Weekend Sewing

It’s only fitting that I’m posting this now.  With three more days to go until Thanksgiving, this weekend I was reminded of why I love quilting.  This year has been … crazy.  I took on a new role at work, which I love, but every day is different and I haven’t figured out how to manage everything and take time to create.  Well, this weekend I just did it.  And it felt great.

I am so thankful for quilting.  It is good for the soul.

Before I head home I have a few projects that I want to finish.  First up was a pillow for my mom.  She made the pillow top this summer.  This improv project was the first things she’s sewn on her new machine and first project she’s worked on in 30+ years.  Hey, I had to get it from somewhere, right?

I decided to quilt it with gridwork.   In my opinion it needed something super structured juxtaposed with the craziness of the quilt work.  I.love.it.

I know it won’t be seen, but she’ll know this fabric is there.  She loves lady bugs, so lady bugs she’ll get 🙂

And here we have a finished pillow:

I hope she remembers our summer together every time she sees it.  Spending time quilting with my mom is a priceless memory that I’ll love forever.  And, luckily, it’s one I’ll get to repeat again!  (Thank you, teacher schedule!)

Then… drumroll please… I finished up my Sisterhood of the Traveling Quilts quilt top.  Holy goodness.  This thing started as a wee baby center star.  Then, Renee turned it up a notch with her amazing borders (they stop at the pluses).  Laura, got crazy creative with the Social Climber border (so needed) and the beautiful diamond border.  Then, Jess finished it off with a beautiful border that I love!  It’s my favorite border from the Avatrix Quilt so I was so happy to see it.  Plus, those Xs!  We were going to collaborate on a orange peel border, but no matter what I tried I just couldn’t make it work.  So… another project is coming with those. This weekend I had to finish this up.  I.LOVE.IT.  This quilt means so much because these ladies were my original cheerleaders.  The first people I connected with in the blogosphere.  Ah, I can’t believe I get to keep it!

Now it’s time to send it off for quilting!  Yes, my first time sending a quilt off to a long armer 🙂  It had to be done.  I love this quilt too much to quilt it, plus it’s huge – 86 x 86.  No way my back can handle that.  LOVE.  I can’t get over how much I love this quilt.

Then, I pulled out a quilt and started quilting this weekend.  WHAT?  I know, it was crazy this weekend.  More to come, more to come!  Hopefully I can knock it out by Wednesday…

So very thankful for this crazy hobby that has brought each of you into my life.  Here’s to making more time for it…

Push Me Pull Me Block

My friend Michelle over at Factotum Of The Arts has designed a wonderful quilt block, the Push Me Pull Me block.  Here is a model quilt that she designed as a mock-up of a final quilt:

Isn’t she so talented?  I love how this looks, and I’ve already pulled a stack of fabric that I want to use to create a whole quilt.  When she asked for pattern testers, I jumped at the chance to try this pattern.  I can’t wait to make this block again – and I’m thinking it would also make a fabulous bee block.

Michelle’s directions are super clear, and the blocks comes together beautiful with perfect seams.  Trust me, if I can match up the seams – anyone can.  I’m notorious for not cutting perfectly, but this was very clear and easy to follow.  I only had to pin a few steps and I made sure to follow her directions of ironing the seams open.  Want to see what I made?  Here it is:

My husband said it is the coolest thing I’ve made so far.  Whoa, high praise there!  He is not one to use hyperbole or mince words, so Michelle, your block has made it!!!

I want to play around with color placement a little more…

I just love how these arrows look!

And, finally – here is the back.  This is where I found my color inspiration!

Michelle, thank you for sharing such an amazing block – I can’t wait to see the other projects made for the Push Me Pull Me block! 

Be sure to check out the other pattern testers and what they created!

Ashley @ Wasn’t Quilt in a Day
Kristel @ Work-in-Progress Girl
Mara @ Secretly Stitching
Sarah @ Sarah Quilts

And, you should definitely head over to Michelle’s blog to see everything else she’s made!  She is such a quilting inspiration – I love seeing what she makes!  (And, head over to Craftsy to buy this pattern!)

