Have Machine Will Travel

Vacations are great and so glad we took one before our family of two becomes three. However, I must confess that I hate being away from my machine for so long. After checking the TSA site and finding out sewing machines can fly in the cabin, my decision was easy. Yes, my machine will travel to SF (San Francisco) and hubby rolled his eyes.

hubby and I

The plan for the trip was to visit as many breweries as possible in the area. Not tons of fun for me right now. Normally, I would have been all over it. I needed something to do when we were decompressing and watching football or not out enjoying sights.

Started with a big pile on the trip.
Started with a big pile on the trip.

My brother-in-law has ordered many custom quilts for me, so it was fun to show him how I make one. For this quilt I am doing a play off the Mod-Mosaic from Oh Fransson! I fell in love with this pattern a few months ago. I think it’s a great way to really use up some scraps and just play.

I took over the kitchen table!
I took over the kitchen table!

When traveling, doing all the touristy things is not my style. For this trip we were either going to go whale watching or to see the Elephant Seals during their mating season. Being on a boat in ocean with waves, was probably not the best idea. Seeing the seals had a 3 mile walk with it. Worth EVERY step. Those looking to get out on the ocean to get up close and personal with the California gray whale may be interested in a whale watching california excursion which departs from Newport Beach.

These animals are massive. When they come onshore they are there to unwind and mate for a month, that’s it. On the guided tours you get to walk right by them, well 25 feet right by them. They are large and can move quickly, especially if a battle is happening. I’m good not getting ran over by 3,000 pounds of a ticked off male seal.

Females and the pups.
Females and the pups.

Look at this amazing view while we were out hiking.

Ano Nuevo State ParkOkay we did one cheesy touristy thing. Couldn’t resist after winding down Lombard St. Recognize these lovely houses? If your watched TGIF in the 80’s and 90’s you should. It’s the opening shot to Full House.

“How Rude”

 

Little Man Memory Quilt

What do you do with all the left over baby clothes that are important to you?  A friend asked me to create a quilt with her son’s clothes.  Quilts are full of memories and love.  Incorporating the clothes from your child’s first year or important events is a great way to remember that time.  Fabric scrap booking that can be USED.

As I was cutting the onsies and shirts I just thought how snuggly and new the baby was when wearing these.  His outfit from the hospital is in the stack below.  Maybe because I’m expecting soon I get sentimental about that time.  Just think how their lives changed with that one little outfit.  They are now responsible for a new human.

baby clothes quilt pieces

Baby Clothes Memory quilt

For the quilt I added little hats, feet and smaller pieces from the first year for added sentiment.  They really give a personal touch to the quilt.  It took a while on how to arrange this quilt to highlight the key components.  A random pattern was the best way to showcase all the special pieces.

I added a variety of Riley Blake fabrics that coordinate with colors in the clothes and fill in gaps.  The little man getting the quilt is big into dinosaurs, animals, cars, trucks, and anything really little boyish.

quilt back

For added snuggles I opted for the Zoology flannel option.  The colors in this print are perfect to coordinate with the front fabrics.  Quilting was done in a very random straight line pattern.

His mom loved the quilt and can’t wait to make one for her next son.

What key pieces would you put in a quilt if it was based on a memory?  I would love to know and hear your feedback.

PS…thanks hubby for holding up the quilt.  I finished it at night and our backyard was a mud pit in the morning.

 

2013 Lots Going On

I don’t know how you felt about 2012, but overall I am happy to see it go.  The year started off rough and I took some time off to help myself heal and recover from our losses.  However there were many bright points and projects that really kept me going.  Here are some of my favorites.

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For 2013 there are many changes coming to Quiltytherapy.  Biggest thing is our new addition sometime in March/April.  Even though there will be big changes, there are many things I want to accomplish.

  • Write my first pattern, finally.
  • Work through my ever growing stash for quilts.
  • Finish at least 3 of the projects I have started.  I have a shelf full of works in progress, probably 10-15 sitting ready to sew.

Madrona Road Challenge – inspiration

Indy Modern quilt guild is participating in the Madrona Road Challenge by Violet Craft.  Over the next month I need to create something using these gorgeous prints but lacking inspiration right now.

First stop…over to Violet Craft’s blog to find out how she created these fabrics.  They are a balance of both floral and strong line prints.   If the gypsy daughter she speaks of has these, “rooted father and a gypsy mother,” that could explain the contrasting prints.  Our guild has the blue color way.

I can only add in one more print from the line and solids to make my creation.  I’m pondering just playing with the strong line prints and the florals separately.  Not sure how that will play out.

What have I pinned on my boards recently that could work as inspiration?

I’m leaning towards lots of white space to really showcase the prints but have some structure in my piecing.  For solids I’m going to throw in dark gray, black and light blue to coordinate.

Simply Color Play Mat

There are a few fabric lines that I may obsess over and really want to get my hands on.  Early this fall I added Moda’s Simply Color to that list.

The colors and prints in this line are great.  Zig zags, floral, diamonds, and leaves which are my some of my favorites for prints.  Added to my stash were a number of charm packs and a jelly roll.

Someone asked me to make a large play mat for their toddler.  She sent over some quilts that she liked and we clicked immediately on the layout.  Simple, white squares and print fabric alternating.  Now, which prints to pick.  After looking over Simply Color I thought this would be a great line to use.  She agreed.

I tried to keep the layout without a pattern but not too much of one thing per row or column.  The colors from this quilt put me in a cheery mood while working with them.  Of course my machine decides mid way through piecing to crap out.  Gotta love when that happens and you have stuff to work on.

The quilting was just simple straight lines around the entire square.  For the back I had been waiting on the yardage of the fabric to come out but it just kept getting closer and closer to the day I needed to send out the quilt.  I had a lime green sheet I had picked up months ago that was perfect for the backing.

 

Binding is done in a solid orange color that coordinated really well with all the colors.  Sorry some the pictures aren’t better but I took them in the morning literally before running it to the post office.

I got an email last week that it’s perfect and came with this.

There are charms left and a jelly roll.  I have some ideas, but will wait a bit longer to make something.

Hello Luscious baby girl quilt

Couldn’t resist the Moda Hello Luscious line that came out a few months ago.  Instead of the usual charm pack, I opted for a jelly roll to try something different.  Upon receiving the fabric I picked out the mostly pink, blue and green fabrics.  Not sure why, but I set them aside.

Finally a girl’s quilt came up in my queue of work.  After so much blue it was nice to work with pink.  I like to keep it simple and I opted for a subway tile pattern.

With the voile quilt I did manage to use up all of my Kona Pomegranate, good problem until you need it for a quilt back.  I had a sheet that was really coordinated better.

Binding was done in a solid green color to coordinate with the colors in the quilt.  Probably took me 10 minutes going through my Kona options to find one I liked the best.

The blue in this quilt has to be one of my favorite shades, not too teal or baby blue.  Just right.

This quilt lined up very well.  I will work on tutorial on how I kept it all straight this week and share over the weekend.