Irony at it's Finest

 At the risk of offending someone I thought I would tell you guys about my next project...

City Weekends Baby Quilt by my Mom

I was talking with my mom today about my last blog post because she has been out of town and was oblivious to what I was talking about.  During that conversation my mom was sharing her thoughts with me on how when she first started quilting she was only drawn to what "modern quilters" would call calico prints.  As I started quilting I never once told my mother I thought her choices were bad.  What I did do was send her lots of pretty fabric photos to look at and links to some of the blogs I like to read.  Please understand I didn't do this to change my moms opinions.  I wasn't trying to influence her into liking the same things I did but rather I wanted to introduce to her that there were other options out there.  I realized in this process that my mom was picking up designer names and it became a little challenge to her to see if she could identify a designer or line in a photo I sent her about my next project.  To me (which is just my opinion at the risk of offending someone) my mom now uses a mix of "modern" and "old school" fabrics.  I used "old school" because I don't have a better word for it right now.  Sometimes my mom picks things that I wouldn't and sometimes I can see her picking over at my project when we get to sew together and I know she's thinking "I don't like that!"  But that's okay because we are both making things we really enjoy.

Polka Dot Remix Baby Quilt by my Mom

I say all of this to tell the back story of what I'm about to blog about.  Wasn't that nice.  In this conversation my mom thanked me for teaching her about designers and showing her there were other options out there.  I call this irony because today in my mail box I got a Hello Betty Layer Cake that I ordered for my next project.  Yes, Hello Betty as in a very retro vibe kind of print.  I don't know what it is about this line because I don't really like retro.  I'm not typically drawn to reproductions or the anything with that retro vibe.  I know a lot of people from my generation are collecting "vintage" but it just never really appealed to me.  This line though has been in my head since I first saw it at a quilt show more than 2 years ago.  When I saw Corey's latest Bakeshop project I knew I had finally found the perfect project for Hello Betty.  There was something about her quilt that just made me think immediately of that line.  Do you ever do that?  Most of the time I find projects I like and then search for the perfect fabric.  This time it was an instant knowing that I had to make that quilt and I had to use Hello Betty to do it.  My layer cake came in the mail today and I've already started cutting my pieces.  Twisted Fandango is still in the works but the boarders aren't coming out the way I want and so I'm taking a break from it for a little while.  Don't worry, I will push through it and finish it.  But for now some easy sewing in my hectic life is what I'm after.

I love the way all these little pieces look when cutting.

Hello Betty

Dumb? Who Me?

I don't usually join in on these kinds of debates or conversations because my mom taught me a long time ago that if you can't say something nice you shouldn't say anything at all.  Well in this case I don't have anything mean to say so I think I'm safe.  Apparently I live in a bubble because I had no idea that there was a debate going on about "Dumbing Down Quilting" but once one of my regular reads responded I did a little research and I have to admit I was shocked at what I found.  It seems like everyone has an opinion on the subject.  And like everyone else I have an opinion too.  It seems like what started this whole debate was the complexity of a pinwheel.  Did anyone stop and think about this?  There are lots of different pinwheel blocks.  I made this set for charity and I would agree.  Easy peasy, doesn't take a lot of time but leaves you with a fantastic looking quilt at the end of the day.  When I was brand new to quilting I hated these blocks because those pesky little points in the middle never seemed to line up just like I wanted them too.

Then over the last year as I developed as a quilter (at least I like to think my skills have improved, although to some that might be a questionable point) I was asked to make pinwheel blocks for one of my fellow bee members for a pinwheel sampler quilt.  You can see the blocks I made here.  Some of those blocks were not easy for me.  Maybe they aren't what some would call advanced or even intermediate but for me they were more challenging than what I personally would consider a basic block.  Humm maybe that's the point here.  Opinions are after all subjective.  So maybe what I consider to be intermediate you think of as basic.  But I don't think that makes me dumb. 

