XOXO Quilt - 100 Quilts for Kids

Finally.  A Finish.  It feels really great to have finished something and even better knowing that it is for a good cause too!

Meet the XOXO Quilt.  So named for the obvious X's and the little "O's" in the white blocks between them.

I kept the back simple and really love how the quilting shows off so well on the back.  I have been fascinated by broadcloth quilting recently and after I finished my quilting I turned this over and thought it has a modern broadcloth look to it.  How cool!

Front Closeup

Back Quilting Detail

For the wide border I decided to practice my FMQ and just did a few wavy lines and loops.  I think it adds some fun to the otherwise linear quilting and I had a lot of fun playing around with it.

Love this shot of the XOXO Chillin.

quilt stats [<-- I've wanted to do that since I started blogging!!!]
size = 46" x 46"
fabric = Soul Blossom by Amy Butler, Nicey Jane by Heather Bailey, Garden Party by Anna Maria Horner
pattern = x layout inspired by Tula Pink's Kiss Kiss, I saw one image of it and then improv'd the rest
binding = fold-over, a first for me!, if I do it again will fold from front to back as opposed to back to front as I did this time
quilting = by yours truly an off the top of my head design


100 Quilts for Kids Donation
Having just recently moved here from Brooklyn I had no idea where I was going to donate this quilt.  As a former juvenile delinquency prosecutor in NYC I know of a ton of charities where this quilt would be happily received in Brooklyn...but in some  my new home is in even more need of charitable TLC because there is so much less attention focused on the less fortunate in these back woods areas.  So, I was really hoping to find someone to help me locate a family to give the quilt to.


Fortunately, last weekend I was at the annual Apple Festival in neighboring Busti, NY where I noticed a stall with a handwritten sign stating that all proceeds would go to the Children in our County.  Being the big mouth that I am I walked right up and asked if they would be interested in a quilt donation and be able to find a local home that would need a quilt for a child.  They were so thrilled in my interest in their dedication to local children that they asked me to come to a meeting and speak about the quilt donation!  It was only later when I looked up the group online, Kiwanis International, that I learned that it is an international organization that works on behalf of children...what luck is that?!  I feel a bit silly being a "guest speaker" but it could be an amazing opportunity to find other people who might want to contribute to the quilt drive in the coming year!

Linking up to Swim, Bike, Quilt!  If you have a quilt you are contributing to 100 Quilts for Kids don't forget to link up between Sept 28-30 to be considered for the special prizes!  Go check it out...

- rebecca lynne

Custom Burp Cloths: A Tutorial

Welcome to this Tuesday's Tutorial - Custom Burp Cloths.  This should really be called the Dummy's Guide to Custom Burp Cloths because this is a no frills method to creating custom burp cloths.  This straightforward approach is purposely geared towards people who feel less than comfortable around a sewing machine but are determined to give a beautiful handmade gift at a baby shower.  If that is you, I commend you and I will happily walk you through this as best as I can.  I decided to write this tutorial after a close friend, who abhors sewing machines and rotary cutters (even though she did a rather good job with her first quilt without me standing by her to see it through, admittedly it did require many phone calls and text messaging...ha!) asked me to show her how to make these burp cloths.  

For those of you with sewing skills this is a really simple gift idea that is useful, easy to whip up, and impressive for the lovers of handmade baby items in your life.  This is perfect to use those extra baby quilt scraps you may have leftover - every recipient of a Rebecca Lynne baby quilt has received matching burp cloths and the mothers go gaga that it is all matchy matchy.  Plus, you will enjoy getting really creative with this method and beautifying your burp cloths with intricate patchwork and quilting.  Feel free to go as detailed if you like with this although I would recommend keeping your recipient in mind.  I chose a blue, gray, green, and yellow color palette with minimal patchwork as that is what this particular Mommy to Be prefers...very modern and streamlined.

