Brown paper packages tied up with string

Today William received a cute crew neck sweater from my friend Jess. It's hand knit in Rowan's all seasons cotton. I love the slate grey and can't wait for the next chilly day to see William in it. I've always been a shoe and sweater girl! If you're on Ravelry, you can look up Jess's other amazing knits under her name "midwifejess".

Jess also remembered big sister who received a beautiful sundress. She was very happy to model it right away. Jess also sent some tea biscuits cleverly shaped like the letter "T" so of course we had to have a tea party in Savannah's new sundress. Jess is also expecting a baby this year so I am adding a baby quilt to my list of projects.

I also received two interesting fabrics from Elizabeth in Holland who sent them as a surprise thank you for the baby fabric squares I sent her last month. She's making a surprise baby quilt for her sister's baby with fabrics from all over the world. Can't wait to see it!

Spring Blooms Mini Quilt Swap

Today I finished my mini quilt for the Spring Blooms swap. I changed my mind about a dozen times when it came to what I was going to make. Partly, I was anxious about having received a professional quilter to create for when my skills are more novice or intermediate level in the quilting department and partly, I was just occupied with other things; work, books, garden, recovering, baby...

In the end I decided to just play around and see what comes of it. I made a quilt that is totally "me", playful and imperfect with Kaffe Fassett and Martha Negley fabrics that I love and to me scream "spring". I quilted it with a meandering stipple.

I did use one new technique - I've never made yoyos before and I made two this time for the funky flower and its center. I also don't use applique very often so I hope it turned out well enough.


My favorite part is the tree. I love trees. This one is fun because the fabric I used had an enormous lettuce or cabbage print on it, so I fussy cut it out to serve as the foliage. There's a hole in the tree waiting for new tenants.



Maybe this bird lives there.



Tomorrow I package up and send out my mini-creation. I'll update this post on Friday with a link to my quilting partner's website so you can see her amazing quilt artwork. Until then, it's still a secret!

Quilt-a-long Nine Patch

I've joined AmandaJean's one a day nine patch quilt-a-long to take my mind off of my slow recovery. While William is sleeping I can sit nearby and do some quilting when I can't rest and standing or activity is too much. I'm using up fabric from my stash and making a charity quilt for Camp Erin, a local summer camp run by Hospice for children who have lost someone special recently and need help with the grieving process.

The patches are REALLY bright. I hope it all comes together. The final quilt size will be 42" by 66", the size requested by Hospice for Camp Erin, and the nine patches will each be 6" finished. I had hoped to use small green prints instead of the yellows and oranges but I didn't have any green in my stash to use up. So far I've got 16 squares complete. The idea is to complete one nine patch a day and at the end of the spring to have a complete set for the quilt top.

**Update:** I did find some green in my stash - a Martha Negley fabric, so I'm now using that up too...

This is my warm-up for another quilt project I've joined - the spring blooms mini-quilt swap. I was really excited about this project and then I was paired to create my quilt for a professional art quilter who hand dyes her own fabric, whose quilts win multiple awards, and whose small quilts begin selling at $500. Now I'm really nervous about designing a quilt for this person since she's a professional and I'm a novice...

Labor of love - Nana's memory quilt

I've been working in secret on a memory quilt for my mother in law's birthday. This is my first memory quilt and the fastest I've tried to pull off a quilt of this size.

Smiling faces and poems for the front. And yes, this started out as five large disappearing nine patches. (Guess I'm on a roll with those!)

The back is pieced with a strip of 8" fabric and notes from her grandchildren. They are all cute messages, but I think my favorite is the footprint of baby Evan. That tiny footprint pretty much says it all.


Some details up close.

The practical:
My husband thought purple was her favorite color and I rarely see her without a Vera Bradley bag of some sort usually in purple, blue or green, so I chose fabrics in these colors from my favorite fabric designer, Kaffe Fassett.

It's lap size (50" x 60") because my mother-in-law is a knitter and while knitting warms up your forearms, it leaves the rest of you chilly unless you're sitting beside a warm fire or can knit while walking on a treadmill...

Because of the high recommendations it received, I used Printed Treasures sew-in fabric for the photos and artwork. I haven't had a chance to wash the quilt yet since I just finished in time for her surprise party today, but I've got my fingers crossed that all the positive reviews are accurate when they promise the printed fabric can be washed.

