Out to Sea

I had extra incentive to get this one finished up this week...  not only is it time for the Blogger's Quilt Festival but it was time for another Quilt Camp weekend in Scituate, the perfect backdrop for this nautical quilt.  

Last fall I fell in love with Stitched in Color's Penny Patch and decided it would be a great scrap buster.  I started with an Out to Sea fat quarter bundle and pulled all the rest from stash.  My original plan was just to make another lap quilt but then I decided to make it big enough for Audrey's bed so it grew...  and grew some more.

I went back and forth on quilting designs but in the end decided to keep it simple and just did straight-line quilting along the seam lines.   

 I scored enough of the sailing ship border print for the backing this summer at Marden's.  My genius friend Aimee had the brilliant suggestion to orient the top  border so that it will be right side up when turned down on a bed.

Thanks to my quilty peeps for all the quilt wrangling.  It's so awesome to have friends who will hazard gale force winds and trespassing for a photo shoot:-)

And a huge thank you to Amy for once again organizing the Blogger's Quilt Festival!!! I've entered this in the Large Quilts category.  Be sure to check out all of the amazing entries.

And I get to cross this one off my list for the 2015 Finish Along hosted by On the Windy Side.  Check out the rest of Q4 finishes. 

Quilt Stats:

Finished quilt is 78" x 84"

Pattern: Adapted from the Penny Patch QAL hosted by Stitched in Color

Fabrics:  Out to Sea by Sarah Jane, Stash

Batting: Quilter's Dream Orient Bamboo

Thread: Aurifil 50wt. in Natural White (2021)

 

Thar She Blows!

Just in time for the Blogger's Quilt Festival I finished this Preppy the Whale mini quilt.  I have to admit when I was asked to make this quilt I was unenthused...  been there, done that and grey?  How blah!

I pulled these fabrics and then it sat until guilt and the baby's impending arrival finally motivated me.  I don't know why I waited so long, once I actually started this went together in an afternoon.  Despite having 16 different sized pieces per block these whales go together quickly.

The quilting was also a breeze.  I love these wavy organic lines!

Orange isn't really my color but I thought it added the perfect pop for the binding.  Now that it's finished I'm a little sad to send it off but I know it will be a lovely addition to my friend's new nursery.

With my freshly polished toes for scale:-)

A huge thank you to Amy for once again organizing the Blogger's Quilt Festival!!!  I've entered this in the Small Quilts category.  For a whale of a good time check out all the participants:-)

Quilt Stats:
Finished quilt is 20" x 26"
Pattern: Preppy the Whale by the fabulous Elizabeth Hartman of Oh, Fransson!
Fabrics: Kona Nautical, Just Color by Studio E, Sunkissed by Sweetwater, Little Apples by Aneela Hoey, Foxfield by Tula Pink, and Textures by Angela Walters.  Binding: DS Quilts.  Backing: Riley Blake Multi Houndstooth.
Batting: Quilter's Dream Cotton Select
Thread: Aurifil  Light Grey Green (2847)

Blogger's Quilt Festival:Gathered Ghastlies

I'm just dying to share my latest Ghastly creation for the Blogger's Quilt Festival.  I have been obsessed with this fabric line since it came out.  With each new release I add more to my collection so I have to keep coming up with creative ways to use it.

I've had this one in mind for a while...  it's sort of a mash up of my Cracking Up quilt and this Beachy Wave quilt.  I started with a simple strip pieced quilt using the fabric repeat to determine the width of the strips.

I pieced the strip quilt and quilted it using a simple broken glass pattern before adding the ruffles.

The ruffles are a little tricky.  I cut two strips 5" by the wof and joined them end to end then sewed them right sides together along the long side to make a really long tube.  When gathering I find it easiest to set my stitch length to the longest length and turn my top tension all the way up to the highest setting.  I sewed two rows of gathering stitches down either side of each ruffle.  The key for easier gathering is NOT to catch the seam allowance in your basting stitches.  I pinned each ruffle to my quilt adjusting them so the gathers were fairly even and then top stitched down the center of each ruffle using coordinating thread.

And I got to indulge my other obsession, Tula Pink!!!  The Absinthe colorway of NightShade coordinates perfectly with the Ghastlies:-)

It's the perfect addition to my absolutely Ghastly foyer:-)

My undying admiration goes to Amy for once again organizing the Blogger's Quilt Festival!!!  I've entered this in the Small Quilts category.  The end is near, today is the last day to enter your quilt.  Don't be left behind!

Also linking up to the fabulous Finish it Up Friday by Crazy Mom Quilts.

Quilt Stats:
Finished quilt is 40" x 68"
Fabrics:  from the Ghastlies collections by Alexander Henry, Heath. Backing: Absinthe Spider Blooms from Nightshade by Tula Pink.  Binding: Architextures by Carolyn Friedlander.
Batting:  Quilter's Dream Orient Bamboo
Thread:  King Tut Rosetta Stone 978, Aurifil Victorian Rose(2445)

Blogger's Quilt Festival: Meet Murray the Whale

It's that time of year again... time for the Blogger's Quilt Festival.  I've been on a bit of a nautical kick this year and preppy has always been my thing so the minute I saw Oh, Fransson!'s Preppy the Whale pattern I knew I had to make one.  As luck would have it Elizabeth was looking for pattern testers and I begged offered to help.

