Scrappy Strip Quilt

If this quilt looks familiar, it's because I used only scraps from my Ring Around the Rosie quilt. I had many strips all cut into three widths from the pattern. After cleaning and sorting, I decided to put the scraps to good use and make a new quilt!

I simply stitched same-sized strips together along their shorter ends. I didn't put a whole lot of thought into the fabric placement, aside from avoiding the same fabric sewn together. I stitched all strips end-to-end, then sewed the 1 1/2" and 2 1/2" joined strips together along the length. I cut the length in half and sewed those lengths together, before sewing on the 3 1/2" width strip.  

If you are familiar with a Jelly Roll Race Quilt, I used a similar method, just with different width strips! The quilt stitches up very quickly and is the perfect quilt to sew while listening to your favorite audiobook or show because there's no thinking necessary! The results are random and scrappy, and thanks to spreading fabrics out along my original strips, I think I achieved a balanced top without stressing about color placement. 

To make the back, I took larger scraps and sewed them together to create a scrappy back that looks just as cute as the front! I tried spiral quilting for the first time, and although it's not perfect, I'm happy with the result and will try it again, probably on a smaller quilt. It will look great washed & crinkled and sitting on someone's lap. The quilt measures approximately 50"x 60"- a great throw size. I used even more scraps for the binding. 

This quilt was donated as a raffle prize at a recent Neurofibromatosis fundraiser to benefit NF Michigan. You can find out more about NF and the organization at their website. My cousin was diagnosed with NF at a very young age, and that was the first our family learned about the disorder. Thankfully, she is a healthy, smart, loving, soon-to-be 5-year-old, but many others have much more severe health and developmental problems. My cousin is blessed with top doctors and researchers right near their home in Michigan, where she can receive top-notch care.

If you would like to support NF Michigan, you can donate through their website. Contributions go toward supporting persons affected and their families, assisting in medical care, education, and research. 

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Sawtooth Quilts

I am prepping for a new Craft South class and made these Sawtooth quilt blocks last night. 

Aren't they the sweetest?! 

I grabbed some small scraps to sew, yielding these widdle sweet widdle bwocks. 

{That would be baby talk for "little sweet little blocks" if you don't speak cutesy.}

The larger blocks are 6" finished and the smaller ones are 4" finished. 

Stitched them up together for a 12" block that would look great as a pillow or sewn into a cute bag.

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Nine Patched

Curt's family has a gorgeous stash of old family quilts around their house, and this one in particular has always been my favorite.

{Special thanks to Curt's little sis Cali for snapping this pic for me to reference!}

It's a simple nine-patch, set on white fabric. The fabrics are all different, but very cohesive. I've been wanting to recreate it for some time, and finally came up with the best answer I could find: use my beloved stash of Denyse Schmidt fabrics to make my own version!

All the blocks are the same - four printed squares, five white ones.

It made for very easy chain piecing.

I did a bunch at a time, working on them for a couple days.

And before I knew it, I had all the blocks I needed (56 if you are interested).

I laid it out to see how they looked and to make sure I had a good, even balance of color and such. It's still on the floor - I walk by it and move a couple blocks here and there. Once I settle on the layout I will get to work on the sashing. 

I love how Denyse's fabrics lend to the vintage feel of this quilt, as well as the old school pattern. And I can't wait to see it finished! 

Dream On

I lost my sewing mojo for a month or so there, but I think I've found it and I'm back. It was just a matter of forcing myself to stitch something, anything, together, and I now have one finished quilt top and half of another to show for it.

I've been hoarding a few charm packs of Dream On by Urban Chiks for Moda for quite some time now. The prints are all reproductions of vintage sheets and they are so charming. I had debated for a long time about what kind of pattern I wanted to use, but ultimately decided to just go with a simple patchwork quilt and left all the charms as squares. That also meant I didn't have to plan anything - I just randomly pieced the squares together. I also added in a couple pastel voile fabrics so I could have a nice lap size quilt.

I think I ended up doing 12X14 5" charms, resulting in a quilt that's approximately 54 X 63. 

I knew I wanted to find a vintage sheet for the back, and I really lucked out in my search and found that exact yellow w/green ribbon sheet on Etsy! The original is a larger scale and a bit brighter, but it will be perfect for the back. 

I'm still debating how to quilt this one. Straight lines on either edge of the seam? Straight lines going diagonally through the quilt? Tie it? Any suggestions are welcome! I have some batting stashed away, so I'm planning to get it basted and ready to go this week. Hopefully by that time I will know what I want to do about quilting it. 

What are you working on right now? 

Twins!

Do you remember Magic Nursery Dolls?

I received a Magic Nursery Baby when I was younger and after submerging her nightie in water to reveal what, exactly, she was, I shouted "It's a twin!" {By the way .. how weird was that concept?!} My parents didn't believe me, despite the fact that I was an excellent reader and 'twin' is really not a hard word. Did they think I was lying? Making it up? Delusional? Mom, Dad, can you weigh in? All I remember is, they didn't believe it. But I GOT TWINS! And by the way, my babies did not have gorgeous hair. My twin arrived in the mail and I was such a lucky Magic Nursery mommy.

All that to say ... I made quilts for twins :)

I used the same fabrics for both - Loulouthi + blue, yellow, and two pink solids. I've been in love with triangles lately and really enjoyed making two sweet little tops with loads of them. I didn't really have any plan in mind, both the tops are fairly randomly pieced, only making sure there was a nice balance.

