Better Together

This one has been on my todo list for awhile.  When we were getting ready to move and I was doing some serious destashing I picked out my favorite bundles that I absolutely wanted to use and tried to kit them up as projects I could grab and go with when I had time and things got settled.  This Charleston bundle by Amy Sinibaldi was at the top of my list!

The mood struck and I got to work.  I'm not sure I really needed a pattern to make an HST quilt but I like to support people in the quilting industry.  This Better Together pattern by Elizabeth Chappell of Quilters Candy is very comprehensive and is a true beginners pattern.  She explains everything in great detail and even includes companion videos with lots of great demonstrations.   She uses the 8 at a time HST technique so these work up quickly.

Though you do have to trim down all those HSTs!

Once that was done it was pretty straight forward to piece all the blocks together.  I love a good quilting marathon where I can binge Netflix and knock out a quilt top.  I tried not to overthink the layout but I definitely missed having my design wall.  

To keep everything straight I used Suzy Quilts Chain Piecing Quilt Rows technique.  It gets a bit fiddly as it grows but it did the trick.  The holes are where the oversized blocks will go.  

Gratuitous basting shot...  We'll see how long this one lingers in the TBQ pile.

Pineapple Princess

Catching up some more...  I'd finished this flimsy up a year ago but wasn't sure how I was going to quilt it since it's bigger than I'm comfortable with for my domestic.  I took it back to Maine with a vague plan of renting some longarm time but the days quickly passed and I realized I was running out time before we were heading south again.  

Luckily an adorable new quilt shop opened in our town and the owner does longarm quilting.  Not only did she do an amazing job she was able to get it done before we left and even gave me enough time to get the binding on so I'd have some handwork for the long drive back to Florida.  

I was almost finished when we finally rolled in to the Keys.  

Now that it's done it's headed to my daughter's new apartment in Miami but until she gets settled I get to enjoy it.  

But seriously, that quilting!!!

Quilt Stats:

Finished quilt is 72" x 77"
Pattern: Pining for You by Tula Pink.
Fabrics: Tula Pink's DayDreamer and Designer Solids Collections from Free Spirit.
Batting: Quilter's Dream Orient Bamboo.

Quilting by Vicki at Knots & Bolts Creating Co.

I Put a Hex on You!

A better late than never post...  Last year when I started to think about what to make to go with my Batty wall hanging I remembered I always wanted a redo of this Haunted Hexies table runner.

The original tutorial I used is no longer available but I was able to piece together the process pretty easily.  Since I no longer have my giant table I sized the strips down to fit the size of my buffet.  I cut 2" x 20" strips from my fat quarters and pieced 3 together to make a strip set.  I used my equilateral triangle ruler to cut them alternating up and down.  You should be able to get 6 triangles from each strip set which I then split to use in 2 different hexagons.  

I came up with this pressing plan so the triangles nest together nicely and my points would match up.  

Here's my usual gratuitous basting shot but since I also like to reflect on what I could have done better on a project I'll take this time to point out that I should have used a true solid for the setting triangles rather than the dotty candy print.  It just doesn't provide enough contrast to make the pattern work as well as it did in the original version.

The scariest part of all was when I sat down to quilt this and my machine started smoking.  Being a DIY kind of girl (and knowing the nearest repair shop is 2 hours away) I opened up my machine to see if it was something fixable like dust on the lightbulb.  Imagine my absolute horror when a lizard jumped out at me.  Obviously we have to move, I'm traumatized for life!!! 

 

After my husband disposed of the trespasser and I self-medicated with a cocktail I went back to quilting and was able to finish this up.  Like the original I just outlined the pieced hexagons but then I decided to get fancy in the setting triangles and went with this Harry Potter inspired Elder Wand design from the Deathly Hallows.

I was on bed rest for a bit after some minor surgery and this was the perfect distraction while I was laid up.  

 

I'm having so much fun with this collection so when I saw Peony Pedal Quilts had this bundle to make a coordinating Campfire Glow quilt I scooped one up.  Hopefully next Halloween I'll have a finished quilt to add to the mix!
 