I am really looking forward to developing my skills as a quilter but as a 20 something (okay thirty something) quilter right now my focus is on my job and building my family.  Quilting for now is a hobby.  Something I enjoy doing but sadly falls to the bottom of the priority list.  As much as I wish I could spend time everyday with Bertha (my machine if you're new around here) that's just not realistic for me right now.  So I join in things like quilt alongs and quilting bees.  Some of the women in my life that I consider my best of friends are women I've meet through these experiences.  They are my friends not only in this online quilting world but in real life too.  They are the people I trust to ask for advice and to share my bad days with.  But they are also the ones who challenge me to become a better person.  Not only in my quilting but in my life as well.  I don't think you can cheapen that experience by somehow implying that those experiences have been unproductive by not advancing my skill level.

On that same note one of the things I love about quilt alongs is the fact that while everyone is working with the same pattern the quilts all look different.  Each person brings their individual skills, taste, and twist to the project.  Take the postage stamp quilt along for example (since it was my most recent experience we can look at those) this quilt, this one, and this one were all made as part of the same project.  So on first glance one might be seeing the same quilt on a ton of blogs all at once.  But if you look a little closer you will see that it's because it was part of a project each quilter chose to participate in and then you get to appreciate the differences of each quilt.  Same basic pattern, each with it's own special twist.

I love my quilting community that embraces me, challenges me, and shares with me.  Maybe I don't yet know what kind of quilter I am but the journey is where the fun lies.  I look forward to continuing to develop my skills, try out new things, and quilt with great fabrics that I love (even if they aren't the same ones my mom or grandmother would pick).  Because I choose to believe that just by being fellow quilters we have a shared passion no matter how we choose to express it.

Twisted Fandango Part 4

I finally am getting around to trying to finish this quilt. This will probably be the last peak I will show of this quilt before it's finished. For the boarders I really wanted to make smaller pinwheels that looked like they were floating. Once I figured out how to do the boarders I just picked random amounts of pinwheels that I wanted to have interlocked. I wasn't expecting the voids to actually look like pinwheels themselves. But it turns out the end product works. I don't usually like square quilts but I'm pretty fond of this little ditty so far. I have a plan in my mind for how I want to quilt this one. Now I just need to finish a couple more boarders and it will be all good to go.

 

This quilt has come together really easily and it was pretty simple to make.  I just used a layer cake, charm pack, and some yardage of Kona Snow.  You will need the lil' twister as well as the larger twister to make one but I see lots of potential uses for both.  In fact I have an idea for another quilt floating around in my head right now that was inspired by the boarders and 4 charm packs that I recently picked up.

Crushed Stamps

Just when I thought the post office and I were making nice they delivered one of my swap packages with nothing inside.  Uggh!  I was so upset because I started using delivery confirmation on everything to avoid these missing packages and crazy nonsense that is my relationship with the US Post Office.  So because of that the name "Crushed Stamps" is staying.  Maybe I will change my mind if we ever make up but I doubt that will be for a long time.

 I made this quilt following along with Rachel in the Postage Stamp Quilt Along (check out the other finished quilts here).  It was a lot of fun and went together really fast.  In fact the whole thing took about a month.  My dad was nice enough to offer to have this one taken to the long arm for me and I am so grateful for that because it probably would have equaled my post office experience had I tried to do it myself.  I used Anna Marie Horner's Innocent Crush fabric line and it is quilted in a soft purple gray.

 I kept the back super simple using just one fabric and a row of left over pieces from the front.  On my Freshcut Square Dance quilt (waiting at the long arm) I tried matching up the pattern repeat and just using a solid fabric for the back.  It went together pretty well for the most part but I think I like this method of a pieced back a little better.  Especially with a big print like this one.  It is a little easier than trying to match a pattern repeat.

This one is staying at my house and it will be nice to cuddle up under it on the couch.  The Christmas quilts have officially been washed and put away for now.  So now it's on to the next.  I'm working on the boarders for Twisted Fandango and hope to have a finished top to show you all soon.

