2012: A Year of First Quilts

I began piecing my first quilt in January of 2012, and here it is, December 31st of 2012 and I managed to complete 10 quilts! I am completely in love with modern quilting, and I am so pleased with how much I learn with each quilt I make. I look forward to many more quilts in 2013!

Here is a mosaic of my quilt finishes for 2012. Stay tuned on January 1 for my list of 2013 quilts to make!

Have a happy and safe New Year's Eve and a great end to 2012!

Lynn(aka Buttons)

It is Amazing What You Can Find in Your Stash

I had a fabulous but busy Christmas, and I hope everyone enjoyed time with their family. My very favourite gifts will be mentioned in a future post, but I wanted to share the joys of post-Christmas sewing/quilting projects!

(By the way, I never did finish those stockings for my family. I will need to get on those earlier in 2013 to get them done for next Christmas!).

I jumped right back into sewing as soon as I had a spare moment, and I decided to tackle my HST QAL December block first. I also wrote a list to go shopping for some sashing and border fabric- I don't have anything suitable for the border (at least, not enough of anything) and I want my sashing to match the white-on-white I used in all my blocks. A trip to The Hobby Horse it is!

I did, however, cut out the 20 2x2 blocks required for the corners of the blocks based on Jeni's finishing instructions. Here is a peek:

Also, I have had the centre panel of the baby quilt I am making for my friend/babysitter who is due in February done for quite awhile. She is having another little boy (number three!) and I chose some Peak Hour charm squares. I could not decide on the border, and almost went with a solid grey. But it wasn't right. And I knew it. So I sighed, and went to check out my stash to see if there was something that worked better. Guess what I found?

Rush Hour! (And if you are wondering about the baseboard I was, indeed, ironing on a mini ironing board on the floor).

A whole meter of Riley Blake Rush Hour fabric! I had completely forgotten about buying some yardage while in Pittsburgh this past summer. I had some other prints too, including my favourite Want Ads print in white. 

The pictures of the quilt top and backing are not great (courtesy of being taken at 11:00 at night in poor lighting) but they give you a feel for this wonderful baby quilt!

Things That Go- front

Things That Go- back

I love the way the fabrics work together, and the pieced back is so cute. I am ready to baste this puppy!

But wait. A problem emerged from my decisions, and that is a total lack of a particular bunny fabric I purchased specifically for this baby. You see, his mom is a bunny nut, and finding "boyish" bunny fabric is not exactly easy. I have the perfect stuff, but it just did not go with the Rush Hour fabric, no matter how I tried to work it in. Solution? Make two quilts!

And so here are the initial pulls for this lucky little boy's second quilt:

A grey, white and blue bunny quilt? I think yes!

Lynn (aka Buttons)

P.S. This is my 100th post! Considering I wasn't sure if sewing would stick, and then I wasn't sure if quilting would stick, never mind blogging about quilting, I am pretty amazed! And going strong! Thanks for reading my blog.

HST QAL: December Block

This past summer I came across a Half-Square Triangle Quilt-Along hosted by Jeni of In Color Order. At that point I had been quilting about six months, and decided to try the QAL to boost my skills (especially because I discovered, through the world of modern bloggers, that HSTs are amazing little blocks!).

I used Lizzy House's Outfoxed line from Andover and I love the results. Jeni has since posted finishing instructions, and I will be working on getting it done (for my daughter) in January.

Here for your enjoyment, however, is my December block.

This is what Jeni's block looks like:

And this is my version, my twelfth and final block. I think this will delight my daughter when it is all done (her favourite colour, she informs me, is purple).

I have been loving the QAL, eagerly anticipating the first of the month so I could tackle a new block. I think I need to start a new QAL in January.

Thanks, Jeni, for hosting this HST QAL!

Lynn (aka Buttons)

Silly Seuss: A Finished Quilt

My closest friend's son is getting a quilt from me this Christmas, and I picked the fabric based on something he really loves: Dr. Seuss. I had to hunt around to find this original line of Dr. Seuss fabric as the more recent lines seemed to have pushed the old one out. I eventually found what I wanted at Christa's Quilts, and got to work!

I used the Road Trip quilt tutorial from Cluck Cluck Sew. I opted to add a border- and I love it. I hope my friend's son loves it too! (Though I am not expecting a huge reaction about a quilt from a three-year-old. My friend, however, will probably flip out).

Here are some along-the-way shots of Silly Seuss:

And here is the finished product (Note: I wanted to take this pictures at our local library, but time and practicality got in the way. I really need to get things done with more time to go to fun locations to do quilt shots):

I used a very loose, wild herringbone straight stitch with a variegated red thread to do the quilting, and I absolutely love the impact that the colourful striped fabric has as the binding. This is a vibrant, silly quilt for a vibrant, silly little boy.

