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Springy Granny Squares Finally Revealed

Posted on by Tisha

Springy Granny Squares by quiltytherapy #grannysquares #babyquilt #florals #springdecor #floraldecor #nurserydecor #floralquilt

I’m excited to share this quilt with you.  The input and response to selecting the back was awesome.  Thank you for participating.  Here it is…the back of the quilt.

The vintage sheet is pure perfection.  Soft, drapes wonderfully, and the colors coordinate well with the front.  Notice anything different about this finished quilt?  More free motion quilting.

Confession time:  I have avoided FMQ for so long, but I truly enjoy it.  Why did I resist for years?  My quilting time has been cut down by a couple of hours. Instant time saver.  Loops are my jam for now.  I tried meandering and quickly ripped it out.

This quilt turned out much better than I could have imagined.  Tiny polka dots on a pale green was the perfect binding choice.  It provides a gentle frame around the quilt.

Floral fabrics stretched me creatively especially on the front of a quilt.  I don’t mind them on the back and often choose florals to coordinate on the back.  Maybe it was the scale or colors in this specific collection that didn’t originally inspire me too much.  As I noted in my last post, it helped to chop them into 2.5″ squares.

This quilt is available in my Etsy shop.  Wouldn’t this be a cute baby shower gift this spring?

Springy Granny Squares

Help Me Pick a Backing

Linking up with:

Needle and Thread Thursday

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Help Me Pick a Backing

Posted on by Tisha

Time to back the Springy Granny Springs quilt from last week.  Now, what to back it in?  I have a few choices in mind.  Why not open it up to quilt by committee?

Here is the binding choice.  It’s a nice pale green.

 

All three are solid choices.  Which is your favorite?    Vote in the comments by Thursday, March 16th.

 

Excited to see which backing is the winner.  Let the voting begin.  You can vote in more than one place too.  Instagram, Facebook or the blog.

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Springy Granny Squares

Posted on by Tisha

We have had some wonderful weather in Indianapolis the last week or so.  Flowers are starting to bloom, trees are budding, and my allergies are starting to flair up.  Spring is coming.  To celebrate I wanted to create a baby quilt using small florals.  The fabric was part of a mystery box I bought a couple of years ago.  I wasn’t in love with the fabric at first.  Once I chopped it into 2.5″ squares, it became more my style.

Dipping into my solid scraps I found some coordinating colors with the small florals.  The background is a white on white circle print from JoAnn’s.  I usually keep 1-2 yards on hand for backgrounds if needed.  Last week I paired everything up to make 20 blocks while watching TV.  Everyday I sewed a few blocks and by Sunday they were finished.

I was able to sneak in some early morning sewing while everyone was still asleep.  Remember all that natural light in my sewing room from this post?  The sun was just peering from behind the clouds and the room was flooded with sunshine.  It’s my favorite time of day to work in there.

 

After finishing all 20 blocks I wanted to start on a layout.  Obligatory quilter’s feet in photo coming right up.

 

Do you like how my socks tell me which feet to put them on?  Makes me giggle.

I should have thrown in some other prints, there are many yellow and blue blocks.  Egh, we will call it a design element.  The binding will be a minty small polka dot.

 

This week I hope to piece the top and start auditioning backings.  There are a few options:

  • Pieced backing with coordinating fabrics
  • Vintage sheet
  • Solid color backing (mint or yellow)

Look on Facebook or Instagram for options later this week.

Linking up with:

Kelly of My Quilt Infatuation

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My First Attempt at Free Motion Quilting

Posted on by Tisha
Free motion quilting (FMQ) has been a goal for years.  Much like zippers, it scares me.  Maybe it’s the idea of learning something new?  Could it be that I’m concerned it will look like my free hand drawings…awful.
With wonderful support of my IMQG friends I successfully quilted a small quilt with FMQ.
At the retreat I came prepared with my darning foot and an ancient WIP, it’s been around since 2011.  What I didn’t expect was how nervous I would feel.  With sweaty palms and a racing heart I pushed the pedal and started guiding my fabric.  Loops, I can do loops, yeah, let’s do that was my thought process.
Okay we’ve made a few, they look decent.  Even better the back looks good, the tension is correct.
Then I started to question myself and I slowed down.  Stitches started skipping and the frustration mounted.  UGH!  “I knew I couldn’t do this” began to creep into my mindset.  After stopping, breathing, and adjusting the fabric, I tried again.  I kept the seam ripper nearby for the number of errors that occurred.
 
