First Finish of 2018 – A Scrappy Postage Stamp Quilt

scrappy postage stamp quilt, postage stamp quilt, baby boy quilt, scrap quilt, sewmystash2018, working off my stash

Right before Christmas break a friend requested a quilt for a little boy that loves giraffes.  I had planned to work on it while in San Francisco, but ultimately decided to not take my machine with me.  Once we got back I dove right in.  Since I keep my scraps sorted by size, it doesn’t take long to pull the right colors and have enough to make a quilt.  I did have to cut some scraps to add some variety.

Making the Top

I made stacks of white/neutral, gray, brown, green, aqua, navy, yellow, orange, and multi.  Then I randomly started chain piecing following my process.  The top size was to be 20 squares by 24 squares.

The top was finished over a weekend and I was ready to back it with some stash fabrics.  However, I found this adorable print on Instagram from @organicfabriccompany.  Shipping was fast and their packaging was a repurposed paper grocery bag.  As someone that tries to recycle and repurpose as much as I can, that touch was truly appreciated.   So glad I went with this fabric and added more of what the little guy likes.

 

Finished Product

A scrappy postage stamp quilt is one of my favorites to make.  So much so, that I’ve been working a video to help you whip up one in no time.  That’s coming soon along with a stretch goal that I’m not quite ready to share.  Back to this scrappy goodness.

I opted to quilt with cross hatch that creates a secondary larger diamond pattern.

Do you notice the last little tiny scraps of Neptune I had in my scrap tub?  I hate to see them go, but they will be used an loved.  The backing fabric was perfect for this quilt and the binding is a leftovers from a recent project.

If you follow me on Instagram, you may seen this picture.  My husband took it of me while I hand stitched the binding.  Yes, I hand stitched this binding since I had the time.  Rarely am I in front of the camera while sewing, but I love that he captured me perfectly.  Look close enough and you can see a sneak peek of what’s next.

makerswithquilts

I wrapped up the quilt for gift giving and it’s on the way to it’s new home.  

Every baby deserves a quilt and I love creating that special gift for others.

scrappy postage stamp quilt, postage stamp quilt, baby boy quilt, scrap quilt, sewmystash2018, working off my stash

2018 Baby Quilt Goal 1/40

All The Way Up – Kona HSTs Gender Neutral Quilt

This quilt is a good example of what happens when you just play and create.  You can evaluate the design and make changes more easily.  It all started with two charm packs and some ideas.

Originally, I had planned a disappearing nine patch pattern.  It wasn’t right.  Half square triangles seemed to fit the quilt better.  The change was a better move, but the overall layout wasn’t working.  I put the squares away for another day.

While stuck at home on a Saturday, I busted out the squares to try again.  The idea to try arrows struck and well, I liked it.

Adding the light gray borders created an offset look.  Yeah, this will do.

Upon basting the quilt it was apparent I had no clue where I was going with the quilting.  An offset triangle seemed like a good starting point.  I repeated the triangle a few times before I realized it sucked.  You can read about my decision here.

My quilting specialty is straight lines.  I should have stuck to that in the first place as straight lines were my first idea.  After recently playing around with free motion quilting, I wanted to do something different.  I didn’t need to do something different, I needed to listen to my gut and just create.

I named the quilt All The Way Up.  Maybe it should be named All The Way Fed Up.  In all seriousness this quilt reminded me creating isn’t easy.  Going through the process to create an original design allows for growth.  Growth is what you want when you’ve been stuck in a creative rut.

Kona solids baby quilt by quiltytherapy. #Half square triangle quilt #solids quilt #kona solids #HST quilt #modernbabyquilt

Here is the finished quilt.  I love the arrows created with half square triangles.  Below you get a detailed look at the straight line quilting.

Kona solids baby quilt by quiltytherapy. #Half square triangle quilt #solids quilt #kona solids #HST quilt #modernbabyquilt

I found this Dear Stella stripe at a local quilt shop a while back and had it in my stash.  When I started looking for backing I dawned on me that I had it.  The colors coordinate perfectly and the stripe is vertical.

striped backing

The quilt has SOLD on Etsy.


Linking up with Needle & Thread Thursday

Needle and Thread Thursday

 

Original Charming Plus Quilt

I honestly can’t believe I made this last June and have never shared it.  It’s the original concept for the charming plus quilt.

charming plus quilt

Looks a little different than my recent tutorial.

charming plus tutorial cover shot

From the original I decided it needed more contrast and colors.  Squares were shrunk from 5″ to 2.5″.  While I like the original, I adore what the pattern became much better.  These fabrics are from the Lotta Jansdotter Mormor fabric line.  These were the remaining squares when I made the Mormor disappearing nine patch.  I pulled from Kona black from my stash to round out the block.  I enjoy the secondary pattern it creates.  Wonder what it would look like in a bigger quilt?

charming plus quilt

The black is a nice contrast from these lower volume fabrics.  Can you believe a solid instead of gray?  While I didn’t use gray I did keep to some simple straight line quilting on all sides the seams.

