Sparkling Seaglass – A Scrappy Baby Boy Quilt

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Have you ever been stuck when it comes to naming something?  Over the last few weeks, giving this quilt the best name has evaded me.  Thank you to my wonderful Facebook followers for some suggestions.  One suggestion was seaglass.  I added the sparkling since the background fabric is silver metallic dots on white.  Plus, it truly sparkled in this picture.

baby quilt, scrap quilt, solids quilt, modern quilt, half square triangles

Background

Shout out to Nicole at Modern Handcraft for sharing her scraps from the IMQG retreat this winter.  While I’m not sure what project the blue scraps are from, but there was enough to spark an idea.  She had these castoff triangles that I wanted to pair with the same background fabric all over.

kona blue triangle scraps

I was able to pick up the white with metallic silver dots, the metallic silver crosshatch, yellow and orange solids also at the retreat.  The blues needed something else to complete the look.  So why use the yellow and orange solid too.

The triangles were trimmed to three inches.  

Time to chop up the dots for background fabric.

Conveniently, I had a sew day planned for race day here in Indy.  Hubby rode out to the Indy 500 and P was away at the lake.  Look how cute these trimmings are.

I had everything cut out before the race.  Did you know in Central Indiana the race is blacked out for the live broadcast? We can watch a taped version usually around 6pm after the race.  It’s been this way my entire life.  Growing up we listened on the radio to the race every year.  So I turned on P’s Lighting McQueen radio to listen to sew.

During the race I was able to get all the triangles pieced and another quilt top started.  Now it was time to trim and sort.

Some of the colors were so close together, it was hard to tell.  Piecing the rows went smoothly.  The piecing was done with the random method I have done before.  It can be challenging to not overthink this part of the process

Beautiful rows were sewn together and a top was suddenly finished.  Take a look at this picture?  I think it’s stunning.

baby quilt, scrap quilt, solids quilt, modern quilt, half square triangles

Quilting

The backing is a Robert Kaufman light gray crosshatch on white.  I kept the quilting simple with straight lines on the rows.  However, my machine decided to be a royal pain in the ass.  It was just in for service and I’m dealing with this crap??  UGH!  The stitching was ripped out multiple times.

Finally something worked and this quilt got finished.  I was able to photograph as the sun started to set, giving this warm glow.

baby quilt, scrap quilt, solids quilt, modern quilt, half square triangles

baby quilt, scrap quilt, solids quilt, modern quilt, half square triangles

My favorite detail in this quilt is in the binding.  I ran out of the silver metallic crosshatch with three inches to go.  Scraps of the blue solids were added to make up the length.  It’s the perfect touch on this quilt.

baby quilt, scrap quilt, solids quilt, modern quilt, half square triangles

This is baby quilt 9/40 in my yearlong goal.

Gorgeous Granny: Fresh and Modern Granny Square Quilt

Granny square quilt, modern baby quilt, modern design, modern nursery decor, scrap quilt, jewel tone colors

Granny Squares are one of my favorite patterns outside of just patchwork.  It’s a staple in my designs.  This version is a bit darker and feels stormy.  You guys, these fabrics were all scraps and stash.

Sorting fabrics

Picking Fabrics

On Instagram a few weeks ago I saw someone destashing 2.5″ squares.  These are of course right up my alley.  Once the scraps arrived the idea for this quilt came to life.  The colors just spoke to me.  It did take some sorting and adding scraps to get just the right colors.

My goal was to make as many blocks as possible.  I had enough to make 31 blocks.  To help with speed, I set them up to able to chain piece the rows.

chain piecing quilt blocks

There was a slight panic as I was cutting into my light gray.  Was there going to be enough?  Not really, but I had some scraps to throw in.  That still wasn’t enough so an SOS went out to nearby quilters.  No one had any in stock so I had to trek to JoAnns on a Saturday afternoon to get more.  To my surprise it wasn’t an awful experience.  The store was packed and busy.  However, I walked right in to what I wanted and walked right back to the cutting counter.  There was some Kona Ash in the remnants bins as well.  BONUS!

Blocks

Look at these blocks, they are gorgeous.

