Category Archives: quilting

Some Christmas Crafts from 2013

December 28, 2013crafts, quilting, sewingzontziry

This year’s Christmas crafts:

Star Trek lap quilt for my dad, who helped introduce me to science fiction. I used 10.5-inch blocks, and I quilted using stars, Star Trek insignias, and outlines of the Enterprise (following the icons on the front of the quilt).

A table runner for my mother. I used leftover fat eighths I had from the lap quilt I made for myself this last spring. I sewed a couple of big nine-patches, then cut them in fourths for a disappearing nine-patch runner with a fat eighth in between. I really enjoyed playing with the disappearing nine-patch here.

A Hello Kitty pincushion for my very good friend and a couple of owl pillows for her and her guy. I made the owls using super soft fleece for one; the other has a head made from quilting cotton and a body made of super soft fleece. I finally used up my three bags of stuffing on these projects!

A few hot pads for my mother-in-law. I made a lot of these until finally finding the thickness that seemed to work best (2 pieces batting and one piece InsulBright thermal batting).

It’s been a busy Christmas week, but I have loved the chance to sew up this storm!! I haven’t done much sewing since going back to work full time. That’s been good for my fabric hoarding, but I miss the therapy of creating something. Too bad I can’t take my sewing machine on the bus!

A little trip to the stars

August 24, 2013quilting, sewingpiecing, quilting, star trekzontziry

I have a new project. It’s taken awhile for me to get going on it, but the pieces are cut and they are coming together.

Here is the project:

My current project, only I think mine is going to end up rather bright…

Here are a few photos of some of the blocks I’m working on for this. They were taken on my phone, so they’re a bit small, but I hope they give you an idea of what’s getting sewn. I’m a little worried about this all being a little too colorful, but we’ll see what happens.

More binding!

July 29, 2013quiltingbinding, finishing, quilting, sewingzontziry

This week has somehow gone by without my doing much sewing. Instead of sewing, I ended up crocheting an infant hat for the annual Mariners Stitch ‘n Pitch night. I’m not much of a knitter (still learning and still very, very slow), but I can crochet fairly well, and I can certainly appreciate the time and effort and skill hand-knit items take. I can also drool over super soft, awesome-colored yarn (if you ever touch baby alpaca yarn, you will feel like everything else is so ridiculously coarse!). And it’s a great excuse to hang out with friends!

But today, I went back to a bit of sewing. Actually, I finally ironed my binding for my linked chain quilt (and finished ironing the pile of clothes on the sofa that have been hiding under a quilt project for a few weeks…but I digress). This binding is different from other bindings I have done. Why? It’s pieced. Why? Because I learned that Joann’s Fabrics carries some of their precut lines only for a limited time, and that seems to be the line I fall in love with, and I fall in love with it too late, so that I find myself scrounging for coordinating fabric to finish the project I started with the precuts! Last year, it was the summer quilt. Maybe next year, I’ll remember the lesson from the past two years and plan ahead?

At any rate, I couldn’t find any yardage of the fabric I originally wanted for the binding. Instead, I ended up taking the fat eighths I had purchased (when I couldn’t find another jelly roll and needed just four more strips for the quilt front) and cutting strips from the fabrics for the binding. I really hope it works!

As a roll, it looks pretty awesome!

Pieced, ironed in half, and ready to be rolled up. I love how the patterns all blend together.

I also am nearly finished (as in I have maybe 2 feet left to stitch down) with the binding for my Berenstain Bears quilt! I loved the look as I stitched it on, and I’m loving the look as I hand-stitch the back.

Loving the way the binding brings it all together!

My husband gave me a challenge for piecing that will let me try my hand at a bit of applique in quilting. As soon as I manage to clean up my ridiculously messy sewing corner and unearth my sewing machine again, I’ll be back to cutting and piecing! I’m excited for the next few projects I have up my sleeve!

Quilting and Binding the Berenstain Bears Quilt!

