Quilting & Sewing

May

15

Works in Progress: May Edition

Knitting / Quilting & Sewing / The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery  Posted by / 9 comments

I thought I’d share with you all my current WIPs (works in progress). Some of these are long term, some are instant gratification, some are work related and some are just silly.

I took my photos this morning before the sun was fully risen in our bedroom so they are a little dark but that’s ok right?! ;)

I’ll start with my most recent sewing:

Amanda from Westwood Acres very sweetly sent me some Briar Rose scraps! I knew instantly that I wanted to make the same pouch that Amy did. I made it my goal to use JUST scraps and NOT cut them. Oh and improv piece it. Those are all things I’m quite terrible at but I wanted to branch out. I’m not sure I *love* it but that’s ok! Unfortunately my sewing machine started to act funny during the quilting (ok-let’s be honest, it’s been cranky all winter). I did all the normal things: clean, oil, replace needles/bobbins/etc. Still no luck. By the time I attached the piping the machine wasn’t holding it’s tension at all anymore SO! To the dealer I will go and get a tune-up. And I think the timing is slightly off. No sewing for a little while!

Two weeks ago I got it into my head that I *needed* a new Halloween quilt. I decided to make a new Donut Quilt from my stash. I have the blocks partly done. It’ll be a fast finish once I get my machine fixed. I haven’t decided on a border fabric yet though. All I know is, that donut quilt gets SO much love around here, it’s the perfect size for me to drag everywhere. I think this might be the first time I’ve ever made a pattern twice?!

Oh these blocks! They kill me! (in a very good way of course!) They are from the Forest QAL and quite possibly my favorite things ever. However, I need at least a full day of complete quiet for each block. Not because they are hard, they are really straight forward but because I am *really* slow at paper piecing and these blocks have a ton of pieces in them. I have the feather and the woodpecker done, I’m using just scraps which is fun. It’s a little tricky to pick fabrics for them though. This is definitely my long term project- it’s special and I’m not into rushing it. I’d love to finish it by July and enter it into the fair but that’s probably wishful thinking. Also: They are crunchy & wrinkled looking because…I haven’t removed the paper yet! LOL! ;)

I’ve needed to apply the binding to this quilt since March. Eep! Lindsay did an amazing quilting job on it! But literally that’s the only corner bound. It doesn’t stop me from using it all the time though.

It’s not all sewing though…I cast on for a new pair of socks this week! I happily knit outside in Chico yesterday while Ashleigh worked on our shop! It got a facelift! And we re-released Fruit of the Month Club! Somehow in my excitement to be hanging out, I started doing the size large chart on my size medium sock! Doh! But I tried them on and somehow the pattern is still pretty centered. Maybe my feet are strange shaped? IDK! But I’m going to keep going. They also got the nickname “Cinnamon Toast Crunch Socks” from Chop?!

Speaking of work! Here is my Woodland Sampler! Even though we’ve had the full chart done & tested last year, I cross stitch along with everyone. It’s just more fun that way. Plus I can share sneak peeks leading up to the first of each month!

That’s everything! All my current WIPs! How about you? What are you working on?

May

06

Real Life Talk: What’s Your Style?

Knitting / Quilting & Sewing / Random Thoughts  Posted by / 16 comments

I’ve been thinking a lot about personal style lately.

Chop & I have a huge goal to be homeowners next year and we started a pinterest board of things that we both like. It’s been a lot of conversations such as:

“Can I put neon pom pom garland on your bear head?’

“Will you help me glue my mini figs onto magnets?”

“Wanna wrap some yarn around these antlers and spray paint them gold so we can put them on a coffee table we don’t own yet?”

“I saw this on pinterest- let’s build it” “Of course I know that aged wood that big is expensive”

“Our front door should be mustard colored!!!!”

“We need stars on our bedroom ceiling. No, not the glow in the dark sticker kind.”

“Let’s get a small marlin and hang it in the bathroom!”

“Basil Grimm Jennings is the best cat name ever right!? Can we afford adopt a grumpy little fatty within the first year? Wait…you want a dog? And ducks? Are we starting a farm?”