The backing and binding were all stash as well.  Wish I had more of this black and white print that is the binding, but this was the last in my stash.

quilt back

Whoops, the grass was a little wet during this photo shoot.  I couldn’t resist taking the photos near these blooming flowers.

charming plus quilt

It’s fun to look back and see the journey a design has taken and what it has become.

april showers

Scrappy Irish Chain Baby Quilt Finished

Scrappy Irish Chain Baby Quilt

Updated as of March 2024.  Lots of traffic from this post still on the blog.  I love a scrappy Irish chain quilt for a baby shower.  

Scrappy Irish Chain may be a new favorite for me.  Maybe it is the simplicity of the blocks or the overall scrappy look.  The baby has arrived.  It’s a BOY!

In the card to the parents I included this story about the quilt.

After I finished quilting we went to a wings and pizza place nearby.  I bound the quilt while at dinner.  I tried my best not to get wing sauce on the quilt.  While the quilt survived our dinner, my hope is that it’s used and gets lots of stains in it’s life.

For the backing, I dug deep into my stash.  The print is from the Taxi line from 2009?

back of scrappy irish chain

Hubby helped me pick out the binding.  Red or blue were the top choices.  Red won and looks great on the quilt.

Instead of just straight lines I tried a more of the square and rectangle free motion quilting.

Scrappy Irish Chain Quilt

Look for another scrappy Irish chain in the future.

Scrappy Irish Chain Baby Quilt

 

april showers

Linking up with Oh Scrap!

Quilting is more fun than Housework

Toddler Bedroom Makeover To-Do List

There isn’t a huge to-do list to transition P from a nursery to a more big boy room, but the things on the list take time. The easiest part will be getting him a new mattress. I will only have to look at a leesa vs purple mattress comparison to see which will be best for him. The full reveal isn’t coming until late January, just given the the time for some projects. The inspiration for the project is here.

New room = new quilt

Fabric ideas started with Feather River and then random pulls from my stash to compliment the collection. The fabric selection calls for smaller squares to be able to highlight the prints. Squares were cut to 3″, which may seem small, but works really well with all the fabrics.

photo via Birch Fabrics
photo via Birch Fabrics

feather river and complimenting fabrics

To help achieve the random layout I wanted this quilt to have, I needed a way to separate fabrics. In the past I used two brown paper bags to put the fabric in and pull from. This time I used some cute baskets I had in the sewing room. Feather River in one and coordinating fabrics in the other.

random fabric assortment

Each pair of squares would have one from each basket. It’s a nice surprise to see the combinations that are made. 10 pairs would be enough for one row. Not sure how many rows I’m going to make, this will probably turn out to be throw size. P isn’t very big.

toddler quilt rows

For one of the corners of his room I was really drawn to the reading tee-pee idea. I have tutorials pinned to my board below. While at the Yelp Bazaar and visiting my crafty friend’s booths, I came across a new local company. Make My Play makes reading tents and tee-pees at a reasonable price. There was already some fabric in the my stash that I wanted to use for this and they were able to use it. Even better! No discussions over fabric, patterns, etc that can take a lot of back and forth. Plus, I don’t have to add another project to my growing list.

Also on the docket of projects:

  • Big pillows for the reading tee-pee
  • Felt pennants
  • Stump stools
  • Something plaid
  • One hour baskets

Hoping this week to hit up some vintage markets near me to find some of the perfect accessories for his walls. The challenge is finding something that is age appropriate and something he will like.

Follow Tisha Nagel’s board Camp Themed Bedroom on Pinterest.

Toddler Bedroom Makeover Inspiration

The time has come for my little guy to transition from a nursery to his own room.  It’s hard to admit, but it’s going to be amazing for him.  Plus, it will give him more storage for all his toys.

His nursery didn’t really have a theme, just mostly colors.  Aqua, yellow, orange and blue.  Lotta Jansdotter’s Bella was the inspiration.

bella fabric bundle

My toddler is all over the place in his interests.  It changes every week.  This week he is back to all Lightning McQueen clothes, last week was all Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle socks.  Okay kid, no character theme.  We love to be outdoors and he goes camping with my parents quite a bit over the summer.

The theme is outdoors/camping.  I want something with a vintage flair as well.  We live in a 1927 home making uber modern design not feasible for us.  I popped over to Crimson Tate to pick out some fabrics to possibly make this theme come together.  There was a bundle of Feather River from Birch Fabrics.  Perfect!!  Of course he needs a new quilt for his updated room.

photo via Birch Fabrics
photo via Birch Fabrics

Off to Pinterest I went to start collecting ideas to really bring these fabrics to life.

Follow Tisha Nagel’s board Camp Themed Bedroom on Pinterest.

 

I am on the hunt for vintage inspired items to round out this theme and it’s something that can grow with him.  I would love to hear your suggestions on items to add to his room.