Jaybird Quilts

Friday, September 2, 2016

A Preview of My Quilt Auction to Benefit Alex's Lemonade Stand

My nephew Elijah is starting 4th grade off treatment & in remission from leukemia, so I'm hosting another quilt auction for Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation to celebrate!!

The auction will be held on eBay and the bidding will begin on Monday, September 5 at 7pm PDT and it will wrap up on Monday the 12th at 7pm PDT.

If you're new to my blog or Jaybird Quilts, something you may not know is that Elijah was diagnosed with cancer in December 2010 and he finished his treatments just over 2 years ago. There are some great organizations out there that did a lot for Elijah and his family while he was in treatment for 3+ years, and Alex's is one of them.

The team at Soak Wash contributed 3oz samples that will be included with each quilt, along with quilt washing & care instructions.

Now, to show off the quilts that will be up for auction!

This is my Box of Chocolates quilt from my book Skip the Borders. This quilt is loaded with some very rare Lizzy House prints from her first 4 fabric collections: Red Letter Day, Lizzy Dish, Castle Peeps & 1001 Peeps.

My blue Chopsticks quilt that is featured on the cover of the pattern:

This twin size Dot Party quilt is the largest quilt in the auction & it is featured on the cover of the pattern, too.

Elijah's picture is on my original quilt labels, including the label on the back of this Dot Party quilt.

This baby sized Hugs & Kisses quilt features very rare 1001 Peeps fabric by Lizzy House.

Quilting by Angela Walters of Quilting is My Therapy.

This lap size Northern Lights quilt features Arizona fabric by April Rhodes.

This is Stars & Stripes, also from my book Skip the Borders.

This youth size Teacups quilt was featured on the cover of the pattern.

This lap size Three in Box quilt features Flea Market Fancy fabric by Densye Schmidt & is on the cover of the pattern, too.

My Traffic quilt that is featured on the cover of the pattern.

This set includes a baby size Yummy quilt & Jawbreaker pillow (pillow form not included) made with Marmalade by Bonnie & Camille for Moda Fabrics.

I had so much fun doing this photo shoot with Elijah and my brother Brad (he shot all of the photos of me and Elijah in this post). I'm so grateful to be able to make these memories with them.

Let me know in the comments which quilt(s) you'll be looking to bid on next week.

Look for my #JaybirdLovesAlex posts on social media to see more images of quilts from this upcoming auction, quilts from my previous auction and some fun family photos of us volunteering with Alex's Lemonade Stand to raise awareness about childhood cancer.

Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Warm Company Batting Giveaway!!!

On Monday I posted the results of a Warm Company Batting Comparison I did with three different battings: Warm 100, Warm & Natural, and Warm & White.

Be sure to check out that post to see how each of the battings performed.

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Ready for today's giveaway?!? I'm giving away a bundle of supplies to make your own Gazebo table topper OR Seaside table runner!!

In the Gazebo prize pack you get the pattern, Sew & Sew by Chloe's Closet for Moda Fabrics and Warm & White batting!! There's 27 - 2 1/2" strips + 3 cuts at 3/4 yard of Sew & Sew fabrics. Add background fabric of your choice & it's enough fabric for 3 toppers + enough batting for 2 toppers.

In the Seaside prize pack you get the pattern, a Roll Up of Valori Wells Blueprint Basics and Warm & Natural batting!! The roll up has 20 - 2 1/2" strips. Add background+ backing of your choice & you can make 2 table runners.

The Rules

1. Leave ONE comment to enter. Make sure your contact info is in your profile or that you leave it in the comment.

2. In your comment tell us if you've ever tried a batting from The Warm Company and which of the 2 prize packs you have your eye on.

3. Comment entries must be left on this blog, www.jaybirdquilts.com, to be valid. Comments sent via E-mail, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or any other social media will not be counted.

4. Simple as that!!

You have till 5PM PST on Friday, August 26th to enter.

Winner will be selected by

True Random Number Generator.

Good luck + thanks for stopping by today!

Monday, August 22, 2016

Warm Company Batting Comparison with my Dot Party Quilts

I had a set of three baby quilts to make on my list of quilt gifts to make & give this summer. And then I got my hands on a set of three different Warm Company battings: Warm & Natural, Warm & White, and Warm 100. So I figured I'd do an experiment with the quilts to compare the performance of the battings.

