Archive for the ‘Quilts’ Category

• Dreaming of Summer

  Date: 2010.04.12 | Category: Colors, Quilts | Response: 0

  Warm sun, green grass, hot dogs on the grill…mmmm….summer.

• SMS Quilt Sew-Along

  Date: 2010.04.12 | Category: Quilts | Response: 0

   

  

   

  I’m sewing along with Sew Mama Sew and Oh, Fransson! This week, Elizabeth detailed how to make a simple triangle block. Simple is right, and I love that there are so many variations for laying out the blocks. I stuck with the same layout she used in her sample, but not before playing around a bit with other layouts. This block is used in zig-zag quilts, which is on my list of things to do…hopefully in the near future.

  I tried my hand at stippling on this one since it was nice and small and destined for nothing in particular. It’s definitely something that will take alot of practice, although I’m not sure how often I would use it for quilting. I think I prefer grids over the random, meandering pattern of stippling. Maybe I’ll have a change of heart once I get the hang of it, as is often the case.

  I’m looking forward to seeing the new block tomorrow. Be sure to check it out and join in the fun!

  P.S. I just noticed that the binding looks black in the photo. It’s not. It’s navy. Take care!

• Quilty

  Date: 2010.04.06 | Category: Flickr, Quilts | Response: 0

  

  1. aidan’s quilt, 2. spotted squares quilt, 3. Dad’s Quilt, 4. echino airplane quilt., 5. Cool Colors Quilt – Front, 6. Quilt Front Using “1974″ Moda Fabric, 7. colorstudy(y,w).jpg, 8. Dick And Jane Quilt, 9. Charlie Front

  These deadline-driven tops are keeping me busy, and I’m so glad they are because I would probably continue to put them off otherwise, but the truth is I’m desperate to make a quilt. I’ve been pulling fabrics here and there and putting them together…you know…just to see. Above are some of my recent favorites on Flickr. I think all of them are from the Fresh Modern Quilts group. There is truly so much beauty to found in that group…it deserves a visit at least once every couple days or so.  Go now, and be inspired!

• One Down…

  Date: 2010.02.23 | Category: Quilts, Sewing | Response: 2

  Wow! That took longer than expected! I finally finished the baby gifts for friend one, including a doll quilt that took a little longer to make than I had anticipated.

  Here’s the quilt front:

  

  I had this “dancing in the flowers” theme in mind for the quilt, which was largely inspired by my 3 year old’s love for both dancing and, well, flowers! That’s supposed to be a dancing girl up there in the corner, and on the back I stamped some more dancing girls in what is supposed to look a bit like a paper chain.

  

  I used scraps for the flowers, binding, etc, which saved on time and money, and was fine for such a little quilt (about 20″x22″).

  

  

  Part of the reason this quilt took me so long was because I was scared to death to do the quilting. I have a brand new free motion foot for my machine and had every intention on using it, but totally chickened out after practicing on scraps for a couple days. Ended up doing a bit of scenery, I guess you could say, with just a little bit of quilting. I debated using more rays from the sun to get a few more stripes in there, but in the end decided to leave well enough alone!

  Time also played a big role in my decision to stitch the binding by machine. It doesn’t look nearly as well as if it were done by hand, but my hand-stitching goes super-slow and frankly I just needed to get it done. The baby wasn’t due until March, so I thought I’d have more time. But, the baby had other plans! She came last week so I was really anxious to get this stuff out to my friend. My next quilt will most definitely be bound by hand though, as I really didn’t care for the look of the machine stitches on the border.

  

  And, I put together a quick blanket made of nice soft fleece and flannel. They’re in Wisconsin so I opted for fabrics that would keep baby nice and warm! I also made it rather large so that I can be used as a play mat and can continue to be wrapped around the sweet little girl as she grows.

  

  So, between the dresses, the blanket, and the doll quilt for big sister, I think this gift is ready to make it’s journey to it’s final destination. Now on to baby number 2!

  What are your favorite handmade baby gifts?