delight in life

in progress

I wanted to share a couple of progress shots of some projects. I always enjoy seeing these on other blogs and on Instagram, but I never remember to take them myself. Trying to get better about that! Above is my first real try at an improvisational quilt. I'm still playing aroud with block arrangements, but I am really happy with this one so far. 

Below is a custom quilt I am working on. It is going to be queen-sized. I haven't made a quilt this big since my very first one. (Luckily I'm a lot better at quilting now!) 

As a side note, I created a page with all the quilts I've written about on the blog. (Which is all of them I've made, except just one or two.) You can see it here, and it's linked in my hello blurb on the top right. Each photo and title links to the corresponding post about the quilt. I wish I had some of those back to take better photos!

adventures in paper piecing

When I made my star quilt a few weeks ago, I used the Orion quilt pattern, but I left out the most interesting part of the pattern—the arrows. They are really cool, but they are pieced using foundation paper piecing, and I didn't know how to do that. I didn't even really know what it is, although now I can tell you it's a way to easily piece quilt blocks with very precise seams and corners. I've seen some really beautiful blocks made using this technique, particularly During Quiet Time's garden blocks, but it seemed very difficult and fussy to me.

But. I really liked those arrows, so one night I decided to give it a try. As with all new things, it started with a google search for tutorials. There are a ton, but I ended up making this Starry Night block from Fresh Lemons Quilts as a learning sample. I was really confused as I read the tutorial, but I was able to muddle through it once I actually started piecing. After I finished that, I felt pretty good about the basics, so I pulled out some scraps and went to work on the arrow.

(Sorry about the crappy phone photo...)

Not too bad! My biggest problem is sloppy piecing on the center section, which is of course the only portion that is not paper pieced. It was a lot of work, but I think a handful of these blocks would make a really cool quilt.

ships ahoy

Another square in square quilt, but this one is set on point, which makes for a much more interesting design, I think. These little fussy cut ships were the inspiration for this quilt. I thought they were super cute and I wanted to feature them somehow.

This was a perfect excuse to use the anchor fabric, which I've been hoarding for a while. This quilt finished at around 32x32. Still small, but big enough to work as a crib quilt. Now that the weather is so nice, I've been keeping a similarly-sized quilt in our stroller basket for impromptu grass sitting!

I think the helm print on the back is so cute. I purchased it intending to only use it on the back but I couldn't resist adding it to the front as well.

This cute quilt was for sale, but someone bought it! Color me totally excited.

heart quilt

Isn't this beautiful?? I'm totally obsessed with it. And while the heart is lovely, my favorite part is definitely the background. This is me hopping on the low-volume trend that's been running around Quilt Blogland for a few months now. "Low-volume" meaning fabrics that are mostly white or a light neutral.

I really, really love the particular look of scrappy low-volume patchwork.

When you combine the sweet patchwork heart with a fuzzy soft pink flannel backing, you have a quilt that couldn't be more perfect for a tiny new baby. This one is another stroller/carseat quilt: small and cozy. For sale in my shop! Sold! Thank you!

bright star quilt

Guys. These colors! I really love them. This quilt is based on the Orion quilt pattern. I enlarged the pattern and used only one block to make it a baby quilt. I really like traditional-style blocks, and I really like oversized blocks, so this is perfect.

I used a mix of some favorite fabrics on this. The big orange and blue florals from Denyse Schmidt's Flea Market Fancy are almost too pretty to use, but I stocked up on them recently so I felt like it was safe to use a few bits. The hot pink prints are both from Art Gallery Fabrics. If you're a quilter you probably know how awesome AGF is; if not, well, it is really awesome. Their fabrics feel so good.

I quilted it in straight-ish parallel lines about 2-3 inches apart. They hold the quilt together and give it some lovely texture, don't take away from the design too much.

The binding is some beloved Lizzy House Pearl Bracelets, and the background is Kona Ash, another fave. I'm sensing a pattern in my fabric selections for this quilt...

I really enjoyed putting this one together. The block is so pretty and it is great for featuring special fabrics. There will be more of these in my future for sure!

This quilt is for sale in my shop.

gees bend quilts

Yesterday I had a great opportunity to go hear two of the famous Gees Bend quilters speak. The Gees Bend quilters, if you're not familiar with them, are a group of women who live in an isolated community in Alabama. The community exists where a slave plantation once was, and the women are descendants of the slaves who worked that plantation. They make beautiful, free-form improvisational quilts in the same style that has been passed down for years and years. Wikipedia has a little bit more information, and this fascinating (very long) article from the LA Times has a lot more information. The article focuses on Mary Lee Bendolph, who is one of the two women I heard speak.

