Penguin Pillow Finish

My brother recently reminded me of his love for penguins. Since I'll be staying in his house for several days just before his 35th birthday I decided to whip him up this adorable penguin pillow. This is #2 on my Q3 FAL list.

Here's the first one I finished. It was LOVE! I mean seriously?! Penguins are one of my favorite animals too and this pattern is so adorable! It is Penguin Parade by Sugaridoo.

All finished complete and adorable with the pillow inserted. I super love this one and I had so much fun going through my stash picking out the perfect blacks and low volumes I know my brother will love.

This fat quarter from Cotton + Steel's latest Black and White line made the perfect backing fabric. I also poked on a little tag.

Here it is again without the pillow insert. You can see all the penguins and prints better this way. Each penguin got a different belly, black, and orange print but they all shared the same background so they stood out well. This one is going to be hard to give up but it was relatively painless so I'll just have to make another one for myself.

A closeup of the penguins. I had fun quilting this one with my favorite paisley motif again in Aurifil 50wt. I love how it blends so well but adds such awesome texture that doesn't overwhelm.

Quilt Stats:
Pattern - Penguin Parade by Sugaridoo
Fabric - Mixed designers stash with a lot fabric by Cotton + Steel and Carolyn Friedlander.
Thread - Pieced and quilted Aurifil 50wt
Quilting - paisley on my domestic Juki.
Size - Pillow 17" square
Stash Report - Project is 100% stash!

That's me for the week. Thanks for stopping by! I hope to have another project ready to share next week too. I'm working on a few fun things I'm really excited about. Until then I'm linking up with Finish It Up Friday.

Nativity Mini Quilt Finish

My Mom is turning sixty this year. To celebrate my whole family is getting together for a reunion. We haven't all been together in so long I'm really excited. My Mom collects nativities and has been asking me for a quilt nativity for a while and this seemed like a great time to whip one up for her. I super love this project! This is also my first finish from my Q3 FAL list.

Let me start by saying how this pattern was a bit out of my comfort zone. I adore paper piecing and do it often but have never attempted something so tiny! As it turns out it's not any harder than the bigger pieces. In fact it may be easier because you don't have to worry if your scrap is large enough to cover the area. Side note, I deliberately skipped piece five. It didn't really need it and I only had one good skin color on hand.

See how amazing this is!! I can't stand it I love it so much. The pattern is O Holy Night by Paper Panache. I did this all from stash and am so happy with how my pull turned out.

Here's a bit more of a zoomed in shot. While some of the pieces were small it went together really well. I started this project not knowing if I would finish in time to leave for the reunion as I only had a week. As it turns out this took me three days start to finish. My kids and house got pretty ignored but I think it was worth it.

I really love the quilting on this one. I did my favorite paisley again with Aurifil 50wt as always. I was worried that it might not blend well on the front but it totally blends and pops just like I'd hoped. This is the back and it looks so amazing!

One final shot of the tag, the binding, and a closeup of the quilting. I did my usual zigzag binding and love this tag with room for specifics.

Quilt Stats:
Pattern - O Holy Night by Paper Panache
Fabric - Mixed designers stash with fabric by Cotton + Steel for the back and binding.
Thread - Pieced and quilted Aurifil 50wt
Quilting - Free motion paisley on my domestic Juki.
Size - Wall about 16" by 17"
Stash Report - Project is 100% stash!

That's me for the week. Thanks for stopping by! I have another project ready to share next week too which I'm really excited about. Until then I'm linking up with Finish It Up Friday.

Nora Quilt Finish

Almost a month ago my good friend from college, Lindsey, contacted me and asked me to make a quilt for her littlest munchkin. Nora just turned four months old and is the fourth of her four kids. Lindsey said her baby needed a quilt, something that was made just for her. As a mom of five, and the youngest of five myself, I know how good it feels to have something special for everyone. I was excited to make this quilt for her little Nora.

Lindsey said she wanted it all in teals and purples. After we went back and forth a bit on a pull we settled with these prints all done scrappy.

Here's another angle. I really love the variety of prints in this one! This whole quilt came from my stash. I really didn't think I had that much stash but it amazed me what I came up with. It makes me want to make even more things!

I think I had the most fun with the name. I used double-sided fusible interfacing and then a tight zigzag around the edges. The quilting was fun on this quilt too! I did pebbles on the white strip around the name and then 1/8" from the seams everywhere else all in my favorite Aurifil 50wt thread.

I did my usual zigzag stitch on the binding and a tag from my yardage by Sweetwater for Moda. I am so happy with how this one turned out and so glad my friend Lindsey involved me in creating this quilt for her daughter.

