Sweet Dreams Patchwork Pillow

Times like this can remind us of what we are grateful for.  Just yesterday I sent the final version of my dissertation to the dean's office at my university.  It feels so good to have achieved my goal of becoming a Doctor of Education.  After a long road I can get back to focusing on my family, friends, and sewing!  It also feels like a good time to do some blogging.  While many of us are apart physically, we certainly are lucky to have virtual places to socialize.  

My sweet niece was the recipient of this Anna Maria Horner Rainbow Blur quilt.  I tend to keep leftover scraps of fabric lines together in piles.  I was able to make a quick improv pieced pillow to go with the quilt for her bedroom.  This Sweet Dreams fabric line really fits the bill for a teenage girl.  I used a simple envelope closure for the back.  I used straight line quilting in pink and aqua thread to match the fabrics.  

I hope you have something to feel good about today!

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. 

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.  

Giving Handmade

Giving handmade gifts can by tricky.  If you are a maker you know what I mean.  You work hard on something and you're never really sure the receiver will actually like it.  You've picked out the fabric and pattern and decided what to make.  You put yourself out there and give a gift you love.  I guess this is true of all gifts, but the material and time it takes to make something raises the stakes.  For the most part I've got a decent radar for who will appreciate a handmade gift, so I try not to worry too much about it.

Last Christmas I received a charm pack of fabric from a colleague who knows I love to quilt.  The pack was the Gooseberry Lane line from Kansas Troubles Quilters.  I know this person loves handmade things, and the gift was actually a bit lucky, I'll tell you why.  She picked the fabric, so I had to assume it was something she would like.  This little piece of the process made me feel confident in making her something as a gift. 

I decided to make a small mini quilt using my Temecula Minis Postcards patterns (unfortunately no longer available).  The pattern really fit the country style of the the fabric.  I used a matching red thread to quilt in the long strips, and stitched in the ditch around the blocks.  I also used their method for binding a small quilt, which you can see here along with some other tips. 

And in the end, she loved it.  A win for me and a win for her.  Now...how to get other people to buy you fabric...hmmmm.   

P.S.  She also got a cute market bag, free pattern by Sharon Holland here.  

Happy Sewing!