stash addition

i just received this in the mail on Saturday to add to my stash. I got it from hawthorne threads which is my favorite online shop. i always envisioned florida having an overwhelming amount of quilting shops, but not so much. I haven't found anything with contemporary fabric and only one shop with a decent but small selection. So, with the price of gas these days it's just as cheap for me to order online and pay shipping and get exactly what i love. I do miss feeling and looking at the fabric up close and personal though; I tend to buy my kona solids at jo-ann's so i still get a bit of matching fabrics in person!

i never know how much to buy, probably bc most times i have no idea what i'm going to do with the fabric. i ended up with a 1/2 yard of this. a lot of times i wish i'd bought more, but I also don't want to tire of it. Do you have a system that you use or does it vary in what you add to your stash??

I'm off to finish binding my placemats and doing a little bit of my 'day' job, you know the one that pays for the stash! i should have the placemats done to show you tomorrow!

a couple finishes and a new stash to start

I finished quilting 2 of the place mats I have been working on over the weekend. They are gifts I've been trying to finish up. It has been fun because they are 12"x18" and the perfect small size to practice different types of quilting on. I also thought it'd be fun if the set of 4 had different quilting on each mat. The first one is just straight line quilting.

This one I decided to do some organic quilting on. I hadn't done this before, although I'd contemplated it on a bigger quilt. This was a nice small way to figure out if i liked it. I do love just being able to sew any.which.way.you.want with no rules or lines to follow. That also pretty much sums up the type of person I am. Not a leader nor a follower. I don't like conformity much, go out of my way to be something different and unique. I also don't like others following me or my lead...I like for others to also do their own thing, much like the random, free spirited lines. also a good reason i like modern quilting - with little measured cutting or rules to follow - just piece it together, however you want!

Here is a little part of my stash I pulled out and I'm finally ready to cut into it. I think I've figured out what I want to do with it and can't wait to start on it!

Subtle Trains

This is the front of the quilt. A smaller train applique in the bottom right corner. I used felt to piece it together as I wanted a certain subtleness about it, but matching the backing fabric in primary colors.

I haven't even taken a final measurement of it, but I'm fairly certain I started with about a 1 yard remnant. So, I'm guessing it turned out about 36"x44" or so. I did a royal blue flannel binding - note to self - flannel is a bit bulkier binding then quilting fabric so a 2 3/8" width might have been more forgiving in this instance.

peeking out over the top!

My little helper is holding up the front - so proud of his new quilt!

The back is the remnant piece that started the quilt....trains galore!

reveal and remnants

This quilt started with a flannel remnant. To say that my youngest son is obsessed with trains is an understatement. He absolutely loves them. As soon as he saw this he had to have it! Then came the question of what to do with it. He already has a train pillowcase that I made, but not a train quilt. I thought the pattern was a little busy for the front, so it is actually the back.



I usually only work with flannel when I make long pajama pants for wintertime (not really needed in Florida) but my older guy likes them anyway. So, sewing a quilt with flannel was new for me. I also received the walking foot for my Bernina machine for my birthday at the end of June. We were on holiday up north (Illinois) until mid-July visiting my family, so I've just now gotten to test it out....this has been a long time coming!! The last fuller size princess quilt I made for Project Linus had a lot of puckers and i was so disappointed in the quilting...I knew a walking foot would make a huge difference. I went with a simple straight line pattern from corner to corner creating a diamond shape. There are 2 small puckers on the back which could have been from lack of over-basting, but i'm so pleased with it otherwise.

I must admit binding is becoming one of my favorite parts of quilting....is that so wrong? I love picking it out, cutting it, mitering it and sewing it on - another excuse to use the walking foot as well. I also admit I do not do any handsewing....the few quilts i have look terrible...I just don't have the hand or patience for a perfect hand-sewn blind stitch. Machine sewing looks much better than my hand-i-work. I found the best tutorial from Red Pepper Quilts. It is very clear and concise and it works perfectly - I started my first binding at 2.5" width and realized quickly that was too wide for me. I narrowed it to 2 3/8" and have done this on my last 5-6 projects and finally narrowed it to 2.25" for this quilt and I think it will be perfect - it is an art to make the binding the right width for your personal sewing style.

I have 1/2 of the binding pinned and just need to finish and sew the back down...the rest of the quilt reveal will be tomorrow!

Join the Challenge...

I decided to join the challenge presented by Jacquie at Tallgrass Prairie Studio - the Improv(e) your Butt Challenge! I already cycle and run and try to do 2 long rides a week and have been slacking in the running department. I thought this might be a good way to get myself motivated. For every mile you log you get to add 1 piece of fabric to your Improv quilt. I have a few ideas I've been wanting to try - so maybe this will help me along.

You can particpate to by going to Jacquie's site and joining the Quilter's Butt team or join on your own on this site. You start in VA, and each mile you log takes your further across the United States, it is very fun! I have already logged my first 30 miles.

where's the fire?

Just finished packaging up this cutie shirt for a customer. Her little boy is wearing it on his 3rd birthday next month! I love all the detail in this shirt and different pieces.

In fact, my favorite part is how well the actual shirt compliments the fabrics and applique design! I am deciding whether to list a few of the designs on etsy for sale in custom sizes and similar fabrics....any thoughts? I usually use Old Navy t-shirts so I feel the sizing can be fairly universal if you shop there. Off to finish my train quilt - it is in flannels and it has been interesting quilting it versus stiffer quilting fabric.

finishes

here are some recent finishes in the last few months - i'm working on a firetruck shirt right now for a little boy's 3rd bday and doing a camera design for a photography friend. also turning my boyfriend jeans into 'girlfriend capri's' the wide leg just doesn't look good on me!

in the midst of quilting my little guys train quilt and should have pics of that soon! enjoy...