Madrona Road Quilt

I can’t believe I managed to finish this quilt with almost two weeks to spare. But somehow, I did!

What’s crazy is this wasn’t from an actual pattern, just a short description of the construction and a photograph. I can safely say I impressed myself on this one. (click images to enlarge)

Violent Craft is the designer of the Madrona Road line of fabric, and Michael Miller offered a challenge to the Modern Quilt Guilds.  We accepted, so they sent us a bunch of fabric, which we cut down into packs of fabric.  Our challenge was to construct a quilt 12″ x 12″ or larger. No other rules other than including only solids, no other prints.  Our big “reveal” is Saturday, Feb. 2 at our next Guild meeting.  Violet Craft is also selecting a winner from the Flicker Group, and the winner will receive a gift pack.  I believe I read that Michael Miller is also selecting quilts to hang in their booth at QuiltCon next month.  How exciting!

Anyway, I had a lot of fun with this quilt, in spite of it’s challenges.  I had to kind of figure out how to do parts of it on my own. I just felt this was the perfect line of fabric for a design like this.  I loved the line so much, I went on Etsy and ordered a bundle of fabric from the pink/orange/red colorway (we received only yellow/blue/black/gray).  I’m so glad I did.  It was nice to have an excuse to work with something outside of Moda, Kona, or Riley Blake.

I kept the back fairly simple, which I’ve come to adore. I just used scraps of the fabric to form a strip down the middle.  I love that I had great scraps left over.

 

 

If the sun keeps shining, I’m going to get some better pictures of the quilt, outside in natural light, preferably.

Piece of My Heart

I couldn’t have been more elated when I received word that my best friend from high school was expecting his first baby with his wife.  Oh, the joy, knowing that experience from myself.  Without going into too much detail, little Jacob was only with us on earth for 7 days.  Getting that news was… I can’t even put it to words. I cried for days for my friend and his family. It was made harder by being 600 miles away, unable to stand by my friend, unable to attend memorial services. I did a lot of holding Aaron and thinking of their grief. Such a helpless, helpless feeling.

I had already pieced a Lil Twister heart and put borders on for Jacob for his baby quilt. I sat for a few weeks, trying to decide what to do about this quilt. Do I finish the quilt and send it to them?  That seemed… awful. To send a baby quilt at a time of grief.  And yet, it felt as though this quilt should be preserved in some fashion.

So, I took Jacobs quilt top and made it bigger, with lots of log cabin borders (click images to enlarge).

 

 

But instead of just sending a baby quilt, I decided to make it into a family quilt for my friend, his wife, and their two girls.  So I used the Twister tool to make a big heart on the front.

 

 

To finish the quilt, I added a personalized label with a nice passage that has always been of comfort to me.  When Jacob passed, a large community of people released red balloons into the air in his memory, so I made this the background of the label.  I wish I had better quality pictures, but I literally snapped these minutes before boxing up the quilt to get it into the mail.

 

I know a quilt is just a quilt, but it’s times like these I hope that this little something I can do will bring some comfort over the years.  It is such an honor to be a part of Jacob’s memorial.

Thoroughly Modern Quilts

I can’t believe the time is here.  The East Cobb Quilt Guild, one of the largest quilt guilds in Georgia if not the largest, approached us a few months ago and asked if we would like to collaborate on quilt exhibit to showcase modern quilts. Um, yes, please! This is a big deal for our guild.  It feels as if we’ve been accepted into the fold.  Amazing, wonderful people have been working hard to put together this exhibit.  It opened this week, and runs through the end of February at the Mable House in Mableton, Georgia.  You can find more information about the exhibit here.

I thought long and hard about the kind of quilt I would want to submit to an exhibit that showcases modern work.  I am a modern quilter, but I have a lot of traditional tendencies in my blood.  I love a visually strong quilt, though.  I searched high and low for something modern that really represented me.  To say I’m “vintage” is an understatement.  I love anything from the 40s through the late 60s.

And somehow, I managed to work my vintage tendencies into a modern quilt.  Emily Cier of Carolina Patchworks is genius. I love this pattern, and I gave it that late 60s feel with my color choice.  The pattern is called “Ascend”.

