MInt, Berries and Chocolate

I really struggled with naming this quilt.

My first thoughta were "Ugly Quilt #2"

or "Sensory Overload"

or.... I won't tell you the rest.

The fabric line is called "Botany"

and Botanical Beauty became the name.

****EDIT****
After Preeti's comment, I'm changing the name
of this quilt to
"Mint, Berries and Chocolate"!
It's helped me to like it a little more!
Thank you, Preeti!!

It's not often that I make something and think

"Phew!  That one is finished!"

I'm not a fan of this quilt, but it's done

and a pile is gone from my stash.

 And honestly,

now that's it's quilted,

it has grown on me a bit.

As I've mentioned before,

the Disappearing 4 Patch is one of my favorite blocks to make...

...and I've made a number of quilts using this block.

I am really enjoying doing the grid quilting

these days, too.

This does look like a vintage picnic quilt or a tablecloth to me.

Is it bad that I like the back better than the front?

Another finish and that's a good thing!

I'm linking to Design Wall Monday today.

Happy Quilting!

More Canyon Dance

A couple of weeks ago I cut a lot of the pieces

for Canyon Dance,

so if I have a few minutes,

I can sew a block or two together.

If you have never sewn curves before,

this is the pattern with which to begin.

It's so easy because nothing needs to meet or match.

The pieces are sewn together in a certain order

and then the block is trimmed to size.

Easy Peasy.

This is mindless sewing for me.

Before I begin,

I arrange the pieces in pleasing sets

and stack them on a cookie sheet.

Then I sit and sew while listening to my book.

 

Thirty eight of 110 blocks are made.

 

As I make more blocks,

things are rearranged.

There will be a lot of rearranging once 

all of the blocks are finished.

Happy Quilting!

Guess What I'm Starting??

Another Canyon Dance quilt!

My daughter, who banned me from making her any more quilts,

has asked for a quilt for their guest bed.

She didn't need to ask me twice!

This was a while ago that she asked,

so I've been collecting fabrics for this quilt.

She's like I am... loves turquoise, blues and greens.

It has been fun shopping the batik sections

and raiding my stash for these colors.

The pieces have been cut using these templates that I ordered

from the pattern designer and the small rotary cutter.

They are very easy to use and the pattern is very easy to follow.

 

I'm excited to see all of the combinations that come out of these piles.

These are by my machine, ready to be sewn together.

Four blocks are finished....only 107 to go!

They have a queen size bed, so I'll be making these blocks for a while.

:)

Happy Quilting!

 

Woven Baby Quilt Finish

Get your sunglasses ready because I have a

bright and happy quilt to show you today!

I started this quilt a few months ago

and needed to quilt it.

The baby for whom it was made will be

here at the end of the month,

and it needs to be mailed,

so I needed to get in gear and get it quilted.

I ordered a fun backing and went to work once it was delivered.

This quilt is made with the Simply Woven pattern.

I have had this pile of primary colored fabrics for a while,

just waiting for the right project.

When I saw this pattern,

I knew this would be fun with all of the geometrics

and polka dots.

I cut enough strips to make a second quilt

and will do that once some other things are done.

 

This one will be sent to Florida and will sure show up

on the beach down there.

I've had to delay the shipping with the pending storm, though.

 

The quilting was simple...a swirl with bright 

yellow thread.

 

Isn't the backing fun?

I used it for the binding, too.

Happy Quilting!

Boxy Tote

My friend Dottie loves to make bags.

She finds the neatest patterns and creates beautiful bags.

Her latest bag uses the Boxy Tote pattern and I

decided to make one with her.

The cutting and preparation takes quite a while.

Plus, there are things used in this pattern

that aren't the easiest to find.

Once the pieces were cut and the fusing was done,

I headed over to her house and the fun began.

The pattern designer has written the directions in a 

super organized way.

She has tabs to pin to each piece of fabric with the measurements and the

order number from the directions.

Once the piece or pieces are cut,

you pin this tab to the fabric and it keeps things organized.

This tote is large enough to carry a Featherweight in it!

There are pockets on the inside and outside of the bag.

There are also stays around the top of the bag that hold it open

and in place so it's easy to fill.

After my friend, Mary, made one, she found this label for all of us!

Only a few swears words were used in the construction of my bag.

:D

Dottie and I made the straps differently than the pattern suggests

and came up with a very sturdy, but cushy strap.

The zipper tab is filled with glue!

It hasn't quite dried yet, so looks wet in the photo.