Quilt Stats:
Finished quilt is 20" x 59"
Fabrics: Assorted prints from Spooky n' Witchy and Sweet n' Spookier by Art Gallery Fabrics
Batting: Quilter's Dream Orient Bamboo
Thread: Aurifil 50wt in Blossom Pink (2530) and Pale Pink (2410)

Ahoy Matey!

As you've probably noticed I haven't been quilting much recently but when I found out one of my dear friends from the sailing club was pregnant I knew I had to make her a baby quilt.  As usual I procrastinated on this awhile but with our exodus from Maine looming and the baby shower rapidly approaching I had to get things going.  

I played with a lot of ideas but this quilt evolved into a mashup of my original Out to Sea Penny Patch and this Briar Rose quilt.  I so appreciate past me for leaving these detailed notes on how to make the various blocks I used before.  

Making a quilt is much trickier these days where my stash isn't immediately accessible and it's anyone's guess where any given tool is hiding.  After a supply run down to my storage bin and a generous fabric donation from my quilting bestie I was ready to start.  A lot of the blocks already looked like nautical flags but what really took this quilt to the next level was when my bestie suggested spelling out the baby's name in flags.  Unfortunately, since I needed specific letters I didn't have to spell out the baby's name and I was incorporating some larger blocks there was still much mathing involved.  My quilt math skills are definitely rusty...

 If you read flag, the name Willa is incorporated into the design twice.  I was really wishing they had gone with a name without an "I" but I found this inset circles tutorial by on Williams Street which helped alleviate the pain.  Having my circular templates would definitely have made this process less painful but sometimes you just have to go with what you've got.

I think most of all I miss my design wall.  Planning on my bed is so much less convenient.

Eventually I was able to get a flimsy together and I got a perfect day for a photo shoot.

Basting presented another challenge.  I'm pretty sure this is the maximum size quilt I can baste in our cabin.

I kept the quilting simple and just quilted along both sides of the seams for a simple grid.  I was able to get this quilted and the binding on in plenty of time before we hit the road.  

And this was the perfect distraction for our long journey from Maine to Florida.  I will never get tired of a striped binding! 

To keep with the nautical theme I designed the label to look like a burgee.  We can't wait to meet our newest crew member.

Quilt Stats:

Finished quilt is 41" x 54"

Fabrics:  Out to Sea by Sarah Jane, Michael Miller Cotton Couture: Boy, Raspberry, Flower, Nautical, White, Stash

Batting: Quilter's Dream Bamboo

Thread: Aurifil 50wt. in Natural White (2021) and Pale Pink (2410)

 

Christmas Wrap Up

As always, with Christmas approaching I wanted to make something seasonal.  I've been chipping away at my Christmas in the City bundle and this year added Christmas in the Cabin to the mix.  I've got my Christmas Baubles hanging and I'm sooo close to finishing the Atomic Starburst quilt I started last year so it seemed like a pillow was in order.  I was tempted to make another Swoon pillow but then I spotted this North Star block and decided it would be perfect.  

It's a fairly simple paper-pieced pattern though the sharp angle of some of the background pieces make it a little tricky if you're not used to how paper piecing works.  I know it's meant to use scraps but I would have appreciated some guidelines for block sizes to use for each piece.  

Because I wanted to take advantage of the novelty scene I decided to use a fussy cut circle for the center.  It's been a long time since I've done an inset circle so I did a quick review using this Insetting Circles tutorial by Bill Weeks at Modern Quilt Studio.  Weeks and Bill were a big part of the original modern quilting movement and if you've ever used one of the patterns you know how much attention they pay to both the design and the process.

I used the 12" block but since I like my pillows a little bigger I  wanted to add a border.  Of course I wanted mitered seams to match the lines of the star so that took some remembering as well.  Thankfully my BQF is always there for me with this fabulous tutorial.   

