Flashback Friday #18: Cheery Cherry Mini Quilt

Sometimes you don’t want to work on a big, complicated quilt. Sometimes you need something quick and easy and fun. Enter Cheery Cherry. Back in July 2010, I took a charm pack of Oh Cherry Oh fabric, made a bunch of half-square triangles, sewed them together and had a mini quilt top done in a weekend. It took me three months to hand quilt it and it was finished by the end of October 2010. These days, it brings cheer to my office.

Flashback Friday #16: Alarm Clock Cover

When I first became addicted to reading quilting blogs, back in July 2010 or so, half-square triangles were all the rage. After seeing so many beautiful specimens online, I just had to make something for myself. At the time, the light from my digital alarm clock wasn’t helping with my pregnancy-induced insomnia, so each night I would cover it with whatever was at hand, which was usually a scarf or something similar that would slide off in the night. I soon tired of this and decided that a half-square triangle mini quilt would make the perfect alarm clock cover. I knew that I wanted to use a solid, and dug around in my stash until I found the leftovers of the flying geese baby quilts that I made. I finished this mini quilt in August 2010 and used it as an alarm clock cover until my alarm clock died, victim of a curious infant that didn’t know her own strength. Now this little quilt hangs on my quilt ladder. My cell phone is a better alarm clock, anyways.

Flashback Friday #15: Batik Table Runner

I am very blessed to be one of several quilters in my family. In addition to my mom, my husband’s grandmother is also a quilter. A couple of years ago, she gave me a kit by Timeless Treasures. The pattern called for offsetting the rows and trimming off a significant portion of some of the blocks. I didn’t want to make a bunch of blocks and then discard part of them, so I decided to tweak the pattern. I made the blocks as instructed, but rotated them instead of offsetting them. As I worked on the blocks, I realized that with the addition of a few leftover fabrics  from other projects, I could stretch the kit and make a table runner in addition to the small quilt. I knew that it would take me awhile to finish the quilt, so I focused on whipping up a table runner for my husband’s grandmother, keeping in mind that her favorite color is green. I especially enjoyed hand quilting it in a cross-hatch pattern. Needless to say, she was happy to receive it. This runner was finished in August of 2010.

Flashback Friday #14: Fourth of July Table Topper

Back in the spring of 2009, I tried my hand at designing my own pattern for the first time. I took a charm pack of Red, White and Bold fabric, set it on point and sewed it together. Alas, I did not take into consideration the appropriate size of setting triangles in relation to their contingent squares. In other words, the points disappeared when I bound it because I forgot the add a seam allowance to the setting triangles. I was so disappointed in myself that I didn’t finish it until August 2010. Still, I like the fabric (especially the binding), so I kept it.

Flashback Friday #13: Flying Goslings Baby Quilt

When I buy fabric for a pattern, I tend to round up. If the pattern calls for 1/3 of a yard, I buy 1/4 of a yard. When I finished my first Flying Geese Baby Quilt, I realized that I just needed to buy new sashing and backing fabric in order to make another one. I started it with a specific baby in mind, but then there was a baby explosion in my social circle, and suddenly there were too many babies and not enough time to make them all quilts.

Without a recipient in mind, I dawdled. The top went together quickly, as advertised, but the hand-quilting took time. I finally found the motivation to finish this baby quilt when I learned I was pregnant. Since I had been working on this quilt for almost four years, it made sense that it would be for my own child. This baby quilt was started sometime in 2006 and finished July 2010, a few months before the birth of my daughter.

Flashback Friday #12: Queen B

What do you give the couple that has it all? A hand-made quilt, of course! When one of my husband’s best friends announced his upcoming wedding, my husband requested that I sew a queen-size quilt for the happy couple. I was hesitant to commit to such a large project, since the last large quilt I had made took me four years to complete. My husband promised he would help me, so I agreed. I selected a few “easy” patterns that I would be willing to make, and he picked out the one he liked best (Happy Medium from Quilts & More, Summer 2009). He also took me to my favorite quilt store and helped me pick out the fabrics. While I did all of the sewing, my husband took care of the bulk of the cutting and pressing. I could not have completed this quilt without his help. Once the top was complete, I sent it off to Girton Creations to be professionally quilted. Darlene quilted it in a lovely pattern, reminiscent of champagne bubbles. This quilt was started in September of 2009 and finished in July of 2010. I’m happy with how it turned out, but am disinclined to make such a large quilt any time soon.