I bound one in the dark pink, the other in the light. I did straight quilting on each side of the seams, forming larger triangles of quilting. 

I also used two different flannel backs, both from the Loulouthi line as well. 

I don't know if these baby girls have been born yet, but I do know that their parents adored the quilts and I hope they provide lots of beauty and comfort for many years to come! 

Ava's Quilt

{side-bar intro: Holy guacamole! Where did April go?! Sorry I've been absent - but I've been hard at work, and I'm working on a bunch of posts to catch up, so don't worry!}

This quilt is for baby Ava, who was born shortly before Easter. I wanted something simple but beautiful, so I decided on a giant log cabin made from other quilt blocks. I also opted for a few solids to really make the other fabric (Anna's Loulouthi) pop.

The center is a 16-patch of {I believe} 2" finished squares.

I added in a few flying geese along the thiner blue border, and half-square triangles along the top and bottom of the border.

I tried quilted letters for the first time to incorporate her name, which is not only so sweet, but also nice and short ;-) I quilted around the letters, and slightly wonky lines around the borders of the rest of the quilt.

I bound the quilt with this watermelon colored voile, which put the softest finishing touch on the quilt. 

The finished quilt was something like 40" square. And since I don't seem to have a photo of the back, you'll have to believe it is a polka dotty flannel (you can kind of see them shining through in that top photo). I washed it before gifting and it crinkled up so cozy. I hope Ava enjoys her quilt for years to come! 

Memory Quilt

This post is long overdue, but here ya go anyway :)

My uncle passed away a little over a year ago, leaving my sweet Aunt Beth and cousin Jelena. He also left quite the collection of t-shirts representing all the things he loved: Detroit sports, the University of Michigan, and Harley Davidson. My aunt commissioned a quilt made of the shirts to help preserve his memory.

I have to admit I was hesitant to start, primarily because I had never done a quilt like this before. I tend to avoid knits like the plague and the thought of an entire quilt of knit fabric scared me. In the end, it wasn't so bad and I thought I'd share what I learned so you will be inspired to jump right in on your own memory quilt.

I started by cutting all the shirts down to just the printed area. I held onto the backs and extra fabric in case I needed to fill any gaps later.

After cropping the designs, I laid out the quilt in a very rough shape so I could get an idea of size. I wanted a good couch size quilt, around 60"X70" and had just enough tshirts to make that work. {I should mention here that these shirts were large sizes, so you would need more small shirts than represented here.} 

I ironed lightweight interfacing {the cheap $0.99 stuff from Joann's} to the back of each shirt to help prevent weird stretching before cutting it down to exact size.

I did a little math and figured I could do four rows of shirts, each cut to about 14.5" wide. I bough two yards to fleece, which gave me about a 72"X58" backing I needed to fit. After trimming each shirt to that width, I laid them all out again and got a feel for how tall each piece needed to be. 

This was a bit of a puzzle - I wanted to make sure the colors were well-balanced while keeping the columns close to even in height. After I got them where I wanted I started sewing them together, cutting lengths as I went. 

Sew the columns to each other and voila! - you have a quilt top. I opted to just sew the front to the back - right sides together - and then flip it right side out {envelope style}. I did two rows of top-stitching around the edges to finish the opening and give the quilt a nice finished edge. The nature of the fleece and interfaced-shirts make them stick together fairly well, I didn't feel the need to do any quilting. The resulting quilt is a very nice, heavy weight, perfect for cuddling on the couch and staying warm through those cold Michigan months. 

If you are considering a t-shirt quilt, I highly recommend just jumping in. Interfacing is key, but beyond that, there's really no rules. No one will be looking to see if your seams are straight because they will be admiring the shirts and the memories they bring. It's also a great way to clean out those drawers full of old shirts you can't bear to part with but don't wear anymore.

Have you ever made a t-shirt quilt? Do you have any more tips to share? 

Nothing

I have nothing new to report, but I felt the need to post a blog because it's sitting here, so lonely.

soccer sunday

I'm still waiting for my sewing desk to find it's permanent home and I'm going absolutely crazy without it! We painted it white but ran out of paint a coat shy of completion, so we need to pick up more. Then it will get a protective coat of polyacrylic, which will have to cure for a few days, and then I will get my sewing space back. The thought of having to wait another week makes me even more anxious...

butterfly at home depot

I'm itching to make some scrappy quilts to eat up my stash. Here are some patterns I'm considering (click the pictures for links).

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I've been thinking about these X block quilts for awhile now ... literally daydreaming about them as I go through life. So yeah, that's definitely on my list!

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I love these scrappy bow tie quilts. They seem to be the perfect way to use up even the tiniest scraps!

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That last one reminds me - I need to stash up on some more neutral solids for some other ideas I have!

Including a scrappy vintage quilt at my in-laws' house that I want to copy. It's a simple 9-patch with sashing and setting squares. I think they're 2.5 squares, all set on white. I rendered up a little something to jog your imagination:

Their quilt is made from what I assume to be vintage calicos and feed sacks and the result is an amazing  mix of colors and patterns. I plan to start cutting my scraps into 2.5" squares to steal this look.

An AccuQuilt might make that really easy. HINT HINT to anyone who might be shopping for me in the future :) 

Have a fabulous holiday weekend! Curt's family is coming to visit so we will have a busy weekend!