wee woodland | a quilt for Frances

Matt's sister's friend is pregnant, due with a baby girl in December. I actually started working on this quilt for her when I found out she and her husband were trying to get pregnant a while back and picked it back up again recently so I could finish it in time for her shower this past Sunday.

All the fabric is Wee Woodland by Keiko for Moda... it has the most adorable little mushrooms, snails, and squirrels all over.

I used a charm pack for most of the quilt top and bought an extra yard of the teal stripey print to fill in the holes.

The backing is a yard of one of the white prints covered in multicolored ferns and mushrooms, plus more of the teal stripe, and I bound it in the stripe, too. What can I say? I love stripes of any stripe.

I quilted alongside the seams of each charm square on the front which gave the quilt a nice crinkly texture. I don't usually quilt so many lines but I knew it would look nicer that way. Most of the time I get lazy and try to quilt as little as possible. Does that make me a bad quilter? Probably.

A little handwritten label completed the project. I'm hoping to order some real labels soon! Just working out a few details and then I'll be the proud owner of some personalized ribbons :)

And I couldn't resist one last little gift to go along with the quilt - two onesies that I embellished with little pockets! They make me want to add pockets to everything. 

P.S. Speaking of babies, it's crazy for me to think that at this time two years ago I was a little over twelve hours away from meeting Ezra for the first time! Can't believe my little guy will be two years old tomorrow!

it's a plane! | a quilt for Will

Another quilt finish! I've been whipping them up lately. This one was for my friend Keri's son Will who is almost two months old now. His nursery, although a blank slate as of now, will be decorated with a vintage airplane theme in mind, so I picked up a US Navy commemorative fabric that I found on Etsy.

The pattern is a modified large log cabin block, and when I say modified I mean I calculated my measurements wrong and had to make it work. Oops! Math was never my best subject.

I chose graphic red and blue fabrics to complement the airplanes - some chevron, polka dot, and a weird red pattern that reads as a stripe that I think is Flea Market Fancy. When I came up short with the design I had sketched I decided to add some red, blue, and tan seersucker, too. I couldn't believe how soft the seersucker made the quilt - so much more cozy than regular quilting fabrics and absolutely perfect for a baby. I definitely plan on using more seersucker in my quilts.

The back is a simple patchwork using scraps from the front. I think almost all of my quilt backs end up being scrappy. It's always fun to deviate from the pattern on the top and come up with something completely unique while using up some of the scraps!

I quilted along either side of the seams of the log cabin squares to echo the pattern on the top of the quilt, so it looks pretty random on the back. 

Stripey bindings are one of my favorites, and this red seersucker didn't disappoint. Hopefully Will is as happy with his quilt as I am!

a quilt for a baby yet to be

My latest quilt was made with a special woman in mind. My friend Alex's sister Mikaela asked if I could make one for her friend who's been going through a difficult time and I readily agreed. 

Mikaela chose a few of the quilt designs I suggested and then I picked the easiest one because we were working with a small window of time. Once the design was decided Mikaela and I went to Joann to pick out the fabric. She picked out all the prints based on what she thought her friend would like and I helped her edit for color, pattern, and value. My favorite prints are the ones by Denyse Schmidt.

Oooh, and I just love the backing! 

I used a simple tutorial from Film in the Fridge as a guideline. It all came together in under a week from start to finish. 

Simple straight lines of quilting echo the lines of the quilt. There are two lines on either side of the seams where the blocks and stripes meet.  

The quilt is bound with a simple navy and white polka dot and I love how it pairs with the backing. In fact, I love it so much that I might just go back to Joann to pick up some of these fabrics for myself!