The only thing I have left to do is get the hard piece for the bottom of the bag.

I'll cover that  and pop it it and it will be ready for use.

When I started this bag,

I thought it would be a one and done project.

I think I see another one of these in my future, though!

Thanks, Dottie!

It was a blast making this with you.

I'm linking to Design Wall Monday and Monday Making today.

Happy quilting!

Sea Life

Don't you love it when a plan comes together?

For a while I had been looking for a pattern

for this fabric with a big print.

Cutting it up into small pieces

would not have done it justice.

One day I was cruising the internet and found the 

perfect pattern for this fabric.

I pulled other fabrics to go along with it and made the top.

"Sea Life" is now a finished quilt!

I am super pleased with this finish

and never dreamed it would turn out so well.

 I thought and thought about how I was going to quilt 

Sea Life and then one day it came to me....

just use a simple grid.

The fabrics speak for themselves in this quilt.

My husband cannot believe I am giving this one away.

:)

 My friend, who lives at the beach, will love it

and it goes with the color scheme in her bedroom.

 

I stitched the quilting lines 2 1/2" apart in the grid.

 

There may be enough of this fabric left to make another quilt.

Maybe my husband will get one, too.

(I need to find some taller quilt holders!)

"Sea Life" is a finish and is ready for gifting.

Happy Quilting!

Under the Sea Finish

My Hidey Hole has gotten out of control again.

I had done so well for a while,

keeping things neat and organized

and having my piles to a minimum.

Then my old habits reared their ugly heads.

It is time to get some things finished

and the piles out of my room.

"Under the Sea" needed quilting

and would be the quickest finish of the bunch.

It was quilted and bound over the last few days

and is off the table!

This quilt is the result of a mistake I made making

another quilt.

I love these kinds of mistakes!

 

The fabrics are "Calypso" and are

digitally printed.

I used a grunge dot for the background fabric

 

These colors are pretty true in this photo....

so vibrant and rich.

 

This quilt hasn't told me where it's going yet,

so will stay with me for a while.

 

There was a large piece of the focus fabric left over, 

so I pieced the backing.

Amazingly, it's pretty centered!

I'm linking to Design Wall Monday today.

Happy Quilting!

Working on Another Pile

Years ago I bought a fat quarter bundle of

fabrics that are not in my normal color choices at all.

I don't remember why I bought them,

but I must have liked them at the time.

I made a quilt for a friend using bits of the fabrics

and she loved it, so maybe I bought the fabrics

for that particular quilt.

Who knows!

This quilt was made in 2011,

so I've had this pile of fabrics since then!

I decided something was going to be done to get these

fabrics out of my cabinet.

Out came my ruler and rotary cutter

and the cutting began.

The "go to" block for me is the

Disappearing Four Patch.

 I think this is the 8th one I've made with this block.

 

It's wild, chaotic, crazy and pieced together.

 

I'm going to use the left over fabrics for the backing

and get the rest of these out of my stash.

 

Someone will like this quilt....maybe.

Maybe it will make a nice picnic quilt.

Anyway, it's almost finished

and some mindless sewing was done to make the blocks.

Happy Quilting!

Even when it's ugly!

:D

Woven Baby Quilt

Another baby quilt is in the works in

my Hidey Hole.

A mentee of my husband's and his wife are due next month

and are having a boy.

I've had this pattern for a while and had all of these

fun, bright prints and thought they would work well

with this woven design.

The cutting and sewing began and this top was made.

I wanted a polka dot background and found this

subtle white with tiny black dots.

It really works well with the bright prints.

 

Many more blocks can be made with the number of strips

I cut from the pile of fabrics.

That means another one of these will probably be in my future!

 

I think straight line quilting will work well with this one.

The backing needs to be pieced or found. :)

 

 

This one will go into the "to be quilted" pile.

This pile is getting rather large,

so some basting needs to be done soon!

Happy Quilting!

Cathedral Window Pillow

Over the past year and some I have made a lot of pillows.

This Cathedral Window pillow made from my friends ties

is my favorite.

This pattern is one of my favorite patterns to make

and it's so easy if you follow the

Missouri Star Tutorial.

 

I was able to fussy cut a group of giraffes from one of the ties

and put them on the bottom of the pillow.

 

This backing fabric was in my stash

and would make a beautiful tie if it was silk. :)

 

This will be delivered to my friend very soon.

I like this so much,

I might have to make myself one!  

I'm linking to Design Wall Monday today.

Happy Quilting!