a plus quilt

Well this was fun!  Another Quilt-Along. This one on Instagram hosted by a delightful new friend.  Of course I wanted in!

We all made a simple plus quilt following a free pattern by Jeli Quilts.

We needed 8 different fabrics for this pattern so it was a perfect use for this Gardenvale piece I purchased last summer.

I cut 5 inch squares for my pluses so this quilt finishes at 45” x 58.5”

I used a matching striped Gardenvale fabric for the binding.
My favorite thing about this quilt is the backing.  It's a new Andover jersy knit by Alison Glass.  I highly recommend it.  It was almost 70” wide - even after pre-washing & drying.  By the way, no bleeding of that beautiful blue in the pre-wash.

The batting is Quilter’s Dream Request loft cotton. Thin batting and the t-shirt backing make this a dreamy summer quilt.

I free motion quilted a geometric design in each of the squares.  You can see it (a little) better on the back.  (The color is off here.  The previous photo shows a more accurate blue.)

Thanks for stopping by.

Linking up this Friday finish with Crazy Mom Quilts.

playful pups and a giveaway

Welcome!
I’m so pleased to be participating in my first blog hop.  Thanks so much to Lorna at Sew Fresh Quilts who wrote this Dog Gone Cute pattern for eight darling puppies and organized all the fun!

Here is my finish!  I had lots of different ideas for this project but, as usual, it determined what it wanted to be.  I originally intended to use both sizes of the pattern and a variety of Alison Glass’ Handcrafted fabrics with the Robert Kaufman Essex Yarn Dyed in flax for the background.  

The first three came out so dog gone cute!  I just love the pink and purple freckles!

Then I made a few more in other colors and sizes and they just weren’t working for me.  Too dark or just not fitting in with those first three.  So I acquiesced and returned to that original fat quarter.

Here's a tip to help you out as you make your blocks.  Put a piece of tape on the bed of your machine right in line with the needle.  Now just line up the bottom corner of the square on that line and sew.  No need to draw a line on on all those squares!

As I was carefully measuring and cutting and sewing with such limited fabric, it occurred to me that these puppies wanted to play!  So...it turns out this is actually a game board.  There are 15 puppies in this litter.  Seven pairs and one individual. 

Now we can play Match The Puppy! 

I added a bit of sashing between the rows and columns for spacing. It finished at 36 x 40 - perfect for playing on the floor!

The back is a Home Dec print by Denyse Schmidt that I picked up over a year ago on #thegreatfabricdestash on Instagram.  (It's a closer match to the pair of green puppies than this photo shows.)  I used Quilter’s Dream wool batting for the poof factor and quilted it with classic clam shells for the win! 

 I’m really happy with how calm and mellow these little puppies are.  (They are even allowed on the furniture!)  Everyone loves a sweet puppy!

Speaking of sweet puppies, here are the three I’ve shared my life with:

The Beagle is Penny.  I grew up with her.
Our girls grew up with Emma, the Yellow Lab.  She was actually more human than canine so including her here is questionable. 
The Wheaten, Tula, was all mine.  100% terrier, she made it her job to keep me safe from every squirrel and bunny that dared enter our yard.  She took her job quite seriously.

Now for the giveaway!  To celebrate my first time participating in a blog hop I am offering a fat eighth bundle of Alison Glass’s new Handcrafted 2.  To enter just leave a comment on this blog post.  How about telling me the name of your favorite puppy? 

I will use a random number generator to pick a winner on Tuesday, October 13th.  If you are a no reply blogger please be sure to check back to this post next Tuesday to see if you are the winner.  

The giveaway is now closed.

The winner is PK Sews!  

Thanks to everyone for your lovely comments and for sharing your fun dog names, stories, and memories with me. 

In the meantime, be sure and check out all those participating in the Dog Gone Cute Blog Hop to see what they've made with this sweet pattern.  

