6.27.2013

hope valley baby quilt


After sharing the mermaid quilt with you this past weekend, I figured I'd go ahead and pull another never-before-blogged-about quilt from the archives.


Back when we were living outside of DC a few years ago, I signed up for a ticker tape quilt class at Stitch DC, a local yarn and fabric shop.


I was excited to try out a new-to-me quilting technique, and happy to finally use some of the Hope Valley prints from my stash. I opted to do squares for my layout, and stitched each one to my quilt sandwich. It washed up quite nicely, and the pieces frayed around the edges as they were supposed to.


Perhaps the best part of the class though, was the friendship I formed with Katie, one of only a handful of people I managed to befriend during my short time in Maryland. Katie's blog is beautiful and inspiring, and definitely worth a read.


P.S. Thanks to my friend Kait, the lovely model/quilt holder in the pictures above, for her assistance when I took these photos OVER A YEAR AGO!

6.25.2013

do. Good Stitches: June Block


Have you sewn a lot of curves? I've done only a few, but I got some good practice in last week while making the block for this month's quilt for the Wish Circle of do. Good Stitches. We used a restricted palette and Alyssa's pattern, and I think the finished quilt is going to be stunning!

Each month, I make quilt blocks for the Wish Circle of do. Good Stitches, which our group then turns into quilts that we donate to Project Linus. You can see all of my past blocks here.

6.22.2013

the mermaid quilt


Is three years too long to wait to blog about a quilt? I hope not.


I came across these photos of one of my first and favorite quilts this weekend, and thought now would be as good a time as any to share them. The top is made up of 10" squares of fabrics from Heather Ross's Mendocino line (lots of mermaids and octopi), which I picked up from a quilt shop in NH years ago, and the back is an Anna Maria Horner fabric I found in the clearance tub at Nido.


I finished the quilt in 2010, while we were still living in Maryland, and it has been a constant on our couch ever since.

Fellow bloggers, what's the longest you've waited to blog about a project? Do you have project photos languishing unshared in your computer folders, too?

6.16.2013

mini quilts for the alzheimer's art quilt initiative


The Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative (AAQI) is one of my favorite charities to support. The work they do to raise money for Alzheimer's research is amazing, and I have my own growing collection of quilts that I've purchased from their site over the past year and a half. I've been wanting to donate quilts to AAQI for quite some time, and last month I finally did.





I made two mini quilts---each one is about 9" x 11"---from scraps in my stash. For each quilt, I hand-stitched monochromatic hexagons together, and then machine appliqued them to the background. I did dense straight-line quilting on each and machine bound them (my first time!). 





Both quilts are now for sale on the AAQI web site, here and here, and all proceeds from their sale go toward Alzheimer's research. If you have the chance, I definitely recommend taking the time to browse the Quilts for Sale page, as there are a lot of really beautiful quilts on there, made by many talented quilters.


P.S. Happy Father's Day to my dad, to whom both of these quilts are dedicated.

6.10.2013

a look at fabric screen printing

 


Have you seen this gorgeous video on fabric screen printing, featuring the gals behind Ink and Spindle? Their printing set-up is enviable, and I love the system they've rigged up for drying fabric once it's been printed on!

(Video by Artisan Magazine.)

6.05.2013

do. Good Stitches: Arkansas Traveler Quilt


I've always loved this quilt by Ara Jane of the blog You Know What I Love? So when it was my turn to ask for blocks from my do. Good Stitches circle members back in January, I soon thought of Ara Jane's gorgeous quilt, and asked everyone to send me an Arkansas Traveler block, using this image for color inspiration. (You can find a great tutorial for the block over here.)


I fell in love with every block that was sent, and assembled them into this baby quilt, which I quilted with an imperfect, one-inch grid. For the backing, I used a well-coordinated floral print that I picked up from the $2.97/yard table at the fabric store I worked at a few years ago. The binding is scrappy and bright.


The quilt washed up crinkly and soft, and will be donated to Project Linus this Saturday during the Make a Blanket Day that's happening at Spoonflower.


Have you recently finished anything that had been sitting in your WIP pile for a while? If so, please share in the comments---I'd love to see!


Each month, I make quilt blocks for the Wish Circle of do. Good Stitches, which our group then turns into quilts that we donate to Project Linus. You can see all of my past blocks here.

6.03.2013

do. Good Stitches: May Blocks



Here are my crazy star quilt blocks for Erica, made up of pinks, oranges, and yellows, with low-volume prints in the background. This is the first time that I've used low-volume prints in a quilt block, and I really like the results. Next, I'd love to make something similar to this. Do you have any favorite quilts that incorporate low-volume prints?

Each month, I make quilt blocks for the Wish Circle of do. Good Stitches, which our group then turns into quilts that we donate to Project Linus. You can see all of my past blocks here.