Sweet Baby is Quilted!

I have been intently focused on completing my quilt Sweet Baby before the impending baby shower on August 12. (Okay, so I may have had a slight distraction assembling my HST block for the QAL I just started, but we can pretend that didn't happen). I got her all quilted! I used my walking foot and Mettler white thread (a first for me) to do straight line stitching through all the white sashing and between the blocks horizontally. I picked up some variegated King Tut in light pink but after finishing all the quilting in white I couldn't stand the thought of taking away from the crisp look of the unquilted arrows. I decided to leave them.

I have discovered a whole-quilt picture does not show the quilting AT ALL. Note to self for future.

I also decided to try machine binding for the first time, using this tutorial from Rita at my all-time favourite blog Red Pepper Quilts. I had mixed results. It did go faster, and my fingers didn't feel like falling off, and it mostly worked.


Here is a picture where it mostly worked. It is a little far in from the edge of the binding for my taste, but I think that is why Rita uses more narrow binding.

And here is a picture where it totally didn't work at all. I think it is because when I squared up the quilt there was a bit more width at the edges of these pieces (my dumb fault, another note to self for future projects) and so the binding didn't go far enough.

I "fixed" it by flipping the quilt and machine quilting the other way, but it isn't exactly a pretty solution. I'm hoping the recipient will appreciate the overall quilt and not even notice my mistakes (or think they are quaint and add character). I would machine bind again, but I think this is definitely one of those things you need to practice ALOT before you are as good as, say, Rita.


I will post a glamour photo shoot of Sweet Baby soon (I hope).


Lynn (Buttons)

HST QAL: January Block

Jeni of In Color Order is doing a half-square triangle quilt-along that I just discovered this week. This will be my first ever quilt-along and I am excited to give it a try.

I decided to use my stash of fat quarters from the Outfoxed fabric line. I also opted to go with the alternative method of making HSTs because they are just so much faster. I know that there are issues with working with the biased edges with this technique, but I am not exactly a perfectionist and find that since I don't prewash cotton fabric for quilting (I always do for flannelette baby blankets) they stay pretty stiff and well behaved. We'll see if I'm still singing that tune after this QAL.


Here are my squares prepped for sewing around all four edges:

Carefully cutting through the corners to create the HSTs

All sliced and ready to go

After being (carefully) pressed

This method of HSTs (and, I'm pretty sure, with all methods of HSTs) there are little tabs that come from pressing the seam in one direction. The QAL directs you to trim the squares to 3.5", which I dutifully did.

But above is what happens when you aren't paying enough attention. The square on the right is perfect. The square on the left? I trimmed it twice without turning it first, and cut off too much of the white and not enough of the raspberry. Oh poop. Had to whip up another HST to correct my mistake. I will pay closer attention next time!

Trimmed and ready to go!

I then laid out the squares as per Jeni's directions and sewed them carefully together, being sure to pin the rows directly at the seams to ensure best fit. Here is where I was reminded what a novice I truly am: my seams never perfectly line up. I was really carefully with all of my cutting, sewing and trimming and yet the points do not match perfectly. I know I need to double check my 1/4" seam guide to ensure it is accurate, but then shouldn't they all be off by the same amount? I'm hoping that by doing all these HSTs for the QAL my skills with also improve. By December hopefully my piecing is more accurate!


The finished product is pretty adorable, if I do say so myself. And I'm glad, since peeking at February shows me a block I'm not exactly in love with. 

I enjoyed the process of making this, learned some things and want to dive into the next one. I say that is a success! I think I'll turn the finished product into a quilt for my little person. She'll love it!


Lynn (aka Buttons)

Rainbow Strip Flip Quilt

One of the blogs I read often is Cluck Cluck Sew. The pattern for Sweet Baby came from her shop (Pow Wow). When I saw her tutorial for a rainbow quilt I was instantly drawn to it.


This is what hers looks like:

Photo courtesy of Cluck Cluck Sew

And I have all my 2" strips cut and ready to go (with the exception of the white strips):

I totally love this set of colourful strips. I did change my mind about the red/green/brown polka dot one towards the right of the picture, and I am going to insert a strip of Kona Slate instead. I think it works with the rainbow effect much better.


I can't wait to get started on this baby!


