Puttin' on the Ritz...Baby Quilt Style

If you're blue and you don't know where to go, 

Why don't you go where fashion sits,

Puttin' on the ritz.

This adorable little baby quilt was made with a charm pack of "Puttin' on the Ritz" by Bunny Hill Designs. And every time I heard the name of the fabric line, this song was going through my head...over and over and over again :)

Look at that gorgeous texture!

The pattern for this quilt uses a charm pack and a yard of fabric for the borders - my kind of quilt! This charm pack has been in my stash from when I first started quilting - a baby quilter :) - and when I picked it up, I had no idea what I was going to use it for...

Cue the random purchase of some solid gray...

And voila! A baby quilt fit for a princess! This quilt has already been wrapped up and given away to someone who is celebrating a new girl grandchild.

I tried a new quilting technique seen here in this video: Lava Paisley. Mine is a little different then hers, but you get the idea :) It was the first time I have tried this and it went better than I thought it would, but used up a ton of thread! I must have refilled my bobbin four times on for this baby quilt! I want to do a bed quilt with this texture, but all that bobbin-filling...

The backing is a cute flannel I got on sale at JoAnn's. For some reason I thought I needed 5 yards of it, so you will probably be seeing this fabric again...and again...and again... :)

Here is a sneak peak of what I have been working on...

Linking up with , , and

Until next time,
Michelle

Playful Pinwheels

Whenever I'm working on a quilt, there is always a point when I'm just done with it. Done looking at the fabric, done working out the little kinks that always pop up (I haven't done one yet where I haven't had to use the seam ripper), and done knowing that I still have to bind it....



  



But this quilt, this happy, cheerful little confection I have named "Playful Pinwheels" made me smile the whole time it was being created! I loved it from the beginning and I loved it even when I was sewing the binding on. I loved it so much, I even hand-sewed the binding on because this quilt deserved the highest accolade of a hand-sewn binding :)



 


Here is the post where I went into detail on the specifics of the pattern and the fabric.

I picked up the backing fabric at a local quilt show and don't know who the designer of it is, but it sure is cute! I had originally planned for a red floral backing, but was surprised at how much I like the blue instead.




      

It is just the right size to snuggle under and I am so happy that I decided to make it bigger than the original pattern.      





     

  I have decided that I will be keeping this one for myself, instead of giving it away to someone else like I usually do :)

Linking up with , and

Until next time,
Michelle

Miss Kate's Square Dance (or...For Lack of a Better Name)

Sometimes you just gotta sew something cuz you just gotta sew something! Am I right?

I had a Miss Kate by Bonnie and Camille for Moda jelly roll that I got on sale a couple of months ago, and it was just calling my name to do something with. Then, this pattern popped up on Moda Bakeshop and I was lucky enough to have everything on hand to start cutting and sewing right away! That rarely happens for me - usually I have to go shopping at least once before I can start something, but this was meant to be!

The sashing is a light stone color - I bought it as a remnant from a LQS, and they didn't label what fabric it was, but it was just the right color to add some interest and get me away from using white in everything.

The pattern was pretty easy to sew - the hardest part was trying to make everything look scrappy without being too purposeful :) I thought I might make the quilt bigger than the pattern, but I didn't have quite enough fabric for that, so I'm thinking I'll make a baby quilt or a table runner for a gift out of the leftover blocks.

I'm thinking flannel for the back, possibly in the Miss Kate line, so everything coordinates...but we'll see :)

The quilt pictures were taken during a Saturday morning drive that is becoming a tradition in our house - we get everyone up early, possibly go get coffees and hot chocolates, and drive around for an hour or two, then head home. It's a great way to start the weekend and gets us to places that we wouldn't normally go - you should try it sometime!

'Til next time,
Michelle

Fort Worth Fabric Studio Mug Rug Swap

I haven't ever participated in a swap of any kind before, but I noticed that one of my favorite fabric shops, Fort Worth Fabric Studio, was hosting a mug rug swap on their blog, so on a whim, I signed up for it!