Savannah's picture in the quilt. She was most excited to have been placed in the same row as her cousin Abby - the girls share the same temperament; imaginative, creative, sensitive, affectionate.

The rest:
I really wanted to make something special for her birthday. As I started the project I realized that this was not so much a gift from me as it was from all of her grandchildren - their smiling faces with toothy grins and cute notes of love and appreciation for their Nana. That's what makes the quilt special. Really, it's all these little people that make up her legacy. I hope she enjoys it.

Things I learned:
No matter how alluring the thread-count and manufacturer's name, don't use tightly-woven fabrics for the quilt back. Even though it seems simple and plain to use a quilter's cotton or a muslin for backing fabric, it is easier to baste and quilt and hides needles and threads better.

Don't keep your magnetic pin cushion anywhere near your sewing machine. The magnet can cause your machine to go haywire.

Keep an assortment of sewing needles on hand for troubleshooting issues that arise with different fabrics when sewing. Sometimes the best needle for quilting is not a quilting needle but a denim needle or sharp needle.

EQ6 quilting software can be really helpful, when you have limited fabrics or time and can't "play" around with a design. After using it for a week, I give it an 8-star rating (out of 10) since it is missing some features that would have made it easier to use. Here are some of the designs I considered:

A modified log cabin - I almost made this one but thought I was too short on time. The heart in the bottom corner was an applique I considered adding, but it seemed to draw too much attention away from the grandkids.

Another layout for a disappearing nine patch quilt. In the end I decided I wanted the kids' pictures and art to be the showcase, not a more artistic design.

A straight-forward alternating square block pattern that I still really like, but was worried that my choice of such vibrant fabrics might not blend as well with this design.

Up for air

Between work work (my business), work on the house (renovations and projects), regular home work (cooking, cleaning, child-rearing, etc), and the work of growing of a baby (I'm starting to feel uncomfortable in my body), I've been running pretty ragged lately. Here are some of the quilting projects I've been working on (a few of which are actually completed).


I finished Baby Sophia's quilt yesterday. I've been working on it in bits and pieces between other things and finally had the chance to quilt it over the weekend and bind it yesterday afternoon. I really like the way it turned out. I think a baby would be fascinated by its bright and contrasting colors. I made a mistake in shifting the back fabric while quilting it together and had to piece together another scrap to finish the back but, that's what quilting is all about anyway, using the pieces of what you've got to make something different, whole and useful.

Tacked up to the design wall - can't imagine I ever lived without one.

Here's the back in bright pink and white polka dots. Very colorful!

I've also been experimenting with two different disappearing nine patch quilts inspired by another quilter's work. I've been trying to make one for a little girl who was sick in the hospital and has now recovered but I think it's too bright and cheerful now that's she's home with her family again...


Here are the squares up on the design board, just hanging out until I finish it up.


See what I mean - BRIGHT! BRIGHT! BRIGHT! So, I may put this aside for now and finish it for charity later or for another sick child. I will have to find another quilt to make for this special little girl so the next time (hopefully there will never be a next time but since the doctors don't know what's wrong with her...) she's in the hospital, she will have a warm, bright cheerful thing to take with her.

Here's another disappearing nine patch I started with some Moda fabric from a 5" charm pack. It's not fabric I would normally buy so I've had it sitting around my fabric stash for a long time. It might end up turning into a doll or bear quilt for Savannah.


One minute, you think you're a nine-patch...


and the next you find you've been turned upside down...

In the meantime, I broke my fabric diet and purchased a large amount of Kaffe Fassett fabric to make my next quilted wonder with a special person in mind. Kaffe Fassett is my favorite fabric designer and whenever I need a little winter therapy or rainy day pick me up, I just browse their latest fabrics. Plus, I found a new Kona cotton fabric line with a 200 thread count that JoAnn's is selling for backing fabric. I love it. It was hard to stop rubbing my cheek against it so I think it will be a great addition to a future quilt. Until it arrives though, it's back to home renovations. This weekend we tackle the basement tiling project...