Skill Level: Easy Peasy intended for those haters of all things involving sewing machines


Materials:

• Cloth Diapers
• Fabric - easily done with fat quarters (FQ) or whatever scraps you have around
• Sewing Machine (haha, unless you want to do it by hand in which case be my guest)
• Coordinating Thread
• Ruler
• Iron (& board)
• Scissors (Rotary Cutter if you have but not required)

1. Choosing your Cloth Diapers
You can buy cloth diapers from a variety of online sources such as here and here.  If you are wondering why I use cloth diapers over other possible fabrics I will tell you that as a mother of two projectile spit-up drool fest children I have tried almost every type of material as a burp cloth and the cloth diaper is hands down the most absorbent & least smelliest plus easiest to clean alternative.  I mean, come on, think about what they are intended to soak up anyway...so yeah, spit up?  They're all over it.  Plus, once your child has outgrown the burp cloth phase these now beautified cloth diapers make wonderful dust rags!

There are a variety of cloth diapers out there.  Multiple sizes, multiple thicknesses, and natural versus bleached white.  If you have a particular color palette in mind you should go with whatever shade will go with your fabric best.  For this tutorial I will be using white XL prefolds.

White

Natural

Varying Thicknesses

2. Measure your cloth diapers to determine fabric size

Once you have your diapers chosen you will measure how long they are.  You will also decide how wide you would like your fabric to be across the diaper.  For this tutorial I chose a width of 6" and my diapers measured 17" long.    

3. Cut your fabric
You will cut your fabric to allow for a 1" seam all around.  This generous seam allowance will prevent fraying and also give you plenty of room to press your fabric's edges.  In my example I cut the fabric 19"x8" to provide a 1" seam.

Experienced sewers, you can obviously piece your fabric rather than have on solid piece and you may shorten your seam allowance to the standard 1/4" if you prefer.

4. Press your long edges
After cutting your fabric you will place the fabric face down and fold over each edge 1" and press that portion down with your iron.  Do this for the longest edges of your fabric.

You will want to have your ruler handy to make sure your 1" is consistent otherwise your fabric piece may turn out wonky and stretched.

Once you are done pressing the longest sides it should look like this.

5. Pressing the shorter edges

You will press your shorter edges using the ruler as a guide to make sure your corners are squared.  This pressing is not as important as you may need to alter it a bit when it comes to sewing.  Don't worry...it isn't hard to alter later...but if you press now then you will have a guide as to the appropriate "edge" of the fabric.

Once your short edges are pressed you will want to snip the corner so that the corners do not get in the way when sewn.

Sometimes these bits do not want to stay so to save yourself from later headaches you may choose to pin them down.

6. Aligning your fabric with the cloth diaper

Now that your fabric is the size you require for your particular design you will lay it along the diaper.  Once you have placed it in the way you'd like it to lay you will pin it to the diaper.  The pinning doesn't need to be beautiful, but pinning is important as the diaper is thick with multiple layers and things can get shifted when placed  under the sewing machine presser foot.  Be sure to pin your short edges all the way across the edge of the diaper.

7. Sewing ONE short edge onto the diaper
You will attach your first short edge onto the diaper using a zig zag stitch.  If your diapers are like mine this will blend in naturally with the serged stitching that is already keeping the folds of the cloth diaper together. For a secure zig zag you will want to keep your fabric in the center of the presser foot so that the zig zag goes all the way around the side of the fabric.  You may want to widen the width of your zig zag to match the serged edges.  I also go over my zig zag in reverse to reinforce and match the density of the threading on the cloth diapers serged edges (if you aren't comfortable reversing then take the piece off and simply go over it again moving forward).

Center your fabric for the zig zag stitch

8. Sewing your long edges

You will now take the piece off the sewing machine, cut your threads, and you will begin sewing the long edges along the length of the diaper.  Change your machine from the zig zag to a regular stitch.  To prevent your fabric from sticking up and out you will want to sew as closely to the edge of the fabric as possible.  I used a walking foot, but a regular presser foot works just as well.  (If you don't know what I am talking about, just disregard.)