Quilt Stats:
Pattern - Simple patchwork done with 3.5" squares and a strip with name applique.
Fabric - Mixed designers stash with fabric by Kate Spain for Moda for the back and binding.
Thread - Pieced and quilted Aurifil 50wt
Quilting - pebbles in the white strip and 1/8" straight lines on either side of the seams done on my domestic Juki.
Size - Baby 30" by 36"
Stash Report - Project is 100% stash!

That's me for the week. Thanks for stopping by! I have another project ready to share next week too which I'm really excited about. Until then I'm linking up with Finish It Up Friday.

Circuit Quilt Finish

Years ago, three to be exact, I made each of my kids a twin-size quilt for their beds. I love the idea of them sleeping under handmade. They were still little then and I had less than 50 quilts under my belt. Being kids I knew there would be accidents of the sort that needed a bedding backup. I then set out to make them each a second quilt. The girls and my youngest son had some opinions on color and pattern but my eldest had no idea. This went on for years! Then a few months ago he found what he wanted. I put it on my Q2 FAL list and now have finally made his second twin quilt.

Here it is! I love it! This is the Circuit quilt pattern from Fat Quarter Style. I was flicking though the book and we saw it and Spencer fell in love with it. He got all jazzed and started talking about how cool it would be with Alison Glass and a low volume background. I thought to myself, I'm raising that boy right!

Some of the prints didn't offer as high a contrast as I was hoping they would but I still think it looks great and the pattern shows through nicely.

This one is super long so if he takes after his 6'6" dad, who's straining to hold the quilt here, he'll be more than covered - see what I did there?

You can see the quilting well here. He wanted me to repeat a design I did on my other boy's quilt. It's sort of a meandering square. It went well enough after I gave up the goal of computerized machine perfection. The backing fabric was a done deal long before we found a pattern. He knew he had a quilt coming to him and literally gasped when he saw this print in the store. It is from the Flyboy line for Windham Fabrics. I bought a little over four yards, what I usually use for a twin backing. It was a bit short in the end but I made do.

Part of making do meant taking a bit of my binding fabric and creating a pieced back. This left the option for some fun scrappy binding. I love it!! All the same print just four different colors.

 

Here's a fun shot of the binding all rolled together. You can kind of see the lime on the far corner there. I even switched thread color. It worked better on the front than the back but that's totally okay.

He's such a happy guy with it on his bed and was adorable enough to say that under it he had his best night's rest ever!

Quilt Stats:
Pattern - Circuit from Fat Quarter Style
Fabric - Scrappy Alison Glass prints with the background from Comma by Zen Chic for Moda and backing Flyboy for Windham Fabrics
Thread - Pieced and quilted Aurifil 50wt
Quilting - free motion meandering squares on my domestic Juki
Size - Twin 70" by 88"
Stash Report - 100% stash! Boy does that feel good.

That's me for the week. Thanks for stopping by! I hope to have another one to share next week as I have two tops ready to go but we'll see how it goes. Until then I'm linking up with Finish It Up Friday.

Blue Swiss Quilt Finish

Shortly after Camille of Thimble Blossoms released the Swiss Quilt Pattern I saw several different scrappy colored versions pop up. I especially loved the ones with dark blues. I dug through my stash and made it happen this quarter, which is a good thing because it is on my Q2FAL List.

Here's the whole quilt. I just love this one!! I made this for me as my favorite color is blue, especially these blues. I used a bunch of fun and interesting prints here to make the quilt more playful.

I adore all things Kate Spain and Sunnyside was one of my favorite lines of hers. So when a shop I love had this end of bolt that happened to be just the size I needed for this blue quilt it was just meant to be. You can also see the fun prints I used in this quilt. It's fun how some of them are a little wild but the whole quilt shot still reads really blue.

After the intense and limit pushing FMQ I've been doing lately I wanted something fast and simple for this quilt. I chose a variegated blue from Aurifil in 50wt and went to town with a large meander.

Here are my two Swiss quilts together. You can see more pics of the Red one here. I pieced these at the same time and was amazed at how fast and easy this quilt was, even times two.

I mentioned how fast and easy they were to my kids and now they each want one in their favorite color. We'll see how that goes.

Quilt Stats:
Pattern - Swiss by Camille of Thimble Blossoms
Fabric - Scrappy blues by various designers backed in Sunnyside by Kate Spain for Moda
Thread - Pieced and quilted Aurifil 50wt
Quilting - free motion meander on my domestic Juki
Size - Lap 56" by 64"
Stash Report - The top and binding of this quilt were all stash. The backing came from my new favorite Etsy shop Handmade is Heartmade.


I'm Linking up with Finish It Up Friday.

