Can You Believe It?

People, I hand quilted an entire quilt!!

You can knock that off my bucket list! But seriously– I loved working on this quilt.

I made up the filmstrip quilt top last spring (using the tutorial from Crazy Mom Quilts). It’s not my first filmstrip, and I have a feeling it won’t be my last.

I used my favorite line of fabric– Hope Valley by Denyse Schmidt, and I love how the colors play together. In general, I am more of a fan of mixing lines of fabric, but these prints are just so lovely together that I couldn’t resist. I used perle cotton (size 8) for the stitches to get that chunky look.

I decided to back the quilt in Little Folks voile from Anna Maria Horner, and I would *highly* recommend this as a backing for a quilt you’re hand quilting. It’s so so soft and easy to hand stitch. I used a pastry line print for the binding, and I love how it frames the quilt.

When I started quilting (on my very first quilt, actually), before I had purchased a walking foot for my machine, and long before I started free motion quilting, I tried hand quilting. And I was miserable. It was hard to sew through the batting, and I couldn’t get into the groove. I thought that if that was what quilting was like, I wouldn’t be making any more quilts! When I discovered the joy of quilting on my home machine, I was hooked, and I couldn’t imagine why anyone would sew a quilt by hand. But slowly, my thinking on this matter changed. I love a long term project, and looked forward to having something to hand stitch in evenings and on car trips. Hand quilting this quilt saw me through all of our trips this summer, including finding a new place to live and making our recent move. It represents more than just my favorite fabrics, it represents the time and care I devote to this craft. I’m so happy with this quilt, and although I never thought I’d say this, I’m excited to get to work on my next hand quilting project!

And a note about the batting– one reason I believe it was so difficult to hand quilt that first quilt was because I did not use a batting that was optimal for hand stitching. This time around I took the advice of some of my knowledgeable guild members in Ann Arbor and went with Quilters Dream Request Loft Batting made from 100% cotton. It made such a difference!!

And– if anyone out there who happens to read my little blog is considering hand quilting, I encourage you to give it a try! And know that you might not love it the first time around, but that’s ok– there will always be another quilt calling your name on which you can give this a try.

(Simon can’t help but get in a photo of the quilt)

I’m linking up with The Bloggers Quilt Festival over at Amy’s Creative Side. Each Spring and Fall Amy hosts this wonderful virtual event that coincides with quilt market to celebrate all of these wonderful quilts, and I’m so happy to join in! Click on the link below to visit her site, and to check out a TON of gorgeous quilts!

Quilt Stats:
Size: 54″ by 62″
Fabric: Kona cotton bone and hope valley (front), little folks voile (back) and pastry line voile (binding)
Special Techniques: Hand Quilted!!! (umm, I’m excited about this, can you tell?)
Quilted by: Me! (otherwise this would be much less impressive)
Best Category for the BQF: Hand quilted, throw quilt, or quilt photography

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A Quilt With a View

I have been waiting a *long* time to share this quilt top, so warning– there are a lot of pictures in this post!

I started the Single Girl quilt (pattern by Denyse Schmidt) with the Single Girl Quilt Along, which started quite a bit ago– as I look back at the group, it looks as though it’s been 20(!) months. This is definitely the longest it’s taken me to finish a quilt top! I don’t think I really knew what I was getting myself into when I decided to make this as a queen sized quilt for our bed. Now that the quilt top is done, I’m soooo glad I did it, but I likely won’t make another, at least not this size!

After finishing the quilt top, I knew I wanted to take it somewhere special to take some photos, and the perfect opportunity presented itself shortly after our move to Boston. We headed out one evening to climb Mount Wachusett, and since finishing this quilt top felt a bit like climbing a mountain, I thought I’d schlep it up there with me.

The light was perfect, and the top of the mountain gave us the most amazing views. It was a bit windy, and I think I put my quilt holders to the test, especially as I kept directing them to “just ONE MORE spot” for photos. Thanks so much to my mom, Justin, and Liv for putting up with me!

At the top of the mountain there are 360 degree views, and an industrial looking tower that was just gorgeous, and provided a nice platform for holding the quilt.

There were also a bunch of grasshoppers hanging around, and we spotted a frog lounging in the pond on top of the mountain.

Simon loves hiking and climbing, and he stayed a few steps ahead of us all on the way up and down.

As you can see, he’s a very fashionable dog, with cans of dog food on his collar. He loves his wet food!

I just couldn’t help myself, and took about a million pictures. There was something so ethereal about a night like this, with the light just right, hanging out on top of a mountain with family and a new favorite quilt.

Call me crazy, but I’m planning to hand quilt this beast over the winter. I’m almost done hand quilting my lap quilt, and I am loving how slow and deliberate it is to quilt by hand. Plus, I think I will back this one in voile, which I have found makes for VERY pleasant hand quilting. I managed to snag some from Pink Castle Fabric for a great price before it sold out, and I’m so glad I did– if you ever have a chance to hand quilt with voile, do it!!

