sunshine and stripes | a quilt for Zara

One of Matt's old friends moved into our neighborhood a few years ago and she and her husband just welcomed their third baby girl into their family. I wanted to make her a quilt so I used scraps of Yucatan fabric by Annie Brady for Moda using the quilt as you go method. I used a big piece of Carolyn Friedlander architextures, some Heather Ross kinder, and C+S stars on the back. I quilted some horizontal lines along the side seams to hold it all together and bound it in more architextures. We took it on our houseboat staycation to take a few pictures at the Fox Point Marina. As usual I had some pretty good quilt holders to help me out :)

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.

sloths + stripes | a quilt for jack

Our friends John and Rachel recently welcomed their third baby, a boy they named Jack. I made quilts for their older son and daughter, so of course Jack needed his own. I used the geometric blue print by Michael Miller as a starting point and added a solid turquoise, a small scale sky blue print, and the funny Cotton + Steel sloths. Since Rory was only a few weeks old when I started making this I kept it super simple with a bunch of wide horizontal stripes. Hopefully Jack isn't too picky!

I quilted it with free motion random loops and I'm pretty happy with how it came out. I still consider myself a novice when it comes to free motion - my stitch length consistency could definitely use some work, and I'd like for my motions to be more smooth, too. However, I think the wonkiness of the stitches complements the quirky sloths. 

For the back I used a large piece of C+S  alphabet fabric along with more sloths, the sky blue print from the front, and some blue on blue Kaffe polka dots that I love but have never gotten around to using. (Apparently my only photo of the back is blurry.)

I bound the quilt in these Cotton + Steels stars which are one of my new favorites. I bound Rory's quilt in them, too, though I haven't taken any decent photos of his yet. In case you were wondering, I took these photos on Benefit Street after the boys and I went to RISD Craft with my parents and brother. Thanks for being my quilt holder, mom! And thanks to my dad and brother for wrangling the boys across the street from this house that I deemed worthy of the mini photo session.

Jack, I hope your quilt keeps you warm and brings you comfort! It was made with love, and I prayed for you and your mom often as I stitched.

"Tzute" | a quilt for Nico

On Sunday my friend Courtney welcomed her third child into the world, a baby boy she and her husband named Nico. I worked on this quilt throughout both of our third pregnancies this summer and delivered it today. I don't usually give my quilts very creative names but I felt obligated to do so this time because I submitted it as my work for the Modern Quilt Guild challenge which was sponsored by Riley Blake this spring. I called it "Tzute" because I was inspired by the graphic, colorful designs of Guatemalan textiles. Throughout our pregnancies Courtney and I had been drooling over the bags made by Nena and Co., so when I was thinking of what kind of quilt to make for her babe I decided to try to evoke the bold feeling the bags often have. Courtney's favorite color is green and she and her husband didn't know what they were having at the time so I set the black and white prints against a background of vivid blues and greens. I quilted each solid color with coordinating thread using straight lines, and quilted the black and white fabrics with contrasting thread. The back is made up of leftover solids, as is the binding. I attempted to line up a blue section of the mostly green binding with the blue section of the back and I was off by an inch! You can see it in the bottom right corner of the photo below. Next time I'll get it right ;)

The name of the quilt is a twist on the traditional part of the Maya Indian's daily dress called a "tzute" which can be translated as "multipurpose" cloth. Quilts are also multipurpose in their ability to warm, comfort, and depict beauty. I hope this quilt keeps Nico warm, brings him comfort, and is an object of beauty in their home. Welcome to the world, sweet boy! We can't wait to watch you grow.

summer in New England | a quilt for Ella June

It's summer in New England and my cousin Carlye just had her first baby, a girl to whom she and her husband gave the adorable name Ella June. I wasn't able to get a quilt finished in time for her shower a couple months ago, but when they announced her arrival a couple days ago I got right to work! With my own due date literally three days away I knew I didn't have much time to work so I kept it super simple. 

