Projects Archives - Page 110 of 213

Summer Weave quilt

June 17, 2013 jennifer Quilting and Sewing

A couple of months ago, while searching for a particular fabric print online, I stumbled upon images of a collection called Lilified by Kanvas Studios for Benartex. I’d never seen it before but liked the crisp colors. It was so summery and I was tempted by several prints but didn’t purchase any at the time. About a week later I went to a sample sale where I stumbled upon samples of every print in the collection which I quickly purchased for just a few dollars.

The collection comes in two colorways, a green/blue combination:

and a pink/orange colorway:

The line includes a few patterns that I think are great stash prints. The first are these awesome lattice-type prints which I particularly like in orange, pink and green/white:

These two were also favorites. The prints on the right would make awesome quilt backs, and the prints on the left belong in a low-volume quilt:

The samples came in all different sizes, the smallest being 8.5 x 5 inches. My favorite print came in this small size and I forgot to take a picture of it before I began cutting and sewing. It’s a little baptist fan type design in pink/white and blue/white.

I’m so pleased with myself for making something right away with these fabrics instead of letting them wait in line behind other projects. It’s fun to get something new and start sewing with it immediately! I knew I wanted to spotlight the larger scale fabrics, especially those with the medallions, but had mostly small pieces to work with. There was not enough fabric for fussy-cutting to center the patterns but I’m happy with how it turned out. I wanted something light, bright and summery for my little girls to play on in the yard this summer.

There was enough fabric left to piece some strips for the back. I paired it with some Joel Dewberry yardage I had on hand. I’m really working on making do with what I have and it feels good to use something up! I kept the quilting simple, using straight lines that echo the design of the quilt.

The Michael Miller clown stripe in black was the perfect binding for this quilt. It makes me smile. This is the second quilt I’ve bound in a black and white print this year and I’m fast becoming a fan. Once again, a machine stitched binding.

The “Summer Weave” quilt measures approximately 64 inches square. The design was my own making and I’m sure I’ll use it again, as it would be easy to adjust the size of the quilt by adding strips to the “weave.” I had some extra help in the form of young children when I was basting, and there are some spots that didn’t get pulled as tightly as I would like. I’m not worried about it, though, because it will just crinkle up when I wash it and we’ll love it even more.

Have a great day!
Jennifer

One comment fabric, quilting

Marcelle Medallion progress

May 29, 2013 jennifer Quilting and Sewing

I finally got my Liberty Love book back out and got working on my Marcelle Medallion quilt top. It hung for too long without me touching it, and I’m so happy to be working on it again!

Borders 4-6 are now finished, and as I suspected, none of them took long to complete. Isn’t it funny how many things we don’t start because in our heads it will take too long?

I like the Field Study poppies print for border number 6, and the citron as corner posts makes me smile. Actually, the whole thing is making me smile. Lots of color, and it sure feels good to be working on it again.

Only two more borders to go!

Jennifer Linking to Freshly Pieced

8 comments medallion, quilting

15 Days of Happiness :: Rearrange Something

May 28, 2013 jennifer Decorating, Musings on Life and Beauty

Today’s happiness task is closely related to my post about painting something.
Sometimes we get going and the beautiful things in our lives become part of the backdrop. We love and appreciate them, but because they blend into the landscape of our days we fail to really see them. When we no longer see them, their power to bring joy is diminished. We can do this both with people and with things, and when it happens it’s easy to start looking around at other people, other things, and think we need THOSE to be happy.

I caught myself being tempted to think this way recently when I saw this picture in the Wisteria catalog:

I love the bright blues against the white. The painting, rug, lamps and vase I particularly like, but I don’t really need any of them.

I do have a white living room that I love, so I decided to pull a few things from other places and see how it would turn out. This is what I did:

I moved a pillow from another room and placed my Water and Sky quilt over the arm of the couch.

I pulled vases from other rooms to make an arrangement I liked, then cut my first peonies of the year.

That was it, but it was enough. All of a sudden I had a splash of the color I wanted, and doing something different gave me new motivation and pride in having my house look nice. Sometimes that is just what I need to feel energized and willing to clean. Rearranging things makes me notice them again, and restores the pleasure I find in them as well. I didn’t need anything new; I just needed new eyes to see what I already had.

What will you rearrange today? A room? A shelf? Or will you do something far greater, like rearrange a schedule to restore a relationship to it’s proper priority in your life? Whatever it is, may it bring happiness!

Jennifer