Last week I showed you a table runner I made for my mother-in-law, and this week I have the one I made for my mother.
A table runner for spring.
Like the previous one, I used all fabrics from my stash, most left over from previous projects. The design is a simple window pane design with white sashing. I used freeform wavy lines for the quilting.
I used random wavy-line quilting.
The backing is a fabric I had purchased for another project online, but when it came it didn’t quite match the other fabrics, so I’m especially glad to have found it a home.
I’m happy this backing finally found a home.
It’s a nice simple quilt, but I’m quite happy about how the peach and emerald green look beside one another. Hopefully this will get lots of use.
Christmas was a largely handmade affair at our house this year, and one of my last finishes of the year was a table runner for my mother-in-law.
This table runner was built entirely from fabrics and batting in my stash.
This project used only fabrics from my stash, in various shades of blue and neutral. My daughter thought it was hilarious, because she was able to point out all the clothes she owned that were made in the same fabrics, like these shorts, and this skirt and blouse set. It also uses fabric from a blue cross quilt I made last year.
I used a simple, wonky star block.
This is one of the most satisfying parts of quilting because you really do get to use up every bit of fabric that you have.
For the quilting I simply outlined the shape of the stars a few times.
This project is also a little bittersweet, because a number of these fabrics came from my participation in the Warp & Weft Sewing Society. Warp & Weft, an online fabric shop is closing on January 10 (there are some great deals until then) and so the Sewing Society will be no more. But it sure was fun while it lasted.
I know I’ve mentioned that I’m part of the Warp & Weft Sewing Society before, but this spring Esmari, the owner of Warp & Weft organized something really fun for us – a sewing challenge.
And there’s something for one of you too, so don’t forget to enter the fabric giveaway at the end of this post.
There are seven of us in the sewing society, and we each got six fat quarters from Lotta Jansdotter’s latest collections MorMor and Sylvia. Then we had to sew something related to spring.
Everyone got a different bundle and you can see what mine looked like below. The fabric is so pretty! And perfect for spring.
My Lotta Jansdotter fat quarter bundle from Warp & Weft
Unfortunately, mother nature has been taking her time delivering spring, at least where I live. So I decided to do something a little different.
Instead of sewing something that celebrates the joyous bursting forth of spring with flowers and vibrant colours, I created something that celebrates the moment before – the time where spring appears to be still on it’s way. There are no visible signs of spring – yet! – but everything is slowly building underground. It’s the part of spring when you have to have faith – that spring will come, the flowers will bloom, the birds will return and the cycle of like repeat once more.
I made a baby quit, using just two fat quarters and a grey background. It’s a bit monochromatic for spring, but that’s what spring looks like here right now.
Front detail on the spring quilt.The in situ shot.The backing is a bit random.The rectangles are supposed to look like garden patches.The wavy lines ended up making the quilt very crinkly – way more than I expected.
So that left me with four fat quarters. Actually that left me with three fat quarters, because I cut one up for the quilt and then changed my mind. We all make mistakes sometimes, right?
So I took the two coral fat quarters and made a tunic for my littlest. This is the Roller Skate Tunic by Oliver + S. It was a dream to sew. I think I finished the whole thing in just over two hours, including the cutting.
The Roller Skate Tunic – front.The Roller Skate Tunic – back.Button detail in the tunic back.So cute!“Is it spring yet?”Seems to have passed the quality assurance test. 😉
Quilt Summary
Pattern: my own.
Fabric: Trassel in Mist from the MorMor collection, and White sufi from the Sylvia collection, both by Lotta Jansdotter for Windham Fabrics.
Size: 36″ by 36″.
Tunic Summary
Pattern : Roller Skate Dress and Tunic by Oliver + S.
Fabric: Little Blomster in coral, and solid coral from the MorMor collection by Lotta Jansdotter for Windham Fabrics.
Size: 18-24 months.
Sewing Level: Advanced beginner.
Modifications: Colour blocked.
Results: Great!
Fabric Giveaway
Enter to win 12 Fat Quaters from Lotta Jansdotter’s latest collection MorMor and Sylvia, generously provided by Warp & Weft.