“I’m going to want to hang my pots & pans from the ceiling. Can you buy me a drill as a housewarming gift? Oh…I guess I’ll need a stud finder then. BUT I ALREADY MARRIED YOUUUU so clearly….!!!”

How do you blend your love of ridiculously cute and your husbands love of hunting? With patience of course. And good sense of humor. And trying to figure out what your TRUE style is. Like the stuff you actually LOVE LOVE. Not like, only kinda sorta like on Tuesdays but LOVELOVE.

My TRUE style is a whole lot of:

  • kawaii
  • cat tshirts
  • leggings
  • pink fabric (but I won’t ever wear pink. unless it’s blush.)
  • halloween! gimme the orange, the black and a million apple cider candles. and candy.
  • fruity scented body wash in the summer only
  • glitter EVERYWHERE.
  • cozy

Sooooo these are things I love…WHY DO I HAVE THINGS THAT ARE THE COMPLETE OPPOSITE IN MY LIFE?! For example, I only wear gray tshirts and cat tshirts…why does my wardrobe consist of a million dresses? Dumb! I purged my closet and donated a ton. Then I started thinking about:

CRAFT STYLE!

Do you have one? You know you do! I know you do. When I look at instagram or pinterest, I can immediately pick out the majority of my friends without looking because their style is SO THEM.

Here’s my craft style:

  • I DON’T KNOW!

No. But seriously. I like to knit socks and make little patchwork. I’ve been sorting through fabric and yarn and I realized my taste is alllll over the place!

But now I’m trying to figure out what I actually like making and what I actually just like looking at. Do you do that? Have things you like to look at but when you think about actually creating them you kind of gag a little bit because the process is so uninspiring to you?

I want my crafting time to be super joyful and I want my future home to be filled with creations that are totally rad and us. For example: this week I cut out a Halloween Donut Quilt. That’s both fun & glorious because it’s Halloween AND donuts.

So yarn photos…I decided I obviously NEED a giant color affection shawl. I’ve given away almost all the shawls I knit last year and I want something halloween-y autumn-y squishy! But I can’t decide on my third color. Last year my big birthday long term project was a pair of mittens that I only wear when I need to find something at the bottom of the freezer. SO! This year it has to be something I’ll actually use a ton. Oh AND my next pair of socks will be these pirate ones. Because I’ve had the pattern for a while and I found a good gray for them in my stash. And because they look tricky awesome!

How’s this for the most random blog post ever! What is your style? Does it transfer to your crafting? What color should I use to go with the orange and the gray?

 

ps: the winner of the embroidery book is Denica! Shoot me an email so I can forward your info to Lark Books! :):)

Apr

29

Sock Sack Sewing Pattern Giveaway! CLOSED. THANK YOU!

Knitting / Quilting & Sewing  Posted by / 50 comments

It’s Monday! It’s the last week of my & Ashleigh’s small business finance class-our brains are exploding from ratios, quickbooks and cost analysis. It’s already over 90 degrees here-omg. I have a million hours of work to do this week (I’m looking at you mailchimp!) and it’s a little overwhelming so let’s do something fun k?

How about a pattern giveaway?

Last week I cast on for a new pair of socks (I went with a toe up version of these) and posted a little photo on instagram. Libby saw it and commented that I needed a sock sack. My first response was HEH? WHAT? But then I learned it’s a pretty dang cute sewing pattern by Ramona, I bought it off Craftsy and a half hour later I had a new little bag. No joke. 30 minutes. Instant gratification which is totally right up my alley lately!

I’ve already made three (one was mailed as a secret present for a friend this morning) and I’ve cut out a Halloween and a Christmas one. Yeah. I *love* project bags. I have easily a dozen box bags, several drawstring bags, etc but this is just for two at a time sock knitting which is my favorite way to knit socks. It has little snaps so you can move your yarn and a neat little divider that helps give the bag structure.

