Quilting – The Finished Garment

Forest Animal Quilt

Ages ago, my son picked out some fabric for a quilt, and did I actually make the quilt? No. Then, yes. Finally!

Now that he’s not small anymore and well into his teens, I had to ask him if he still wanted a quilt with these fabric designs, but it was still a “yes”! So I got to work.

The fabrics are from a fat quarter bundle featuring the Get Together collection by David Walker for Free Spirit/Westminster Fibers. The solids are Kona solids, but this bundle has been in a bin of fabric for so long, I’m not even sure what they are. My guess: Chocolate, Delft, Earth, Key Lime, Windsor? I got it from Mad about Patchwork. Am I too embarrassed to write them after all this time to find out what they are? Yes, I am.

The design is a series of very large equilateral triangles. I thought this would suit the larger print, and I wanted lots of animals on this quilt. It was super easy to piece. I didn’t use a pattern, or rather, I used my own.

I usually draw out my patterns on graph paper first, and that’s what I did here. Three out of four kids in the family helped me arrange the triangles.

The backing is Trees on Green Background from The Magic of Christmas collection by Lori Whitlock for Riley Blake Designs. I got this from The Quilting Shed. I messed up my quilt math and had to order more fabric. Twice. lol. So a special thanks to Andrea for the patience and speedy delivery.

Yes, I should have removed all the fluff. (sigh)

The backing is pieced and I used some of the scraps from the triangles to make a stripe of tiny squares down the centre. Giant equilateral triangles make lots of scraps.

On the back, there are also two bears. My second child is a teenager and claims to be too old to be tucked in. This way the bears can tuck him in each night. My quilt my rules.

I used a scrappy binding (2.25″ wide). Nothing else matched the colours as well as I wanted. It’s machine sewn.

The straight-line quilting design echoes the triangles, but the pattern also creates little stars if you look very closely.

This is a twin-size quilt. I wanted it to last a long time. Who know when I’ll make another? And yes, it was a beast to sew on my regular (non-quilting) sewing machine.

I love a crinkly quilt, so this is 100% cotton fabric, 100% cotton batting, and 100% cotton quilting thread. (I used Sew-All thread for the piecing though.)

Yes, there is still a bit of fluff on this quilt.

The thread is a medium grey. It was really hard to find something that looked right with this assortment of dark colours. The grey was great with everything (including the backing), except maybe the limey-yellow.

As planned, it all shrunk just a tiny bit in the dryer for this lovely, cozy, crinkly texture.

I was having trouble with my imperfect straight-line quilting. I was worried it wouldn’t look as good as I hoped. But the crinkle fixes all.

Quilt Summary

Pattern: my own.

Fabrics:

Quilt Top:
- Prints are from David Walker’s Get Together collection for Free Spirit/Westminster Fibers, including:
  - Flock of Birds in Navy
  - Squirrels and Trees in Blue
  - Squirrels and Nuts in Navy
  - Bears in Line in Blue
- Solids are Kona solids. I’m not sure of the colours, but perhaps: Chocolate, Delft, Earth, Key Lime, Windsor?
Backing: Trees on Green Background from The Magic of Christmas collection by Lori Whitlock for Riley Blake Designs.
Thread: Gütermann Cotton thread #9310.

Size: 74.5″ x 91.5″ (Twin).

Some in-process shots, before this quilt was finished.

Spring Table Runner

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.

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.

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.

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.

This post is linked up to Crazy Mom Quilts and her Friday finishes. It’s also part of the Stashbusting Sewalong.

Project Summary

Fabrics:

Little Blomster in coral, Blomster in emerald, Pilvi in mint, and solid coral from the MorMor collection by Lotta Jansdotter for Windham Fabrics.
Houndstooth in multicoloured, from the Textured Basics collection by Patty Young for Michael Miller Fabrics.
Kona white by Robert Kaufman Fabrics.

Size: About 17″ by 48″.
Block: Windowpane.
Cost: Fabric: 0$ (all from my stash).
Sewing Level: Beginner.