Getting ready to sew my Dot Party quilt blocks.

I love how fast it is to whip up one of these.

Now I've got 3 Dot Party quilt tops: Navy, Aqua & Green.

Here are the 3 quilt tops with the 3 different battings that I tested out, a different one for each quilt to compare the results.

Here's a close up of the 3 battings I used for my Dot Party quilt batting comparison.

All 3 of my baby size Dot Party quilts basted & ready for quilting.

All 3 finished Dot Party quilts after quilting + binding, before washing. I kept the quilting simple with diagonal lines across the quilt in the middle of each block.

I love binding. If you look close you may notice that I bound these by machine. 95% of the time I bind by hand. So why did I bind these by machine? I've found that baby quilts are generally washed more than most quilts & occasionally binding stitches will come out. The last thing I want to do is give a gift that needs to be repaired often.

Now it's time to wash them & see how each of the battings perform.

The quilts are washed. Here is the info on how the size of each one changed over the course of quilting & washing.

Green = Warm & White batting

Quilt top - 38.5" x 38.5"

After quilting - 38.25" x 38.25"

After washing - 36.5" x 35.75"

Aqua = Warm & Natural

Quilt top - 38.5" x 38.5"

After quilting - 38.25" x 38.25"

After washing - 36.5" x 36.25"

Navy = Warm 100

Quilt top - 38.5" x 38.5"

After quilting - 38.25" x 38.25"

After washing - 36.5" x 36"

The quilt with Warm & Natural shrunk the least. The quilt with Warm 100 was in the middle. The quilt with Warm & White shrunk the most. All quilts were washed together in cold water using Soak Wash. Then they were put in the dryer on medium heat because I like the crinkled effect from the higher heat setting in the dryer with this quilt pattern.

The quilts all feel pretty similar at this point. If I hadn't marked down which batting was in which one, I might not be able to tell them apart. It's possible that more detailed quilting would have different results. The Warm 100 was much smoother out of the package & was one of the softest battings I've ever felt. I like that the Warm100 has a 100% cotton scrim. It means that my projects can be 100% cotton.

I use 100% cotton fabrics.

I use 100% cotton threads.

I can now use 100% cotton batting.

I hope you enjoyed this batting comparison! Search #JaybirdQuiltsProTip on Instagram and Facebook to see a few more of my favorite sewing tips.

Monday, August 15, 2016

Sweet Tooth Block 11 - Ribbon Candy

My Sweet Tooth Block of the Month books are available now at local and online quilt shops! Since the book is out now, I wanted to share some inspiration for anyone looking to make a Sweet Tooth quilt.

Sweet Tooth can be made in twin or queen sizes. This quilt is made using my Hex N More and Super Sidekick rulers.

If you will be making your Sweet Tooth quilt from one of the Robert Kaufman Kona quilt kits (available now!), all of the strips in the roll up are in block order. Also, all of the Kona colors used in each block are noted in the Sweet Tooth book. This photo shows the fabrics that are in Roll 4. (The rolls are marked.)

To make Block 11, you'll use Kona Gumdrop, Kona Honeysuckle, Kona Camellia, Kona Mango and Kona Cactus:

Sweet Tooth Quilt Block 11 - Ribbon Candy

You can sign up to participate in a Sweet Tooth block of the month program with a local quilt shop or guild (ask around if you're looking to join one!), order a Sweet Tooth quilt kit, or craft your own Sweet Tooth quilt with your favorite 2 1/2" strips!

I'm making a Sweet Tooth quilt using Tula Pink prints. Here are my Ribbon Candy blocks in Tula Pink:

You can see the other Sweet Tooth blocks I made here:

Kits featuring the Kona Cotton solids I used to make the twin size quilt are available now. Kits include the Sweet Tooth book, 60 Kona Cotton 2 1/2" strips + all of the background and binding fabric to make the quilt.

If you're looking to order a Sweet Tooth quilt kit, they are available to order now from Hawthorne Threads and Fat Quarter Shop. You can also find the books now at Fat Quarter Shop, Hawthorne Threads, as well as other local and online quilt shops.

Remember to share your photos on social media with the #SweetToothQuilt tag & have fun!