After the exhibit, this quilt is going to hang in our new living room.  I rarely keep a quilt for myself, and I’m not used to having walls to hang quilts on.  the living room is even being painted a beautiful deep green that coordinates nicely with this quilt.  I can hardly contain myself!

The Front (click on image to enlarge):

 

 

 

 

Back (click to enlarge):

 

 

 

 

Good Fortune Quilt

I have a dear friend who has been through a lot the last year or so.  Her husband is in the military and it seems when he isn’t on a ship, he’s deployed.  They just made a move across the country (with a two-year-old at the time) when she was pregnant with her second.  She knew no one when she got there, and only had a few weeks until her planned homebirth.  It seemed there was one thing after another.  It’s hard being a friend that is thousands of miles away, with no ability to do anything to help, other than say, “I’m here for you!”  Such a powerless, helpless feeling.  I just wanted to hug her, watch her daughter so she could get a much-needed nap or a shower, and give her some adult conversation.

The newest family member is here, and now daddy is basically gone for the next year.  Having had her family on my mind for awhile, I decided to put my energy to use and make them a quilt.  Given that they love anything rainbow colored, I searched high and low for rainbow fabric to make a quilt, but I just couldn’t find something that felt right.

Then I remembered the Good Fortune line by Kate Spain.  No, not technically rainbow, but close.  And such beautiful, rich colors.  I eyeballed the layer cake, and remembered the Ruby, Pearl and Opal pattern I found on Moda’s Bake shop and fell in love.  I knew it had to be.

Cutting up the layer cake was as fun as I thought it would be (yes, I actually like cutting!).  While the fabric didn’t do much to speak to me when I first saw it, cutting it into smaller pieces and distributing it throughout the quilt really changed my mind about it – completely. I fell in love with the rich colors, the purple, lime and aqua especially.

 

(click for a larger view)

 

 

Once the quilt top came together, I set to work on the backing.  I had actually used the scraps from the front to piece a long strip that was meant to go down the center of the quilt, but I completely forgot about it until the backing was all together.  Oh well, I’ll find a use for it!  I have to admit, this may be one of my most favorite pieced backs ever. It’s just so… bright. And lovely.

 

I didn’t get a good picture of it, but I used a bit of a whimsical motion for the quilting.  I think it was just right for the design.  I picked Mulberry for the binding, which is almost an exact match to the purple color in the Good Fortune line.

 

I wish I’d taken more pictures, and better pictures, but I was under a time crunch because I just wanted to get this quilt to her.  She knew I was sending some burp clothes and cloth wipes that were leftover from the ones I made when Aaron was born, but she didn’t have a clue I’d made her family a quilt.

I only wish I could’ve delivered in person. That would’ve been fantastic.

She sent me a picture the night she got it, and it’s one I will cherish for as long as I live – a picture of her babies with the quilt.  I know this quilt is going to get lots of love : )

 

Tshirt Lap Quilt

I’m a little (okay, a lot!) behind on my posts, especially where completed quilts are concerned.  I’ve got a lot going at the moment with quilt obligations, so it doesn’t occur to me to stop and post the pictures.

I recently completed a tshirt quilt for my sister and brother-in-law.  My BIL is kind of known for his great tshirts, so it was fun doing this one. I also love the Kona colors I used, as most of the tshirts had the same tone to them.  This quilt ended up being 62″ x 62″ (if I remember correctly), so a nice-sized lap quilt.  I used Steel and Cadet for the borders and sashing, and Basil for the binding.

 

Here’s a close-up:

 

 

 

I wish I’d had a chance to take more pictures. We were going through a rainy cycle of weather, and we were able to capture these two between storms. I couldn’t even get a picture of the back because it started to rain. The back was wonderful – a nice, soft, cozy, manly flannel down the back, flanked on either side by the Steel Kona I used on the front.

Rumor has it the whole family loves it, and the kids often fight over it : )

If you would like information on having your tshirts or other clothing made into a memory quilt, please see my information page. Feel free to contact me with any questions.