Little Boy Blue

As I mentioned in my post a couple of weeks ago, this little quilt top was an antique shop find for only ten dollars!  It was well made, and in very good condition with no rips or stains, and all it needed was a little TLC to finish it up.

The top was only 32 inches square, so I decided to add a border to it, which makes it 38 inches finished.  The Kona Navy really is perfect with it.  How could it not be with all of those shades of blue?

I was able to pull the Kona Navy, and all of the backing and binding fabrics from stash as well to finish it off.  I love when I can finish a quilt without buying more fabric.  That's always a little victory for me!

This binding fabric has to be one of my favorite parts of the quilt.  The print is a tiny snowball and nine patch pattern in shades of blue, and the shade is pretty darn close to the star point chambray fabric- perfect!

It was such an honor to be able to finish this treasure from the past, and it will be a perfect quilt to donate to a preemie little boy!

Strip Tango Quilt

Hey y'all, this tutorial was originally included in the Oh Sew Baby! tutorial series at Fort Worth Fabric Studio last summer, but it's been awhile, and I felt like it was time to include it here as well!

 This quilt is one of my favorite go-to quilts to make when I need a fast and fun baby quilt.  It's easy to put together, simple to vary, and is fat quarter friendly.  That's a win in my book!

 You'll need at least nine fat quarters for this quilt.  Trim your fat quarters to 20.5 inches.  Then from each fat quarter, cut four strips, 4.5 x 20.5 inches for a total of 36 strips.

This quilt really is a snap to put together if you just remember a couple of important "rules."  First, one full strip length is equal to five strips sewn together in the opposite direction-

 This is going to be important to keep the proportions of your quilt correct.  Secondly, the quilt will measure 48 inches in width, which equals two full strip lengths, plus two "short sides" by 60 inches, which is three full strip lengths.

When I make this pattern, I always like to play around with the layout until I am happy with it, then take a picture.  Trust me, the picture can really help if your layout gets messed up. (ahem, pets and children anyone?)

I chose to lay my strips out into thirds.  Notice that the top third of the quilt has two horizontal strip sets, plus two vertical strips?  The other two thirds each only have one horizontal strip set, but seven vertical strips (remember, five vertical strips are equal to the width of one horizontal set).

Once you've decided on your layout, just start sewing your strips together in sections!  ps- I'm a quilting rebel and I do NOT press this until the very end.  Shhh...don't tell the quilt police!

Just join your sections together and, voila!  Your quilt top is finished!  The important thing to remember with this quilt is to have fun with it.  I like to think of it as a puzzle, but you get to decide where the pieces go!  The result is a modern, random look that appears more difficult than it really is.

This quilt is also really easy to modify to suit your size needs.  Bohemian Charm is another example of a quilt I've made with this pattern.  This one measures 60 x 64 inches, so it is three full strips in width by three full strips, plus one "short side" in length.  I did not choose to construct this one in thirds, and it's actually tough to tell where the different sections are, which I love!  I added some lines to the photo so you can see how this one goes together.

The finished quilt measures 48 x 60 inches.  A perfect size for a baby, but still big enough to be useful for years!

I hope that the next time you need a quick baby quilt, you'll give Strip Tango a try!

NTT and a Little Fall Sewing

Happy (almost) Friday y'all!  The weather has turned from hot and muggy to crisp and absolutely gorgeous here, and I wish I could just move my whole class outside!  We're still in that time of year where autumn is trying to sneak in for a few days here and there, but not always consistently.  That's okay though.  I'll take this weather however I can get it!

I've been doing a little bit of fall sewing lately.  I can only give you a sneak peek, because I'm participating in a fall-themed blog hop and have written the tutorial for it.  You'll get the full reveal (with a fun giveaway) next Wednesday, so just hang tight!

In last week's party, Lin's Quilts shared her gorgeous finished Celtic Solstice quilt.

Sew Sunshine linked up this fun quilt- love the fuchsia background!

and Lori at Crossquilt showed off this flowering snowball quilt- it is so lovely!

How about it?  Do you have crisp, cool autumn weather yet?  Does it make you want to get down to some serious sewing?  I can't wait to see what you've been up to!  Let's party!

1.  You can link finished projects or WIP's , but just keep it about quilting and sewing!

2. Link to your specific post (not to your home page!) to make it easier for others.

3. Please remember to spread the word and post my button or a text link.  

4. Spread the comment love far and wide!

5. Following me is not a requirement to link, but is so very appreciated!

Eclectic Vibe

I finished up my modern cross quilt, made with Anna Maria Horner's Pretty Potent line last night and I must say that it has grown on me.

