Festive Forest: A Finished Quilt

I am not one for seasonal quilts (I think they should be able to be used year round) and I am not one for traditional Christmas colours (our colours are dark blue, turquoise and silver) but when I saw that Violet Craft was releasing a green, red, white and gold version of Brambleberry Ridge it just spoke to me. I used a tutorial that was free (see my previous blog entry on the process). I ended up being quite delighted with the end result and my daughters were using it before I even finished the binding. Maybe it can spend the non-Christmas season in the basement?

I didn't finish until after Christmas (because who has time to sew down some binding in the middle of the chaos that is multiple Christmas events?) but it was still within the time my Christmas tree was up so I consider that a win!

Here is Festive Forest:

It sure looks pretty against the white snow! There are two blocks that are actually made up of four mini trees. I love the variation it adds.

My husband hates the wonky nature of the improv trees, but what does he know? ;)

I didn't have quite enough of this pretty red print from Brambleberry Ridge (I guessed on the yardage when I bought it which is typical me) so I put in a pit of this Laurie Wisbrun red fabric that I had in my stash.

I used this loopy pattern to quilt it because it was quite fast and because my initial plan did NOT work out. I just went with it. I quite like it!

And there is my first finish of 2018! Hopefully many more to go!

Linking up to Finish It Up Friday with Crazy Mom Quilts!

Little Eye: A Finished Quilt

Be warned: this is a very picture-heavy post!

For years I have wanted to make a modern I-Spy quilt, influenced mostly by this quilt by From the Blue Chair.

I finally made that wish come true with this quilt, Little Eye (as in, I spy with my little eye...) for my youngest daughter. It was meant to be a second birthday present (she has a January birthday) but it was not meant to be.

None the less, here is Little Eye, all finished (and already in very heavy rotation):

I really liked the mix of colours and totally random sizing and placement of the fussy cut pieces in the inspiration quilt. I think I was able to capture that pretty well.

The sashing is Kona White (obviously) but the other Konas (I am listing these especially for Jenn at A Quarter Inch from the Edge) are: Pomegranate, Cypress, Kumquat, Celestial, Punch, Black, Wasabi, Jade Green, Kale, Salmon, School Bus, Capri, Magenta, Tulip, Ash, Shale, Ultra Marine, Willow, Prussian, Berry, Windsor and Glacier. There is also an Art Gallery solid in there (Yarrow?) and two colours I'm not sure about but could check now that I have a brand new 303 colour card!

The back is a Heather Ross print from her Tiger Lily line that I adore and pre-ordered as soon as I saw it. My daughter loves cats (her first word was kitty) and these are kitten and a Mama cat playing and walking around.

Here's where the post is going to get a bit nuts...I wanted to take a picture of each block so I have a record of each fussy cut fabric. Feel free to stop reading now. :)

Castle Peeps by Lizzy House

Penguins by Kokka

Far Far Away by Heather Ross

The Lovely Hunt by Lizzy House

Hedgehogs from the OOP Outfoxed line by Lizzy House

Natural History by Lizzy House

Kitten fabric from Tiger Lily by Heather Ross

 Not only is my daughter loving it (we play actual I-Spy with it...she calls it "Play quilt") by my cats are on it whenever it is out.

Thanks, Marlowe.

Honeymoon from Cotton+Steel

Whale fabric- anyone know what line or designer this is? Also, you can see my daughter's name in FMQ in this block. I did this in three different blocks, in different directions, to add some personalization to the quilting.

Wee Wander

This pig fabric is from Andover, but not sure of the line.

This handsome llama is from Laurie Wisbrun's etsy shop Scarlet Fig.

Photo bomb: Marlowe. Fabric: Brambleberry Ridge by Violet Craft

I know this is Sarah Jane as the designer, for Michael Miller, but I'm not sure which line.

Matryoshkas by Riley Blake

Nursery Versery by Heather Ross

Zephr I think? Cotton+Steel

More Wee Wander

One wee Cotton+Steel tiger

These delightful clouds are from the Zephr line for C+S

This is a Spoonflower print I bought in the first few months I started sewing.

This block is special. It is not a fabric; this is embroidery from a pillowcase that was made by my grandmother, whom I never met. The pillowcase was aged and no longer usable but the embroidery held up beautifully so I rescued it to put it in this quilt.

Ballerina from Tiger Lily by Heather Ross. Paw is by Marlowe.

Fox and the Houndstooth

Rare OOP Heather Ross fish fabric. I special ordered a little scrap bag of Heather Ross prints particularly because I love this one print so much.

Lizzy House Natural History

A charming sloth from the Honeymoon line of fabric by Sarah Watts for Cotton+Steel

Another rare OOP Heather Ross

Wee Wander

This is from the Tokyo Train Ride line by C+S

I think that is all of them!

I did a meandering stipple throughout using white Aurafil. The binding is Kona Steel with a strip of Ultra Marine for fun.

I'm so glad I made a quilt that is actually staying at our house and that my youngest already adores!

Which is your favourite block?

Linking Up with Crazy Mom Quilts Finish It Up Friday!

Eclectic Ark: A Finished Quilt

When our (now former) neighbours told us they were expecting their fifth son I immediately did a fabric pull and was thrilled with it. I couldn't wait to get started!

