Blogger's Quilt Festival

I thought it would be a lot of fun to share a quilt for the 2013 Blogger's Quilt Festival! If you're visiting from the festival, welcome! I'm hope you enjoy your visit.

I made this quilt top right after mother-nature dropped an amazing 30" of snow outside my window. I based  my design on the "Strip and Flip" pattern over at Cluck, Cluck, Sew. I used a jelly-roll of Simply Color by V&Co for Moda, and carefully arranged the strips to create a rainbow gradient that transitioned well between darks and lights. Once I had everything laid out the top came together quickly, and the piecing provided some much needed color therapy.

Inspired by the blizzard, I backed this one in the coziest white flannel.  And to keep it perfectly soft I quilted it with a serpentine stitch. It washed up so soft and fluffy, perfect for cuddling under during a monster nor'easter.

As it turns out, this quilt is still with me even though I finished it a few weeks ago. It will be leaving for its new home soon, but I was able to snap a few refreshed photos today. I think it's just as cheery in early spring as it was in late winter. :)

Quilt Stats:
Size: A nice lap quilt, 52" x 75"
Pieced and Quilted by: Me! on my Janome Horizon.
Best Category: ROYGBIV

I hope you enjoy the rest of the Blogger's Quilt Festival and thank you so much for visiting!

Rainbows in Winter

This quilt is for a very special lady in my life; a truly amazing friend who has been there through thick and thin. I'm so excited to give it to her and her husband to be! 

I machined on the binding earlier in the week and was able to get outside today for some pictures. I was happy to get some true to color shots; natural light makes all the difference there. Plus it was really fun taking pictures of such a rainbow quilt on a dreary day.  Look how it brightens up this dark little corner :)

The backing is thick white flannel -- so cozy but *such* a hassle. Since it was flannel I pre-washed the fabric (I never ever do that!), but only after I had roughly cut the panels to size. Even though the quilt is just 50 inches across, the backing shrunk 8 inches in the wash! And then I had the hardest time piecing the backing, the damn thing just would not lay straight. And don't get me started on the basting nightmare. But, it is done now, and ever so soft and cuddly. And that serpentine stitch? Love it! The texture is divine, perfect for cuddling!

Overall, I'm really happy with how the design came out (I followed this pattern with a few small tweaks). I had to be a little careful to prevent warping in all those long seams, but it still came together easily enough. The end result  is much more impressive than the time and skill it required. In fact, I've already planned a second one for the toddler in residence. :)

Found: binding perfection

Ok, maybe not quite binding nirvana. I do wish the stripes were a little narrower, but it's surprisingly difficult to find black and white stripes. I'll certainly be keeping my eye open for some new stripes to stock up on.

And now this quilt is backed (with cozy flannel!), the basting is done, and a fancy new serpentine stitch has been programmed into my Janome. Quilting soon!

Undercover mission

2013 is filled with some very exciting weddings. Both of my sisters and one of my very best girlfriends are getting married. Obviously, these are some very important people, and I'd love to make each of them a wedding quilt. But time! Time is not my friend!  And yet, somehow, in the middle of the Blizzard of 2013 I was able to get one of the quilt tops done.

I had pre-ordered a jelly roll of Simply Color by V and Co. for Moda, but then proceeded to stare at it for months. It was nearly impossible to take it out of its wrapping --  it was so perfect all wrapped up! But then, Saturday morning I woke up to thirty (30!!!) inches of snow outside my window and (I kid you not!) a four foot snow drift against the front door. My whole body must have screamed "rainbows, now!" because  I overcame my fear of the world's-most-beautiful-jelly-roll pretty quickly  :)

I started with Cluck Cluck Sew's "Strip and Flip" pattern, but made a few modifications.  Inspired purely by laziness I used  2.5 inch strips, instead of 2 inches.  In keeping with the slightly larger scale, I used 2 inch strips for the white vertical lines. And lastly, I added on quite a few extra strips to the top and bottom to make the quilt lap size --  my final quilt is 48 x 66 inches or so.

I definitely spent a good amount of time obsessing over which strips would go where. It was pretty tricky to arrange them so that there was a smooth color transition, while also balancing darks and lights.  I'm really happy with the final layout, though there were a few happy accidents that happened in the "flip." See how the orange chevrons meet up with the purple chevrons? I wish I could say that was planned or a stroke of genius, but it wasn't :) It's so cheery and happy, just like it's future owner. I can't wait to give it to her!

Now I just have to find the perfect binding/backing... and make sure this quilt stays a secret!