a little bit of me.

{Over the Hills: My 1st Quilt of 2017}

If you've followed my blog or checked in on my crafty endeavors periodically over the years, you know that I used to quilt A LOT.

AND THEN I HAD 3 KIDS OVER THE SPAN OF 8 YEARS.  And in the year after #3 was born -- while I was trying to keep up with big kids and big kid activities and playdates and fun stuff AND make sure my infant was fed 45 times a day (kidding but you know that's what it always feels like) and had a nap here and there -- I realized that I'd rather spend any "free time" sleeping not sewing.  ;)

I'm occasionally beginning to feel more in control of my extra time (& by "extra time" I mean 15 minutes here and there that should probably truly be allocated to doing something like laundry, hahahaha) - and I'm making lots of deliberate decisions to manage it the best way that I know how.  And I'm SO determined to quilt more this year...

...so I'm giving myself a few bonus points for finishing my first quilt of the year in January.  :)  >> It just took me a few more weeks to photo it and blog it!

This "Over the Hills" quilt pattern is by Suzy Quilts, and I adore the simplicity and wonkiness and imperfection that it embraces.  I started the blocks in the fall, set them aside during the holidays, and picked them back up around New Years to complete, sash and quilt.

I was able to use 24 different prints from my fabric stash on this throw-ish sized quilt, and bring them all together with a navy chambray background (purchased HERE).

I opted for simple straight-line quilt-lines, and one print (by Cotton & Steel) for the backing (simplicity!!!)...

Feels so great to be back at it again...  And back to buying (& hoarding) fabric in my other spare time -- aka after school car-line pickup of the big boys (with purchases taking place on my phone).  :)

I cant' wait to use this pattern again in the future - it was a fun one.

:)

{Scrappy "Seaside" Quilt}

I haven't blogged a quilt in a long, LONG time.

Something about having baby #3 and attempting to 'manage it all' (including the school/sports/social schedules of my 5 and 8 year-old's in addition to 'newborn life')... ;)  BUT - I get so much inspo from pinterest and online searches (and instagram!!!) - that I think it's just good karma to put a little inspo back out there.  Full circle right?!  So here we go...

My "Scrappy Seaside Quilt".

This one was a baby shower gift for my sister Kimmie's baby boy on-the-way, and designed around the color scheme she's using for his nursery.  Lots of "seaside" inspired prints to match up with the feel of the nursery (and Kimmie & Jer's sailing adventures!) as well.  It's a full-on copycat quilt of one that I did for Nash before he was born and never fully shared (you can see bits of it in this monthly post here).

I love her mint & grey color scheme with a splash of navy. 

Mr Bandit (the BlaBla doll peeking out above) was the perfect cute little (MATCHING!) addition to package up with the quilt.

The circular "bubbles" quilting pattern was done by a long-arm quilter (crinkle love).  So basically I made the quilt top - made the backing - boxed it up with the batting of my choice (warm n white) - and sent it off to be machine quilted with my chosen pattern.  It's then shipped back to me - I trim it up - and add the binding myself.

I love using long-arm quilting services for extra special quilts, or anytime I want a different finished look in the quilted pattern.  The bubbles pattern works SO well with this scrappy pieced together look and the bigger fabric panels.

***PATTERN:  There 100% is no real pattern here - that's where the "scrappy" fun comes in.  I just started by selecting a stack of fabrics, fat quarters, and larger scraps, and ROUGHLY cutting 9 inch long by 3.5 inch wide pieces.  And by ROUGHLY i mean ROUGHLY.  I like to make some more 3.25 inches wide, some 3.75 inches, etc.  EVERYTHING is 9 inches long though.  And I start by only cutting 3-4 pieces of each print.

After cutting a stack of fabric - move on to laying out the patterned pieces.  Six rows, 8 prints per row, offset so no print is placed directly underneath another.  Kinda like a wonky checkerboard.

Then comes the work of interspersing white cotton spacer panels.  I use kona white cotton.  Simple.  You could definitely mix it up with a colored solid, or a few solid colors.  I cut a variety of white panels - all 9 inches in length, widths varying from 2 to 2.5 inches wide.  As you lay out the white pieces, you'll see where you need the wider vs skinnier to keep your printed panels floating in that wonky checkerboard look.  And make adjustments as needed as you sew each row out!

