July 12, 2013

Quilted Dog Bed for Lily!

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Miss Lily is one spoiled dog with her new quilted dog bed!  I could hardly stomach the price on a big dog bed, so I decided to make one myself.  The brilliant idea to use a 27" square pillow form came to me when I found them 50% off at JoAnn's.
Lily's Quilted Dog Bed
I let one of the boys pick any fabric from the stash!  
Lily seems to like it!
Lily's Quilted Dog Bed
For the "other" side {is it the front or the back?}, I used a leftover quilt top that I had made last winter and couldn't figure out what to do with.  I made this quilt top using the Jelly Roll Race! tutorial by the Missouri Star Quilt Co on YouTube.  The tutorial is great, it looked great in the fabrics they were using, but not so much with my mini-dot fabric strips, so the quilt top got stuffed away in the fabric closet.
Lily's Quilted Dog Bed
To make the dog bed more durable, both sides are quilted with batting and backing and then assembled in traditional pillow cover style with an envelope opening, which is bound like a quilt rather than folded edges.
Lily's Quilted Dog Bed
Pillow Stats:  28.5" square on a 27" square pillow form.  This allows room for shrinkage when washed.


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July 10, 2013

Custom Twin-Sized Rainbow Wave Quilt Progress #2

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Here is my current progress on the custom twin Rainbow Wave Quilt.  This quilt is available through my Etsy shop, Busy Hands Quilts.  

The white sashings are sewn to the bottom of the rainbow waves, and the sides have been trimmed.  Each rainbow wave is created by eight separate pieces for a twin-sized quilt.  Their orientation alternates to create the wave pattern, so the white sashing is not sewn on the same side of all eight pieces.  You can see that illustrated below.
Custom Twin Rainbow Quilt
I am learning some shortcuts to the pattern because this is the third time I have made it.  The first change I made is to cut the white strips 1/2" longer so it is certain that they will cover the colored piece when sewing them together without having to be so careful in eye-balling it.  Because it is an angled edge, the white piece has to be longer so that it comes out past the colored piece when it is opened and pressed.  This extra 1/2" allows me to zip them through the machine without being so careful about how much the white extends over the colored fabric.  And it doesn't take any extra fabric; it is only using more of the white WOF strip that would otherwise be scrap.

Another shortcut I have learned is that I really can chain-piece this.  The New Wave pattern has you layout the waves on a design wall before adding the white sashing.  I have learned to sew the white sashing to ALL of the colored pieces first, without laying it out.  I sew a white strip to the "bottom" of four pieces of one color and to the "top" of four pieces of the same color all the while chain stitching them together.  I sew the white sashing to the colored piece and then flip the next colored piece over the other direction before sewing on the white sashing, doing this over and over, so white sashings end up on the "bottom" of four pieces and on the "top" of four pieces without having to go back and count because I forgot where I was.  I can easily see from the last one I sewed which direction the next one should face.  I hope this makes sense!

When using this pattern for the first time, however, I would recommend laying out the pieces before adding the white sashings to be sure you get the hang of it before accidentally sewing them incorrectly and having to rip it out.  

The pattern does not address which direction to press the sashing, and I have come up with some guidelines for this, as well.  As stated above, I sewed them together alternating the white sashing from "top" to bottom".  I then left them in that order when I pressed them.  Then every other one from this pile got pressed the opposite direction so the seams will butt together when sewn into columns.  This could be stated another way:  With the white sashings at the bottom, the four blocks with the wide colored part on the left were pressed one direction, and the four blocks with the wide colored part on the right were pressed the other direction.

Following pressing, I trimmed the white sashings even with the edges of the colored pieces.  Once again, my rotating cutting mat was perfect for this.  I lined up the four blocks of each color that had the sashings on the same side and trimmed them four at a time, then rotated the mat and trimmed the other side, repeating for all remaining blocks.
Custom Twin Rainbow Quilt
Next, I will make eight stacks of the blocks in rainbow order and begin sewing them together in columns - all without ever placing them on a design wall!  It takes quite a bit of time getting them up there and then taking them down column by column, so it is nice to have the confidence that this step is not required.

Here's my rotating mat which I am using more and more!

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July 7, 2013

A Gift For My Sister - Phoebe's Flower Box Wall Hanging

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Back in April I shared with you a baby quilt I made as a gift for a friend from the fabric collection Phoebe in the Flower Box quilt pattern, featured by Missouri Star Quilt Company on YouTube.  The written instructions are in the Quilting Quickly magazine, which is my all-time favorite issue of any magazine.  It contains written instructions and pictures for many of the quilting tutorials that Missouri Star Quilt Co has on YouTube.
Before I bought the fabric, I showed my sister the fabric and pattern, and she loved the combination, just as I thought she would.  She has a thing with purple!  In addition to fabric for the baby quilt, I bought enough to make her a wall hanging as well as several table runners to sell in my Etsy shop.
Phoebe's Flower Box Table Runner
This is the quilt hanging on the wall in her living room.  I believe it is behind the sofa.  I haven't seen it yet, because we live many miles apart.  Sisters at heart, though we're far apart.
Phoebe's Flower Box Table Runner
I used lavender thread for the quilting, and I am pleased with it.  I had the thought that white would be too stark, navy blue would be too dark, and gray would blend in too much, so lavender it was.  Or maybe I didn't really think about it that hard and just used lavender because I had done so on the Phoebe's Flower Box baby quilt I had made!!  Ha ha!
Phoebe's Flower Box Table Runner
I have quite a few blocks leftover and will be making table runners to sell in my Etsy shop!  Someday very soon, I hope!
Phoebe's Flower Box Table Runner