Carlye, our other cousin Meghan (who was also pregnant at the time and has since given birth to her son Elijah - here's the quilt I made for him), and I had brunch together a while back and Carlye mentioned she bought a pink anchor (I think it was an anchor? It was definitely something nautical, I know that...) to decorate the nursery so I went with that and pulled fabrics from my stash - some pink and navy sailboats by Sarah Jane, yellow and white stripes, florals on stripes by Katarina Roccella, and a pink herringbone print by Cloud 9. I sewed them up quick and then chose a bright yellow print from Dashwood Studio for the back, full of smiling suns and perfect for a summer baby.

I quilted it with a simple wave design (probably my most used quilting design as it fits the nautical themed quilts that are so popular among my friends and family and probably everyone else who lives in Rhode Island and New England) and bound it with more of the pink herringbone.

I brought it along to the Shack at Dutch Harbor in Jamestown where we had the yummiest tacos and burritos on Thursday night. Then Matt and our friend Rachel went cliff jumping at Fort Wetherill and I was super jealous... when I'm not forty weeks pregnant I'm definitely going! Here's a video he captured with his drone of Rachel and some other people who were at the cliffs...

Succulent Star | a quilt for Amanda

I made this quilt as a gift for my sister-in-law. For as long as I've known her she's had tons of house plants... she's one of those people who loved succulents before succulents were cool. I had been wanting to make her a quilt for a few years but didn't feel inspired. When Heather Givans debuted her Succulents collection for Windham I knew it would be perfect for her. To me, the succulents symbolize new life and growth, two things that I hope will be realized in my sister-in-law's life. I chose this simple giant star pattern because I wanted it to be a quick sew! The hardest part was choosing which fabrics should go where, but I'm actually pretty happy with my use of value.

The back actually took me longer to piece because, as usual, I tried to use up most of my scraps from the front. I ended up needing to buy a bit more fabric and decided to go with the versatile crosshatch print from Carolyn Friedlander's Architextures collection. I bought it two separate times because I needed more than I initially realized (quilt math is not my strong suit), and I'm not sure if I bought two different colors or if the print would be that different from two different bolts. Does anyone else see the color variation in the bottom left compared to the top left and bottom right? Just curious...

I used my aunt's long arm machine to quilt wonky spirals in horizontal rows across the whole quilt. Long arming is so quick compared to quilting on a domestic machine! I'm spoiled now and will always want to use my aunt's machine to quilt larger quilts, I know it. The quilt is bound with C+S sprinkles on black which I LOVE and will definitely use as binding again. From what I understand, the quilt is well loved by my sister-in-law and by her cat, so I'm calling it a success!

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!

sand and salt water | a quilt for Elijah

I made this quilt for my cousin Meghan's brand new baby boy Elijah Crosby (he and I share our middle name! It's my and Meghan's moms' maiden name) and I was inspired by the beach when I was making it so it made perfect sense to take photos of it when we were in Newport for the week last month. I actually quilted and bound the quilt using my mom's machine which she brought on our vacation and was kind enough to let me use while we were staying at the resort. I hurried to get it done so we could take the photos while we were there. Like typical Rhode Islanders, we don't like to drive too far when we don't have to, so I knew it would be tough convincing Matt to head back to Newport just for quilt pictures when we had just stayed there. Thankfully, my mom was willing to sacrifice a bunch of time at her machine so I could get it finished. Thanks, Mom!

I chose lots of gray, blue, and yellow fabrics that reminded me of a cloudy day at the beach. There are also some cats and elephants because Meghan likes them :) The pattern is called Color Weave and it's a free download from Moda Bake Shop. The pattern on the website uses solids and white so the look is quite different, but I still think the effect of mine is a nice one. 

