Oh Christmas Tree {Quilt}

"Oh Christmas Tree, oh Christmas tree...how lovely are your branches...."

Button haaaad to get in this quilt photo.  He thinks  I make them just for him to pose in front of!

After finishing Home for the Holidays Quilt, I still had significant leftovers of the Odds and Ends Fabric.I enjoyed the pattern and noticed that hubby liked the quilt so much that I decided it just made sense to make another one.

The leftover scraps were not large enough to be the same size and I decided on a 7X8" block. I saw a few staggered layouts on Instagram and really liked the smaller blocks in that arrangement.

I used a few rectangles to offset every other row.

Originally, when I had pulled all the fabric, I remembered some leftover Moda yardage scraps my friend Jen, from Knotted Threads, had sent me quite a few years ago when I was making custom baby quilts for Butterfly Kisses.  They came around the same time as the Moda Odds and Ends and really married well.

I had some leftover blocks that didn't make the cut for the top because they were just too small.  I decided to piece them together with small sashing in between the yardage strips along with another old backing scrap.

Unlike the larger block quilt, I felt that the smaller blocks looked more patchwork and custom quilting would get lost, so I decided on a wavy quilting.

The large dot fabric was probably the wrong scale for the binding, but I liked how they landed randomly on the edge. 

 I love that I was able to make a quilt that will make me remember that my parents have their own on their wall during the holidays.

Quilt Stats:

Measures:  46" x 54"

Pattern: Modern Patchwork Trees by Amy Smart (@diaryofaquilter)

Fabrics: Odds and Ends by Cosmocricket for Moda Fabrics, 

Vintage by Bonnie & Camille for Moda Fabrics

Quilted: Wavy free motion on Handiquilter Avante Longarm

And to round things out?  I still have enough fabric to make a third lap quilt.  Stay tuned!!!

Sweetwater and Linen {Sew Together Bag}

After I made my first Sew Together Bag, I decided right then and there, I would make another one just for my Sewing Circle tote that matched.

I promised myself I would have one by Quiltcon 2016.  And I let that goal slip through my fingers.

This year, I was completely determined, no matter how late I was up.

 

 

Unlike other projects, I did start it two days instead of the night before I had to leave.

I made sure I enjoyed the process instead of just rushing to get a finished project.

My patience definitely paid off!! 

 I also was super happy I attempted one of my weaknesses....machine binding.

And I have to say, it isn't too shabby!!!

I think it looks smashing with my Sewing Circle tote!!

And it was completely functional for my classes at Quiltcon 2017 in Savannah this year!!

Home for the Holidays {Quilt}

"There is no place like home for the holidays."

This past Christmas, I was really striving to avoid the Great Gift Card Exchange both sides of our families seem to have created.  I don't mind a gift card, but I really wanted to do something "different".  However, my largest problem was that I was stuck. Mentally blocked. I could not think of a single thing to make or buy my parents for a gift.

Here I was on Christmas Eve morning, packing for our trip across the country the next day  and preparing for Santa's arrival and I didn't know what I was going to do.

I glanced over at my design board in my Ms. Claus workshops, as I finished wrapping a few more of Santa's gift and the quilt blocks that Buddy the Elf (elf on the shelf) had made a few nights before.

Amy Smart's Modern Tree block glared at me.  I recalled how quick I had made the two blocks and my brain fired off "Home for the Holidays" and I knew I wanted to make a quilt for my parents to commemorate this year.  My sister was traveling from Kansas with my nephews and my grandparents were going to be shuttled from North Carolina and we were flying in from Salt Lake City on Christmas Day to Virginia.  It has been many, many years since we were all together for Christmas.

The next challenge was the fabric.  My mom has a very "muted"  decorating style and Christmas is no different.  

Her tree is covered in white lights and crystal ornaments.  No color.

I had a layer cake with all the solid fabrics in her family room colors and I didn't love it.  I think I did about five fabric pulls from my stash that were all rejected.  I finally visited my fabric bundles and took a hard look.

