Projects Archives - Page 120 of 217

February Finish!

February 28, 2013 jennifer Quilting and Sewing

Early in the month I picked a February goal for A Lovely Year of Finishes , and I’m happy to report that it is finished. All I needed was a declaration to get me moving.

I actually finished it a couple of weeks ago, set it aside, and almost forgot about it. But it’s done!

Made with fabrics from both the Children at Play and Out to Sea collections by Sarah Jane, it’s a simple patchwork quilt. I quilted it in a zig zag stitch with my walking foot and I love the way looks so crinkly after being washed.

For the backing I tried something I’ve never done before. A lady in our modern quilt group often backs her quilts with soft throw blankets. I found one on clearance that I liked and decided to use it here. It’s a fun pattern that adds a lot of contrast to the softer prints on the quilt top.

For the binding I used a Kate Spain print which frames both front and back nicely.

And although this wasn’t my goal for February, I also mentioned in my post what I would have finished in January had I seen it a month earlier.

I’m happy to say that I finished it also! This quilt is the Little Man pattern from Camille Roskelley’s first book, Simplify. I added rows to make it bigger and it will be perfect for my six year old.

This quilt is also made using Sarah Jane’s fabrics from both collections, with the addition of the plaid print from Emily Herrick’s Going Coastal collection. I love the way the plaid looks with these fabrics.

All my children say the same thing, no matter what the quilt looks like. All they care about is the snuggly backing, so that’s what this is backed in.

I also used the plaid for the binding. (I wish I’d bought a bolt of that fabric. I think it’s my favorite plaid ever!)

So it’s done! There are now two finished quilts in my little stack, waiting for me to finish the other six so I can give them to the children all at once. It feels so good to finish projects that were set aside for whatever reason, and you just need a little push to wrap them up. I’m excited to do the same in March, which starts tomorrow. It’s crazy how fast this year is already moving.

Have a great day!
Jennifer linking here Note: I also discovered Diane Bohn’s blog, From Blank Pages, this week. She has designed some awesome alphabet quilt patterns. She is hosting a Week of Finishes party, so I’m linking there as well.

2 comments quilting

In the sewing room, no. 8

February 27, 2013 jennifer Quilting and Sewing

After feeling like I was working on too many things and getting nowhere, I’ve reached the point that projects are coming together.

My Scrappy Trip-Along quilt top is finished! I finished the last 12 blocks early Saturday morning. I love seeing it draped over my sewing chair.

All the bright colors bring a smile to my face. What a perfect project for winter!

After rifling through my cotton prints for a backing I liked and finding nothing, I went through my flannel fabrics and found these two prints, both with enough yardage to make a backing. Use it or lose it! Last night I sewed them together and now I need to find time to baste it. I’m really excited to finish this quilt.

My Scrappy Swoon quilt is also making me smile. It’s quilted and the binding is almost finished. It’s always a relief when you discover that you do like your quilt after doubting in the middle of the project.

Once these are finished I need to get going on some projects I started but haven’t touched in a few weeks, like these lonely little HST squares.

And of course I have a long list of new projects I’d like to start! It never ends, but that’s the fun of it! If only laundry was as exciting…

Happy sewing!
Jennifer Linking to Freshly Pieced.

One comment in the sewing room, quilting

Scrappy Swoon Quilt Along: quilting

February 25, 2013 jennifer Quilt Alongs

Welcome back everyone! It’s hard to believe we’re in the last two weeks of the Scrappy Swoon Quilt Along. I’ve been admiring everyone’s color choices for weeks, and there are a few finished quilt tops in the Flikr group, but I also know that there are some finishes out there and they’re beautiful! For those of us that aren’t done yet, let’s get started. Now that our quilt tops are finished and backings are pieced, it’s time to quilt!

On my first Scrappy Swoon quilt, I decided to keep the quilting very simple by quilting in a grid on every other row of squares. I quilted on both sides of the seam and am happy with the results. I felt like the quilt was so busy on it’s own with dozens of different fabrics in it that the quilting is hardly noticed.

On the Scrappy Swoon I’ve made for the quilt along, I was strongly tempted more than once to practice my free motion skills by quilting a different pattern on each color; one pattern for background, one for primary colored blocks, and one for the secondary colors. The more I looked at it, though, the less I wanted to draw attention away from the fabrics. Since I didn’t want to do the same thing on this quilt, I settled on using the quilting lines to outline the sections of the quilt and see if I could make the pattern stand out even more.

I started with the center star, outlining it on the inside of the star seams and went from there, working with each section to decide how I wanted to quilt it.

I ended up using a combination of approaches. Each section of color was outlined, and within many sections I also quilted in the ditch to stabilize the quilt but have the lines be as un- noticeable as possible.

In the corner background sections I ended up quilting a cross hatch pattern. I did this a little bit in the center star, as well.

And then it was done! I really enjoyed quilting this quilt because I made a lot of decisions along the way instead of having a set plan when I began. What I did was ultra simple, but I like it. The plan was to take a good picture outside, but as it was snowing most of the weekend with strong winds, I didn’t bother trying. I’ll share a better picture next week!