Hence the name Gorgeous Grannies.  This quilt will be named Blanche Devereaux in honor the wonderful character from the TV show, The Golden Girls.  You’re welcome for this.  Plus, I’ve been to a few Galentine’s Day events recently.  The show perfectly sums up celebrating the friendship of ladies.

This top is just too good.

I was worried the colors wouldn’t balance out as well in the top as they did.  Too bad I didn’t have more of these fabrics to make a bigger quilt to keep for myself.  Love the colors and fabrics in this top.  What do you think?

 

Boundless Fabric Gender Neutral Half Square Triangle Baby Quilt

This post may contain affiliate links.  If you make a purchase, I may receive a small compensation.  All opinions are my own.  

 

This is my first time using Boundless Fabric by Craftsy.  I bought a layer cake from someone having a destash and got right to work.  Over the last few months, I had been wanting to remake the All The Way Up quilt and I thought this may be a good palette to try the design with.  I cut the layer cake into 5″ charms and separated out the fabric.

 

The colors are a mix of bold and muted, creating a wonderful contrast.  For the random look I like to go for, I make 4 stacks of the squares, and then started pairing them up.  Do you ever gravitate towards having some colors together more than others?  I found myself going towards the same pairings and had to rethink a few.  I kept telling myself to keep the pairings random.

 

 

Piecing all of the squares took no time.  Cutting them into half square triangles was easy.  Porter helped me press them and loved it.  Then, I went to layout the quilt as I envisioned and it wasn’t right.  Rather than move forward, I picked up the squares and put them away for a couple of nights.  P and I designed his quilt and that gave me time to rethink the layout.

Rather than recreate the quilt, let’s use it for inspiration.  I started laying out the blocks with the triangles all going the same way.  It was growing on me.  Since I had let go of the urge for everything to be perfect with Porter’s quilt, I decided to just create this top and run with it.  It was hard because I wasn’t absolutely in love with it and I wanted to do more.  However, keeping it simple can work out too.

 

Once the top was finished I starched the hell out of it and got everything flat.  One thing that had not changed from my original vision was using a black and white print with these fabrics.  I decided it needed to be the backing and dug around in stash.  A simple Lotta Jansdotter print to the rescue.

 

For quilting I opted for straight lines to accentuate the triangles.  It felt good to do straight line quilting again.  Once I washed the quilt, it was just the way I wanted it.

 

There was just enough of the binding print to finish off the quilt.  It pulls many of the colors from the quilt, but doesn’t take away from it.

Overall I’m happy with the way the quilt turned out.  I’m proud that I didn’t let a layer cake just sit around and put it right to use.  That was weird for me.

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The quilt is currently listed in my Etsy Shop here.

2018 Baby Quilt Goal 4/40

Indie Folk King Sized Patchwork Quilt – Finished

The response to the Indie Folk King Sized Patchwork quilt has been great.  If you love the fabrics, there will be more quilts made with the remaining fabrics.  There should be at least two more, maybe a third if I can swing it.

Can I be honest for a minute?  Great.  This quilt was massive and I wanted to get it out before we left for San Francisco over Christmas.  The weather in Indy turned to shit right as I finished this quilt.  It was too big to just hang on my fence without getting on the rain-soaked ground.  I’m heartbroken I didn’t get better pictures of the finished quilt, see way down below.  However, I did film the making of this quilt and I’m working on a how to video.

Let’s move on to finishing this beast of a quilt.

Basting the quilt

After the kid went to bed, it was time to baste.  I had removed the dining room table and swept the room to prepare.  I learned something that night.  My dining room is not big enough to baste a king-sized quilt without working in sections.  We had been contemplating buying a new house in 2018 and now a new requirement will be space to baste a big quilt.

Basting took about three hours to complete.  I was a tad bit sore after and almost couldn’t get off the floor.  Not joking, I sent a text to my husband to come get me off the floor.  This was a huge accomplishment.

Quilting choice

To quilt this I went with straight lines on the diagonal.  On Instagram, a commenter asked why on the diagonal.  Great question.  I did an Insta-story response, but thought I would share here as well.

