Colour Block Fun

I began this post (and this quilt) before my new arrival, and I now have it basted (the quilt, not my baby). I wanted to share some of the process pictures from this colour block quilt (using a pattern from Cluck Cluck Sew (Allison Harris)'s book Growing Up Modern.

Admittedly, my favourite part was playing with picking all the fabrics. Also, rainbow quilts make me terribly happy (like when I made this quilt for my older daughter).

Get ready for a picture-heavy post (and most pics are from my phone...apologies).

Red, orange and yellow stack. So in love.

These were all the red strips, cut and ready to piece. I did each colour way's cuts and then pinned them together to move through the log cabin-style giant quilt piecing.

These were my cool colours...green, turquoise, blue and purple. 

This Wrens and Friends print is not something I would have ordered for myself (it came in a Fat Quarter Shop Blogger Bundle) but I LOVE it. It might be my favourite print in the whole quilt.

This gives you a taste of all the fabrics. Some I didn't end up using, and some I did use aren't here, but isn't this delightful to just look at??

Strips ready to go.

I knew I loved it from the very first ring of yellow. SO CUTE.

And here it is, almost finished. There has since been added a 2" white border all the way around. 

It was interesting to discover during the process of finding the colours (and committing to using only my stash) that I have no dark green or dark blue as per the quilt instructions. Instead I chose to do a ring of turquoise (no shortage of THAT in my stash, and since it is supposed to be the accent colour in the nursery) and purple instead of dark blue. I think it looks awesome with this revised colour spectrum.

I am so thrilled with how it turned out. Now I just have to figure out how to quilt the darn thing. I'm thinking straight lines. But on an angle? Or maybe close horizontal quilting? And what colour? Choices, choices.

Lynn

New Addition

Sorry for the long gap between posts. Post-Christmas mania and being huge and pregnant meant that not much was getting done around here. And then a special delivery came on the 13th!

Emma is here!

I got as far as being ready to baste both her wall quilt and her bed quilt before she arrived, and have had basically no time (or physical or mental energy) to sew much since. I did whip up one more double-sided flannelette blanket for her which I can post later. While in labour, I seriously contemplated basting her one wall quilt. A little time passed and I came to the realization I was a bit crazy (not that that is new information).

SO...here's hoping I can now get into a routine with both my daughters and then get back to sewing soon!

Lynn

Quilt for Baby

I want to make a quilt for my soon-to-be-born daughter. I've wanted to do so for awhile but other quilts got in the way. Plus my broken machine and all that. I actually pulled out three bundles for quilts for baby, plus one wall hanging, plus having goals for a changing pad cover and crib sheets, but...

Well, those things didn't happen. I did finally feel energetic enough and have my oldest daughter out of the house long enough (thanks to my awesome hubby) to get some serious sewing done for baby's first quilt. I am using a pattern from Simple Simon and Indian Summer prints from Art Gallery Fabrics and I love the unconventional navy, turquoise and grey colour palette. Here is a very rough idea of the layout (with no sashing yet).

I love the serene colour scheme. Not exactly typical baby girl, now is it?

And with more energy and a wee bit of time the next day I even got the rows sewed and the sashing and borders cut. Hooray! It feels amazing to actually accomplish something. No quilt even close made me feel terribly unprepared for baby (even though everything else is in place).

All cut and ready to go!

With a few more hours, I can finish the top and make the backing (which is a simple single fabric from this line since my hubby hates pieced backings). Maybe she'll actually have a quilt before she's a month old! Fingers crossed!

Lynn

Boppy Cover Blues

I have a breastfeeding pillow from having my first child. It is not a Boppy, I don't think, but the Jolly Jumper version. Whatever it is, it was darn useful while feeding my first so I pulled it out for baby two, due any day.

I HATE the fabric. Well, okay, that is a little strong. It could be worse. It could be pink.

Bumblebee fabric. Not even cute bumblebees.

And so I decided to pull out some fabric that I DO love and make a cover. So I searched Pinterest and the web and was discouraged by how, well, complicated all the tutorials made it seem. I didn't want to be able to take my cover off, I didn't need a zipper, and so on. Plus, I'm huge and feeling too lazy to print out patterns and all that.

