Limeade Chevron Quilt and Bonus Projects

What I really wanted to call this quilt was Margarita... the bright pink and lime colors, yummy! But this quilt is for a toddler soooo I think I better save that for another day! I've been working on the limeade chevron quilt since my Gumballs and Elephants post. The top is done, backing is pieced, and quilt has been basted. Just waiting for some inspiration for the quilting.

Bonus Pieces 

While I'm waiting for the inspiration arrow to strike I'll share a little more about bonus projects. This is one of of those quilts with tons and tons of leftover bonus pieces to make bonus projects. Here's how I make bonus pieces for this particular quilt:

This chevron pattern is made up of flying geese blocks using rectangles and squares. My rectangles were 6.5x3.5 and squares measured 3.5. Two squares for each rectangle. I mark the center of the square pieces as normal for this block, on the wrong side of the fabric. Then using a 1/2 inch ruler I mark a second line off to the side. If you don't have a 1/2 inch ruler, just move your ruler over half an inch and mark the second line.

Do this for all of your square pieces.  

Align your square and rectangles, right sides together. Stitch on the center line as usual to make your flying geese block. Chain piecing is a big help here! Once you've finished with your chain, remove the entire chain and feed it through again this time stitching on the second line you drew. You don't need to snip in between pieces until both lines have been stitched. 

Now cut right down the center of your two lines. You will have your flying geese block and your HST bonus piece! Repeat with another square to complete your flying geese block. The great thing about using this method for flying geese is two bonus pieces for each block, yay!

And each quilt will make mounds of bonus pieces! All ready to go just need ironing and squaring up! These HST measured 2.5 inches after squaring up.

Bonus pieces aren't limited to flying geese blocks. You can use this method anytime that you're cutting away a corner. I use it often when making star blocks. It's easier to piece HSTs while they are still part of the square. Once you cut the corner away if you want to put the two triangles back together again you'll end up sewing on the bias which is tricky since the bias is stretchy and the corners always seem to get sucked into the sewing machine while trying to piece them.

A few projects I've made with bonus pieces when making this quilt

Chevron Doll Quilt

HST Pillow Sham

My argyle pinwheel pillow was also created using bonus pieces from a star quilt. There are about a bazillion things to do with HSTs!

Link Parti's 

Take a look at the linki parti's I get down with here or by clicking on the Linki Parti's link above. Linking up to Freshly Pieced My Quilt Infatuation Whoop Whoop Friday i have to say and Pretty Bobbins 

Blogger's Quilt Festival - Herringbone Small Quilt

This is my first ever Blogger's Quilt Festival entry! I haven't shared this quilt on my blog before - it's a rainbow inspired herringbone wall hanging done in V and Co. Simply Color by Moda - one of my all time favorite lines of fabrics. I always have my eyes open for these fabrics but I rarely come across them. This is one of my all time favorite finishes and if it wasn't already promised to someone else I would have kept it all for me!

 One of my favorite things about this quilt is the teal binding. I love a teal binding!!

I also love the bright pops of color!

Because the colors and patterns had so much going on I chose to do simple straight line quilting outlining all of the vertical rows and every other horizontal row. It made a pretty cool chevron design on the back. The backing is solid cream, appropriate for a wall hanging.

When I started the quilt I was really worried about matching the seams but they came together very easily. The trickiest part was the fabric placement. I moved them in and out, up and down, and all around! I'm really proud of how it turned out!

Quilt Stats 

Quilt Size:  36 x 40

Pattern: Herringbone 

Pieced and Quilted by me
Completion: July 15, 2014

Category: Small Quilts 

Link Parti's 

Take a look at the linki parti's I get down with here or by clicking on the Linki Parti's link above. Linking up to Stitch by Stitch Twelo Quilting Sew Cute Tuesday Show and Tell Tuesday Quilt Story Sew Fresh Quilts TGIFF crazy mom quilts Vals Quilting Studio and Show Off Saturday

This quilt was featured at Quilt Story Fabric Tuesday!  It was also selected in the Viewers Choice category in the Blogger's Quilt Festival!

Finished Gumballs

Yay, Gumballs is all finished up!

