Libberty's Baby Quilt

I have many nieces and nephews.  On my husband's side there are nineteen grandchildren.  Eleven of those kids belong to my husband's oldest brother Tom.  When Tom's second daughter was born (child number eight) I made her a Winnie the Pooh baby blanket.  I had just barely made a wall hanging where I had used stippling to quilt the project.  So I decided I would try my hand at other free motion motifs to quilt this quilt.

 I quilted butterflies in purple thread and squiggle lines on the sashing of each quilt block.

Fabric Trends

After working the past few weeks for Michael Miller I am all tired out of hounds-tooth.  I found that Michael Miller is not the only company using hounds-tooth.  Riley Blake have also been posting projects using hounds-tooth on their Pinterest feed.  The skirt that I made, the tennis bag and quilt (that I just finished) were all hounds-tooth.  I never thought to see this print in cotton because normally it shows up in tweed.  My last two few days have been spent quilting a black and white quilt.

This is the first time that I have sewn an all over pattern and I have to say that the process was quicker that most of my quilting projects.

New Adventure

I have been given the chance to test my sewing skills.  A few weeks ago I was given the chance to make clothing for an upcoming add campaign.  Apparently hounds-tooth is quite popular right now because all of the fabric for the clothing we are making is that print.  The fabric for this skirt came from Michael Millers' Houndstooth and Friends midnite jems, available in May.

The tennis skirt that I made

I'm pretty proud of how the skirt turned out.  I made a few mistakes(i.e. hemmed using a blind stitch when the pattern called for a topstich), but I learned the most important thing I can do before I start a pattern is to read the instructions word for word.

Every Bit Helps

So I have two very active children who do a great job of making a mess of their room and are not so great when it comes to clean up.  My solution?  Make fabric baskets to help organize things.

Spiderman to help Bean find his socks in the morning before school

My littlest one keeps her My Little Ponies in this one.

Both were really easy to make and using stiff interfacing helps reinforce the sides of the basket.  I just need to find time in my busy schedule to make more of them!

My Constant Companion

Currently I own four pets (I say currently because that number changes so often).  The one pet that has been with me the longest is my cat Eliot (ten years).  Now this blog is about sewing.  Eliot just happens to love the quilting process as much as I do.

Eliot's cat tree is in my sewing room.  I know that is a major no, no, but it is the only room in the house where she is not constantly bothered by my kids or the dog.  Before Eliot took up residence in my sewing room she would spend her whole day and night in the basement (to avoid the kids and dog).  My long arm sewing machine is down there and more than once I found her using it as a kitty hammock.

Eliot taking a sunbath right in the middle of the section I am working on.

I must explain what I mean by Eliot is a fan of the quilting process.  She has a sixth sense when it comes to when I am pulling fabric out for a project.  She typically steals some my scraps and plays with them.  Any pile of fabric is a perfect place for a nap.  When I am laying out quilt blocks to prep for sewing them together she always has to investigate and take a nap in the middle of it.

For my Sister

My sister is an amazing seamstress.  The clothing that she has made for some of her clients have perfect seams and wonderful detail.  Last night at dinner she asked me if I knew any hexagon quilt patterns that did not require "y" seams (she had found some fabric that was honeycomb themed).  I was excited by her interest because my sister knows as much about quilting as I know about sewing clothes, the basics.

I am not saying knowing just the basics is bad.  We all have had to start from the beginning.  I was wondering when she would turn to the dark side bwahahahaha!

Hexagon quilts can be challenging because of the set-in, or "y" seams.  There are a lot of tutorials on how to sew set-in seams, but mastering this technique does require some trial and error.

Example of a set-in seam.

I have found three different hexagon patterns that do not require the dreaded set-in seam: Rosalie by Valori Wells, Merry-Go-Round Quilt by Sandy Klop and Easy Breezy Hexies by Sonja Callaghan.  The first quilt, Rosalie, combines hexagons and triangles to create rows that are easily sewn together.  The last two quilts uses rows of sewn fabric to create the illusion of hexagons sewn together. 

Available at Stitchin' Post (need to scroll down most of the page to find it)

Easy Breezy Hexies available at QuiltMaker.com

Merry-Go-Round Quilt available at American Jane Pattern's (scroll 2/3 down to find the pattern)

 

String Quilts

The quilt that I am currently working on for a client is a string quilt.  Essentially a string quilt is a quilt comprised of strips of cloth typically left over from other projects.  The fabric that I am using are scraps left over from three other quilts that I have made for the same client.  Below are examples of the type of string quilt that I am trying to make.

From allbuttonedup.typepad.com

Each quilt block is built upon squares of stabilizer fabric and four squares help make the four pointed star with diamonds on the sides.  Below is the layout before I start adding the strips.

Figuring out background layout.