In order to enter this Giveaway please follow the Rafflecopter instructions and leave a comment on this post.
You can obtain 7 entries in total by leaving a comment on each participating blogger’s Lotta Jansdotter Challenge post.
Yay! My first quilt of 2014! Of course this was supposed to be my last quilt of 2013, but (sigh), life.
Anyway, this is a cross quilt, made using fabric that has been sitting in my stash for way too long. Maybe two years? I am really happy that it has finally been transformed into a quilt.
The fabrics are Kona solids in greys and blues.
The fabrics are Kona solids. I bought them as a bundle, and I had to write to Mad About Patchwork, where I bought it, to find out what was in it, because this particular bundle isn’t even available anymore (though there is one that is very similar).
The backing is quite bright.
It seems that the colours are some of, but not all of: Snow, Ash, Medium Grey, Coal, Charcoal, Black, Indigo, Navy, Nightfall, Marine, Deep Blue, Ocean, Windsor and Delft. There might also be Slate and Pepper. That’s actually more than the number of pieces of fabric in the bundle I have, so hmmm, I am not especially helpful. But definitely some of those. Clearly I need better record keeping, and maybe a colour card.
The back is Crosshatch Sketch in Royal, and yes, it really is that blue.
This quilt is also a gift for a family member, so yes, there was another quilt dance party. Fun! Hope you don’t mind, mystery family member! The angle of the photo below makes the quilt look small, but it is actually 60″ by 67″ – a nice size lap quilt, perfect for snuggling on the sofa.
Dance party!
I used Crosshatch Sketch, which is the same print I used in my last quilt, but in Royal, for the backing. It is a very bright blue. I had planned to use the same print in the Denim colourway, but couldn’t find enough online. But, in retrospect, this blue is the perfect blue for the person who will be getting it. It really is their blue.
I used some of the leftover squares for the backing.
For the binding, I used three different colours.
I used three colours for the binding: a bright blue, a navy and grey.
For the quilting, I just did some simple straight line quilting. Nothing fancy. But I think this works really well with the piecing.
The colours were very hard to photograph because there was so much contrast.
Of course the kids always check my quilts for quality, warmth and general coziness.
Quality assurance testing.
And since this was for a family member there was extra-thorough quality assurance testing.
More quality testing.
I didn’t really use a pattern, but if you are looking for a tutorial, you can find a good one online here, by Jeni Baker of In Color Order.
Outdoor shot.
Hope the quilt is a hit. I’ll find out soon.
Feeling Blue Quilt
Quilt block: cross, or modern plus.
Size: 60 by 67 inches.
Fabrics:
Kona solids. I’m not sure of all the colours, but I think these are Snow, Ash, Medium Grey, Coal, Charcoal, Black, Indigo, Navy, Nightfall, Marine, Deep Blue, Ocean, Windsor and Delft. There may also be Slate and Pepper.
Binding: Three of the above.
Backing: Crosshatch Sketch in Royal by Timeless Treasures
This year I tried my best to make most of my gifts, and it ended up being one of the busiest Christmas ever, sewing-wise. I have a few more projects to blog, but this is what I made for my mother – a table runner.
I really wanted to make a table runner, and I thought it would make a nice gift, but involve a manageable amount of work.
This fall, I was lucky enough to win this cute table runner kit from Mad About Patchwork. It includes fabric from the Acacia line by Tula Pink, Kona solid for the background and binding and a pattern for the Seaside Table Runner by Jaybird Quilts.
This is the Acacia Table Runner kit from Mad About Patchwork. It includes the Seaside Table Runner pattern from Jaybird Quilts.
This project is a bit of departure for me, since I haven’t really sewn quilts from patterns much before. This pattern was really easy to piece. It involves repeating diamonds and goes together quite quickly. The only change I made was to add a couple more rows of diamonds to the bottom to make it a smidge longer.
I made this as a gift. I hope it’s a hit.
The kit calls for five strips in various prints, each 2 1/2 inches wide, but the kit included seven prints, which adds a nice bit of room for error. And of course, it looks prettier too. The pattern recommends using the Sidekick ruler (which I don’t have). However, it also tells you how to make your own template. I used an equilateral triangle ruler that I already had instead, and that worked well.
