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Ready Set Quilt. Weekend's project.

2012-02-11T04:17:04Z

I am on track with my schedule of a quilt in a week. This is a simple, but sweet, "plus" quilt using the Petite Ecole fabric line which is one I really like. it's very subdued and perfect for a baby boy. It's hard to find fabrics that work well for boys, particularly if you gravitate toward polka dots, bright colors and flowers like I do. French General has the best selection of Petite Ecole fabrics. Most fabric shops have one or two of the prints but not all.

I went with a simple patchwork configuration that is simple and makes the traditional-esque fabrics look more modern. I think the straight line quilting will further "modernize" the palette and prints.

Stay tuned for progress, and I hope a finished quilt by Sunday night :)!

Moving along.

Fabric of the Week: Reunion by Sweetwater

2012-02-08T04:32:56Z

love love love this. I'm not sure what I'll do with it, but I will be ordering it. You can find it at Pink Chalk Fabrics, among other favorite online shops.

Next up: La Petite Ecole Quilt

2012-02-06T02:52:55Z

I've been hoarding this fabric for awhile now, trying to decide what to do with it. Finally, it struck me - La Petite Ecole, school, a Plus quilt! By the way, if you need yardage of this, French General has plenty. just call or go to their site and look in the textiles section. I'm adding in some Petite Odile as well (also by French General for Moda).

Plus quilts are fun - simple squares assembled to make a "plus sign" ... you can configure them in any number of ways - sort of tesselating or spaced out... here's one similar to what I am making.

More photos later as I progress.

Neptune Triangle Quilt Finished

2012-02-05T02:38:31Z

I finally finished quilting this little toddler sized quilt. I learned a valuable but hard lesson on this one --- I know better than shortcuts in any aspect of life. They don't work. Other quilters would see exactly what happened on this quilt if they looked at the back, but perhaps other "audiences" won't notice :). At any rate, I'll probably keep this quilt rather than sell it since it isn't perfect enough for my taste. I still love it anyway - one of my flawed "children".

I will probably make another one just like it but take a different approach to the quilt so as to avoid the big problem. (Essentially what happened was that my choice to do the quilting in straight lines echoing the direction of the triangles in each quadrant meant that I had to stop and start a lot. That created some messy thread knotting on the back side because I tried to use my machine's auto knot feature instead of burying the knots manually like I normally do... tedious thing to do and I hate it.)

Valentine's Day Treats.

2012-02-04T16:17:33Z

A lovely little tutorial over at "Oh Happy Day" - just the perfect tiny treat for colleagues at work for Valentine's Day.

Source: ohhappyday.com via Danette on Pinterest

Weekend Workshops! French General LA

2012-01-28T15:50:15Z

It's time for The Art of Craft at French General, one of my favorite shop for all things crafty. This is also the group that I will be going to France with in June for a week of crafting in the countryside around Toulouse. I cannot wait!

First night we made button bracelets using mother of pearl vintage buttons, glass beads and stretch elastic. I love these cute little things. I put all mine together and tied a ribbon on them. Very satisfying, quick craft that looks sweet. I think these would be an excellent thing to make with your daughters if you have them; or, to make and give away for quick but stunning little gifts.

Today's workshop is the Sailor's Valentine which is super cute & just in time for Valentine's day gift giving.

Special thanks to my table mates who were pretty hilarious and interesting women. The best part of these workshops is getting to know like minded women who share similar life experiences openly and warmly! Amy, Julie and Julie.... so much fun!

Next up: Quilting the Neptune Quilt

2012-01-27T04:14:56Z

I love the fabric line I used in this quilt. It's called Neptune and no longer available. I finally have got around to quilting this top - it's small enough for me to manage on my machine.

I started out with 1" apart straight lines following the larger/overall diamond shape that the rounds of triangles make. But, when I looked at my progress, I realized they just didn't add enough interesting texture. So, I'm going back and filling in with 1/2" apart lines. It's going to take longer, but it's going to look so much better.

Stay tuned for the final product. I should finish by the end of the weekend (I hope). My back is already killing me :)

Today's Project: Binding Ayve's quilt

2012-01-22T16:03:50Z

Back in the summer, my niece Alicia requested a quilt for her new baby Penny and toddler daughter, Ayve. The color scheme was (fortunately) one of my favorites: gray, yellow and white. The first quilt out of the gate was the baby-sized quilt for Penny. I loved making the big graphic zig zag in one of my favorite lines, Aviary2 by Joel Dewberry.

Next up was a twin-size bed quilt for Ayve. This quilt is a simple, modern square design using the same fabric line. I finished that quilt top very quickly, but since it is somewhat large - quilting it in my usual way at home just wasn't an option. I love to quilt baby and toddler sized quilts, but anything larger becomes a nightmare of shoulder-wrenching wrestling between me, the quilt, the machine and the dining room table. The quilt pattern, should you need one, is from Elizabeth Hartmann's book, The Practical Guide to Patchwork, and the quilt is called "Small Plates". I'm pretty sure I adjusted it because I always do, but that's the basis.

I had this quilt quilted by Shelley Cannon, my aunt Mary's friend who lives in Oklahoma (thus providing a necessary connection to my quilting heritage since I learned how to quilt there). It's just lovely.

Today I am binding the quilt. This is one of my favorite steps in the process because despite all the tools and progress in modern quilting, binding is still done the old fashioned way by most quilters. That is, you stitch down strips of fabric to the top of the quilt and then handstitch to the reverse side. The process is very therapeutic - all that hand stitching - and gives it a satisfying homemade finish.

More photos when the project is complete!

And - COMPLETE! mailed off today!

Fabric of the week. Dolce by Tanya Whelan.

2012-01-15T16:26:03Z

I love the varied scale of this fabric as well as color way. Not sure what I'm going to do with it yet. A quilt, of course, and clearly girly.

The first thing I thought when I saw these lovely prints was "linens!" Tanya has them worked up in pillow cases on the banner of her site, here.

Just visiting that site, I am reminded that one of the things that brought me back to quilting avidly was designers like Tanya who were creating modern interpretations and uses of traditional fabrics and patterns. She, Amy Butler, Anna Maria Horner, Heather Bailey and a host of others made it fun again! I have always had an ongoing need to sew and quilt, but it used to wane for a year at a time. These days, I can't wait to work with the fantastic fabrics that are available every week it seems. (My favorite online fabric shops are Fabricworm, which puts together great bundles of coordinates; hawthorne threads, which has a lovely newsletter; and Quilthome which provides great coupons.

Looking back, looking forward.

2012-01-09T15:13:21Z

A fun mosaic maker on the web let's you pull all your flickr set photos together to make a grid. So thus are my quilt projects; this collection spans several years.

My goal in 2012 is a quilt a month. Let's see how I do! (right now I have a commission from a friend so that's the first order of business after organizing my sewing and crafting areas.)

xo, d.