Lynn (aka Buttons)

Birthday Mail Delivery

About a week ago, my husband ordered some fabric for me from Pink Chalk Fabrics. I checked the mail every day since I got the confirmation email telling me that it had been shipped. They must have known Thursday was my birthday because it was waiting for me in my mailbox!

This was inside:

Pink Chalk's deliveries are always meticulously wrapped and come with an adorable post card with quilt dimension information on the reverse.


Here is the fabric I ordered:

From left to right: Bonnie and Camille Vintage Modern Houndstooth in Aqua, Creative Thursday Ric Rac Bunny Hop in Slate and Lizzy House Guising Pearl Bracelet in Chocolate

The houndstooth was meant to be for a future baby quilt for a friend, but I am pretty sure now that I see it that I am going to steal it for my rainbow strip quilt. The bunny fabric is for my expectant friend who is working on #3 because she is bunny crazy. If she has a boy I think I am going to do navy, slate, grey and orange, and if it is a girl I think I am going to do navy, slate, hot pink and light pink. We'll see!


The chocolate fabric was, honestly, an "I must have that" purchase, since it was on sale and delicious. The depth of the brown doesn't translate well in this picture, but it is rich and wonderful. I am putting it in the stash but I think it will need to come out soon to make something.


So, after shopping on my birthday and then receiving this order on my birthday, I was happily living in fabric heaven all birthday long! (Is there a support group for fabric addiction?)


Lynn (aka Buttons)

Happy Birthday to Me

Yesterday was my birthday, and I had the day to myself with hubby at work and little person at preschool. I knew exactly what I wanted to do with this delightful free time...shop for fabric! I made my way into Guelph to the Greenwood Quiltery to indulge my fabric desires. Fortunately I have generous family and in-laws who provided me with financial support for my shopping excursion! :)


I was the only one in the store and I made a few rounds first, stroking bolts of fabric and fat quarters and making a list in my head of things I "needed."


I then visited the Remnant Rack:

And there, calling my name, knowing it was my birthday, were these beauties:

Lotta remnants? And the turquoise one was even 30% off! Happy Birthday from Greenwood Quiltery! I grabbed these and began my pile (it grew quickly, trust me).


Also on the remnant rack was this strange, irresistible fabric:

It is Tuffed Tweets by Robert Kaufman. I have not the slightest clue what I might use it for, but it was my birthday and I wanted it. So there.


I did have an actual shopping list with me so I set to work on that. I needed several orange and yellows (2 of one and 3 of the other, though I could switch which was which based on what I saw that I liked), one pink, one green and two purples. These are to finish my rainbow strip quilt that I have already cut from my stash to begin the awesome tutorial from Cluck Cluck Sew.


I ordered an eighth of a metre of each of those colours. These are the ones I chose:

From left to right: Sherbert Pips Vanilla Pink Play Dots, Urban Zoologie Remix Dots Orange, Outfoxed Fern Stripe Orange, ? unknown yellow, Speckle Sun by Cloud9, Flea Market Fancy Eyelet Green, Outfoxed Pearl Bracelet in Purple, Outfoxed Triangle Toss Purple

Wow, it is seriously bothering me that I don't know what that orangey-yellow one is. It is a tiny tiny grid of diamonds and I think it might be Robert Kaufman something, but the 1/8 is cut in such a way that there is no information on the binding. Do YOU know what it is?


I will post more about my rainbow strip quilt on another day so you can see the finished, drool-worthy stack of 2" strips. They make me joyously happy. (I have issues, obviously).


I continued about the store, admiring the many choices in the children section, and some delicious themed sections:

I also had lots of thoughts and ideas about future quilts, particularly if my one friend (who recently announced she has #3 in the oven) ends up having a boy. These navy fabrics are SO CUTE:

I didn't buy them, though. I restrained myself. (I'll just buy them when I know what the sex of the baby is!).


My shopping was not yet done. Of course not. I had to scoop a ton of fat quarters, my way of taking home some fabric I can't part with yet can't justify buying any yardage. I mean, who doesn't need more fat quarters? (The actual answer is me, but we'll pretend the answer is no one).


