A Place to Rest Your Head

I love pillows. For a long time I avoided them, I was a little frightened of them, expecting them to be really difficult. How wrong I was! I'm addicted now. There are only so many things you can do with a mini quilt, and I already have a lovely collection of them. But pillows - they can go on beds, couches, chairs, and even floors for a whole other dimension of quilty goodness.

{Queen size Swoon quilt and throw size #scrappytripalong.}

I have a goal of quilted pillows in all sizes covering my bed with color and joy, with 3 made by me I am well on my way. I've already shared the Hexie Bee pillow, you can view a close up of that HERE.
This Rainbow Pillow measures 16" and was made using a variety of 2.5" squares. I quilted it with a simple meander design using Aurifil 50 wt in 2021. I opted to leave binding off of this pillow because I didn't want anything to detract from the rainbow.

 

This 18" scrappy low volume white/cream and black plus pillow cover is one of 4 I started a few months ago. I had the intention of selling all of them, but put them aside as I tried to figure out which path I wanted to take with my quilting. I am very happy to have one for myself. 

I quilted this one using a loopy design, also with Aurifil 50 wt in 2021. I really like this quilting design, and it is a top contender for when I finally complete my Double Irish Chain. 

 

And my last sweet little pillow finish is this super scrappy 12" pillow made with orphan blocks from making Miss B's Cat Quilt. She's loved the strawberry print fabric since I purchased it, so I decided to give her a little. It's random and a bit different, but she is so very happy to have her own little throw pillow. Now I need to figure out how to make one with dogs or horses on it for Miss K. 

I don't anticipate having any more finishes in 2013, and with these 3 pillows that puts me at a total of 62 finishes for the year (though I didn't count any of my service flags, and there may have been a couple other little projects I didn't remember to include). You can view all of my 2013 finishes here. Last year I finished about 49, I cannot believe how much I made this year!! It seems a bit excessive. =) Next year I plan to focus on my Quilt Bucket List, starting with a finish of my Double Irish Chain, and I've got some other very exciting things to share with you all. Happy New Year!!

Christmas Sewing

I didn't have very much Christmas sewing this year, which I am thankful for, it was a very calm month. (And we succeeded at finishing our Christmas Shopping BEFORE Thanksgiving for the 2nd year in a row!) But I did make a few small items.

First up is a lovely little mug rug I made for Miss K's kindergarten teacher. I've never done a teacher gift before, but I imagine a teacher gets a lot of similar items each year - and she probably got multiples of what we bought at the store for her, so I wanted to make something more personal.

I adapted the Vintage Pencil Case pattern that is in the Winter 2014 issue of Modern Patchwork Magazine. The pattern only had 5 pencils, but I wanted to complete the rainbow so I added a 6th and widened the borders allowing for the stitching.  The rainbow quilting inspiration came from Me and My Sisters Designs. 

My girls have asked Santa for American Girl dolls (Miss B for a sweet Bitty Baby with yellow hair and green eyes. Miss K for an American Girl doll that is just like her with glasses and earrings, who loves horses just like she does.) I've got an in with the big guy, so I went ahead and made some little quilts to keep the dolls warm. 

Miss B LOVES cat's (if she's not asking for a baby sister she is asking for a "kit-lin"), when Elizabeth @ Oh, Fannson! announced her Catvent-Quilt-Along I knew I  needed to make one for B. Of course I gave up after a few blocks, then added in some more solid faces, and made a lovely little mini. I used B's favorite colors, and she is super excited about it. I FMQ it with echoing flowers. Final measurements are 18" x 24.5" big enough she could wrap her bitty baby up. 

I also had a lot of fun with Miss K's quilt. She LOVES horses (For her birthday this year she asked for a roller skating horse. Thankfully Build-a-Bear was able to come through with that one!) and guitars. She already has a library tote featuring Heather Ross' Far Far Away II cute little girl playing with horses, and I was able to get my hands on a bundle of all of the horse prints and coordinating guitars. Seriously if there was ever a fabric created just for one little girl it was this line!
While I was waiting for my Heather Ross fabric to arrive I came across THIS awesome piec-lique tutorial by Cristy @ Sew Much Like Mom. Seriously go check it out! Life changing! I couldn't wait to try out circles, so I decided to go for it with Miss K's quilt. My circles started out at about 3" diameter, but between the linen in the Heather Ross fabric and the Essex linen I used for the background, the quilt experienced a TON of shrinkage! I got daring and FMQ pebbles in the background! The texture of this quilt is just glorious. And she LOVES it! Thankfully I have a lot more fabric left to make one her size. This quilt finished at 15" x 17.5" a bit smaller than I'd hoped, but hopefully her doll will still stay warm. 

