Whales!


whale1

I wasn’t kidding yesterday when I said I’m loving the nautical trend, and that’s largely because it’s a style I’ve always loved.  I’m one of those girls who pretends that she lives by the sea even while surrounded by mountains.  I  like seeing the nautical trend reach farther than the coast because the coast is awfully far away from me!

whale2

Last year I purchased the book Seaside Home , compiled by Susanne Woods.  It is full of sewing and embroidery projects that are all inspired by the sea.  I used the beach crab pillow pattern to make this chevron Christmas pillow for my sister, so this isn’t my first project taken from it.

whale3

I used the Whale of a Pillow pattern to make these doorstops.  I stitched them on canvas material with DMC floss 311 (six strands) and backed them with a home decor weight nautical print I purchased forever ago.  I stuffed them with some batting and added what I had on hand to make them heavier – pea gravel, washed and dried.

whale4

Now there are five of them, all stitched with a different colored star, waiting for the first hint of cool breezes when summer begins to fade.  I’m excited to have something to prevent all the doors from blowing shut when we throw open the windows.  I must also say that these whales bring a smile to my face.  They are a quick stitching project and I’m making more for something we have coming up.

What do you think of the nautical fashion/decor trend?  Is it growing on you?

Jennifer

Anchor Quilt Top


anchorquilttop1

A few weeks ago I went on a search for a pattern to piece an anchor quilt block.  It seems that nautical style is really trendy right now and I’m liking the look.   Everything I found was an applique pattern which wasn’t what I wanted.  I sketched an anchor, did the math, and created my own pieced anchor quilt block.

anchorquiltblock1

Then I made 19 more, including one from Essex yarn died linen in black.

anchorquilttop2

I especially love that black block, the way it makes everything stand out.

anchorquilttop3

I’m giddy with excitement about this quilt top.  Each block is 14 inches square, so the entire thing measures approximately 56 inches across by 70 inches long.

anchorquilttop4

Lots of little seams.  A bit tedious, perhaps, but not difficult.  Tutorial coming soon!  In the meantime, I’m working on a backing!
*UPDATE:  Tutorial is finished!  You can find it here.
Jennifer Linking to Freshly Pieced

Marcelle Medallion Quilt


marcellequilt1

After many hours of quilting, worrying about quilting, unpicking, experimenting and making plenty of mistakes, my Marcelle Medallion quilt is completely finished and I love it.

marcellecenter

I used a different design on every section or border which was a huge stretch for my very limited free motion quilting skills.   Some of them I love and some I’m not thrilled with but it all works together well enough.

marcellequilting


marcellequiltback

I had already cut something else when I decided to make a large log cabin block for the backing.  For the most part it’s made of scraps from piecing the front.

marcellebinding

I struggled with the binding but as soon as I pulled out this black and white animal print (by Paula Prass for Michael Miller) there was no looking back.  I like the way it makes a statement at the edges.  It’s the third black and white binding I’ve used this year and I quite like them.

marcellequilt2

And so it’s finished!  Full of color and many favorite fabrics, I’m glad I completed this project.  It was worth every minute of time spent working on it.

Quilt Info:
measurement:  approximately 60 inches square fabric: variety from stash pattern: found in book Liberty Love by Alexia Abegg Thanks for visiting!

Jennifer

1 89 90 91 92 93 143