Food, Love, and Fabric

OK, first things first.  I'm linking up to Rachel's  Scrap Attack with this little number.  I have long been an admirer of the plus quilts floating all over quilty blogs and have wanted to try one for ages.  I used Jeni's tutorial to follow the layout grid, and just cut them to the size I wanted to make a mini version. Actually, when Rachel first started talking about the Festival of Scrappiness, I had planned to do an x and + quilt...which indeed I am doing.  See?

But MY STARS that block takes me for-evvver so I quickly realized I wouldn't be done in time.  But then I saw that minis were acceptable, which was just the gentle push I needed to attack the plus pattern.  I love how it turned out!  Be sure to check out the other links - so many great projects all made with leftover fabric.  I love it when pretty meets practical.

Modern Mini Day!

 OK, technically, modern mini night around these parts right now, but there's still a little bit of time left to enter Jennifer's Modern Mini Challenge!  What fun it's been to follow along on the blog hop and be so inspired by everyone's creativity.  Here is what I made - A vertical mini version of Beach Glass from this book:

It measures 23" across by 24.5" long.  Here is a detail shot of the quilting.  I was going for a wavy look to go with the beachy theme.

A view from the back...the thread is a teal color, which I liked with all the soft solid colors.

And I added hanging corners based on Amy's BRILLIANT demonstration with her mini...seriously - so easy!  And I put them in three of the corners so it can be hung either vertically or horizontally.  

This quilt was made for a friend of mine who has long supported me in many ways over the years.  It is a belated birthday present and she plans to hang it in her office.  Love you MB!!

BUT, this wasn't going to be what I showed you today!  My plan was to make THIS:

But, alas, not all plans succeed.  I had it all done except for the circles...and I had planned to inset them (as in, cut a hole out of the background).  It is ...um...difficult to inset small circles (at least, it is for me!).  So, then I tried to applique, which I've never really been all that great at and I wasn't happy with how it turned out.  I tried and tried...and couldn't figure out WHY ON EARTH my circles weren't turning out right.  I've done the inset technique before, so what was the deal?!  After I had given up on the idea, I realized one of my sweet little cherubs had changed the tension on my machine!!  OK, feeling better once I figured that out, but still, it was too late to complete this mini for the challenge.  Oh well, another time!  

Thanks again, Jennifer, for hosting a great challenge - It's been so fun!  

Thrilled!!

If you're here from Modern Quilt Guild, welcome!  I have a humble little blog here, but my love of all things quilt is strong!  So you can imagine my feelings, when earlier this week I received a Flickr mail note from Alissa- yes, that one!  You know, one of the founding members of the Modern Quilt Guild, the author of this fantastic book, and this one I can't wait to get my hands on...really, she needs no introduction - but for the person who reads this blog that doesn't quilt (Hi, Mom!), I'll just tell ya she's a quilting rock star I've followed and admired for a long time now.  I was about to fall off my chair pleased when she wanted to feature Racing Stripes on the 100 Days of Modern Quilting Week of Solids.  Thrill!  Here's a couple more pictures of the quilt because I just can't resist:

                                                                        (the back)
 So a giant thank you to Alissa and the folks over at The Modern Quilt Guild for being a source of encouragement and inspiration, and for including me in the process- I feel humbled and honored and you've made my day for many days!
 

This Week...

Lots of real life happening over here this week, which means little time for fun craft stuff, but I wanted to pop in and say hi.  Oh, and I just had to show you this:

 Look at what my sister-in-law Beth made for my daughter!!  It came as a total surprise in the mail one day, and I think I was as excited as my daughter was when we opened it.  It could be a tie for how much we loved it - although I know the value of a good handmade item, she kept hugging it and saying "I've been wanting this for years and years!" (people, she's 3!).   I totally got caught up in the moment and explained to her what a family heirloom is, and that we would save this for her babies to wear someday.  And now she's asking me when she's having babies...uh, first things first, kiddo, let's just wear the pretty sweater, OK?!  Here's a close up of some of the detail:

 The yarn is Plucky Knitter Primo Worsted in Bashful and the pattern is Tiny Tea Leaves by Madeline Tosh.  This photo doesn't do the buttons justice, but they have sweet little subtle flowers tone on tone in the cream. Thanks again, Aunt Beth - it's beautiful just like you and we love it!

Well, Color Me Happy!

Meet Banjo!

Look who joined our circus!

I just had to share this sweet little face with you.  He's more like a big, sweet moose really.  He has slid right in and assumed his role of great family dog by letting the kids lay on him, cover him with blankets, and lead him around the house and yard on a leash.  Total cuteness!

Follower Spotlight!

Wow, ya'll. I don't even know what to say! Jennifer from THE Ellison Lane Quilts is doing a Follower Spotlight on me over at her place today. Really, anyone who might read my little ol' blog I'm sure already knows her - unless you are a) related to me, or b) a personal non-sewing friend who reads this blog. We "met" and chatted for months before meeting for real in Utah at Sewing Summit .  

 I'm here to tell you she is just as warm-hearted and funny in person as she appears on her blog. She is super talented with a sewing machine, a genius with fabric selection, and masterful at spreading good cheer throughout the internet. Her blog posts in my inbox are a welcome treat and something I look forward to every day! I was stunned and humbled when she asked if I wanted to do the spotlight. I mean, really, I've only been blogging for a few months and barely know how to do anything beyond the basics. But, I love to sew and create, and sharing it with a community has been amazing. Thanks again, Jennifer, like those before me have said, I feel so honored!  

So, moving on to what's been on the sewing table! This was just the push I needed to finish the quilting on this quilt. This is called Racing Stripes and is part of my Kona Solids Challenge. Originally, it was the back of another Solids quilt (which is still just a top...so hoping I get inspired to return to it...I'll show you that another day). But I liked how this turned out, and following Week's and Bill's suggestion, I turned this into it's own quilt. I love how it turned out!

I used Kona Coal for the background, and the stripes are made out of Glacier, Sage, Wine, Butterscotch, and Terragon.  It turned out pretty big too, about 65"x75".  The quilting is just straight lines...can you believe this is my first all straight line quilt?  I think my total quilt count is in the 50s , so that should let you know how much I like free motion quilting!  I love the look of straight lines, but normally, I find the actual quilting part tedious - I just start itching to move that quilt around!  But this one went pretty quick - about 2 hours - since I only quilted in the background and left the colors alone.  Here is the back:

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you all have a great and productive weekend! Happy Sewing!