A "Hello World" Baby Quilt

I enjoy Cori Dantini's artwork, and had stashed away some pieces from her "Hello World" collection for a possible baby quilt.  Now that I have a new great-niece, it became time to put these fabrics to use.

I created the black and white border by cutting strips free-handed, sewing multiple strips together, then crosscutting them, again free-handed.

The animal prints are from a panel.  I free-motion quilted the outlines of the drawings with dark thread, then used a loopy fill with light thread in the background.  The animals are mostly unquilted, which makes them soft and puffy, especially after washing. (These photos are prior to washing.)

I added a row of wonky stars across the bottom...

 ... and I like a fabric that can tell me how it wants to be quilted (the scallops).

I originally had a different fabric in mind for the binding, but when I saw this Denyse Schmidt plaid next to the other fabrics, I knew it was a better choice.

Here's another shot showing the backing fabric:

More of the animals:

This is my attempt to photograph the puffiness after washing.  (It doesn't show as well as I'd like -- the lighting is too soft.)

I hope baby Rebecca enjoys her new quilt!

I'm linking up with crazy mom quilts for Finish It Up Friday. 

Log Cabin Carpenter's Star -- a memory quilt

My father passed away this past spring, at age 93.  As a memory tribute, I decided to make a quilt from his shirts.  My dad was a builder, so a Carpenter's Star design seemed appropriate.  It also seemed appropriate to use log cabin blocks.

I cut strips from his shirts at 1.5 inches, for blocks that finish at 9 inches.

The border fabric, which is also used in the center of the log cabins, is a Tim Holtz print which reminds me of my dad's wooden carpenter rules.

For quilting in the diamonds, I chose a peacock feather motif (we had peafowl on our farm when I was young).

In the background, I used swirls and a grid of orange peels for the quilting.

I pieced the back of the quilt using the backs of the shirts.  I cut them at an angle following the cut of the shirt to make maximum use of the fabric, although I still had to add some partial rows.  The label is from Spoonflower, and incorporates a photo of my father.

I sorted the shirts by lights, mediums, and darks for the star, using 7 or 8 shirts for each grouping.  The orange/red/white plaid which appears on the back, though, did not fit easily into any of the groups.  I did piece a few strips from this shirt into the "whole" light blocks, where they are less likely to detract from the contrast of the design.

For the binding, I wanted to use a yarn-dyed plaid.  I chose a Robert Kaufman Mammoth flannel for the colors.  It's a bit bulky for a binding, but I think it turned out OK.  I did cut my strips at 2.5 inches (rather than 2.25 as I usually do), and used a trick found here (step 5) to trim some bulk from the corners.

One of the shirts had some embroidery with a team logo above the chest pocket.  I didn't see a way to work this into the quilt, but I did save it to make a beanbag/pincushion, adding trim from a second shirt.  I gave this to my niece who also graduated from UNA.

The quilt itself is a gift for my dear sister, who lived next door to my dad and did so much for him.

I'm linking up with crazy mom quilts for Finish It Up Friday. 

Hillsboro

This quilt was inspired by brick work on a building in Nashville, Tennessee.

I made improv log cabin blocks from strips of various denim and indigo-colored fabrics, cutting free-hand, and set them on point.  The background fabric is an unbleached linen from Moda.

I threw in some small bits of Kona Lime just for fun.  I included a batik fabric as well, thinking it would be fun to sneak some into Quiltcon.  Unfortunately, though, this quilt was not selected for Quiltcon.

With so much negative space, I wanted to show off the quilting.  I used wool batting, which really pleased me in combination with the unbleached linen.  Here's a shot I took before adding the binding:

And more details of the quilting:

Finally, here is a shot of the back:

I'm a little disappointed not to have a quilt in this upcoming Quiltcon, especially since it is the first chance I'll have to attend the show in person.  But I do hope to enter this quilt in other shows.

I'll be linking up with crazy mom quilts for Finish It Up Friday.

House Blocks for do.good.stitches

As a member of the Believe circle of do.good.stitches (an online charity bee), I make a few blocks each month and send them off to the designated quilter for that month.  This month, we were asked to make house blocks, using any design we wish.

I drafted a block based very roughly on our own home, and pieced it using freezing paper and "paperless" paper piecing methods.  I included a tree as well, but left that portion unattached to the house, to give our quilter some flexibility in placement.

I wanted to make a second block, and tossed about ideas of using mostly Tim Holtz fabric, but with a fussy-cut hot air balloon in the sky.  The fabrics didn't want to play together well, though, so I made two additional blocks -- one making use of Tim Holtz fabric, and another using the hot air balloon fabric.  I pieced both of these improvisationally

Here is the block using Tim Holtz fabric.  It looks more like a barn, which I suppose is not a bad thing.

And here is the block using hot air balloons:

I added some "landscaping," although I'm not sure how well it works.

I'm looking forward to seeing blocks from our other bee members, and the final quilt.

Blogger's Quilt Festival, part 2

For my second entry in the Blogger's Quilt Festival at AmysCreativeSide.com, I am featuring my Imperial Star quilt.

This quilt is based on a traditional Broken Star design, with additional elements inspired by the work of Edyta Sitar.  The applique uses shapes from several of Edyta's patterns.

I am entering this quilt in the Applique Quilt category of the festival.

Here are a few more photos:

The quilting shows up well from the back:

Be sure to check out all the entries in the Blogger's Quilt Festival, and vote for your favorites.

UPDATE: This quilt has been selected for the Viewer's Choice category.  What an honor!

Blogger's Quilt Festival, part 1

Amy Ellis is again hosting a Blogger's Quilt Festival at AmysCreativeSide.com.  Be sure to visit to see all the wonderful quilts in eleven categories.

My first entry for this year's festival, in the Large Quilt category, is my Double G Picnic quilt:

This quilt uses Cotton+Steel fabrics, primarily from Melody Miller's Picnic line.

I first posted about this quilt here.  This was a quick and easy quilt to construct; I wrote a tutorial which can be found here.

"Vintage Made Modern" mini

I was given a 22-piece charm pack of Amy Barickman's Vintage Made Modern fabric, and decided to make a small quilt to feature the designs.

I am sure I am not the first to make this type of design, but I did sketch it out and do the math on my own.  It is almost certainly a derivative design, but of what I don't know.  The size is roughly 24 inches by 30 inches.

Here is a detail of the quilting.  I used a hooked scroll design in all the larger squares, and a curved cross-hatch in all the smaller squares.

I added triangle pockets in the back upper corners to hold a dowel for hanging, and included a couple of twill tape loops near the center to avoid sags.

The piecing was mostly done as leaders and enders, so this was almost a "free" project.  Not sure yet what I will do with it.