So I just winged it. I put the fabric on the floor, traced around the Boppy and then started cutting and sewing. Except I was stupid. The hole I left for turning inside out and finishing with hand sewing was in the stupid inner curvy section. Impossible to stitch, I tell you! Especially since the cover is a tad too small. Oops. That is what getting lazy gets you.

Could not get this darn thing enclosed.

So I took a deep breath and pulled it off the pillow. I stitched around the curve with my sewing machine (and some zig zag stitches for good measure) and used my seam ripper to pull out some stitches along the easily accessible outer edge.

I even pulled out my Clover Wonder Clips to help me keep the seam closed while I sewed!

These clips are pretty awesome, I have to say.

And when all was said and done, after some cursing and redoing, I got a Boppy with a new, awesome cover! Yes, it is a bit lumpy and not the best fit around some of the curves but it is much nicer to look at than those bumblebees!

Turquoise and flannelette, of course.

I'm calling this a win. It worked out to do what it needs to do. And hey, if the seams rip or something I know just what to do next time. And it won't involve zippers or patterns.

Lynn

I Made 20 Quilts in 2013, not 19!

While typing up my 2014 quilting goals I realized that in my year-end post I forgot a quilt! I made the little boy across the street a tumbler quilt, Tumbling Jungle, and didn't include it in my collage. I also didn't have it up on my Finished Quilts page. Oh my!

So, in actuality, I finished 20 quilts in 2013. Phew! Here is Tumbling Jungle again, for the record. At least I have this blog to check these things!

Lynn

2014 Quilting Goals

Last year's 2013 quilting goals were perhaps a bit...well, insane, really. 

I had 8 specific quilts on the list and managed to make 7 of them (I didn't manage to make my dad's Architextures quilt, which I had even shifted to my December list and still didn't get to).

I also had these projects listed:

Other 2013 Quilts/Projects To Make

• Box pouch with zipper (scary!) DONE! I made one for my daughter and one for my sister-in-law.
• HST quilt in all Kona solids Hah. Didn't get to this one. I have the fabric all picked out, though!
• Paper piecing (I wonder if I can find a class near me?) I tried this with my Sugar Block Club blocks. It went...poorly. I will definitely try more this year while finishing my SBC blocks. Quilty friends A and C have promised to help.
• A Plus quilt DONE! I made Plus One for a new baby!
• At least one quilt from Sunday Morning Quilts and one from Quilting Modern Nope. Not even close. I did make one from Allison Harris' book and from Simply Retro by Camille Roskelley, though.
• Squares and Strips quilt in orange and turquoise using the tutorial from Cluck Cluck Sew Nope. This stack is still sitting waiting for me.
• Tumbler quilt DONE! I made one for the baby across the street and one for my nephew. Wait, did I ever blog that first tumbler quilt? I have to do some looking at my own blog!
• Something with my Lotta fabric Nope. Well, a bit was in Plus One. But I don't think that counts. Hmmmm.

When I look at it, I did accomplish specific quilts but not much on the other list. And when I think that I finished 19 quilts, that is still pretty darn good for my second year of quilting.

Okay, so I need a 2014 Quilting Goals List. Here it is:

-Indian Summer Quilt for new baby

-Work on SBC blocks from 2013

-Rainbow wall hanging quilt for new baby and work on SBC blocks

-Cat quilt along blocks

-Baby quilt for my friend K who is expecting a little boy in April

-Architextures Quilt for my dad. Finally. I should start this one early to make sure it gets done!

-December: Red and white quilt for my husband's step-grandmother (hard to explain, but she is so lovely and I want to make her one).
-Pink and green quilt for the twins' older sister, M
-Star Wars quilt for a little boy turning 9 this year

Other projects, if I can:

• I bought some soft books from Jo Ann's that I want to try to make for a few babies I know
• I want to make a pillow for the baby's room and some for the new pull-out sofa bed in my guest room
• I plan to make my daughter's SK teacher a book bag for June as a thank you gift (and fill it with some books!)

These goals are pretty reasonable. I hope! What are your goals?

Lynn