Glam Clam

One last finish to share before the end of the year... after my sewing drought I came back with a vengeance thanks to all to my amazing quilty friends:-)  It started when they convinced me to join them at Latifah Saafir's workshop for the BostonMQG.

I was hoping for her Glam Clam Workshop but instead we ran her Bias Tape Applique class.  In getting ready for it I decided I should at least try using her Clammy ruler before I went so I could ask her any questions that came up.  Of course I immediately dug into my Mendocino stash.

I needn't have worried, it went together as easily as advertised and in no time I had a pillow cover pieced together.

For the quilting I just echoed along the tops of the clams - simplicity at it's finest!  I bought the 12" Clammy ruler so it's just a matter of time before I have a quilt as well.

And now I can add it to my collection.  Wrapping things up with this week's Finish it Up Friday by Crazy Mom Quilts.

Pillow Stats:
Finished pillow is 20" x 20"
Pattern: Glam Clam by Latifah Saafir
Fabrics: Mendocino by Heather Ross.  Timeless Treasures Crosshatch
Batting: Quilter's Dream Orient.
Thread: 50 wt. Aurifil in  Light Turquoise (2805).

Be a Mermaid

I was so excited when Heather Ross re-released Mendocino, one of my all time favorite fabric collections.  I had some of the original collection that I'd been hoarding but it always felt too precious to actually use.  With a new bundle in hand (thank you Hawthorne Threads!) and my Briar Rose addiction sated I pulled this assortment of prints and got cutting.

I started by fussy cutting the mermaids and then add rows of chevron "waves" above and below.  There are lots of ways to make a chevron but I prefer the rectangle approach - Crazy Mom Quilts has a great tutorial which I just adjusted for the center squares.

In no time at all I had a flimsy together.  I made the binding, pieced the back, basted it, bought more thread than I'd possibly need to quilt it...  and then it just sat.

Finally I grabbed this for something to do at quilt camp.  I'm not sure why I was so intimidated by the thought of quilting this, I finished it in one afternoon.  With the binding already made it was super fast and easy to square it up, slap on the binding, and tack it down during the Super Bowl - with the overtime I even had time to finish;-)

Now that it's done I couldn't love it more!!!  I wish I'd completely finished it while we were still at the beach so I could get pictures there but I'll have to settle for these...  maybe I'll do some more this summer.

And it's the perfect companion for this pillow!

Swimming along with this week's Finish it Up Friday by Crazy Mom Quilts.

Quilt Stats:
Finished quilt is 43" x 52"
Fabrics: Mendocino by Heather Ross.  Michael Miller Cotton Couture Apricot
Batting: Quilter's Dream Orient.
Thread: 50 wt. Aurifil in  Light Turquoise (2805).

Swimming Along

We're in the lazy days of summer just swimming along with no set schedule.  We've spent a lot of time in Maine (with more to come) which means lots of progress on my La Passacaglia but we had a brief interlude of bad weather which sent us home early.  After 10 days with no TV the kids were ready to catch up on some screen time so I snuck off to my studio for some sewing.

My plan was to piece together the back for my Mendocino chevron but that seemed like too much work so I decided to just make a pillow with one of the leftover fussy cut mermaid blocks.  A square in square layout seemed obvious but I added a band of apricot to make the center block pop.  I thought it would be "fun" to challenge myself so I mitered the corners.

Pillows are great for picking thread colors and practicing quilting designs.  I love the way the turquoise thread pops against the orange.

I kept the quilting simple just outlining the pieces but did added a wavy pattern (Bernina stitch #4) in the Apricot.

Now that we're back at the lake I got a perfect morning to tack the binding and finish this one up.

I bought a truckload of zippers before Quilter's Way closed so I used my go to zipper closure tutorial by to S.O.T.A.K. Handmade for the back.

Swimming along with this week's Finish it Up Friday by Crazy Mom Quilts.

Pillow Stats:
Finished pillow is 14" x 14"
Fabrics: Mendocino by Heather Ross.  Michael Miller Cotton Couture Apricot
Batting: Quilter's Dream Orient.
Thread: 50 wt. Aurifil in  Light Turquoise (2805).

W.i.P. Wednesday: Kicking Off Summer

Today's our last day of school/my last day of freedom so I've been trying to get all my projects to a point where I can work on them with snippets of time.

I finished up this Going Coastal flimsy and after 3 trips to Quilter's Way for more fabric got a back pieced together.

I also finally cut into the Mendocino bundle I've been hoarding and made this chevron top.  Once my backing fabric shows up I'm hoping to get them both basted and ready for quilting.

And I've been prepping more La Passacaglia pieces for all those inevitable road trips.

What will you be sewing now that summer has arrived?