They had a handful of quilts on display, and I loved them. They're so different from what I do. I use quilt shop fabrics, mostly patterned fabric, neat and symmetrical and measured quilt blocks. These are mostly solids, mostly fabric salvaged from clothing, and they're wild, uneven, and asymmetrical. I was completely fascinated.

I'm really looking forward to trying to add a little Gees Bend influence into my quilts.

How great is that hot pink? Loretta Pettway Bennett spoke a little bit about the process of designing her quilts. She used to sketch them out with colored pencils to plan, but now she tends to let the fabrics she has on hand determine the colors, and she lays the pieces out on the floor to design as she goes. She explained that she had once tried to make a quilt using a pattern, but she hated it. She prefers her freeform style, where she doesn't have to measure or worry about precision; she can just express herself. "There are no mistakes in my quilting." I loved that.

Mary Lee sang for us and told us how the women sing as they quilt together, as a method of group prayer and bonding. It was beautiful.

Look Where He Brought Me

Here's a video I found online of some of the women singing:

I almost flaked out at the last minute, not wanting to head downtown with Joey, but I'm really glad I decided to go in the end. Thanks to Patton Boggs for putting together this event! 

square-in-square

I made this pretty little quilt because I ordered two yards of the green fabric for another fabric, and it turned out to be the wrong color, so I needed to put it to use somewhere else.

I decided to go with a simple square-in-square design, one I've enjoyed piecing before. I quilted it by outlining all the seams on either side. Simple and pretty!

It's a small quilt, designed to be used in a stroller or carseat. (I love this one I made for Joey!) I love all the fabrics in this one. The green one looks almost sparkly to me! It is from the Les Amis line. Is it just me or are the Les Amis fabrics nice and soft? Like, softer than usual. They almost feel like Art Gallery fabrics, which are known for their silky hand. Anyway, it makes this quilt feel nice.

This quilt is listed in my shop!

a quilt, and an exciting new thing!

This is definitely my favorite quilt I've made. I used Lizzy House's Constellations fabric, which is in the running for my favorite fabric line ever.

It's kind of funny how the quilt came to be: it was Chris's idea! I made two 9" wonky star blocks one day when I was just playing around.

Chris saw them and suggested I make giant versions into a reversible quilt. Which I loved, and did immediately.

It was a little tricky to figure out how to quilt this one. I couldn't do my usual outlining of seams because the seams aren't the same on the front and back and that would definitely look weird. I settled on lots of random straight lines across the quilt, and I love the way it looks.

And now for the exciting new thing: this quilt is for sale! I decided to start a shop and I'm super nervous and super excited about it. There are a few other quilts listed as well, and I'll be posting about all of them soon. So please, go take a look!

valentine onesie

I wanted Joey to have a Valentine's outfit, but I didn't really feel like spending money on the options I saw at Target. The choices for girls were endless, but for boys it was slim pickins, and most of them had little slogans like "Ladies' Man." Cute, but I was looking for something a little simpler, without cartoon animals or vaguely sexualized slogans. So I made my own!

I simply did some raw edge applique on a plain white onesie, and personally I'm obsessed with the result. I cut a heart out of a red houndstooth fabric and pinned it to the onesie. Then I stitched around the edge of the heart. I originally did it a quarter-inch from the edge, out of quilter's habit, but I realized it needed to be narrower so I went back and did a second round of sewing much closer to the edge of the fabric.

I struggled a lot manuevering the onesie around on my sewing machine, trying to avoid stitching through the front and the back, so I ended up with some puckers in the finished product. No big deal, but next time I'll use fusible interfacing to stabilize the fabric before I begin to sew. And there will definitely be a next time! I'm thinking about doing a 4-leaf clover for St. Patrick's Day, and perhaps an Easter egg for April?

Look at my little valentine! Isn't he the cutest?

baby sleeping, quilt in progress

We came home from the doctor and Joey was asleep in his carseat, so I straightened up my office. Then he was still asleep, so I sketched out a new quilt. Then he was still asleep, so I picked out fabrics for the new quilt. Then he was still asleep, so I checked that he was alive and began to cut fabric for the quilt. Then he was still asleep, so I laid the fabrics out on my wall. Now he is still asleep, so I am going to cross my fingers and start piecing the quilt.

I think this is my favorite color combination I've ever picked.