Besides these projects I've been working on my red and white Double Irish Chain, in hopes of getting it done before my husband deploys (eek! that is coming too soon!) and I've taken up cross stitch, but it'll be a really long time before I have any finishes to show you in that department. 

Summer Sky

I blogged about this quilt HERE, but to recap. Summer Sky is a quilt I began about 3 years ago. It was intended to be for my bed, but I changed my mind. It sat unfinished all of that time, but I've been majorly cleaning out and purging old projects, old fabric, etc. and I realized I need to just get this done.
I love it, I think it is a very beautiful design, but I think I was right that it wasn't the right quilt for our bed.

I free-motion quilted it using a basic larger scale meander pattern. Some spots are less than perfect, but overall I think it turned out really well. I know I won't improve unless I practice. =)

I have gifted this quilt to my Aunt and Uncle for Christmas. It fits perfectly in their home, and was probably intended for them all along, I just didn't realize it. =)

The quilt finished at approx 74" square. I used Hobbs Heirloom 80/20 Batting. The fabric is from Bar Harbor by Minnick & Simpson for Moda.

Faded Memories Picnic Quilt

I am so happy to say this quilt is FINALLY done. And that is a BIG finally! This is my very oldest WIP. I made the quilt top way back in late 2005/early 2006. I can't even remember. I know it was one of my first quilts though. And I went kind of crazy!! I bought the FQ of the Faded Memories by 3 Sisters super soft and sweet pastel woven fabrics. And I chopped the WHOLE thing up! (I shake my head at my novice quilter self) and I pieced this which was originally an oversized queen quilt top with borders. I also pieced a baby quilt using the same pattern. But really a super pastel queen quilt? I had a mahogany sleigh bed at the time...they so did not match! But it got packed away and forgotten til a couple of months ago when I did a major clean out. I couldn't part with it, it was too sweet and soft. So I chopped off the borders and decided to make a picnic quilt.

This is the second quilt ever I've free motion quilted. I started out with a little 3 petalish flower thing with some loops, but it quickly transformed into real flowers, and a lot of echoing of those flowers. So much fun! And quilting went so much better having a design I was focusing on. And I went REALLY dense.

I backed the quilt with the large text print fabric from IKEA (and a rectangle of the pretty pink text from Aneela Hoey's Posy text print). I'm impressed with the fabric so far, it is soft and washed up really well with the quilt. I'll definitely be buying more of it.

Check out the crazy amount of texture!!

And while one day I dream of quilting a whole quilt with song lyrics or a poem, I did a little bit of practice with FMQ text with 2013 and my initials. Way easier than a label!

Quilt Stats:
Size: 67" Square (pre wash was 73", I washed in warm water.)
Fabric: Faded Memories Wovens by 3 Sisters for Moda
Batting: Hobbs Heirloom 80/20

Palatina Pillow

A month ago I shared my Palatina Mini Quilt during the Blogger's Quilt Festival. As I was making it my wonderful friend Tracey was gushing over it, and I knew right away I just needed to make her one. She has a thing for chubby stars. I picked out a pretty color palette, sorted out my low volume background, and got to work. (There is a lovely tutorial for this pillow that can be found here on There's a Thread.)

The crosses were hand appliqued in place, and I hand quilted inside the chubby stars, but left the edges un quilted. I machine quilted just inside the edge of the crosses to give them some more reinforcement (though doing so I realized I could have just machine stitched them on in the first place. Oh well.).

I used matching thread for all of the machine stitching which made for a really pretty background!

The pillow cover fits a 24" pillow form, which is a lovely size for a kiddie floor cushion. Miss B made sure to test it out. =)

I have plans of making one for myself very soon. Though I don't think it will involve any hand work this time around.

Charming Stars

Once upon a time - maybe as early as Feb or March 2012 I started this quilt. And for some really odd reason it took me FOREVER to piece it. And then it sat for a year waiting to be quilted. This summer I basted it and started quilting it, then unpicked it, then started again and unpicked it. Both times using straight line quilting, trying to focus on echoing the stars, but the sashing kept throwing me off.
Last week I had 2 friends busily free motion quilting their quilts, both of them were having issues with skipping stitches or threads breaking, and they were asking me for advice. I had some ideas, but not real answers because I had never free motion quilted a real quilt on my domestic machine! And of course I needed to do so IMMEDIATELY! So I unpicked some more straight line quilting and went to town.

And guess what, I had threads breaking and stitches skipping - and for me it was learning the weight of the quilt and the speed of my movement and then things went very smoothly, until I forgot again.