I'm really in love with the teal on teal vine-y backing from the Birds and Berries line by Lauren and Jessi Jung for Moda. There are all these little hidden flowers and birdies in there, toooo cute! The pink polka dot binding by Dear Stella (actually called peony) was just the thing to pull it all together. A number of these fabrics were by Free Spirit which I had purchased on a fabric shopping spree with my parents earlier this summer at SR Harris in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. Every single thing is half off. Seriously. They have just opened a second store on the other side of the Twin Cities. It's fair to say I went a little - ok, more than a little - crazy there. I might have even bought 30 yards. Thank goodness we needed to leave after a couple of hours to beat traffic and make it home for supper at Grandmas or who knows what else I might have found. I can't return... well I can return, but I really shouldn't be allowed. My stash went from neat and tidy, every piece has a place, to piles are creeping up all over the place. Dislike. Still, I'd totally recommend checking it out, be prepared to spend a few hours, cut your own fabric and return it to the shelves yourself. You will need a cart!

Oh yeah, Gumballs.  I decided to do all all over free motion loopy loo pattern with a few organic flowers throughout. I needed practice with those cute flowers.

There were a lot of different polka dot prints in there! Just one solid, Michael Miller Couture in Mermaid, and no white, I've really restrained myself this time and I'm happy with it. As much as I like Gumballs I've listed it in my etsy shop.

After washing it measures 36 x 39. It has some very good crinkle goodness going on after washing.

Link Parti's 

Take a look at the linki parti's I get down with here or by clicking on the Linki Parti's link above. Linking up to crazy mom quilts, Richard and Tanya Quilts  My Quilt Infatuation Dizzy Quilts and Whoop Whoop Friday 

Bonus Pillows and Low Vol Haul

I love bonus projects! They come in all sorts, pillows, mug rugs, doll quilts and they look an awful lot like the quilt I just finished. I love taking the scraps from my quilts and making something useful... and maybe its easier than picking a new project or putting them in the scrap bins. These small projects are a great way to try something new without getting in over my head! I had quite a few scraps leftover from my Gumballs top, nearly enough to make another baby quilt, might have got a little carried away with the cutting I think. Since I haven't installed a zipper for a couple of weeks I'm feeling a pillow (or two considering the pile of scraps) this time... my obsession for pillows with zippers is so weird I know! I love pillows so much I even made a link just for them

This is about two-thirds of the stack of leftovers. I cut them into different sized widths and in lengths of 3, 5, and 7 inches. I considered adding another colorway and doing another baby quilt but I've got project ideas stacking up over here! I believe I will be able to make two pillows - the first is kind of a improv coin/strip affair which I've got hanging on my design wall. I have several rows for that one sewn. I'm thinking a string quilt pillow (doll quilt?) for the second. If there are more scraps they are heading for the scrap bins; two bonus projects are the limit!

I mentioned the low volume swap hosted by Patch the Giraffe and From Bolt to Beauty a little while ago. The swap is complete! Look at this haul of low volume fabrics. I have been stalking a few of my favorite websites and books looking for ideas and I've tentatively decided; I'm thinking pastel wonky stars against these fun fabrics. I have never used low vol fabrics for a background before. It's going to be adventure. What a fun swap this was and useful since I don't have a lot of cute low vol's - where do folks find these cute fabrics, honestly coat hangers, music notes and tea cups?! I'll be keeping my eyes out for more fun swaps from these ladies!

In addition to these wips I'm also working on the pink, lime and grey chevron quilt. I had a major issue with my fabric arriving timely so progress has stalled, but the fabric is here now, it's washed, the white fabric has been cut! Time to catch up. I actually need to put my bonus pillows and low vol projects aside until I've finished the custom quilt order.

Link Parti's 

Take a look at the linki parti's I get down with here or by clicking on the Linki Parti's link above. Linking up to Freshly Pieced and Sew Fresh Quilts 

Gumballs and Elephants

Every time I look at this quilt I immediately think of bubblegum. I was able to finish the pink and teal quilt top just in time for finish up Friday. I love that there is absolutely no white in this quilt - I'm really breaking out of my comfort zone, yay! There are some super cute fabrics in here. Several by Free Spirit, Dear Stella, the solid teal is Mermaid by Michael Miller Couture

The weather has finally turned around a little bit in Wisconsin. It had been raining from Sunday through Wednesday - no pictures when it rains so boo for rain. In any event, this weekend promises to be decent for fall. The bright red leaves are out and most are still on the trees. We were out of town last weekend so I've got a great big honey-do list for by hubby. I hope to do some re-planting, make chili and get a hefty start on my next project, a pink, green and grey chevron quilt which was commissioned after someone saw my Pink Elephant Quilt, which I have made twice now. The original was quilted with a spiral free motion pattern and is backed with black and white jungle themed fabric

 And

Lime green backing requested the second time! And again this time interestingly enough - I wish I had put that on the original. Loopy loo quilting on elephant quilt number two.

