finished zig zag quilt

I finished this quilt last weekend. I hadn't realized the baby is due October 3rd, and the shower was announced a week before it happened! The baby shower was on Sunday, so you betcha I was sewing the binding on the night before. I really like how it turned out. I did a basic zig zag outline, and then did some curvy lines in the border (also with the walking foot).
Quick shot of the back.

I tried to make it gender neutral (she doesn't know the baby's sex yet). I think it turned out "baby" without being too cutesy or too girl or boy. At the baby shower there was the standard oohing and aahing. People are always amazed at homemade goods. I like giving homemade goods, as I enjoy making them, and I put a lot of love into them.

Another quick baby quilt

I recently found out that my college roommate had another baby. She lives in Wyoming and has the most adorable daughter already.
This is her daughter a year ago--my most recent picture of her. Now she has a little sister! So as soon as I heard, I had to get to work. I got some fabrics together and whipped this up.

Finished the binding, added the label, and it's ready to go!
I had a piece of soft green flannel that my mom gave me, and it was perfect for the backing here. The color isn't very good--I really do need to get a new camera.

I hope it keeps her warm!

Zig Zag quilt

I know I'm a little late, but I decided to do the Old Red Barn Co's zig zag quilt along. I like the design, and I knew I needed more practice on working with triangles. I don't do much with triangles, so this was the perfect exercise.


This is a baby quilt for a friend. I don't know the sex, so I wanted to make it gender neutral. I think it turned out pretty cute, and I really developed my triangle skills! I feel like this was a good "skill builder" quilt for me. I have stuck to a lot of "safe" things in the past and this pushed me a little.

Now I just need to find some backing fabric. Good thing the baby's not due until November.

I feel like an artist...

The other day I was reading my (new to me) book, The Quilts of Gee's Bend. I got inspired. I saw the little hand-dyed fabrics from Heather, and I saw the scraps of black from this quilt, and got to sewing. I just started piecing and trying out layouts and came up with this.


I like it. I need to get some more black for the backing and to quilt it, but I think it's going to be a wall hanging in our living room. I know a lot of quilters are afraid of black, but I really like it. I fall into the camp of considering black a "bright". It really makes a lot of other colors pop when placed in contrast with them.

Live Piecefully 2 August block

This was a really challenging block. Amy asked for paper piecing, which I'd never done before. I was totally up for the challenge. She also requested square-in-square blocks, which look really cool. All of this is fine by me. She also requested that we not add fabric from our own stash--totally cool with that too. The real challenge was that I didn't have a lot of fabric to work with, so if I messed up, I was in trouble. I planned out the block I was going to do but quickly realized that no matter how I sliced it, I was not going to be able to get a 12.5 strip from any of the fabrics. I had to piece at least two sides worth of fabric to get the desired length. I also didn't have enough to make the outer ring all the same fabric.


Overall, a good exercise in working within your limits, and I'm glad for it. I just don't know that this block fits with Amy's vision. I hope she likes it and is not too disappointed with my very first attempt ever at paper piecing!

Hip 2 Bee Square August Block(s)

I made these for Becca.

I hope she likes them!
She sent us a bunch of scraps and told us to go crazy. She sent so much fabric that I made two 12.5" blocks and still had fabric left over!

Making progress

I finally put the border on this quilt. I finished the top back in February but didn't have a border I liked. I had some leftover brown solid from this quilt, so I used that. I like how it sets off the bright colors.


I made this during a "quilt a thon" all day quilting session with a local quilting group. Of course, I was the youngest person there. The ladies were really nice and I'd like to go back, but they meet on Thursdays from 1-8pm. Two problems with that: 1) I have to work during the day and 2) Thursday nights are choir practice until June, and then July is dance practice on Thursday nights. Alas. Hopefully I'll be able to do the quilter's retreat in October. We'll see.