Bloggers Quilt Festival: Fall 2011

October 31, 2011 | terriaw

It’s time for the Bloggers Quilt Festival: Fall 2011 – an online festival where quilters from all over the world share a picture of one of their recent favorite quilts. It takes place over the same time period as the International Quilt Market, a wholesale trade show where fabric manufacturers and fabric designers get together to share their treasures with fabric shops.

I am happy to share my favorite quilt again with you today.

I used Randi’s pattern and my favorite fabric collection, Chocolate Lollipop. I did free motion stippling all over, which was quite fun to do once you get into a zone.

I think the print for the backing and binding is so charming.

I have big plans to make a quilt from each of Anna Maria’s fabric collections. In addition to this one, I have a zig-zag quilt made from the Good Folks collection, and a quilt-in-progress from the Garden Party fabric collection. I’m hoping to make a quilt with the Innocent Crush fabric collection using a 25-patch pattern, and the Loulouthi collection using a star pattern. I also have a stack of Loulouthi flannels cut up to make into a warm, cozy quilt to curl up in winter. And I’m hoping to make a string quilt with my stash of the Little Folks voile collection. I know, it’s quite ambitious to think I can make that many quilts, but it’s still fun to dream about it.

Thanks for stopping by!

On My Design Wall – Bee Blocks

October 13, 2011 | terriaw

I have received 10 of 12 blocks from my quilting bee partners to make my Garden Party quilt.

A couple blocks came back smaller than the directions, so I will likely end up taking those apart and resewing them together to make sure they are the same size as the rest of the blocks. Since I don’t have much fabric from this collection in my stash, I don’t have a lot of wiggle room to make additional blocks. I’m hoping to get the other two missing blocks back soon, and I’ll be ready to piece this burst of color together.

A Pair of Minis

September 23, 2011 | terriaw

My husband asked me to make new mini quilts to put on our nightstands. He was bored with the previous ones. So I laid out a stack of fabrics I thought he might like, and let him choose two prints for his nightstand and two for my nightstand.

Here’s what his looks like:

Here’s what mine looks like:

He went with a combination of an African safari map and batik fabrics. He also wanted a simple patchwork design, so I used my pattern for my checkerboards (which are sold out). I love how rich they look on the wood stain of our nightstands. I also love how easy and quick these minis were to make over the course of a week.

A Pair of Notion Bags

September 11, 2011 | terriaw

I made a bag for a friend who shares my love for chocolate lollipop fabrics.

I use my bag to hold my sewing tools and notions in.

She fell in love with it when she saw mine at our quilting retreat this summer, so she requested one for herself.

She sent me a big stack of fabrics, so I thought it would be cool to make this into a trade. She sent me some fabulous dots and basics that I’ve never seen before, so I’m excited to find creative ways to incorporate these fun prints into my stash.

With my busy work schedule these days, it’s been awhile since I’ve done any sewing, so I was pleasantly surprised when this bag took me a little more than an hour to make. Relieved I still remember how to sew!

Floating Stars Finished

August 18, 2011August 18, 2011 | terriaw

I can’t believe I finished my Floating Stars wall hanging already!

I started this project at my annual summer quilting retreat.

Only a month later, it’s quilted and bound, and ready to hang. I did some echo quilting inside each star and inside each border, and then some free-motion quilting in all the white space.

This was one of those projects that I just made up on the fly, and I’m loving the results!

PS – forgot to mention that this wallhanging measures 32 inches around.

Getting Caught Up

July 17, 2011July 17, 2011 | terriaw

I’ve been working hard the past week to get caught up. First on the list, I made a set of art cards for week 27 to remember my road trip to a quilting retreat.

I spent a good part of last week picking raspberries from our garden, getting about a pint each day.

I think I have over 2 quarts so far, and there’s probably another quart to be picked.

I made raspberry jam over the weekend, which I haven’t done in ages. I added a handful of strawberries that were getting a little old and mushy. Man, I can’t believe how much jam I have now! Guess I’ll be eating more peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or making scones to spread raspberry jam on.