July 13, 2013quiltingberenstain bears, binding, charm pack, machine quilting, quilting, sewingzontziry

Two tries, and I finally got a binding fabric that ties the Berenstain Bears quilt together! I love it! I realized I hadn’t posted photos of the quilting I had done on this quilt, so here’s a photo-heavy look at the quilt with the binding attached (but not completely stitched yet). This was my first attempt at more modern quilting, breaking out of loops and stars and flowers.

I love the binding!

Textures!

Quilting those diamonds is a lot tougher than it may look.

A better view of the loops in each patterned square.

On the ironing board. I love the texture this shows!

Another view of the binding and quilting from the front. And some random hangers.

Closer look at the wavy pattern on the border and the binding.

I tried to frame each center block a bit with the quilting.

And here’s a look at the back!

I really love the little frames all over the back of the quilt!

You can see each “frame” from the back and the squiggles between each frame.

I find quilt backs like this just as fascinating as the quilt fronts.

The binding is attached on the front, and will be hand-stitched on the back.

Butterflies

July 9, 2013quilting, sewingzontziry

While it’s still on the machine, I thought I’d post a few photos of the quilting for my chain quilt. I went with a meandering butterfly, kind of like the one seen in Winnie the Pooh. I love how it keeps the flowery feel without needing to repeat the flowers themselves. On to binding!

Modified Wiggly Whimsy = Linked Chain

July 5, 2013quilting, sewingpiecing, quilt patternzontziry

A few weeks ago, I was looking at my latest precuts purchase, a jelly roll (set of 2 1/2 inch strips) and a charm pack (set of 5 inch blocks), wondering what to do with them. I came across the Wiggly Whimsy pattern and figured I would invert the pattern. Where it called for white, I would use the prints I had, and where it called for prints, I would use white.

From Moda Bake Shop.

In my mind, the result would be a quit that looked like it had a scattering of white blocks instead of a scattering of colors. As I was finishing the quilt top, I decided to keep the white sashing between columns. The result was a linked chain effect. (Sidenote: I didn’t see the linked chain pattern until showing this quilt top to family. I had the original pattern of scattered small blocks still stuck in my mind.)

Finished quilt top.

Closer view of the finished quilt top.

In person, the green fabric doesn’t seem to be as strong as it does in the photos. It seemed a little stronger than the other fabrics when I was piecing the quilt, but the photos make it stand out a lot more.

I’m excited to quilt this! I have no idea what design I’ll use, but I’m thinking I might do flowers in the sashing to echo the floral prints. I hope to have this quilted in a few days!

Wiggly Whimsy

June 12, 2013quilting, sewingcharm pack, jelly roll, quilt pattern, quilt projectzontziry

I bought a jelly roll and a charm pack, and had no idea what to do with them. A search for quilt patterns using those two items brought this: the Wiggly Whimsy Quilt. I love the pattern, but I’m doing it in reverse…so where you see white, there will be colors. I’m REALLY excited for a quilt that looks like there are white blocks tossed about.

Below is the progress so far – lots of cutting and, today, 98 block pairs. I’m excited!

Tri-Cities Quilt Show

May 13, 2013quiltingpiecing, quilt inspiration, quilting, tri-citieszontziry

My mother-in-law invited me along to the Tri-Cities Quilt Show this year. I’ve been to a quilt show once before, but I wasn’t sewing then nearly as much as I am now. My appreciation for design, piecing, and quilting is far, FAR higher than it was when I went to the quilt show a few years ago.

After spending the past year learning more about piecing quilts, reading blogs like Simplify, Sew4Home, Stitched in Color, and Film in the Fridge, my take on quilts and quilting is immensely changed. My mother-in-law is a long-arm quilter, as well, and so visits to family now usually involve me working on a quilt machine myself. And with quilters like Angela Walters on the scene, I think piecing and quilting is starting to regain traction among a younger crowd.

Anyway, before I get all philosophical on differences between generations of quilters, here are some photos of quilts that really caught my eye at the show.