The back is a large piece from Sarah Watson's Indian Summer collection manufactured by Art Gallery. I love Art Gallery quilting cotton because it's so soft and silky, always a dream to sew. I added a strip of scraps in the center for interest and also because I wanted to include more anchors and elephants! I quilted it across the rows using a small wave design which I've done before a couple times, in this quilt, this quilt, and part of this quilt. The binding is a scrappy one, made from pieces leftover from the top including some Indian Summer prints, Joel Dewberry's woodgrain pattern, and Denyse Schmidt's versatile Hope Valley.

My aunt brought the quilt to Boston last week where Meghan and her husband Bill live and I've already heard from Meghan that they love it which is always nice to hear! Oh, and I have to add that Matt took the pictures at the International Yacht Restoration School on Thames Street which is just a couple blocks down the street from where we always stay in Newport. I knew they usually have a collection of old Beetle Cats (the type of boat the students restore) out back and I thought they would make a great backdrop for the quilt. Finn snuck into a photo or two so you can see his little legs and hands with mine :) 

pink kitten modern bento box | a quilt for Rose

I made this quilt for the first daughter of our friends Dawn and Andrew. They have a cat and are decorating the baby's room with pink and gray, so I used lots of kitty fabrics (thankful for Heather Ross for making so many great cat prints!) and shades of pink and gray. I added some yellow for interest. I used this tutorial from Ashley of Film in the Fridge to make the blocks and they came together surprisingly quickly. I enjoyed putting together lots of different fabric combinations. Scrappy quilts are always my favorite! I quilted it using simple straight lines on either side of all the seams to create a grid type pattern.

For the backing I pulled lots of fabric scraps from my stash and pieced together some rows until it was big enough. The binding is made up of scraps from the top and back which adds to the craziness of the quilt... I didn't mean for it to be so bright and bold, but I do like how it turned out. I hope baby Rosie does, too!

linen and little red riding hood | a quilt for Charlotte

I made this quilt for the second daughter of our friends, Tom and Beth. They have an older daughter who's a few months younger than Finn and I made her a quilt, too, but after giving it to them I decided it wasn't really "them" so I was happy to have the chance to redeem myself, haha... These are the kinds of things quilters think about as their work evolves, I guess. Anyway, my mom had given me some strips of a leftover jelly roll that she didn't want anymore from Aneela Hoey's line A Walk in the Woods. I decided to use it to make a jelly roll race quilt even though I knew it wouldn't be big enough, and I would figure out what to do with it after. I ended up adding some Essex linen in natural to enlarge the top, and I used some gray and white polka dot to back it along with a section of the jelly roll strips.

I quilted it in rows of figure eights until the last row when I got ambitious and quilted some words. Tom and Beth are Christians (they're friends of ours from church) so I knew they would appreciate the addition of some scripture.

It's kind of difficult to see, but the last row of quilting spells out, "Children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward," which is Psalm 127:3.

I bound it with a piece of binding leftover from another quilt (though I can't remember which one), some of the polka dot, and a light pink strip from the jelly roll. I love scrappy bindings almost as much as I love stripey bindings! I hope this quilt reminds Charlotte the she is loved very much by her both her family and her Father in Heaven!

double the plus | a quilt for Bryce

I'm playing catch up once again here on the ol' blog... I made this quilt lickety split in just a couple days to get it done in time for a baby shower I was cohosting. Our good friends Matt and Kayla are expecting their first baby in February and when my instagram friend Emily put out a call for pattern testers I knew it would make a perfect baby quilt for him. The pattern is called Double the Plus and would be great for an experienced beginner! Emily's cutting instructions are clear and easy to follow, and the quilt comes together really quickly, even if you're not hustling like I was! Make sure you check out the #doubletheplus hashtag for more classic examples of the pattern as mine is a bit unorthodox... I've put myself on a fabric diet and went for a very scrappy look with this quilt! In fact, you can only just barely make out the plus signs, but I like the effect. I used a combination of Tokyo Train Ride by Sarah Watts for Cotton + Steel to make the plus signs and I used various Kona solids for the background.

Since I had a looming deadline I decided not to make the quilt double sided and instead used another Cotton + Steel print, Mesa by Alexia Abegg, for the backing. The binding is more C+S, some scraps of Cookie Book and another print I can't remember the name of for the life of me.