Then mom dropped on me that the baby's name was going to be Noah, and that his nursery was green and blue and animal themed. I was torn. Stick with what I had picked or go with her colours and theme?

Ultimately I decided to put her wishes first and made this quilt, Eclectic Ark. The animals are for Noah's ark, of course. But there is a strange mix of creatures in there! I ended up using a precious Laurie Wisbrun print with lions, an Ed Emberly sheep print, and some Ann Keele turtles and owls. The backing is flannel and covered in giraffes. 

The blues and greens do go well with Noah's nursery. 

 I opted to use several Kona solids. I wanted to highlight the animal fabrics by leaving them big, and then I framed out each one with a different colour. For those who want to know (ahem, Jenn), I used: Stratosphere, Nautical, Spring, Leprechaun, Forest, Kiwi, Lake and Water. 

Well, giraffes were on the ark, weren't they?

 I did straight line quilting, adding an "X" on the corners of all the solids. It took a long time because of all buried threads but I liked how it looked overall. This is a quilt that probably could have used an all-over long arming treatment but I don't have the money for that. I'm still counting on quilty friend C getting herself a long arm and teaching me how to use it!

Xs all over the quilt...in Aurafil White.

I used a yellowy-greeny Art Gallery Squared Elements print for the binding which I think tied in well with some of the accent colours in the prints. I was very pleased with this choice.

I got to snuggle three-day-old Noah when I gifted the quilt and mom was super happy with the gift. She immediately took me to show me how perfectly it goes with the sweet baby nursery she had decorated. I told her I hope he uses the quilt and wears in right out, and that I promise I'll make him a new one if he does wear it out!!

I still don't think I love this one as much as I would have my earlier pull, but I'm happy that Noah has a quilt made with love and that I put mom's wishes over my own taste/inspiration. I also used only fabrics from my stash which felt great!

Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts and her Finish It Up Friday!

Polaroid Power

Jenn over at A Quarter Inch from the Edge is a prolific sewer and we have become bloggy long-distance friends. She was putting together a Polaroid quilt for her baby son and suggested we make and swap some blocks. I have always wanted to make one, with the idea of it being for my own youngest daughter, so I jumped on the chance (though the quilt itself is down the list for now). 

We used a tutorial for making the blocks that made the whole thing really quite easy, though the fussy cutting was the most fun AND the most tedious part of it.

The fussy cut blocks are 2.5" squares and what you see here is 1" strips on either side waiting to be trimmed and pressed.

We were supposed to make 10 and swap but I had some much fun that I made just a few more for Jenn. 

Jenn's blocks to be sent in the mail.

It is hard to choose a favourite but these are three that I particularly loved:

Laurie Wisbrun llamas wearing hats.

This sweet little boy (for my own blocks I cut out the little girl from this print!)

This adorable snake in a jar.

Then I waited (not so) patiently for my blocks to arrive. And I was not disappointed! Look at my haul! (Jenn went overboard for me, too, so I guess I'm not the only one!).

I think my favourite is that awesome Octopus on the pink background. LOVE.

Then Jenn contacted me to say she was doing a Polaroid swap at her guild and one of the participants was unable to make 10 blocks for someone else because she had just had a baby. She wanted to know if I would mind making 10 more to send out to the swap person so she could still get some new ones. Challenge accepted! So I whipped up some more blocks (and, honestly, loved some of these so much I had to make some for Jenn and send her a few more, like those Lizzy House dinosaurs).

I slipped some different ones in here for this swap person including an Ann Kelle which Jenn and I had said we would not use for each other since we both have lots in our stash.

Now I'm waiting for 10 more to arrive on my doorstop from my new swap partner. So. Much. Fun. I really must get into some sort of Modern Bee because making these for someone else and receiving my own was awesome!

The Real Deal

After posting my Sew Sisters giveaway, my quilting friend A suggested a trip out to the "real deal." I have ordered from them a ton of times but it is not really that close for a drive. I thought her suggestion to go in person was a great one, especially since I really needed Kona Black and they have so much Kona!

The outside of the shop- and the location in general- is unexpected. It is sort of in this industrial/commercial area and in a less-than-beautiful building.

Outside the store.

But inside is fantastic! As soon as you walk in the door you are hit by all the delicious Kona!

This doesn't even begin to show how much Kona they have!

Large, industrial ceilings but a lovely vibe inside.

These were my favourite Konas. Of course. I have a turquoise problem.

Our friend C ended up coming with us and we all bought some goodies. I got that needed Kona Black, and some damask to finish a quilt for a friend (I'll blog about that whole story some time later). I also love this Art Gallery fabric and it was in the clearance room! So was that Joel Dewberry print. It was so inexpensive I couldn't resist! For the first time I can remember, C and I bought the same fabric (the Joel Dewberry). We have very different tastes so maybe we're spending too much time ogling fabric together? 

I also picked up some Aurafil (love) and two discount fat quarters (some Laurie Wisbrun and a little grey eyelet from DS).

I was a great success and I got to use that black right away to finish up The Dark Side. I would definitely trek back there again, especially for that discount room. So much fabric! So little time!

Lynn