 

Since I have been quilting straight lines on the diagonal for some time, I’m pretty good at it.  Plus, with a quilt this size, it allows me to move it all around.  Spreading the bulk around is much easier on my body and sewing space.  Keeping a quilt rolled up and bulk all on one side would be too much for me.  Each square has an X in it for quilting.  The white thread I chose blended in nicely.

Quilting this required several breaks to keep my shoulders and back from getting too stiff.

Backing and binding

I was able to score a soft green sheet in the perfect color off one my local swap groups.  It wasn’t quite big enough so I added some of the gray print.

In finding coordinating solids I struggled to find a navy blue that worked.  It makes a good binding choice to balance out the colors.

Machine binding won based on the time I had left to meet my deadline.

Finished Quilt

Below are the best pictures I could get of this quilt without getting it on the ground.  Notice that light dusting of snow in the background and on the quilt?

 

The quilt is safely in its new home and enjoying lots of snuggles.  Click on the links below for the other posts related to this quilt project.

 


Indie Folk Quilt – part 1

Indie Folk Quilt – part 2

Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts

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New Winter and Christmas Pillows

Pillow covers are a great way to spruce up your living room.  In August I shared some of the Holiday fabrics I had picked up in hopes of making pillow covers.  Happy to report the Winter and Christmas versions are finished before Christmas.

I had some other fabrics that coordinate in my stash from a giveaway I had won like two years ago.  This has been on my to-do list for a while.  Using a simple envelope pillow cover I was able to create these in an hour with help from P.  He did a great job handling the machine.

The big pillow is surprisingly comfy and is a form from Jo-Anns.  The softness is comparable to the Ikea goose feather pillow.  Not sure how it will hold up over time.

The backing a red sheet I had been stashing away.  I was able to make all the pillow backings using this twin sized sheet.  When at Goodwill or thrift stores, I will always check for sheets I can use while sewing.

Real Life

I would be lying if I told you these were all lined up beautifully on my couch and not scattered across the living room.  My Plott Hound immediately stole one and I found her snoozing away on it.  P decided to she needed to be covered up too and it was the perfect photo opportunity.   Yes, she is this ridiculous.

My freezer paper painted pillows now live under the tree.

Are you working on any last minute projects before Christmas?


The post may contain affiliate links.  If you may a purchase from a link, I may receive a small compensation.  

Indie Folk King Sized Patchwork Quilt

Indie Folk designed by Pat Bravo for Art Gallery fabrics is stunning.  My customer was torn between this line and one other.  She made the right choice.  Yes, this is a commissioned king sized quilt.  A bonus as I’m working on this quilt, I am creating a video highlighting my process.  Can’t wait to share with you that process.

Fabric

Lots of prep work goes into making a king sized quilt.  Half yard bundles of the fabric line were necessary and Fat Quarter Shop had the full line and great pricing.

For a patchwork quilt I prefer to incorporate coordinating solids.  No one near me sells Art Gallery solids and I really struggled to find them online, especially at a price I liked.  Crimson Tate stocks FreeSpirit solids and they coordinated well with Indie Folk’s colors.

Cutting

To maximize the fabric I cut 4.5 inch squares.  That means ALOT of squares for a king sized quilt.  My customer wants patchwork and this delivers that design element.  This step was probably the longest out of all of them since I needed around 700 squares.

Even the scrappy strips and snippets are delightful.

Sorting

Cleaning my sewing area after cutting was imperative.  This project will take over all my workspace for the next few weeks.  Having it organized and ready to work at all times is a huge time saver.  Taking the 10 minutes to clean was well worth it.

When prepping for a big project, this is a great time to check your machine as well.  I prepped three bobbins, cleaned and oiled my machine before starting any piecing.  Also, I put in a fresh needle for piecing.

The last step for preparation is sorting my fabrics.  This project I sorted by the print or solid.  Some projects I will sort by color, especially if a scrappy quilt.  You need some space to make a sort effective.  Using an extra cutting mat or folding table is helpful.

Next week I hope to share my portion on piecing the top.  Any guesses how many rows I need for this quilt?

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Indie Folk Quilt – part 2

Indie Folk Quilt – part 3