101 Irons

So lately I have found myself with 101 irons in the fire.  What's one more, right?  Somewhere in the chaos that is my life I have been finding time to sew a little as well as plot more projects.  I now have a growing list of things I want to sew and a pile of fabrics to prove it.  Last weekend as I was waiting for tools and fabric to arrive for this list of projects I cut up a fat quarter bundle that I had no plans for (I usually only buy what I need for a project so having something sitting around without a plan was a bit odd).  I sewed these together following Ashley's tutorial and plan to just make a small baby quilt.  Since most of my quilts to date have been gifts I usually know exactly when something needs to be finished and who it is going to be for.  This quilt, not so much.  I am actually just making it because I want to practice my quilting.  In the end I will probably just donate it to the nonprofit where I work.

Last night I also got my postage stamp quilt back from my mom who had taken it to her long arm quilter for me.  Thanks again mom and dad!  This is just a little sneak peak but I promise a full reveal once the binding is stitched down.  This one I actually plan to keep which will mean that I can finally put away Red Square Envy and Figgy Pudding Scramble.  I know it's March and that Christmas quilts should have been long since put away but I have to have a quilt on the couch and since I don't currently have another finished quilt in the house I have been showing the Christmas quilts extra love.

Also currently in progress is the Twisted Fandango quilt.  I ordered a charm pack and the lil' twister tool to make a floating pinwheel boarder.  It took me a while to figure out how to sew the charms and the background fabric together to make this work but I think I got it.  Here is a peak at the first section which features just two pinwheels.

 And remember when I said with this many projects going one more is no big deal.  Well if you are looking for some inspiration check out some of the quilt alongs that are showing up.  I know that I will be doing at least one of these (probably more).

Check it out here.

Find out more here.

You can find more about this here.

Twisted Fandango Part 3

I am really surprised at how quickly this quilt is coming together.  The top has all been re cut and sewn back together again.  Now unfortunately I have to put it away while I await some additional fabric that I ordered so I can finish it up.  The whole process so far has been super quick and easy.

 

If you are planning on making a quilt like this I do have a few tips though.  Line up all of your seems.  I know that sewing precuts together is suppose to make life easy but they do sometimes have a slight variance.  The more exact your corners are when you sew together the original layout the better your finished pinwheels will look.  We already talked about the continuous boarder but again I would recommend it.  As I was sewing the rest of my blocks together I ended up with one small piece that was less than and inch big.  It's no big deal really but I don't like unnecessary seams.  Also remember that once you turn and cut the fabric you are working with the bias.  It stretches really easily so you have to be careful not to pull on the pieces and stretch them.  And my last bit of advice would be to press.  After moving the top around so much to re cut the blocks they really needed a good pressing as I went to ensure that they were cut properly.

But there you have it, my almost finished twisted fandango quilt.  I must have really found my sewing spark because I didn't sit and sew for hours on end but I was able to sew this quilt up less the boarders in just a few days.  Now I am looking forward to starting on my Swell quilt while I wait on the fabric for the boarders of twisted fandango.  Still not really digging that name, any ideas?

Twisted Fandango Part 2

I went and got some Kona Snow today so I could work on the next part of my twisted fandango quilt tonight.  Not sold on the name so please suggestions welcome.  Once the layer cake squares are sew together the directions call for adding a six and a half inch boarder all the way around.  At this point the quilt will look something like this.  Again I could have been happy stopping here and having a very simple pretty quilt.

A few things I learned at this point.  The instructions included with the ruler/template only called for a 1 1/4 yards for the borders and suggested cutting by length of fabric.  If I were doing this step again I would have just bought a bit more yardage and cut one continuous piece for the boarders.  It isn't really a big deal but I'll show you later why I make that suggestion.

One of my big concerns about this project was the amount of fabric that would be wasted.  Here is a picture of what mine looked like with the first set of blocks cut out.  Really not to bad, once the second row was cut out I had about a 4 by 5 inch pieces left from the middle.  I don't think this is to much waste because that size scrap is big enough to use in a lot of different projects.  I plan to use mine in my borders but they would be a welcome addition to the scrap bin as well.

Here are my first two rows sewn together.  As you can see it does shrink a lot from the previous arrangement but I think it will be a nice size throw quilt to cuddle under.  Look for more updates on the progress of this one as I move along I'll be sure to share.