I’m also linking up to all those fabulous Friday parties like Quilt Matters, Crazy Mom Quilts, and Confessions of a Fabric Addict.  Check out the other wonderful finishes this week!

 

Pillow Talk

Earlier this week, I mentioned a pillow that I was making for my husband.  We surprise, it’s done, AND I made myself one.  I couldn’t be left out!  Without further ado, here are our new pillows!  I think they both fit our personalities to a T.

Don’t they just look like us?  One – bright and bold, the other – nerdy 🙂

I put mine on our guest bed, with the other pillow I made with Chicopee!

One can never have too many pillows!

I bound mine in Kona Cerise, of course.  Also, I used left over scraps to make the back.

They might not match, but I love them.

For Forrest’s pillow I used really simple quilting, and he was so happy.

He hates when I get crazy with the stitching!

For the back, I had to include a more girly Chicopee print… muahahaha.

I’m so excited to now have something I’ve made in every room in my house.

In other news, I look like this at work today:

Today I’m linking up with Quilter in the Closet for TGIFF and Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish it up Friday!

A Little Husband Love

I live with this man who patiently takes out my 6 foot folding table and allows me to take over the living room quilting each weekend.  I live with a man who tolerates threads everywhere in our house.  Every where.  I live with a man who never mentions my growing fabric stash, but always gets up every time I ask him to come “check out my newest block.”  I live with a man who truly celebrates and encourages my new found love of quilting, and I am so thankful that he gets me.  I live with a man who has yet to get a quilty gift from me.

Even though I sometimes look at him like this…

and because he always looks at me like that (yea, right…)

My man needs a gift.

Renee over at Quilts of a Feather, one of my first quilting friends, is the best at sending random surprises.  A ways back I mentioned that I loved a geeky watch fabric that she had, because of course my husband not only HAS a calculator watch, but he wears it proudly.  She surprised me by mailing off a piece and when I opened it I happened to have my leftover Chicopee out from this quilt. It was serendipitous.  The colors were such a perfect match and they just screamed Forrest.  I borrowed Cath’s paper piecing pattern over at Wombat Quilts, and quickly whipped up a pillow top.

I love how this turned out – now it’s time to quilt this baby and turn it into a pillow for his office.

Did you know his office is the one place I’m not allowed to put things… we’ll see about that…. muahahahahahaha.

Quality Pillow Time

This weekend has been full of good news.  Like, school being out, Cabo having good weather next week for our vacation, AND winning a pincushion from Lynn over at Monkey Needle!  People!  I am so excited.  I no longer have to use that hideous tomato.  Instead I won a beautiful pincushion, and I am so excited.  See, this whole quilting community just makes my life so much happier!  And, you should really go check out her work because she MADE AN UMBRELLA.  I know, I was in awe, too.  No really, if you just kept reading, you better go back and click that link – it’s worth it.  (Thank you, smiles!)

I also finished up my first ever pillow and now a monster has been created.  Every scrap looks like a great place to start and I’ve already started hoarding backing fabric for my next one.  Sickness, I tell you.  To create the pillow front I used Molli Sparkles genius tutorial that you can find here.  No really, there’s little ironing, need I say more?  Or just go look at Molli’s work.  It will bring instant happiness to your life.  To form the pillow I used this pillow tutorial by Jaybird Quilts hosted over at Sew Mama Sew.  Now.  If I can make a pillow, anyone can make a pillow.  This tutorial made everything easy.

Now… onto the pictures!

Of course, we can’t decide which orientation we like most.  Thoughts?

I just can’t get over how much I love these little herringbones.

And now, for the back.  I am obsessed.

The hubs even mentioned that he wanted this fabric for his quilt.  Winning.