Tuesday, October 6

Karen of Run Sew Fun

Kris of Kris Loves Fabric

Anja of Anja Quilts

Kelly of Quilting it Out

Tish of Tish’s Adventures in Wonderland

Thursday, October 8

Carol of Just Let Me Quilt

Nina of Inchworming

Doris of The Quilting Queen Online

Brandy of Pampered Pettit

Leena of Creative Instincts

Tuesday, October 13

Ruth of Charly and Ben’s Crafty Corner

Tanya of Tanya Quilts in Colorado

Laurel of Quilts by Laurel

Kathy of Kathy’s Quilting Blog

Deb of New Creative State

Thursday, October 15

Anita of Daydreams of Quilts

Gina of Quilts and Cakes

Beth of Words & Stitches

Rachel of Quiltineering

Julie of Mack and Mable

Tuesday, October 20

Cathy of A Quilting Chick

Selina of Selina Quilts

Shauna of Shauna’s World

Gayle of Pedal Sew Lightly

Kathy of Kayak Quilting

Thursday, October 22

Sandy of Upstairs Hobby Room

Heide of Heide’s Quilty Hugs

Britt-Inger of Hill Valley Quilter

Judy of How ART You?

Louisa of Sewmotion

Tuesday, October 27

Teje of Nero’s Patch and Post

Stephanie of Jak and Will

Valerie of Val’s Quilting Studio

Ellen of Georgia Florida Studio

Cristina of Pretty Little Quilts

Thursday, October 29

Abigail of Cut & Alter

Magdalena of iloveneutrals

Jenn of A Quarter Inch from the Edge

Anne of Batiks by the Bay

Susie of Susie's Sunroom

Tracy of Tracy’s Bits N Pieces

And thanks again to the leader of our pack, Lorna McMahon at Sew Fresh Quilts, for providing all of us this fun opportunity.

a2cmqg swap

Another swap!  This one between the Chicago Modern Quilt Guild and ours in Ann Arbor.
I was assigned Emily @mommysnaptime.   I made her a sign for her sewing room.

I used Anna Maria Horner’s True Colors collection (which is still available here) and the ‘Basic Binary’ pattern from Quilt Lab by Alexandra Winston.  The code reads across.  Each letter is 7 characters deep.  Here the pinks, purples, and oranges are 1’s and the blues and greens are 0's.  So using this basic binary code chart the sign reads Mommy’s Nap Time.

My partner also said she LOVES the Harry Potter series so on the other side I made her a bookshelf.  There are a few cute tutorials for angled books on shelves but our well worn Harry Potter books always sit together - in a straight line - in order (minus the one that’s being read.)  I did my best to match the colors/sizes of each of the dust jackets.  I used freezer paper to print the titles on fabric.

In return I received this beauty!

It’s called “Fractured Glass” and was made by Sally @turtlesrs  with beautiful Alison Glass fabrics.  It found a home on my family room wall in less than an hour!  

Check out the Instagram tag #a2cmqgminiswap to see more amazing minis made by many of the talented quilters and artists in these guilds.

Linking up this swap finish with Crazy Mom Quilts.

Stop back on Tuesday.  I'm participating in the Dog Gone Cute blog hop and I can't wait to share my finish with you!

preppy the whale

Yay!  Another baby shower!  This one for a family that loves to fish.  

I know, I know, whales are mammals, not fish.   
This irresistible pattern is Preppy the Whale by Elizabeth Hartman.  

I used various solids from my stash and an aqua ombre fabric from  V&Co. for the background.  PSA:  If you are vacationing and forget your cutting mat, the back of a cutting board works great as one!

Not till the top was completely finished did a glaring mistake start shouting at me.  How did I miss that third whale in the middle column?  So...my first time undoing a block on a finished top.  

I quilted this with organic wavy lines, of course!  Aurifil #5006 from my prize box was a perfect match!

The back is a super thick and cozy flannel by Robert Kaufmann.  For this reason I used the thinnest Quilter's Dream Cotton (request loft) batting.  I didn't want the quilt to be too heavy to be dragged around by a little one.

Then came time for binding.  Originally I planned a wide satin binding.  I was going for lots of different textures in this quilt.  The width and the satin became such a struggle that I changed my mind.  My second attempt was the flannel from the back.  Remember how super think and cozy I said it was?  Not great for binding.  So my third and final choice was the ombre fabric from the front.  Just right!

Wrapped, "ribboned" and ready for gifting! 

 Thanks for stopping by.

Linking up with Sew Fresh Quilts Let's Bee Social

alison glass mini swap

I'm playing catch up today.  I should have posted this in June...