Lynn (aka Buttons)

Linking up to Finish it up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts

Modern Mom: A Finished Quilt

When I ordered six mini-charm packs of Bonnie and Camille's Vintage Modern I did not know what I was going to do with them. They were so cute! I started using them on a whim for leaders and enders and then got addicted to them. I love the look of them so much that I wanted the quilt to go to someone special. And then it occurred to me that my wonderful mother-in-law's birthday is December 17. The problem? I had all sorts of Christmas sewing still to do, and then I got very ill and did almost no sewing for a month. Let me tell you, this quilt came down the wire (I finished it December 21 to give to her December 24). I hope she LOVES it.

I learned a lot from piecing this quilt: small pieces of fabric are trickier to piece accurately, sashing is difficult to get really straight (I need to work on this one for sure) and my basting skills are still not great (the front and back never line up quite the way I intended). And I love learning while quilting- I think it is maybe one of the main reasons quilting has become so important to me. Doing something fun and learning at the same time is my ideal combination!

Here are the pictures of Modern Mom, finished!

Front of quilt

Detail of Vintage Modern blocks

Reunion fabric for binding against Turquoise Houndstooth for the borders

Back of quilt

Detail of back of quilt

I used Bonnie and Camille's Vintage Modern for the blocks, Kona White for the sashing, Rashida Coleman Hale's Squiggle Cream Grey for the backing (with a row of pieced Vintage Modern) and I ended up choosing Reunion for Sweetwater by Moda's Daisy Dates in Grey. I think it looks great with the colours of the quilt and adds a quirky, modern vibe to the quilt. 

I hope my mother-in-law gets lots of use out of it, perhaps while curled up reading her Kobo on the couch.

Have a great Christmas Eve!

Lynn (aka Buttons)

Auditioning Borders and Getting Fat Quarters in the Mail

I have been feverishly working on completing a quilt for my mother-in-law's birthday (which was the 17th) to give to her on the 24th at our Christmas Eve celebration. Fortunately I am finished- completed quilt post to follow- but along the way I had a terrible time choosing fabric from my stash (no time to order something new!) for the binding. I wanted it to stand out, but work with the beautiful colours in Bonnie and Camille's Vintage Modern fabric line.

Here is a shot of me auditioning binding fabrics- with the ever-present feline "helper."

The pink was my sort-of favourite in that it stood out from the turquoise houndstooth borders and the grey print on the back (from Rashida Coleman Hale). Ultimately, though, I went with something totally different, a print that hadn't occurred to me because I had pulled it for another project, so it wasn't with my stash. You'll have to wait for the post on the finished quilt to see what I ended up going with!

Also this week I got my Sew Sister Fat Quarter Club mail delivery. Hooray! The thrill of fabric in the mail is unbeatable (which probably explains my ever-growing stash).

Here was the inspiration picture:

And here are the fat quarters:

From top to bottom: Kona Amber, Kona Evergreen, Kona Wine, Kona Burgundy

The Evergreen is so dark it is almost black (as you can see in the bottom picture). The Amber looks yellow or orange depending on the lighting- which makes perfect sense for something called Amber!

I added them to my stash, and have vowed to dip into using these solids in 2013.

Hope your Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are loads of fun- we'll be busy all week long with family and friends. Look for my posts on two completed quilts!

Lynn (aka Buttons)

Baby's Birdies: A Finished Quilt

On top of trying to get all my Christmas sewing done in time (and, I assure you, I will not be done in time) I had to finish a baby quilt for a work friend who is expecting her first baby early in 2013. Her baby shower was a success, and she loved the quilt!

I chose gender-neutral colours because the parents told me they weren't finding out the baby's sex. Then I found out at the shower that they did find out- and it's a boy! I hope he loves these owls and birds and dots!

(Warning: Lots of pictures to follow!)

Front of quilt

Back of quilt- I love how you can really see the quilting in this shot.

Bundled up with a ribbon, ready to give to the mommy-to-be

I hope that Baby A gets lots of use from this quilt. I think the bright green checked flannelette on the back makes it extra cozy for a winter baby.

Now to get my mother-in-law's birthday quilt done in time! Wish me luck!

Lynn (aka Buttons)

Just a Taste

I am finally on the mend after weeks of illness, and I have been working away!

Here are some pictures of what I have been up to:

Some FMQ

Seuss Binding

Baby quilt binding

Piecing my Mother-in-law's birthday present quilt top

I hope I get lots more sewing done this weekend!

Lynn (aka Buttons)

Loving Loreti

Have you heard of Avril Loreti? She own the business Avril Loreti Home, operating out of Toronto, Canada, and she makes gorgeous things such as:
Tea Towels:

Photo courtesy of Avril Loreti Home

Table Runners:

Photo courtesy of Avril Loreti Home

and Pillows:

Photo courtesy of Avril Loreti Home

When I went to the One of a Kind Show in Toronto a few weekends back with my husband, we visited Avril's booth and I was enchanted. So enchanted that I returned before we left and scooped up two tea towels that I plan to hang up as artwork in a frame. Her images are much more stunning than mine, so here is what I bought:

Aren't they beautiful? They are bright and cheerful and once I frame them with white IKEA frames I think they will look great in my upstairs hallway. Great purchase...check out her online store!

Lynn (aka Buttons)