Boho Baby Quilts

This week, I finished two baby quilts and today I was finally able to get some pictures of them. Now I can post them in my Etsy shop (and on the blog, of course!). 

I used the Indian Summer fabric line from Art Gallery Fabrics (plus a few solids) and this was my first experience sewing equilateral triangles. Confession: this was originally one long, skinny, awkwardly proportioned quilt top AND I've had it completed for almost two years now! I pulled it out recently and knew I couldn't make it work as a regular sized quilt, so I chopped it in half and voila! Two awesome baby quilts!

I also wanted to "set the stage" and get some pictures of these quilts in an actual kid's room, so I asked my friend Michelle if I could come over and take some pictures of the quilts hanging over the edge of her daughter's crib. I love the way the longarm quilting adds so much texture and movement! 

Let me know what you think of the final product! Have you ever made a quilt pattern using equilateral triangles before? (I would do it again in a heartbeat!)

Scrappy Gray Table Runner

My sister Mandi recently told me that she wanted a quilt with the colors gray, black, and white. I didn't have enough of those in my stash to make a whole quilt, so I asked around on Instagram for the best place to buy fabric scrap bags online. A generous Instagram friend offered to sell me some scraps from her stash, and I couldn't be happier with the variety and selection that she picked out! I decided to do my first "X Plus" quilt with these fabrics and so far, it's coming along nicely.

As I was trimming some of my pieces, I was ending up with lots of triangles. I couldn't let them go into my scrap bag when they were already so neat and tidy, so I sewed them together into half square triangles and decided to make a table runner for our dining room table. I pulled an awesome batik from my stash for the backing, and this was the final result!

Our house has a sun room with a GIANT skylight, so I was able to get some good lighting AND stay warm. My dog, Gracie, managed to tolerate this particular photo session long enough for me to get some good ones. :)

Bright Colors on a Winter Day

It's been lightly snowing all day here in New Jersey - perfect weather for sitting on the couch and finishing the binding on my latest quilt! I've been addicted to Blue Bloods lately, so I might as well be productive while I'm sitting in front of the TV all day. ;) This quilt was made from a fat quarter bundle that was given to me as a gift two years ago. I love the way the lime green and blue blend together so well.

This quilt top sat 75% finished for almost two years until I recently pulled it out and sewed the strips together. (EDIT: I just realized I didn't get an up-close detail shot, so I'll try to include one of those later.)

I had to get creative with the backing because I only had about two and a half yards to work with and I couldn't remember where I had purchased it so I couldn't get more. I still had some of that awesome IKEA text fabric left, so I added a strip of it and I really like how it breaks up all of the bright green.

I'm still working on my photography and editing skills, but this was the best I could do by myself with my new tripod. Fresh snow is always the nicest, so I couldn't pass up the opportunity to capture it in the background. :)

My next venture is a quilt using fabric and a pattern that I've had for awhile, but never started. I'm pretty sure I'm going to sell this quilt because I don't really have a particular recipient in mind and I think it would have mass appeal (Kate Spain "Cuzco" fabrics, geometric pattern, etc.). I'll probably open an Etsy shop to make the sale and I found a great article from Sew Mama Sew (here) that breaks down the process of pricing your quilts. Lots of good information to learn and absorb. If any of you have any experience selling quilts, please let me know! I'd love to hear what worked and didn't work for someone else.

UPDATE (29 Jan 2015) -- Here are some updated pictures of this quilt on the beach! This quilt is now listed for sale in my Etsy shop, WombleQuilts.

Wedding Quilt For My Sister

My sister got married yesterday and I made her and her new husband a quilt as a wedding gift. Now that they've seen the quilt, I can finally post pictures online!

I started brainstorming ideas a few months ago. I was trying to get some inspiration and insight, so I texted my sister and asked her how long she and her fiancee will have been dating when they get married. She said 365 days. They were getting married on their one year dating anniversary! After that, the number 365 just stuck in my head and I wanted to find some way to portray that in a quilt. Lucky for me, I stumbled across the free quilt pattern "Bartow" (designed by Carolyn Friedlander) on the Robert Kaufman website. The pattern is basically a series of half-inch wide strips, so it was easy to make it as big as I needed to. I purchased a layer cake of Moda "Modern Neutrals" and got to work! The colors reminded me a lot of my sister's taste, but they were also colors I would pick myself, so that definitely helped me stay motivated. The final product is exactly how I pictured it in my head. The colors and the design and the quilting are all very modern and I feel like this quilt is the best representation (so far) of my quilting style. I took these pictures before I left New Jersey because I knew I would want to post pictures from Texas as soon as the quilt was gifted. I hope you like it as much as I do! :)

