Giant Snowburst Quilt

For my first finish of 2014, I present to you Giant Snowburst. This quilt started back in 2011 when I was smitten with the fabric line Flurry by Kate Spain. I made several table runners and gift bags from it, but also squirreled away the light blue and green colorways for a quilt, even though I did not have a pattern selected at the time.

Fast-forward to 2013. Canoe Ridge Creations announced a Giant Starburst Quilt Along and I immediately thought of my precious Flurry stash. I pulled it out, and lo and behold, I had more than enough yardage (not to mention precuts and fat quarters). I also had a stack of In From the Cold (also by Kate Spain) on hand for gift bags. After playing around for a bit, I settled on mostly Flurry prints with one coordinating In From the Cold Print. For the solids I used Kona Snow and a Moda Bella solid in a coordinating blue.

In a stroke of luck, the construction instructions were posted just before the Seattle Modern Quilt Guild’s Sew-In and Holiday Party. That day I pressed, cut and sewed all the blocks. (There are only nine of them, but they are large.) Then the holidays were upon us, and I only managed a seam here and a seam there. When the new year came, writing up my Work In Progress Round-Up post inspired me to finish the top and start quilting.

Using blue tape, a hera marker and the seams of the quilt itself as guidelines, I quilted a giant ‘x’ through the middle of the quilt and then echo quilted every half inch. Let me tell you, this kind of quilting takes quite a bit of thread, but it is more than worth it! At 60” by 60”, this quilt is the perfect size for curling up on the couch when it’s too cold to venture outside.

Blueberry Pie (Pops)

Sometimes it's easy to get caught up in the consumerist mindset of always buying the latest and greatest fabric lines. I know I do now and again. More often, I find myself enjoying the process of working with the fabric I have on hand, especially scraps from other projects. For example, my recently finished Blueberry Pie baby quilt is composed almost entirely of scraps, both my own scraps and scraps from a family scrap swap. A few fat eighths that I received as a gift were the only non-scrap fabric.

When I participated in a family scrap swap last year, I wanted to start using the scraps I received sooner rather than later. At first, I didn't know which pattern to use, but when I saw Blueberri Breezes at Angel Scraps Quilting, I was motivated to make my own version. After the top was finished, I still had quite a few scraps left over. Inspired by Missing the Point by Ocheltree Design, I decided to cut the remaining scraps into 2.5" strips and piece them together end-to-end and see where that led me. I wasn’t expecting to make the backing entirely of scraps, but that’s what happened! I even incorporated the tiniest of scraps using completely cauchy’s Scraptacularity method, which I loved.

I quilted Blueberry Pie in a cross-hatch pattern following the design of the “front.” In the end, I like the “back” even better. The binding is also made from scraps, but I bet that’s not a big surprise. This quilt was so enjoyable to make, that I felt compelled to celebrate its completion with baked goods, specifically, Blueberry Pie Pops.

Pie making seems to run in my family, but I’ve never made Blueberry Pie (or Pie Pops) before. By combining Cakespy’s Pie Pop recipe and Macrina Bakery’s Classic Blueberry Pie recipe, I managed to make a passable Blueberry Pie Pop. Somehow I ended up with too much pie filling and not enough dough, so I will share my particular recipe after all the wrinkles are ironed out.

If you like either quilts or food, stop by A Quilter’s Table for Tuesday at the Table. If you like scraps, check out Stitched in Color’s Scrap Attack. I also plan to link up with Finish it Up Friday at crazy mom quilts.

Scrap Attack!

I have too many scraps. Since 2000, I have never thrown away a scrap that I thought I could use later. Things are starting to get out of hand. It’s not that I don’t use them – I do! My Blueberry Pie quilt is made mostly of scraps. Out of my nine current WIPs (woo! I’m down to single digits!), five heavily feature scraps. They must multiply whenever I turn my back. It’s high time I did something about it! I’ve decided to join Scrap Attack! at Stitched in Color. The problem is, I can’t decide what to make first: Granny Squares or x & + blocks or something else entirely. Thoughts?

Eighteenth Finish of 2011: Kitty Kaleidoscope Quilt

Oh. My. Gosh. At one point, I thought I would never finish this quilt and look! I completed it just in time for it to be my final finish of 2011! I can hardly believe it! What a great way to end 2011.

When I first heard about Don’t Call Me Betsy’s Kaleidoscope Quilt Along in June 2011, little did I know that it would be one of my biggest quilting challenges to date. The pattern was stunning and I was super excited about my first Quilt Along. After rummaging in my stash, I decided to make a twin-sized quilt in blues and purples for my daughter’s Big Girl Bed. (Although right now it’s more like mommy’s Unplanned Nap Bed, since my daughter isn’t ready for her Big Girl Bed yet.) Anyways, I had my heart set on making a bed-sized quilt in my daughter’s colors. I procrastinated starting because I had never used templates before. Thankfully, my mom loaned me her templates once she was done with the cutting. It was then that I learned an important lesson: I do not like working with templates. In fact, I loathe it. Nevertheless, I plodded through the cutting and finally made it to the piecing stage. By that point, I had read that people were having trouble getting their blocks to lie flat. Luckily, my quilting motto is “if you can’t do it, fudge it.” I pinned and pressed and sewed and didn’t worry too much about the piecing being perfect. As a result, the quilt top came together pretty well. I started machine quilting it in October, but then set it aside while I focused on Christmas presents. After Christmas, I put every possible moment of leisure time into finishing this quilt. Don't ask me what time I went to bed last night.

I am extremely pleased with how this quilt turned out. It may not have been my favorite quilt to make, but it challenged me and still came out lovely. I especially like the color combination, the unexpected designs the quilting made, and the binding. The fabric for this quilt is a smattering of Paris Cats, some Kona solids, a couple of my favorite Lizzy House prints, and some other random prints.

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.

Kaleidoscope Quilt Along: Fabric Selection

I am looking forward to starting the Kaleidoscope Quilt Along at Don’t Call Me Betsy on June 23. I’m going to use a combination of blue, purple and cream fabrics, most of which I had on hand. I started with some Paris Cats fabrics left over from another project and added some Kona solids and a couple fat quarters from my stash. The final product is destined for the twin bed in the nursery.

 

So Many Quilt Alongs, So Little Time

I’m really excited about starting the Kaleidoscope Quilt Along at Don’t Call Me Betsy later this month. I just wish that it was the only Quilt Along going on right now so that I wouldn’t feel like I was missing out! I’d like to participate in the Warm Cool Quilt Along at In Color Order and the Synchronized Squares Quilt Along at PS I Quilt. There’s just not enough time in the day! Oh, well. There will always be more Quilt Alongs, I suppose.

UPDATE: There is also a Yoyo Along at sewtakeahike! I need to clone myself, or something.

My First Quilt-Along!

I don't need a new project at the moment, but I really like the looks of the Kaleidoscope Quilt-Along at Don’t Call Me Betsy. I am planning on making the baby quilt size and need to go through my scraps and stash to see what fabric would work for this. I am looking forward to my first quilt-along!