These little bags are sort of like candy, once you make one suddenly you want a dozen. I already made one for a friend but I think I’m going to make a bunch for Christmas gifts and include a skein of yarn for my knitting friends. So act surprised if you get one in the mail from me k?! ;)

Leave me a comment telling me about either your very favorite skein of yarn or pair of socks by Wednesday and I’ll randomly pick a person to win a copy of Ramona’s pattern! On Thursday I’ll announce the winner & post an embroidery book review! (but I pinkie promise that I won’t do a million giveaways-that’s not my style.)(pss: this quilt I’m taking photos on? Still not bound! I get an F ;))

Apr

22

FO: Tardis Dish Cloth, Lady Rainicorn Socks and WIPs

Knitting / Quilting & Sewing / Tutorials & Patterns  Posted by / 10 comments

A little knitting has been happening lately! Woo hoo! Clearly…pink love is continuing!

I knit my first dish cloth! That’s sort of exciting I think?! I used Cascade Pima cotton in a pretty hot pink, the pattern used to be available on Ravelry & I’d downloaded it ages ago but the designer took it down. It was a fast and fun knit! Tardis = LOVE!

This is the first pair of socks I’ve finished since my Pheasants! Sock knitting hasn’t agreed with me lately which is a bummer because I made a grand goal of knitting 12 pairs of socks this year, I think it’ll be more like…6 pairs. And that’s fine! Even just ONE pair of hand knit socks is special and an accomplishment! There is no greater pleasure than a pair of cute socks!

Details:

I cast on yesterday for some new socks. These are called…nothing yet! Haha! I can’t decide on a pattern! I LOVE these ribbed ones, I haven’t knit a pair of plain ribbed socks yet and they just look so squishy and soft!

  • Yarn- Becoming Art Agave Fingering in Hummingbird…it reminds me of zombies & halloween! IDK why!
  • Needles- Quite possibly my new favorites! The *new* Kollage Squares! They are pointy…like SHARP. And I looooove them. I’m using a size 1 with a 40 inch cord…two at a time. Dreamy!

Have you made a pair of ribbed socks? Which pattern did you use? I’m working with 64 stitches! :):)

Mar

15

Weekend Plans

Knitting / Quilting & Sewing / Stitching / The Farmer's Wife Quilt-a-Long  Posted by / 13 comments

Hey!

TGIF! TGIF! TGIF!!!!

I’m looking forward to this weekend. I don’t have anything giant planned but there is something about a Friday that makes me super excited. My only plan so far is to visit Kittle’s & look at shot guns. I heard a rumor of an early birthday gift. Not something that I normally do on a weekends but it’ll be fun. My dream right now is to own this. ;)

I got something fun in the mail, new sock yarn and new knitting needles. I saw this review of carbon needles, I wanted to give them a try in the future. I ordered the needles and the yarn from Jimmy Beans Wool on Wednesday with my JBWBucks and I was super excited that they came this morning. That’s speedy! The yarn is called Colinette Jitterbug in Paintbox, doesn’t it remind you of one of those sprinkle birthday cakes with all the bits of colored sugar inside? I sort of want to make one now! (ps: this cookbook has my favorite sprinkle cake recipe: Milk)

Isn’t that donkey knitting bag incredible? I received the most amazing pink themed package from the sweetest blog reader (Beth) who sent me things so perfect that I almost died. It was like she was in my brain. I only got a cell phone photo of the treats but I think I need to do a blog post of all the presents I’ve received lately because I have incredibly kind and generous friends. I need to figure out some things I can sew as thank you gifts. Any ideas?!

I’ve been cross stitching non stop but I’m still not any neater or faster, haha! I’ve been listening to The Discovery of Witches for the zillionth time and working on Woodland Sampler! That’s a pretty big sneak peek for April. I’ve also been working on Springtime Sampler for a few hours each morning. I’m thankful for the library’s selection of audiobooks for sure!

Actually, has anyone read Iced? I’ve recently been re-reading the Faefever series from start to finish and I’d purchased Iced when it first came out but I forgot how annoying I found Dani and only got a chapter in. Now I’m not sure if I should give it a second chance?! What did you think of it?

