Apple Jack Quilt #2 and Spiral Quilting Tips

I had a lot of fun quilting in a spiral again. I did a few things differently this time and it worked so much better! I'll start off with what I learned and then you can see the quilt in all its glory. ;) This quilt is on my Q2 FAL list (found here).

This is the first one I quilted. I went counterclockwise not thinking it was a big deal which way I went and I ended up with this near the end. All I could think was that it's a good thing this is a baby quilt!

Round 2 - CLOCKWISE!! Who knew it would make all the difference. This is in the middle of the quilt and it just kept getting better and better. It was SO SO much easier to feed the quilt through and even stay on a spiral.

What I didn't do but should have was to draw the spiral with a fabric marker and then trace and remove. Sadly, I don't have one of those but it's coming in the mail. What I DID do was switch over to my walking foot much sooner than the last one. Last time I went for a radius of about 6" before I changed over, this one was more like 2". I thought it would be hard to turn with the walking foot but it's really really easy. Switching earlier meant that my spiral looked a lot more uniform sooner - excellent!

So here it is - the Apple Jack Jelly Roll Jam quilt #2. I like how I separated out a lot of the blues and aquas for this quilt. I like the feel of it.

I also love the apple binding on this one. The corners are also much improved thanks to a guild class on binding. She told us when we're doing our fold-over for the corner (when first sewing the binding to the quilt) that you should extend past the quilt a tiny bit, 1/8" or less, and that will give you more fabric when you flip it over and make your corners look more like a right angle.

Just a fun artsy picture with the cute fabric. I really like taking them from this angle.

I also learned how to get an awesome picture of spiral quilting. Go to the second worst place for lighting in your house and give it a go. I was taking pictures and this storm came in but I didn't have a good shot of my quilting. I went inside and flopped in on the floor and was amazed at how the quilting was popping. So I grabbed a picture to share.

This quilt is available in my shop here. Anyway, I hope my tips helps someone. I was so afraid of spiral quilting and then I just went for it last week and I'm so glad I did. I just have to remember - CLOCKWISE! I'm linking up with Finish It Up Friday and TGIFF.

MQG Awesomeness and Progress

First off check it out...

I'm going to Quiltcon!!  I'm so excited I can't stand it. I also got all the classes I wanted too! I'm taking Drive By Color with AMH, the Catherdral Windows class, and Zig Zag Sampler Quilting with Krista Withers. I've never done anything like this and I can't wait.

Anyway, I may be freaking out about that a bit. In other news I've started my MQG fabric challenge quilt. I'm excited that my inspiration has finally come. But first, let's check in on my sweet girl! Miya, age 7, joined the Des Moines Modern Quilt Guild last week (!!!) and is excitedly working on her project for next month's meeting where the theme is Christmas in July.

She and I have both become a little more brave and she cut out all her own fabric this time. She wasn't even close to cutting off a finger and was pretty adorable with her tongue poking out the whole time. She said, "this takes muscle."

She painstakingly lined up each piece making sure it was perfect before cutting.

This is what she ended up with - a cute Christmas themed log cabin block.

The tongue also came out when she was lining up each piece. I'm amazed at her patience and accuracy.

She does really well and keeping it lined up with the 1/4" line. If she varies it's usually to small of a seam which is nice because she doesn't have to unpick, just go again.

I even got really brave and let her use the iron! I'm so proud of her. She has five more pieces before her pillow top is done then we'll have to show it off.

As far as my sewing goes I decided to get my rear in gear on my MQG Michael Miller challenge quilt. I'd been kicking around a few idea but not in love with any of them until this one popped into my head.

I'm putting together a quilt with some of my favorite star blocks that I've found. They're going to be randomly placed with a lot of negative space. There are ten total. These are the largest and are, of course, the Swoon block and the Star Surround.

I have my next two all cut and ready to go. These are going to be the Arizona star and the Green Mountain Star. There will be six more smaller stars to come.

 That's it for us this week. I'm linking up our WiPs over at Freshly Pieced.

Apple Jack Finish #1

I tried something new and I'm so proud of myself. I tend to let new skills scare me off so I don't even try them. However, I decided I wanted to try spiral quilting and went for it! It's crazy hard to photograph. I tried sun and shade with a little luck on the closeup. This is on my Q2FAL list (found here) Check it out...

So here it is. I used the Jelly Roll Jam pattern from The Fat Quarter Shop. I love how quick and easy this pattern in and it turns out the perfect size for a baby or child. The fabric is Apple Jack by Tim and Beck for Moda.