Baby William Quilt - An Afternoon on Oahu

I finished Baby William's quilt today - but Savannah says it could be a girl quilt or a boy quilt.


Here it is up on the design wall. It measures 36" x 42". This quilt reminds me of Oahu - the varied colors of the ocean and sandy beach, the hibiscus opening every morning with the rising sun and closing up into twisted little umbrellas at night, the intoxicating fragrance of plumeria.

It's reversible, two quilts in one since the back is also pieced. So far my fabric diet is working out well and I've used up two yards, 4 fat quarters and some other random fabric bits I've had in my stash on this quilt alone. Most of the fabric is from Kaffe Fassett, probably my favorite fabric designer, but there are plenty of other odd bits thrown in from Jo-Ann sales and other project leftovers. The binding I made from the leftover fabric bits and I just made it - with only three inches of double-fold binding to spare.


Here's the back of the quilt, which could also be the front. Instead of bright white like the front of the quilt, the back uses a scrap of fabric I had leftover from another project and is a sandy natural colored cotton.

I free-motion quilted it in three different styles - stipling for the white sashing, big round circles for the squares and a back and forth curve all along the borders. Hopefully there's enough contrast here for the stitching to show. I'm not a perfectionist when it comes to free-motion quilting but really enjoy it. The variation and texture it creates is fun for babies.


And here's the design board I made from homasote last weekend (and love!) already in use with another possible upcoming project using up some of my Kaffe Fassett fabrics for a green and navy and maybe orange or yellow quilt top. But first, back to the painting and tiling and other house chores...

Also, an edit, I said previously that homasote is made from 100% recycled paper and that isn't true. It's made from 98% recycled post-consumer paper (they use 300 tons a day!) and the water they use in the manufacturing process is 100% recycled in their closed loop system. Anyway, it's a great product and we also plan to use it to insulate the door to our mechanical room where it can be noisy.

Sophia's cow quilt top - Just say Moo

I finally made the decision on Sophia's cow quilt - more white was the answer (and then more pink, and then more cows when I ran out of that fabric).

I added white sashing which helped to break up the oh so much color and contrast and decided that I wanted the quilt top to be slightly larger, so I added a 4" border in a leftover fabric from my stash. It wasn't quite enough to reach the corners so I had to fussy cut the last four cows out of my fat quarter to finish the quilt. I feel guilty for not binding the quilt and quilting it first before displaying it but I haven't found my warm & natural cotton batting yet with a third of our house in boxes again.

Amber wrote in to tell me of her useful site, My Web Quilter where you can play around with square and designs online before diving into your fabrics and cutting them up. Very useful website and you can even add sashing and borders, etc.

Now that I see the tremendous task ahead of us in finishing the basement, where my project room will reside, I know it will be a few more weeks until the space is livable again. Until then, my sewing machine is installed on one side of the dining room table where it's getting regular if not daily use in between a rush of other activities.

The binding will be a thin black bias, made of scraps if I have enough leftover (I may not). Savannah selected a super soft pink minky fabric with stars on it for the backing. The quilt top measures 44" x 44" and I can't wait to free motion quilt it and give it that wonderful crinkly texture.

Quilt block dilemma - Sophia's cows

There was something about these little moo cows that caught my eye on a recent trip to the fabric store for something entirely different. Savannah liked it too "for a Sophia" so we stacked up some coordinating fat quarters and half yards and brought them home for whenever I might have time to start thinking about making something for baby. I was hoping to make two simple, alternating quilt blocks in contrasting colors for baby's undeveloped eyes. But I can't find a decent pattern to contrast with this block that I do like. Here's my first block attempt (it doesn't work at all but I really wanted to find a way to use the cow print and polka dots).

I think this quilt may be suffering from a lack of white space. Maybe I'll try removing the stripes and replacing it with white fabric. Unfortunately, I can't find any of my white fabric at the moment since it's all packed away in boxes. I'm reluctant to purchase new fabric since I'm trying to put my craft room, which is the dining room table until the basement is tiled, on a fabric diet. I also considered embroidering "Moo!" on white squares that would alternate with the cows but I usually waste fabric when embroidering on small 4" squares like these. Plus, then I'm back to wading through boxes to find my white fabric...


