Perseverance Prevails Quilt

While it's a little out of season, I am pleased as punch with my latest quilt. When I first started reading quilting blogs, the Internet was awash with red and neutral half-square triangle quilts, such as this one by Allison of Cluck Cluck Sew. When I signed up for Katie Pedersen's Half-Square Triangle class over two years ago, I figured it was the perfect time to get started. However, the local quilt store provided the class materials list for a different class, so I started off the project with the wrong yardage. Then I decided to make two different sizes of half-square triangle blocks, 2.5 inches and 5 inches. Between the itty-bitty blocks and the level of scrappiness that I was going for, the making of this quilt ended up taking longer than I would have liked. However, perseverance prevails and now it's finished! Even better, my little quilter-in-training loves it and was more than happy to help with the photoshoot. It took some time, but now I have a new quilt that the entire family can enjoy.

 

 

This Is the Quilt That Never Ends

This is the quilt that never ends.

It just goes on and on my friends.

Somebody started sewing it not knowing what it was,

And they’ll continue sewing it forever just because,

This is the quilt that never ends…

Sunshiny Day Mini Quilt

Oh, the siren song of quilt alongs! Last year, unlearned in the hazards of craft blogging, I joined two quilt alongs at the same time: the Kaleidoscope Quilt Along at Don’t Call Me Betsy and the Warm/Cool Quilt Along at In Color Order. Too late, I learned that there is more to quilt alongs than sewing: they are rich, social experiences. Unfortunately, I had neither the time nor the energy last year to fully participate in either quilt along that I joined. I managed to complete my Kitty Kaleidoscope quilt at the end of 2011, and finally finished my Sunshiny Day mini quilt this month, eight months after I started it. Luckily, it was worth the wait.

I pulled a variety of cool solids and warm prints from my scraps and stash, used a bright gingham print for the back, hand quilted it in white Perle 8 thread and bound it in a yummy lemony solid. It now hangs on the wall of my sewing nook, where I can enjoy it every day.

 

Linking up with Sew Modern Monday at Canoe Ridge Creations and Finish it Up Friday at crazy mom quilts.

UPDATE: Also linking up with the Festival of Half-Square Triangles at Canoe Ridge Creations.

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 #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.

Half-Square Triangle Love

I love Half-Square Triangles, but haven’t played around with them much yet. For my birthday, my mom gave me the gift of taking a class together at one of our favorite quilt stores, The Quilting Loft. I chose the Half-Square Triangle class by Katie of Sew Katie Did. I had a bunch of Valentine’s Day scraps and a stash of coordinating solids that I brought to the class. Unfortunately, we had the wrong class list and were supposed to bring all solids. After sorting that out, I set to work and got a good start on the Valentine’s Day quilt I have been thinking about for a while. I enjoyed learning new tricks and tips from Katie and having three hours of uninterrupted sewing time with my mom!

Warm Cool Quilt Along: Fabric Selection

I do love Half-Square Triangles. When I saw the Warm Cool Quilt Along over at In Color Order, I instantly wanted to join. I talked myself out of it because I already have so many WIPs and other projects I want to start. Then I saw that the mini version can be made with 5” squares, and I caved. I have been cutting my scraps into 5” and 2.5” squares, so I have a bunch of squares already cut, just begging to be used for this project. My stash is heavy on the cool colors and light on the warm colors, so it took me awhile to pull together the fabric selection for this project. I’m using warm prints and cool solids.