I hope that this quilt brings joy and comfort to the woman who it was made for. It was an honor to pray for her as I sewed and quilted, and I hope she feels the love that was put into every stitch. 

a quilt for Lumpy // geometric elephant blocks

Once again I find myself wanting to keep a quilt for Ezra instead of giving it away... I made this one for a baby boy who should be arriving some time next month. Stan and Karissa are decorating his room in grays, blues, and greens so I went through my stash (and my mom's, too - thanks, mom!) to see what I could pull together. I found a few pieces from Laurie Wisbrun's elephant collection and decided to use them as the centerpieces for the blocks. Some of the other fabrics include pieces from Heather Bailey's Nicey Jane collection, Anna Maria Horner's Garden Party collection, the Denyse Schmidt for collection for Joann, and of course lots of Kona solids. Here are some of my favorite fabric combinations...

This was actually the first time I made a quilt using blocks and sashing. I liked that it was like making nine mini quilts which I got play around with in creating the larger design. The backing is made up of Kona grass green and Kona coal along with a little label made of one of the stripey Laurie Wisbrun prints. The quilt is bound with a green-on-green sort of geometric print.

Like the quilt I made for for Ari, this quilt's label has a blank line on it for the baby's name which will be revealed after he makes his debut.

And... the usual stack of burpcloths that helped me use up some odd shaped remnants left over after making the quilt. I can't wait for the little man to arrive so I can see him all wrapped up in elephants!

 

square one

I started quilting after taking a course in batik at RISD's apparel and textile design department.  My mom and I took the course together and spent an afternoon carving stamps, printing our fabric with wax, washing it in dye, and then marveling at the gorgeous patterns and colors.  We ended up with lots of fabric and nothing to do with it because at that time neither my mom nor I were that into sewing.  I had made one skirt and my mom hadn't sewn anything since I was little.  We didn't want to waste the fabric though, so I asked my sewing teacher for ideas and right away she suggested I make a quilt.  It seemed like a good idea because then I would be able to preserve the fabric in a keepsake.  Off I went, cutting, sewing, stitch ripping, pulling my hair out... you quilters know how it goes.

I ended up having to buy a yard of two of fabric in order to fill out the quilt.  Any of the prints that have a white design are the fabrics dyed by me and my mom.  The multicolored fabrics were purchased at Just Fabrics, one of my favorite local fabric stores.

The quilt is backed in a large scale batik that Lorraine, my teacher, had just laying around.  She pulled it out as soon as she saw my fabrics, knowing it would be the perfect addition to my first quilt.  

I didn't know anything about labels then so I recently wrote my name and the season in the corner on the back for posterity.  

Not only did I not know about labels, but it seems I didn't really know about quilting.  This "quilt" is essentially a patchwork blanket.  I didn't do a lick of quilting. 

When Lorraine asked me if I wanted to bind the quilt I'm pretty sure I looked at her with an expression of shock and horror.  I just spent hours sewing the squares together and she was telling me I wasn't done yet?!  I had no idea what binding entailed and after Lorraine described it to me I declined, knowing I would have been in for hours more.  Instead of binding I stitched all around the edge with this fancy option my machine offers.  Pretty, but never again.  It took ages and miles worth of thread, and now I know that binding is a cinch when compared to all the other aspects of quilting.  

I'm so glad that Lorraine suggested I make a quilt with my batik fabrics.  Not only did it provide me with a way to showcase them, but I was introduced to quilting and now I'm hooked.  Lorraine, if you're reading, thanks!

a quilt for Jaclyn

A while ago my friend Jaclyn, a fellow sewer but not a fellow quilter, bought some fabric at Blaine's.  It's mostly mostly City Girl by Kitty Yoshida - chrysanthemum, large vine, peacock, squared bolts, and one mystery fabric.  Jaclyn intended to make a quilt but didn't get around to it so I offered to take the fabric off her hands like any good friend would.  No, I wasn't just trying to steal the fabric; I planned on making a quilt for her since she didn't do it herself.    

I added Kona bone for the sashing and grass green for the backing.  

The pattern I used can be found here. 

I finished it off with a little label that my mom picked up at Quilter's Stash.  It was a fun and easy quilt to make, although the strips seemed endless when I was running them through my machine.  Hopefully I did the fabric justice... I like to think so.