A Birthday Quilt for Rosemary

It seems like not that long ago that I was frantically finishing a twin size quilt so that it would be ready for when my niece Rosemary came home from Uganda. And really, it wasn't that long ago - less than a year! Recently, I had the great privilege of being able to go to North Carolina for a visit to be there to celebrate Rosemary's 7th birthday - and her first one since coming home!

A while back, I was talking with Rosemary on the phone about my upcoming trip to see her, and she said "Aunt Carrie, I know what you get me for my birthday!" I laughed and said, "no, it's a surprise! How do you know?" She answered "you make me a blanket!"

Well, if it was another blanket she wanted, this aunt was going to make that happen!

I headed over to Sew Modern soon after and picked up some great fabrics, including Ann Kelle's Fairy Girlfriends. Rosemary has a minky blanket made by someone else with the Mermaid Girlfriends print, so I knew she would like that. 

After talking with my sister, I decided to make a simple, small quilt that would be good for a "go anywhere" blanket.  The idea was that she could bring it along to dance class where she waits while Brady, who my sister nannies, is in her class, and use it to sit on while she is playing or whatever. Or for picnics, or naps in the car, or whatever on the go blanket needs she may have! With that in mind I also made a matching drawstring bag for the blanket to go into for travel. 

Rosemary absolutely loved it! That smile! Oh I love that smile!

Since then, Rosemary's bedroom got a makeover - one that included bunk beds! It turns out that the original quilt I had made for her twin size bed actually fits on the bottom double bed, and the little birthday quilt fits nicely onto the smaller upper bunk!  And she's very happy with having both quilts in her new big girl room. 

Simple patchwork baby quilt

I made this sweet little patchwork baby quilt from part of a Moda Celebration charm pack and a Moda Bella Solids charm pack in white. It was so simple to construct with these fabulous precuts! 

To really add a special touch to it, I then did all of the quilting by hand. I hand quilted each block around its edges and the diagonally through the middle, rotating the direction of the diagonal, so that every four blocks comprised a pinwheel. 

Once finished, this quilt was given to my sister so that she could use it for an upcoming adoption fundraiser auction. I really hope it finds a home where it will be loved and well used!

In Progress: Custom Quilt in Turquoise

Tula Pink's City Sampler Part 1: Crosses

I have finished piecing the first 15 squares in the "Tula 100" from Tula Pink's 100 Modern Quilt Blocks book. I'm so excited to be working on such a project! Each square is so beautifully designed and planned, and it has been fun to decide on fabrics and patterns along the way.

Here are some photos of my blocks from the first section, Blocks 1-15: Crosses -

Blocks 1-4. One of my favorite blocks so far is in this set. I just love how block 2 (upper right) tuned out! I used some pinks / purples from my Modern Solids collection, another solid pink from Kona solids, a pick and purple print that I got in a scrap pack order, and a pink and white print from Alison Glass fabrics (the one with writing).

Blocks 5-8. When I first finished block #8 and started to photograph, it had two little blocks that were in the wrong place!  Oops! But I was able to rip the seams precisely and fix the error!

Blocks 9-12. I think these blocks really showcase the brilliance of Tula Pink's design. The pluses are all so structured and exact looking, but here we have the playfulness of block 12 with its askew plus sign. 

Blocks 13-15; also the Book and my organization system. Certainly by the time I got to these blocks, I could see how each block was challenging in its own way, so that each time I am learning and developing skills along the way. The picture on the bottom right includes my "system." As I decide on fabrics for the blocks and  it those fabrics, I use sheet protectors to keep the fabric pieces together. Once the square is pieced, the finished square goes back into its plastic sheet protectors. All of these are housed I a big binder 

So far, I'm having lots of fun! I can't wait to see what comes next... Stay tuned. 

2014 Quilt Projects

So as I thought about resolutions for 2014, of course I came up with many things I'd like to focus on like eating healthy, staying on track with all of my health and wellness goals, etc.  But I additionally thought it might be a good idea this year to come up with a list of quilting related goals for 2014.  Here they are!

1.  Finish the Auction Custom Quilt

My sister and her husband had an online auction as a fundraiser to help with the costs of their adoption of their second daughter from Uganda, and I donated a custom quilt as an auction item.  The person who won the bid for the item made a very generous donation to the fundraiser, so I wanted to make her custom quilt extra special and beautiful.  It is so lovely that people are willing to be supportive and generous in helping with the adoption fundraiser!  I have already pieced the quilt top, and made a semi-pieced backing, and prepared the binding.  So what comes next will be basting the quilt and then meticulously hand-quilting the entire thing for an heirloom quality finish.  I'm very excited to get this one done and send it off!

2.  Baby Quilt for Caitlin's Baby Boy

My oldest niece is going to have a baby very soon, which means that I will be a great-aunt!  (wait, what?!?!)  Of course, I absolutely have to make her a little baby quilt for baby Brantley.  I have fabrics all picked out - I started with purchasing Lion King receiving blankets that match the nursery decor, which I will repurpose for quilting fabrics, and I matched other coordinating fabrics to those blankets.  I better get to work on this one soon, because that baby is coming at the end of January!