I participated in the Alison Glass Mini Swap on Instagram.  My partner was from Australia and a mom of SEVEN children!  The moment I read my partner info I knew I wanted to make her a heptagon.

I found this beautiful bundle at Pink Castle Fabrics but couldn't find a pattern anywhere so I made my own.

I started slowly and learned quickly that when you are paper piecing every thing is backwards and upside down.  I intended for this to look scrappy so ultimately it didn't matter.

When the heptagon was complete I spent an evening removing all the paper.  I should have included my tweezers in this photo!

I appliqued it onto a solid.  This blue is from RJR and called Cove.  I love it!

I quilted in the ditch throughout the shape (never had to lift my needle) then around and around the seven sides.

Because I was sending this to Australia I needed to keep the extras fairly flat and light weight.  I cut some of the leftovers into 2 1/2 inch squares and arranged them in a color "spectrum". (We were on team Spectrum.)

Then I turned the squares into a  One Hour Basket.  This is a free pattern from @kelbysews who I know wishes she had a nickel for each download!

I made a label for the back of the mini and added a few small/flat extras and sent it on it's way.  It was warmly received and I've made a delightful new friend in Australia!

In return I received this beauty from @steffanikburton.

And these amazing extras.  #yayburtongirls!

Another successful swap!!!

Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts and TGIFF.

medallion baby quilt

It has been a busy month and I finally have a finish to share with you.  

This is the Medallion Baby quilt from Angela Pingel's book A Quilter's Mixology.  

I ordered this book when it was first released over a year ago.  It is full of beautiful quilts that use the drunkard's path block in new and exciting ways.  Angela introduces each quilt quite creatively making it a fun read as well as informative.

Each of these fabrics are from the new Curiosities line by Jeni Baker.  How cute are those bunnies?  

I trace and cut my templates the old fashioned way! 

I kept the curvy theme going and quilted this with swirls all over.  There is not one perfect swirl in there but together they work!  I used Quilter's Dream Cotton select loft batting.  Perfect for summer.

The back is also from the Curiosities line with an extra row of bunnies for width. 

I used those sweet bunnies on the binding,too.  I cut them on the bias so they wouldn't look so lined up.  I'm really happy with that decision.

I'm not sure if there is an "official" way to use directional prints here but I decided not to worry about it.  I didn't want a "one way" quilt so I simply made each quadrant read the same way.  So the bottom left is right side up - no matter how you look at it.  It works for my brain!

Hope you are enjoying your summer.  Have a great weekend!

Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts Finish it up Friday.

sweet and sour

A few weeks ago while scrolling through my blog feed I was stopped in my tracks by this Pickle Dish Variation quilt from Red Pepper Quilts.  Two days later Rita followed up with a tutorial for the two blocks that make up the pattern and I immediately pulled out my “triangle in a square” ruler and some paperboard to make a drunkard’s path template.

I’ve played around with curves before but never with enough success to make an entire quilt.  Rita’s instructions were to make an oversized block then trim it down.  Voilà!  A successful practice block!

Earlier this year I pre-ordered a complete bundle of Denyse Schmidt’s new Franklin collection.  With 24 different prints in 2 color ways I figured I would have enough variation to use this line for a Pickle Dish Variation quilt of my own.  My highly coveted Denyse Schmidt stash is growing and since my practice block turned out well I decided this quilt would be worthy of cutting into the bundle.

My bundle was fat quarters and I had plenty to make all the curved blocks from the warm colors and the spiked blocks with the cool colors.  I divided each set of 12 into 4 lights, 4 mediums, and 4 darks.  Some were borderline but I thought I had enough contrast to create the light/dark variance that Rita described.  I was wrong.

Here is my finished top.  What do you think?  Sweet or sour?

Unfortunately, there was not enough contrast for the pattern to emerge.  Also, I didn’t pay enough (or any) attention to the scale of the different prints. 

On one hand I’m disappointed.  This was a lot of cutting, piecing and trimming and I lost the pattern in the fabric - sour.  On the other hand, this fabric is beautiful and even more so all cut and pieced together - sweet.

This was an excellent lesson for me in color, pattern and scale.  Learning from our mistakes is always a good thing.

Special thanks to Rita Hodge for inspiration and instruction.

Linking this Friday finish up with Crazy Mom Quilts.