a quilt for Anias

I recently realized I never blogged about my friend Karissa's son Anias's quilt, and he's two! I don't remember if she gave me any ideas for the quilt, but I think there may have been a discussion about bicycles... Anyway, I used some in his quilt (wheels on the front and in the binding and a big piece on the back) and love the back just as much as the front because of it! There are some guitars on the front too, because Stan, Karissa's husband and Anias's dad, plays guitar. I was inspired by these pillows from She Can Quilt and really like the simplicity of the front. It really shows off the fabrics and differences in value. I have to thank my mom for the back because I'm 99% sure that the Echino fabric came from her stash. I don't remember how I quilted it and I can't tell from the pictures, oops! Karissa, any input? :) 

I took this sideways picture (oops again) of rascally Finn at a meeting of my guild, the RI MQG. I hadn't sewed the binding to the front yet but still wanted to bring it for show and tell :)

Lastly, here's the label I hand stitched on. I don't usually do that and don't remember why I did, but I think it gives the quilt a nice touch. Just goes to show why I should really stay on top of blogging! The whole point is so I can remember the quilts I make and the things that make them special. I'm ever so slowly catching up, and I'm much less productive lately with a new baby to care for so maybe I'll be back on schedule soon.

Indian Summer | a quilt for Cole

I made this quilt for an old friend's new baby boy. I actually planned on making her a quilt when she had her last baby (who's almost Finn's age, so about 2.5) but I dropped the ball and never did, so I was happy to have another opportunity! She and her husband decided not to find out the gender this time around so I went with (what I hope are) gender neutral prints and colors from Sarah Watson's Indian Summer line for Art Gallery Fabrics. The novelty prints are my favorites - the little mushrooms and foxes and mountains are so fun! I admit to hoarding a few scraps for myself :) I had been wanting to make a quilt like this one for a while so I used Emily's tutorial and loved how quickly it came together.

On the back I used up my Indian Summer scraps along with some solid aqua that I had left from a collaborative quilt that I worked on with fellow MQG members. The binding is also (surprise!) scrappy, but mostly made from a print that looks like bubbles that I really like. I quilted it with random wavy lines because I thought they would be a nice contrast to all the horizontal lines of the blocks. I like how the quilting turned out, but random wavy lines were actually a lot harder than I thought they would be! They definitely look better in these pictures than I think they do in real life.

I'm going to visit my friend on Friday and I can't wait to meet her new little guy and give him this quilt. I hope it provides lots of comfort and snuggles over the years!

a quilt for Penelope

Like many quilters, whenever I find out a good friend is pregnant I immediately start thinking about what kind of quilt to make. Olga sews and makes quilts, too, so I asked if she had a plan for the nursery or any preference for fabrics or patterns. She asked if I would use a collection of fabric that she had called Sweet as Honey, and I knew she liked hexagons after she sent me screenshots of several vintage quilts that were made of teeny tiny hand sewn hexies. I regretfully told Olga that I wasn't up for hand sewing, but that I would try to make something she would like. I sent her a few ideas and one of them was for this triangle star quilt block. Once I got the go ahead from her I started cutting, using my regular rectangular ruler and the 60° line which took a little getting used to, but eventually I got all 250+ triangles cut out. I sewed two rows together and lost steam because the triangles were hurting my brain. My rows kept getting skewed because I wasn't lining the triangles up right so I gave up for a while. They stayed on my design wall for ages, falling down in the humidity of the summer and early fall and getting kicked around by Matt and the boys, ending up in the hallway and wedged in the door jamb. Amazingly, I didn't lose any and finally started sewing again after the baby was born. Penelope didn't mind though, and I finished up at the end of September, if I remember correctly, only a couple months after she was born.

The back is a few Kona blues that I had on hand along with some of the Sweet as Honey fabric that Olga provided me with. I love scrappy backs and this one is no exception. I can't even remember how I quilted it, but I think it's free motion random loops which are very forgiving for a novice free motion quilter like me. The binding is scrappy, too, made from two different fabrics from the Sweet as Honey line. Sometimes it's nice not to have to make a lot of decisions about a quilt, and using one collection definitely simplifies things. Hopefully this quilt will help keep Penelope warm and cozy this winter!

+bound+ staple dress and a giveaway! | 30 Days of Sewing with Art Gallery Fabrics

Hello and welcome to any new readers that have come over from Art Gallery Fabrics! As you probably know by now, September is National Sewing Month and when Art Gallery asked me to create something to help them celebrate I said sure! I decided to step outside of my comfort zone in the spirit of learning new ways to sew. I've made a couple garments in the past but they've always been out of quilting cotton and once out of a home dec weight fabric, so I selected a knit fabric and a pattern that I've been wanting to make for myself for a while, the Staple Dress by April Rhodes. The fabric is coincidentally by April Rhodes, too - the print is called painting morale and it's from her new collection for Art Gallery called +bound+. I've loved everything April has designed since her first collection, Arizona, and this collection is just as beautiful. I love the muted colors and organic, nature inspired designs.

After reading through the pattern I decided to enlist someone to hold my hand throughout the garment making process. With my limited experience with sewing clothing I didn't want to ruin this beautiful fabric! So I got in touch with my friend and sewing teacher Lorraine, and she agreed to help me one night a few weeks ago. I was familiar with Art Gallery quilting cottons already and I love them - they feel soft and luxurious compared to lots of other quilting cottons, and I fell in love with this knit, too. I cut and sewed up the whole thing in one night, albeit a very late night, with Lorraine's help along the way ;) The dress is so comfortable and easy to wear, and I think it's a great transition piece as we head into fall here in New England. I've worn it with sandals, these flats, and I plan to wear it with tall brown boots, too!

+GIVEAWAY+ [CLOSED]

The winner is instagram usedr @tinkerellen!

I love learning new methods of sewing, techniques, and how to use different materials and tools and this project helped educate me in many ways. I sewed with knit fabric to make a garment for the first time, and I used elastic thread to create the shirring at the waist which was really fun! For a chance to win some Art Gallery knit fabric of your own, tell me your what you'd like to learn about sewing! Let me know in the comments section (here or on my instagram post about this giveaway) to enter to win 3 yards of Katarina Roccella's Morse Dot Blue in knit from her Imprints collection so you can make your own Staple Dress, courtesy of Art Gallery Fabrics.  Make sure you check out the Art Gallery Fabrics app (available for android and IOS) for ideas on what to make, too! Giveaway ends Thursday, October 1st at midnight; a winner will be selected randomly and announced here and on instagram on Friday morning. Anonymous comments will be disregarded so please make sure you include your email so I can contact you. The winner must respond within three days or an alternate will be chosen. Open to US residents.

This blog post is sponsored by Art Gallery Fabrics; all opinions are my own. Thanks also to Lorraine for sharing her time and knowledge of sewing, and to my husband Matt for taking these pictures!