Baby Love

Talk about timing! If I were to have another baby (don't worry honey, I am definitely NOT having another baby), the timing would be perfect for this quilt for Valentine's Day - and I didn't even plan it that way. It's called "XOBaby!" and it's making its appearance now in the March/April 2014 edition of McCall's Quilting.

"XOBaby!", McCall's Quilting, March/April 2014



I made a pink version and a blue version for the magazine and my good friend and long-arm quilter, Nikki Crisp did the lovely quilting on these. She did a great job, as always, and I really like the swirly pattern she chose.



"XOBaby!", McCall's Quilting, March/April 2014

Here's a close up of the blue version:

 

You need to see the blue version in the magazine though because there's a real cutie-patootie modeling with it in the picture. (Not one of my cuties - they are both too old!) McCall's also included a free sweet pillow version of the pattern - also available on line. Nice! I may have to make one of those too!

These blocks are quick and very versatile. I liked the fact that you make each X and O with four of the same components so you don't have to decide too early in your process which blocks will be which, know what I mean? Just make them all up, lay them out wherever you like the fabric, and then commit them to either the X or the O block.

I'm also a bit of a rick-rack junkie and have used it several times. It adds a playful element that I like, especially on quilts for kids. For this project, I used the 1 1/2" jumbo rick-rack on the borders. You could just stitch straight down the middle, and for a narrower rick-rack, I might do that. But for the jumbo, I like to stitch down both edges so that it will still lay flat after washing.

I found the rick-rack at a favorite LQS in Bellingham called Fabric-Etc., and they just got a bunch more in too! Oh, the possibilities!

Well, I hope you have someone sweet in your life to quilt for - today and every day.

Happy Valentine's Day stitching,

Tonya

Spiral quilting

Wow! I had so much fun trying this (new to me) technique for spiral quilting this past week. Amanda Jean Nyberg had a great tutorial on her blog Crazy Mom Quilts. I had a different quilting design in mind for this particular quilt but the more I thought about the spiral technique, the more I thought it would be a better design choice for my quilt - and I really wanted to try it!

I liked this technique for several reasons: 1. I could handle it on my home machine,  2. No marking necessary, and 3. Its modern, clean design worked well with my scrappy top. After finishing the quilting I would also add 4. It actually gets easier as the spiral grows and gets wider. Amanda Jean made it look pretty manageable so I took the plunge.

 

I pin-basted and marked the center circle and beginning of the spiral with a chalk pencil to get started. You can see in the close up shot, as I followed the spiral around, I just eyeballed the distance from my presser foot. I added approximately 1/4" so the space between the spiral lines ended up being about 3/4". It's not perfect, but I'm o.k. with how it turned out.

I'm so glad I tried this. I'm really pleased with the results and I will definitely use this again. Two thumbs up. Thanks Crazy Mom! The backing fabric on this is from Amy Butler called Midwest Modern.

Happy spiral stitching,

Tonya

Stamp of Approval

Sharing a new quilt - what a great way to start the new year! I can't believe we're almost in February already! This is "Stamp of Approval" and it will be featured in the April 2014 issue of American Patchwork & Quilting. It's my take on a postage stamp quilt - well, half-ways anyway!

“Used with permission from American Patchwork & Quilting® magazine. ©2014 Meredith Corporation. All rights reserved.”

I love antique postage stamp quilts but find the million-plus little one inch squares a little daunting. Our quilting predecessors were champions of using every last scrap, right down to the little one inch squares that would be scrimped, saved and stitched together. A postage stamp quilt was a badge of honor reflecting its maker's frugality and resourcefulness during hard times and could take many, many years to make.

Mine, not so much. I came up with the center blocks that are inversions of each other so I would only have to make half as many! I also used strip-set piecing to make them go together a lot quicker. Lazy, maybe, but I do like the result. Originally, I only had planned to make the center but once I got that far I felt like it just needed a little somethin'-somethin' so that's where the leaf and vine border came in. It framed whole project and gave just enough curve and flow to an otherwise very linear grid design.

“Used with permission from American Patchwork & Quilting® magazine. ©2014 Meredith Corporation. All rights reserved.”

