Custom King-Sized Seahawks / Broncos Theme Quilt Progress #1

After receiving my customer's approval for the layout of the giant Star Surround quilt, I began cutting squares and sewing half-square triangles today.  I decided to start at the center of the quilt since I wanted to get the star layout done first and determine the exact dimensions of each square for the remainder of the quilt.  Each block is 10" unfinished. Some of the words are upside down so the quilt does not have a "right" head/foot and can go any direction on the bed.  It took me quite awhile to get the direction of the words figured out and cut the squares in half the correct way.  It did not work to make half-square triangles by sewing two squares together and then cutting them in half; the fabrics ended up the wrong way on one of the half-square triangles when opened, so each block was pieced one at a time with triangles cut from squares.  The rest of the quilt should be easier since it is all solid colors, and I can make half-square triangles two at a time. This is a custom quilt order from my Etsy shop.

Herringbone Table Runner in Tapestry by Fig Tree

Oh, YUM!  Beautiful Tapestry fabric mixed with Herringbone pattern is Oh, YUM! I've been wanting to make a Herringbone quilt since I saw the Bold Braid tutorial by My Quilt Infatuation a month ago.  Today I went through the 12# scrap bag I got from the Fat Quarter Shop and found this nice collection of Tapestry fabrics by Fig Tree, and the Herringbone pattern came to mind!   In case you've seen the 12# scrap bag from the Fat Quarter shop and wondered about buying it, I'll tell you my experience with it, although I have only ordered one.  {It is currently on sale, plus there is a 25% Black Friday sale going on now.}  You have to be really brave to order it.  Bravery is required.  You could get 12#, which is 20-25 yards, of stuff you consider YUCK.  Or you could get lucky and get a collection of Tapestry, a stack of nine different 10" WOF Monopoly strips, some ballet shoe and dancers fabric for a ballet bag for Millie, a generous pile of children's fabrics like Thomas the Tank Engine, Peanuts, Berenstein Bears, etc. some civil war prints, a stack of whites, and some just okay stuff - which is what I got!  And, yes, I already have the nine different Monopoly fabrics cut into 10" squares and up on the design wall, ready to make into a cute lap quilt! Lovin' the braid.  I think this will become a staple pattern in my shop! This reminds me so much of my mother.  I should have made it smaller to give to her as a birthday present!  This one is pretty big!
Quilt Stats:

• Pattern:  Bold Braid by My Quilt Infatuation, with smaller strips at 3.5" wide x 10.5" long.
• Size:  16" x 56"
• Fabric:  Tapestry by Fig Tree.  
• Batting:  100% cotton, thin
• Quilting:  Allover dense meandering in gold thread on Mrs.Bernina, my old 830 which was my grandmother's.  She is a work horse, and I LOVE her!
• Binding:  Double fold in a fabric from the collection.
• Value:  Just plain cozy!

This quilt is for sale at BusyHandsQuilts!

Linking to:
Crazy Mom Quilts

Seaside Cottage Small Lap / Baby Quilt and a Coupon Code!

A few of the prints from the Seaside Cottage fabric collection are perfect for a winter holiday quilt.  Luscious red, gray, and aqua!  The aqua strips are an ombre dot fabric.  Love the variation! And since you are surely wondering, yes, I did buy this fabric during my self-imposed fabric-buying moratorium - it was 50% off at my local quilt shop, so I buckled and bought every scrap they had left - something like 13 yards!  I'm glad that one of the LQS's has kept their regular prices under $10 per yard for quilting fabric, 'cause the store where I bought the aqua fabric hasn't, and it was $11.25 a yard! Quilted in bright red - for extra fun! Fun bindings are a must - bright red with white polka dots! Backing matches perfectly! Quilt Stats:

• Pattern:  Just strips to let the fabric shine!
• Size:  40" x 46", perfect small lap or larger baby size.
• Fabric:  Seaside Cottage by Heather Mulder Peterson for Henry Glass Fabrics and an aqua ombre dot from my LQS.
• Batting:  100% cotton, thin
• Backing:  Seaside Cottage by Heather Mulder Peterson for Henry Glass Fabrics.
• Quilting:  Allover dense meandering in bright red thread - sew fun!
• Binding:  Red with white polka dots by Robert Kaufman

This quilt is listed for sale in my Etsy shop!

Enter QUILTLOVE13 at checkout and save 10% in my shop!

$25 minimum purchase required.

And in case you need yarn or fabric,  Craftsy is having a huge sale this week, up to 65% off fabric and 80% off yarn! Linking to: Crazy Mom Quilts

Where I've Been, What I'm Doing, and What's Coming Up

... Where I've Been ... A week at the Oregon Coast! The weather was sunny nearly the entire time! I didn't take any fabric and nearly went crazy! ... What I'm Doing ... Winter table runners in Seaside Cottage fabric are awaiting quilting. A small lap quilt in Seaside Cottage is ready to be quilted. ... What's Coming Up ... A custom king-sized quilt, four pillow shams, and curtains in Seahawks and Broncos fabrics with solid coordinates {it's a mixed marriage!}.  The quilt will be in the Star Surround QAL pattern by Happy Quilting with a few modifications to make it HUGE at around 115" square.  Hopefully done by Christmas! A custom queen-sized Barn Raising in Kona New Brights and white.
  Full and twin quilts and bunkbed curtains for my son in Kona New Classics with black. Phew!  I'd better get off the computer and get busy! And in case you need yarn or fabric,  Craftsy is having a huge sale this week!