The last row had a gap at the end, so I knew I wanted to add some sort of heart to fill the blank space. I decided to embroider their initials (A+A for Allie and Abe) and the date. I used a thick stitch on my regular machine, and if you look closely, it is far from perfect, but it gets the job done. I added the heart after the quilt was already quilted, so you can see the applique outline on the back of the quilt. It actually looks kind of cool and worn-in, like the quilt has already been loved and used for a few years. :) 

I explored a new quilt shop and found a great fabric for backing. The green matches perfectly and the polka dots are a little bit smudged and imperfectly spaced. 

I went to Jo-Ann's and found a perfect binding that was gray with random small hearts. I am so happy with how this quilt turned out. :)

The professional photographer took a few photos of Allie and Abe wrapped up in the quilt on their wedding day, so as soon as I have access to those, I will post them too. This was a really fun one, but now my brain is already on to the next project! Stay tuned to see what else I have up my sleeve!

LOTS of Finished Projects to Show!

Another title for this post should be: "Quilting Photography Is Not A One Person Job".

I've been on a roll finishing quilts lately, but my husband hasn't been home during the day to help me take pictures! Today was a cloudy day, but I decided I couldn't wait any longer. If anyone has any recommendations for a good quilt frame or hanging method, please let me know. I'm sure my husband would appreciate it. ;)

Here is a jelly roll quilt that I recently had quilted. The pattern is from a book called "Modern Basics II" by Amy Ellis. The fabric is Modern Roses by Moda. I used a pretty teal batik from my stash for the binding. The quilt top was pretty before I had it quilted, but the quilting really made the colors and the design pop in a way that I wasn't expecting. This has quickly become a regular couch/lounging quilt in our house.

This next quilt is actually the second quilt top I ever finished, after my college t-shirt quilt. I had it quilted while I still lived in Texas, but it sat in a box until I recently found it again. All it needed was the binding! This pattern is from Little Louise Designs (she can be found on Etsy) and it's called Danish Delights. I still love this color combination, even three years after I picked it. I don't use a lot of orange in my quilts, so this one is unique in that sense. This is another "me" quilt that I'm keeping for myself. :)

My grandma's quilt guild has a limit of 75 members, so I'm currently on the waiting list to become a member. I've really enjoyed the two meetings I've been able to go to as a guest. Show and tell is such a fun way to get inspiration and (let's be honest) to get compliments on the projects that we've finished. ;) Last year, my grandma won the blocks of the month for three months in a row, so she had a lot of nine patch blocks and wasn't sure what to do with them. She decided to use a disappearing nine patch pattern and I helped her figure out a good layout and provided the backing. I pieced a few of the rows, but she finished it and then gave it to me as a gift! I think she's just happy that we recently moved into a house only 10 minutes away from her house. It's a win-win situation for me because I get to go sew with her and her friends at least twice a week!

We also did a paper pieced Christmas tree at last month's guild workshop. I gave the tree to my Mom when she came out for Thanksgiving, so she's going to add the button ornaments herself.

I was also able to finish the top for my Schnitzel & Boo Mini Swap quilt. Now I have to figure out how I want to quilt it (my least favorite part). I just hope the quilting doesn't distract from the striking design.

Another fun little project was this "Grumpy Cat" paper pieced pattern from Sew What Sherlock. I made this as a Christmas gift for someone special, so I hope she likes it. :) I think I'm going to make it into a small wall hanging (it's only 12" by 12", so it's a little small to be a pillow).

There's one more quilt that I finished today, but I want it to be a surprise for the recipient, so I have to use all of my willpower to resist posting pictures. It's BEAUTIFUL and modern and I can't wait for you to see it!

Well, I think I'm officially caught up on updating my recent finishes. As you can see, I've been very productive lately! I think it helps having a good long arm quilter nearby and also knowing that show and tell is coming up. Apparently that's all the motivation I need. :)

Let me know what you've been working on lately and if you've finished making all of your Christmas gifts! I can't wait to see what other people have been working on.