Flashback Friday #11: Patriotic Breeze

Like so many people, I learned how to quilt from my mom. Even though she has decades more sewing and quilting experience than I do, she still enjoys it when I make quilty things for her. After the Valentine’s Day Table Topper, I decided to make her another holiday quilt, this time for the Fourth of July. I call it Patriotic Breeze, as the pattern is Bay Breeze from the Summer 2008 edition of Quilts and More and the fabric is a charm pack of Red, White and Bold by Sandy Gervais.

Part of the reason I love Patriotic Breeze so much is that it challenged me. It was the first time that I made folded piping and the first time that I worked with 1.5” squares. I love how it turned out, especially with all the blue. I can safely say that it is one of my favorite quilts that I have made. Luckily, I get to visit it at my mom’s house. I also have fabric picked out and set aside for a similar piece for myself, but in a different colorway. Patriotic Breeze was finished in November of 2009.

Check out the Fall 2011 Bloggers' Quilt Festival at Amy’s Creative Side for more inspiration.

Flashback Friday #10: Scrappy Keyhole Table Runner

After finishing the Two Weeks’ Notice table runner, I started another table runner with the leftover jelly roll scraps. This time, the pattern was Keyholes Table Runner, also from On a Roll Again by Heather Mulder Peterson. I don’t remember when I started it, but I finished it in the spring of 2009. It took me so long because I hand quilted it in a very dense cross-hatch pattern. I accidently left out one of the blocks, which I found a few weeks after I finished the runner. This table runner now lives at my grandma’s house, occasionally making appearances in her kitchen and her breakfast nook.

Flashback Friday #9: Two Weeks’ Notice

As you may have surmised from reading this blog, I am no speed quilter. I am amazed at all the quilters I see online that can finish quilts in a matter of days or weeks. It usually takes me months or years. In one case, though, I finished a table runner from start to finish in less than two weeks!

When one of my co-workers at a previous job learned about my hobby, he started asking me if he could buy one of my quilts. I told him that I don’t sell quilts. I really enjoyed working with him and didn’t want to let him down by promising something I might not be able to deliver. Then one day, in the spring of 2008, he gave his two weeks’ notice. I was sad for me, but happy for him. On a whim, I decided to make him a table runner as a thank you for his mentoring.

I had no WIPs that would suit him and no time to order fabric online. I had been eyeing the Box Lunch Table Runner pattern in On a Roll Again by Heather Mulder Peterson and had a stack of jelly roll strips left over from the Diamond Runner. I picked out some brown, blue and green strips and set to work. I worked on that runner every single day until it was finished and was able to give it to him on his last day. He was pleasantly surprised to receive it. I really enjoyed the pattern and have it in mind for a certain jelly roll in my stash, so you may see it again soon.

Flashback Friday #8: Diamond Runner

One of my favorite things about quilting is that it is a good excuse to spend quality time with my mom. A few years ago, we both fell in love with the pattern On a Roll from the April 2008 issue of American Patchwork & Quilting. We each bought a jelly roll of Deb Strain’s fabric Celebrating Spring and spent a day piecing our table runners together. I love how this table runner turned out, but it taught me an important lesson: I like binding. This pattern calls for the table runner to be pieced, turned and slip stitched like a bag or something similar, which I don’t particularly care for in a table runner I had quite a few strips left over from this project and even made two more table runners with this fabric. The Diamond Runner was finished in the spring of 2008 and now lives on my desk at work.

Flashback Friday #7: Valentine’s Day Table Topper #2

Last week, I showed you my first Valentine’s Day Table Topper. After proving that the Quilted Quickies Charm School – Lesson Two pattern worked well for my purposes, I made another one, this time for my mom. I really enjoy making more than one quilt with the same pattern and seeing how differently they turn out.

