Tutorials

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Star BOM #4

This block was kinda tricky with all those bias edges.  Piecing triangle-shaped units is a bit out of my comfort zone.  The quarter-block units were a bit warped looking, but after a good stretch and squaring up they turned out OK. 


And then this happened.  There is a big old pucker in the center, it didn't lay flat, and the turquoise corner wasn't even close to matching.  Bah!

So, after ripping that out and deciding to focus on making the turquoise corners match instead of the center (Having both matching up was NOT going to happen) -it's good enough for me.  And: Bonus- the center is a little less bulky.   :)  In conclusion, although this block was the trickiest, it is my favorite so far.  And now I am all caught up!  Oh, wait, it's practically June already.  Well, that didn't last long!

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Quilts 21 & 22

This the 21st quilt I've quilted this year. 

There were oak leaves in some of the fabric, so that's what went with. 

And in these big square blocks I did Feathers in a Square.  I've done this once before in this post.  I've discovered that turning off the flash on my camera makes the quilting show a lot better, but not so much the colors.  Sorry this pic looks so dreary, but I hope you care more about viewing the quilting!  :)



And this would be quilt #22. 


This quilt features an all-over free-motion design of swirls and leaves, and just a few stars.  The sashing is actually a dark brown.  Thanks Jodi and Norene for having me quilt your lovely quilts!

And that's all for today.  Hope everyone is enjoying their Memorial Day weekend!

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Star Quilt Block of the Month: Blocks #1-3


Here's a little update on the Star Block of the month.  I'm only 1 month behind now!

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Blogger's Quilt Festival Entry

This is my entry to the Blogger's Quilt Festival :: Spring 2011

 


I entered the Festival last Fall and decided to go ahead enter again. 

This quilt is special because it is the very first quilt I quilted on my longarm machine.  The friend I bought it from let me put on this quilt so I could try out the machine.  I had no idea what I was doing, or what I was getting myself into for that matter! 



I was ambitious and stitched a little something in each center square.  My skills have definitely improved in the 2 years I've had my machine.  I sure hope so because my quilting looks kinda terrible here! 

Here is some of my my latest quilting.  Free-motion leaves.  This was Quilted Quilt #19 for the year.  The goal is to quilt 1 quilt per week this year.  Getting pretty close to half-way through!

Monday, May 16, 2011

Buttercup Bag

 Yesterday I had some free time and decided that what I REALLY need to work on was a new purse.  Mine has holes worn in it and is looking quite shabby.  I had discovered Rae's Buttercup Bag Pattern looong ago.  It was time to make it. 


I even made a recessed zipper!  I had a hard time figuring out how to do it.  I combined the tutorials from here and here.  Basically I cut the lining instructed in the first link, and then followed the sewing instructions from the second link. 


The only bad thing is that it is waay to small!  My stuff barely fits into it.  Even the pen holder pocket I added is too short!  Ugh!  I had even enlarged the pattern 130% like Rae had mentioned.  I don't think it worked.  But the good news is that I have enough materials to make another -larger- attempt.  The second round should go much smoother...if I ever get around to it!

This post is linked up once again to Sew Modern Monday.  Check out the goods here

Monday, May 9, 2011

Tablerunner: Complete!

Well, it's finished!  And I did switch that block around, and think it looks a lot better.   


Getting this table runner done by May was one of my goals I made at the top of the year.  It was supposed to match my freshly painted kitchen and dining room, but the painting hasn't happened yet.  Ahh well.  I love my table runner though! 


Linking this up to Megan's Sew Modern Monday.  Check it out! 

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Star Block of the Month: Block #1


This is the first block in the Star Block of the Month by Natalia of Piece N Quilt.  I love that fabric.  It's pretty.  Click HERE to see what the quilt will look like.  She has directions for the first 3 blocks posted so far.  So I have 2 more blocks to make to catch up. 

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Another Karen Quilt

Karen from Where's My Seam Ripper?  had me do some quilting for her.  Her post here says she does not have any photos of it yet,  but I DO! 





Karen had suggested an all-over coral reef look inspired by this fabric here. 


It ended up looking a lot like meandering but with more echoing and longer noodles and some coral-y branches.  If that makes any sense...  No?  Just smile and nod and say: "Looks nice."  :)

Thanks again for letting me quilt your quilts Karen!