I still won't say that this one ranks amongst my favorites, but a finished quilt always looks better than an unfinished one, and I'm glad that I persevered to get it done.

Something my mom said actually made me view this quilt in a different light.  She said that this quilt looks like something you would find in the store Anthropologie, and I agree with her.  If you've never been in an Anthropologie store, they have an eclectic mix of clothing, home decor, and kitchen and bath items.  Everything in the store has a handmade, funky vibe.  I don't go in that store often, and I don't love every single thing in it, but just thinking of this quilt in that light makes me like it better.  It's almost like appreciating the quilt for the unique style it is, rather than disliking it for something it's not.

On the back, I used up all of the scraps, and if you look closely, you'll even see a few scraps left over from my mom's Dowry quilt.  I love that muted shade of yellow, and I think it sets off the darker colors really well.  The pattern is so small that I almost consider it a solid, and I was happy to find a fabric that could add a little balance to the color and pattern.

When I was trying to come up with a name for this quilt, I kept thinking that the fabrics have an eclectic vibe, so I decided to call it just that!

With all of the busy pattern and bold color, I knew this quilt needed a solid binding, and the Kona Berry is a perfect match to the rich, raspberry shade in the quilt.

All in all, even though this quilt isn't one of my absolute favorites (they can't all be), I am accepting this quilt for it's unique style, and since I'm selling it anyway, I'm sure that someone will love it!

Sneaking Up

Sorry for the later than usual post.  This week has been jam-packed with stuff, and this evening's party really sneaked up on me!  First thing's first- I owe you a giveaway winner of the Sherbet and Lace FQ bundle from Fort Worth Fabric Studio!

Comment number 189 was the lucky winner of this gorgeous bundle.

Samantha KSeptember 16, 2014 at 2:37 PM

I sure like your ladder!!! I've been keeping my eye out for one and just can't quite seem to find THE one. I hope you share the completed top with us--what a great score! Thanks for sharing!

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Congratulations Samantha K!  I'll be contacting you soon via email, so be on the lookout!  

Remember, even though this bundle was created especially for this giveaway, Fort Worth Fabric Studio has it for sale for a limited time, so you can still get it!

I feel like my quilting has been moving at a slow pace lately with everything going on.  I just basted my Pretty Potent Crosses this evening, and I hope to finish it before the weekend.  Last week's party was filled with pretty quilty eye candy!  Check out a few of my favorites-

Megan at Tales of Ineptitude linked up these beautiful and fresh blocks.

Christine @ Triangles and Squares showed off her Indian Summer quilt.

and Lori @ Crossquilt finished up a couple of preemie quilts and her Sugar Block Club blocks!

Time to party, y'all!

1.  You can link finished projects or WIP's , but just keep it about quilting and sewing!

2. Link to your specific post (not to your home page!) to make it easier for others.

3. Please remember to spread the word and post my button or a text link.  

4. Spread the comment love far and wide!

5. Following me is not a requirement to link, but is so very appreciated!

Pretty Potent Crosses

Over the summer, when I made Vintage Closet for my mom, I fell head over heels in love with the Anna Maria Horner Dowry collection.  About that same time, I got a little bit AMH-impulsive and I found a bundle of her Pretty Potent line on sale.  I was so excited when I ordered it, but when it came in, I just didn't love it.

I like the colors overall (although I wish there wasn't quite as much brown), but whereas I loved almost every single print in the Dowry line, there are several fabrics in this one that I could really do without.  There were even a few that I couldn't even bear to put in this quilt (someone will love them in my guild's next FQ swap).  I still think that AMH designs some of the most gorgeous fabrics around, but I'm just not in love with this collection.

That being said, I find AMH fabrics a little difficult to blend with others because of their boldness, so instead of breaking up the fat quarters and letting them sit for eons in my stash, I decided to just suck it up and turn that bundle into a quilt.  I think the modern cross pattern fits the feel of the prints pretty well, and I definitely like the fabrics as a whole collection much better than the individual parts.

All in all, this quilt is still not one of my favorite creations, but it does feel good to get that bundle off the shelf.  And it just might grow on me.

Treasures, News, and a Giveaway!

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of spending the day with Janet from Simply Pieced.  As you may know, Janet and I live pretty close to each other and are in the same awesome MQG.  We try to get together every once in a while and we always have a blast.  Yesterday, we decided to have lunch, go to the antique mall, and of course, finish up with some fabric shopping.

