Friday, October 13, 2017

zebra stripes

I had so much success with my giraffe quilt that I decided to make one with a zebra theme.  I started by making a few Zany Zebra blocks.  Unfortunately, mine weren't nearly as cute as Lorna's so I went another route.
Simple and modern!

I paired a wavy black and white stripe from the Follie collection by Lotta Jansdotter and a bold solid to make a row of 9 blocks. Then I added a top and bottom and started quilting.  

I used Quilter's Dream wool for the poof factor and this organic grid to create some fun texture.

For the binding I wanted the stripes to wrap around the quilt so I had to cut my strips with the length of grain.  No stretch or give in the fabric created some new challenges for me. These edges don't lie completely flat.  Hopefully the baby won't mind! 😜
Soft cozy flannel zebras for the backing!

Here's to fun tummy time!




Linking up with Finish it up Friday and Let's Bee Social

Tuesday, October 3, 2017

giraffes

My dear friend is all about giraffes.  I'm not sure why but she is.  She is expecting her first grandson soon so when I saw Lorna introduce her Giraffes In A Row pattern I knew immediately what I would make the baby.


I choose solids from my stash for the giraffes and Andover chambray in black for the background. 
Reminder:  when you use a fabric where the warp and weft threads are different you need to pay attention to which way you place the fabric.  I may have had to re-do a few of those ears to keep everything going the same direction...worth it!

I adjusted the heights of my giraffes to make a long narrow crib sized quilt.  This one finishes at 39" wide by 50" tall.  Super easy to adjust this darling pattern.


I used a thin Hobbs cotton batting that I found at a sweet quilt shop when we made a quick stop while traveling through Michigan's Upper Peninsula.  Their Row by Row license plate reads I Pine to Quilt.  If you've ever traveled through the UP you'd totally get it and would probably have bought one too!
Back to the batting - it quilted beautifully and I will definitely be using it again.

I quilted this with what I'm now calling jagged little lines.  It's time consuming but not hard and I really love the texture and look it produces.  



For the backing I used this alphabet print from the Baby Jungle collection also by Andover.  
I didn't have enough of any of the solids I used in the giraffes for the binding and couldn't find anything in my stash I liked for both sides so returned to this tutorial for a two sided binding.  Again, the extra effort was worth it.

One of my favorite finishes ever!



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