Backing was pieced together with the cutest Dear Stella 'Wee Gallery' sea animal print and coordinating polka dot and print chunks.

Binding is a striped print from Cloud 9.

I can't wait to see the finished nursery and my sweet new nephew (with the quilt!).  There's something about the excitement behind a first baby that can't be matched...

:)

{Turquoise Triangles - A NEW Baby Quilt!}

...and the first one that I've listed FOR SALE in a long LOOOOONG time.

I designed, cut, pieced, and quilted this one a while back -- and am just now getting around to sharing.  And since I have a stack of FOUR quilts done (and almost done) for baby #3, I'm parting ways with this one so that it can go to a sweet new baby and loving home.  ;)

...Love love love the look of the triangles meshed up together - I used this triangle quilting ruler to cut my triangles.

There are lots of Turquoise prints from my stash and a bit of Grey too - mixed in with plain white Kona Cotton - my favorite brand of solids.

The backing could easily double as a front - I pieced together a log cabin-esque inspired block as the focal point.

Free-form swirly and meandering quilt lines will give it a vintage & puckered look once washed.

You can read all the quilt details HERE. 

Can't wait to see this one go to a good home.  ;)

{Aqua Elephants - A Modern Baby Quilt}

Anyone remember this post...?

That yummy stack was transformed into this back at the beginning of the year...

...and yep, I'm just getting around to sharing.  ;)

The quilt was for my cousin's brand new and very VERY anticipated baby girl.  The nursery was created in a gender-neutral aqua and gray color scheme with lots of elephant accents and touches of chevron.  After chatting with her about what she had in mind and what I've made in the past, we decided to model the Aqua Elephants quilt design after my "Sunshine Squares" for Noah.

I kept the block design "less-wonky" and more defined, with larger blocks - 16 total.  Simple super - just aqua and gray - the elephants were ordered especially for this project, the rest of the fabric came from my stash.

I stipple quilted the blocks for a vintage feel with free-motion swirls.

& I pieced together BIG chunks of what I had left for the backing...

...With the elephants taking a front row seat.  :))

Binding was mostly Kona gray with a bit of scraps added in to create a patchwork feel to the edging.

I LOVE the way this one turned out and it's been a great jumpstart for more sewing and quilting projects this year...

:))

{2014's First Quilt}

RESOLUTION: 2014 *will* be the year that I return to quilting.  :))

And I'm starting with this lovely stack...

The "elephants & aqua" will make their way into something THIS MONTH.  Although I'm still thinking about patterns... hmmmm.

I'd like to also mention that I finally joined the new millenium (eric and i like to say this when we feel "technologically-challenged"!) -- and added a "subscribe" button to my blog >>> in the sidebar. 

WOOhoo.  I'm telling you, 2014 is off to a great start ;)

{This Weekend...}

This weekend was one of the first in a long, LONG time with nothing "official" on the agenda.

I WISH we had more weekends like that.  :)  Because THIS is what it turned into...

(LOTS of beach and pool time - instagram from Sunday!)

And.........

.............................

......................................

A completed quilt top (and backing!) - cut, designed, and pieced entirely this weekend!!!

I think it took posting last Friday that I never have time to quilt to actually MAKE me realize that I've truly missed it and really wanted to take on a new project.  ;)

The fabrics from this are mostly from the stack that I pulled out last Spring (remember this post?) - along with a few new ones I've grabbed since then (anchors!).

...And while I'm not sure that triangles and I are friends yet, I still love the overall look (have wanted to try it for a WHILE!) and am embracing the imperfection.  ;)

Here's to getting this basted and quilted sometime this week...!

:)

{the start...}

...of a new project.  finally.  :)

The Start - the pulling and selecting and matching and pairing of fabrics has always been one of my very favorite parts of quilting.

AND then the browsing of blogs and pinterest and flickr while choosing JUST the RIGHT pattern to show off those fabrics, while hopefully also still giving me a bit of a challenge in order to keep my interest while piecing and placing fabrics...

