twin size

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What would you do?

April 4, 2010 in Quilts | 7 comments

First, as for the yarn… you guys are totally right, and I’m going to send most of it to Susan V for her charity knitting. Hooray!

So, as I was going through my yarn, the kids got curious and asked about it. My husband was telling them that it’s used to make hats and sweaters, and that Mommy once made Daddy a PIRATE sweater! (It’s true – it’s black and has white skull & crossbones on the arms.)  The kids got all excited and asked when I was going to make them a sweater.  And while I’m all done on knitting right now, I informed them that I would, in fact, be making them each a quilt.  I even showed them the pile of fabrics.

The trouble is, now my daughter pitifully asks me a few times a day, “where’s my quiiiiilt?”

So, I guess I’d better get started.  And that’s where I need your help.  Here’s where we’re starting:

Far Far Away FQ Set

I bought this fat quarter bundle of Far Far Away almost a year ago, and knew I would use it for my daughter’s big-girl quilt.  But, of course, I’m stalled with indecision and haven’t yet dared to cut into it.

I’ve got coordinating solids, especially in pinks & purples, to go with it. I’ve got scraps I can pull in.  It will be a twin-sized bed quilt, and I’m leaning towards something with more solid-color space and fewer blocks. Maybe. But what kind of blocks? How many of them? How big? Where do I begin??

What would you do? Any favorites you’ve seen in the blogosphere or on Flickr that you think would be just perfect?  Should I just do straight patchwork squares and be done with it?  Should I do completely different front and back so it’s reversible?  Gah!  That’s the trouble with quilting.  The possibilities are nearly endless.

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Vacation Finish #1

August 10, 2009 in Binding, Finished Objects | 5 comments

I brought three quilts on vacation with me so I could finish the binding while I was away from my machine.  Naturally, they were all done before the first week was over, so I’ve been twiddling my thumbs ever since!  Good thing I didn’t have internet access for much of the last week, or I probably would have gone on a fabric shopping spree in my withdrawal from all things sewing.

The first of the three finishes was a custom order from a blog friend.  She wanted a pink and brown ragged square quilt for her daughter’s move to a big-girl bed.

Pink & Brown Ragged Square

It was quite a variety of fabrics, but I think it turned out pretty well. I added a solid pink border (Kona Cotton in Carnation) because it needed a few more inches in order to drape well over a mattress.

Ragged Square - Back

The back is solid brown (I believe it was Kona Cotton in Mocha) and a lighter solid pink that I found at Joann’s, with a little stripe of one of the prints from the front, which I believe is from the Moda Sultry line.

Ragged Square - Folded

The binding is more of that Moda Sultry print. Not only did I love it, but Fabric.com sent me a full two yards of it when I only ordered a half, so I had plenty!

I had some stern words for this thing when I was quilting it, but it all worked out in the end and it sounds like recipient was darn pleased with it, so that’s all that matters!

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My first finished quilt-along

July 12, 2009 in Binding, Finished Objects, Quilt-Along | 9 comments

It’s amazing what you can accomplish when you aren’t in your own house.

At home, when the kids are sleeping, there’s a million things to do (laundry, dishes, etc.) and a million things to just plain distract me (computer, DVR, other sewing projects).  But when you’re at your in-laws’ house and the kids are passed out and your in-laws are the fairly sedate type?  You can just hand-sew that binding like it’s your job.  And that’s what I did.

A bit of binding

And barely more than 24 hours later, I had this:

ORBCo Quilt - Finished!

That’s right, the ORBCo quilt is finished!  I’m really happy with it.  The fabrics are crazy and groovy and bright and happy. I credit a fellow quilt-along-er for inspiration on the added border, which I like a lot, in part because it makes it easy to find the top/bottom of the quilt. The swirly pink quilting is really subtle on the front, and really just adds some texture without taking away from the pattern itself.  It’s delightfully soft and crinkly after a nice run through the washer and dryer.

ORBCo Finished - back

I am super, super happy with the back.  With such a loud front, I’m glad I went with a cool, simple back.  The pink thread shows up quite a bit on the dark gray backing (Kona Cotton in Coal), and the slightly-off-center strip (leftover squares from the original strip sets on either side of a few inches of the Wallflower print) pops out really nicely.

