Wonky Rectangles Baby Quilt

Back with another finished quilt (and I have ANOTHER quilt that I'll be posting about in the next few days)!

My cousin's wife recently had a baby and they waited until the baby was born to find out the gender (I love that idea!). Luckily the baby was a girl, because these colors definitely read more "girly" than I originally thought when I picked them out. Haha. :) But I had a lot of fun making this quilt and I can't wait to send it to the newest member of our extended family, Selah Grace Saville!

I love the way the big, random rectangles accent the patterns in the fabric so well.

The proportions turned out a little bit different than I was expecting, but it looks great even if you turn it vertically, so there's no right or wrong way to do it. :)

 I visited a new (amazing) quilt store called Rock, Paper, Scissors in Montclair, NJ and that's where I found this perfect backing fabric. It's a cream color with peach/salmon accent lines. SO great!

I machine-stitched the binding instead of hand sewing it so it would be extra durable and hold up to lots of repeat washings.

Welcome to the world, Selah! Can't wait to meet you!

Kerstin's Wedding Quilt

Hello, online quilting friends! I just got back from a fantastic weekend up in Wisconsin celebrating the wedding of my friends Kerstin and Kyle. Kerstin and I have been friends since 8th grade when we both lived in Hawaii. There is a group of four of us (shout-out to Morgan and Azaria!) who have miraculously stayed in touch this long. You know you have true friends when they've lived through your awkward years and still agree to be seen with you. ;) But in all seriousness, it so amazing to be able to pick up where we left off no matter how long it's been since we last saw each other. I feel refreshed and rejuvenated after our long weekend together.

Of course, I made Kerstin a wedding quilt as a gift. This is actually my first kind-of sort-of original drafted pattern. I sketched out the nine center stars and used a jelly roll and some extra fabric to assemble them. Once they were all together, I wanted to make the quilt bigger, so I decided to add some arrows like I had seen in a quilt made by Grace and Favour. (Here's the quilt, and here's a tutorial that she wrote out for the arrows.)

Wes is on a three-week deployment until the end of the month, but I had him hold up the quilt for me before he left. The binding wasn't handstitched yet, but I wanted documentation, dang it! ;) Luckily, Kerstin also sent me some pictures after I got back.

My willing and handsome participant.

This quilt finished up at a whopping 82" by 82". I think it beat my sister's wedding quilt by two inches on both sides!

Kyle and Kerstin with their quilt!

I am so happy for you guys and I'm already looking forward to the next time we hang out. :)

Aviation Inspired Baby Quilt

Hello friends! Just wanted to drop in and share my latest finished project. :)

Some friends of ours are having a baby and they both happen to be pilots, so when I stumbled across this pattern called "In Formation" using "flying geese" blocks, I just knew it was the one I had to make. I used leftover fabric from my sister's wedding quilt (recognize those colors?), and used some fat quarters to make a scrappy backing. I took some pictures in our beautiful, blooming, GREEN front yard. Enjoy!

This picture cracks me up because it looks like Wes could be naked underneath. Haha. ;)

Quilting detail. I like how it looks like swirling air and clouds.

Scrappy backing!

I love this fabric that gives step-by-step directions on how to make a paper airplane. How perfect is that?

And I've been dying to use this "mice in race cars" fabric ever since I bought it way back when, so a baby boy's quilt seemed like the perfect opportunity.

 Our friends should be receiving this quilt any day now. I can't wait to hear what they think!

Mini Swap Brain Freeze

I'm having a bit of a quilter's "existential crisis" over here in regards to my Alison Glass mini quilt swap!

I've always loved browsing quilt swap hashtags on Instagram because I love seeing the thought and creativity that go into each and every quilt. But it seems those hours of browsing have backfired because I am drawing a complete blank when it comes to ideas for this upcoming mini swap and I'm starting to feel the pressure. The quilts aren't due to be shipped until the first week of June, but I know that will sneak up on me if I'm not careful. I thought I had an idea of a pattern that I wanted to use, but I immediately started second-guessing it and didn't think it was complicated enough or special enough. I know I'm not supposed to try to be something or someone that I'm not, but it's hard not to because I want to make something truly special. Drafting original patterns has never been my strong point, and maybe it never will be, but I would love to be able to interpret my partner's inspiration and suggestions into something that she will like. 

Do any of you have trouble homing in on a design? How do you translate inspiration (from pictures, other quilts, nature, etc.) into an actual quilt design? How do you find a good balance between your taste and your partner's tastes? Have you ever participated in a swap and wish you would have done something differently?

I would LOVE to have some input! :)

Black and Gray X-Plus Quilt

I have another quilt finish to share with you all! 

My youngest sister, Mandi, has a birthday coming up in April and she requested a black/gray/white quilt. As much as I love wearing black and gray, I didn't have a lot of it in my fabric stash, so I had to start shopping around for the most economic way to get scraps. One of my Instagram friends (@leilagt) was kind enough to send me scraps from her stash for an amazing price! I also knew I wanted to try the X-Plus quilt pattern (re-sized to 12" finished blocks), so here is the final product. Drum roll please... 

Wes and I went exploring around back roads today and I kept my eyes peeled for some good photo shoot locations. As soon as I caught a glimpse of this rundown brick and wood building, I made him do a u-turn in the middle of the road to go back and take advantage of it. :)

I knew I wanted to add a pop of color, and this teal Doe fabric was so "me", I had to include it.

I got the backing fabric from IKEA for $5 a yard (can't beat that!) and my longarm quilter actually recommended using the aquamarine colored thread and I am SO happy with the results!

I usually like my quilt gifts to be total surprises for the recipient, but A) my sister had a hand in picking out the fabric and she saw some of my finished blocks when she came out to visit in January, and B) I literally could not wait to post pictures of the finished product. :)

I'm so happy I was able to finish this quilt on time. I recently started a job at Ace Hardware and I'm working 35-38 hours a week, so my quilting time has definitely become more rare and precious. But before you feel sorry for me, it's been great to have a reason to get out of the house AND my husband told me yesterday that my legs and abs have become more toned since I started working three weeks ago! (I guess standing and walking IS better than sitting around the house all day...) Haha. :) I hope everyone reading this is finding the time to enjoy their hobbies just like I am. Every time I finish a project, I am so excited to share it with my online quilting friends. :)

PS - I'm going to my first Modern Quilt Guild meeting tomorrow night in Philadelphia. I'm going to bring this quilt and my Cuzco Crossroads quilt for show and tell. Wish me luck!