I found a new little storage bin at Target for my cross stitch supplies. Every Wednesday Ashleigh & I take a small business class, then afterwards sit at a local coffee shop & cross stitch. I’d been using a little gingerbread man tin I got from JoAnns but it kept exploding open in my bag. This plastic one has a lid that clamps in place. Not too shabby for $2.99! I right now carry floss for Springtime Sampler and Woodland Sampler, plus needles, scissors, highlighter tape, yada yada yada. It’s thinner than my gingerbread man tin too! If you cross stitch or craft on the go, check out Target for these. They came in gray, aqua and green. But they aren’t on Target.com :( I’d love to finish stitching week 2 of Springtime Sampler this weekend and April’s Woodland sampler this weekend!

I sadly lost my Smashbook this fall. I have no idea where it went. In February I got a new one, I went with hot pink this time. I’m hoping to add some things I’ve been collecting to it soon. Agnes sent me some Studio Calico wood veneer stars that are quite possibly the cutest things ever. Also: I love glue.

Do you notice anything pretty in these photos? A new quilt! Now I have my finished Farmer’s Wife, a scrap quilt (who’s name I can’t decide. Shoofly? Churn Dash? IDK) and now this quilt to show you! It’s not bound yet and I probably won’t bind it for a little bit, I managed to make the fun of binding a scrap quilt last over a week so I’m hoping to do the same with this one. Lindsay quilted for it and omggg. I took it out of the box and seriously almost died. I posted a photo on instagram but it doesn’t do her quilting job justice. She basically took a boring quilt and made it SING. It has this shiny pink thread that I can’t stop looking at. The wool batting is making it look extra sweet. I know, I know, all my quilts are starting to look the same. Lots of pink and neutrals. I don’t even care. As soon as I pulled it out of the box my second thought was…I WANT ANOTHER PINK QUILT FOR HER TO QUILT FOR ME. It’s an obsession.

Soooo what are you doing this weekend? Hanging out at home? Wearing leggings as pants? Eating candy? Cross stitching a new Ireland pattern? Drinking green beer? Reading a book? Gardening?!

Mar

05

Scarlet’s Quilt

Quilting & Sewing  Posted by / 13 comments

I have a very sweet friend named Tracey. She’s the first person I ever knew, in real life, through a complete duration of a pregnancy with lots of hang out time during it. I’ll never forget the anxiety I felt driving around Chico & Paradise with her when she was like, 3 months pregnant. I kept being terrified each bump would kill her. I have little (read that as zero) experience with pregnant women, babies, children, etc. If you look up “least maternal person” in an encyclopedia, you’ll see my face. For example when she told me she was pregnant at Costco one weekend, I gave her a high 5 and told her that was rad. Walking away I asked Chop if that was the appropriate response…turns out she didn’t mind and I’m thankful for that.

 Tracey was SO CUTE as a pregnant person (and obviously today she is just as cute!) she’s short and was very tan and always looked so healthy and happy. She told me all about pregnancy, her hopes for Scarlet’s birth & such. I’d touch her stomach when she’d kick and it was pretty neat. I got to hold Scarlet while she napped on me. She was very soft and incredibly warm. I was both incredibly excited to hang out with her but also terrified. I made sure Tracey tucked her into my arm and I didn’t.move.a.single.inch.

I knew I wanted to make her a baby quilt. If you look up in the same encyclopedia “most selfish crafter ever”, you’ll also see my face. I’m bad at making gifts for others, I worry that the person won’t like it or won’t appreciate it. Very, very, very few people in my life have things I’ve actually made them. I’m mean, I know. But Tracey I knew would USE a quilt and I thought it would be neat giving a quilting friend a quilt! And I wanted something special for the only baby I met!!!

So I dug through my fabrics and picked the most girly things I could ever find and went to town…a week after she was born. And Lindsay did a BEAUTIFUL job quilting it for me!

And then…it just sat. Waiting for me to sew the binding on. Which I did!!! In January. And Scarlet is one. Dictionary:Worst.Friend.EVERRRRR.

But now the quilt is at it’s new home, with an extremely adorable little girl, a cute older brother and Tracey & Jay! <3<3<3 Thanks for being patient with me!!!