Odds and Ends by Moda Fabrics kept drawing my eye. I'm actually proud of the fact that I had zero fear just ripping the bundle apart to take a good look.  In between laundry, packing, and making Christmas Eve dinner, I mapped out my quilt plan.  Amy's tutorial uses 7x9" blocks and I knew I needed bigger to be quicker. I settled on a 10x 11.5" block.  I started by cutting 11x12" blocks.

It made a nice lap size of 49 x 60" with a five by five layout configuration.

After all the bags were lined up at the door, kids sent to bed, the house tidied up, and Santa's packages all settled under the tree and stockings stuffed...I began to press, cut and piece the top.  At 10:30pm.

As the snow fell outside and the plows came by, I finished the last seam at 2:15am.

I didn't have a complete quilt, but I was happy to have at least a top to present them when we arrived.  It was well received and my mom requested I make it a wall hanging quilt.

I brought it home and instantly debated about the backing.

Since I knew it was going to be a wall hanging and I had a leftover block, I decided on a pieced backing,

For the quilting, I went with alternating wavy and swirl backgrounds and did the same "garland" swoops on the trees.

I used double batting because I wanted the quilting to be able to be seen from afar while hanging on her wall.

I do love how the quilting showed up on the backing also.

I pulled the green dotted binding from my stash!

Added an embroidered quilt label to commemorate the special occasion.

Quilt Stats:

Measures: 46" x 54"

Pattern: Holiday Patchwork Forest by Amy Smart at Diary of a Quilter

Fabric: Odds & Ends by Comstock for Moda Fabrics

Quilted: Freemotion quilting on HQ Avante

My only regret is that I had to take pictures on a weird winter day.  The sun was setting and it really gave this quilt a muddy hue.  But Christmas seems so far away and I didn't want to wait one more second before shipping off to them.

Oh....and I forgot to mention...I have a second quilt for our home with the leftovers...

I'm calling it the Oh Christmas Tree Quilt.

Valentine's Day {Quilted Projects}

"Love does not make the world go round.  Love is what makes the ride worthwhile."

 About two weeks ago, I pulled out these leftovers.

They were leftover layer cakes and cut triangles from my Layers of Charm quilt I made two years ago!

 

I didn't finish all of my Valentine's Day projects until the end of that day.  My husband and I went on vacation to Maui and I just didn't get all the quilting and binding done to take it with me on the vacation.  But I was excited to come home to these "minis".

 I'm actually super excited that I got these done so they are ready for next year!   

I don't mind being late or really early.  I just like being done!  

I used the leftover backing from the Layers of Charm quilt to make hidden zipper backings.

 

I was worried about using solid black binding, but I'm glad I did.  I feel like the eye is drawn only to the triangles of prints and stands out against the quilt on the chair.  The second pillow pops out against the second red chair (and more to come for a coordinating quilt in the works!).

I still had two leftover layer cakes to make two Hugs and Kisses potholders.

I intentionally set aside the lip layer cake for the X potholder.

And a red dot layer cake for the O potholder.

I used insulbrite and batting and then echo quilted both of the potholders. 

I used a fun Teal with white dot leftovers on the backings of all the potholders and trimmed them with black binding and a loop to hang them.

I almost ignored the four HSTs I had sitting around.  But before I put them in my scrap bins, I decided to play around with them and chose to make a trivet.

I didn't love it until I decided to add a coral pink embroidered stitch.

Then to round things out, I decided to make some quilted coasters for the family room again.

I raided my stash and made six of them and it makes my hubby happy because he loves my quilted coasters.

I was also inspired to make a Hugs and Kisses bunting for the fireplace.  I tried to use scrapbook paper I had in my stash that matched the colors in the Moda Kiss Kiss Fabric.

I'm sooo excited about decorating for next year and also making a few more valentine's quilts. 

 Stay Tuned!