The pattern uses only diamonds, which makes piecing quite easy.
I did some simple straight-line quilting in the solid areas and left the prints unquilted.
There’s the background. Raccoons!
The back uses Raccoon in Canyon. Cute!
The fabric is from the Acacia collection in the Whistling colour way by Tula Pink for Free Spirit Fabrics. Kona Herb was used for background and binding.
I’m really happy with how this turned out. I can honestly say that I would not have chosen to put these fabrics together in this way on my own. I think fabric selection is always the most challenging part of quilt-making. But I really like how the prints look in the finished table runner. I hope my mother does too!
Size: 15 by 44 inches. The pattern makes a 41 1/2 inch table runner, but it is easy enough to add extra rows.
Fabrics:
The prints include Canyon Raccoon, Olive Pineapple Slices, Sugar Arrowheads, Raspberry Diamonds,
Butterfly Wings in Nectar, Sunset Hummingbird, and Pixel Dot in Pomegranate, all from the Acacia line by Tula Pink for Free Spirit Fabrics.
Binding & Background: Kona Herb.
Backing: Raccoon in Canyon.
The Acacia prints include Canyon Raccoon, Olive Pineapple Slices, Sugar Arrowheads, Raspberry Diamonds, Butterfly Wings in Nectar, Sunset Hummingbird, and Pixel Dot in Pomegranate.
This week I’ve been tackling some unfinished objects (UFO’s) and I am really happy that I was able to finish this quilt because it has been sitting neglected for far too long.
Red Xs and Os quilt.
I picked up most of these fat quarters ages ago, before I even learned to quilt. I remember them standing out at the quilt shop because almost everything else in this particular shop was traditional quilting fabrics – small scale florals, batiks and such. There were hardly any solids. And then I spotted these fat quarters that seemed so out of place, but way cooler than anything else I’d seen so far.
The binding works really well.
I finally started piecing this last winter, but then other projects jumped the line. Maybe it’s the return of the fall weather, but it just feels like it’s time to snuggle up under a quilt. So I got to work.
Detail on the X.
This quilt uses a lozenge block, and you can see a nice tutorial online here, which I should have followed but did not. My quilt blocks ended up being a little messier than planned, and I had to trim them down, which works poorly with this particular block. And then I was quite discouraged with the actual straight line quilting, which looked anything but straight when I was stitching it. But a good wash and a little crinkle goes a long way, so I consider it salvaged.
Some of the blocks were a bit messy – but not this one.
The blocks are then arranged in an “X”s and “O”s or Hugs and Kisses arrangement (well, one X/kiss) to be exact.
Some of the quilting.
I used this really lovely, pale grey Crosshatch Sketch for the backing, which I adore. I had looked for something suitable for a long time, and then was in my local fabric store, looking for something completely unrelated, and there it was.
The binding is Kona Coal. I made it a bit more narrow than planned, but it’s probably better that way, since it’s such a dark colour.
The binding is Kona Coal.
All that black and grey make for a monochromatic back, which I love.
There is just one X in this quilt.
The front is really bright. My husband said it looked a bit stark. “Yes, well, it’s not for you”.
Love the colours (or lack thereof).
Actually it is a gift for a family member, who I think likes stark colours, at least these ones. I hope.
And it passes the mandatory quality inspection.
Anyway, since it was for a family member, I skipped the “Hey, be gentle with the quilt!”, and there was a small quilt dance party. But hopefully the family member won’t mind.
At the red quilt dance party.
X’s and Os Quilt
Quilt block: Lozenge block in an “X”s and “O”s or Hugs and Kisses arrangement.
Size: 53 by 53 inches.
Fabrics:
Mostly unknown, but includes Michael Miller – Ring Dot Black, Kona White, Kona Red. The rest I picked up as fat quarters.
Binding: Kona Coal
Backing: Crosshatch Sketch in Mist (or is this Grey?) by Timeless Treasures
I am super excited to announce my very first custom fabric bundle! Come look!
Snow Day Bundle – A cool and contemporary selection of Aquas, Reds, Greys and crispy whites hand-picked by Shannon Smith of The Finished Garment exclusively for Warp & Weft | Exquisite Textiles
It’s called Snow Day and it’s available now (and is even on sale!) from Warp &Weft.
