How Big Was It?

So big I can't get a picture of the whole thing. At 73 x 90, it is just about the biggest quilt I've pieced. For some crazy reason, I really want to quilt it myself too.

Summer Weight Scarves

Anna Maria Horner's Little Folks voile is sooooo soft and lovely. I knew it would be perfect for summer weight scarves. Since many in my family live in hotter climes, I thought these would make nice gifts for them. I first tried a pattern from Urban Arts and Crafts. Very boho chic.
The wrinkles look neat, but they do somewhat obscure the elegant softness that drew me to the fabric, so I next tried a pattern by twin fibers. I added a second strip of contrasting fabric at both ends, which I think adds interest but also some needed length. Super fast and easy to make, and it feels so nice the wear. I see more of these in my future!

And So It Begins

I really love to give handmade gifts, especially at Christmas. I hate feeling rushed and stressed in December. So, my gift making begins in August :). I saw this great card on Pioneer Valley Girl, and she put up a little tutorial. I couldn't resist!
They go together really quickly, and they are one of my favorite things - a great way to turn scraps into something beautiful and useful. I varied only slightly for the instructions, making my cards on fabric foundations rather than paper, and the dimensions of the rectangles are slightly wider.

And look at this stack of gorgeous Anna Maria Horner Little Folks voile! These are destined for my next Christmas gift project. More on that soon.

Redbud Blossoms Quilt, Finished

What started out as a rather strange color inspiration, bloomed into this quilt. Sorry, I couldn't resist. Seriously though, the blossoms on the redbud tree outside my back door are the first signs of spring around here, and the color combination of this quilt solidified in my mind as I saw the pinky-purple flowers around the city.
I decided to try out flying geese as part of the backing, pairing a bold floral from Andrea Victoria with a soft, pale gray.

The binding is also a print from Andrea Victoria that several of you asked about when it was in the pieced top. I like how it looks like a subtle stripe as a binding.I used lots of simple, straight line quilting. There are six lines outlining each wave and two in the sashing. This creates an interesting pattern on the back of the quilt.

Movin' On Up

These cheery flying geese have lifted my spirits today. Who knew this block was so easy? I even found a great tutorial with instructions on making various sized geese. This block has been on my to do list for a while, so I figured I'd tackle it as part of the backing for my Redbud Blossoms quilt. That has been a UFO for far too long now.And look who's movin' on up in the world of fabric design. My friend Lauren of Aunt June is etsy's featured seller today. She is also going to be my personal logo/header/business card designer. Now you can see why she's been too busy to get around to it! These are just a few of her original fabrics.

Summer Sunshine

The masculine version of Summer Sorbet is done.
I'm calling it Summer Sunshine because it has so many summer delights - tadpoles in jars, VW vans camping, a cotton candy vendor, your favorite tricycle and more. These are all prints by Heather Ross - super hard to find and so unique.

I finished this quilt with a new to me technique - faux piped binding. The tutorial was great. This type of binding is finished by machine, so while it was a little fiddly, it did end up being a bit quicker than doing a traditional finish by hand.I love that it allows you to use two fabrics for the binding! I think it adds a really fun detail to this happy quilt. The backing is a simple, linear print that includes many of the colors from the front of the quilt.

Progress

I've had lots of quality time with my rotary cutter this week. This has what has become of those circle blocks I posted about.
They are now 320 quarter circle blocks.

I trimmed away the fabric behind each quarter circle, as suggested in the tutorial. Then I trimmed those scraps into 2 1/2 inch squares. 320 of them. I'm thrilled at the prospect of having the pieces for another quilt all ready to go and for "free" too.

Makes My Day

Some of my favorite emails are from sewers who take the time to write me to share something they've found helpful on my blog. Considering I find tons of inspiration is other crafty blogs, this gives me a real kick.

Recently I heard from Yvonne who used my Moda Bakeshop tutorial to make this adorable quilt. The applique is a great addition, don't you think? You can find Yvonne's blog here.

And, imagine how thrilled I was to get an email from Pam saying she made her first quilt (!) based on my Out for a Walk tutorial. I told her I never would have guessed this was her first (and I wished my first quilt had looked this great). She must be a natural. You can find her new blog here.