scattered quilt for elliott

Everyone in my immediate family has gotten a quilt as a christmas gift, except my one and only nephew, Elliott. I'd been wanting to make him a quilt for many years, but realizing he was soon to be hitting that "not a kid any more" transition (he was 10 at christmas; turned 11 the following month), i held off. I didn't want to make something with cutesy, cartoony fabric only to have him outgrow cutesy, cartoony things the very next minute. He's very much into football, but making him a football-centric quilt wasn't something I wanted to do, either (selfish aunt? I'm not so into the football...). So I waited til I found just the right thing. 

I had the moon phases fabric from lizzy house's (old) constellation collection in mind because this kid's middle name is Moon (really!) Then I had to find a cool pattern. I got "Modern Quilts from the Blogging Universe" at the library and Cluck Cluck Sew's "Scattered" pattern really jumped out at me. I picked out some accompanying fabrics (some more Lizzy House, some of Rob Bancroft's Micro Mod collection, some lotta jansdotter, and that pop of yellow) and got to work. *I think the pop of yellow really makes the quilt and I'm glad I threw a few of those in there! 

I made this quilt a little smaller than called for (the pattern finishes out at approx 60 x 72, with 10 blocks across and 12 blocks down). This is 9 blocks across and 11 blocks down (I had to make sure it was small enough for me to quilt at home. I did straight, horizontal lines. Not sure of the final measurement, but i believe it was approx 54 X 66). 

horizontal quilting + the quilt back 

Here's me and Elliott on christmas morning. I didn't know how he'd react, but I really think he liked it! He even remarked that sewing all those pieces together must really take a long time. It did...but for this kid, i'd do anything. I'd make him quilts to the moon and back.

*sorry for the dark, dreary indoor photos. hard to get outdoor pictures in the throes of wintertime. but at least you get to see my silver christmas tree?*

mod sampler queen size wedding quilt for D and T

This quilt! I don't even know where to begin. Yes I do: Spring of 2012. But I almost need to go back even further, to 1988, because that's how long I've known the other people in this quilt story...

So, old friend #1 (D) met a fine fellow, fell in love and got married (in Hawaii!). Old friend #2 (Liz) and I decided to make a quilt as a wedding present for them.  The wedding and a local reception were to be held later that year, so we got together and plans were hatched; we felt no sense of urgency to complete it and decided it would be a nearly stress-free process if we didn't burden ourselves with deadlines. 

I bookmarked Oh Fransson's Mod Sampler quilt pattern as a possible contender for this quilt. Her book The Practical Guide to Patchwork is so insightful & informative, and this (free!) quilt pattern from her blog was no different. This pattern calls for 6 print fabrics and 6 solid fabrics, so we went to Textile Fabrics during one of their 50% off sales and picked out the prints. Shopping for fabric with a co-conspirator was so much fun (Liz noticed fabrics I typically would've breezed over, and it helped me step out of my comfort zone). A few prints jumped out at us (ultimately because they reminded us of D) and it was neat finding others to match. Back at home, I got out my nifty Kona Cotton card and found 6 coordinating solids. It was slightly challenging, as our prints contain browns and purples which typically don't "go" together. In the end, we got: Ash, Mahogany, Salmon, Yarrow, Coral and Hibiscus.

Since the pattern is written for a 52x62 throw size quilt, I transposed it so it would be a queen, and ended up with these notes: 

And here's where everything kinda turns to mush. When we bought our fabric, we each purchased one yard of each of the prints (so...12 yards of prints if you're doing the math). (Side note: at the Textile 50% off sale, you're required to get 1 yard to get the discount, so I figured it was probably "worth it" and easier for us to each get a whole yard). I followed that same (il)logic when buying the solids. 2 yards of each, so...12 yards of solids. 24 yards of fabric for a queen quilt. Any fellow quilters reading this will know how absurd this is. Not to mention: I also ordered additional fabric for the back and binding. That's the point alarm bells should've gone off, but it took about a year and half for that to happen. 

Here's what I THINK happened. My plan was for Liz and I to each make 40 blocks. So...80 blocks total. When we bought the fabric, I think my yardage estimates must've accounted for us each making 80 blocks...

Anyway. So it's Summer 2012 at this point. I thought it would be best to pre-wash all the fabrics because of the deep purples (I had trouble with purple bleeding with this quilt). If I recall, I got right to work on washing, pressing and cutting. I sewed 40 blocks, then stored them in a box. Fall of 2012 is when we put our house on the market. We sold it that winter and moved to our new place in March 2013. Sometime that spring, I got all this stuff out again - saw the "80 blocks" note, counted that I only had 40, so I made 40 more blocks. I had the fabric already cut? (Guess I had cut enough for 80 blocks the first go round). Liz and I continued to talk on occasion about the quilt. She was going through a major career change during this time and was going to move out of state in the summer. So we got together to cut the fabric for her blocks prior to her moving. We spent the day cutting out fabric for 80 more blocks. 

