Monthly Archives: December 2015

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My son started quilting just about a year ago and finished his third quilt this month in time to gift to his dad. His first two quilts were squares and rectangles, making this one the first time he's sewn half square triangles. He picked his fabrics from his Finish Along winnings from my post about his first quilt, some fabrics he's picked up at the SCVQA guild sale table, and from my stash. His chose his block design, House on the Hill, from Big Book of Quilting, by Michele Morrow Harer.

I cut out all of his pieces. I'm not sure what age I'll feel comfortable letting him use the rotary cutter, but 5 1/2 is not it. ;-)

At this point he pieces independently, sewing at the kids' art table. I press his seams open for him and help him stay organized while he chain pieces.

I love that he chose the turtles for the door and that he wanted to fussy cut the woman to be looking out the window. He decided to rework the pattern a bit to have only one chimney (instead of two).

He had used the walking foot for quilting his first two quilts, but once he had pieced this quilt he decided that he wanted to free motion quilt it. He really wanted loops. Okay, kid. I set up the machine for him to free motion quilt and he practiced a bit on a practice quilt sandwich. Then he went work on his mini. I supervised and assisted as needed.

He started by quilting the ground area, then wanted the lines on the window. I'm most impressed with his loops on the house and his clouds (in variegated thread). He chose blue binding from my leftover binding box and he assisted and supervised me in attaching the binding. Since he chose a (different) variegated thread to attach the binding, I recommended the three-step zigzag for the top stitching. I figured it would be less exact for him than trying to attach it with a straight stitch. The quilt finished at 12 1/2" x 12 1/2".

He's looking forward to showing this one and Rainbow Swift at the January SCVQA meeting.

I'm linking unto Needle & Thread Thursday and Adrienne's 2015 Q4 Finish Along post. See all my Q4 goals here.

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You saw my first Retro Camper back in September when I shipped it off for the Home Sweet Home mini swap. I couldn't resist making myself a copy. It's mostly identical to the first.

 

Since I hadn't received it yet when I posted the mini I made for Brittany, here's the adorable, colorful neighborhood mini that she made for me!

 

Thanks for visiting!

I'm linking up to Adrienne's 2015 Q4 Finish Along post. See all my Q4 goals here.

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Yesterday I gave my mom a quilt for Christmas. I bought the fabric many years ago and intended to make a much more complicated pattern. This year I decided that with so many other projects on my plate I would have a better chance of completion with an easier pattern. That's when I decided on Fat Quarter Fizz, a free pattern from Fat Quarter Shop. It is fat quarter friendly and goes together quickly. I love the pattern using light and dark fabrics, but since I had a spectrum of tones for the previously intended project there isn't as much of a tonal pattern in my quilt.

While this isn't my normal palette I'm pleased with how these fabrics went together. I started with the backing fabric and chose the others to coordinate. I used two of the main fabrics for the binding.

Jessica's wavy wood grain pattern quilting on her Stripey quilt was my inspiration. I started with aurifil #2915 (very light brass), but finished up with #2310 (light beige) when I ran out. I tried my two closest quilt shops, but neither had #2915 in stock and it was December 23rd. Better done than perfect, I decided. Shh, don't tell mom. ;-)

The finished quilt measures about 60" x 72". Mom is looking forward to curling up on her new (in a couple months) couch with it. She might need some coordinating pillows for her birthday.

A big thanks to my sister for helping me get the full quilt shot outside today, despite a little wind.

Thanks for visiting. What was your favorite handmade gift this holiday season?

I'm linking up to Adrienne's 2015 Q4 Finish Along post. See all my Q4 goals here.