I wanted to make a single block to test the pattern before committing to cutting all my fabrics.  This pink whale was inspired by the Vineyard Vines logo.  I named him Murray in honor of Shep & Ian, the brothers who founded Vineyard Vines.  He was so cute I knew I had to put him in his own quilt.  What could be preppier than stripes and a kelly green binding?

I used the thicker 12 wt. Aurifil thread to quilt this.  I love the extra definition it adds!!!

Of course I couldn't resist the chance to take a trip to Martha's Vineyard for a photo shoot!

A huge thank you to Amy for once again organizing the Blogger's Quilt Festival!!!  I've entered this in the Small Quilts category.  For a whale of a good time check out all the participants:-)

Quilt Stats:
Finished quilt is 42" x 52"
Pattern: Based on Preppy the Whale by the fabulous Elizabeth Hartman of Oh, Fransson!
Fabrics: Kona Nautical and Carnation, Bella Solids White.  Binding: Bella Solids Kelly.  Backing: Riley Blake large gingham in Navy
Batting: Quilter's Dream Wool
Thread: Aurifil  50wt and 12wt in White (2024) and Very Dark Navy (2785)

And Then I Improvised...

 

The awesome Erin of Daley by the Yard asked me to do an improv piecing demo at her grand re-opening next weekend.  If you've seen my quilts you know that tiny little pieces and perfect points are more my style so I figured I'd better practice a bit first.

Neptune is one of my most favorite and maniacally hoarded fabric collections so it was perfect for having random little bits to sew together.  I just pulled everything out of my scrap bag and started sewing it together until I had a panel the right size for my anchor applique.

I also had some jelly roll strips left from my Zig Zag quilts that I pieced together for a border.

I thought it would be easier to do reverse applique on the anchor rather than trying to turn under seam allowances with pieced seams...  that may not have been true:-)  A little glue and a lot of patience and I got all the edges turned under.  I layered the quilt with the backing and batting and then quilted around the anchor to hold the edges in place.

For the rest of the quilting I used the Bernina wavy stitch (#4) with a stitch length of 4.  I found I had to adjust the tension way down to around 1 1/2 but with a little fiddling it was perfect.  It was pretty tedious but a couple of movies helped pass the time.  Thank goodness for Netflix!!!

I've entered this in the Applique category at the Blogger's Quilt Festival.  Hop on over there to check out all the other fabulous quilts!!!

Quilt Stats:
Finished quilt is 42" x 52"
Fabrics: Neptune by Tula Pink, Cotton Couture in Fog, FSDS Cosmic Blue for binding.
Batting: Quilter's Dream Orient
Thread: Aurifil 2845

Blogger's Quilt Festival: Cracking Up

I always love the Blogger's Quilt Festival.  There is just so much creativity in the quilting world and it is fabulous to see it all showcased in one place.  With it wrapping up on Halloween the timing was perfect for me to show off my latest Ghastly creation.

I'm absolutely obsessed with the Ghastlies but I thought I was really cracking up with this one... This quilt started out as something different but the Ghastly Angle fabric reminded me of how in the "old days" the TV signal would cut out and that lead to me cutting up a perfectly good strip quilt:-)  You can check out my tutorial for more about how I did it.

I also planned (and made) the back as something completely different but then I found this fabulous Alexander Henry City Stars & Lights fabric and had to use it.  Technically it not Ghastly but it coordinates perfectly and I just ♥ the little pink hearts!

I didn't want to detract from the prints so I just did simple outline quilting around the panels.  If I'd seen Kristie's awesome spiderweb quilting tutorial in time it would probably be covered in cobwebs right now;-)

For more Ghastly inspiration check out my Ghastly Gathering.

Quilt Stats:

Finished quilt is 54" x 60"

Fabrics:  From the Ghastlies collections by Alexander Henry.
Batting:  Quilter's Dream Orient
Thread:  King Tut Rosetta Stone 978
Best Blogger's Quilt Festival Categories : Throw Quilt, Home Machine Quilted

Twisted!

I pulled this one out of the closet for the Blogger's Quilt Festival.  It's based on the Garden Twist pattern with a few twists of my own thrown in.  I love the interplay of the dark and light blues but I thought it needed some yellow to add more contrast. 

Some fun facts about this quilt:

• This is one of the few quilts I've made that actually lives on a bed.  Someday I'll get around to making matching pillowcases.
• This quilt is entirely hand pieced.  Yes, all those flying geese, the borders, all of it.
• I pieced the entire center section in a week.  We were on vacation in Maine and it rained the whole time.  The flying geese took a lot longer!
• This is the quilt that convinced me it was time to make friends with my sewing machine.
• This is the first quilt I quilted on the longarm.  I used a butterfly panto for the center and outer borders but did stitch in the ditch around all those geese.  It took me two full days!

I'm not sure when I started this but according to the label I finished it June 2008.  So good of me to label my quilt: )  Be sure to grab a cup of tea, kick back and enjoy all the other fabulous quilts and thanks to Amy for organizing!