ORBCo Finished, folded

The binding is more of the pink/gray Wallflower print with some extra solid gray.  I had around a half yard left over of each after making the front borders and the backing, and I really didn’t want to have to buy any more fabric for the binding.  I needed about nine strips for it, and got seven out of the Wallflower, so just threw in some gray here and there.  I think it works.

ORBCo Finished

I’m not sure what the post-washing dimensions are, but pre-washing it was about 71″ x 91″.  A very generous twin and the largest quilt I have ever made.  I have to say I am really proud of it.

The quilt-along itself was a lot of fun.  The week-by-week instructions were good for new folks, and the Flickr group was a ton of fun to see what other people were doing and exchange stories and advice and compliments and encouragement. In fact, everyone had such a great time that they’re starting another quilt-along: a zig-zag!  I’m sorely tempted, but I think I really need to stick to the rest of the items on my to-do list at the moment.  So many quilts, so little time…

At any rate, I’m thrilled that it’s done. I have no idea what I’m going to do with it, now, especially seeing that there are no twin-sized beds in my house. But that’s really a very minor concern, don’t you think?

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Intimidation

June 22, 2009 in Quilt-Along, Quilting | 8 comments

I’m afraid of my own quilt.

Veteran quilters, excuse my drama, but this is far and away the largest thing I’ve ever made. I had to move all of the furniture off to the side in my dining room, just so I’d have room to pin it. Note to self: this is the largest quilt I am allowed to make as long as I live in this house.

Backing

I had some helpers, once they woke up from nap. Nothing so helpful as two toddlers and a dog when you’re trying to keep things neat and even.

Helper A

Helper B

So far, pre-quilting and pre-washing, it measures just about 71″ x 91″. Not bad, only about an inch off from what it theoretically “should” measure… but holy crap is that big! It weighs about 6 pounds, which doesn’t sound like much, but it certainly feels heavy as hell.

Pins in

It’s all pinned and trimmed and ready to quilt…. if I could just a) decide how I’m going to quilt it and b) get up the courage to start.

So, how would you quilt this thing? The backing is mostly a solid slate gray, and that same gray is present in a number of the prints on the top, so I was leaning towards quilting it in dark gray thread. (Perhaps because I’m concerned about my imperfections showing up too much on the back!) But do I just stipple it? Do some kind of straight quilting with my walking foot? Do something entirely different? Please, send suggestions!

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Somebody stop me

May 23, 2009 in Quilt-Along | 2 comments

This is not a good idea.


I’m thinking about joining another quilt-along.  It’s hosted at Old Red Barn Co., and it’s a fairly simple-looking but lovely quilt, just about twin-sized.

Here’s why I’m thinking about doing it (aside from the fact that I’m a glutton for punishment)… I’ve been seriously toying with the idea of making some twin-sized quilts for my mom’s lake house.  In total, there are seven twin-sized beds there, but I’m going to start with the room that only has two.  So I’d like to make two matching/coordinating twin-sized quilts.

I’m considering doing it with the Michael Miller Farmers Market line.  Seems appropriate for a lake house, no?  Or possibly the Paula Prass Flights of Fancy, as recommended by the quilt-along host (and it gets you extra entries for the prize, but it’s also quite lovely).  Or any number of other fabric combos that I’m falling in love with.  (Damn, you online window shopping!)

Here’s why it’s a BAD idea….  um, do I really have that kind of time?!  Between the nine-patch quilt-along (nine-patch-a-day through early July), take two of the failed baby blanket (must be done by June 9, it’s coming along…), a twin-sized ragged square quilt I need to get cracking on for a custom Etsy order (should be done by early August, though I suppose it’s flexible)…. and, oh, LIFE!  I don’t know.

Part of me gets a bit uneasy with too many WIPs.  I think I worry that, in my excitement to start something new, I’ll never finish the things that were already in progress.  I get a little nervous when my to-do list gets too long.  My new white board next to my sewing table helps me keep tabs, but still.

On the other hand, I know people have many more things going at once than I do.  And there’s nothing saying that I can’t set these twin quilts aside if I need to, and not exactly keep pace with the quilt-along…

My final consideration in the lake house quilt project is that, well, I don’t want to tell my mom about it ahead of time.  I’ve mentioned the idea of making quilts for the house, and she thinks that’s a perfectly lovely idea.  But I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself, and so I don’t really want her asking about their progress, you know? I’d really like to just present them when they’re done.  And if that’s next May for Mother’s Day? Fine.

So, what do you think? Join in?  Take a deep breath and step away from the fabric?

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