Top Spin {Finished Quilt}

I'm so excited to share this finished quilt with all of you! My Top Spin quilt is done!

I started this quilt in 2016 as a leader and ender project. The pattern is by Melissa Corry for Moda Bake Shop! The original pattern uses 64 blocks for a queen sized quilt and I made 48 blocks for a twin sized quilt.

I took this quilt to Michigan over Christmas and told my mom that she could do whatever she willed with the quilt -- either take it with the next batch to her long arm quilter or quilting it herself on her mid-arm. She decided to quilt it on her mid-arm and practice her ruler quilting and the results are gorgeous!

In the grey background areas she did straight line ruler quilting and in the colored HSTs she did a loopy meander -- this is exactly what I had envisioned for the quilt! The thread she used is actually a variegated grey, which you can see in some of the photos.

The backing is from the HBD Shop and is a plum dot extra wide fabric and my mom also used it for the binding. I really like the purple-y frame around the mostly-grey quilt.

The next person who comes to visit us will get to use this quilt in the guest room!

Quilt Stats:

Name: Scrappy Top Spin

Pattern: Top Spin by Melissa Corry for MBS

Size: 72 x 96

Quilting: loopy meanders and ruler work by my mom on her mid-arm

Started: December 2016

Finished: February 2018

Future: Guest room quilt

Sharing at Finish it up Friday Oh Scrap!, and Needle and Thread Thursday!

Coast to Coast Bee 2.0 {Audrey's Quilt}

This year for the Coast to Coast Traveling Bee (C2C Bee) I am working on Audrey's quilt first. This year we're rotating our quilts "backwards" from last year -- last year I had Audrey's quilt last!

This year Audrey's quilt theme is "flight" and her color palette is "rich rainbow". You can read about her quilt inspiration here. Here's what I received from Audrey:

While flying geese were easily the first thing that popped into my head, I also thought of pinwheels! My initial thought was to add on-point pinwheels on each side and then larger blocks on the top and bottom. Originally I had planned to add six smaller pinwheels on each side, but decided to put three on each side instead.

After consulting with Audrey, I decided that the next addition should be some staggered arrow blocks (pattern from Quiet Play). I made six arrows -- one in each color -- with a grey/black shaft for each one. Here's the tentative layout I sent to Audrey once I had five of the six arrows done:

I used some of the Art Gallery Fabrics that I used for an upcoming secret sewing project to sash together the arrows to the centerpiece. I absolutely love those metallic dots!

This quilt really grew! It started off as about 17 inches square and now it's approximately 26 inches wide and 35 inches long! This quilt will be sent off to Stephanie of Quilt'n Party this weekend! Stephanie had my quilt this round and she added a row of bright log cabin blocks!

Don't forget to join our Blocked Rainbow QAL starting March 19th! Join the Facebook Group for chat, hints, and laughs!

Sharing at Finished or Not Friday, Oh Scrap, and Linky Tuesday!

Blocked Rainbow Quilt Along {Coming March 19th!}

Our quilt along for 2018 is .... Blocked Rainbow!

The 2018 quilt along is now over and the entire pattern is available as a single PDF pattern on Etsy and Craftsy.

This quilt along will use the Rainbow Sampler pattern originally featured in Issue #5 of Modern by the Yard.

This quilt along will also offer an enlarged version of the original pattern for those who would prefer to make a twin sized quilt using larger blocks.

This quilt is perfect for confident beginners as it will use a variety of different techniques to make classic blocks. I'll also include lots of tips along the way -- including how to make a scrappy version of the quilt!

Baby/Throw: 48"x 66" - 6" finished blocks (original pattern)
Twin: 72"x 99" - 9" finished blocks

Schedule:
March 19 - Introduction, Yardage Requirements, Kona Sale with HBD
March 26 - Sponsors, Background Spacer cutting, Color Suggestions
April 2- Red Pinwheels
April 9 - Orange Churn Dashes
April 16 - Yellow Flying Geese
April 23 - Green Sawtooth Stars
April 30 - Blue Bowties
May 7 - Purple Bear Paws
May 14 - Catch up week/Mother's Day
May 21 - Setting directions
May 28 - Catch up week/Memorial Day
June 4 - Finished Quilt Top Parade/Link Up

We look forward to quilting along with you this year! Join our Honey, Bunny, and Doll Facebook group for quilt along chat, giveaways, and laughs!

Sharing at Linky Tuesday and Let's Bee Social!

Four Square Mini Quilt {Mini Madness with Island Batik}

February is all about minis for us Island Batik Ambassadors and since February is all about love, I thought I would make another pink mini!

I decided to use our Four Square block pattern to make a mini similar to my sister's mini using some of the fabrics from the Elementz 10" square stacker that I received from Island Batik in my newest shipment! This pattern is designed to make efficient use of 10" squares so it's perfect for this fabric.

I pulled out some of the pink and black/grey fabrics, staying with the Valentine's Day theme this week! Since the fabrics come in pairs, I pulled two different pink prints (four squares total) and two different black/grey prints (four squares total) for the four blocks.

Here's the first set of pink and black fabrics cut for a pair of Four Square blocks:

Here's my first block trimmed:

These blocks go together quite quickly -- especially when you make them in pairs!

I used two more pink 10" squares to cut 1.5" wide sashings and used the black scraps to cut corners tones for the mini top.

