The back is a solid navy blue flannel, which makes this quilt extra warm and snuggly. I think my father-in-law will appreciate that, as he is diabetic and constantly complains about being cold. I can't wait to give my in-laws their quilts on Christmas Eve!
Sunday, December 18, 2011
A Manly Log Cabin
The back is a solid navy blue flannel, which makes this quilt extra warm and snuggly. I think my father-in-law will appreciate that, as he is diabetic and constantly complains about being cold. I can't wait to give my in-laws their quilts on Christmas Eve!
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
MIL Quilt - Finished Christmas Gift
Friday, December 2, 2011
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...
Here's hoping for a joyful and low-stress holiday season!
Monday, November 28, 2011
Mrs. Log Cabin for Christmas - Quilt Top
Friday, November 11, 2011
First Christmas Gift Underway
Every Christmas, despite my best intentions, I usually end up scrambling at the last minute to figure out gifts. Over the last couple of years, nearly every member of my family has gotten some kind of handmade gift from me – with the exception of my in-laws. They are insanely hard to shop for, and I’m never really sure about their tastes and interests as they change a lot. Regardless of my probably needless worrying, I decided that this year, it’s their turn. I’ve been pretty unsure about what kind of quilt to make for them (color, pattern, traditional vs. modern, etc.), so I did finally ask them what types of colors they like while visiting them. I got "purple and some blues" from mom-in-law, and “I don't like any colors. Except green – for money!” from my father-in-law, the resident joker. Not so helpful. I debated about patterns for ages before finally deciding to do something small and simple so that they could each have their own quilt in the same pattern. I found a simple log cabin lap quilt free pattern from Connecting Threads, which has traditional log cabins surrounded by a border. I decided to do blender/tonal fabrics in the log cabins and a busy print for the border, which would determine the color scheme.
For my father-in-law’s quilt, I just wanted “manly” colors. This was actually kind of a stretch for me since I gravitate towards bright and bold colors in quilts. I found a tan/maroon/navy print – perfect.
I’ve already put the top together, and it was really fun to work with colors that are different from my norm. Despite being manly (I hope) and uber-traditional, I really like the way it’s looking so far. I can see why log cabins and all their variations are still so popular.
Now here’s hoping I can actually put a backing together and get this thing quilted before Christmas Eve!
Friday, November 4, 2011
Blogger's Quilt Festival - 36 Patch
I am a relatively new blogger, but I have admired the Blogger’s Quilt Festival for ages. I am so excited to finally have my own entry!
My quilt is called the Picnic Quilt, as named by my husband, and was created as part of the 36 Patch Quilt-Along over at crazymomquilts. This was my first QAL, and I really enjoyed seeing the huge variety created by different people putting together a relatively simple design.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
This is Halloween (the Quilty Version)
Halloween is a big deal around here. My husband used to be the manager of a party store, so we have a TON of decorations. Our house is “that” house when it’s time for trick-or-treating, and we get people from several neighborhoods away. So, when I started getting really into quilting last year, I knew I had to make a Halloween quilt for the couch.
I had seen a ton of lovely zigzag quilts online, but they were mostly in pastel or bright colors. I thought, why not orange and black? I found the wonderful no-triangle tutorial at crazy mom quilts, which makes a small lap size, perfect to hang on the back of the couch.
I used Kona black and a bunch of Halloween prints from Joann’s (40% off sale of course). One of them was even this cute Hello Kitty print!
I had just taken a beginner free motion quilting class at the LQS, and wanted to try that out. To make things a little easier, I stabilized the quilt first by quilting the printed zigzags ¼ inch inside the seams on both sides. Then I got brave and free-motioned watery lines in the black zigzags. Not too shabby for a first try! And it makes a fun (and slightly seizure-inducing) pattern on the back.
For the binding, I pretty much cheated and folded over the back. But I liked the polka dots so don’t report me to the quilt police!! All in all I’m pretty happy with this one, and my husband and son love it too. Success!
With the leftover prints, I was able to make a table runner and a Halloween-themed Scottie Dog (with a few other scraps thrown in).
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Purple Posh Quilt
Friday, September 16, 2011
Antique Store Adventures
Lately I have been sucked into the antique sewing machine phenomenon, but as antiquing isn’t very popular around here, I had pretty low expectations. Also, I have no room for one of those pretty cabinets, so I had all but given up on the idea.
I randomly decided about a month ago to go wander into our local antique mall. “Mall” is pretty generous actually – it used to house Phar-Mor (remember those?). But I was presently surprised, it was really fun! I went on the search for sewing items, and found a couple of pricey machines in pretty bad shape and lots of old quilts. Then, in a random booth full of books, there was a pretty small black Singer sitting in a small leather/basket weave base. But it was $100 and being new to the vintage machine world, I passed. Then yesterday on a whim I went back to the same store. Along with the usual host of randomness, my little black machine was still there – and marked down to $78. Still too pricey, considering I was afraid of electrocuting myself if I tried to plug it in. So, more wandering commenced. On my 4th or 5th round of the store, I noticed someone had just hung up a 25% off sign in its booth. It was meant to be! Here she is after nothing more than a quick wipe-down to get rid of that “attic-fresh” dust and grime. Please ignore the messy kitchen table, courtesy of my 2-year-old.
She’s (pretty machines have to be girls, right?) a Singer 99, electronic, made in 1956 (3 years before my Mom haha). The metal has no rust whatsoever, and all the parts look fine, though she still needs some elbow grease. I’m still scared to plug her in though, leaving that one to the husband! :)
Hello, Blog World!
I have admired sewing, craft, and especially quilting blogs for a few years now, and have used them to teach myself to sew. But, due to the fact that I don’t have a whole lot of free time and don’t always use designer fabrics, I never really wanted to start one. But, I recently went to the first meeting of the Triad Modern Quilt Guild. I was SOO excited to see a local chapter was starting here, and the meeting was not disappointing! We are a lovely eclectic group, with a variety of experience, ages, tastes, and lifestyles, so I think there is going be lots of inspiration and learning. After looking at the Triad MQG website, I saw that several members have blogs, so I decided it was long past time for me to make one.
A quick bio: I live in