Quilty Goodness

Last November, I was wanting a quick project to use up some of my scraps so I got out the graph paper, designed up a quilt and got to cutting.

Here's the cute little quilt I came up with.  It was super simple to make and I love how the colors "wiggle" across the quilt.

(I really like the texture the spiral quilting gives the quilt. )

 In fact I liked the quilt so much, I submitted it to the great folks at Quilty magazine and am pleased to announce it was published in the May/June 2013 issue.

 The issue is out now and if you don't want to drive around and search for it, you can order it online here.

I now have the quilt back in my possession and it is hanging at my house.  If you are one of my quilting customers, you can check it out in person the next time you drop by.  I hope to soon have some copies of the magazine available for those who can't find it here in the Eugene area.

My display is not as cute as the one in the magazine....Quilty did a great job photographing it.



If you end up making this quilt, I would love to see it.  I think it would look great with a colored background too.  Really, the possibilities are endless.


Thanks for stopping by!  If my copies show up soon, I hope to do a giveaway and share my pattern with some of you.







Update:  This pattern is now available to purchase directly from me.  I now call it Wiggle Time and you can buy it here.  Thanks!

I will be celebrating my publication with TGIFF, Whoop Whoop Fridays and Finish it up Fridays.

"Strung" Out

May has really been a busy month for me.  Lots of customer orders to get quilted up, gardens needing to be weeded and classes to prepare for.  I have been able to carve out enough time to keep up with every one else's blogs but no time to write anything for mine.  

Hopefully things will get back to normal soon.

The last few days I have been spending time on sewing up a custom order for some string quilts.  I thought I would share some quick pictures I just took and share some photos of string quilts I have made in the past.  I find string quilts to be so fun to make and the added plus is they really burn through the scraps I have overflowing from every basket in my sewing room!

Here are the 12 1/2" blocks I am working on now.  I have finished up four of the six colors required for each quilt.  Only lime green and turquoise are left to sew.

A total of 84 blocks are needed for this project!

The quilts I am making will look similar to this top I recently finished.  (It is in the pile to be quilted...hope to finish it soon.)

In the past, I have made string quilts in every color.  I try and make each one unique by changing the border, block size or layout.







As I keep my scraps sorted by colorway, once a bin gets overflowing, I start sewing them into a quilt.  It is amazing how far all those little scraps go...

I also like to make string quilts by mixing a few colors that go well together.

This gray, white, black and vanilla is a favorite of mine!














And this red, white and blue one was done with a rectangular block to accentuate the diamond shape.

This would make a great picnic quilt!

I find string quilts also make great baby quilts.  This one was made from 30's reproductions and fades from purples to reds.

And for a bolder look, here is one I did using bright primary colors.

Thanks for stopping by.  Hope to have some other finished quilts to show you soon!

Sharing with Sew Bittersweet Designs for Let's get Acquainted Monday and Linky Tuesdays at Freemotion by the River.

Enough Color?

YIPPEE!!!  I finished up my quilt top.  Not sure I got enough color in this one!  (Giggles) 

I made it using the Shadow Box pattern by Mountainpeek Creations as a guide.  I added another column of boxes, used two fabrics for the "shadows" (versus one) and dumped the wide outside border (I have never been a fan.)

All of the bright greens really make this the perfect springtime quilt!  I am really pleased with how it turned out.  Now to get it scheduled onto my longarm for quilting.  Soon this longtime WIP will be finished!

Linking up with Blossom Heart Quilts, Show and Tell Tuesday, WIP Wednesday and We Did It Wednesday.

Starting a New Quilt

 I have had a pile of fabric sitting in my studio for about a year just waiting to be cut into.  I decided today was the day!  I am meeting some friends soon for a day of sewing so I thought I would have this project cut so I could assemble it then.

 Here are the focus fabrics and colors of the quilt.  I thought they would be a fun spring project.

The Jack in the Pulpit fabric is by Jane Sassaman from her older Sunshine and Shadows line.

This colorway is not something I would normally work in but as a shade gardner, I just love this print and couldn't resist when I saw a bunch of it for sale at a deep discount.

I snatched up some of this fabric when it first came out but in the blue colorway.  Here is a wall hanging I made that hangs in my hallway.  It is a piece I have always loved.

Well, back to cutting.  Hopefully next week I will have a finished top to share with you!

Linking up with Really Random Thursday, and Whoop Whoop Fridays.

A Quick Finish

Last month I had won a giveaway sponsored by Cindy over at Live a Colorful Life.  She was destashing and this is part of what arrived in the mail for me.  A total of twelve pieces in the seaglass and coral colorways of Moda's California Girl line.

Thankfully, Moda fabric is pretty easy to identify as Cindy is a collector of selvages!  The cute little pin she also included more than made up for the quick search I had to do to identify the line.

The piecing was simple and a quick ruffled swirl was quilted in a cream thread.

 

And before I knew it, this cute little quilt was done.

Thanks Cindy for the inspiring fabric!

A Glorious Finish

I have a very talented customer who loves to paper piece and about once a year, she completes one of Judy Niemeyer's beautiful quilt patterns.  We have teamed up on about five of them to date.  I just completed this Glacier Star for her and thought I would share with you some pictures of the quilting and her beautiful color work.

The entire outside border was quilted with a double line radiating to the center.  It worked great against the curved lines of the flying geese.

I did some simple line dancing to create an orange peel effect in the star points.  I also quilted in some "S" curve quilting in the white background to add a 3D texture.

To complement the straight lines in the outside border, I added some echo quilting in some of the smaller starburst blocks.

The wonky geese around the center star medallion also got some echo line quilting.

To accentuate the flowing flying geese weaving throughout the quilt, I tightly stippled in the background fabrics.  I also quilted pebbles in the dark navy areas to add dimension throughout the quilt.  An inner blue border on point also received some straight line quilting.

Here is a photo showing how the different quilted shapes worked to define various areas of the quilt.

Sadly, I don't have a space large enough to lay the quilt out to get a great picture.  The quilt is about 100" square.  On my own quilts, I usually spread them on my lawn but I won't take a chance with quilts from my customers.

The quilt will be displayed this July at the Sisters Quilt Show in Sisters Oregon. So if you get a chance to attend, you can see it there. I am hoping to get a picture or two of it hanging in all of its glory.  The customer and I were both really pleased with how it turned out.

When the customer picked up the quilt, she also brought her color plans for the next one, which is the Mariner's Compass.  I can't wait to see it once it is completed!

To keep up with other quilting projects, you can follow me on Bloglovin' or here on Facebook.

Linking up with Cindy at Live a Colorful Life, Leah for FMQ Friday and TGIFF.