Mar

04

Books I read in February + A new Kindle case

Quilting & Sewing / Random Thoughts  Posted by / 6 comments

February was a good reading month. I’m taking a knitting break and I’m too blind to cross stitch in the evenings so I spent quite a few nights tucked into a quilt on the couch reading.

I made a new case earlier in February, I had a little pile of scraps just begging to be made into SOMETHING.

The block is a 4 inch Sister’s Choice block. My previous case was super cute but too big for this kindle. The lining is a super pretty cursive fabric that Windham makes, I bought a half yard which is rare for me, I usually just buy fat quarters and I’ve used up every last bit of this print. I think when that happens I need to take note and buy a yard. The backing is this bizarre glitter wool that JoAnn’s had in their red tag section. It’s sturdy which I love. I had a few little bits of glitter floss laying around so I added a few french knots. I’m not sure why but lately I add a few hand stitches to everything I make, regardless if it needs it or not.

A few people asked which kindle I have and about the sticker. Chop got me a GelaSkin for it for Christmas, mine is called Enamored Owl! I really wanted a Lizzy House one because…um constellations on a kindle? YES PLEASE but they don’t offer her. Lame. But the quality of the skin is nice and it wasn’t hard to apply.

The kindle I have is called a Paperwhite. And it is the greatest thing on earth. This is the 4th kindle I’ve owned and I wholeheartedly love them. It drives me bonkers when people say “kindles are killing books”!!! No way! I have the bank statements to prove that I’m doing my part to keep the publishing industry in business. ;) I have the plain paperwhite, without 3G and with ads.  I actually like the ads, a lot of times I’ll find a new book that way. They are only on the screen saver and the bottom of the home screen, nothing while you are reading. The paperwhite has a built in light that I adore and you can adjust the brightness. I’ve also found the touchscreen on this is more responsive than my previous one.

OK. Let’s talk about books!

  • Golden Lily & The Indigo Spell. Oh how I wanted to *love* these but I ended up hating them. I was a huge fan of Vampire Academy but these..oi. There can’t possibly be a character I like less than Sydney. She’s made out to be perfect but she just comes across as neurotic. And dull. And practically with an eating disorder. And a martyr. Did I mention dull? By the end of Indigo Spell I was just ready to be DONE with it. I’m not going to bother with the next one.
  • The Covenant Series. I raced through these and enjoyed them. I know a lot of people call this a Vampire Academy rip off and I can partly understand, although it seems like it’s becoming a sub genre now, teens in mystical schools. The first one took me a little bit to get into but by the last book I was in love. Alex is similar in personality to Rose so reading this after Bloodlines was refreshing, I like girls with personality. ;)
  • House Rules. I love this series. I think of all vampire series, this is my very favorite. I find Merit to be awesome, I love the supporting characters and I find her relationship with Ethan to be pretty dang great. I do wish she’d held off on sharing something in this book a little longer. (I don’t want to spoil it!)
  • Sweet Evil. Not that great. I thought Anna was dull. I won’t read the sequel.
  • How to Flirt with a Naked Werewolf & How to Seduce a Naked Werewolf. Molly Harper is one of my favorites because her books are hillllllarious. I read Naked Werewolf and I listened to How to Seduce. Both are funny and a little less dark and more sweet than her Jane Jameson series. I listened to Driving Mr. Dead last month too and enjoyed it. Amanda Ronconi is so perfect for narrating her books!  (also, I just saw Driving Mr. Dead is only $1.99 right now on kindle!) I like to listen to books while I cross stitch or sew, it’s something different than music!
  • Rapture. I’m glad I finished this series, it wasn’t bad or amazing, just middle of the road!
  • Cinder and Scarlet. I read Cinder on a whim. I noticed all my goodreads friends (the 6 of them I have, lol!) read this and enjoyed it so I thought I’d give it a whirl. Good characters, neat world building. I finished it and liked it. Then I started the sequel, Scarlet and I LOVED IT. I devoured it. It was like her writing and story telling got kicked up a notch. I loved the additions of the new characters, their stories and how they inter-played with Cinder’s. I’m super excited for the 3rd in the series.
  • Kiss of Steel. Meh. Entertaining enough but not one of my favorites.
  • Fate Interrupted. Every once in a while I’ll try something everyone seems to loooove. I got lucky with Cinder (yay!) but failed miserably with this one. The premise sounds cute, girl opens a cupcake bar and is interested in a player. It’s sort of like a college girl wrote this for her creative writing class about her dream life gone wrong. Instalove (gag) but omg he’s a player (ugh) and noooo his past is coming back to hunt him (oh noes!)! Her sister is vile, imagine a locker room of 16 year old boys who just had their first coors light and you’ll get how the sister speaks. It’s so raunchy it’s completely unbelievable. And it’s not even GOOD raunchy that makes you blush, it’s the kind of raunchy that makes you feel gross and want a shower. I feel like this could have had potential but instead I felt like I wanted .99 back. Also: hugest pet peeve ever! Authors who turn novellas into two books. Don’t be lured in by the potential of cupcakes. ;)