After Liz left that day, I counted all the blocks I had made and realized THAT I HAD MADE ALL THE BLOCKS FOR THE WHOLE QUEEN SIZE QUILT. How and why it took me this long to figure it out is beyond comprehension.  I have no excuses. The time lapses between working on it - irrelevant. My brain just wasn't working. I wrote Liz an email apologizing profusely for my error. I wish I had realized this PRIOR to cutting into her 12 YARDS of uncut fabric, but alas...no such luck. 

Before Liz moved, she came over and we worked on the layout of the blocks. Her help was immeasurable as we moved and manuevered 80 blocks around my hardwood floor. We had to make sure all the blocks were facing the right way & that they were in a specific order...and that same patterns weren't next to each other and whatnot. 

When it was all settled, I sewed all the rows and sashing strips (kona snow) together. Quilt top=Complete! 

In an effort to maintain Maximum Equal Collaboration Efforts (a.k.a. M.E.C.E {official term, coined by middle children of the world}), we were able to come to a fair agreement - Liz would take care of the quilting. We contacted Nanette at All Sewn Together and used the same quilting design from my king size lotta jansdotter quilt.  

While Liz and I hoped there'd be some way for us to give D & T the quilt in person, the fact that we all lived in 3 different states made this near impossible. D & T had made a move too, from Seattle to Houston - so - Texas, Tennessee and Florida. I saw Liz around Thanksgiving and was able to show her the finished quilt (and take some pictures at her parents' amazing house). 

In a remarkable case of poor timing, D & T came to Nashville the following week, missing the opportunity for all of us to be in the same state at the same time by a matter of days. But Liz agreed that I should just go ahead and give it to them, and I was delighted to present them their 2+ years-late wedding gift from me and Liz. 

low volume plus baby quilt

Pinterest had me drooling over low volume quilts recently, so I finally gave one a go. A co-worker was due to have a baby boy in December, so that settled it! 

I followed this for cutting dimensions. I thought I'd have enough low-volume scraps to use, but it was hard finding enough 5x5 squares to fit the bill, and I had to cut into some fat quarters and bigger fabric pieces. It was fun revisiting some of the cute animal prints that have showed up in past baby quilts. 

obligatory floor layout shot

For the plusses, I had a fat quarter bundle set of all the 2013 new Robert Kauffman Kona colors, so as you can see, I pulled out shades of blue and turquoise. I added a Kona Snow border to bump up the size a bit (so it's about 40" square).

For the quilting, I did lines around each 12" block, then stitched-in-the-ditch around each plus sign (you can really tell on the back). And good ole Lotta for the binding. For the back, I was able to use  this nice Anna Maria Horner light blue print (I picked up a pretty sizable remnant at Textile, so no need for piecing the backing). 

Here's me and the mom-to-be at the office baby shower (complete with giant computer monitor in the background): 

Welcome, baby Ethan!!! 

candy-colored triangles baby quilt

This quilt was made for my friend Nicole and her mystery baby #3. Nicole and her husband are the only people I know who do not learn the sex of the baby, so...gender neutral quilt! I didn't quilt when boy #1 was born, but boy #2 was the recipient of this quilt (had to dig way back into the archives for that one, as it was the 3rd quilt I had made!)

I started this quilt in August and planned it around this raindrop print made by Alexander Henry. I threw in orange, light blue, yellow and white solids, as well as a green lizzy house pearl bracelet print. 

Maybe I've been playing too much Candy Crush, but the colors remind me of that. 

perfect points!

When it came time to chose fabric for the back of the quilt, I was so sure they were going to have another boy that I almost used light blue fabric.  But my quilting buddies rooted for a more gender-neutral orange, which made sense since mom & dad are UT alumni. 

solid orange back, with raindrop stripe in the middle

This quilt sat on the shelf for a good two months, and I suppose I was too busy/lazy (depending on the day) to send it to Alabama. And then November rolled around and I got a text from Nicole announcing, "It's a boy!" (to which I replied, "of course it is!")  I sent Everett his quilt that very night. 

Congrats and love to the whole family! 

wonky stars quilt for a baby girl

Remember the king size granny squares quilt I made for some friends back in '12? Well, those friends are having a baby girl next month, and this is the story of that quilt. It started with this fabric, which I purchased at the Fabric Studio here in Nashville (with the intention of it being a quilt back). It's a super adorable, kinda flannel-y Japanese Kokka fabric with sheep on it - how can anyone resist sheep?! I certainly cannot. 

 I picked several gold/yellow and green fabrics from my stash to match this print and cut away...

...and made (9) 14" wonky star blocks. I was able to make the whole top in one evening - it came together quite quickly. 

I used the sheep for the center star and planned on using it for the back, but changed my mind at the last minute. It's 85% cotton, 15% linen, and it's really soft...but I just thought it was a bit heavy to be the sole fabric for the backing. Plus, I didn't know how it would hold up to repeated washings.

