Tutorials

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Colored Pencil Roll



Hmm.  What did I make here??  What could possible be rolled up in there?



Colored Pencils?!!  Neat! 

I've made a few of these before but it had been a while since I made the last one.  And it showed.  It took me about twice as long to make it because I kept goofing up.  First I forgot to add the piece for the pocket, and then when I got two-thirds of the way done with the quilting/pocket-making part I realized that my tension on the back was terrible!  So there was plenty of seam ripping to be had.  But it is a pretty simple project to make and its always fun to sort through your stash to find the perfect matching colors. 




The pattern for this project is in the book Last-Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson.  I don't know about you, but for me it is kinda hard to find 24 packs of colored pencils most of the year.  Back to school time is the best time to find them, so I bought an extra set to have ready to go whenever I make another one of these. 

I wish Blogger would let you crop pictures.  I never get to it before I upload my photos.  Then I'm too lazy to go back and edit and reload them.  So you will just have to deal with my crabgrass.  :)

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Warm vs. Cool HST Baby Quilt: COMPLETED!




Well here it is all quilted and bound!  I love it!  I won't hesitate to make another one.  Well, I have to have another friend or relative make a baby first... 



Quilting this one was pretty fun.  I used a pink/orange/yellow variegated thread. 



Plenty of texture here!  I did feathers in the pink and purples, bubbles in the "cool" colors, and boring old meandering in the orange/yellow ring.  I used some scraps for the binding too- purple and gold.  It was a hit at the baby shower.  Can't wait for this little girl to arrive soon!

Monday, August 20, 2012

A Bright Funky Feather


Joyce made this one with her granddaughter.  I like her color choices. 


I went with a bold thread color choice- a dark turquoise.  I thought the blocks and fabrics were simple enough to pull it off.  It's not very often I get to use up my turquoise thread on a quilt! 


I wanted to try out a funky feather for the border.  After much penciling and doodling I settled on this pattern sequence: Feather, feather, grass, swirl.  I like it a lot!



As for the center I did a random collage of free-motion feathers, swirls, and flowers.  Just making it up as I went along. 
Thanks Joyce!



Thursday, August 16, 2012

Igloos on a baby quilt


Joyce made this baby quilt. For no baby in particular.  So a unisex baby quilt meant for some unisex quilting.  Which means- no flowery stuff.  So I tried something new (for me)- Igloos! 



The igloo design is from Judy Woodworth's book Freemotion Quilting Handbook.  It's a pretty fun design once you get the hang of it. 

 

Bubble borders are always cute. 

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Panama Transfer Baby Quilt


Karen made up this special baby quilt for a soon-to-be-first-time grandpa.  Grandpa works for the local trucking company and had been saving his old workshirts for this baby quilt. 


Have you seen any Panama Transfer semis out on the road or interstate?  If not, I bet you will start to notice them now.  (If you live in the continental US that is.)


Swirls and stars seemed to fit the bill perfectly.

Friday, August 10, 2012

A Fall Panel


Linda had me do this pretty fall panel wallhanging. 


It's hard to see the quilting here, but I did a meandering leaf design in the large border, leaves in the smaller border, and in the panel I outlined most of the pattern in a dark yellow thread.  Then I meandered the background a little bit with black. 


I don't know if you can see where I quilted, but that was kind of the whole idea.  I didn't want the quilting to be too distracting from everything that was going on in the panel. 

And I must say that the weather is finally cooperating and has cooled off some and we got some very much needed rain.  So it kind of feels like fall.  And with the corn turning a month earlier than usual from all the stress- it is looking like fall already too!