This is the really fabulous copy: “A cool and contemporary selection of aquas, reds, greys and crispy whites hand-picked by Shannon Smith of The Finished Garment exclusively for Warp & Weft | Exquisite Textiles”. Oh my!
When Esmari of Warp & Weft contacted me and asked me to create a custom bundle for her first anniversary, using fabrics from her shop, I was so just so thrilled. The tough part (ok, the really, really fun part) was narrowing down the choices.
I wanted something fun, and something with some sort of theme. And winter is coming (which really it always is, unless it is already winter). And of course what does Montreal have a lot of? Winter! (Gotta represent!) So a snow theme just sounded perfect.
All the prints in the Snow Day Bundle.
I am really happy about how it tuned out. Can’t you just see these in a quilt with a lot of white for the snow?
You should take a look at the other guest bundles too. Each of the members of the Warp & Weft Sewing Society contributed their own bundle. Carla’s is called Candy Floss and Cynthia’s is called On Rosamund Street. Aren’t they beautiful? And so different, like each one of us.
On Rosamund Street Bundle Soft Pastel designs with a splash of the unexpected put together by Cynthia Frenette of cynthiafCandy Floss Bundle Bold pinks and oranges and soft turquoises put together by Carla Peicheff of My 1/2 Dozen Daily
Special Discount
Anyway, enough gushing. I feel like I’ve already used up my quota of exclamation marks writing this post.
If you order any of the three bundles in the next week, they are also 10% off! Yay!
Happy Anniversary Warp & Weft! Thanks for inviting me to the party!
I’ve just finished another quilt. This one is for a brand new baby, but not mine. It won’t even go to anyone I’ve met, and to be honest, I’m having a hard time parting with it.
A little bundle for a little bundle.
This quilt is part of the Montreal Modern Quilt Guild’s project to make baby quilts for the École Rosalie-Jetté, a secondary school welcoming teenage mothers and their babies. All of the fabric was donated, we sewed it up into quilts and the school will distribute the quilts to some deserving young mums very soon. You can read more on the project on the MMQG website.
Herringbone Quilt Top
Because we made our quilts during our guild sew-ins, I can’t take all the credit. Cinzia Allocca of Deux Petites Souris did a good part of the work, including making the quilt binding – which is always my least favourite part. Thank you Cinzia!
Herringbone Quilt BackThis way up!
This herringbone quilt is heavily inspired by this fabulous grey herringbone quilt by Erica of Craftyblossom. But of course, since the fabric I used was donated, I didn’t have free reign, and that worked out much better than I had hoped. There is a lot more colour and contrast than my inspiration quilt, which I quite like. I arrived late to the sew-in where the fabric was distributed, but no one had taken the checks. How could you not want the checks, people? So fun!
I love checks!
Again, I followed the tutorial by Red Pepper quilts on machine stitched binding. I think this is great for baby quilts because they get a lot of rough use. And I prefer my quilts to be well-loved.
I opted for simple straight quilting.
I took a lot of photos of this quilt. I had been waiting for a sunny day so I could have some good light for my photos, but luck was not on my side. It’s been rainy and grey for the past couple of days. Today was my last chance. Oh well.
Looks great with the right props.I love the crinkly texture.
And then, to increase the difficulty level of the photo shoot, add three small kids. All my shots kept being photobombed by tiny feet.
Photobombed by tiny feet.
I really like how this quilt turned out and am a bit sad to let it go. Clearly, I will have to make another one that stays with me.
This past March the Montreal Modern Quilt Guild held their latest sew-in. We’re currently making baby quilts for the École Rosalie-Jetté, a secondary school welcoming teenage mothers and their babies. All of the fabric has been donated, we sew it up into quilts and the school distributes the quilts to some deserving young mums.
I have been away from the blog for much too long. Unfortunately, a little family emergency has kept me mighty busy. Everything seems to be pretty much back to normal now, but of course there has been no time for any sewing. So instead I thought I’d share a work in progress (WIP).