Ooh La La Starry Night Baby Quilt

I love star quilts and happy colors, so I thought the two would mix well in a baby quilt. I love the old-fashioned look of a quilt after washing! Tiny polka dots on bubble gum pink are so very sweet! I'm working through my stash of Ooh La La and am making good progress.  What started out as a very large stack is very small.  Currently there are three Ooh La La quilts listed in my shop - two baby quilts and an oversized lap. One of the next fabric collections in my stash that I plan to tackle is Crazy Love by Jennifer Paganelli.  It has a bright Caribbean style, and I can't wait to create some baby quilts and bed quilts with it!  However, Crazy Love won't come out of my closet until the new year because I have a grouping of fabrics that are calling out to be made into holiday table runners, baby quilts, and maybe even a lap quilt.  The fabric is gray, red, aqua, and white and so fresh and modern and holiday-ish.  Hopefully you'll see some of that during Thanksgiving week. Quilt Stats:

• Pattern:  Happy Scrappy Star
• Size:  39" x 42.5"
• Fabric:  Ooh La La by Pillow & Maxfield for Michael Miller, Connecting Threads Basic Dot, and a coordinate from another P&M fabric line, with Kona Cotton White.
• Batting:  100% cotton, thin
• Backing: Fleur de Lis in blue from the Ooh La La fabric collection
• Quilting:  Allover dense meandering on Mrs.Bernina, my old 830 which was my grandmother's.
• Binding: Fleur de Lis in blue from the Ooh La La fabric collection
• Value:  Sunny and sweet!

This quilt is for sale at BusyHandsQuilts!

Linking to:


Crazy Mom Quilts

Passing on the Crafting Gene - Millie and I Make Pillow Covers!

Passing on the Crafting Gene is a new series here at Busy Hands Quilts.  Sometimes it is too easy to let moments, days, months, no, it's years slip by without taking time to share with our kids the skills we have.  It's called living intentionally - making a sincere effort to do what we wished we had spent more time on when we're old and looking back at our life.  I am aiming to do that more.  For me that means scheduling in a set time every week when Millie and I do something crafty together.  Friday afternoons work well for us because it is our "light" homeschooling day since we have homeschool soccer in the late morning, and all school work is done before we go.  This is what we made last week.
Isn't she just precious?  And, yes, in case you're wondering, she is taller than me by a whopping three inches!!!  Did you know she is only 12?
That delicious lime green is on two of her bedroom walls.  It is so refreshing!
Her pillow is made from fabric she collected for her rainbow room.  She has the suspicious gene of being addicted to fabric {gasp!} and I now hear myself saying, "You'll need to buy that with your own money, honey!"  She is so excited to have completed a project from her fabric stash.  
My hope is that she will become familiar with and addicted to the feeling of completing projects and make this a habit in her life, rather than beginning projects and setting them aside unfinished. Completing projects has always been a hardship for me, and I have only learned to persevere to the end in very recent years.  So blogger friend, if you don't know how to quilt a quilt, or bind a quilt ... just do it, get off the computer, jump in and learn it and finish those quilt tops you have begun!  It is such a confidence booster! My pillow cover is Keep On and Quilt On by Timeless Treasures.  It was a "couldn't resist" purchase this fall at a local quilt shop sale, and I actually had a plan for it when I bought it, which I cannot say about many fabric purchases.  I used fusible fleece to give mine more stability since I intend to use it as a seat cushion in my sewing room.
And the quilt on which the pillows are resting is Millie's Rainbow Wave Quilt which I made earlier this year. Pillow Stats:
16" square, envelope backing Unknown Rainbow Hearts on Black, unlined and Keep Calm and Quilt On by Timeless Treasures, lined with fusible fleece
Linking to:
Crazy Mom Quilts

In the Meadow Table Runners

More leftover blocks have found their way into completed projects!  Today I finished three In the Meadow table runners, each with a different color border and binding.  And I still have more of these blocks! ... sweet blue ... The blocks pattern can be found in a video tutorial by Missouri Star Quilt Co., called the Amazing Jelly Roll Quilt Pattern by 3 Dudes. ... rosy red ... Each runner is a different size. ... creamy tan ...

Quilt Stats:

• Pattern:  Amazing Jelly Roll Quilt Pattern by 3 Dudes, posted by MissouriQuiltCo on YouTube, written instructions in Quilting Quickly Magazine, Summer 2013 issue
• Size:  Blue 25" square, Red 14.5" x 45.5", Tan 14.5 x 35".
• Fabric:  Meadow by Blackbird Designs for Moda, front and binding; Fleur Rouge by Anna Griffin, backing
• Batting:  100% cotton
• Quilting:  Allover dense meandering in cream thread on Mrs.Bernina, my old 830 which was my grandmother's.
• Binding:  Scrappy, double fold, attached by machine using coordinating fabrics in Meadow by Blackbird Designs for Moda
• Value:  Simply homey!

These quilts have been listed in my Etsy shop!

Linking to:
Crazy Mom Quilts