A New Love

A quilt-as-you-go has been on my list of things to try for a looong time.  I read that Heather would be starting a new quilt along with this method, and maybe that was what inspired me to try it now.  I was hesitant to make a big quilt right away, because I wasn't sure how if I would like a finished quilt done this way.  Would it be soft and cozy, or would it be stiff because of the dense quilting?  And I could never be sure how to do the backing so it wouldn't look funny.  I was concerned about the difference in shrinkage from front to back.  Because of the dense quilting on the front, I thought it would shrink quite a bit more than the back, and thus give the back a funny loose look.

So I started out making 12.5" blocks and decided to do a 3 block grid to make a small baby quilt.  Let me tell you.  These blocks are FUN!  Talk about instant  gratification.  I disciplined myself to use ONLY fabrics from my scraps, and I just love the bright funky look of all these clashing colors together.

I also had the brilliant idea (we'll see!) of using a non-prewashed flannel for the back.  I'm not a pre-washer, but I always pre-wash flannels, because they shrink more than cottons.  So I thought this might work out nicely since hopefully the heavily quilted front, and the unwashed flannel will shrink a similar amount.  I'll let you know how this works out.  And I'm so hoping that this quilt passes the snuggly baby quilt test, because I want to make more like this!

And does anyone recognize that chocolate brown owl print?  I had this one tiny piece that I received in a scrap pack that I bought once.  I always thought it was really  cute, but now it hit me that it would be PERFECT for some of my friend's babies.  Somehow I think it's exactly up their alley.  I'm having a bit of a hard time finding it since I have no idea of the designer or manufacturer.  Or maybe it's a JoAnn's special!  I found some on Flickr that a lady wanted to swap, but I haven't heard back from her...  Oh the joy of the hunt!

Thank you for all your sweet comments on my 'new' cupboard.  It makes my day when I see that you take the time to comment.  I'll have to admit that I'm a lurker most of the time.  I don't mean to be this way, but I think it's an extension of my personality.  I'm not a chatty person in real life.  So I guess I'm not here either.  

I see inspiring projects, or read posts that speak to me, but I don't think of the fact that you can't read my thoughts.  So I rarely comment, (and it doesn't help that I usually have a squirming child in my lap when I'm at the computer!).  

But I do think that this is all a little selfish on my part, seeing how I love to have comments from others.  On the other hand, I'm SO with the whole 'quilting without obligation', and also 'blogging without obligation'.

I began blogging for myself, to chronicle my quilting and crafting journey.  The fact that anyone is interested in my 'adventures'  makes me feel great, and is a definite bonus.  

I'm not so great with communicating my thoughts to text, but maybe you catch my drift...

Basically I just wanted to say "thank you"  to all you amazing people who are interested in this part of my life which few people in my real life can relate to.

Paint in my bones

Paint and I have a love-hate relationship.  It's one of those things that I feel compelled to do.  When I decide to paint a room, or a piece of furniture, I get butterflies in my stomache.  Not because I'm nervous, but it's just so exciting to choose a color and pull out a clean paint brush.  By the time I'm halfway through a project, I'm just sick of it!  But wanting to see the final product keeps me going, and a few weeks later I'm ready to start something new.  

Since my daughter was born almost a year ago, I've done almost no decorating or renovating. (which usually involves paint).  Since I decided to dive in and paint my china cupboard, it feels like the floodgates have burst open, and the need to paint every surface in sight it tormenting me.  

I'll show you my lovely white cupboard soon, (this is a sneak peak!) but here I'm already deciding on colors for our bedroom, which hasn't seen anything new in about six years...

I'm so excited about this quilt, but I ran out of Kona for my sashing, so I guess it will go on the shelf for a few weeks.  Hey, that means I can start another one!