 

This month Chop & I are doing a spending fast, we are extremely frugal right now but are curious how a complete freeze on our spending can help us by the end of the month. So no new books in March! Clockwork Princess comes out on March 19th so I’m most likely going to re-read the series, I pre-ordered the book back in August and I can’t WAITTTTT! I love this series a zillion times more than Mortal Instruments and I’m both excited and SAD that it’s coming to an end.

Also, I started reading two Kindle Serials, which auto update with new chapters. Have you guys seen these? They are pretty neat, I got two of them last month: Gooseberry Bluff Community College of Magic & Falling for Fredrick. I’m enjoying both, since you can only read a little bit at a time it makes me want to take my time and read sloooow.

And I also requested some books from the library so I have something to look forward too!

What did you read in February?

 

 

PS: You can see what I read in January here.

 

Feb

27

February is always short.

Quilting & Sewing  Posted by / 7 comments

I always forget that February is a short month, it’s here one second and then gone the next.

I’m enjoying a bit of sunshine and binding today. I’m a real sucker for a quiet afternoon. Especially when there is sunshine involved.

<3

PS: 1. I can’t stop making quilts, I learned you can fit 15 quilts in two jumbo space bags. 2. I can’t stop reading books. Thank you for your suggestions! 3. I’m obsessed with a new pattern we are working on called Springtime Sampler. 4. I’m also learning garment sewing and I sewed sleeves. For real. I’m not quite sure where all this new found sewing confidence is coming from but I’m rolling with it. 5. If I wasn’t taking a knitting break, I’d cast on for this right away. I still might, even if it takes me a million years to make it. Size 6 needles are giant compared to 0′s & 1′s right?!  6. If you are a small business, I can’t stress enough how amazing it is to sit down with a small business counselor. Ashleigh & I did and it was eye opening. Check your area. We went here. 7.  I have enough here for like, a million blog posts. Maybe since March is long I’ll talk about all this stuff. ;)

Feb

07

February Socks: Pigeonroof Studios

Knitting / Quilting & Sewing  Posted by / 9 comments

February socks!!!

I highly doubt I’ll be able to finish these this month but that’s ok! I’m totally smitten with them. I had a few false starts, I’ve knit the toes up to the increases on two other pairs before I frogged them. I’m the *worst* at being indecisive! Also, I’ve had to cut back my knitting time so I want to only work on a pair that I *love xten*!

Do you like my pig timer? I’m using him to keep track of knitting time. He cracks me up!!!! I got him at our local hardware store, I was using my phone but I sort of like the sound of the kitchen timer more. Plus it stops me from checking my phone every few minutes!

Pattern: Hermoine’s Everyday Socks + Gussett Heel Toe Up Socks + two at a time

Yarn: Pigeonroof Studios in Blossom

Needles: Signature Needle Arts- Size 1

Stitch Marker: Bacon & Eggs from Sweet & Savory Trinkets

Yarn Bowl: Heartstrings Yarn Studio

Also, today I put my Farmer’s Wife quilt on our bed, that’s it in the background of these photos. I’m pretty keen on how it looks, at first I’d planned on just putting it in my hope chest and not using it at all but it matches my duvet nicely. I’m so in love with how traditional it looks, because it obviously is a traditional quilt! I’m hoping to finish up a Civil War quilt I’m working on soon-ish to add to my traditional quilt collection.