Cute little moo, moos. Wonder what I'll come up with for a Baby William quilt. With the fabric diet in place, I may have to use up my Kaffe Fassett stash for a bright, gender-neutral quilt.

Reduce your fabric stash for a good cause (and maybe win a contest)

Every quilter I know has a fabric stash that includes much coveted fabric as well as fabric that makes you wonder, what was I thinking when I bought that? Anyway, now's your chance to do some good and reduce the sinfully large size of your stash (making room for new fabric, of course) AND enter yourself in a charms contest for 36 random 5 inch charms. The link to the contest, called Charms for Charity Contest, is posted below.

The neatest thing of all is that the fabric will be donated from quilters all around the world to make quilts for charity. Definitely something I'd like to be a part of!

Savannah's cozy car quilt

We're finally back from our last house hunting trip to NY. On the morning we were scheduled to fly back to Colorado, we decided to look at one last house before making an offer on another one. It must have been fate because we loved it. It has more than 15 acres that made Kevin feel right at home, trails through the woods for snowshoeing and cross-country skiing, a large pond for ice skating and fishing, rolling hills and fields. Beautiful land. The house is a contemporary eco-home built in the 70's by the original owner, who still lives there. It is passive solar with a green house and sauna and just waiting for me to cultivate a garden and apple orchard (oh yes, and Kevin's 1 acre of raspberry canes!). Updates on the house later as things progress, I will just say that this is not the sort of home you might envision us in although our European backgrounds were right at home there.

Today Savannah read to me A Picture for Harold's Room while I finished her cozy car quilt. She picked out the fabrics for the front and the fleece for the back as well. My quilting turned out not as well as it could have since my machine won't lower the feed dogs - they kept popping back up so I had to fight the fabric the whole time, but in the end it turned out fine and it fits her perfectly for the car. If our offer is accepted on the contemporary house, I'll have to start making modern and Japanese-style quilts - kind of exciting!

Savannah's new car quilt - we use them all fall and winter so she can stay warm while the car takes its time to warm up... Wish I had one too!

Stippling turned out remarkably well, considering I had to fight the feed dogs the whole time I was quilting.

Olympic doll quilts

I finished the three doll-size quilts for Savannah's Olympic dolls and they are cute! It's hard to pick a favorite but I think I like YingYing's the best - she's the Tibetan Yak doll. It's fun to experiment with colors and patterns I would never use otherwise. Doll-size is sometimes just right for trying something new!

Here they are all tucked in together with their matching quilts.

YingYing.

JingJing.

HuanHuan.

Quilts are still useful...

Kevin thinks my quilting is old-fashioned and that my end products are undesirable. But now that it's been so rainy in Denver, my quilts are turning out to be just the thing we need. Savannah loves her picnic quilt, which she asked me to make exactly like one she saw on Strawberry Shortcake when she and her friends have a picnic. She uses this one both outside and in. It has really thick batting so it's cushion-y on the grass. It also helps to cheer up a rainy day or snow day by having a picnic inside.

The Strawberry Shortcake Quilt - Ahh! Savannah loves it!

Savannah has a super cute country shabby-chic quilt that I made for her bed. I quilted it with a much thinner batting, Warm & Natural that was recommended by Eleanor Burns (my favorite quilter to learn from). It was much easier to quilt and I used this tutorial on free motion quilting provided by one of my favorite bloggers, Amanda Jean from Crazy Mom Quilts.

My Shabby Chic Log Cabin Quilt for Savannah's bed. I followed Amanda Jean's tutorial and did my first free-motion quilting on this one. Once I had the right foot, it worked out well!

There's a new baby boy due due in a few short months to a friend in NYC. I'd like to make her something for the little guy but I'm not yet sure what... They are matching Pottery Barn people so that makes it especially difficult. Maybe a play quilt in baby Einstein colors to stimulate the little one's mind.



Here are some baby quilts from the recent past:




I really liked the contrasting colors in this one. Easy nine-patch with sashing.

This quilt is the bright hopes quilt for kids and I made it from a free pattern I found online. It uses a neat technique of sewing a partial seam so the squares can be sewn flat. I'd like to make this quilt again in different colors. I made this one all from quarter flats from JoAnn's and used every last bit of fabric in the binding. A truly economic quilt!