A pop of red

Every color scheme needs a pop of color somewhere to make it interesting. (I learned that from HGTV by the way!) I have chosen red as my pop color for Cydney's black and white graduation quilt. These two blocks are my favorite so far. The log cabin block was the most fun to make. Someday I will do an entire quilt out of this block (if I can just get this quilt done first!)

Name that block!

It is amazing how many different block patterns come from simply cutting and arranging different sized squares. Quilters through the centuries have named the different patterns they've created. Some with very interesting names like Bear's Paw, Flying Fish, Jacob's Ladder and Log Cabin. I'm not sure what the names of these blocks are so if anyone could help me I would appreciate it! They are the next blocks for Cydney's black and white quilt.

Black and white quilt next blocks.

This is the second block I learned to make in my black and white quilt. It is a sixteen patch and much easier than it looks. I just cut two 2" strips of fabric, sewed them together and then cut across the two strips to make 8 2x4" block. Then I turned them so that one black block would be against one white block. I sewed these together and had four blocks alternating. Then I sewed those four blocks together and viola - a sixteen patch.



This block is a combination of the techniques I learned with blocks one and two. Two big blocks sewed to the 4 patch.








My goal is to post a couple of blocks a day and then - the final result! I hope I can do it!

Musings of a new quilter

I've discovered for myself what generations of women have known - quilting is healing. Quilting forces me to downshift out of my normally frantic pace and relax. I love every aspect of it, the way the fabric feels, the patterns and combinations of colors, the clean slice of my rotary cutter and the rhythm of the sewing machine. I enjoy making different shapes come together in an artful arrangement of fabric. But the best part is the giving of the quilt.

It is a family tradition to give a quilt at a highschool graduation and since my mother and grandmother are gone, the task falls to me. I'm glad to do it and am proud that my grandmother's quilting blood runs in my veins and the tradition will carry on.

My daughter Cydney's graduation quilt will be black and white. When my grandmother was alive, I was too young and interested in other things to learn to quilt. I'm blessed to have a quilting friend, Sarah Craig, who has taught me so, thank you Sarah. I've posted the first quilt block I learned to make and the first one in the series of blocks I will use for Cydney's quilt. An easy four patch.

My quilts are getting bigger!

Baby girl quilt front

Back


Yay! My first quilt for our church quilt ministry is done and ready to turn in. I spent the cold snowy days of January sipping a cup of tea and working on this snuggly quilt. This one is going to a new mother who likes orange. I made the front out of felt squares. The two smaller squares were appliquéd onto the larger square. The back is made from fleece. I also appliqued the small squares onto the orange stripe. When the quilt is washed, the squares will fray and give the quilt a shabby chic look. I enjoyed quilting on the fleece. It is so warm and soft, perfect for a baby to cuddle in. The bright colors and the soft fabric really made me warm on a cold snowy day.

Ninja Star

This block is really called a Spider web block but my son named it a Ninja Star. I thought he was right so I went with it. The tutorial that I used was excellent and very clear, however, I am a lazy quilter and although I enjoyed making the one block, I don't think I'm up to making an entire quilt of these blocks. I plan on using this block in a pillow sham for my daughter. I am making a black and white quilt for her college dorm. I'll post those blocks and the finished product as I go.

My first quilt. Yeah I know, it's a potholder.

A potholder, I've been informed by someone who knows, is really a tiny, tiny quilt. So, I learned how to make a quilt by making a potholder. The potholder method is in fact, just like making a quilt. I cut fabric into various size strips and then sewed them together, chose a back and then made a "quilt sandwich". The top and the back were the "bread" and the "meat" a small scrap of batting. I used my sewing machine to "channel quilt" the potholder. In other words, I just sewed evenly spaced lines. Then, I sewed a binding and bound the potholder. All pretty simple for a tiny little quilt. I'm pretty proud of my accomplishment. Needless to say, my tiny quilt does not live in the kitchen where it would most likely fall on a stove eye and burn to ash or get permanently stained with spaghetti sauce. No, it is proudly displayed on my desk where I use it for a mousepad or occasionally a coaster.