Since I converted my dining room into my (much more useful) sewing studio this summer, I have been on the lookout for an antique ladder to display some of my quilts.  I even have the perfect place beside the window (and out of the sun).  I searched all summer long and could not find exactly what I was looking for, but yesterday, Janet and I hit the jackpot of quilty treasures.  Not only did I find my ladder, I ended up with a couple of other great finds as well.

Edited 9/15- Several of you have sent messages to me about protecting my quilts on the ladder from anything that may leech out of the wood.  Thanks so much for your concern, but don't worry, each quilt has a hand towel underneath it!  :)

You know, antique shops often have quilts (or unfinished quilt tops), but they are often threadbare, have a weird smell (or stains), or else they are in colors that just don't suit my style.  I completely respect the number of hours that have gone into the making of one of these quilts, it's just that I already have quilts coming out of my ears!  So, I don't always take the time to rummage through them.

Yesterday though, Janet and I looked at every single quilt in the whole antique mall, and she found this cute unfinished quilt top for only $9.50!  What a steal!

Janet has tons going on right now, so she didn't have time for it, so I snatched it up.  The fabrics are in good condition, with no stains, rips or smells, and the piecing is well done.  It was machine pieced, which actually I like, because that means I will have no qualms about finishing it on the machine.  Those hand pieced masterpieces deserve hand quilting and that's not happening (no hand quilting for me!)  Anyway, I digress.  This little quilt top measures about 32 inches square, so with a small border and a good washing, it will be a cute little boy preemie donation quilt.

I also came across this old sewing drawer, and it was ridiculously cheap as well.  I've decided to use it as a pretty place to keep my remote controls, a coaster, and anything else that usually sits on top of my sewing cabinet.  Anything to help battle the clutter that seems to gather on top of my workspace.

Yesterday was so much fun, and I could not be happier with all of my treasures.  It has been a super busy weekend in more than one way though, because I am also happy that I get to welcome Fort Worth Fabric Studio as my newest blog sponsor!

                                                               

I love Fort Worth Fabric Studio's selection of fabrics, quick shipping with reasonable rates, and excellent customer service.  Perhaps my favorite thing about their shop though, are their one-of-a-kind fat quarter bundles!  Jodie has such a wonderful eye for color, and mixes fabrics from several different lines to create bundles that are so much fun!  In fact, she has created a special bundle specifically for my awesome readers!

Here's the info on the bundle-

SHERBET & LACE FQ Bundle:   Featuring the Modern Lace fabrics by Amanda Murphy for Blend Fabrics, along with our favorite selections for a palette that is as pleasing as a bowl of sherbet!

This bundle includes 15 Fat Quarters, as pictured!

Fabrics included (from top to bottom):

1.  Modern Lace Reticella Yellow - Blend Fabrics

2.  Squared Elements Watermelon - Art Gallery

3.  Joyful Blooms Naples Yellow Damask - Studio E

4.  Modern Lace Chantilly Ivory - Blend Fabrics

5.  My Sunshine Raindrops - Riley Blake

6.  Polka Dot Coral - Dear Stella

7.  Dream Cream - Timeless Treasures

8.  Up Parasol Persimmon Lulu - Free Spirit

9.  Modern Lace Passementerie Pink - Blend Fabrics

10. Cotton Shades Peach - Riley Blake

11. Littlest Heartfelt Snow - Art Gallery

12. Modern Lace Torchon Pink - Blend Fabrics

13. Ahoy Matie Small Dots Yellow - Northcott

14. Floral Elements Tangerine - Art Gallery

15. Modern Lace Ribbon Lace Pink - Blend Fabrics

Isn't it scrumptious?  So many lovelies from several different lines, all perfectly coordinated for you!  AND guess what? Jodie is giving one of these fabulous bundles away to a lucky reader!  To enter, just leave a comment below!  You can let me know if you've ever found any quilty treasures while antiquing, or you can just let me know what your favorite color combo is these days.  

Mr. Random will choose a winner on Wednesday afternoon, and I'll announce the lucky person in my next Needle and Thread Thursday post (Wednesday evening).

If you don't win the bundle, or if you decide that you just can't wait, this bundle is also available in the FWFS shop!  Check it out!  Good luck y'all!

Edited 9/17- This giveaway is now closed.  Thanks so much to all who entered!  :)

NTT and an Unruly Finish

Hello all!  Welcome to another Needle and Thread Thursday!  The weeks are flying by these days!  Last Sunday, I hosted our monthly MQG meeting, and worked to finish up my Unruly quilt beforehand.

 I look forward to our monthly meetings so much.  Don't get me wrong- I wouldn't trade the online quilting community for anything, but it is such fun to share laughs and quilt obsessions in person!