Finn wanted to sit on the quilt in the worst way so once Matt was done taking the couple of pictures I wanted I laid it down on the grass for him. I hope Bryce likes his quilt as much as Finn did! I think he was sad to see it go :)

little state love | a quilt for Jess & Chad

Back to blogging again... I just can't seem to stay consistent here! Honestly, I just prefer to spend my time at my sewing machine rather than at the computer, but I do like to keep track of all my quilts here so I'll continue on regardless of how sporadic my posts are. So, the quilt! I made this one for friends of ours, Jess and Chad, who just got married earlier this month. Jess used to be one of the lead photographers for Blueflash but this season was her last because she's living back in Michigan, her home state, now. If it weren't for Chad anchoring here there I would venture to say that Jess would still be living in Little Rhody, in Newport, her home away from home, so I made them a Rhode Island quilt. I have to say that it didn't come out exactly as I planned, but I still really like it. I like it so much that I think I'll make another one, and I hardly ever do that. I drew out a map of RI on grid paper to get the shape right and then I determined how many squares or "pixels" I would need for the land and water. (And just in case this is confusing any non-locals, no, Rhode Island is not actually an island!) I decided to use shades of gray for the land and shades of blue for the water, and after two separate trips to Joann and two orders from Fat Quarter Shop I still didn't really have the exact colors I wanted, but I pressed onward anyway. I was running out of time and didn't want to keep spending money on solids I didn't want and probably wouldn't use later. Next time I'll make sure the land and water have more value contrast so they don't blend together so much. I tried to make them more distinct with the quilting, but you can't really see it in the photos. The water has waves quilted in each strip, and the shape of Rhode Island is quilted with what turned out to be concentric rectangles, kind of... I outlined the shape and then continued to echo it until I reached the approximate center. There are over thirty islands that are part of Rhode Island, and I added the most important ones - Aquidneck Island, where Jess lived when she was a Rhode Island resident, Conanicut Island, where one of her favorite spots (Beavertail) is, and Block Island, where she and Chad got engaged. They got the concentric rectangle/square quilting treatment, too.  

Since I wasn't absolutely thrilled with how the front came out and I wasn't even sure it was recognizable as Rhode Island (in fact, I don't think it is. I think it only looks like Rhode Island if you know what Rhode Island looks like and if I point out that it is supposed to look like Rhode Island. Alas.), I wanted to make sure that Jess liked the back for sure. That way if she thought the front was hideous and didn't make any sense then they could just turn it over and forget it exists and use the back exclusively. So I picked out four or five prints that I liked that would coordinate with the front in some way and sent them to Jess, telling her I was working on a project and wanted to know her favorite of the bunch. As I sent the email I wondered if she suspected what I was making... she had asked once, half joking, I think, if I would make her and Chad a quilt and I said no, explaining how I don't make large quilts because my attention span is too short and I enjoy smaller projects better. Then, tragically, Jess's sister passed away just before she was to return to Rhode Island to shoot weddings for the 2015 season. It was then that I decided I had to make her one. Anyway, out of the handful of options I sent to Jess, she picked this print by Katarina Roccella from her Skopelos line, and I think it's the perfect complement to the front. I love the bright floral against the blue and white stripes. I think that they're very Newport - the stripes give it a nautical feel and the flowers add some drama and glam, much like the City by the Sea.