I’m sure I’ll be sharing some process pics as I work on this over the next few months. I’m so glad it’s finally ready to quilt!! It took more patience than any other project I’ve attempted, but it was well worth it, and I can’t wait to put this on our bed in the spring!

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Catching Up: The Ocean Quilt

I was commissioned to make this quilt last year, and although I find I say this often, this is one of my favorites!

The design was my own, and was meant to be reminiscent of the ocean. I used prints from Denyse Schmidt’s hope valley line of fabrics paired with solids. I wanted the various sized squares to give the quilt top some movement, and I quilted it with wavy lines meant to invoke– what else?– waves!

I kept the back simple, with just a few larger blue squares. I am glad, because it kept the back calm and complemented how busy the front was!

I had to send this quilt off to its new home just as I finished it, and I have found I keep thinking about this one– I would love to make another someday!

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A Little Catching Up

I had to put a few things on hold while work was busy in the last month, and a number of little projects or quilt blocks were started and finished without mention, so I thought I’d share them here.

I made this zippy pouch for my little sister for her birthday. She wanted something she could put her kindle in when traveling, and I knew this was the perfect time to bust out the typewriter fabric. I picked these typewriter prints up from Brenda when she had them in her shop for about 2.5 seconds a couple of months ago. I absolutely love them! Plus, I think they work wonderfully with my Hope Valley fabric. I may be a little obsessed with this line, and stocked up now that it’s out of print.

Last month I made the polaroid bee blocks for Rachel. Aren’t they adorable? I love how she put them all together into the “tossed polaroids” quilt!

***Quilt Photo by Rachel of Stitched in Color***

Next I made these scrappy blocks for Deb. She linked to this tutorial from Don’t Call Me Betsy. This was the first time I had worked with half square triangles, and I can see why people get hooked on making these! I would love to make a quilt out of these blocks in the future. I’m not sure when I’ll have time, but I *may* have stocked up on some neutral gray fabrics from Pink Castle recently with the hopes of using them in this quilt!

And, I cut into a lovely pile of fabric for a new quilt that I’ll share here soon. I know I say this frequently, but I think it’s my new favorite!

I’m linking up to Ellison Lane Quilts for the Summer Sew-Along! Check it out to see lots of other great projects.

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Sew Mama Sew Giveaway day!

*** This Giveaway is Now Closed**

Today is giveaway day at Sew Mama Sew! Twice a year Sew Mama Sew hosts a coordinated giveaway, where anyone who is hosting a giveaway on their blog can link up, creating a huge selection of blogs to visit to enter to win all sorts of good stuff! If you’re visiting from Sew Mama Sew, thanks for stopping by!

I thought I’d share some of my *favorite* goodies today. Nothing gets me more excited to sew than a gorgeous pile of fabric, and my absolute favorites are from Denyse Schmidt. She was the first quilt and fabric designer I recognized by name when I took up sewing a couple of years ago, and I love pretty much every fabric she has designed! Today I’m giving away a 2 charm squares of each print pictured here, including fabric from her lines of Flea Market Fancy (the original!), Katie Jump Rope, and Hope Valley. I made sure there were a range of colors so any sort of project or color scheme would be possible with these prints!

One possibility would be to make a quilt like my Flea Market Fancy Colorful Squares. Pairing prints with coordinating or complementary solids can stretch them quite a bit, and can highlight your favorite prints!

To enter the giveaway, simply leave a comment! And if you have a favorite fabric designer or line of fabrics you’d recommend, I’d love to know what it is! This giveaway is open to everyone, and I will ship internationally.

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A new bag to showoff!

I recently found time to make a new bag for myself– the Showoff Bag! I wanted to make this bag ever since I saw Emily’s (I may have considered trying to sneak it home with me!), and I wasn’t disappointed one bit when I put mine together! The pattern was clearly written and easy to follow, and the bag came together more quickly than I had expected!

The main print for this bag came from U-Fab, a home dec fabric store in Virginia. I paired with with one of the gray prints from Hope Valley for the top of the bag, and lined it with the blue scissor print from Momo’s original Wonderland line of fabric.

I was also recently commissioned to make a bag, and I made the same pattern using blue and yellow fabrics. I highly recommend this pattern! I love the size and shape of the finished bag (especially the length of the handles– they’re perfect!), and I use mine every day!

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A Hope Valley Filmstrip Quilt Top

It’s no secret that I love Hope Valley. I have used it in quite a few projects… like this, and this, and this, and this, just to name a few!
One thing I love about this line is how gorgeous the colors look when they’re arranged in order. I used this simple filmstrip layout (inspired by the quilts seen here, made by Amanda Jean, with a great tutorial here), one that I’ve definitely used before! In fact, my first filmstrip quilt served as the photo backdrop for guests at our wedding.