I have quilted a few quilts on a borrowed long-arm machine, but I could never keep a consistent density of quilting or stick with a meander rather than adding in loops. It's a whole new set of skills I really want to learn, and obviously it will take some practice. If I can have a happily perfected meander that I am able to scale up and down as desired I will call it a success - if I never free motion quilt feathers or pebbles that will be ok. =)
And surprisingly, it was easier to control how things went on this quilt that when I've used the long arm. I added loops on purpose, but was able to maintain meanders when I wanted. I need to work on more fluidity of movements, and figure out how to make my meander look less like amoebas.

I love how the quilt crinkled, esp the texture from a distance. It's one of my favorite features in any quilt.

I used 2 Quilt Halos while doing my free motion quilting. I LOVE them! I might want a 3rd for a little more weight and control, but 2 worked really well on this project. If you haven't heard of them, go check them out! I usually use machingers when quilting, and for straight line, that are great, but the Quilt Halos felt like I had an actually steering wheel to use, and I felt very in control of my quilt. My hands never got tired, even when I spent an entire afternoon working on the quilt.

Quilt Stats
Measures: 62.5" square.
Fabric: Just Wing It! by Momo for Moda and Bella Solids White
Batting: Warm & White
Thread: Aurifil 50 wt 100% Mako Cotton Thread
Quilt Pattern: Charming Stars tutorial on Moda Bake Shop

Palatina Mini Quilt {Blogger Quilt Festival}

I am so excited the Blogger Quilt Festival is here again! It is my favorite!!

Last week I finished up this Palatina mini for my partner in the Schnitzel & Boo Mini Swap. You can find a tutorial for this project at There's a Thread. I changed things up just a bit. I did hand applique rather than machine, and trimmed the edges closer to the the pluses, leaving a 1/2" border around the edge.

This project was so much fun! I selected all black and white/cream prints for the background and a rainbow spectrum for the pluses.
I used the starch basting method for the pluses, and then hand appliqued them in place. Prepping the pieces took some time, but it is worth it. The pieces held their shape perfectly, and appliqueing them into place was so simple.

 

I decided to continue with hand work, and hand quilted the mini quilt. I wanted it to have A LOT of texture, and I think I succeeded. =) I did a running stitch following the design of most of the background fabrics. I think this is called seed stitching (google was only half helpful).

I left the pluses unquilted and love how they pop.

The mini quilt finished at 17" square. I used Hobbs 80/20 Batting. It's already at it's new home, and I am currently working on a second which will be turned into a pillow for another friend.

The problem with Instagram - a very late Roundhouse Reveal

I LOVE Instagram. Probably too much. And it is 100% the reason my blogging has slowed down. The quick and easy sharing, and the instant gratification of all those ♡, it's just so easy to move onto the next project without taking a moment to get proper pictures, edit them, and then blog them. I'm trying to remedy that, I really am. But in the midst of my insta-craze I never blogged about this. The most awesome thing ever!!!!!

My very sweet and incredibly talented friend Tracey of traceyjay quilts asked me way way earlier this year to make an alternate color version of a quilt she designed. She was able to get me some of the beautiful Happy Go Lucky line by Bonnie & Camille before it was released, and in March I finished it up, snapped some pics and emailed them off. And way back in March this is all I shared. 
And way back in August I should have blogged to finally show you the whole thing, so here it is, better late than never, right? Introducing: Roundhouse by traceyjay quilts

And do you know why I couldn't share it before August? Because Tracey's pattern and my lovely little bad winter lighting photo showed up the Sept 2013 edition of American Quilter!!! *squeals of delight!!!!* That's my quilt, my name in print!!

It's a fantastic pattern, and hopefully you can still get your hands on a copy of the magazine, I got mine at Barnes & Noble back in August, but I know Joanns carries it, and they seam to keep theirs around longer than typical newsstands.

And you really need to go take a closer look at Tracey's because it is to die for. I wish it were mine. (And even more embarrassing for my poor blogging, since Tracey shared hers in July!!)

And with that I promise not to wait 3 months to share big news again.
So I guess I should tell you now my hubby is deploying again sometime after the new year. It'll be our second deployment, and should be shorter than the first. It will be hard, but there are some important benefits it'll give my hubby's career and our family so we are all sucking it up. No sympathy needed, just some of your awesome support. I'm an Army wife, I've got this. =)

Hand Drawn Autumn

 

Sometimes I order a bundle of fabric thinking "Well it's really pretty, but not really me, I'll make something and sell it." That's what happened when I ordered Hand Drawn by Anna Maria Horner (and it's accompanying solids bundle) from Westwood Acres. It's gorgeous fabric, but it's not me. And I thought that, the entire time I was making the quilt.

I decided to do simple patchwork - which I've been doing a lot of lately - because I was determined to try something new - orange peel quilting. Of course I'm still trying to get brave enough to FMQ on an actual quilt, so I followed this lovely tutorial for orange peel quilting with a walking foot.