Close to the edge as possible

Repeat this with the second long side.  And it should look like this...

No I have not forgotten about the last short edge...it should still be unsewn and look like this...

 9. Last short edge

You will want to pin your last edge to make sure it meets the end of the cloth diaper.  The reason why we leave this edge open to the last is because of all those slippery layers.  Leaving this side open allows you to readjust, pull, refold your last edge to fit the length of the diaper.  Cloth diapers are not a perfect rectangle and often have curvy edges so leaving this last bit to adjust allows you to compensate for that irregularity.  Just trying to make your life easier - wink. (excuse fuzzy photo)

After pinning all you will do is repeat Step 7 by zig zagging this last edge to the cloth diaper.  

10. Cut your threads and Voila!  Done!

Finished Basic Custom Burp Cloth

11. For The Advanced or Adventurous Sewers
There is no need to go any further so if you are relieved to be able to walk away from the sewing machine Congrats you are done!  If you'd like to do a bit more then press on.  The thickness of the material is a great opportunity to practice your free motion quilting skills or do some cool patchwork piecing to make your burp cloths even more unique.  As you can see here I decided to do a bit of FMQ experimentation.



Also, I would be remiss if I failed to point out that instead of having the fabric running along the length of the diapers you can also choose to simply bind your cloth diapers along the serged edges.  This saves fabric and is a very beautiful alternative to the method shown here.  The majority of the cloth diapers I received as a gift are completed in this manner and are extremely simple and beautiful with just a binding of pretty fabric running along the short edges of the diaper cloth.

If you decide to make any custom burp cloths of your own please let me know!  I'd love to see and share them in a post!

- rebecca lynne

Mosaic for my PLPS Partner

1. P1050521, 2. Frame Purse, 3. Echino Beehive, 4. My Text Fabric - Pride & Prejudice, 5. neutral strings, 6. Inside Pocket of my Pretty {little} Pouch, 7. Sunday Stash #87, 8. Off the Grid (2011), 9. Pretty {little} pouch swap ~ Send!~, 10. Almost Bento, 11. Bride's Rescue Kit, 12. Ruby Star Spring 241 Tote, 13. Super Dollfie Canvas Bag, 14. P.I.F for Shannon, 15. "Trees" green, 16. coin purse

I am really digging text, polka dots, and japanese prints right now. My favorite designer is Anna Maria Horner and I love solid (such as canvas) background to make printed pattern details pop. I hope for something big enough to hold cellphone (5"x3") but not a requirement!

- rebecca lynne

Experiment Often

Seneca Shirting Material, Some Random Bits of Reproduction Fabrics, Play with Neutrals and Splash of Color

  

Detail

13.5" Square, a little bit wonky bias cut strips, randomly sewn then trimmed.  Thinking this is going to make a 16" pillow once I add a bit of linen/cotton as a border.  AND...piping.  Anyone up for a piping tutorial?

- rebecca lynne

Best Bits

I had intended to post another tutorial today - the last two Tuesdays were Tutorial Tuesdays so I wanted to keep the trend going.  But, the tutorial is about a gift I am giving and I can't go spoil it by sharing it online first can I?  So...until next week.

Instead I began browsing on all the blogs I subscribe to.  Click on this link, then another, and another, and click, click, click, click...you know how it goes and then I eventually ended up here at PatchworknPlay who is hosting a linky party to showing off everyone's favorite fabrics.  This got me thinking, can I actually pick favorites?  I mean...I have favorite designers, yes, absolutely.  Anna Maria Horner: I have a shrine to her very existence, Amy Butler: ah, Midwest Modern still makes my heart flutter, and anything distributed by Kokka? Melody Miller, Heather Ross, Nani Iro - ugh to live in a world of Kokka!  Plus, Denyse Schmidt and I were just recently introduced and she's getting high on my list of favorites.  But individual fabrics.  Hmmm...I actually ran to my studio to see what I considered favorite.