I have to share a little mishap I had when quilting, just because I don't want to forget - I was almost finished quilting and only had some interior sections to complete so I decided I was going to attach the binding and then finish quilting. I was tired of quilting and needed a break, and I thought binding would make me feel closer to the finish line, so I used my clover clips to attach the binding to the edges. Then I realized I would have to change my thread (I was using Sulky to quilt and wanted to switch back to my usual Gutterman for the binding), so I decided to just go ahead and finish the quilting. About an hour went by and I was almost done, just had maybe twelve to eighteen inches left of quilting when I realized that it felt kind of bulky around the needle. I lifted up the quilt to check underneath it and was horrified to realize that I had quilted the loose binding tails to the back in several places! Ughhhhh! I was so mad at myself. I could not believe that I had to pick out so much quilting when I was so close to finishing. I spent the next thirty minutes sitting on the floor with the quilt and my stitch ripper, undoing most of what I had spent the past hour doing! All the while sighing and shaking my head. Thankfully, it was smooth sailing (ha! Unintentional Newport pun!) from then on, and I finished quilting and binding without any more issues. I won't be prematurely attaching binding with clover clips to my quilts anymore, I can tell you that.

Anyway, we took these photos in Newport when we were there for a shoot just before Matt left for the wedding. Ezra, Finn, and I like to tag along sometimes, if we can find a playground nearby and especially if we can score dinner or lunch somewhere close. This time we went with Matt to shoot a couple properties (he does commercial work, too, not just weddings) in Portsmouth, ate the best burgers and dogs in Rhode Island at Mission (if you're on the island, go! It's a must), and then took a few quick shots at Perrotti Park on America's Cup Ave.

Matt flew to Michigan to shoot the wedding over Labor Day weekend and since I couldn't attend I sent the quilt along in his backpack which, other than his gear case, was his only piece of luggage. I insisted he bring it so he could hand deliver it and we weren't sure it would fit but he made it work. I'm pretty sure he wore the same thing all weekend! A few days after the wedding Jess sent me a picture of her and Chad snuggled up under their new quilt! It's always nice to see my quilts in use, and I'm glad it made it safely from Rhode Island to their new home in Michigan. Cheers, Jess and Chad! We miss you here in Little Rhody.

put a bow on it | a quilt for Norah

I made another quilt from start to finish in less than a week, immediately after giving the pinwheel quilt to Sage. I told Matt that I feel like a machine lately, and I don't know if that's a good thing or not. On one hand, I like being productive and prolific, but on the other hand I've found that I'm working so quickly lately that some of the enjoyment is lost. I've been trying to meet self-imposed deadlines (baby's birthdays, mostly) but I haven't been getting any quilts done "on time" anyway. I think it's time to slow down a bit, so I can concentrate on my work and the process rather than the end result. Anyway, this quilt is for yet another baby, the daughter of our friends John and Rachel. I made a quilt for their first child, Elliott, who was born just a couple months after Finn, and they loved it and appreciated it so much that I started planning one for their second child pretty much the moment I found out Rachel was pregnant. Originally I planned on making a giant saw tooth star block, but I've wanted to make a bow quilt since I saw this one from Piece at Last and to be honest, I felt like I needed to make something quick after the pinwheel quilt. Plus I have a few other designs in process and in my mind that I need to get working on, so this simple design was a great fit for this project. The original design can be found in The It's Okay If You Sit On My Quilt Book, but I just sketched out the bow and figured out how many squares and half square triangles I needed. I'm curious, what are your thoughts on making a quilt like that? I copied the design of another quilter though I didn't buy her book. I'm not profiting off of this quilt in any way though, so I think it's okay. Just wondering how others feel about this issue. It tends to come up a lot in conversations about handmade goods. 