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My friend Cassi gave me the very helpful hint of using a circle for marking out the quilting design. It needs to fit inside 4 of the squares. My squares finished at 4.5" so my circle is 9" in diameter. And Sandra at Small Town Thread finally convinced me that Crayola Washable markers are a safe and truly washable way to mark quilts. (And they really are! I washed the quilt twice before drying because I was paranoid, but after the second wash I realized that what I feared was marker left in the quilt was actually just the way my grey thread was reading on the light cream fabric. It washed out completely!)

I was a little wobbly with some of my quilting, but overall it went really really well. I love how it turned out! And when I hung it up on my wall I realized I love it too much to part with it (and hubby really likes it too and asked that we keep it!)

Quilt Stats:

Fabric: Hand Drawn by Anna Maria Horner (and coordinating solids - not sure who made them)

Size: 51" x 60"

I used Hobbs 80/20 Batting and Aurifil grey thread, 50 wt.

Hexie Pillow Palooza

Back in August I was browsing Lori Holt's Instagram Feed, and I came across this gorgeous quilt, that appears in her upcoming book! It's so cute!! As I sat there wiping drool off my phone I remembered that Badskirt has a tutorial for a free bee paper piecing pattern, and my mind started plotting. I love the colorful look of Lori's quilt, even though it isn't hexies, but the Badskirt bee's are probably the cutest thing I've ever seen in a paper piecing pattern. And then this was born:

Sweet As Honey Pillow

I based my colors on that adorable bee print (from Field Day by Josephine Kimberling), and cut my hexies to the same size that the badskirt hexie bees finished. It is machine pieced, quilted and bound. The pillow backing is just a simple envelope closure, and it fits a 12" pillow form.

My sweet little B keeps trying to steal it. It will randomly disappear, usually under her tush while she's watching TV, or I'll find a stuffed friend tucked in for a nap using it. She knows she's my honey bee, so I can't blame her. 

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Sometime last year I started piecing rainbow hexie flowers. I had no real plan for them, just started piecing them. And last month I finally figured out a use for them!

I machine appliqued the hexie flowers onto pillow covers. Quick and easy....except for that hand piecing the hexies part. And I didn't stop at just one.

I made 5, and donated them as door prizes for the Utah Deaf Blind Parents Conference. I plan on making more as I get more hexies pieced, and hopefully will have some listed in my shop at some point this year. These also fit 12" pillow forms.

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I'm excited I already have a lovely Mini Dresden Mug Rug to share with you. My friend Cheryl at Ladybug Lane whipped up this adorable Halloween version Sunday (see, quick and easy project!). Season mug rugs! I like it! Be sure to go check it out!

Isla's Garden

{The first of a few posts this week, finally get back on track!}

One of my best friends, Marcy, is expected a baby girl this winter. Marcy decided on a purple and bright green color scheme for Isla's nursery, and we quickly decided the lilac color way of Joel Dewberry's Aviary 2 was the perfect fabric.

For this quilt I modified the All Tied Up pattern by Jeni Baker that appeared in Quilty July/August 2013 edition. Because the quilt was so much smaller than Jeni's I decided to add more bows at regular intervals. I love how the large honeycomb pieces show off the fabric, but it made for a challenge when quilting. I started out the quilting by stitching 1/4" away from the seams, but because of the honeycombs I ended up sewing diagonal lines through the quilt as well to secure the entire quilt. I like how it worked out. 

The quilt finished at roughly 39". I used Hobbs Heirloom 80/20 Batting (my new favorite when it's finished, though I really do prefer how clingy and easy to quilt Warm & White is, the drape is just so much pretty with the 80/20.) and white Aurifil 50wt thread. I finished it on August 15, 2013.

TARDIS Pillow

{EDIT - Pretend this tells you about all sorts of narcissistic busyness. =) Like how to do we live without iPhones but why do they cost so much money?! And hey look I got a new car I get to drive for the next 20 years! It's a Honda Civic my 3 year old named Dora. I want to live in it. I probably don't get Christmas presents for 20 years either. =) }

{Edit. Because of all of my narcissistic busyness...} I've only managed to sew one 16" pillow in the last week. Seriously I started it last Friday and here we are Thursday afternoon, and it is finally done. But it is awesome! 

I used the same TARDIS block pattern I used on the back of Starry Samhain Night (pattern free HERE on Craftsy by Trillium Designs), which finishes at 12.5" I added some borders to make it 16" so the TARDIS wouldn't end up curving around the pillow too much. For the TARDIS I used 
Bella Solids Nautical Blue (9900 236) and Navy Sketch fabric, I think the texture turned out perfect.
The pillow is going to my cousin Annie of Spiffing Jewelry (and if you are a Doctor Who fan you need to go check out her awesome collection of Doctor Who inspired jewelry (plus so much other awesome stuff)!! Let her know I sent you!)