p.s. i quilted it...

rachel's pinwheel quilt...

back in march... i left a comment on her post...

"as for quilting i'd mail it off to julie and ask her to quilt it with her loopy allover design on her big 10ft frame ;-) ... she'd say yes because she loves you... and frames do a wonder with a million seams and make it like they aren't even there."

and she did... and i quilted it... and here it is....


it was the first quilt i did that wasn't mine...
and i'm super happy about how it turned out...


just was a bit hard to put it back in a box and ship it away!!

but she loves it...


lets just say she sent me a super long e-mail with lots of thank yous...
that started with
it's here!!! it's here!!! it's here!!!
and went on and on
and ended with
and it's just how i imagined it would be!!! and i heart you!!!


can't get much better than that.

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i also finished quilting a baby quilt this weekend...


i used a panel on one side...


with her name embroidered on it...

i'd like to say she is named after me... but she isn't...


and the other side is pieced... back in the day i made 4 matching baby quilt tops... so i'd be ready... and then they sat..and sat... i wanted to use one for this but it was square and the panel was a rectangle... so i added flannel triangles to the sides and chopped some parts of it off... and here it is... i really like how it turned out..


and just for fun... more pictures of my quilting...

stars on my red white and bold quilt...
loops on my disappearing nine patch...

and my one attempt at hand quilting... i really love how it looks but it took forever!!

my skirt... "it's a jelly roll"

you know that you talk about fabric pretty often... when your dad knows what a jell roll is!

i walked in today and had my new skirt on... and dad says "it's a jelly roll!"

i was so proud i gave him 2 high fives!! my dad knows what a fat quarter is too... and prides himself in learning my quilt terminology... gotta love it!

pam & elizabeth designed the cutest skirt for the moda bake shop and i just had to make it...

my strips...mostly dandelion girl, with some gypsy rose, patisserie, buttercream & figs, and allspice tapestry... five different lines!... i was inspired by joanna's post about 80/20!

i don't have a ruffle foot so i gathered the bottom tier with 2 rows of elastic thread and it worked pretty well...

i also made the top pieces 9x9... their tutorial suggested taking one square out but i was afraid with only 4 that it wouldn't fit over my hips! sticking with 5 and taking one inch off each worked perfect!

lastly i only made 2 tiers... then i took 3 WOF fabric pieces by 4" wide and sewed them end to end.. measured the bottom of my shirt and cut it to that length plus seam allowances... sewed short ends together in a loop... folded it wrong sides together and sewed it on like it was big binding... just without turning it and no hand stitching!

in mom's garden again... and mom played photographer... thanks mom!

i'm so happy with it!

oh fransson giveaway goodies!

i received my giveaway goodies from elizabeth at oh fransson!

wrapped all cute!


folded in a neat little pile!


i dug right in!


and started playing with a few layouts!

i can't wait to start sewing... if only i didn't have to go to work!

My First Quilt

camille & carrie have started "parade of quits"

with the goal being... show your first quilt.. and your most recent finish.

we all know we learn a lot along the way

and i'm no exception...

if you have read my first ever post on this blog you'll know that this isn't the first quilt i started... but it is the first one i finished... and i don't know if my brother even knows that...

lots learned... but this quilt is sooo full of love!

i took solid fabric and screen printed the mini design on it... i drew the logo by hand with black ink on acetate back in college...

if you couldn't guess my brother is a huge mini fan... he is also a really great photographer... check out his work... i'll be flying out to LA to visit him in 2 weeks! my trip just happens to overlap with Quilt Festival in long beach!! ..just happened ;-) .. anywho i'll be visiting to help them pack to move into their new house!! and pick paint colors... i love getting to design!

and now back to the quilts...

so that brings us to most recent finish...

and as much as i'd like to be able to show you one of my new works that shows how much i've learned...

but as fate has it my most recent finish is a quilt that took 4 years to finish...

not that i worked on it each day...

but its kinda cool fate that camille & carrie's timing lets me focus on how far i've come by showing how sometimes it takes a while to get there... i had to suck it up and deal with the things i did in the piecing that i'd never do now... but they were all i knew at the time... and in the end... its a beautiful quilt...

