3.31.2012

LMP+QG march challenge: pieced pillow [quilt]

Each month, my friend Kait and I are making a project from the book, Last-Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts ("LMP+QG" for short). You can see previous projects here


So for the month of March, Kait and I decided to make the Pieced Pillows from LMP+QG. However, my husband and I already have a number of pillows around our house (see Exhibits A, B and C), so I decided to revise the plan slightly. Instead of making completed pillows, I made two pillow tops which I then turned into quilt blocks for a baby quilt that I'll be donating to a local children's hospital. 


The blocks came together super quickly (it took about ten minutes to cut and sew each one), and it was fun to do a bit of improv sewing when placing the white stripes.


As I've mentioned before, I'm trying to use these monthly challenges as an opportunity to try out new fabrics and techniques. So for the top and part of the back, I used fat quarters from Laurie Wisbrun's new collection, Jack and Jenny. I wouldn't normally opt for fabrics in this color palette (or with donkeys and rain boots on them!), but I have to say, I love the results! I think this will be a great quilt for a little boy.


I also decided to stretch myself a bit in the quilting department, and chose to free-motion quilt the entire thing---my first time doing so! Though it's not perfect, I'm really happy with the overall effect of the stitching and look forward to practicing and perfecting the technique more. For binding, I used scraps of orange and yellow, which added a fun and surprising pop of color.


 
See Kait's gorgeous Pieced Pillows here.

Coming up next month: Peanut, the Wee Elephant

3.27.2012

quilting project: white and navy log cabin


In January, right before my parents arrived for a visit, I managed to finish their Christmas gift: a queen-size log cabin quilt made from navy prints and solid white.



I collected the navy prints from a variety of places (including Whipstitch, CityCraft, and Stitch Lab) over a number of months and based the design on quilts I saw in Modern Log Cabin Quilting and Last-Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts. For the back, I pieced together all of the leftover scraps.



I sent it off to Joanne, who beautifully quilted it with loops, and then bound it with solid navy (and a little bit of white) when it returned. It's the largest quilt I've made to date, and I'm so, so happy with how it turned out.

3.21.2012

london

A few snapshots from our recent trip to London:

View from the London Eye

Thai chook pie and mash from Pieminister

Liberty fabrics from Shaukat & Co.

Cute car in our neighborhood

New scarf from Spitalfields Market

Vintage hankie from The Shop

Afternoon tea at the Saatchi Gallery

English paper piecing project

Pretty tray from Liberty

3.19.2012

spoonflower staff challenge


My coworker, Thomas, and I recently did a photo and embroidery project for the Spoonflower Staff Challenge (I hand-embroidered fabric photographs onto backgrounds that Thomas manipulated in Photoshop). You can learn more about our project here. Voting for the challenge has commenced, and competition is pretty fierce, so be sure to cast your vote for your favorite staff project before voting closes on Wednesday night.