Sugar and Spice for Baby

 After finishing this quilt... I had a bunch of Riley Blake's Sugar and Spice left over along with a couple of dresdens that I hadn't used, so I wanted to make an easy baby quilt. 

 Sometimes I take on projects that are so big that it was really nice to do something fast, easy and simple. There is no pattern here, I just cut pieces all the same size and sewed them together... I love how unplanned I am! (Most of the time)

 For the backing, I was able to get a ton of pinks and blues and greys from the Sherbet Pips line REALLY cheap online so I stocked up big time so I would have plenty of backs for baby quilts.  You can really find some great deals on backs if you have a general idea as to what you might need them for.

 For the quilting, I wanted to try a new pantograph that was pretty circular.  Circles are not easy to do freehand... actually impossible -- you need to use a template or something to guide your long arm in order to do a perfect circle.  So, my mom and I have been on the lookout for more pantographs that look like circles without investing SO much time to make perfect circles.

It turned out really cute and I was happy to give this one to a friend of mine who is expecting a daughter this month!

2011 Quilts

Here are the quilts that I made in 2011:  Pretty good for my first year of quilting!!!

Hopefully I can add a bunch more in 2012!!

Love Birds Quilt- FINISHED

I just finished up this quilt for a friend of mine.  I bartered with her and made her a quilt in return for her taking our family pictures this year.  I still feel like I got the better end of the deal but she was very happy to receive this quilt, so that made me happy!

 I used Riley Blake's Love Birds line for this quilt.  The center was so busy that I wanted to break it up with the solid white.  I like how it turned out!  I don't remember the exact measurements but I believe it was around 70x70.

 I pieced the backing... I was very short on the fabric I chose which was also from the Love Birds line so I added some of the fabric I had in my stash.  The colors are really pretty-- I like how the back turned out.

 A closeup.

 Here is a closeup of the front where you can see some of the quilting.  I used one of the new pantographs that we got and I really loved it!    I can't remember it's exact name but it was a funky leaf/feather pattern. 

I used a very light pink Glide thread for this quilt but since the quilt itself is very busy, the fabric is more the show than the quilting.  Hopefully my friend will be able to enjoy and snuggle under this beauty!

Brown and Pink Baby Quilt

I make a lot of baby quilts... I have lots of friends that keep having lots of babies :).  Luckily, these are just so fun to make. 

 I did a really simple log cabin design.  There was the picture fabric that is framed and then the other blocks have a center square with two frames.

 I used the leftover fabric to piece the backing.  I don't know the fabric line, but the main backing fabric is Lily and Will.

 I LOVE this quilting design.  the hearts are simple but fun.  I really like how they interlock with one another.  It is just a little different than most heart designs.

 I used a stripe fabric for the binding.  I still hand sew down all my bindings.  I am a little scared to machine bind for some reason... I think in my warped mind I think if I screw up on it the whole quilt is ruined.  I think one day soon I ought to try it though.

I hope this quilt is loved-- I just love pink and brown baby girl quilts!

Countdown to Christmas Quilt

Sweetwater who designs for Moda, has some of the best fabric out there.  I love their style!  So, I was excited to get my hands on their Christmas line, "Countdown to Christmas".  I saw a quilt on Flickr that I really liked (found here by frivolous necessity) and decided to test myself to see if I could make it without using a pattern.

 Somehow I always screw up triangles and I did on this one too, but I think I am the only one who could really notice it because I know what I did wrong!  I really love how it turned out.

 I enjoy these patterns that make your eyes have to focus and unfocus to see several patterns within the same quilt.  I think that is what made me gravitate to this design.

 I used the off white print that had the words for the backing.  I also used a stripe for the binding.

 I quilted this on the longarm using a holly and berry pantograph.  I wasn't a huge fan of this one but I think it was mostly because the fabric was so busy you couldn't see much of the quilting anyway.  Still love this quilt!  It's about 55x55ish??  It was finished just in time to hang over our couch for Christmas.  My other Christmas quilt is hanging on our wall in the front room!

Dreaming of Dresdens Quilt- FINISHED!!!

Back in August I blogged about a Dresden Dilemmaa I was having.  After staring at those dresends for what seems like forever, I decided to make a quilt that looks very much like the quilt in the Block Party book.  I think mine is probably bigger though... I think it ended up being 80x100!  I had lots of ideas if I didn't already have the blocks assembled by my Aqua and Red bee group.  I really loved it so I felt like I needed one of these quilts as well!  Like I said, not an exact likeness but really close. :)

As I mentioned, each of the dresdens were assembled by my bee mates and then I added the blue or red background fabric and made them a little "WONKY". 

 Here is a closeup.

 For the dresdens, I used Riley Blake's Sugar and Spice.  For the background fabrics I used Michael Miller's Mini Mikes along with Kona Red.

 I wanted to include this picture of me showing off the quilt top at one of my quilt groups because it shows how huge it is. 

 For the back I used a plaid print from the Moda and I used red, white and pink polka dot fabric from Riley Blake's Sew Cherry line. 

Here is  a closeup of the quilting on the back.  I'm not sure I chose the right pattern to use, but it was  a new one that I was eager to try it.  It is pretty though... looks like ribbons throughout.  After much thought, I decided this beauty belonged in our family room.  We aren't hurting for blankets around these parts but this quilt is so big that our whole family can snuggle under it and that certainly is worth while!