This is what I found.

Solitaire from the Kokka Antique Collection
I only have scraps of this left.  So sad.  I purchased it out of pure lust, it didn't quite go with Miss E's baby quilt...but I just couldn't leave the store without it!  Today it makes up the complete back of her quilt and I still love it as much as my first glance.  At the time I had no idea what Japanese imports were let alone Kokka.  It wasn't until recently that I saw this scrap with the selvage and it all made sense.  Of course!  Kokka!

Amy Butler Midwest Modern Happy Dots in Grey
Sorry for the blehcky picture.  I don't know what happened.  Anyway, these dots really do make me happy.  I should buy more just to earn the smile.  This is my favorite dot pattern and the colors (grey, pink and green) are my all time favs.  I only have bits of this left.

Heather Ross Far Far Away II Sleeping Beauty in Grey 
Actually, my favorite is this print in PLUM.  But, I can't find it anywhere.  If you happen to come across it do let me know.  I adore that rich dark almost raisin color with this print.  The grey is runner up for sure though and I only have bits of it left too...

Anna Maria Horner Good Folks - the whole collection - but this one is my favorite of them all
I don't know how to convey the warm fuzzy feeling I have when I see the fabric from this collection.  Some people are like that about Flea Market Fancy or Katie Jump Rope by Denyse Schmidt.  I have that feeling about Good Folks (and 99% of everything else ever created by AMH!).  I move the quilt I made with this fabric all over my house because I basically want it with me everywhere I go.  Love doesn't even cover it...  I'm saving this last Fat Quarter to use in my ultimate Swoon Quilt.  Then I suppose I'll have two quilts to drag around the house!

Amy Butler Midwest Modern Poppies
Whenever I look at this fabric I feel faint.  Floral, modern, pink, green, large in your face print, feminine but not prissy.  Sigh, this is the ultimate.  I want to BE this fabric.  You'd think I wear a lot of pink, but I don't.  Funny, I just love it in quilts.

Thanks for that little trip down fabric lust lane Rebecca Lynne style.  I'm all smiley and warm just seeing these photos...aaaaaaahhhh...

What are your favorite fabrics?  Come play and join the linky party!

- rebecca lynne

BOM at Canton Village Quilt Works

Block of the Month at Canton Village Quilt Works.  There are some great designers that are going to guest design a block a month.  Check it out!

- rebecca lynne

Free Motion Quilting the Hummingbirds & Hexagons Way

Anyone tired of seeing this quilt?  Sorry!  Still not finished but well on its way now...

As a quick refresher I have added a few shots from previous posts below.  If you'd like to read more about Hummingbirds & Hexagon Quilt feel free to go back and visit!

Finished Top

Finished Back

Hand drawn Flowers for Quilting Design

I decided to draw in the background quilting lines 2" apart. I worked them in a diagonal angle to break up the linear top pattern.

Then, for the first time ever, I used basting spray.  I could not believe how strong that stuff is.  I was not expecting it to act so quickly.  It was easy doing the first layer but the third layer was tricky...lining up the front to the back was frustrating but I think I did pretty well.  Then I did some parallel basting lines in black just in case.  I do not want the spray to all of a sudden change its mind in the midst of quilting!

I started quilting tonight and I was really happy.  Initially until my brain started going that is...  I love the sketchy hand drawn quality of the flowers and luckily, hahahahaa, I am so out of practice with free motion quilting (it has been 4 years) that my sewing emulated the sketchy quality.  And, to be fair, I was using a 35wt thread because I was aiming for thick and an embroidery looking finish.  But I paused at one point to admire my work when it dawned on me, hunh, shouldn't this be smoother?  Can you see from this photo how there are a few start and stop and some edginess instead of smooth curves?