It was a lot of fun waiting for a surprise to come in the mail box! This is what I received from my partner in Saskatchewan:

a nice and happy mug rug just right for Spring! Thank you very much for brightening my day!


This is what I sent to my partner:

Lorna, at Sew Fresh Quilts, is hosting a super-cute Elephant Parade, so I followed her tutorial for the large elephant. It was a little big for a mug rug...but that means more room for cookies, right?

I had a lot of fun making it and I hope my partner likes it!

Until later,
Michelle

Swooning Valentine

"Oh, my valentine," she swooned, "I have never seen one quite like you..." So begins my romance novel career :)

I actually had this project done before Valentine's Day...but finding the time to photograph this little delight was another story...

I hated Valentine's Day when I was growing up...maybe because I didn't get as many cellophane wrapped Hershey's kisses that look like roses as I would have liked...I didn't really start liking the holiday until later, but now, I put up a few decorations here and there, and thought a wall-hanging would be just the thing :)

This little project was born when I had a stack of fabric just purchased at a local quilt shop sitting next to a few different gray fabrics, a newly purchase mini-Swoon pattern that was burning a hole in my pattern book, and some free time to just cut and sew.

And the rest, they say, is history.

Piecing the little blocks was actually enjoyable. The points aren't perfect, but neither am I.

Red, white, and gray...possibly one of my favorite color combos ever!

And here is a sneak peek of what I have been working on....

I hope you have a great day!

~Michelle

Christmas Finishes, Part Deux

Happy February, everyone! How did that happen so quickly? I should be posting things that have to do with Valentine's Day, not Christmas, but oh, well, so it goes :)

My last Christmas finish to share is the quilt I made for my hubby. I thought that I had kept it a secret from him, but somehow he figured it out when I started asking him (nonchalantly, I thought) what his favorite colors were... :)

I used the Botanics line by Carolyn Friedlander, which fit him perfectly because of his occupation and the colors in the line. He wanted something bright and cheerful, not the dark colors that are usually found in masculine quilts.

This quilt whipped up pretty fast, and I was actually able to get it done before December, which was a huge weight off my shoulders, as I had this quilt to finish up in record time!

My hubby's favorite color is purple, so I backed it in the softest royal purple minky ever! The binding is a solid charcoal grey, which I feel frames the quilt while not taking away from the other colors in the quilt.

Another finish that I haven't shared yet is a baby quilt that I made from the leftovers of this quilt. All I had to do was order some extra fabric for the backing and binding, and I had a ready-made baby quilt!

The colors are so soothing, but cheerful, and the original quilt is my favorite couch quilt.

I quilted it in a curvy line stitch that my machine has and I love how easy it was! I want to quilt everything this way, which is why my hubby's quilt is quilted the same way :)

The binding is same as the backing and is machine-stitched front and back for durability.

Also, to show that I am not completely behind, here's a sneak-peak of a Valentine's Day project I'm working on...

Linking up to Sew Fresh Quilts!






 Have a happy day!
 

Christmas Finishes, Part 1

Hi there! I hope your holiday season was as fun as mine was! However, by the end of it, I was more than ready to go back to the "normal" routine :)

This year, my mom and I jointly made a quilt for my uncle; she pieced the top and I quilted it. We surprised him with it on Christmas. Can you believe she just started quilting a little over a year ago? We used a Batik jellyroll (I think it was called "Blueberry Crisp") and used this pattern - changing the size to have a complete row of the spinny part at the bottom, rather than half like the original pattern has. My mom also rotated the blocks for a different look than the pattern, and to be honest, I like this version better (I might be partial, too!).

I quilted it in an all-over stipple, with loops/figure-eights in the borders, with a nifty little corner accent.

The backing is not a batik, but I don't know what it was, only that it was pretty colors and super-soft :)

A major accomplishment on this quilt is that I finally got the bobbin tension just about right - I've had so many problems that I almost gave up on free-motion quilting...but I'm a little too stubborn to do that!

I'll post soon with another quilt made for Christmas (once I get some decent pictures of it) and hopefully another project that's been calling my name...until then, take care!

~Michelle