Saturday, March 30, 2013

More Butterflies....

I'm addicted to the butterflies....I can't stop!!  This wall hanging is for my classroom....48" x 48".  Most of the batiks were purchased at Scrap Apple in St. George, UT.  If you like batiks, they have a fantastic selection.  Check it out...



And an up close shot....can you see the text prints for the butterfly centers??  How awesome....there is a Dr. Who print from Spoonflower, a hard to find barcode print, some Three Stooges, a wine print ( I hope my students can't read it), some texting prints, newspaper prints, etc....Awesome!


On another note, I wrote a second pattern.  Baby Butterflies....I'll put it on Craftsy tomorrow but I've already sold a dozen to one LQS and am making a sample from Honey Honey for another shop.  They have already bought 48 of my Maybellene pattern!  Here is the cover, and a remade cover for Maybellene...

I did it using PicMonkey.  I need to improve my graphic design skills....but it is a start....




The Baby Butterflies pattern includes alternate sizing fabric requirements...and both have coloring diagrams.  I love coloring diagrams!  Anyhow, it is a start, right??

I'll post up pics of the Honey Honey quilt tomorrow...or Monday.  Happy Quilting!




Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Denise's Madrona Road Challenge Quilt....

This one was made by my friend Denise for the Madrona Road Challenge at the LVMQG.  It measures about 40" x 54".  Here are a couple of pics....the panto is Daisies Galore...very modern design, I believe...
;-)  Nice job, Denise!



Because it was 40" wide, Denise asked it I could possibly quilt it with only 1" extra backing on each side.  Sure I can...this is how I do it!  I'm showing you the extra inch....be sure the quilt is loaded perpendicular to the rollers so it doesn't go wonky.  There isn't much room for error...


I have two strips of muslin, about 4" x 36" that I pin to the sides of the backing fabric.....Whose old lady hand is that???  WTF???


Pin close together....I mean, very close together....


If you do it right, you will be able to put on the clamps and pull the fabric taut without a problem.  As you advance the quilt, unpin the muslin and move it down for the next quilting pass.  It takes an extra minute or two, but it isn't a big deal.  Now we have no seam in the back and we saved a bunch of fabric!!


I'm working on a few projects right now.  I'll post up more tomorrow...
Happy Quilting!

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Baby Butterflies...

I've been busy the last few days making a sample quilt for a pattern I'm writing called Baby Butterflies.  Here is a pic prior to binding...and an up close.  The fabric is Sweetcakes by Riley Blake.  I'm hoping my LQS will sell my pattern.



I've sold them 48 of my Maybellene pattern so far!  But I've only sold 5 on Craftsy....how does one get her patterns to rise up to the top of Craftsy??  Help!  I'm thinking of Etsy as well....for both patterns and quilts.  Anyhow, this is what I've been doing lately.  I have another one in the works I'll post up tomorrow!

Happy Quilting!

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Another mini log cabin...

I've been so busy at work that I haven't had time to post at all.  I'll have a top to show you this weekend, but for now all I have is some scraps and another mini log cabin in the works...


The strips are only 1.25" wide the little blocks will be about the size of my hand when finished.  I LOVE the little pieces... I bought a bunch of scrap bags off of Etsy that were full of coordinated fabrics.  This is unusual...typically I get a hodge podge of stuff--most of which I don't really like.  But one seller was getting rid of a few select lines of fabric and these strips are cut from one of those scrap bags.  I think it is Delilah by Tanya Whelan...into the mix I added a few polka dots and matching prints.

Ultimately I hope to have a small baby quilt...I'm contemplating starting up an Etsy shop and little quilts are right up my alley.  Who knows, but it's keeping me busy!

Spring Break is next week so I'll be back to posting and sewing.  A few friends are getting together for a little sew-in on Sunday so maybe I'll be really productive and make something awesome this weekend!

Happy Quilting to you....

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Mini Log Cabin Quilt...

My students are going to love this!!  These are the blocks I started when I was out of town a few weeks ago.  The center of the block is a square 1.5" to 1.75".  The logs were 1.25" prior to sewing...so they finished about 0.75".  I did two rounds around the center block and then added a 2" strip of white to two of the other sides.  They were trimmed to 5.5" square and finished at 5"!  I added a 2" white border around the edges and it came it at about 49" square.

Perfect for my classroom!  There are 81 little blocks so it totals about 900 pieces.  I don't usually care about these numbers, but I know the students will ask...

This is on the backyard bench...see how small they are!

 
Then we went to the park....too bright out, I think...


These are the actual colors and an up-close pic.  I quilted all over swirls...


So that is what I've been doing...On to my next project!  Happy Quilting...57 more school days left!

Saturday, March 9, 2013

Joyce's Dresden Quilt...

I quilted this Dresden Plate quilt for Joyce today...it is made from repro prints, only 55" square.  Check it out...


And an up close shot...swirls in the background and wishbones in the borders.  This was a new adventure for me as I had to attach the ruler plate and use the ruler to make the cornerstone squares stand out.  I've only had it for year...about time I tried it out.  It was just like riding a bike...no problems at all!


I'll drop it off tomorrow and hopefully take pics of the one I'm binding right now...I'm off to have a dinner out with the ladies.  Happy Quilting!