I even made curtains and matching pillow for my second client. First time ever. Seriously, how cute are these!

The pattern is Out in the Wild by Sew Emma, which makes a lap size quilt. I had bought a kit from the Fat Quarter Shop which also included fabric for a matching pillow.  The second time I made this quilt my I made it for a twin size bed. The fabrics are by Dear Stella and the pink elephants on peony were super hard to find. I bought 6 yards! I have enough to make one more quilt like this and then gone forever.

Link Parti's 

Take a look at the linki parti's I get down with here or by clicking on the Linki Parti's link above. Linking up to crazy mom quilts, Richard and Tanya Quilts  Stitch by Stitch Show off Saturday Blossom Heart Quilts Quilt Story Pretty Bobbins Vals Quilting Studio and Whoop Whoop Friday 

Pink and Teal Quilt

I usually give all my love to teal... But hey this is October and everywhere you look is pink. Our Packers are wearing pink on Sunday, I bought a pink 'add a quarter inch' ruler, Fiskars rotary cutter and a package of pink Clover wonder clips. Seriously, I bought the pink wonder clips immediately when I saw them in September, I knew that I couldn't live another day without them, same goes for the rotary cutter. Although I had considered doing an entire scrappy quilt in all teal I decided to add in bright pink.

See the little nose in the background?! I cut my strips 2.5 x 4.5 and randomly matched one pink and one teal. I had nine fabrics of each colorway. Next time I do the cutting I would cut 2.5 x 9 and then cut the pieced strips in half. I didn't really have a good plan since I wasn't working from a pattern but it came together anyways! I was able to cut, sew and layout the entire quilt after work last night. One thing that I didn't do right away was 'square up.' I figured it was such a simple pattern that I probably wouldn't need to... nope, I'm not perfect as it turns out, sigh. Next I'll be squaring up the blocks! This is going to make a really cute baby quilt which I hope will be done by Friday.

Stout Homecoming Weekend

Last Friday I finished up my country girl improv quilt, commissioned a super cute chevron quilt (fabric ordered, check!) and headed north! It was 10 years ago that my hubby, our best man and I graduated from the MS Training and Organizational Development program at UW-Stout. It was a beautiful fall weekend in Menomonie, we tailgated, walked around campus, bought t-shirts at the bookstore, enjoyed the local craft brew and watched our Blue Devils get the snot beat out of them... Mostly good stuff! The game would not have been complete without a student wearing only a horse head, suspenders and underpants! I'll save the photo for another venue.  Instead here's a pic of my hubby and I with the Stout mascot... tidbit: we didn't have a mascot when we went to college there! He's new newish   

Link Parti's 

Take a look at the linki parti's I get down with here or by clicking on the Linki Parti's link above. Linking up to Freshly Pieced Pretty Bobbins Show and Tell Tuesday and Sew Fresh Quilts 

Country Girl Improv Quilt

Whew, it's finished and just in time for finish up Friday linking! What started out a quick and simple disappearing nine patch quilt turned improv quilt (here too) is finally finished. Really, I'm super glad it's done. I ended up deciding on the white minky backing with a pale pink binding. It is smaller than I originally planned but that's to be expected since I chopped out all the feather fabrics. It still measures 27x34 so baby quilt or nursery wall hanging size.

I'm happy I decided to go with the white minky instead of the charcoal. I've never made an entire quilt improv style. Tons of fun, hope to do it again... hopefully not because of another quilt disaster, err, quilt learning experience.

I think there will be a little country gal somewhere that will end up enjoying these little pink pigs! I've put this little quilt in my etsy shop.

