Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Bright and Sunny Quilt

     A new baby has arrived in my extended family.  Baby Seren joins her sister Arwen and brothers Jackson and Morgan.  Winter babies need bright colors.

     I started with reds, and decided to do scrappy 4-patch blocks using 2 1/2 inch squares.  I surrounded those with yellow and white borders.
Some of my vast collection of red fabrics!
Yellows I considered.  I didn't use the yellow dotted floral 
     I pieced together the 8 inch finished size blocks in a checkerboard pattern.  The finished quilt is 40 inches square.
      Baby Seren arrived while the piecing was underway, and so I decided to do a quick and pretty simple stipple (not too small).
      I used the color palette of the backing as inspiration for the turquoise binding on the quilt.  I love how that looks against the yellows and whites.
I love the little clover clips to hold the binding!

This photo shows off the binding.  
     When I was picking fabrics, I tried to find ones I had used in her siblings' quilts.
Morgans' quilt from 2008
Close up of Morgan's quilt

Jackson's quilt from 2012
Close up of Jackson's quilt

Arwen's Quilt from January 2015.  

Close up of Arwen's quilt. 
      I also ended up using some of the yellow fabrics from a quilt I made for my sister-in-law, the baby's grandmother.
Darcy's quilt - January 2014
     What a difference in the weather!  January 2017 is much less snowy than in 2014 or 2015.   But, the winter is not over yet!
My trusty quilt holder!  
     I am working my way through cutting a scrap pile, trying to finish a quilt I have been working on for years, and trying to finish up a few more baby quilts!  More projects to be posted soon.  In the meantime, enjoy the end of January!

I am linking up to Crazy Mom Quilts'  Finish it up Friday.  Enjoy looking at all of the beautiful quilts!

Take care,
Gretchen

Thursday, January 5, 2017

2017 - Scrap Basket Projects #1 and #2 complete!


Scrap Basket Project #2
       One of my many goals this year is to make a dent in my stash.  I have so many fabrics!  I have started trimming leftover fabrics into 10 inch and 5 inch squares, and 2 1/2 inch wide strips, and then putting them in boxes for use later, but that still leaves plenty of other usable, but less regularly sized pieces.    I have several plastic shoe boxes full of those pretty little scraps, so I have decided to start working on those.
These are the first two boxes I pulled!  
     I admit that when I make lists, I usually add in something I have already done, so I can check it off!  So, the first project from the Scrap Baskets will be the two pillow covers I knit up right before Christmas from long skinny scraps and selvedges.    I had posted about my ambivalence about these in December, but now find that these pillows are growing on me!

Scrap Basket Project #1
     My first project for 2017 was to attempt (for a second time) to make a scrappy baby bib.    I used the concept of a slab or vortex quilt block that Amanda Jean at Crazy Mom Quilts does so well. Rather than making a quilt, I planned to make the fabric for a cute little one of a kind baby bib.   When I started looking for bib patterns, I saw that this is not a novel concept.  The Nana Company site has a nice tutorial and pattern for a piece work bib. 

    I attempted that pattern, but decided to get "fancy" and quilt the bib pretty heavily.  So, while the bib is pretty darn cute - it is also pretty darn small.  In fact, way too small to go around a baby's neck! I used a work friend's baby as a tester.  It was a fail!
So cute - so tiny!  
       I don't have any handy babies around, so I recently picked up a bib at the local Walmart, mostly to check for neck sizing.
Store-bought bib. 

You can see the difference in the neck sizing.  
      I used the neck of the store-bought bib, and have been tweaking a pattern with some curves.  I used old file folders for the templates.
This patter incorporates a 1/4 inch seam all around.  I traced this on the back of the fabric, and then sewed to a piece of terry cloth (which I washed twice to reduce surprise shrinkage down the road)
      I needed a bib as a gift for a baby boy, so instead of the slab, I started with some 2 1/2 inch strips sewn together to make patchwork squares.  
Then I also made a slab from the same and some other fabrics.
     I find that making these slabs (about 10 by 12 inches) goes pretty easily without any ironing until the end and can be worked on while watching TV or a Netflix movie!
Slabs in progress
       I also tried my hand at a bib, using the same pattern, with just a single piece of baby themed fabric.  I like how that turned out, as well.
I have since tweaked the pattern to get rid of the uneven neck pieces! 
       Even though I have now made about a half dozen "slabs", the scrap pile is still pretty big.  I may pull together a baby quilt from these, as well.  In the meantime, Scrap Basket Projects 1 and 2 are done.

     Here is another look at the two pieced bibs.  I quilted in the ditch once down the middle and once across on these two bibs, but didn't quilt as heavily as the teeny pink ones I had previously made!

     After a green Christmas, we are now being bombarded with snow!  Enjoy!

Take care and stay warm!

I am linking up to Crazy Mom Quilts finish it up Friday.
Gretchen

Monday, January 2, 2017

2016 - A Year of Quilts

Blue Ribbon Dreams 
Zing!
Sea Glass and Sand
A Quilt for Karen
Levi's Around the World Quilt
Baby Blocks
Pigs, Posies and Polka Dots
Rainbow in a Box
Natalie's Memorial Banner
Looking forward to 2017!

Gretchen