Well... I just miss it.  And that's how I knew it was time for a new project.

I started by wading into my long-ago abandoned "office & craft room" (it has since become merely a dumping ground for tupperwear storage bins full of outgrown little boys clothes and the occasional box of photography packing supplies) -- and then digging my way into the closet to pull out all of the fabric bins that I'd crammed in there almost 3 years ago.

This little stack of pretty aquas and cobalts and greys is what first emerged.

And then I added in some greens...

....But now I'm thinking less green - and more summer ocean hues - might be the perfect way to go.

And I broke out my KONA Cotton swatch book (my favorite solids!) to start pairing colors to go with this assortment of prints...

...I think Candy Green (it seems like the perfect aqua!) is a must!

I can't wait to see where this heads - & I'll be sure to share more of this project here.

:)

{FMF Charm Squares}

Because sadly my quilting posts are FEW and FAR between these days -- today I'm sharing what's been a work in progress for almost the past year...

...this is just simple 5 inch charm squares - all cut from the flea market fancy line of fabric. 

This is without question my FAVORITE fabric line ever.  I hoarded it for a few years until it was re-released last year, at which point I bought TONS MORE.  ;)  And decided that I could part with enough to do a generous sized lap/couch quilt for our family room.

Now that the top is finished (as of this past weekend!), I need to browse pinterest for backing ideas (since I never like to just do a single fabric!), and maybe binding ideas, too.  :)

 

here's to hoping that I can get it backed, basted and quilted by the time summer hits!

:)

 

{Zigs & Zags: A Chevron Style Quilt}

My quilting time has been limited since Noah joined our family two years ago, to say the least.  :)  Finding time to work on a project - and actually complete it - is a challenge...  I sometimes visit my Pinterest Quilting board just to stare longingly at all of the gorgeous project pins that I'd love to attempt, yet repeatedly chose a nap or extra sleep over, instead of starting one.  ;)

Knowing my limitations, I really don't take on custom projects any longer - which was why I was hesitant when Jennifer emailed me asking me to create something for her baby-on-the-way last Spring.  I absolutely ADORE her - and have always loved her scrapbook & card projects (she's been a major scrap crush of mine from the start!) - and after discussing what she wanted, decided that this might be the project I needed to get me out of my sewing slump.

We collaborated on the color palette and created this modified zig-zag quilt (using this tutorial) - and based off of a solid & similar chevron style quilt found on pinterest (that I can't seem to locate right now!) - and this is what the result was:

...I love the pretty colors paired together, and especially that there's so much aqua involved!  The background fabric for the chevrons (big chunk pieced on top and bottom of the five rows of zigs & zags) is Michael Miller's Ta Dot in Sea.

...The wonky grey with white dots print used as the bottom chevron (and as the binding) is from Riley Blake's Tuxedo line.  And ignore my "chick prints" - I finished this around Easter time(!) just didn't manage to blog it until now.

...The backing is super simple but still offers a bit of variety - three big chunks pieced together.  I stipple quilted this with a free motion stitch & lots of swirls.

...I was so happy to be able to actually finish this on time and before she had her sweet baby.

Hoping there's more quilting time in my future this fall, with both boys back in school!

:)

{Birds & Bikes - the Quilt}

This is the quilt that single-handedly stalled my "quilting-life" per say.  ;)

(along with a now almost 2 year old, but then newborn baby!)

...I started piecing the blocks for this quilt before Noah was born.  It's modeled after one of my favorite quilts - the sunshine squares quilt that I made to coordinate with Noah's nursery. 

I made it for one of my closest friends - her little girl was born about 4 months after Noah was - and she loved Noah's sunshine squares, and wanted something similar - and had decorated her baby's nursery with a pink & green & aqua color scheme + cutie PBK birdie bedding --> and thus "Birds & Bikes" was born.

...The backing is just pieced chunks of fabric - including the pink Heather Ross bikes that I adore (long ago out of print!).

I'm not exactly sure what happened, but it somehow took me a year and a half to complete.  ha.  And so I dropped it off at her house - a little bit late(!) - last month.

Hoping she still enjoys it and it can "stretch" it's lifespan into a toddler quilt of some kind.

;)