I bought this FQ from Outfoxed to add to my stack for my HST QAL:

I picked up these delicious pinks because I really liked them and I almost NEVER like pink:

From left to right: Robert Kaufman Metro Living in Hot Pink,  Sherbert Pips Play Dots in Bubblegum,  Sherbert Pips Puppy Dog Tails in Lemonade

And I was drawn to all these turquoise and greens (my favourite fabric colours!):

From left to right: ? Unknown, Heather Bailey Dotted Paisley in Mint, Backyard Baby Fun on the Vine in Green,  Backyard Baby Windy Day in Aqua, Backyard Baby Birch Forest in Aqua and ? unknown

Ack! Another two I don't know! This is killing me! I really should have written those down while in the store. The green graphic print on the right was calling to me on my last visit and I stroked it but left it behind. This time it had to come home with me. Same thing for the Birch Forest in the Backyard Baby collection. I needed it. You believe me, right?


And one more fabric purchase to show you. It is going to also go in my rainbow strip quilt, but if you were paying attention to the picture above you would have noticed I was one item short on my shopping list: another yellow. I fell for this sandpiper yellow fabric:

Sandpiper from Beyond the Sea by Cloud9 Fabrics

I loved it so much I bought 1/2 a metre instead of 1/8th the way I did with the other colours. The woman cutting my fabric was stroking it as she cut it, lamenting that she was heading to PEI in two days and this fabric just reminded her of PEI. She thought she had no time to make something for the trip. I very helpfully pressured talked her into making a cloth bag she could use while shopping on her trip. She took to the idea instantly, even pointing out the aqua fabric from the same line that she could use for the lining. I have a fabric peer pressure gift, I think. I need to remember to use it for good, not evil.


I also picked up some practical stuff, thread for quilting Sweet Baby (she talked me into King Tut variegated since they don't carry Aurafil) and some needles (used my last one during the piecing of Sweet Baby).

So? How did I do on my birthday shopping trip? And do you know the names of those fabrics that I don't? Please help! And check out my blog tomorrow about the birthday delivery in the mail from Pink Chalk Fabrics!


Lynn (aka Buttons)

HST QAL

I am a bit of a blog addict. I check/read 40+ blogs a day. It is a problem. Seriously.


One of my favourite blogs is In Color Order, and today when I was checking out Jeni's blog I discovered her HST Quilt-Along. HOW DID I NOT KNOW THIS EXISTED?


I got super excited, and went to her starting post (they are 3/4 through the QAL- but I'm going to start back at January!).

I went and perused my stash, and decided that for my first ever QAL, I should use a fabric I love, and since Jeni recommends a stack of fat quarters, I decided to pull my Outfoxed FQ bundle purchased last month at Greenwood Quiltery in Guelph. I don't know if I will have enough, but if I *have* to buy more of this wonderful fabric, then what a shame that would be.

I also had a few metres of white-on-white in my stash already, so I pulled that too. So excited! Can't wait to get started!


Lynn (aka Buttons)

Sweet Baby is Ready to Quilt

Sweet Baby is ready to quilt! After a ton of piecing, and certainly the most complex blocks I've ever tackled, Sweet Baby using the Pow Wow pattern from Cluck Cluck Sew is together with the back pieced and the quilt basted. I may actually get this done in time for the baby shower! (Did I just jinx myself?)

Sweet Baby quilt top, minus 2" white border strips

If you look closely at the quilt top, you will notice one small problem. Well, okay, a pretty big problem, but ultimately I decided not to rip it out. I am doubting the recipient will even notice. Do you see it? On the right?


This is what the backing looks like:

Well, at least that is what it looked like before I sewed it together. I could have gone with all one print (i certainly have enough of the white ice cream fabric- Cluck Cluck Sew patterns are very generous with their recommended yardage for backings) but I like the non-commercial look of a patchy back. What do you think?

Marlowe likes the backing

Here is the folded pile, ready to be basted. I know, I know, you are supposed to fold quilt tops with the seams out to prevent bending, but it doesn't look pretty for a picture that way now does it?

I also prepared the binding, a 2" strip of the confetti pattern, this time in blue. I think it will balance all the pink in the quilt nicely, and the pattern is smaller scale so it won't be lost in the small width of the binding the way the lollipops or ice cream would have been.

Binding for Sweet Baby

I used fusible batting again, since this is just my third attempt at quilting a quilt, and I pressed it on with very few challenges.


I am going to pick up so Aurafil to try for the quilting, and I am planning on using my walking foot. I will do some straight lines between the blocks, but I'm not quite sure how to tackle the arrows themselves. We'll see if inspiration strikes!


Lynn (aka Buttons)