This past March the Montreal Modern Quilt Guild held their latest sew-in. We’re currently making baby quilts for the École Rosalie-Jetté, a secondary school welcoming teenage mothers and their babies. All of the fabric has been donated, we sew it up into quilts and the school distributes the quilts to some deserving young mums. You can read more on the project on the MMQG website.
Not knowing what fabric would be available, I thought I’d do something similar, since it uses small pieces to make half-square triangles and just requires a bit of contrast to work well.
Here are all the half-square triangles up on a design board. The blue is actually a teal colour, but I took these photos in a rush with my iPhone, and the colour is a bit off.
Herringbone quilt on the design board.
I’ve been working on this quilt with the very talented Cinzia Allocca of Deux Petites Souris. We only had a few hours to work, but I’m quite impressed by how much we were able to do. And I love how it’s turning out. I may have to make my own. I especially like the checks.
Half-square triangles (HST) that need to be trimmed.
I have a big pile of half-square triangles (HST) that need to be trimmed before the next sew-in. Hopefully, we’ll finish up the rest of the quilt then. I’m so optimistic when I’m excited about a project.
A terrible photo, but at least the colour is accurate.
The fabric isn’t what I would normally choose, but it’s quite liberating sewing with donated fabric since you can try pretty much anything.
Instead of sewing, today we made some Easter cookies. I know, I know, a little late. If you count the fact that I bought this cookie cutter for Easter last year and am only using it now, it’s actually a lot late. Oh well. And of course the kids are responsible for the rather (ahem) generous portion of sprinkles.
A little baking. I know these area little late.
By the way, the Montreal Modern Quilt Guild is looking for new members. If you’re interested, you can attend our upcoming sew-in in May and see what it’s all about. Membership fees are quite low ($30 per year) and you can attend just one meeting and pay for just the one month, which comes out to about three dollars, I think. You’ll have to check with the organizers for the exact amount. I’ve been corrected! You can attend your first meeting for free (yay!) and after that, membership is pro-rated. We alternate with a sew-in or a meeting each month and there are also some special events like workshops and lectures. You don’t have to be an expert (I’m on my fourth and fifth quilts) and I even saw people sewing (gasp!) clothing at the last sew-in. It’s all very friendly and laid back.
I think I probably started this quilt in the depth of winter last year. That probably explains why I chose such bright, colourful, sunny fabrics. So it’s fitting that I finished it yesterday, the day after another big snowstorm.
This is a stacked coins quilt. It was quite quick to piece the front.
I didn’t piece the back this time, but used a single piece of Tangerine Dots from Anne Kelle’s Remix collection. It’s a baby quilt, though it would also fit on a toddler bed, so it’s small enough for a single piece of backing fabric.
Sunshine Bug Quilt – back with Tangerine Dots from the Remix collection.
For the quilting, I just did some straight line quilting, but it is quite dense over the white sashing.
Again, I followed the tutorial by Red Pepper quilts on machine stitched binding. The binding is entirely machine stitched. I save quite a bit of time this way.
So far this quilt has no home. I didn’t have anyone in mind when I started it. Of course that’s probably a good thing, because they would have been waiting a long time for me to finish.
My toddler has already refused it. She wants a quilt with birds instead. I’m working on that. Even though she doesn’t like it, I like it a lot. I really like the sunny colours.
I didn’t use a pattern for this quilt – it’s quite a simple design. But if you are a beginner looking for a pattern, there’s one that is very similar in the Moda Bake Shop called the Stacked Coins Baby Quilt. This project is linked up with Finish It Up Friday.
Sunshine Bug Quilt
Quilt block: Stacked Coins
Size: 36 by 43.5 inches
Fabrics:
Sashing and binding: Kona White
Orange stacked coins:
Deena Rutter’s Happier collection for Riley Blake Designs: Happier Floral in Orange, Happier Bugs in Orange
Kona School Bus, Papaya, and Corn Yellow
Beetle Boy by by Ellen Crimi-Trent
Spots in Taffy from Kaffe Fassett for Westminster
Stof basics fat quarter bundle in orange/yellow
Backing: Remix Tangerine Dots by Anne Kelle for Robert Kaufman
Batting: Hobbs Heirloom Cotton
The Finished Garment 