Phoebe's Flower Box Table Runner
Quilt Stats:
  • Pattern:  Flower Box featured by the Missouri Star Quilt Co on YouTube. The written instructions are in the Quilting Quickly magazine.
  • Fabric:  Phoebe by Windham Fabrics
  • Size:  20" x 48", I think!
  • Batting:  100% cotton
  • Backing:  Kona Premium 200-thread count muslin in white from Fabric.com
  • Quilting:  Allover meandering in lavender thread
  • Binding:  Scrappy from the Phoebe collection
  • Value:  Precious for a precious sister!!
Linking to:
A Quilting Life Jelly Roll Linky Party

July 5, 2013

Disappearing Nine-Patch Full-Size Quilt in Meadow - Finished!

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Meadow Disappearing Nine Patch Full Size Quilt
This is a quilt for a dear friend whom I told you about in this post.  She has had to seek shelter outside of the family home, so I made this quilt for her in her new tiny place.  Something special to begin her new life.
Meadow Disappearing Nine Patch Full Size Quilt
It took only 11 days to complete this quilt set from cutting it out to completion.
Meadow Disappearing Nine Patch Full Size Quilt
Maybe that means I sew too much?!?
Meadow Disappearing Nine Patch Full Size Quilt
I don't usually put borders on quilts because I rarely buy yardage of fabric and simply never have enough fabric to do so, but this special quilt called for a border - from her favorite fabric in the Meadow collection, of course.  It's a smoky blue-gray, not purply as this shows.
Meadow Disappearing Nine Patch Full Size Quilt
I have been eyeing pillow covers on Etsy that were tied at the edge rather than closed with an envelope backing.  Wouldn't you know that I already owned the book that shows how to do this???  It is Shams with Style by Anka's Treasures.  There is a flap that covers the back of the quilt on one side and a flap that covers the pillow itself on the other.  I am absolutely delighted to know how to make this and plan to make lots more in the future!
Meadow Disappearing Nine Patch Full Size Quilt
The pillow cover is quilted on both the front and the back, and I couldn't decide whether to quilt it in straight lines on the diagonal or with an allover meandering stitch ... so I did one side with lines and the other side meandering!  I really like both of them, but I think I like the straight lines on the diagonal just a tad bit more.  Marking out the quilting lines is the perfect use for a Hera Marker along the edge of a yard stick.
The edges of the pillow sham are bound just like a quilt with a wider strip of fabric to make it look like piping.
Meadow Disappearing Nine Patch Full Size Quilt
Quilt Stats:
  • Pattern:  Disappearing 9-Patch
  • Size:  Full size, 80" x 93" before washing
  • Quilt Top Fabric:  Meadow by Blackbird Designs for Moda
  • Batting:  100% cotton
  • Backing:  Extra-wide quilt backing in country blue tone-on-tone
  • Binding:  Rose Silo Rouge from the Fleur Rouge collection by Anna Griffin
  • Quilting:  All over large meander in gold thread on Mrs.Singer, my 1896 Singer 31-15 mounted on a long-arm quilting frame.
Pillow Sham Stats:
  • Pattern:  One-piece front and back with tied edge and inner flaps to cover pillow, from Shams with Style by Anka's Treasures
  • Size:  20" x 26"
  • Fabric:  Rose Silo Rouge from the Fleur Rough collection by Anna Griffin
  • Batting:  100% cotton
  • Binding:  Extra wide deep red from Kona
  • Quilting:  Straight line on the diagonal on one side with small allover meander on the other.

Linking to:
Val's Quilting Studio

July 2, 2013

Meadow Scrappy Table Runner

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Scrappy Meadow Table Runner Quilt
This cute little table runner was made using scraps from the Disappearing 9-Patch Quilt I am making for a friend.  The fabric is Meadow by Blackbird Designs for Moda.  I do love the calmness of this collection.

Scrappy Meadow Table Runner Quilt
It started out as a brick pattern, and then I added larger squares around the edges to increase its size, using up some of the little pieces that were left over.

Scrappy Meadow Table Runner Quilt
I used gold thread for the quilting.  It blends in and yet stands out for a peek here and there.

Scrappy Meadow Table Runner Quilt
Quilt Stats:
  • Pattern: Scrappy bricks, sort of
  • Size: 20" x 26"
  • Fabric: Meadow by Blackbird Design for Moda
  • Quilting:  Allover meadering stitch on Mrs.Bernina, an old 830 from the 70s which was my grandmother's
  • Batting: 100% cotton
  • Backing:  Unbleached muslin
  • Binding:  Coordinating solid tan from the Meadow collection
  • Value:  Simple and sweet!
This quilt is for sale in my Etsy shop, Busy Hands Quilts!

Linking to:

Fresh Poppy Design Better Off Thread