I decided to go a little wild with the backing -- I pulled six additional 10" squares from the Elementz stacker to make a pieced backing echoing my Four Square blocks. These are the brightest fabrics from the bunch!

For the quilting, I did a flower-type filler motif with the "base" of the flower as an oval or teardrop instead of a circle or a swirl. I used one of the light grey threads provided by Aurifil in my Island Batik Ambassador box and it was a great choice! I like the way that it contrasts both the pink and the black in the mini quilt top.

I used a hot pink fabric for binding (and was able to bust out some hot pink thread too!) and now this mini is hung up on our office/den/guest room/sewing room door!

Even thought we're past Valentine's Day, I'm going to be leaving this pretty little thing up until March! Click on over to Craftsy to pick up the Four Square pattern for yourself!

Quilt Stats:
Name: Love Four Square
Pattern: Four Square block by HBD, set with 1.5 inch strips
Fabrics: Elementz by Island Batik (provided by IB in my Ambassador box!)
Quilting: Flowery filler (inspired by this pin) with grey Aurifil 40 weight thread (provided by Aurifil in my Ambassador box!)
Size: 20.5 inches square
Binding: Machine binding using a hot pink IB fabric
Started & Finished: February 2018
Future: Mini quilt for my sewing room door

Sharing at Finish it up Friday!

Galentine's Day 2.0 {Mug Rug Tutorial}

Like last year, us Island Batik Ambassadors have been tasked to make some Galentine's Day themed mug rugs!

Included with our amazing first shipment from Island Batik were some lovely red and pink fat quarters provided for this month's mug rug and mini projects! I also used some lovely threads from Aurifil!

If you remember from last year, I made a Parks and Recreation themed mug rug.

This year I figured I would do the same and start a little collection of my favorite quotes from the show. This year's quote is "I love you and I like you" which is originally from the episode where Ben and Leslie get married. Let's get sewing!

I used the cream and hot pink fat quarters for this mug rug. I cut 9" and 8.5" squares out of the cream and cut a heart out of the hot pink fabric.

I used one of my decorative stitches on my machine to do the machine applique stitching in red Aurifil. 

I used cream Aurifil from my newest box to quilt "I love you and I like you" on the heart. Parks and Recreation fans will know this is from the wedding episode!

I quilted loops around the heart in the background and bound it with the hot pink fabric.

Here are my two minis together!

Come back on Friday to see another pink mini quilt project that I've been busy working on!

Sharing at Linky Tuesday and Let's Bee Social!

The Best from Bali {Island Batik Goodies}

On Friday when I got home from work, my Island Batik Ambassador goodie box arrived! I had originally thought about doing another live video, but I couldn't handle not opening the box right away!

Thank you to Island Batik, Hobbs Batting, and Aurifil for providing such amazing box of goodies to play with for our monthly challenges!

First off, lovely Aurifil threads in a variety of weights! I am so excited about that gigantic cone of white! I've already used the cream thread!

Two different battings from Hobbs -- and a brochure of all of their offerings!

A large cut of rayon and a rayon scarf -- I'm excited to wear the scarf this week!

A layer cake of Elementz and some yardage from the Morning Sunshine collection! (I've already used quite a bit of the layer cake in a project you'll see later this week!)

Some cheery fat quarters for Valentine's Day! I love that flower print!

I absolutely love the stash builder rolls! I'm excited to play with the metallic print ones!

Some rainbow fat quarters for a future project!

A fat eighth bundle and some bright blue yardage from the Sunflower Serenade collection! Wouldn't this be awesome for a girly baby quilt?

And finally some half yard cuts of some basics and a three yard cut of neutral! I really love the blue and teal circle dot prints!

This week is going to be an all-Island Batik week! Tuesday I'll have a mug rug to show and Friday I'll have a mini quilt!  Have a wonderful Monday!

Sunset Gathering Quilt {Finish}

Hip hip hooray, this quilt is finally done! But alas, it's been nasty weather here and I'm not willing to take it outside in the mud, so indoor pictures it is.

This quilt was part of the Gathering QAL hosted by Cora's Quilts last year. I pulled all of the fabrics from my stash other than the Kona Oyster background fabric -- which is pretty impressive considering this is a queen-sized quilt!

I finished the top in the summer and picked it up from my mom's at Christmas. It sat in a bag for a full month before I was able to trim the quilt and start working on the binding. Speaking of binding:

That's the binding for a queen sized quilt (10 WOF strips, for reference) wrapped around a slightly used spool of Aurifil thread. I have no binding baby and, to be perfectly honest, most of the time I don't press my binding before I sew it to the quilt. Yes, I hear some of you gasping! It was 100% necessary for this quilt and I'm glad I took the time to do it this time around.

For this quilt, I decided to hand stitch it to the back instead of machine binding it. The peachy orange fabric that I used was also used in the quilt top and is an old Kathy Davis print.

This will be my spring bed quilt -- once it warms up and I don't need a flannel quilt on the bed anymore!

Quilt Stats:
Name: Sunset Gathering
Pattern: Gathering by Cora's Quilts
Size: 95" square
Fabrics: various long time stash residents, Kona Oyster for background
Quilting: pantograph clouds
Started: April 2017
Finished: February 2018
Future: bed quilt for myself

Sharing at Finish it up Friday! Don't forget to join our Facebook Group to get a sneak peak of our upcoming quilt along!