I love the variety of prints in this quilt. So many fun things to look at but not overwhelming. For the binding I chose the apple print. I like how the binding is just the right size to it show off.

I cannot tell you how much I adore the print on the back of this quilt. I may even like it better than the front. It's certainly interesting enough to make a whole-cloth quilt out of.

Here's a good shot of the spiral quilting. It took me a while but not as long as I expected. I only basted this one on Tuesday so not too bad. Like I said it was hard to capture but so fun to do! I think I learned a few things and want to try it a slightly different way on this quilt's twin. I'll let you know how it goes and if I have any tips and tricks.

I'm linking up with TGIFF, Finish It Up Friday, and Fabric Frenzy Friday.

WiP Wednesday: Ready To Quilt

I had a great week. I finished off my scrappy I-Spy quilt (see it here) and prepped three quilts for quilting. I did some fun shopping online and received my Supernova Friendship swap block. It's been a fun week and I'm excited to get quilting.

My sweet hubby took the kids to swimming lessons so I had over an hour to myself. I used it wisely! I spray basted these three quilts and got them ready for quilting. It was so fast that I also got some laundry and dishes in. Have I mentioned how much I love spray basting?

I got some really fun mail this week, some prints and precuts from April Showers by Bonnie and Camille and a fun charm pack of Serenade by Kate Spain. However, my favorite bit of mail was this bunch of Aurifil! The Fat Quarter Shop was having an amazing sale and I got these at just over $6 a spool, for the big ones! I tried Aurifil once, on someone else's machine, and can't wait to see how fabulous it is on mine.

Last but not least the fun blocks of the Supernova Friendship Swap. They are so cute together! This quilt is going to be so fun!

Thanks for stopping by! I'm linking up with WiP Wednesday.

Finishes: Mine and Hers

My daughter and I both have a finish to share this week! I finished my I-Spy scrappy quilt and she is sharing her pillow she finished a couple of weeks ago. I'm amazed at her FMQing skills. At seven she was so much more confident than I am it was so fun to watch. My I-Spy Scrappy quilt was #3 on my Q2FAL list (goal post here).

Let's start with mine...

It's a slightly odd shape rectangle but my friend really wanted it that way because she has an odd-shaped homemade crib. It finished out at 40.5" by 66" so not bad shape but a little long for the width from what I usually do.

Since the scrappy I-Spy fabric was pretty intense I kept the quilting really simple. I just did straight lines down the vertical seams using a zigzag stitch. I used grey thread and it blends in pretty well on the front while creating a interesting stripe on the back. 

I bound the quilt in the same Kona teal that's on the back side. As always I machine bound it with a zigzag stitch. I really like how this looks and keeps the binding thoroughly stuck down to the quilt.

This is just an artsy picture of the fabric. It was fun to make and use the scraps from my I-Spy quilt.

Now onto my daughters finish. This is a picture heavy bit because she's so adorable I can't stand it!!

Here she is basting it. We spray basted this and she did such a good job making it flat and keeping all the wrinkle out.

Look at my tiny professional! She's got such a great attitude about quilting too. I told her that it might not come out how she pictures in her head or perfect. She said, "Well, I don't draw perfectly and it's still cute so I'm not worried if I don't quilt perfectly." LOVE! I think it's a message we all need.

I couldn't resist this photo of her tongue sticking out. Instead of an allover type of design she opted to create little pictures with the machine. They turned out amazing!

This is her bunny. Isn't it cute?!

This one's a squirrel.

I love the little bird.

These are flowers but are kind of hard to see on the front...

So this is what it looks like on the back side.

She's so proud of her finish. I love it too! If you'd like to see the other post on this click here.

She chose the fabric and the placement all by herself. She did everything on this pillow except the cutting and ironing. It just scares me still to give her hot and sharp things. We're slowly working up to it.

She even made the envelope backing all by herself. I can't believe how good it looks and I'm so excited to have a sewing buddy.

I'm linking up these fun finishes with Fabric Frenzy Friday, TGIFF, and Finish It Up Friday.

WiP Wednesday: Holy Quilt Tops!

Oh my goodness I was a sewing MACHINE this week! I made my blocks for my Supernova Friendship Swap and got them mailed out this morning. I also completed five quilt tops, only one of which was started. I'm linking up with WiP Wednesday as I've sure added to my list. I'm also linking up to Fabric Tuesday because this is quilt the fun collection of fabrics. Check out the pictures below.