I’m still pondering how to back and quilt this– any suggestions?

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Ouch ouch ouch ouch

Hello everyone! It’s been wayyyyy longer than I had planned since my last post! I have quite a few projects to share, and I can’t wait to reveal some of the Christmas gifts I made this year! (spoiler alert: I made more quilts!).
However, I’ve been slow to return to my normal routine, because I’d been fighting off a cold that turned into pneumonia. And, to top it off, I coughed so hard I broke one of my ribs (hence the title of my post). I have heard this was possible, but I had no idea it could really just happen! It is so, so painful, and I’m hoping it doesn’t take too long to mend, as it’s quite uncomfortable to do anything at the moment, much less sit at my sewing machine. While I’m couch-bound for the next few days, I can finally spend a little time with my blog! There’s nothing like fabric and quilt photos to take my mind off the pain.

I’m really happy to be able to share this quilt, because I had so much fun making it. This was the Christmas gift for my mom, and it was made using one of my all time favorite lines of fabric, Hope Valley. I’ve used this line in a number of projects before, and I love how well it plays with other fabrics.

I went through a few different designs and layouts before deciding on this one. In fact, my friend Brenda suggested using the gray sashing when we were sewing together, and I’m so glad she did– I love the way the gray offsets the bright fabrics. (She does have a good eye for fabric! I’ve also been drooling over some of the new prints in her shop!)
I backed the quilt with a super soft organic sheet, and I love how it has a little sheen to it.

After my mom opened her gift, I wanted to take some photos, and I was in luck because we stopped by my sister’s in-laws house just after Christmas for a visit, and they have such a great spot for photos– right by their barn where they house their goats! They just got these two little cuties this past summer, and the goats were a little timid but curious enough to come check out the quilt!

I’m pretty sure my mom loved the quilt, and I’m so glad that she said she can always use more quilts. I told her to let me know when she has enough, and until that day I’ll keep making them for her!

I’ll be back soon with more quilts and projects to share!

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Lets talk about fabric!

I love fabric. Love love lovelovelovelove it. Even if I have a moment (it’s rare, but it happens) that I don’t feel like sewing, I still want to look at fabric. I love looking at it in person and online, and I love imagining what I’d do with it all!

However (believe it or not), I’m on a budget, and so I have to be strategic about my purchases. I have quite a stash, and I like having my favorite fabrics on hand because it helps me think about possible projects.

I often buy fabric on sale, and don’t necessarily bite right away when a new line comes out. I like to wait and see what people are doing with prints before I decide about some of them. In fact, my favorite fabric line (at the moment) is hope valley, however, I didn’t buy any of it for a long time until I had seen it used in other projects and came to love it. I really love how well it plays with so many other fabrics. I’ve been keeping my eye on this line, because I knew I wanted to stock up before it was out of print.

Lucky for me, I have a friend who keeps me posted on these important matters– Brenda runs the Ann Arbor Modern Quilt Guild, and also runs her own fabric shop on esty! Pink Castle Fabric has been one of my favorite places to shop for fabric because I LOVE the lines Brenda orders, and she has really reasonable prices (it also helps that I can pick up my fabric in person!). If you’re thinking about getting some Hope Valley before it’s gone, Brenda’s shop would be a good place to do so– she still has a lot of the prints in stock!

A little while ago I was over at Pink Castle Headquarters (aka, Brenda’s house), and snapped a few photos. Brenda has SO much good stuff in her shop, and will continue to get more… in fact, she’s taking preorders for the Flea Market Fancy re-release this spring! I’m excited to see how it pairs with Hope Valley, I’m imagining a big patchwork quilt.

Brenda also often snaps up fabric as it’s going out of print, like the Anna Maria Horner pastry line voiles and Folksy Flannels. I took the opportunity to stock up! I’m always a sucker for Anna Maria Horner prints, and when I know they’re going out of print and are on sale, it seems crazy not to get some! I had a fat quarter stack of little folks voile prints, and I was really excited to get the pastry line voiles to go with them!

It’s been really interesting to see the “behind the scenes” at Brenda’s shop, so I thought I’d share it with you all! Plus, if you’re looking for a place to buy some great fabric, you know where I’m going for mine!

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New Birdie Sling Bag

Before our trip, I knew I needed a new bag to hold all of my stuff. I love the birdie sling bag (designed by Amy Butler) because it has a great shape, it holds a LOT of stuff, and it’s pretty easy to put together! (Also– it’s larger in person than it looks in the photos I have. Click on the pattern link above to see some pics of it being modeled to get a better sense of the size).

I paired together a print from Innocent Crush (for the body of the bag) with one from Hope Valley (for the handles), and I can’t believe how well the colors work together! I’ve found that Hope Valley plays well with lots of other prints (I used a bunch of Hope Valley along with Castle Peeps to make this quilt).

I’ve already gotten a lot of use out of this bag, and I think I’ll be using it for a long time!

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