So, what are you waiting for – go back to the top, click on the links, and make a pillow!  Woohoo.  Also, baby girl granny quilt is done, but I’m waiting for Mom to see it before I post.  I wanted to mail it out yesterday, but then I woke up at 12:45 and the post closes at 1:00.  Yes, you read that right, 12:45.  Can we say I got some quality pillow time this weekend!  Today I’m linking up with Plum and June’s Let’s Get Acquainted Monday hosted over at Heart of Charnwood.

Happy quilting, y’all!

Pillow Talk

Let’s just say I need some more pillow talk.  Or, pillow time, rather.  Today is the last day of school.  Thank God.  Bets on how long it takes me to catch up on sleep?

Last night I went to the Northern New Jersey Modern Quilt Guild meeting and left completely inspired and as the newly voted in Secretary!  I also left slightly poorer.  Finally, I left without the quilts I took for show and tell.  Again, I am exhausted and running on fumes.  So, instead of showing you the finished granny square quilt today because it’s still at RPS, I’ll show you the pillow I worked on last night using this tutorial.

This all started with some left over Chicopee scraps and a Molli Sparkles miracle tutorial.  Last night I bought the rest of the top fabric, and the backing fabric (more to come on that!).  Obsessed.

Here’s the finished top:

And here’s the top quilted and “in” it’s place:

Now I just have to sew on the back flaps and bind this puppy.  I am so excited to have some Chicopee on the guest bed.  Also, I used a pillow that I already had in the living room for this project, so we all know what this means.  Target, here I come, for a new living room pillow.  I know how much my husband loves all the pillows we have on the couch……….

Scrappy Inspiration

Last night I sat down with the best of intentions to finish cutting up my Chicopee quilt top and start piecing it together.  The hubs and I were supposed to do a six mile run, but the rain saved the day and gave me extra time with little BerNina.  This should have been the perfect opportunity to make some headway on this quilt top.  I even finished all of the cutting before sudden inspiration hit.  You see, after cutting and organizing the rest of the pieces to go up on the design wall…

(God, I love this fabric!)

I realized that I had 30, 1 inch x 6 inch strips of Chicopee left over.

I was not throwing those away, ya hear?

I pushed the quilt top supplies to the side and pulled out my phone to reference a tutorial I had seen by none other than Molli Sparkles.  You see, this whole Plum and June New Blogger Blog Hop is the best thing since sliced bread.  I’m meeting all these new bloggers, and my bookmarks are getting out of control!  As if I needed anymore inspiration.  But, Molli had me at, “You can iron at the end.”  Be still my heart!  So I quickly sewed together the strips (which are completely not Molli’s measurements, but I prayed that the quilt gods were with me…)

And I ironed at this point!

I might only make this project from here on out…

Here’s where it got funky.  I looked at Molli’s tutorial, oh, about 20 times.  He said measure twice, cut once… I pretended to measure 3 times and again prayed for the best.  Of course, once you cut, you just move along …  I’m easily confused by the angle lines on the ruler.  Anyone else out there?  Just me?  Don’t lie….

Here’s where I realized that 7 squares was a prime number so there was only one array this math teacher was going to be able to create.  So, a 1 x 7 it is.

Here is the beginning of my very first pillow.  I am so excited.  Now I have to wait until I can run to my local LQS to pick up some Kona Cotton.  I’m really hoping that I can find a wine color and create a square pillow with the Chicopee design cutting across it – but off – set.  Not running down the middle.  Have I mentioned that I’ve never made a pillow?  Small details, friends.  I just plan on praying to the quilt gods again and having them work their magic!

As for the leftovers?  I was only left with this little pile of still completely usable Chicopee fabric.  Nobody puts Denyse in the trash!

Happy quilting, y’all.  And, seriously, go check out Molli’s tutorial.  It is way too simple to make something so stunning.  Thanks for sharing your sparkle, Molli!  I know I’ll be making this block again and again!

This lovely Tuesday I’m linking up with Janice at Better of Thread for Sew Cute Tuesday!  Go wish her a happy birthday and stare at her beautiful quilts.  I won’t lie, I’m obsessed!