Just about any project that will eat up some of my scraps is sure to be one of my favorites and this one was no exception. After falling for the aqua blue in a previous project, I was bound and determined to use it again, this time in a big dose. I pulled out all of my 1 1/2" scrap strips (the smallest size I usually keep) and then filtered them down to just the ones that looked like colors you would find in an Easter basket. To up the scrap-factor in my quilts, I usually expand my search to a color category instead of a single color and I am usually pretty pleased with what the additional scraps bring to the party.

The finished quilt measures 63"x 63" and the lovely quilting was done by my friend and wonderful, long-arm quilter Tracey. Thanks also go to my quilting buddy Yvonne, who gave me the idea for stitching down the yo-yo "berries" in the border using decorative embroidery stitches on my machine. There is a nice detail shot and also a quilt diagram in the magazine spread.

I have been told that this issue hits the newsstands and goes out to subscribers the first week in February. So while "Stamp of Approval" is not a cover girl, she's still one of my favorites! Hope you enjoy it too!

“Used with permission from American Patchwork & Quilting® magazine. ©2014 Meredith Corporation. All rights reserved.”

Happy stitching,

Tonya

Selvage storage story

Once upon a time, there was a happy quilter with a possible hording anxiety that had an over-abundance of fabric selvages (and other massive quantities of misshaped scraps.) You know, those lovely little strips of dots and print that are just on the edge of your fabric that are considered to be juvenile delinquents by the quilt police where tension and shrinkage are concerned, but just too good to throw away. The possibilities!

With the new year demanding out with the old and in with the new - she couldn't bear it. So she devised a plan that would (a) hide/store some of her selvages (b) be quick and easy to make and (c) actually use some of the precious beauties in a fun way for her sewing-room-that-is-really-the-guest-room.

One day (about four years ago - but we'll forgive her this) the happy quilter picked up some plain brown stacking hat boxes at a garage sale for a song. With a dream and a vision for what could become of them, but not exactly a lot of determination to get it done, she took them home and there they sat on the shelf, plain, brown and sad, until.....

Armed with some of her precious selvages, some decoupage glue and foam brush she set to work...

Just a little glue on the back of the strips, overlapping and cutting as she saw fit. (A protected work surface is highly recommended. Wax paper does the trick.) Covering the top of the strips with another coat of glue to seal the deal...

The tops were a cinch, now to tackle the sides! Oh, the joy! The selvages were flooding out of the box at an exhilarating pace!...

When the plain, brown, sad boxes were completely covered and transformed by the lovely selvages, she let them sit overnight to dry. In the morning, she awoke to beams of sunshine and the sound of robins on her windowsill (not really, it is winter on the tundra after all!) She proceeded to add some die-cut chalkboard label stickers (she found in the wonderful land of Target) so she could actually look even more organized in her sewing-room-that-is-really-the-guest-room.

 

With her project complete and labels for jelly rolls, fat quarters and charm squares secured, she stuffed them full with a smile on her face and a song in her heart. A place for everything and everything in its place.

Of course, those selvage-lovers among us know what was really inside the little gems, but we'll just let that be our little secret. And she lived happily ever after.

Happy selvage-stitching!

Tonya

 

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone!  Hope Santa brings you something stitchy in your stocking!

A visit to the Fourth Corner Quilt blog

We are very fortunate quilters in my neck of the woods. We have lots of great quilt shops to frequent, hang out in and feed our passion. And when I say lots - I mean lots, as in no fewer than 10 shops within a 20 mile radius from where I live! Each one unique and bringing their own style and contributions to my addiction to love of quilting.

One of those great shops is Fourth Corner Quilts in Bellingham and I was a recent guest on their blog. Check it out and be sure to stop in the shop if you're up in the "tundra"(as my parents refer to it.)

Happy stitching!

Tonya

Pattern correction

Apologies and a pattern correction are in order! I found out today there is a measurement error in my Time to Sew clock pattern that appears in the Winter 2013 issue of Quilter's World.

The Dresden fan blades should be 3 1/2" not 5". Completely my fault. I used some leftover blades from another project and they originally measured 5". I wrote the directions a while after making it and forgot I trimmed them down to 3 1/2" so they would fit in the frame! Lesson learned!

If you are using the template from the magazine,  just measure 3 1/2" from the bottom of the blade and trim the extra from the top.

My sincere apologies!
Tonya