Star Soup Quilt

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I've finally figured out what to do with those fussy cut economy test blocks.   

I think I'm going to love it!  The center of these blocks were all cut from a print of Riley Blake's Alphabet Soup.  We have a little board book named Star Soup and it seemed like a good fit.  Flying geese are some of my favorite blocks to make, so this quilt will be a reward, once I finish doing that thing I have to do.  Which is quilting The Starburst of Indie quilt.  Meh.


WIP List:
I've decided to only list projects I am actively working on, or need to start actively working on.

Starburst of Indie: Quilt, Bind, Post
Star Soup: Finish cutting background fabric, start cutting pattern fabric, make one more economy block.
Other economy blocks- make about a gazillion more!
Blog Redesign- find a palette, start trading 'favors' with Matt for help.
Let's Talk About Hex- Cut more hexies, layout and pick centers.
Lotta Confetti- Just get to it!


FINISHED!
Blocks for Gina
Halloween Costumes

XOXOX Pinspot

Linking up with Lee

Kdub's Baby Quilt

My finish this week might be the cutest quilt I've ever made.  I found the tutorial on the Riley Blake website over a year ago, and I knew right away that I had to make this quilt for someone extra girly.  I was delighted when Kdub found out another girl was on the way because she will absolutely love this pattern.  I used the same fabric line as the example in the tutorial since I already had a large enough piece for the backing in my stash, and I found most of it on super sale at The Little Fabric Shop.  They still have a few prints left.  I ended up LOVING this line.  The colors are so pretty and the prints are very versatile.  To finish, I couldn't resist the addition of the crocheted lace along the binding.  Too sweet for words!

XOXO Pinspot

Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts

Road to Recovery- a Quilt for Joyce's Auction

Here's the quilt I donated for Joyce's auction.  I call it "Road to Recovery."  I included a few hot wheels when I sent it, so they could advertise it as a play mat or quilt. 

I think it's only the fourth quilt I ever made, so I kind of just made it up as I went along.  I don't know if it was even the "right" way to do things.  I finished all but the binding last year for Stitched in Color's Festival of Scrappiness.  I had a ton 1-2" scraps from a quilt I made last year, so I just free pieced them in the shape of a twisty road.  I had to add a bunch of small scraps from my vintage stash, which was very satisfying!  Then I ironed the edges under and machine appliques it to the top.  The top is made of  large strips of white that I sewed onto the backing in a strip quilt style so that it would be quilted before I applied the road part. 

The binding is a black Ta Dot from my stash.  I felt I needed a little black to counterbalance all that floral femininity.  I think it's pretty gender neutral, though. 

I don't know why Tess wanted to pretend she was dead for this pic.  Weirdo.  Linking up with Finish-It-Up Friday.

Minkee Baby Quilt

I should have written this post two weeks ago because now I can't remember all the things I wanted to say about minkee.  This quilt was a little bit of a disaster for me!  But luckily it all came together before I had to go to the baby shower (by the skin of my teeth!)  For future reference, here's what I remember:

Cut on an old mat, or with scissors.  Little minkee fuzz will get embedded in your mat.  It comes out, but it takes some doing.

Pin every inch!  Minkee is super stretchy and slippery.  Stopping to take out pins every inch was tedious.  I poked myself so badly with a pin that it ripped a chunk of skin off and I bled on the quilt. 

Batting is not necessary.

Don't bind in minkee again.  I wanted something quick, so I just cut the back big enough to fold over to the front to bind.  A big pain- especially when you forget that you have to finish off your lines when quilting, and you end up with thread tails that ordinarily would have been under the binding. I also forgot to hand stitch the mitered corner, but remembered after I washed it and the corners all popped out.  UGH!

I worried quite a bit about shrinkage of the cotton top versus minkee and batting.  I used a poly batting because that's what was recommended and shrinking didn't seem to be a problem. 

The fabrics were picked to coordinate with her nursery colors.  I had a hard time finding a great print for the bottom half of the front.  I don't love the way it turned out, but it was quick and it will be very cozy for a baby who will live in Montana.  I wanted to use Minkee to make it more special, since the top was so simple.  I don't know if I'll ever want to use it again. 