Little Ruby Swiss Quilt Finish

When Camille from Bonnie and Camille posted previews of Little Ruby I knew I had to have it. Then when I saw the Swiss Quilt pattern all done in reds and white I knew my little Ruby needed one in her life. I so love how it turned out and as a bonus it was so fast and easy I've made two! I share the blue version next week. For now the red one...

Love!! There are not words for how I feel about this one. It is so perfect for my sweet girl and she loves it as much as I do.

I had so much fun with the quilting on this one!! I always quilt with Aurifil 50wt on my domestic juki. This time I tried a bit of a flower design. I'd never done this one before but after drawing it a few times on some blank paper I was ready to roll. The red thread seems like a bold choice but since the backing and most of the quilt was red it really hid my mistakes well.

I love the backing and binding on this one too!! Those biased scallops have my heart and this floral print was my favorite in the original Ruby as is even better all little! The tag fits so well and came from yardage by Sweetwater for Moda.

 

My little Ruby just loves it!! She kept coming over and giving it loving pats as it was in progress and then when it was finished she did lots of hopping and jumping and said, "It's so comfy and rosey!!"

Here are my Ruby's two ruby quilts together. The top is from the original Ruby line and was made in anticipation of her birth. They are so fun together!

Another shot of the two ruby quilts.

Here are the backings of the two quilts together. When Bonnie and Camille first told everyone about Little Ruby they said how it was sweet and miniature, here you can see the size difference between the two.

Quilt Stats:
Pattern - Swiss by Camille of Thimble Blossoms
Fabric - Little Ruby by Bonnie and Camille for Moda and Bella solids 98
Thread - Pieced and quilted Aurifil 50wt
Quilting - free motion flowers on my domestic Juki
Size - Lap 56" by 64"
Stash Report - 0% stash. In fact the whole thing came in a kit from my new favorite Etsy shop Handmade is Heartmade.

Thanks for stopping by and checking this one out. I'm excited to show you the blue version next week but until then I'm linking up with Finish It Up Friday.

100th Quilt! Patchwork Swoon Finish

I'm excited to share my 100th quilt finish!! You can see them all in one place on my Quilts/Tops page. That's counting all quilts baby size or larger, pillows and minis have a different count. I have had so much fun making these and can't believe how far I've come! I think this one really shows off my skills, especially in the quilting department. It is also on my Q2FAL list.

Here it is! Quilt #100!! I can't believe I'm already at 100 quilts. I have been quilting since I was about 14 but have really been quite prolific the last six years. Before that it was maybe one quilt a year. I used a Horizon jelly roll by Kate Spain for Moda that I got for Christmas 2014. I used more Horizon yardage for the front back and binding as well as some Kona solids.

I am SUPER proud of the quilting on this one. I had tried this paisley motif on several minis but enlarged it for this quilt. It felt a little risky because I'd never tried it on this scale before but it turned out so well! Even the back looks fabulous! I think I'm getting the hang of this free motion quilting thing.

I love this angle on the quilt. It's from a corner so not how you usually see it. I'm so happy with my corners on this one and really think I broke out all my skills making this quilt.

For the backing and binding I went a little unexpected with purple. There is some purple in this line and I thought it was such a fun pop that I wanted to carry it over. I just love a pop of color or something unexpected on bindings! You can also see my cute little tag from yardage by Sweetwater for Moda.

Quilt Stats:
Pattern - Patchwork Swoon by Camille of Thimble Blossoms
Fabric - Horizon by Kate Spain for Moda and a couple of Kona solids
Thread - Pieced and quilted Aurifil 50wt
Quilting - medium scale paisley motif by me on my domestic Juki
Size - Large Lap 72" square
Stash Report - Patchwork pieces came from a stash jelly roll, as well as the center star and all the white. Otherwise new for this special project.

Thanks for stopping by and sharing this milestone with me! I'm already well on my way with my next quilts and have at least 100 more on my wishlist. Until then I'll be linking up with Finish It Up Friday.

Farm Girl Vintage Finish - Green Border

I had a lovely collection of Farm Girl Vintage blocks that were languishing in my WiP pile for a long time. I rediscovered them when we moved just over a month ago and made them into two quilts. I'm sharing the first one today. This is a surprise quilt to be delivered on our trip this Summer. To help me be motivated for a finish I added this one as #12 on my Q2 FAL list.

I am so happy with how this quilt turned out! I love this wide green border. This layout can be found near the back of the Farm Girl Vintage book. I used a green border to try and make it seem less pastel and girly.

I love the texture from the large meandering quilting. This is my daughter's favorite and she may have influenced this decision heavily but I love it. As always I quilted it with Aurifil 50wt. I love how you can see the texture but the piecing remains the focus.