Used my good ol' loopy loo free motion quilting for this one. It's my 'standby' fmq pattern. And here is the backing

Link Parti's 

Take a look at the linki parti's I get down with here or by clicking on the Linki Parti's link above. Linking up to crazy mom quilts, Richard and Tanya Quilts  Stitch by Stitch Quilt Story i have to say My Quilt Infatuation and Whoop Whoop Friday 

Flippin Quilt In Progress

I've made some good progress on the disaster nine patch, err, disappearing nine patch blocks I've deconstructed and put back together. In fact, I've got the top all put together! I realized during this process that I must have a design wall - all the cool kids do. The room I've been sewing in has long been a spare bedroom; however, we've lived here for four years and we've never had all spare bedrooms full. My hubby took down the bed and we temporarily hung a flannel lined tablecloth on the wall to use as my design wall. Yay! Now the room is just a sewing room. If we ever need to we can put the bed back up. It was a little sad actually as the bed was my sons childhood bed and before that it belonged to one of my brothers growing up... now its packed away waiting for another use.  Anyhoo... my design wall. I'm thankful I don't have to lay my quilts out on the floor anymore - this should significantly reduce the amount of dog hair I'm lint-rolling at the end of each quilt. One can hope anyways! Here's my first quilt top made using a design wall

This feels much better than my initial attempt at the nine patch. I'm going to try that pattern again using more than nine fabrics - seems like a great scrap quilt to use up loose charms.  This quilt measures about 27x34 a good size for a baby quilt or even a wall hanging. I spent some time last night pulling together binding and backing fabrics and came up with the following

Since the front is so busy I'm considering something simple for the back. I'm leaning towards the charcoal minky dot with one of the grey and white fabrics for the binding. The white minky leans towards vanilla which doesn't feel right on this quilt. Color inspiration

(source)

Link Parti's 

Take a look at the linki parti's I get down with here or by clicking on the Linki Parti's link above. Linking up to Freshly Pieced My Quilt Infatuation and Sew Fresh Quilts 

Fixed it!

In my last post I mentioned the troubles I was having with my latest quilt. I got some good advice
(thanks ladies!) and pondered on the issues for a couple of days. I flipped the blocks around a few more time but it wasn't happening. I considered making dog crate quilts and liked the layouts for those a lot better. But it sorta felt like giving up... letting that pattern beat me and I just couldn't let that happen! I'm glad I didn't as I'm liking the new quilt blocks so much better

I'm actually a little bit in love with the new block. Whew - I fixed it!

I turned this into an improv parti! Yep, I whacked up those disappearing nine patch blocks totally randomly removing the feather fabric along the way... see what happens when you don't behave over here, watch out! Not to worry, there will be a use for the feathers, they are safe in my scrap bins. I'm planning a low-volume postage stamp quilt in the near future so it's only goodbye for now.

Planning to spend much of my weekend sewing this bunch of scraps, strips and remnants back together. I haven't made an entire quilt improv style so this will be fun. The bright pink and navy fabrics are by Dear Stella, the green is Tarragon by Kona.

Link Parti's 

Take a look at the linki parti's I get down with here or by clicking on the Linki Parti's link above. Linking up to Sew Can She, Stitch by Stitch and Quilt Story 

Best,
Heather

What the Flip!?

So a couple of weeks ago I pulled together some pink, navy and green fabrics

When I first pulled the stack together there were only six fabrics, the navy's, pinks and middle two greens (solid and tree fabrics). After pulling them together I went off in search for something to do with them and saw a number of Disappearing 9 Patch quilts that were very pretty. It looked like a quick and satisfying pattern - and no HSTs! I get a little burned out after doing an entire quilt using triangles. I added the feather, circle and x fabrics to the stack so that I had nine fabrics and went along. I made 8 9-patch blocks using 5 inch squares. I put the fabrics together randomly when I laid out my 9-patches. It was a really satisfying project and I finished the ironing, cutting and sewing in one evening after work... but for the past two days I have been flipping and flipping the finished blocks around... and lots of swearing, grrr! I'm not sure if I should try another layout altogether, add some sashing or what. Happily taking suggestion on that! I seem to have two problems; first, I'm not crazy about the fabrics that I added at the end. I wish I had used a solid white or possibly one more colorway for additional variation for this pattern. Second, the same fabrics keep touching! I know, gross! Is that supposed to happen with this pattern? Oh, and the tree fabric is directional and I should have turned some of those squares in other directions when making the 9-patch blocks... Three problems then. I can't even get to the 'good enough' place where I just stop and sew them together. Not this time. What the flip?!

I might need to start another project while I ponder. Seriously if you have suggestions for saving this puppy from the 'fail bucket,' bring 'em on!

Best,
Heather