here is a close up... the fabric has all kinds of sweet wedding wishes...

i hope you enjoy the history of my quilts... and will stick around to see what is yet to come!

melinda's quilt

in 2005 my friend melinda got married...
i was an ambitious new quilter and decided i would make her a quilt as a gift...
i started with a pillow and had it done in time for the shower...

i started the quilt on 4/24/05 and finished it on 7/3/09

i had made less than 10 quilts at the time and had no idea what i was getting myself into...
i paper pieced the center on photocopy paper... changed the star points to not have Y seams but it was still much bigger of a project than i could handle at the time...

i'd work on it here and there... it was hard to accept that my skills had changed and work on it sometimes... despite going from 12 blocks to 9... and the center turning into a medallion... its made with love... a lot of love...

and soon melinda will have it... and the pillow won't be alone any longer...

i also found a new place to photograph my quilts... my parent's back yard!

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thanks for all the e-mails and comments on the bake shop!! i've got lots of more projects planned for you guys!!

happy fourth!

of july...

thanks for all the comments and e-mails on my MBS debut...

enjoy the holiday today...
i leave you with pictures of my adorable nephew taken by my brother...

gotta love him!!!

its moda bake shop day! make a coupon clutch!

its a big day! its moda bake shop day!
(don't worry mom its not actual baking... i know better)

my tutorial is on moda's site... how cool is that?
seriously.
i'm super excited and nervous... like its the first day of school in 5th grade

check it out!

coupon clutch!


i hope you like it!!
leave me some love to let me know!!
and let me know if you make it and send me pictures!

a few thank yous...
rachel for all the support in the world!
angela for helping with my pdf files!
pammie & allison for always believing in me...
and my mom... for letting me borrow her garden to take pictures...and a million other things!

neptune!

i am in love with neptune by tula pink
i don't think it was love at first sight... but once i had some... i needed more.
it started with a charm pack, layer cake, and jelly roll... and then lots of yardage!

stack of yummyness from tula pink


i have one quilt done... used the jelly roll and some yardage... and multiple different ideas for the layer cake and charms... so we'll see what happens...



i love all my quilts... but i really love this one!


i quilted it with a wave design... you can really see it in the dark parts...

all folded up... i just wish is was bigger... this is where allison will say "i told you so"



other neptune projects i love!

tula pink's booth @ market ... this pattern is available for free on moda's site and is one of my ideas for my layer cake...

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by Shanna @ Quilts by Design


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by amy @ Mrs. Schmenkman Quilts

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by heather @ anka's treasures .. this is in her new book!

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by maria @ passing down crazy

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by angela @ my three sons ...this is the front


and this is the back... too cute!!


i hope you enjoy looking at all these quilts as much as i do!!

tomorrow is gonna be a big day here... can't tell you why yet... but you'll see!!
come back soon!!

allison's house

weekends are usually catch up on blogs and sewing time for me...
not this weekend...
this weekend was full of food... people... and a trip to the beach...
i didn't get much sewing done but i had lots of fun...
and i finally got the chance to go to allison's house!

allison is a friend of mine who works at the shop with me...
she is incredibly talented and her house is a great eclectic mix of styles and ways to display quilts!
so here is a virtual trip to her house... since she doesn't have a blog... yet ;-)

enjoy!!

the first quilt she ever made...

sweet bird and creative decorations

tula pink bunny curtains!

allison often quilts in cute happy cheery words in her work...

one block wonder

(yes allison i went in the closet... you said i could peek around!)

sweet treats... i love this one!

i really like how she puts words in her quilting... i may have to start doing this!

allison told me about this months ago and i was looking forward to seeing this... she rotates all the cute aprons she makes so that they aren't away and never seen!

ric rac!!

detailed paper piecing!!

i love how allison mixes fabric... she just goes for it

note the knitting basket and quilted coasters... she finds ways to put quilted things everywhere!

the true mark of a quilter... mat and ruler poking out under the couch!! .. i didn't set this up!

supplies in a basket

and more supplies... and hex flowers!

i hope you enjoy this virtual trip to allison's house as much as i enjoyed actually being there!