Traveling Quilts Roundup

Over the past eight months I was lucky enough to participate in a spin off group that came from the Old Red Barn Quilt Along group.  A lot of the really good friends I have made in this online community are from that group.  I don't think Dana had any idea how big it would become or how many amazing friendships would be formed through the group when she first started that original quilt along but there have been many a quilt made through that group and many a friendship as well.

For the last round I had Dee's quilt.  Now I was lucky enough to get to meet Dee in person a few years back so I knew I wanted to do something really special for her quilt.  I pondered and pondered and in the end I decided a tribute of sorts to the very first Old Red Barn Quilt would be a nice touch.  So I added a modified rail fence boarder.  Dee's only request was that we pick one color for her starting square to use as the focus.  There were lots of great colors in there but I decided to focus on the plums and mustard's.  It seemed to me like they would help ground the quilt after all of the white space Nichole used in her round.  I have to say I am so in love with the color scheme that I plan to sew my quilt for 100 Quilts for Kids from the same pretty colors.  I think it is girly with a side of sophistication and hope that maybe a little older girl will appreciate it.

Here is a look back at the other quilts I had the chance to work on.

Finally my quilt top is finished and will hopefully be on the way home soon.  I started off with the smallest center of just a 12 inch block but my top has grown into a massive queen size quilt.  My only request was a orange, blue, and gray color story.  Dee had my quilt first and started off by adding those amazing spools.  They popped up several times and it's so exciting to see how well they all work together and the cohesiveness they bring to the top as a whole.  I already have a plan for the back and then this one will be going to the long arm to be quilted.  Hopefully I'll have it finished by the end of 2012 and it won't get sucked into the WIP vortex.  

Argh Matey

Ahoy there!  Just a quick little baby quilt to share with you today.  One of my coworkers had a baby a few months ago and this quilt has actually been sitting around for a while just waiting to have the binding finished.  So I finished sewing it down last night and have a quick spin in the washer and a tumble in the dryer it was baby ready.  I fussy cut some pieces from a focal fabric and then just arranged it in a pretty abstract way.  I was going for controlled improv.  Sorry for the less than stellar photos I realized after I got to work that I hadn't taken any.

Improv is not my strong suite.

She really threw me off a bit with the Pirate theme and because I was trying to finish it in time for a baby shower I just went with fabrics I could find here locally.  In the end I didn't finish in time for the shower and could have held out for something else but I think these colors work with the other pieces she already has in the nursery and hopefully will be a bright and cheerful addition to baby Tripp's collection.

Closer view of the front and the quilting.

For the quilting I kept it simple and just did some wavy lines on my home machine.  I kept the quilting to a minimum since I wanted the quilt to stay nice and snugly soft but I'm almost regretting not throwing a few more lines in after seeing how much it crinkled in the wash.  It finishes at about 38 by 46.

Showing off the fun fabrics on the back.

I have a bit of fabric left from this quilt.  Scraps really but there is a good part of the focal fabric I used on the front left that you could probably get quite a few fussy cut pieces out of.  I'm going to give it away to a good home so if you are interested just leave me a comment and let me know.  It will just be first come first serve.

Crazy Town

So I feel like I have been living in crazy town lately.  I haven't been spending much time sewing so I haven't had a lot of things to share here as of late.  I've been reading more and more post from friends saying they haven't felt much like sewing lately and that they are taking a break.  I totally understand that sentiment.  I did get a chance to catch up on my traveling quilts this weekend.

 First I had this masterpiece.  My original plan was to applique flowers into the corners.  But those ribbons and leaves closer to the middle are paper pieced.  No way could I add raw edge applique to this thing.  I struggled a lot to find something I liked.  Finally settling on a border from quilters cache called entwined.  WOW did I way underestimate how much time this would take.  I can't even begin to think what it would have been like if I had gone all the way around with the intricate piecing.  In the end I opted not to because the measurements were off a bit and I couldn't get my limited math skills to cooperate with me.  So I made the background and the rail that the ribbon was entwined around go all the way around and placed the ribbon in opposite corners.

I did a ton of seam ripping on this bad boy.  I made many of the pieces upside down not once or twice but too many to count.  It seems silly now but I kept looking at the piece I had done and not thinking that I needed to make the mirror image of it for the other side.

Next up I worked on this quilt which is super scrappy.  It is HUGE already and measures close to queen size.  So I went with a very simple scrappy border.  I got a lot of great fabrics mixed in there.  Sorry I didn't get a better photo but it is already boxed up and off to its last stop in the traveling quilt group.  I have one more quilt left to work on and then this group will be complete.  I am planning on taking a break from flickr after this.  Life has just gotten a little crazy and I hate feeling like I am letting people down because they are waiting for me.  And seeing all of the new groups and quilt alongs can be a little maddening sometimes because it turns into inspiration overload.  So I think a break will be good for me so I can get on the train out of crazy town.