Here is what I learned:
  • My machine likes to go fast.
  • Trust my gut and just keep moving the fabric.
  • If needed, stop and adjust everything.
The back may be my favorite part of this quilt.
I have a project in the works to try FMQ again.  This time will be at home.  I’m sure I will be texting my friends before for moral support and possibly having some wine to help me relax.
Love that drape
Quilt details:
Fabric:  Botanica and coordinating Kona Solids from Fabric.com
Pieced by various members of IMQG ~2011
Style:  Improv log cabins
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Quilt by Committee – V&Co HST Quilt

Posted on by Tisha
V&Co HST offset quilt by quiltytherapy, #modernquilt, #V&co, #HSTquilt #halfsquaretriangles, #babyquilt
You either love or hate half square triangles.  I happen to fall into the love category.  They are versatile and a quick way to make a block.  Last summer I dug into my V&Co stash and decided I needed to make a quilt.  There were a number of charm packs I was hoarding that blended together perfectly.
First step was to separate out the high and low volume prints.  Also any fabrics that I felt didn’t jam with everything else.  Randomly combine high and low volume prints and bust out a ton of half square triangles.  After pressing them and admiring the colors I quickly threw them back into a basket.  That basket just sat until my recent IMQG retreat.
It was on the to do list.  Bust through this older WIP, get it done.  I had considered doing a traditional layout, but that seemed boring.
This is where quilt by committee took over.  I started laying out the blocks and the comments started flying.  A few versions were tried and no one was really feeling them.
Holly spoke up and said, “Hey, can I try something?”  Absolutely.  Rachael chimed in and these two were off.  They started a layout and I quickly started sorting the blocks by color.  Within 15-30 minutes we had a gorgeous top ready to be pieced.
Discussions on the quilting went on longer than the layout process.  Should it be free motion quilted?  Straight lines?  What will look the best?  It was decided that this strong geometric quilt should have straight lines to avoid the quilting distracting from the layout.  Simple straight lines, I can do that.
For the backing I chose a zig zag print from a coordinating line that is perfection on the back.  I had just enough in the width to make it work.  The binding in turn was 2.5 inch double fold to help cover more on the back.
This quilt turned out fabulously.  Do you like it?  Love it?  You can find it here in my Etsy shop.
V&Co HST offset quilt by quiltytherapy, #modernquilt, #V&co, #HSTquilt #halfsquaretriangles, #babyquilt

Link up with Crazy Mom Quilts 

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Flying Geese Baby Quilt

Posted on by Tisha

This was one of my last projects in 2016.  The binding was finished on New Year’s Eve.  Since then I have been working on some items around the house and projects.  Plus, I really wanted to wait to show off this quilt after it had been gifted.

More geese made from stash and scrap fabrics.  Ahhh….except

There are a couple of OOPS .  Can you find them?

It could have been the burn out from working on a bagillion geese blocks between the two quilts.  See the previous quilt here.  Maybe it was the fabrics that were “straightened up” on a random day.  I think it’s important to be honest note not every project is “perfect.”  I’m okay with that as a maker.  Honestly, you probably wouldn’t notice unless I mentioned it and you did zoom in on the above photo.

The last 5-7 sets of geese on this quilt were just a creative roadblock.  In the end I love how it turned out.  For the backing I dug into my vintage sheet collection.    It’s a great selection especially if you knew the parents, they may be into sports.

Orange solid binding was a great way to wrap up this quilt.  That is hand sewn binding on the back.  No machine binding this time.

It’s now gone to our friends that are expecting a boy very soon.  I hope they use it and enjoy the quilt.

Another Flying Geese quilt click here

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