I think this is my favorite block on the whole quilt so I had to do a closeup. My lumpy grass is totally making it look like I can't sew a straight seam but I love it anyway. You can also see the setting squares and the border print I used well here. I sure do love that green print!

So I had to pick up the border, binding, and backing for this quilt as I didn't have enough of anything to match on hand. Apparently I wasn't feeling very creative or I just loved this line because the front and back are the same, just a different colorway, and the binding is also from that line. These are all Bread 'N Butter by American Jane for Moda.

Quilt Stats:
Pattern - County Fair Quilt Setting from Farm Girl Vintage
Fabric - Various 1930's reproduction prints as well as Bread 'N Butter by American Jane for Moda
Thread - Pieced and quilted Aurifil 50wt
Quilting - Meander by me on my domestic Juki
Size - Large Lap 60" by 74"
Stash Report - Blocks, setting squares, and background fabric all stash. Otherwise new for this special project.

Thanks for stopping by! It's been a busy week and I'm on top of things with one more finish to share next week. I'll be linking up with Finish It Up Friday.

Sparklettes Quilt Finish

I am so excited to share this finish and to have it off my WiP list. I knew I wanted to make this quilt a few years ago and then I had to collect all the right fabrics and wait for it to come up in the priority list. It was made for my middle child. My girl and I are so happy for it to me done. This is #10 on my Q2 FAL list.

Here it is! This is the Sparklettes quilt from the book Fat Quarter Style. I seriously adore this book and have made many patterns from it. I especially love how there are so many size options for each quilt. For this one I used Bella bleached white for the background and Far Far Away 2 by Heather Ross and Cotton and Steel Basics.

This is an in progress shot but it shows off the binding so well I had to include it. I love a fun binding, especially for kid quilts, and these snails sure fit the bill. You can also see the quilting really well here. Amelia, my daughter, requested pink thread and "the waves lines because they make little puffy spots that I can poke with my finger."

I knew I wanted the bed print (which is crazy upside down in this picture) for the back but my favorite LQS didn't have enough for the whole back. I tried some thing fairly rare for me - a pieced backing. I love it! Especially how it ties the front of the quilt into the back.

Just a fun shot where you can see the back, right side up this time, and the binding together. These colors are so fun!

Here it is on her bed. It was fun because she didn't know I was going to finish it up so quickly and I surprised her with it when she came home from school. She has since declared it the "best quilt ever!"

Quilt Stats:
Pattern - Sparklettes from Fat Quarter Style
Fabric - Far Far Away 2 and Cotton and Steel Basics
Thread - Pieced and quilted Aurifil 50wt
Quilting - Meander by me on my domestic Juki
Size - Twin - 70" by 86"
Stash Report - Mostly stash! Background fabric was from a bolt I bought earlier this month and I needed an extra yard for the back. Otherwise - stash!

Thanks for stopping by! It's been a busy week and I'm on fire with more finishes to share next week. I'll be linking up with Finish It Up Friday tomorrow. I just had to get a jump on the post when I had a minute.

Road 15 Mini Finish

I finished another thing from my Q1FAL list. It was pretty perfect timing for this one too because we just moved into our new house and it's house/road themed. I had a lot of fun making this one. Check it out...

I found this cute pattern on the Moda Bake Shop and modified it to the fabric I had on hand. I love the diagonal stripe on this one with the contrasting background. I think it totally adds to the fun of the pixelated heart pattern.

I had a lot of fun quilting this one! I went in the ditch around the squares and then the background was all pebbles. It had been a while since I've done the pebbles and I just love them!

This fabric is so great I am so happy that I kept some for myself. I bought a lot when it first came out but ended up making my mom a quilt and three cushions with it. I saved just enough for a mini for myself.

I love this fabric for the backing and you can really see the thread change here. I did blue and white to match the backgrounds on the front.

I super love this fabric for binding. I should have bought so much more of it! This is also another great shot of the quilting. So much love for the pebbles!!

So we moved into our house last Saturday. We are so in love! We bought it on Tuesday and then used a few days to work on it. I ended up painting the whole house and I'm so happy with my color! I even got my minis hung up these week. I've made four of these pictured, the rest came from swaps. It's so fun and inspiring to look at all this creativity every day!

Quilt Stats:
Pattern - Big Hearted Quilt by Robin Nelson
Fabric - Road 15 by Sweetwater for Moda
Thread - Pieced and Quilted with Aurifil 50wt
Quilting - Straight line quilting in the ditch for the heart then pebbles for the background all by me.
Size - Mini about 20" square
Stash Report - 100% stash including fabric, thread, and batting!

Thanks for stopping by! This is one of two quilts I'm sharing this week. Hooray for productivity! I'm linking them both up with TGIFF and Finish It Up Friday.