For this one, I used fabric by Sandy Gervais, and added a border. Somehow, I managed to sew the binding on wrong, so it didn’t turn out as flat as the first one. My mom loved it anyways. I also finished this table topper in January 2008.

Flashback Friday #6: Valentine’s Day Table Topper #1

I am a big fan of charm squares. They enable you to play around with all the fabrics in a line and explore different colors and styles without having to spend a lot of money.

I was looking for inspiration for a present for my mom when I picked up a couple charm squares of Valentine’s Day fabric. Using the Quilted Quickies Charm School – Lesson Two pattern, I made a table topper for myself first, to test out the pattern. I am very pleased with the outcome, especially the striped back.

If I remember correctly, the line was by Deb Strain. While this is not my favorite charm square pattern of all time, it worked well for this project, as well as for my mom’s present, which deserves its own blog post. I finished this table topper in January 2008.

Flashback Friday #5: Heartz

My first lap quilt was made from a pattern called Heartz. I continued the blue and purple combination from my first quilt, but wanted a quicker pattern with less room for error. The piecing is semi-improvisational. The fabric placement was carefully planned, but the cutting was done freehand.  I finished piecing this quilt in 2005, but didn’t get it quilted until December 2007. It usually can be found on our living room couch, but migrates around the house as needed come winter.

Flashback Friday #4: Gentle Art

I learned to quilt from my mom, and we get together every so often to sew. Sometimes we even make the same project! I had a ton of fun making the Gentle Art table topper with her. I made mine out of the Celebrate Spring line by Sandy Gervais for Moda. It was a fun charm pack pattern. This project was finished sometime in the Fall of 2007.

Flashback Friday #3: Seaside Rose Moda Tin

Just before the charm pack craze really exploded, Moda put out a series of charm packs tins. They each came with a charm pack, a pattern and a CD with a larger pattern and information on the fabric line. I loved collecting the tins, but only made up a couple of them. The first one I work on was a gift from a family friend. I started working on it while visiting my parents and finished it in September of 2007. I wanted a quick project and focused more on completion than precision, so the seams don’t all match. Coincidently, it coordinates with the pre-existing paint color in our downstairs bathroom, so that is where I hung it. I would like to use the pattern again someday.

Flashback Friday #2: Quilt in a Day Flying Geese Baby Quilt #1

After my queen-sized Log Cabin quilt, I was ready for something smaller and quicker. I decided on a baby quilt, even though I didn’t know anybody that was having a baby at the time. Soon after, so many people were having babies that I couldn’t keep up! I chose the Quilt in a Day Flying Geese pattern and bought both of the templates. At the time, I lived very close to Eleanor Burns’ shop and visited there when my family came to visit. My mom and I put together the quilt top over a long weekend. I was able to hand quilt it in under four months. The best friend of my roommate at the time knew that she would be a single mother before the baby was even born, so I made this quilt especially for her baby. My roommate picked out the turtle focus fabric and I picked a variety of fabrics to match. I never met the baby that this quilt belongs to, but that’s okay.

Bloggers' Quilt Festival (aka Flashback Friday #1: Queen of the Log Cabin)

What better quilt to share in the Bloggers’ Quilt Festival than my very first full-sized quilt?

My mother was an avid quilter as I was growing up. Finally, the years of watching my mother create warm and beautiful quilts compelled me to start one of my own. During high school, I borrowed a thin book on Log Cabin quilts and painstakingly designed my quilt on graph paper. While it was a very traditional pattern, I made it my own by changing the traditionally red center to purple. My mother and I poured over bolts and bolts of fabric to find just the right ones. I was so terrified of making a mistake that I had her cut all my fabric. For some reason that I don’t remember, I had decided to make a queen sized quilt. I didn’t even have a queen sized bed when I started. It took me two years to piece the top and two years to hand quilt it. I love how it turned out, but wish I had started smaller. This project taught me not to bite off more than I can chew, but also cemented my love of quilting. It now lives on our living room couch.