In this closeup shot below you can see where the threading is a bit erratic and bumpy.  But I honestly dig it.  It wasn't until I gave it some thought and realized - ooh someone more experienced at free motion quilting probably would've gotten this completely smooth and rounded.  Therefore what I am doing is wrong?!?  Is it totally horrible that I like the messy organic quality?  It definitely reminds me of a sketch.  

So, I took a break and thought it over.  Examined some of my old quilts and looked up some free motion quilting online and yes, sure enough it *should be* much smoother.  I started to regret my progress while part of me argued: No!  You liked this artsy sketchy quilting before you became concerned with the so-called rules or standards!  To break my internal debate I decided I would try to make it smoother on one section of the quilt and compare.  I even changed my thread to a thinner weight (50wt) to make life easier...and I actually made some quick progress.

My curves got curvier and my lines are less edgy.  I got closer to the groove of free motion quilting so to speak.  It is definitely not perfect, I still have to practice more.  But I did lose that sketchiness that I enjoyed in the above photos...it looks much cleaner now.  

I've decided I will experiment with some smaller pieces (ooh, maybe a QAYG which I've been dying to try) in order to improve my FMQ for future pieces.  But for this piece I am not sure whether I want to keep working at smooth or rock the sketch.  

I am going to sleep on it and decide tomorrow.  Any feedback is greatly appreciated!

Linking Up to W.I.P. Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.  Please visit the linky party!

- rebecca lynne

Instant Fabric Lust! Feeling Fussy Fabric Swap

A few weeks ago I sent out my blocks for the Feeling Fussy Fabric Swap.  I then promptly forgot about it, remembered briefly after visiting the Flickr Group, and then forgot again.  So you can imagine my surprise and delight when I saw an envelope with my own handwriting in my mailbox (self-addressed and all that goodness).

Well, the surprise was even better when I saw what was inside.  I had one of those freak out happy moments [not meaning to offend...but in my world a moment like this means a lot of internal monologuing that starts with Holy and ends with ...it].  I immediately recognized the ten 5" squares as belonging to none other than the Feeling Fussy Fabric Swap's host Amy from Stitchery Dickory Dock!

I have grown to adore Amy since I began following her blog from the outset of the FFF Swap.  Not only is she a mama of two young darling daughters like I am but she also happens to live in Denver, Colorado which (as some of you know) is where my family lives.  I spend a lot of my time reading her blog wishing I was in Colorado and then leaving her comments about how jealous I am that I'm not!  Aside from being a cool mom and Coloradan she also has amazing talent in her design choices and quilts...so if you haven't already checked out her site you are missing out.  

Anyway, back to my fabric lust.  I seriously feel like they were made for me!  Here they are in all their glory.  

And then here is me quickly raiding my stash to show you exactly how destined they were for me!!!  (I know my mother is going to notice so I might as well get it out of the way, please excuse my lack of manicure, I've been busy!)

My Prince Charming in Green.  Perrr-fect! LOVE that green.

Hadn't decided what to do with this Kokka Woodland Biology but looks like it'll be fussy cut soon!

Birds.  My Beloved Birds.  And of course we know I have LOTS of bird prints...so how awesome is that?

I think I have to start taking video when I open the mail because these days there is always some comment being made by the little peanut gallery.  When I laid out the squares right out of the envelope Miss E gasped and exclaimed "oooooh bea-U-tiful Mommy" and then pointed and said "Birdcage, like in my room!"  Oh, to live in a world of just Kokka.

Now I have ten 5" squares from Amy and I am thinking I could cut 6 more squares from my own stash to round it up to 16 to make a 16 square quilt.  Then maybe do an off center square design?  Or...maybe do monochromatic solid squares for each fussy cut.  Oooh or maybe alternating squares with centers...hmmm...I don't know!  I've never designed around fussy cuts before.  

That said - any design ideas would be greatly appreciated.  If you were me what would YOU do with this delectable stash of fussy cuts?

- rebecca lynne