Friday, December 27, 2013

The Twelve Months of Quilting, 2013

This year, I decided to do a retrospective of many of the quilts I completed in 2013. I had lots of fun going through my photos, and playing with the Pic Collage app. Inspired by the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas", here is my "The Twelve Months of Quilting, 2013". Enjoy!

In the twelfth month of 2013, my true love gave to me..

Twelve "Hip to Be Square" quilts...

Eleven patchwork squares quilts...

Ten "Bonnie and Camille" quilts...

Nine Ahoy Matey and Vroom quilts...

Eight Kate Spain quilts...

Seven coins quilts...

Six Seuss quilts...

Five Grinch quilts..

Four "When the Stars Align" quilts...

Three Joel Dewberry quilts...

Two Martinique quilts...

And one very large T-shirt Quilt!

Yes, it has been a very busy and productive year!

Linking up with Thank Goodness It's Finished Friday at Sew Fresh Quilts, and Can I Get A Whoop Whoop at Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

 

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Twenty-Five Quilts, Day 25

It has been quite a month of quilts!

When I decided to issue myself the challenge of blogging about 25 quilts during the month of December, I had no idea how much I would be able to accomplish in this very busy month!

I actually began the month with a series of scheduled blog posts of quilts I had completed prior to December 1 (I think there were 7 or 8). I also had a few completed tops that were ready for quilting, and a few quilts that just needed binding. By mid-December, however, I was running short on both time and completed quilts! The challenge motivated me to power through and keep on finishing!

So, today's post is actually about a quilt-in-progress that is a Christmas gift to myself. This summer, I won a PB & J jelly roll from a giveaway hosted by Sherri of A Quilting Life. I wanted to do something special with the jelly roll, so I decided on a Scrappy Trips quilt.

I also decided that I needed a quilt with minky on the back, to keep me warm during late fall soccer games, and early spring baseball games. So the final size of the quilt was dictated by the width of the minky. I chose a layout of 30 blocks (5 x 6), which I made from two jelly rolls and six fat quarters.

By the way, if you decide to make this quilt from jelly rolls, you can make a bonus coins quilt from leftovers like the one I blogged about yesterday. Cut each jelly roll strip in half (approx 21 inches long). Piece your strips sets with six strips. Before you sew the strips into a tube, as per the instructions, cut a five inch piece off the strip set and set aside. I sewed three of these together to make a row of coins for a baby quilt.

I completed the top today, and hope to have it quilted by tomorrow morning!

I hope to bring this quilt on a long train ride tomorrow night, to visit family in Indianapolis. I'd like it to serve the dual purpose of entertaining me (hand sewing the binding) and keeping me cozy as I sleep on the train!

Happy holidays to you and yours, and thanks for joining me on this journey of quilts! To read about the journey from the beginning, start here!

 

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Twenty-Five Days of Quilts, Day 24

Only one day left in my Twenty-Five Quilts blogging challenge!

This is another "leftovers" quilt -- it was pieced from the scraps of the quilt I'll be blogging about tomorrow!

I love coins quilts for using up scraps -- this one was made from leftover jelly roll pieces.

The collection is PB & J by Basic Grey for Moda fabrics. My favorite print is the alphabet design I used on the back.

I finished hand-sewing the binding tonight while watching "A Christmas Story" -- a Christmas Eve tradition!

 

Monday, December 23, 2013

Twenty-Five Quilts, Day 23

Today's quilt is another "leftovers" quilt -- a scrappy patchwork Dr. Seuss quilt:

I cut these squares out as I was piecing tumbler quilts this summer, but they sat in a pile until this weekend!

Once I finally laid them out, the top came together quickly!

This weekend was perfect quilting weather -- I stayed warm and cozy inside the house, while an ice storm came through our area:

 

 

Sunday, December 22, 2013

Twenty-Five Quilts, Day 22

I know this fabric collection will look familiar, since I just blogged about a matching tumbler quilt a few days ago!

As I mentioned, I love the Fox Trails collection, but at this point, I am really trying to use up what I have. This is the second of three tops I completed over Thanksgiving, and I still have enough for at least one more top.

You can never go wrong with a simple scrappy patchwork squares design!

I had just enough binding fabric, but I really didn't have a large enough piece for the backing. Instead, I was able to use up some strips of various widths to piece a fun backing. I will need to order a little more backing/ binding yardage to finish up the next two Fox Trails quilts, however!


 

Saturday, December 21, 2013

Twenty-Five Quilts, Day 21

Today's Twenty-Five Quilts challenge entry is another Dr. Seuss quilt -- except this time, it's The Cat in the Hat!

I didn't really have a plan for this quilt -- it just sort of evolved! I purchased the inner panel this fall, but it was very long and narrow, so I wasn't sure what to do with it.

I already had the scrappy inner border pieced, so I added a turquoise frame around the panel, and attached the scrappy border.

I considered leaving it that size, but then decided to add the outer border to make it a more usable size.

I had purchased this minky backing for a different quilt, but it seemed to be perfect for this one instead!

 

 

Friday, December 20, 2013

Twenty-Five Quilts, Day 20

I am nearing the end of my Twenty-Five Quilts Blogging Challenge!

In case you're wondering, no, I haven't been making a quilt every day this month! However, the majority of the quilts were completed in December, so it has been a busy month of sewing!

Over Thanksgiving break, I completed several tops, one of which was this Fox Trails tumbler quilt.

I really do love this collection, especially since it's one of those rare gender-neutral fabric lines. However, I've made many, many quilts out of it, and at this point, my goal is to use up what I have left!

For the backing, I used one of the large scale camping prints. I have another Fox Trails top to quilt, but I'm short on the backing, so I may get creative and use up some additional scraps on the back!

Linking up to Amanda Jean's Finish it up Friday!

 

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Twenty-Five Quilts, Day 19

Here it is --- the final Grinch quilt of the season!

This one is extra-cute because it has a little label:

I must admit -- I'm ready for a little break from Mr. Grinch!

 


 

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Twenty-Five Quilts, Day 18

While I was quilting the pinwheels quilt this weekend, I remembered that I had purchased this faux patchwork fabric, and decided to quilt it.

This is from the Set Sail organic collection for Birch Fabrics.

I paired it with a fun red striped binding from the Scrumptious collection.

A quick and satisfying finish!

 

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Twenty-Five Quilts, Day 17

When I started my Etsy shop four years ago, one of the first quilts I put up for sale was this blue, tan and white zig zag quilt:

 

I had enough fabrics to make a second one, so I put the bundle in my to-do basket, thinking it would get finished in the near future.

Fast-forward almost four years: I find the bundle in my sewing room, and decide to get the top made!

I forgot what a fun and easy pattern this is. It came together easily in an afternoon (pattern comes from Eleanor Burns' Quick Trip Quilts book).

I'm so glad this quilt finally made it out of the WIP pile

 

Monday, December 16, 2013

Twenty-Five Quilts, Day 16

This quilt as been a long time in the making (and it's not quite finished yet -- I still have to finish the binding on one edge)!

I first blogged about it in June -- I was inspired to make some blocks after working on a vintage quilt for a colleague.

The fabrics are all from Denyse Schmidt's Blossom Hill collection for Joann Fabrics. In fact, I was really excited to see my blocks on her Facebook page after I blogged about them!

I finally finished all of the blocks and assembled the top this fall, only to discover that I needed more backing fabric, so the top sat for several more weeks.

I think the grey polka dot sashing is my favorite part!

A pattern for this quilt is in the works -I'll let you know as soon as it's ready!