Tag: quilts

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Another Quilt-in-Progress

Finishing the Zig Zag Quilt really motivated me to tackle some other works-in-progress I’ve had hanging around for much too long. I have had the squares cut out for this quilt I’m making for my own bed for almost as long as the Zig Zag Quilt has been hanging around.

I sewed all the blocks into long strips, and then joined the blocks with thin strips of cream fabric. As you can see in the photo, Yoda is helping, as he usually does with my quilts. I did this a couple weeks ago, and have since been distracted with another project, which I hope to be posting about soon. I still need to make and attach some borders of cream fabric around the edges of the quilt, then actually quilt it and bind it, but at least I’m making progress! It’s an actually top now, instead of just a collection of fabric squares. Too bad I can’t Yoda to help with cutting out the borders I still need…

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Zig Zag Quilt Finished

Zig Zag Quilt

Finished. Finished. Finally.

Remember this post, from way back in 2009, when I said I’d started a Zig Zag Quilt? Or this post from a day later, when the top was all put together, and it just needed quilted and bound?

Well, I finally finished it. It’s quilted, bound, and been through the wash for that little bit of crinkle. It only took me, oh, almost 2 years. I actually finished it a couple weeks ago, but I’ve been waiting for sunshine to take a decent picture. Now that that’s happened, it’s really all done.

Zig Zag Quilt Back

I made this quilt using Crazy Mom Quilts’ instructions, and despite taking so long for me to finish it, it really was quite easy. All of the fabrics I used were from the Tracy Porter collection that was at Jo-Ann Fabrics a couple years ago (and which I think maybe only I had a crush on.) I did five lines of quilting on each of the repeating/background zig zags, which I started thinking after maybe the first zig zag was overkill, but by that point I was committed. So this is pretty heavily quilted. I do love how all the quilting looks on the back, though. And also, I love the pieced stripe I added to the back. This was the first back I’ve done that hasn’t been one solid fabric.

It’s certainly satisfying to finally finish something. Now I need to work on finishing a quilt top I started ages ago for my bed…

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Quilt Giveaway at Don’t Look Now

To celebrate her 100th post on Don’t Look Now, Kellie is having a super generous giveaway! Don’t Look Now is one of my regular blog reads, and I am routinely amazed at the beautiful, creative, high quality work I see there.  Her intricate quilting and applique designs are just so pretty.

Kelly is offering one lucky person who comments on the giveaway post the chance to take home her lovely Lilly Pilly quilt. Check out this pretty quilt:

Lilly Pilly Quilt (Image borrowed from Don't Look Now)
Lilly Pilly Quilt (Image borrowed from Don’t Look Now)

What are you waiting for? Go enter (and spend some time checking out the rest of the blog, it’s worth it)!

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My Quilting Helper

My kitties always like to keep me company. Or maybe they are just supervising me. But Yoda has become particularly helpful when it comes to quilting. You may have noticed his helpful “product testing” in the last post. After finally finishing the quilt for my brother, I decided to put one together for my mom and her kitty. Yoda decided that if this was to be a quilt for a kitty (and aren’t all quilts, really?), he better monitor every step of the process.

First we decided that we would do a “Sew Easy Quilt” from the Winter 2008 Quilts and More. Yoda wasn’t able to come to the fabric store with me to pick out fabric, but I think he approved of the mix of Tracy Porter and M’Liss cats prints I selected. We cut them into squares, and then Yoda helped me to lay them out and piece them together.

Laying out the Blocks

Then Yoda supervised while I pinned all the layers together. Something tells me he had the better end of the deal.

Pinning the Layers Together

After all the work of watching me quilt the layers, Yoda decided he needed a break, and let his brother Roo take over. Roo had the important task of holding the quilt down while I hand stitched on the binding. Again, I think he got the better end of the deal.

Binding the Quilt

Once the binding was on, Roo made sure the quilt was comfortable enough for sleeping. It totally passed inspection, but Roo says my mom will have to bring it in again in a year for a check up.

Testing the Finished Quilt

After Roo’s inspection, I spread the quilt out on the bed for a quick photo shoot, and Yoda got back to work helping as the quilt model.

What do you mean I can’t keep this one?

Yoda tried to convince me to keep this quilt for myself him. He was disappointed that we had to box it up and send it off to Mom and Abby. But thanks to Yoda and Roo’s hard work, I hear that it’s kitty-approved in its new home, too.

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Catching Up

Happy New Year! It’s 2009! Since I was away from blogging for a good chunk of 2008, let’s do a bit of review. Then we can move on to starting the new year fresh.

Do you remember this? Like I said in that post, I’m kind of a last-minute girl. And I made it all the way to attaching the binding on this quilt. Then life came smashing along and the quilt got set aside with just a little work left to be done. I finally did get it finished and delivered to it’s rightful owner, my brother, in 2008. It was my first real, quilted-not-tied, bed-size quilt. It was beautiful, and it was so hard to give it away. But I know that it will be loved. Here it is, in all its finished glory. (Ignore the messy bedside table and the fact that my bed has no headboard. And the subpar lighting.)

Justin's Quilt

What? This isn’t for me?!
“What do you mean this isn’t my quilt?”

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Holiday Recap

SciFi Man and I drove halfway across the country to visit our families for the holidays. It’s been wonderful to see our loved ones, whom we generally don’t see for the rest of the year, and to get some much needed rest. We’ve shared a lot of good food and retold old stories.

Christmas also brought the unexpected loss of my grandfather. He had been ill for a long time, but his death was still a surprise. My immediate family and I traveled to Nebraska to be with extended family and my grandmother. Two and a half weeks before he died, my grandfather told me about a dream he had recently had. He dreamed that he was making a quilt, and awoke with the feeling that he really did need to start quilting. He was colorblind, so my grandmother picked out the fabrics, and he cut out the pieces. At the time, I was delighted that my 77 year old grandfather, who had never made a quilt in his life, had decided to start this project. Now, his quilt blocks have taken on a little more meaning for me. It’s as if he knew his time was limited and he wanted to create something that would last.

My grandfather was not able to finish the quilt he started. I collected the pieces he had cut, and the fabric he selected for the back of the quilt, and I will finish it for him. It’s only right that his dream be realized. I will miss him very much, but I take comfort in the fact that his suffering is over and that he left such a precious heirloom behind.

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Quilt in Progress

Although I have been making bags and other things, the main thing I have been working on lately is a quilt. Remember, that quilt the woman in the fabric store thought for sure I couldn’t finish by Christmas? I’m still working on it, but it will be finished some time tomorrow. This is convenient, since I won’t have anymore time to sew starting Friday. I’ve always been a bit of a last minute type of girl, and to be honest, I have been working on this thing since after Thanksgiving and it does take awhile to make a quilt. But it just wouldn’t be my style to get it done any sooner anyway. I’m really loving how it’s coming out, and I’m not sure I want to part with it. I think the colors are working together better than I had imagined. Here’s a peek at the work in progress:
Quilt in Progress

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Soft and Cuddly

Yoda Modeling My Quilt

A few days ago, Yoda (named by my Star Wars-loving partner) was kind enough to model the quilt I made over the summer. I think he did an excellent job showing off its snuggly qualities. He also managed to show off his big feet and extra toes. I’m still really happy with how the quilt turned out, and I can’t wait until I have the time to try my hand at another one. I’ve got (ambitious) plans to make a one for a king sized bed with real quilting, instead of just tying it off. Like I said, ambitious.