Y'all know I love a pieced backing, which is good, since I'm really trying to make a dent in my Amy Butler fabrics.  I still have enough for another quilt or two though.

I used a pretty shade of aqua Kona, but I didn't pay attention to the name of it.  While I do like it, I really wanted to find a shade of red or coral to really stand out.  I suppose I could have ordered the perfect shade, but I'm just not that patient.  There is so much color and pattern in this quilt that it really may have worked out for the best!

The finished quilt measures 54 x 72" and I'm hoping to get the pattern for this one finished up this weekend!

So, let's get down to last week's highlights, shall we?  Jess at Quilty Habit linked up these TWO Sisters Ten BOM quilts.  I love the block layout, and the two colorways!

Michelle at Renewing Mrs. Sew & Sew shared this eye-catching rainbow quilt.  Gorgeous quilting!

and Carol Quilts Sometimes showed off her solid sampler.  I love the pops of color against that black background!

Time to show me what's going on in your sewing space this week!

1.  You can link finished projects or WIP's , but just keep it about quilting and sewing!

2. Link to your specific post (not to your home page!) to make it easier for others.

3. Please remember to spread the word and post my button or a text link.  

4. Spread the comment love far and wide!

5. Following me is not a requirement to link, but is so very appreciated!

Loud and Unruly

After school this afternoon (which was a whole different kind of loud and unruly), I finished up my Amy Butler quilt top, and I'm really loving the way it turned out.

Yes, the colors are loud.  Yes, the prints are busy, and the design is a bit unruly, but truth be told, that's what I like about it!   Amy Butler fabrics are so vibrant and bold, and I think they really work in a pattern like this.

One of the best parts about this quilt though, is that it was so fast and easy to put together!  It really looks a lot more complicated than it is.  I enjoyed designing and making this one so much that I think this is going to be my next pattern!

I'm hosting our monthly MQG meeting at my house on Sunday afternoon, and maybe I'll have to pull some late nights to finish it up before then.  It's only a throw size (54x72"), so that's totally doable...just maybe...

Thursday Again!

Welcome to another NTT, y'all!  I feel like today sneaked up on me with the short week, but I'm loving that it's already Wednesday afternoon!  almost Friday- woohoo!

Since finishing Framed over the weekend, I have started a new quilt (of course) with these lovelies.

I am not ashamed one bit to say that these 18 fabrics are not even half of my Amy Butler hoard prized collection.  I counted my AB prints the other day...42 different prints from 6 different lines.  Umm yeah... maybe I do have a bit of a problem.

The pattern I'm working on is something that just popped in my head a few days ago, and I just couldn't wait another minute to get started.  I love projects like those!

I also have some news!  I am ecstatic to welcome Shabby Fabrics as my newest sponsor!  Shabby Fabrics is a huge shop with tons of fabrics, notions, kits, and BOM Clubs.  They have beautiful fat quarter bundles and other precuts, and an extensive Christmas Shoppe!  Of course, I can't tell you about their shop without tempting you with some eye candy-

If you choose to create a customer account (free!) you can even rack up loyalty points as a reward for your purchases!  If you haven't checked them out, you definitely should!  You can always find the button on my left sidebar, but here it is as well!

                                                                

Now it's time to announce the winner from the Labor Day giveaway from Dragonfly Fabrics!  Mr. Random helped me out and picked lucky number 20.  Yes, that is a photo of the widget on my computer screen.  I have *still* not figured out how to copy and paste it properly into my blog post.

Anyway, I digress...  Comment number 20 was Mary Ann!

Mary AnnSeptember 1, 2014 at 9:49 AM

I would choose a gorgeous fat quarter bundle.

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I'll be sending your contact information to Amy at Dragonfly Fabrics soon, Mary Ann.  So, be on the lookout!

Let's get to last week's party features, shall we?  Katie at Karma Willow Designs showed her finished Gypsy Wife quilt!  This pattern is so fascinating to me, and I kind of regret not doing this QAL.

Carole at Fresh Off the Frame linked up this stunner, and OH MY.  There are no words to express the amazement I have over the whole effect of this quilt!

and finally, Leland Ave. Studios shared this mesmerizing quilt- gorgeous!

Just WOW!  I can't wait to see what you share this week!  I don't always get the time to comment, but I love browsing each and every link week after week!  Let's do it!

1.  You can link finished projects or WIP's , but just keep it about quilting and sewing!

2. Link to your specific post (not to your home page!) to make it easier for others.

3. Please remember to spread the word and post my button or a text link.  

4. Spread the comment love far and wide!

5. Following me is not a requirement to link, but is so very appreciated!