Another WIP finished

And this one I am keeping!  I love Heather Ross fabric too much to give it away.  This is my favorite quilt back ever!  I wanted so badly to do something uneven and crazy on the back, but I just can't let go and do it.
I have learned so much since I started this quilt last year:
Accurate cutting is extremely critical.
1/4 inch seams are extremely critical.  Evidently one of my sewing machine feet is not 1/4 inch, so this quilt is a mess.
Squaring up your squares is extremely important
Ironing is crucial
Make sure your fingers quit bleeding before you finish hand sewing the binding, dang me!
I love white!  It makes me so happy to hold a white quilt.
I also got some fabric, some from my LQS. Willow layer cake, fox hollow, botanika (2 yds) I am so in love with this fabric, a little bit of Avalon.
XO
Jenni

Joyce's quilt

I finally finished the baby quilt for Joyce's cancer event.  I get such a rush sewing on the binding.  I don't know if It's because I love hand sewing or that the quilt is almost finished.  It just makes me want to get another quilt started.
Things I learned:
When you have a deadline, quilt making is not as fun.
My FMQ skills are improving, although very slowly
I really enjoy FMQ, I'd like to know about your adventures with it.
The supreme slider is worth EVERY penny. Www.freemotionslider.com
P.s. I had to improvise on the back because I didn't have enough fabric, but I love it!
Xoxo
Jenni

More "Girly Colors Quilt" and a Bit of Embarrassment

That's what I decided to officially name this quilt, after the comment my husband made. He likes it despite the girly colors. Thanks, dear.

Okay, so I promised a little illegal activity story. Here it is. As we all know, I'm crazy. My brain just ain't what it was ten years ago, or even five (yeah, I know I'm only 35, but CNS lupus'll do that to you). So I'm chatting away on the phone to my sweet SIL, Jenni, about how much I LOVE this Essex linen, while at a store I infrequent trying to find microwave popcorn for a party my son is attending. Number one, I'm already embarrassed that I got my facts wrong about the linen, it is a blend of cotton and linen (I still love it). That's actually not part of the story, but I am embarrassed. Number two, I FINALLY find the popcorn down the pickle aisle. Really? The pickle aisle?? I mean come on, I could see the chip aisle or the snack aisle, but pickles? Then, since I was already running late, left all four of my kids in the car, (yes, I am that kind of mom. I allowed my 13 year old to babysit in the car, totally legal in the state of OK), was animatedly talking on the phone to one of my fav sisters, I just walked right out of the store. Yep, confidently walked right past the security/policeman...right out. And then embarrassingly right back in. The policeman/security dude winked at me as I awkwardly shrugged and held up my popcorn and stood in line to check out. Geez. So there you have it. I very briefly stole some popcorn and immediately remedied the situation. Can't have that on my conscience. I'm pretty sure that's when the conversation got interesting to Jenni, before that it was just about linen and dang popcorn!

Finished

And he was happy with it! That's the best part, when someone loves what you put hours into. He even held up the quilt for me to take a picture!! And we both had grins on our faces. Since it was dusk when it came out of the dryer, I'll take some more pictures tomorrow, even though it'll be raining most of the week, therefore light won't be wonderful. But surely I can get some better pictures. Until then, here are these.

Oh yeah, I quilted this one sparsely because I didn't want to interfere with the drape and feel of the quilt. Sometimes the more heavily quilted quilts are a little stiffer, at least mine are. Anyway, I am LOVING the bamboo batting!! It's warm, so soft, quilts beautifully, and is naturally antibacterial. And I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Essex Linen, which is a blend of cotton and linen (sorry, Jenni, clearly I was distracted). I think I like working with it better than pure linen. It doesn't wrinkle quite as much and it feels so great!! Anyway, enough of my rambling. Tomorrow or the next day I'll tell you the story of my five finger discount (accidentally, but I did remedy the situation). And my experience of cutting and scanning my own bamboo batting (and accidentally gave myself a discount on that....sheesh).