5/31/2014

Art Gallery Littlest Quilt

I have been wanting to make a whole cloth quilt and I needed a quick gift. I love the prints in Art Gallery's new Littlest line. I chose my two favorite prints along with some Pure Elements Grapefruit from one of my favorite shops, For Sew It Seams. Melissa is carrying some Art Gallery now, she also has many other wonderful fabrics and her prices are great. I always like to share where I get my fabrics from. These little shops are all so kind, they deserve a shout out! :)
Anyway, I only got three shots.
The front:
 It is quilted in a 3.5 inch grid. I find it strange that one direction or the other of quilting always disappears in the photos. Another reason I'm camera hunting. Have I mentioned lately that I dislike my camera! Moving on.
An upclose of the cute little bunnies:
And the back:
I really, really love this panel print, it's so pretty! I also love binding with Art Gallery fabrics. It goes so smooth and easy. I literally can be done in about half the time because I'm not fiddling with annoying frays that are in the way. It lays so flat and cooperates so well. Sorry if I have mentioned that before, but it's true!
I thought making a whole cloth quilt would be so fun and rewarding. I discovered, for me, it just wasn't! I felt like I was cheating. It just isn't the same as making a regular quilt. There are some GREAT whole cloth quilts out there that I adore, so no offense to their great makers! I will probably make another someday. There will be other prints I love and don't want to cut up. However, this definitely isn't my "thing".
This quilt finished at 40 x 43. The recipient likes gray and pink, so this came pretty close. It's more peach than pink, but it's still cute.
I'm debating now if I want to do an Art Gallery Tule lap quilt or a Kate Spain Daydreams mini. We shall see...thanks for stopping by!
Linking up to Show Off Saturday at Sew Can She

5/30/2014

Some New Storage Pieces

I have a few quick things to share with you all today. And yes, they are cell phone pictures for today, sorry!
Quite awhile back I was with my husband at the scrap yard and spotted some iron fence pieces. I immediately saw a quilt ladder in my mind. They had many layers of paint and gunk on them. My husband finally got them stripped down. He cut them up and re welded it back together to make it a usable size for me!
Now it needs cleaned with acetone and I have to choose a paint color. I just can't decide between white or black?? I will be using this for taking photos also, so what color would you choose?

I spotted this dresser at an antique store in town. I thought it would be great for my sewing room! It's all wood, so that's a plus. I have been wanting storage for my vintage feed sacks and fabrics.
I had originally planned to use this for a cutting area. It was just a bit short, depth wise, for my cutting mat. So I turned it into an ironing area instead. My tabletop ironing pad had become very dirty and stained, so while I was waiting for my husband to pick this up, I made a new cover.
I used a piece of fabric I had found on one of my SAS trips. It really doesn't match well, but I won't use it in any of my quilts, so I used it up. I made this ironing board when I first started sewing. I found this tutorial from Missouri Quilt Co. if anyone's interested.

The last find I have to share is a stainless steel shelf. My husband also found a bunch of these at the scrap yard, still in the box unassembled.
The guys said Walmart had throw them all out. They were display stands for coconut water! They are brand new and very sturdy. They even had the pieces of hard plastic to lay on the shelves so nothing falls through. I was so glad he got these. He paid like $4.00 a piece for them! I officially have more storage pieces than I can fit in my sewing room :)
Now I'm off to try and get some decent pictures of my whole cloth Art Gallery Littlest quilt finish. See you soon, have a great weekend everyone!

5/24/2014

I'm Back & A Finish!

Hello friends! I hope everyone is having a safe and enjoyable holiday weekend.
I am planning to be back in business again with regular sewing and blogging. If you follow me, you will know life got pretty messy for me and my family. Between the loss of my brother, several family health problems and my own health issues, it was not a pleasant time. I had surgery number 2, and I'm doing much better now!
I feel like it's been forever since I had a quilt finish. I have finished up my quilt using Reunion by Sweetwater.

I've been collecting Sweetwater fabrics for quite awhile now and decided it was time to use some up.
I have been having a real fit with my camera lately (it's time for a new one, any suggestions??) and it's muddy and wet today so pictures didn't come out so great. The only one I was able to capture of the entire quilt ended up with a big brown line through the center UGH. So partial shots will just have to do.
I pulled the reds, blues and greens that I had from my Reunion collection for this quilt. I just love these colors. There is a simple tutorial at Quilting In The Rain I based mine off of. I did change my sizing a bit. I wanted this to end up 50 x 70, but as always, it came up about an inch short both directions. No matter how accurately I piece and cut, this always happens to me.
It's so nice to be sewing again! And this quilt is just a happy quilt :)
I quilted straight lines on both sides of each seam, then diagonal through each block. I always feel the need to stay close to my seams, to secure them better. It's a personal OCD thing. I can't wait to learn free motion, so I can just let the designs flow!
I used my last package of Warm n White on this one. Now I have that whole big roll I got for Christmas that I can't wait to use from this post. I love the softness and drape of it! I used Gutermann white cotton for piecing and quilting. I chose a red print from Reunion for the binding.

I had small strips left from cutting the blocks, so this is what I put into the back. Nothing fancy, but I didn't have to use anymore of my stash either :) I didn't get a good shot of the back either, sorry.
I think this quilt will be a gift, for a very special person, that really deserves it. She probably won't even care there are a few flaws in this one!
Hope you are all doing well and I hope you will find your way back to me after my absence! I will be back in a couple days to share some fun new storage finds I have acquired. Along with some fun new fabrics and a baby quilt I should be done with by Monday evening.
Here's a sneak peek!
Thanks for dropping by friends, see you soon!
Linking up to Sewjo Saturday at My Go-Go Life and Fabric Frenzy Friday at Fort Worth Fabric Studio. Also my first time linking up to Fabric Tuesday at Quilt Story!