Waverunner in Red

I saw this tutorial at Bumble Beans and knew I had to make it. This is for a good friend's TV room that is without color - until now.

The top came together pretty easily - in just two afternoons. The quilting and binding took less than a day. Improvisational piecing was more enjoyable than I thought it would be.

Not having straight lines is a little bit daunting.

I put a warm, fuzzy, light blue flannel on the back. You can't see this in the picture, but there's a light design on the binding fabric.

I really enjoyed working with all of the solids in this quilt!

Details: 60x80, flannel backing, 2.25in binding, grey quilting thread

Quilts Squared

I just received my two most recent quilts back from my favorite long-arm quilter: Melear Fabrics. I love their work! The first quilt is made of extra squares from many quilts from the last 8 years. It's backed in maroon. It's warm, cozy, and ready for napping. The second quilt was made with Moda's warm pastel bella solids. I'd wanted to make this pattern for a few years and finally did it. It's backed in charcoal flannel.

My first bag!

This is my first attempt at a bag.

It feels larger than I thought it would, but I still love it.

The bag's outer material is Fredrika upholstery from Ikea and is lined with green ticking from JoAnn's.

Stella's not impressed. She refused to get in.

It all started with tupperware

Amy, from Amyscreativeside.com, is hosting a Blogger's Quilt Festival to coincide with Quilt Market. To see some amazing quilts by bloggers everywhere, click on the link below:

I'm pretty sure that my love of orange is directly related to my love of all things from the 1970s.

What really epitomizes the color palette for me is, and always has been, my mom's funky set of tupperware:

I've always loved this set!

It's still in pristine condition, too. That handle really keeps the set together.

My name is on the bottom of the yellow bowl, made with a labelmaker much like this one:

I can't think of one thing that wasn't labeled with that label maker.

Coming up with a palette for a quilt for myself wasn't too hard. I usually start with orange.

Above is a shot of all of the blocks together, but not in the final arrangement.

Below, all set together:

The best part of this quilt, tho, isn't the color palette.

(even tho they're all my favorites)

The best part about this quilt is that it is just my second quilt hand-quilted piece.

And, it is the quilt that brought all of these fabulous people together to put it in a frame and help me start hand quilting.

We put it up in the driveway - on my grandmother's frame.

We used the quilt stands my granddad made.

Above, the backing is pinned to the boards first.

Then (below) the batting and top are attached.

And the quilting began.

These two great gals took me into their quilting circle!

Some quilt-enthusiasts showed up to support us:

Here's a great picture of one of my grams' best pals, showing me how it's done:

It was a perfect day to start a fun 70's tupperware-inspired quilt!

Particulars: 42 blocks, log cabiny, cotton batting

Progress to date: 29.5 blocks complete, binding machine-stitched to the backside.

Jasmine's Playplace

I used this great Cardtable Playhouse pattern from Empty Bobbin's blog.

The pattern was easy to follow and fun to customize.

Jasmine's colors are pink and purple. I think she'll love playing in her own playplace!

Now, she needs some mail for her mailbox.

[hidden french seams on the corners]

This is by far the pinkest thing I've ever made.

Anna & her commissioned quilt

commissioned work for anna jane

my niece anna jane

commissioned a quilt this winter - and knew exactly what she wanted.

she even drew it for me:

here's how it turned out:

I just got it back from my favorite longarm quilters, melear fabrics.

they did a great job on this, using one of my favorite patterns, the wishbone:

stella, enjoying the photoshoot this morning -

soft, warm, cuddly, stripey flannel for the backside

perfect for a twin bed, or reading a book -

let's hope it's what she envisioned....

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

Icepalooza has taken over the Midwest.

I woke to this kind of icicle action:

Just a mere week ago, we had this much snow:

(and I'm hoping for much, much, more)

Oh, how I love a winter storm.

And, of course, my trusty sidekick can't get enough of the magical white powder, either.

Today, I took advantage of the time iced-in and finished up two quilts.

The Striped Monster....

100x100 inches.

I have been collecting striped fabrics for years. years.

Finally, I finished the quilt top with them:

I braved the cold for a few photographs.

It was treacherous!

And wonderful.

This is a second, baby/lap size - about 40x50 inches.

The stripes came out a little screwy - I think it was too much for my baby camera to handle.

The secret colorwheel project revealed!

My first post on the colorwheel surprise was mentioned here.

I followed this tutorial from Chez Beeper Bebe for colorwheel numbered beanbags.

I think they turned out great!

I made two sets: one for a special cousin and the other for a good friend.

Let's hope they like 'em!