveaway.

I began quilting in my early twenties to finish up some quilt projects that my grandmother had sewn.  Since I didn't have much money at the time, I thought it would be a good way to make some gifts for family members.  There wasn't much internet at that point, so I had to follow my instincts, read a few instruction books, and make a lot of mistakes.  I made quite a few small quilts from blocks my grandmother had sewn and was able to share her work with my cousins.  Fast forward twenty years and it is just amazing how the online quilt community has grown and flourished.  When my mother retired, she also began quilting, and now we have a shared passion for quilting.  It's definitely a family thing!

I really like the modern traditional asthetic in quilts, so you'll see that a lot of my quilts are made with modern fabrics in geometric shapes, with standard grid layouts and no borders.  The blocks themselves are usually traditional blocks though, so the quilt is familiar but modern at the same time.

Cobblestone Quilt

One block hexagon quilt

Disappearing Nine Patch

Other quilts styles include scrappy layouts, quilts with borders, or quilts with more traditional fabric.

One project (still unfinished) is my Delilah Quilt, designed by Jen Kingwell.  It is a block of the month using templates, which I machine pieced.  I have lots of advice and tutorials for this quilt on my Delilah page.  You can see how I worked through each block.  Templates and the pattern are now available outside of the BOM program.  I really learned so many new techniques working on the quilt.  I do have my top done, just figuring out how to quilt it now.

Not only do I love quilting, but I also love to make all sorts of other projects.  It's great to have faster finishes in between larger quilt projects.  It's also fun to use up favorite fabrics.

I hope you've enjoyed getting to know me a little more and seeing some of my work.  I'd love to hear what projects you liked, so please drop me a note below.  You can follow me on bloglovin, instagram, and pinterest using the links in the sidebar.  And don't forget to visit the other quilters here.

Thank you! 

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.

Modern Plus Sign Quilts Book Hop: Message in a Bottle

I'm so very excited to share my version of Message in a Bottle from the Modern Plus Sign Quilts book by Cheryl Brickey and Paige Alexander.  If you've headed over from Meadow Mist Designs or Quilted Blooms thank you so much for stopping by.  Cheryl and Paige have hit it out of the park with this exciting new quilt book based on the plus block.  There are so many great projects that you're guaranteed to find something you like as soon as you get your hands on a copy, which I recommend you do!

Photography by C&T Publishing

Message in a Bottle is a simple quilt that makes a big statement.  It's wonderful for using up larger pieces of fabric that you may have in your stash.  At 48 inches square it makes a perfect lap quilt or playmat for a baby.  You will love how easy it is to put together.  Below is the book version of Message in a Bottle.  The large center plus with the red border really pops against the background for maximum graphic impact.

Photography by C&T Publishing

For my version of Message in a Bottle I chose four fabrics from the Maribel collection by Annabel Wrigley and I love how they look together in the quilt.  Yellow is my favorite color and I was happy to incorporate it into this special quilt.

This pattern also gives you lots of opportunities for great quilting with all of the wide open space and its simple motif.  I decided to have this quilted with an allover edge to edge floral pattern by Allison at AB Quilting Studio.  I think this is the third quilt I've had quilted with this design...I love how pretty it is.   I like the way it mimics the floral background print.  Allison chose a matching aqua thread and the results are spectacular.

With such a simple design your piecing really shows in this quilt, so when you make this quilt (and I know you will!) it's important to pin carefully where the plus seam joins are.  I recommend that you sew a few stitches to secure them in order to ensure that when you sew across everything lines up perfectly.  Since it is the only piecing in this quilt, you'll really want it to be right.  My friend Michelle at From Bolt to Beauty has a quick tutorial on this technique, which works well when you want to match things up precisely.   

For other great versions of Message in a Bottle check out:

Tish @ Tish N Wonderland

Emily @ The Darling Dogwood

You can purchase a copy of the book here, or for a signed copy and a bonus pattern from Cheryl click here, and for Paige click here.   

Congratulations to Cheryl and Paige for creating a wonderful new quilt book.  You'll want to check out all of the book hop participants and their work here.  Happy sewing!  

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