Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Wip Wednesday


I have finally gotten this UFO into the ready to quilt stage!  

I have an unfinished basement in my house and so last night I taped the backing, batting and top onto the floor and started pinning.  This quilt took over 200 pins!  I think it will be quilted with a wonky zig zag.

One more step finished!  

Here it is when I first started pinning:

I'm linking this up to 
WIP Wednesday by Freshly pieced!
And 
Let's bee Social

Both are linked on my side bar

Sunday, February 16, 2014

Hour Glass Pillow (plus tutorial)

This is all about firsts this year!  This is my first pillow ever and it turned out beautifully!  I really love this Robert Kaufman fabric line that I have been making a quilt with for the past 10 months (did I really say that).  It was a great way to use up lots of scraps on this fun pillow.
This hourglass pillow is made to fit a 16" pillow.  I cut 26, 4 1/2"  blocks, 13 are Robert Kaufman print and 13 are Kona cotton solid white.  If I were to make this again, I would have cut my original square blocks 1/2" smaller, making the pillow and blocks smaller.  
All seams are 1/4" seam allowance.

1.  Cut your blocks

2.  Put a print and a solid facing each other.  With a disappearing ink pen, draw a diagonal line from one corner to the opposite corner.

3.  Sew 1/4" seam on the left side of the marked line, and then turn it around and sew 1/4" on the opposite side of the marked line.


4.  Cut from corner to corner along the marked line through the middle of the two lines you just stitched.


5.  Cut from corner to corner of the opposite corners.  


This will give you 4 triangular blocks


6.  Press them open with the seam towards the colored (or darker) fabric.


7.  Lay your pieces together placing the blocks correctly and then sew these together to form the blocks


8.  Press flat and use starch to stiffin up the blocks.


Repeat until all blocks are sewn and pressed.


9. Lay all your blocks out to the desired pattern.  Sew them all together!


10.  I made a quilted top on my pillow, so next I placed the pieced top on a layer of batting and backing.  Baste them together and quilt with the desired pattern.


I quilted in all straight lines and so I used my walking foot.  This helps the machine feed both the top and bottom layers evenly through the feed dogs.  I highly recommend you use a walking foot when machine quilting (in straight lines).


I also highly recommend you used aurofil thread.  It speaks for itself in quality.


Here my top is after the quilting.


11. (No picture) cut the back material 6 inches longer than the top piece.  This will allow overlap and rolled seam.  Cut the fabric in half where you would like the pillow to slide in.  On line where you cut, iron 1/2" seam down, roll and iron another 1/2" seam down.  Top stitch this seam.  Repeat with second piece of back fabric.  Inside out, lay the back fabrics on top of quilted top.  Make sure the top stitched seams are overlapping by at least 2".  Cut off excess fabric and stitch around the pillowcase.  


Insert your pillow and you have a fun pillow!


I linked to:

http://www.blossomheartquilts.com

Friday, February 7, 2014

Buggy barn stars on the board

I have never made a buggy barn quilt before.  I'm not sure what has always attracted me to them, whether it is that they have such clean cut lines or such fun designs.  All I do know is that I have been wanting to make one for sometime and I finally bit the dust and began.  My first buggy barn quilt will be from the star crossing book.  I began with it because it seemed to be easier for a beginner.


My fabric choice is from the floral gathering Moda line.


There will be 12 stars blocks with double sashing, the gold around the star blocks and then bright colors between the blocks.  


The original star blocks are 12 1/2" and with the 2 1/2" sashing, the blocks are cut to be 16 1/4".  They should be 16 1/2" but due to me being an 1/8" off here or there they will be a 1/4" smaller.  No big deal!


This fabric line draws me in.  It's not a favorite, but I do love this line.  Moda really knows how to create beautiful color combinations.

These fabrics will be the outside border, binding and backing.  The green fabric will be the backing.  I'm not quite sure whether the red or tan should be the binding or sashing.  Any input?  My guess is red for border, because it borders the gold  and will have more contrast.


I've been looking at another buggy barn quilt, with the flowers.  Has anyone tried these, I really think my daughter would like one of these quilts.

I'm linking to Sew Much Ado 


Finished quilt!


My first finished project of the year!!!!  I love the clean crisp look of flying quilts.  I have a good friend that just had a baby girl.  This is her 5th child, but her older daughter is now almost 12 and I didn't want her baby to have all boy colored blankets.  Let me just say that she loves this!!!!

I used the fabulous Moda Scruptious line that I fell in love with the first time I saw it!!!!  I used white Kona cotton and a fun fleece for the back.  

After making this, my daughter wants this same quilt to be her bad spread.  That will take a lot more work!


I linked this fun quilt up to Fort worth studios Fabric Frenzy Friday!
and Kelly on My Quilt Infatuation
And Sew Can She at www.sewcanshe.com


Thursday, February 6, 2014

Blog Links

The quilting blogging community is huge! 
Sometimes finding everything can be so time consuming.  Personally I love linking back here and there so that I see others work and they see mine.  To make this fasterso I started a list of fun blog linkers.

Here are a few in the list:

Mondays: 
Making Monday Marvelous by Creating Really Awesome Free Things
Design Wall Monday by Patch Work Times  
Made by you Monday by Skip to My Lou

Tuesdays:
Sew Cute Tuesday by Blossom Heart Quilts
Fabric Tuesday by A Quilt Story 
Show and Tell Tuesday by Fresh Squeezed Fabrics

Wednesdays:
Wip Wednesday at Freshly Pieced 
Let's Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts 
We Did It Wednesday! at Sew Much Ado
Wow Me Wednesday at Polkadots on Parade 

Thursdays:
Needle and Thread Thursday by My Quilt Infatuation 
Really Random Thursday by Live a Colorful Life
I Quilt Thursdays by Pretty Bobbins

Fridays:
Finish it up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts
Fabric Frenzy Friday at Fort Worth Fabric Studio
Link a Finish by Richard and Tanya Quilts

Saturday Sharing Day Pigtails and Quilts
ScrapHappy Saturday at Super Scrappy

Non Quilting (Home decorating)
Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style