:):)

Jan

31

Finished in 2013: Donut Quilt

Quilting & Sewing  Posted by / 21 comments

Can I share with you my very favorite new project?

Donut Quilt!!!!

I don’t really sew very many quilts so when I do, I want to love them like CRAZY and have the process make me incredibly happy.

This project? It fit the bill.

The pattern is by Johanna Masko. I’ve long admired the quilts that she designs and people at the workroom sew up. I think the main reason why I was able to sew this up so smoothly was because the pattern is written so.incredibly.well. For real. Very, very, very little waste which I *love*. Nothing drives me crazier than half way through cutting a pattern realizing I could have cut wayyy less because the cutting instructions are wonky. This was spot on without a bunch of extra scraps floating around. A total quilting newbie could make this and have a blast.

For me, this is the perfect sized quilt. I made the throw which measures 51″ x 63″. I can have it on my lap when I’m sewing, I like it as an additional layer on my side of the bed and it fits nice when I’m in the car. I’m pretty sure everyone is so sick of seeing this quilt in photos but I’m really using it a lot! And loving every second of it!

I try really hard to only use precious fabrics from my stash in my quilts and there are some real gems in this quilt. I want my personal quilts to be truly special and important to me, nothing is off limits. I guess I feel like it’s pointless to buy special fabrics, only to never use them. Dorky but true!

I used Lizzy House’s Constellations for the background because seriously, how great are these little stars? And then her pearl bracelets in cotton candy for the borders. I used some special batiks, some liberty of london, a few Japanese prints, etc. Lots of gifts from friends, I think I have a little bit of Karyn’s stash in all my sewing. I backed it with Japanese donut fabric because…how could I not?! ;)

I free motion quilted all the circles on this. I started by tracing a canner lid absolutely perfectly on top of a donut. But after doing the first bit of quilting, it looked too stiff & contrived. So I traced 8 more circles at random intervals and free motion quilted around each of them, branching off to create more rings around those. It was so hard to get photos of the quilting and I hope you don’t judge the close up photos too harshly, free motioning circles is HARD! My walking foot & I don’t get along so free motioning is where it was at. I used the oval closed toe free motion foot for Bernina, #15 if you are curious! I had the stitch length set to 3 and it seemed to work fine. I used a mix of King Tut & Aurifil in the needle & Bottom Line in the bobbin. Sadly it’s become *really* hard for me to find nice thread locally so I had to use the cream threads I had on hand and now I’m completely out! >:(

After machine quilting the circles, I went in with Cosmo Sparkle Floss in White and hand quilted little squares inside some of the donuts. I was a teeny bit nervous using a metallic thread for hand quilting but it went through the washing machine & dryer absolutely beautifully. I used a red work needle for this rather than a traditional hand quilting needle because the floss is too thick for the eye.

I used Pellon’s Nature’s Touch batting. I almost exclusively use Quilter’s Dream but my local quilt shop was out & I saw JoAnn’s had batting for 50% off. I have mixed feelings about it. I loved the weight & loft, how it washed up, how little lint it left in my machine. I didn’t love that you can almost peel the scrim away from it. At one point when I was pinning it Chop was like “is this stuff fusible? What is this?” It’s not ideal for hand quilting at all. BUT the price is decent and if you are in a pinch, it’s fine. I’d use it again if I couldn’t get Quilter’s Dream or if I had a limited budget. Which I almost always do. ;)

I raided my scrap bin for the binding. You all are so kind on saying how nice my binding looks in my previous post! I’ve been trying really hard to bind the proper way, it turns out this whole time I hadn’t been folding my corners correctly! eek! But now I think I’m on the right track :)

You can read my previous posts about the donut quilt here! & here! Phew!

My next quilt? THIS ONE! That border slays me!

<3

 ps: thanks chorp for holding my quilt so patiently. ;)