Instead, I used this Lizzy House print from the Cat Nap collection. 

I wanted a break from the sewing machine, so: adventures in hand binding, part 3 (in which I watch the movie Carrie while binding).

Here's me with the mama-to-be at the baby shower (+ an adorable little boy). 

I am so very excited for these guys & can't wait to meet their little lady (she'll be here around Christmas). 

floral geese baby quilt for an outdoor modern quilt show

'scuse all the wrinkles...hard to smooth it with such dense quilting lines! 

A local fabric shop (the fabric studio, 221 Chestnut St., Nashville) called for submissions for an modern quilt show to be held in conjunction with the neighborhood's monthly art crawl, so I jumped at the chance to contribute something. With no specific baby in mind, I set about to create this quilt.

I had a vision in my head - lots of empty space, triangles - and planned the quilt around all my leftover kona stone fabric. In retrospect, this wouldn't have been my #1 fabric choice, but I went with it, all in the name of thriftiness. The floral print is an older Japanese Lecein print, and the weight is slightly lighter/more sheer than regular quilting cotton. 

It's been so long that I can't even remember what size I cut the blocks (to be used for half-square triangles). I played around with several layouts: 

...but none of them really fit what I had in my head. I cut the HST units smaller, and came up with this:

From there, it was time to quilt it. Again - I had a vision: very dense straight lines. It took awhile, and midway I began to feel as if i was making a glorified UHaul packing blanket. (A google image search led to this - look at this rad packing blanket!)

Anyway, back to this quilt. Since I was entering this in a show, I hand binded (hand bound?) it and promptly dropped it off to Nancy at the Fabric Studio. 

I had to go and check out all the other quilts, and I was so proud to see my lil quilt up there with all of the beautiful quilts (seriously - look at the one to the left of mine with the purple & pink half moons, made by Linday Sews - GORGEOUS!) 

Here's me with my quilt: 

ta-da!

Nancy wrote a fantastic wrap up of the event here, with tons of pictures of the other quilts. And if you happen to live in the Nashville area - most definitely check out her shop. She carries a perfectly curated selection of modern fabrics and I am happy she set up shop here. 

This quilt is back home with me, and I don't know what to do with it. Since I posted pictures of it on social media, I'd feel funny gifting it to a baby someone, as I really do carefully think about the recipients each and every quilt I make (I wouldn't want it to seem like an afterthought). I still do have plans of one day having an etsy shop or selling at a craft fair, so perhaps I just need to squirrel it away. But until then...it's all washed and folded atop my shelf waiting for a home. 

leah duncan rectangle queen size wedding quilt

It's not every day that your baby sister gets married. And this not-every-day occasion certainly deserves a quilt. I made Courtney a quilt way back in 2011, where it quietly lived a too-small-to-fit-on-the-queen-size-bed life for the past several years. So it was perfect: I'd make the newlyweds-to-be a queen size quilt!

Courtney and Brian's bedroom is blue, and I covertly snapped a picture of the wall color as my frame of reference. 

This wonderful triangle print designed by Leah Duncan became my basis for fabric selection.

Typically, I like to mix and match prints from different designers and lines, but I used only prints from Duncan's Tule collection. I also picked a few Kona solids to break up all the prints. I went with a very simple offset rectangles pattern, cutting the blocks 10x5, and it came together relatively quickly (considering the size). I didn't photograph the back - I used the Carolyn Friedlander Architextures Crosshatch in White (108" wide - first time not piecing a large back!) 

laying out rows on my bed

first little section sewn together

I contacted my local long arm quilting gal about quilting this one for me (too big a job for me to tackle...) and she came up with a neat meandering triangle design to compliment the triangle print. It turned out great. I was SO ANXIOUS to give it to Courtney and Brian once it was back in my hands, but I waited a few days and gave it to them at their wedding shower. They had no idea I was doing this for them so I was happy to surprise them with it. 

the quilt - new home on their bed! 

All the hubbub of the wedding and reception is now over, and I am so thrilled to have a new brother-in-law. Brian just fit right into the family dynamic. I couldn't be happier that my sister found the right guy to complete her life. Congratulations, Courtney and Brian! May your lifetime together be filled with adventure, laughter, communication, patience and love.

woodland floral squares baby girl quilt

This quilt was made for one of my husband's co-workers. His baby girl was due to arrive soon and I wanted to make something adorable. I had a small piece of a pink woodland fabric (riley blake "enchant" by natalie lymer) and thought it would be great for this quilt. Bunnies and foxes and hedgehogs and deer! 

I had some leftover squares cut from the circle baby quilt I made last year, and the colors matched perfectly. I've had that other floral fabric in my stash for years and the colors worked well with it, too. The coral/pink could be quite brash if not balanced with something more subtle. 

a very simple design, but adorable factor: achieved!