More Sailboats

You may know by now that's it's almost impossible for me to make more than one quilt in any design or color.  But I was asked to make another sailboat quilt in similar colors, ('similar' being the key word here!)  Since I didn't have any more of the Make Life fabric that I used for my other quilt with this design, I pulled out a charm pack of Happy Daisy by Chloe's Closet.  Using different fabrics adds a bit more interest so it's not quite so ho-hum.

If I ever made another quilt like this,  I think I'd add a wider white border around the outside.  This pattern just seems so vintagey to me, and I think it could use more white.  But I really like these fabrics in here.  They're a bit brighter than the original quilt.

Here's the first one, made with 'Make Life' by Sweetwater.

Now I'm off to work on painting my hideous china cupboard since the kids are both sleeping.  Maybe I'll show you a before and after once it's done.  (If it turns out, of course)  

Hopefully...

I can soon have some time to get this baby quilted!  I'm so excited to have the top put together.  It's going to be my own personal quilt to snuggle under, and it helps that it's just the perfect rich, saturated colors for my living room.

Looking at the whole Hope Valley collection together, one thing that surprises me is the way that one rich reddish brown print stands out as being so differernt from the rest.  I pieced this completely randomly.  I was waaay too lazy to lay it all out on my design wall, and it's kind of interesting to see how all the colors are quite well mixed in.  Although seeing it in the photo here makes me see that there's a fair bit of that dark brown in the bottom left hand corner!  

I'm happy I added this all time favorite print, as it adds a bit of fun and whimsy to this very 'grownup' fabric.

And of course I have to flaunt the wee tiny bit of Flea Market Fancy that I own!

Now I just need to decide on the backing.  A cozy flannel would be nice for cuddling, but a vintage sheet would be economical and fast.  And then there's this quilt back which I'm crazy over...

Snuggly Castles

This quilt is so BOY!  I'm really loving this blue castle print.  (Castle Peeps by Lizzie House)  It was my original inspiration for this quilt.  I pulled it out of my stash and decided to make something with it.  I was initially going to use only blues and yellows, but couldn't resist adding some red.

Another thing that I've learned when choosing fabrics for a quilt.  You can never have too many solids.  When you think you have the right balance, then add just a few more solids!  Of course this is only my opinion, but I think it just makes for a less cluttered look and helps the prints you use  to really shine.  And it's cheaper too!

Here's the back.  I don't do a lot of pieced backs on baby quilts, simply because they're so small, it often seems full and busy.  But this quilt just needed a few castles on the back, and I had only fat quarters of these prints, so I added some in here.

 A few cheeky monkeys (Boys Will Be Boys by David Walker) and some yellow reproduction print duckies, to add some fun and whimsy.  

Here's my latest stack, but we'll see if anything comes of it.

Time Flies...

I can't believe how long it's been since I posted something.  It's not for lack of inspiration, but mainly due to colds and teething.  My Etsy shop is so low on inventory, I knew I really need to add something, so I quick whipped up this fun little girl quilt.

Warning:  If you're looking for new quilt patterns or complicated piecing, don't read any farther.  This one is made of more squares.

(and it's perched on my new Ikea Ektorp chair!)

I started out with this fat quarter of Wildwood by Erin McMorris.  It came free with my last fabric purchase, because they were late with their shipping.  I just loved the bright pink, lime green, and tangerine colors, so I added some more prints, as well as some solid white and lime green.

Of course I had to add some of my favorite Heather Ross dogs!

It's so satisfying to pull a big one yard chunk from the bottom of your stash and revive it as the perfect quilt back.

I want to point out another new favorite fabric, actually two of them.  See the bright green with white dandelions?  A wonderful print, and lovely shade!  I just went and ordered another yard, because I know it's going to be my go-to lime green from now on.  The other favorite is the Nicey Jane Big Roses on cream right above it.  I'm surprised at myself that I like this one, because big prints like this aren't as versatile.  But there's something about those fat, bright roses that make me want to inhale them!  

And now for a sneak peak at the boy quilt that I'm working on right now...