3.  Quilt for My Another Niece

In addition to my soon-to-be-born great-nephew, and my soon-to-be-born baby niece (whose quilt I just finished in December), I will be getting another little niece this year when my sister and her husband adopt from Uganda again.  Last year, I made a quilt for my other niece, Rosemary.  So now I have been commissioned so to speak to create a coordinating quilt for her soon-to-be sister!

4.  Quilt for My Nephew

My nephew Aidan is now 11 years old, and I wasn't making baby quilts for all of my nieces and nephews back when he was born.  So he's never received one as a gift.  I decided that this year, I will make him a twin sized quilt for his bed, and I asked him over the holidays what colors he would like me to use.  I expected him to say red and black, because his room is decorated with a lot of UGA football related decor (Go Dawgs!).  But being the stylish and hip tween that he is, he suggested neons instead!  Well, if you follow me on Instagram or have seen my other posts on here about some of the other quilts I have been working on, you know that I LOVE the idea of neon quilts, so I was thrilled that this is what he wants!  I already have some of the Riley Blake neon solids left from other projects, which I plan to supplement with a little more in each color, and I'm thinking of doing a quilt top with various "plus" patterns using black, white, grey and splashes of neon all around.

Whew!  This Auntie is going to be a busy quilter!  But in addition to quilts for all of these nieces and nephews, I have a few more goals in mind -

5.  Finish Rock Candy quilts!

A few months ago, I was so enamoured by the Rock Candy Quilt pattern by Jay Bird Quilts, and so in love with the Sidekick Ruler - both of which I received in a Quilty Box by the way - that I got super ambitious and cut out enough fabrics to make a few different ones of this cute little mini-quilt.  I got a little held up on the piecing at first (and frustrated) but things got better after I got a useful tip (and encouragement) from a friend on Instagram.  So now I feel ready to tackle the Rock Candy again and finish up those projects.

6.  Quilt and Finish All Quilt Tops from 2013

I will admit, I have a bit of sewing ADD.  Maybe more than a bit.  I tend to jump from project to project because I get so distracted by being excited over new fabrics or new ideas.  Last month, I organized all of the "in progress" quilting projects I have going on - and discovered quite a few quilt tops that are 100% pieced but haven't had anything else done to them!  I use to wonder about those people who would leave behind mounds of partially finished projects that would end up in some estate sale, but now I realize I could easily be one of those people.  So hence goal number 6 - finish those "in progress" quilts!

7.  Auction Off One Additional Fundraiser Quilt

I'm so excited to be getting another niece through adoption this year, and I want to help in any way I can, so I decided that another goal would be to offer up another quilt to be auctioned off for my sister's fundraising efforts!  I haven't decided yet whether to use a finished quilt, or do another custom quilt for the buyer, so stay tuned...

8.  Quilt Repair Project

When I was visiting my sister over Christmas, she pointed out that one of the quilts she received as a gift from my Grandmother is really showing a lot of wear.  She was given this quilt when she was a kid when she first had a full sized bed.  It is a very traditional blue and white star pattern quilt, with hand quilting and what seems like machine piecing.  To me, it seems like the backing may have been pieced together from small pieces and scraps of white fabric, and the binding seems to be attached by machine.  The binding is really showing the most wear, and there are some places where the seems have come apart.  I hope to be able to attach a new binding and repair any places where there are rips in the seams so that my sister can continue to enjoy it for years to come!

9.  Tula Pink's City Sampler

Last but not least will be a fun project just for me.  As a Christmas present, I received the Tula Pink 100 Modern Quilt Blocks book!  I am so excited to dive into making these fun and unique blocks!  In order to ensure that I don't get too overwhelmed by it, that I don't forget to devote time to other quilting goals, and that I recognize my quilting ADD issues, I decided to work on the City Sampler quilt throughout the entire year.  I am aiming to work on two blocks per week throughout the year, and before I start I intend to get super organized and put together a plan for the color scheme.  I think working on the blocks like this over time in between other projects will be a fun way to work on this goal, and I'm looking forward to trying my skills out with all of those different blocks!

Baby Quilts for the Twins

I have finally finished the quilts for my twin nieces, Millie and Billie! 

For the twins' quilts, I wanted to use some fabric that I had gotten from my mom, which was the same fabric she had used to make some other cute baby items for their nursery room. Some of the fabric had some large panels with birds and trees, but I didn't want the entire quilt tops to be made out of just those panels pieced together. I wanted them to have more of a patchwork look. So figuring out how it would all work out was a challenging process.  In the end, I'm happy with the patchwork / not-too-planned look of both of them! 

Here are the photos!

Planning out the quilt tops (with another baby quilt underneath as a guide for size):

One of the quilt tops before basting and quilting:

Close up of some of the hand-quilting:

Cheerful green binding all ready to go:

Binding in process:

Finished quilt for Millie:

Finished Quilt for Billie:

"Inspired Modern Quilts" with Elizabeth Hartman on craftsy.com

I signed up for "Inspired Modern Quilts" on craftsy.com!  In case you haven't heard about Craftsy, there are many great online classes for lots of topics, including lots of quilting related classes. I use the Craftsy app so I can watch the lessons right from my iPad! What's really great is that once you've enrolled, you can watch the class whenever you want and as many times as you want. And there is a chat feature where you can post comments and questions. You can even share examples of your work if the class has projects.  I'm excited to start this one!