I’m SO happy I finally finished my chocolate lollipop quilt, after piecing it in Spring 2010 for Randi’s quilt-along.

I don’t know why I procrastinated doing free motion quilting on it because I love how it turned out. It measures 48 inches wide by 62 inches tall.

I’m surprised I even managed to finish the binding already, since I have three other quilts waiting for the binding to be handsewn to the back.

So these highlights are represented on my art cards for the week.

I copied the illustration style of Michelle‘s gorgeous strawberry card because I loved the look and because she always inspires me! It felt good do be drawing and painting again, since it’s been over a week that I’ve worked on any art projects. For my other card, I used a scrap piece of fabric and the selvage to record my new favorite quilt accomplishment.

I have so many project ideas I want to work on, but I also want to get caught upon my unfinished projects so I can move on.

Quilting Retreat Projects

July 13, 2011July 13, 2011 | terriaw

I am excited to have some fun quilting projects to share with you from my quilting retreat this past weekend!

I finally finished piecing my pinwheels quilt top. I love how Sis Boom fabrics, which I started piecing last fall. I love the way it turned out so I can’t wait to quilt it and snuggle up in it when our air conditioning gets too cold.

I also stippled two sets of patchwork that I’m going to use as bathroom rugs. I finally reached a point where I feel comfortable stippling and love the relaxation of free motion quilting.

One patchwork rug is for summer, and measures 18 inches tall by 31 inches wide, made from Sis Boom fabrics I cut into charm squares.

The other patchwork rug is for fall, measures 22 inches tall by 31 inches wide, and is made from Nature Walk fabrics.

I found these cool coffee prints while fabric shopping, so I had to make a mug rug and a 36-patch mini quilt that I’m going to use as a placemat.

I finally made a ticker tape wall hanging, which measures 16 inches wide by 18 inches tall. I LOVE THIS QUILT! Thank you to Amanda Jean for sharing your inventive and amazing idea with us! And thank you for sharing some of your snippets with me. If anyone has ever been tempted to try making one of these, go for it! It produces fabulous results and becomes addicting. You’ll never look at a tiny scrap the same again.

I also made a new maverick star wall hanging using Gwen Marston‘s liberated star block from fabrics I bought over the weekend. I had no idea what I was going to do with them, so this project was especially fun to dream up as I went along, getting feedback from my fellow quilting retreaters. I added a wide white border so it came out to a 34-inch square, which will make a nice wall hanging.

It felt great to be so productive at retreat, especially when there was so much talking and laughing going on!

Shop Update

June 2, 2011June 2, 2011 | terriaw

I am excited to share lots of shop updates with you today!

First up, I added a whole bunch of sketchbooks to the shop, from reusable moleskin covers to these fun cereal box sketchbooks. They are about 4.5 inches wide by 5.5 inches tall, with 50 sheets of paper in each spiral-bound book. They have been featured here!

Here’s a small sample of fun NEW moleskin covers with handmade sketchbooks included.

The smaller ones fit a 3.5-inch by 5.5inch notebook. The size in the middle is a custom 6-inch square.

By the way, NEW slipcover styles and sets coming soon, so stay tuned!

Then, I started making a couple new party purses over Spring Break (back in March!), which I finally finished and added to my shop.

These are very similar to the purse I’ve been carrying the past couple months – perfect size (7 inches tall by 9 inches wide) for going out!

I also started making prototype of two new purses over spring break, and finished them recently as well.

These purses are also 9 inches wide by 7 inches tall, but they have a 2-inch gusset, making them roomy for carrying more purse stuff.

What a relief to finally have all these new items in my shop!

I put a couple laptop bags on sale (20% off) recently. If you’re in need of a new bag, stop by for a looksy. Speaking of laptops, my Pink Lady laptop bag has been featured in a Summer Pink Treasury!

Next on my list was to finish a custom laptop sleeve ordered by a friend and fellow classmate. I love how it turned out so I can’t wait to deliver it.

Finally, I have decided to offer my products as PDF to Print patterns! I’ve received several requests and encouragement from several other people to offer patterns, so that is the next big step I will be working on.

Hope you are keeping busy with creative fun too!