I am so in love with these!! I can't wait to see this quilt come together. I'm so happy to be paired with Izzy and loved the peek at hers this week.

I also had a little vacation this week and we went to Silver Dollar City in Branson, MO. Basically it's a theme park set around a cave and a late 1800s mining town. They had a quilt shop and I got this yardage of Good Fortune from Kate Spain and this fabulous fat quarter of Ruby by Bonnie and Camille, my favorite line ever!!

I have a lot of little kits I made to make quilts for my shop but I hadn't gotten around to them. This week I decided to just get them done! This was my first one: a Jelly Roll Jam quilt from the Apple Jack line.

I made another one too using the other half of the jelly roll. This one is more of the blues and aquas than the other.

I had a bunch of tiny scraps from my I-Spy quilt and decided to throw them together in a quilt. Well, I guess they're not tiny at 2.5" by 5" but they were too small to be charm squares. I like how it turned out even though it's a bit busy. I'm worried about the shape though. It's it too crazy long for the width? Should I take some off the bottom and make a zipper pouch or something with it?

I adore the Line Dance quilt pattern and can't believe that with one charm pack and a bit of yardage I can make this adorable quilt 41" by 49"!

Here's a closeup of the fabric on this one. It's Bluebird Park by Kate and Birdie for Moda. I love it! The colors and the prints are so fun!

I liked the quilt so much I made another one! This one is from the Chirp Chirp line for Moda.

It was a great week! Now I have promised myself I won't create anymore quilts until I baste and quilt at least half of these. We'll see how that goes.

Perfect Picnic Blog Hop

I jumped at the chance to be a part of this blog hop because I had a great idea for a picnic blanket that I couldn't wait to make and share! As part of the hop we were also to go on our "perfect" picnic and tell you all about it. It's going to be a fun hop!

Here's my picnic quilt with my basket. Aren't they fun?! The basket I borrowed from a friend who had around eight, all different sizes. It was so fun to go shopping in her basket collection. The blanket is made of I-Spy squares. There are four each of 81 different prints. It took me around eight months to collect them all because I was really specific about what I wanted. On each print is only one thing like pigs or ballet slippers not something like pigs, cows, and chicks. That way it would be easier to call out and find what we were looking for.

Here's my cute family at our picnic. There are seven of us. I'm the one taking the picture. We went to the school by our house that has a huge field and a fun playground. We had a great time running around and playing on the swings.

As far as the food the baby had her usual bottle. I think it's cute that you can see the picnic print in the background at her shoulder.

Here are the girls. The rest of us ate some PB&J, fruit snacks, rice crispy treats, and fun drinks like pop or juice.

The boys looks so handsome together. We sure had fun eating and talking together. Whenever the mood struck someone they would start back up the game of I-Spy calling out a color or a print they saw and everyone else tried to find it.

The baby got into the picnic scene too! She tried some PB&J and also got a tiny bit of a rice crispy treat.

I really like this picture. It's hard keeping everyone happy and fed and after we ate my hubby and I relaxed with the baby while the other four ran to the playground.

Ruby loves the I-Spy quilt! It's so fun for her to crawl around and check everything out.

This was also the day that Ruby turned ten-months old. We take pictures every time she reaches a new month and this picnic scene was perfect for our mini photo shoot. This was my favorite picture out of the bunch. My hubby was flat on the blanket and I held her up in the air.

To take her pictures we had the back side of the blanket up. It's just plain blue Kona Cotton. I'm not sure what color exactly. She decided she liked the print side better and we to flip it over and discovered the grass too.

After that the picnic basket and blanket were forgotten as we went to play at the park. We had so much fun!

We tried to teach my middle daughter tether ball. It was fun until she got too short to reach the ball. Then she was comically jumping every time it swung by.

Four on a tire swing is always a good time. Even when someone loses a flip flop.

The baby even got to try out the big kid swings with the help of Dad.

We loved the picnic so much we did it all again before we had to give back the borrowed basket. It was pretty perfect in my opinion. Everyone had fun, the food was good, and we took some great pictures. Who could ask for more?

Be sure to stop by the other bloggers on the hop...

Quilt Taffy

Pampered Pettit

Creatin' in the Sticks

Miss Priss Quilts

Life in the Scrapatch

That's Sew Julie - *You are here

This was also the first goal on my list for the 2014 Q2 FAL (goal post here).