Back to the quilt! I've had the fabric picked out for this quilt ever since I knew Rachel was having a girl. Rachel told me the baby's room would probably be decorated in coral and gold tones, and I know that Rachel appreciates vintage grandma style so I selected another of my quilter's quarters bundles by Denyse Schmidt for Joann. I was lucky to have been given one by my mom (she's nice like that) and I purchased a second one when I found it at Joann unwrapped and therefore discounted! And I confess to purchasing a third bundle on etsy as I was working on this quilt because I realized how much I really like these fabrics, though they aren't my usual style, and I didn't want to be without them. I didn't intend on making a scrappy background, but I decided against using solid white because I had some low volume fat quarters that coordinated with the Denyse Schmidt prints nicely and I'm trying to sew my stash this year. After the bow and background were pieced I decided to add a patchwork border because the quilt was going to finish on the small side, only 35" square, so I dug into my stash to find some more low volume prints. I don't have that many so there are a bunch of repeats and I think they kind of distract from the bow but I still like the way the quilt came out. The little animal faces print redeems the border for me, though you can't see them in the photos, I don't think. For the back I used a large cut of a sweet and subtle polka dot and ladybug print along with another DS print, and the binding is scrappy ladybug and DS, too. I had a lot of fun quilting this one. I attempted some more free motion and tried my hand at a large orange peel design. I did three rows freehand and then realized I did one section facing the wrong direction which was really annoying, but I tend to just go with my mistakes and wasn't going to fix it. Then my mom came over and I pointed it out and she said two things - 1. I should mark the quilting lines so the orange peels look better (subtext: your quilting looks terrible. Thanks, Mom! ), and 2. Did I want her to rip out the stitches that were going the wrong way? I sighed and then accepted her offer, and I did mark the rest of my lines and the quilting started looking much better. In fact, the original row of quilting looks terrible in comparison to the rest. Sorry, Norah! Mother does know best ;)

I tried to think of somewhere vintage-y to take pictures and I thought of this old church near our house, so the next time we went out I asked Matt to bring his camera and we stopped on the way home from Lowes one day last week. The front door is really pretty and the side of the building has old fashioned white wooden siding with stained glass windows, but as you can see, he only took two pictures because Ezra was yelling from inside the car (which was less than ten feet away from where I was standing on the steps) that he wanted to get out, again. Needless to say, we wrapped up the shoot pretty quickly. Next time I think I'll pick a quilt photo shoot location that's not on a main road or near water so we don't have to worry about the boys :) 

I'm going to quote a fellow quilter, Astrid, again today - "The problem with making stuff for other people is that one day you actually have to say goodbye to these things you've poured a whole lot of yourself into. Things you've fallen a bit in love with, in the process. But that's the point, right? To pour out, over and over, in order to make space for new inspiration. To share the bits of ourselves that perhaps others are in need of. And if it doesn't hurt a bit to give it up, maybe there wasn't enough of us in it." Norah, I hope this quilt keeps you warm and brings you comfort! My love and prayers for you are stitched right into it. 

spinning pinwheels | a quilt for Sage

Yesterday I delivered another baby quilt, this one to the new daughter of a dear friend. I'm really happy with the way it came out for so many different reasons. Just ask Matt - he was sitting nearby when I was trimming threads and I kept bragging on myself :)

When I asked Ari if she had any ideas for what kind of quilt she might like for the baby she suggested a pinwheel quilt and gave me a stack of fabrics from a quilt she had started for her older daughter. I admit that inwardly I was dreading it a little bit because I don't love working with half square triangles. I don't like trimming them and I always lose too many points, but I was up for the challenge and grateful for the chance to improve my skills.

I went fabric shopping in my stash for some coordinating prints and I bought yardage of firefly from Bonnie Christine's line, Hello Bear, which I love. The rest of the fabrics are a mix of lots of pretty colors and prints - some of Heather Bailey's True Colors, Winged by Bonnie Christine, a random polka dot, some Cotton + Steel, one by Lotta Jansdotter, and I think the cute little ducks are by Tasha Noel. Even the back is beautiful - one big piece of Heather Ross's unicorns and some of her double gauze snails from Far Far Away along with some polka dots and a solid lavender.

I was inspired by this quilt by Allison of Cluck Cluck Sew to add the polka dots instead of using plain white for the pinwheels. I've had it pinned to my quilt board on pinterest (you can follow me here, if you'd like!) since she posted it about a year ago, and I would have loved to be able to make the black and white low volume sections scrappy, but I don't have a very big scrap stash so I went with the firefly print instead. I love the contrast the creamy white provides for the bright and bold prints. I used this Missouri Quilt Co. tutorial to make the HSTs which made them go pretty quickly, although I confess I didn't use starch and they still turned out alright.