Once that was done I used my first day of holiday vacation to baste it together and quilt.  For the center I kept the quilting simple in the spirit of getting things done and just outlined the star components.  I deliberately made the border the same as my Starburst quilt so I could try out my swag idea.  I definitely won't be doing that on my quilt!  As you can see most of my arcs are a bit wobbly and I don't think it enhances the design.  Back to the drawing board on that one.

Another quick review of my go to zipper closure tutorial by SOTAK Handmade and I was ready for Santa.  It was so nice to have some handwork to do while I relaxed by the tree with some (spiked) eggnog and Scrooged.

Still no quilt but now I have a pillow and a wall hanging.  I put this adorable Patchwork Bow on my Christmas list so we'll see if I can manage to make that as well before I totally wrap up this holiday.  

Pillow Stats:
Finished pillow is 18" x 18"
Pattern: North Star FPP Quilt Block by Amanda at Prairie Quilt Co.
Fabrics: Christmas in the City and Christmas in the Cabin by Art Gallery Fabrics.
Batting: Quilter's Dream Orient Bamboo.
Thread: 50 wt. Aurifil in SilverWhite (2309).

Cozy for Christmas

Now that these have been delivered I can share. I like to make gifts for my crafty friends so I'm always on the look out for new ideas of things to share.  My BQF started making her own tortillas from scratch so obviously she needs a pretty tortilla warmer!

This summer I found this fabulous Michael Miller Sugar Skulls fabric at Marden's which seemed perfect and paired it with some Cedar Essex.  I don't usually prewash my fabrics but since I was planning to use these around food I did.  When making things to be used in the microwave it's important to use all 100% cotton products.  There are microwave specific battings but I just used up some leftover Quilters Dream Cotton.  

There are a lot of options out there but I loosely followed this tutorial from the Bernina We All Sew site.  Rather than quilting each circle individually, I pre-quilted a section big enough to make 3 warmers (6 circles).

I found working with double fold bias binding a bit fiddly and had a hard time keeping my sewing lines on both sides of the binding, especially on the bottom where I'm binding two layers together.  You definitely want to use bias binding here since you're going around curves.  I think if I do this again I'll make my binding a bit wider or just use my usual quilt method.  It's not something I do often so maybe I just need more practice though after the 3rd one I felt like I'd practiced enough.  

Pattern:  Fabric Tortilla Warmer by Ashley Johnston for Bernina at We All Sew. 
Fabrics: Sugar Skulls by Michael Miller, Essex linen in Cedar.
Batting: Quilter's Dream Cotton.
Thread: 50 wt. Aurifil in Rusty Orange (2240) and Pale Pink (2410).

Christmas in the Keys

This is another one I pushed myself to finish up before we leave.  When it became obvious I wasn't going to finish my Bats table topper in time for the holiday I started thinking about Christmas.  I fell in love with this Christmas in the City collection and immediately started dreaming of all the things I could make with it.  

To get warmed up I decided to start with another version of the Christmas Baubles.  For those keeping count this will be my 3rd go at this pattern.  I'm not sure why I keep making it, it's fairly tedious with lots of small pieces.  Rather than marking all those 1 1/2" squares I used the diagonal seam tape method.  It's not as accurate as drawing all those lines but it's much speedier. 

But there's still all that trimming and pressing.  Eventually I finished the blocks and got them together but by then that holiday had also passed.  

I was on a roll after quilting my Bats quilt so I quickly basted this and got quilting.  It felt a bit silly to be quilting snowflakes in Florida but you've got to go with what works.  At least it'll be all ready when Christmas rolls around again.

The local quilt guild here hosts a weekly sew-in at the library so I took this with me to bind while I made new quilt friends.  They're a lovely group and I hope to get more involved when we come back in the fall.  

Quilt Stats:
Finished quilt is 20" x 26"
Pattern: Christmas Baubles by Jen Daley for Moda Bake Shop.
Fabrics: Christmas in the City and Pure Solids in White Linen by Art Gallery Fabrics.
Batting: Quilter's Dream Orient Bamboo.
Thread: 50 wt. Aurifil in SilverWhite (2309).