Blue Stars Table Runner

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.

Blue Star Table Runner sewn by The Finished Garment — 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.

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.

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.

Hope you are having a great New Year!

This post is linked up to Crazy Mom Quilts and her Friday finishes. It’s also part of the Stashbusting Sewalong.

Summary

Fabrics:

Full Bloom in Indigo from the Wildwood collection by Elizabeth Olwen for Cloud9 Fabrics.
Essex linen in Natural by Robert Kaufman Fabrics.
Bella Flower in Blue by Lotta Jansdotter for Windham Fabrics.
Crosshatch Sketch in Royal by Timeless Treasures.
Various Kona solids in shades of blue.

Size: About 15″ by 45″.
Block: Wonky star.
Cost: Fabric: 0$ (all from my stash).
Sewing Level: Adventurous beginner.

Lotta Jansdotter Challenge & Giveaway

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.

Esmari has made a lovely, bright quilt. Sherri made some cute tote bags. Carla made a beautiful set of bags. And there are still three more days to go.

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.

A monochromatic baby quilt sewn by The Finished Garment. — Front detail on the spring quilt.

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 sewing pattern by Oliver + S, sewn by The Finished Garment. — The Roller Skate Tunic – front.

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.

The winner will be announced April 28. Good luck!

Blog Hop Schedule
Esmari – Warp & Weft: April 21
Sherri – Thread Riding Hood: April 22
Carla – My ½ Dozen Daily: April 23
Shannon – The Finished Garment: April 24
Cathy – Blueberry Patch: April 25
Cynthia – cynthiaf: April 26
Lysa – Lysa Flower: April 27

a Rafflecopter giveaway
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A monochromatic baby quilt and tunic sewn by The Finished Garment. — My Lotta Jansdotter challenge sewing.

Feeling Blue

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.

Bue Cross Quilt by Shannon of The Finished Garment — 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).

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.

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.

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.

For the binding, I used three different colours.

For the quilting, I just did some simple straight line quilting. Nothing fancy. But I think this works really well with the piecing.

Of course the kids always check my quilts for quality, warmth and general coziness.

And since this was for a family member there was extra-thorough quality assurance 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.

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

For the Christmas Table

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.

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.

I did some simple straight-line quilting in the solid areas and left the prints unquilted.

The back uses Raccoon in Canyon. Cute!

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!

Acacia Table Runner

Quilt Pattern: Seaside Table Runner (JBQ 134) by Jaybird Quilts using a kit from Mad About Patchwork.

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.

“X”s and “O”s Quilt

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.

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.

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.

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.

The blocks are then arranged in an “X”s and “O”s or Hugs and Kisses arrangement (well, one X/kiss) to be exact.

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.

All that black and grey make for a monochromatic back, which I love.

The front is really bright. My husband said it looked a bit stark. “Yes, well, it’s not for you”.

Actually it is a gift for a family member, who I think likes stark colours, at least these ones. I hope.

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.

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

My First Fabric Bundle: Snow Day

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.

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 — 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 cynthiaf exclusively for Warp & Weft | Exquisite Textiles — On Rosamund Street Bundle
Soft Pastel designs with a splash of the unexpected put together by Cynthia Frenette of cynthiaf

Candy Floss Bundle A custom selection of bold pinks and oranges and soft turquoises put together by Carla Peicheff of My 1/2 Dozen Daily exclusively for Warp & Weft | Exquisite Textiles — Candy 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!

A New Quilt for a New Baby

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.

Herringbone Quilt — 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.

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!

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!

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 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.

And then, to increase the difficulty level of the photo shoot, add three small kids. All my shots kept being 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.

Herringbone Quilt

Quilt block: Half-square triangles (HSTs)

Size: 34 by 34 inches

Fabrics: unknown.

Herringbone Quilt – Work In Progress

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).

You may have seen this fabulous grey herringbone quilt by Erica of Craftyblossom. It’s really quite lovely.

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.

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.

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.