I mentioned earlier that I was happy with how this quilt turned out for many different reasons, so let me tell you about them all :) First of all, I love all the prints and colors and gleefully exclaimed over them as I was cutting and piecing. My points are all soooo good, which never happens for me. I admit that I tend to rush and that leads to inaccurate seam allowances but I really took my time with this one and it paid off. I sound like a rookie; you'd never think I've been quilting for about seven years.

I also learned how to spin my seams to make them lie flatter. I've made one other quilt with all half square triangles and I felt terrible for my nephew who received it because the centers are so bulky and I just couldn't imagine his tiny baby self comfortably lying on it, but I didn't know any better. This time I thought to myself that there must be a better way so I looked it up and sure enough there was. It added another step to the process but I didn't mind because it was totally worth it.

I haven't done a lot of free motion quilting, just some simple loop and wave designs that were large and loose, but I decided to really go for it with this one. Since it's a pinwheel quilt I wanted to make the quilting look like wind but I'm not sure I achieved that. I quilted uneven kind of long swirls but they ended up looking just like swirls and not like wind. But I like them anyway and it made the quilt crinkle up perfectly. This was the first time I quilted an all over design this densely and I'm excited to work on my free motion quilting skills more soon.

Now on to the binding. Ever since I first saw this print by Sarah Watts from her first collection for Cotton + Steel I've wanted to use it as a binding and this quilt was the perfect one for it. The colors were all just right and I love the way it almost looks like a stripe. I can't remember if I've written about my labels before, but I love them! I think I've used them on probably less than ten quilts and there are a couple things I'd change about them (they're a tiny bit too small and I sometimes think about coming up with a name other than Tara Celeste Quilts) but I love them and am so glad I have them. They're printed by inked papers with a design I created on paper and Matt translated to the computer. Next time I'll have to get a picture of the reverse side which features a cute heart and an outline of Rhode Island :)

As you can see, Finn broke the quilt in a bit before we brought it over to the new baby. He and Ezra make it impossible to get the kind of quilt pictures I have in mind, but I think the way they came out is kind of perfect. Sure, the quilt is billowing like a sail (why do I always think it's a good idea to take pictures near the water?) and there are children grabbing at it and rolling around in it, but I love that we got a few cute candids of the boys out of my quilt shoot. As always, thanks to Matt for being willing to take some photos on his time off! He doesn't have much of it so I always appreciate that he doesn't mind taking out his camera and then editing some pictures for me. It's always nice to have a little family outing during the week since Matt is so busy on the weekends. On this day we tagged along on a commercial shoot he was doing for a realtor and then we had a picnic lunch from the Beehive Cafe (the roasted chickpeas!) at Independence Park in Bristol. If I could live in Bristol and never have to leave I think life would be great. It's so adorable there.

Anyway, I hope this quilt brings much comfort and warmth to sweet baby Sage. I've been thinking a lot lately about what a quilt can be because I really love making them and hope they're as special to the recipients as they are to me. A quilt can be something you snuggle under, something that keeps you warm, something that dries your tears. It can become part of a fort or be a picnic blanket. It might be used as a photo prop, or just be in lots of family photos by accident because it's a fixture in your home. A quilt can be woven into your childhood memories because of all the ways you can use it, and I do hope my quilts get used. A fellow quilter who I know on instagram, Astrid, writes a lot about quilts and their importance, and I'd like to quote a recent post of hers: "A friend asked me recently, "How do you want people to use your quilts?" and it took me by surprise, because I'd never thought of an answer beyond "however you want." But really, I want them to get worn out. Lived in. Lived on. Lived under. I want them to be dirty from picnics outside, and stained from orange juice spills, and for the colours to fade and the patterns to wear off. I want them to be handed back, in tatters, for fixing. I want them to grow threadbare from a hundred little feet trampling on them." 

Suffice it to say, a lot of love and prayers went into this quilt and I hope it is well loved :)