Knotted Squares

 I just finished up my latest quilt, "Knotted Squares".  This quilt was from Amy Ellis' Book, "Modern Basics".  It was an easy, but time consuming pattern.  Lots of chain piecing and lining up seams involved.  However, I think it was worth it because I LOVE the end result.

 I've been hoarding a jelly roll of Moda Hideaway fabric that I was instantly drawn to use for this project.  I LOVE that line.  The colors are basic, but really pretty.

 This quilt pattern is really neat because it incorporates two different squares.  I like quilts that show off more than one pattern within the quilt.  In this case, the yellow squares and then the solid squares.

 I only used 25 of the strips from the jelly roll and only about half of each of those strips.  The other half of each of the strips I used went to make the binding.

 I quilted this quilt using the curlz pantagraph for the longarm.  It was the perfect choice because the fabric that I used for the borders and backing seemed to swirl in the same pattern.  It was very fitting.  I used white thread.

 The backing (and border) that I used was also from the Hideaway line.  I knew instantly that this was the fabric that I wanted to use.  It was white and subtle but incorporated pretty much all of the colors from the line in it.

Here is a closeup of the scrappy binding that I sewed on by hand.  Finished size 72 x 72.

Modern V quilt- DONE!

TODAY is the LAST day to enter the giveaway.  Leave a comment on this post to have a chance to win 1 of 6 giveaway items!

 The Quilting Book Club this month had us doing the Modern V pattern from Amy Ellis' book, "Modern Basics".  I loved the pattern, it was easy to put together but had a complicated look to it.  However, her original design only called for two rows of blocks.  I added the third and also I made the blocks a bit smaller.  I am happy with the result.  It looks like a baby boy quilt to me so I will probably gift it to one of my many expecting friends!

 I don't recall the name of this line, but it is made by Michael Miller.  I picked up yard cuts from my LQS when they were having a 50% off every bolt in the store sale.  I can't help myself.

 I tried to get some closeups of the quilting, but you can't see it very well.

 I used a striped binding... striped bindings are my favorite!  OR do I love scrappy bindings better?  I don't know, it's a toss up.

I really like this backing fabric.  It looks rich to me.  This was a fun quilt to make and I am happy that I finished it... ON TIME!

Improv Quilt DONE!!

 Yippee!  I finished the improv quilt.  This is a quilt that I put together using blocks made by myself and my quilting bee mates from "Bee Connected".  I LOVE LOVE LOVE how thxis came out.

 Please pardon the shots of the full quilt.  First off, this is a larger sized quilt 92x86 and so I had to go outside and lay it on the driveway.  Also, I couldn't get high enough to take a full picture of it without this huge angle.  Finally I realized that I could hang it from my banister and take a pretty good picture of it but then my camera started acting up, so I told myself, "Erin, you get what you get and you don't throw a fit!"-- my kids always say that.

 Anyway, about this quilt.  Like I said, these are blocks from a bee.  I asked for improv blocks and I think this was a smart request because I knew I would be able to use every block and they would all be unique and awesome!

 I thought about just sewing the blocks together without sashing but it sorta looked like a mess, so I think the sashing ended up making it looks so great.  I used an 'almost solid' teal color.  These colors (from the modern affair and theory lines) might blind a traditional fabric quilter, but I think they are gorgeous... I LOVE these fabrics....perhaps that's why I like the quilt so much.

 I quilted this all on my own!  Yes, I have ended my apprenticeship (my mom was teaching me how to use her longarm) and have gone on my own and can quilt an entire quilt all by myself.  I still have just done pantagraph quilting, but hope to learn more custom quilting skills as I master the pantagraphs.

Here is a closeup of the back.  It really turned out beautiful and am very please with the final result!

Christmas Quilt FINISHED

 I FINALLY finished my Christmas quilt!!  This one has certainly been a labor of love and so fun to work on.  This was a bee quilt made from blocks from my fellow beemates in the Christmas Fabric Bee.  I asked them each to make me two blocks that picture Christmas.  These gals DID NOT disapoint!!

 You will remember my last post where I showed off the blocks and my fabric choices.  I really wanted something that had lots of fun colors and wasn't just the traditional forest green and red.  I think that making holiday quilts with nontraditional colors makes them all the more fun.

 When putting the blocks together it was easy to see that I needed to do a little framing around random blocks or else it was just too much white and it all just looked BLAH.

 This quilt was mostly stippled but there are also some custom design quilting within many of the blocks.

 I just love this dresden... this block has some custom quilting in it.

 Cute little trees that have some jewels.  I added some other bling onto a few other blocks as well.

 I used a striped fabric (the same that was given out to my beemates) for the binding.  I cut it on the bias which was a learning experience because I have never done bias cut bindings before.  I like the effect of the swirling stripe as it looks like a candy cane to me!

 For the back I used a fun tree print from Michael Miller.  It really adds to the "fun" of this quilt.

I plan to hang this quilt in my entryway over the Christmas holidays.  It is beautiful and it looks like a work of art to me!!  Thank you to all the wonderful ladies in my bee who helped me make this quilt!