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.

Flurry Poochie Bag

Ever on the hunt for cute fabric gift bags to make for Christmas, I decided to use up a few more Flurry fat quarters and give Happy Zombie’s Poochie bag a whirl. Despite that fact that I didn’t pay enough attention to the direction of the tree print, I really like the end result. This pattern uses three fat quarters with very little waste, whips up quickly, and is structured enough to stand up on its own. I especially like the traditional gift bag shape. Since the bag is open, I will add some tissue paper when it comes time to wrap a gift in it. Using tissue defeats part of my purpose for making fabric gift bags for Christmas, as I am trying to reduce the environmental impact of our holiday habits. However, this bag is still visually pleasing and handmade, which is awesome. I will definitely make this pattern again, but most likely for one-time occasions such as birthdays, and not for large scale giving holidays.

Linking up with Finish It Up Friday at crazy mom quilts.

Christmas in July Continued: Flurry Project Bag

At long last, I have found the gift bag pattern that I have been searching for! After making several Everything Bags, and one Snack bag, I found that the Project Bag size of Jeni’s Lined Drawstring Bag Pattern was the perfect size for my purposes: big enough for most presents, cute, quick and easy!  This bag was made from Flurry yardage left over from last year. I anticipate making many more of this size before Christmas rolls around. First step: stock up on Christmas yardage!

For those that are curious about the relative sizes of these bags, here is a picture of the three sizes I have made: Everything, Project and Snack.

Seventeenth Finish of 2011: Christmas Gift Bags

Last year, I decided to wrap as many Christmas gifts as I could in fabric bags. In addition to minimizing wrapping paper waste, fabric bags are fun, personal and make any gift extra special. This year, I made over a dozen bags, but forgot to take pictures of most of them before I gave them away. For the most part, I used Flurry fabric and my version of Pink Penguin’s drawstring bag tutorial. Sadly, I’ve made so many of these bags that I tired of them early on in the holiday season and as a result, stayed up late Christmas Eve to finish the last few. One of my goals for 2012 is to finish all my Christmas gift bags before Christmas Eve. I started working on these bags in October, so next year I’ll have to start earlier than that!

Sixteenth Finish of 2011: Buttermint Flurry Table Runner

If you read A Quilter’s Table, then you have already seen the table runner that I gave my mom for Christmas. From the beginning, I knew I wanted hers to be mostly green. I struggled to fit in other Flurry fabrics that I had left from the jelly roll, but none of them seemed quite right. In the end, I cut up a coordinating fat quarter in solid white. My mom likes modern quilts, so I knew she would appreciate the simplicity of solid white. I started this quilt in December 2011 and finished it on December 23, 2011, just in time for Christmas!

Thanks for your patience while I posted four similar projects in a row. You won’t see this pattern again for awhile. I have fabric set aside to make a blue and green version for myself, but I need to take a break and do something fresh and new first.

For those who are unfamiliar with the word “Buttermint,” it is a yummy mint cookie that is a family favorite for Christmas baking.

Fifteenth Finish of 2011: Candy Cane Flurry Table Runner

When I decided to make coordinating table runners as Christmas gifts (see Evergreen Flurry and Peppermint Flurry for the first two), I wanted to use the same pattern (Box Lunch Table Runner from On a Roll Again) and same fabric line (Flurry by Kate Spain), but still make four unique quilts. As I used up the jelly roll I had bought for this purpose, it became more challenging to decide on a design I liked. Luckily, after much mixing and matching of fabrics, I settled on a red-and-white-ish candy cane theme for my mother-in-law’s table runner. Again, this pattern lends itself better to more scrappiness than this, but I am very happy with the final product. I especially like the diagonal quilting, just like a candy cane!

Candy Cane Flurry was begun and finished in December 2011.

Fourteenth Finish of 2011: Peppermint Flurry Table Runner

After finishing the Evergreen Flurry Table Runner, I was anxious to start on the next Christmas present, which was for my grandmother. I knew I wanted to use the poinsettia/bird fabric, as my grandma likes poinsettias and birds remind her of my late grandfather.

With this table runner, I learned that this pattern (Box Lunch Table Runner from On a Roll Again) works best with a variety of fabrics. I spent a lot of time rearranging the blocks because they were too similar for the design I had envisioned. One evening, late at night, I threw up my hands in frustration and went with a different arrangement altogether. The next morning, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I really liked the end result. Luckily, my grandmother did, too.

Peppermint Flurry was started and completed in November 2011.

Thirteenth Finish of 2011: Evergreen Flurry Table Runner

When I finished the Two Weeks’ Notice table runner, I knew that I wanted to use the same pattern for Christmas presents for the four other women in my family. It took me awhile to find the right fabric, but find it I did: Flurry by Kate Spain. I bought a jelly roll and some coordinating solids as soon as it was released, but didn’t get started until October.

I had such fun dividing up the jelly roll strips for each table runner. The first one I tackled was for my husband’s grandmother, whose favorite color is green. The piecing went quickly, but I stalled when I realized that I had to get more basting pins in order to baste it. Once it was basted, I machine quilted it in a dense crosshatch pattern and finished it in early November. I am really pleased with the results.