throwback thursday: summer breeze picnic quilt

Back in 2012, my friend Kait and I set a yearlong challenge for ourselves: each month, we would make one of the projects from the book Last-Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts---and we did! It was such a fun project, and it was a great way for me to stretch myself to sew things I might not otherwise have.

I realized recently that while I had shared photos of the Summer Breeze quilt top I made in May of that year, I had never shared photos of the finished quilt. So this week I draped the quilt on my quilt ladder in a few different ways, and snapped some pictures.

This quilt has been our go-to picnic and beach blanket, and many a nap have occurred under it this summer. I used a batting with a higher loft than I normally use, and kept the quilting rather minimal, so it's quite squishy. It's also super soft thanks to the vintage sheet back and the lightweight chambray I used in the top.

Just for fun---and in case you weren't a reader of this blog back in 2012!---here's a round-up of all of the projects I did that year, all in one place:

January: Colored Pencil Roll // February: Stacked Coins Quilt (quilt top and finished quilt) // March: Pieced Pillow Quilt

April: Peanut, the Wee Elephant // May: Summer Breeze Quilt // June: Pinwheel Duvet Cover

July: Little Bits Pillow // August: Kelly's Pincushions // September: Color Wheel Quilt (quilt top and finished quilt)

October: We took a break for Sewing Summit! // November: Bird Ornaments // December: Quilted Coasters

P.S. Are you on the Salty Oat email list? A new newsletter is going out tomorrow, so be sure to sign up now to not miss out!

recent commissions

I'm very lucky to have kind friends and family members who support my craft and commission me to make things for them and for gift giving. This month, I had the chance to work on two projects: a Kindle case for an aunt and a stuffed elephant for a college roommate's new niece.

I dragged my feet for quite a while on making the Kindle case (surely I'm not the only person who tends to put projects without a due date on the back burner!), but when I spotted Karen's iPad case, I was immediately inspired and motivated to whip up that case.

I pulled bright blue and green scraps from my stash, and pieced them at random until I had slabs large enough for the case's sides. I used batting scraps to add a bit of structure to the case, and quilted it with turquoise thread.

For the elephant, I returned to the pattern I used from Last-Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts to make Peanut, the Wee Elephant, last year.

Peanut gets easier to make each time I use the pattern, so luckily I was able to whip up this gray + pink + turquoise elephant in just a few hours.

The little tail is my favorite part! What are your go-to handmade projects for gift giving?

purple color wheel mini quilt

Not long after posting about the mini color wheel quilt top I started for September's LMP+QG challenge (which I opted to create using only shades of purple), I managed to quilt it, bind it and mail it to one of my good friends (who loves the color purple) for her October birthday.

I opted to hand quilt the piece, using purple floss in the wedges and white floss in the inner and outer borders.

For the backing, I chose a Japanese print I've had in my stash for years.

And for the binding, I used an Anna Maria Horner print, which was leftover from this quilt that I made in 2011.

I was smitten with the finished wall hanging (I love the look of monochromatic scraps!), and so happy to gift it to a good friend.

LMP+QG december challenge: quilted coasters

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.

For the last month of our year-long challenge, Kait and I decided to keep things simple (between holiday gift-making and Kait's craft fairs, we've both been busy!) and make one of the easier projects in the book: quilted coasters.

Pulling from my mom's stash of vintage fabrics, I selected three coordinating prints and made a trio of coasters, which I quilted with cream thread. This project was simple and quick and definitely one I'll return to when I need a last-minute gift.

And that's the final project! I have a few more finishes to share with you in the new year (like quilt tops that became actual quilts), but you can see all of the projects that Kait and I completed throughout the year here.

LMP+QG november challenge: bird ornaments

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.

After taking off the month of October (our trip to Sewing Summit kept us busy!), Kait and I jumped back into the LMP+QG challenge last month with bird ornaments.

I opted to make two birds, using a vintage floral print from my mom's fabric stash paired with white.

The birds were a bit finicky to make (and these were actually my second attempt at the pattern; the first attempt was gnawed on by our dog), and I found that the pattern worked best when made from two fabrics that contrasted really well with one another.

Coming up next: Quilted Coasters

gray + yellow flannel baby blanket

Though I already made a quilt for my friend who is due with her third son this month, I decided to make one more quick, last-minute project: a flannel baby blanket. The project is from Last-Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts (I'm obviously constantly inspired by the book's projects!) and is super simple and cuddly---it consists of one yard of charcoal flannel and a yellow polka-dot binding. I can't wait to see the new baby wrapped up in it!

P.S. I'm walking in the Walk to End Alzheimer's in DC this month, and I'd love your support! More details here. 

LMP+QG september challenge: color wheel 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.

For September, Kait and I decided to make the iconic Color Wheel Quilt from LMP+QG. While I love the original pattern, I decided to change things up a bit since the idea of sorting through my scraps and selecting and arranging 52 fabric wedges in color order quickly overwhelmed me. Instead, I decided to shrink the pattern down and stick to one color. Thanks to this Purl Bee tutorial, based on the Color Wheel Quilt, I was able to print out smaller templates for my mini version.

I typically don't work with purple, but since I decided this would be a birthday gift for a good friend who loves purple, I decided to give the color a shot. Thanks to some creative piecing, I managed to scrounge up 16 unique purple wedges.

Though the piecing is not perfect (there was definitely some bubbling due to all of the bias-cut edges stretching), I love the results and am particularly smitten with the purple---I'm surprised at how well all of those scraps work with one another. I can't wait to quilt it and turn it into a wall hanging!

Coming up next month: Sewing Summit! We'll be back in November with Bird Ornaments.

P.S. Want your own hand-stitched cross-stitch button? I'm sending one to everyone who donates to our team for the Walk to End Alzheimer's and leaves a comment! Details here. 

UPDATE: And here's the finished purple color wheel mini quilt!

LMP+QG august challenge: kelly's pincushions

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. 

 

Last weekend, Kait and I spent the afternoon together and did this month's project---an adorable scrappy pincushion---in just a few hours. For me, the hardest part was figuring out what color scheme to go with, and in the end, I opted for navy and aqua.

Kait was super industrious and wound up making two pincushions in the time it took me to make one, using colorful scraps (pictured above and below).

The project was simple and quick and I loved the results---it'll be a great project for Christmas gifts!

You can see Kait's post about our sewing afternoon together here.

Coming up next month: Color Wheel Quilt

LMP+QG july challenge: little bits pillow

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. 

For July, Kait and I had another quilt on the to-do list. Wanting to try something a bit different and not wanting to add to my growing WIP pile, I decided to make a big pillow instead.

I opted for a yellow and gray color theme (noticing a trend?) so that I could use the pillow in our guest room, which has officially become the yellow and gray room. I followed the book's instructions for cutting and piecing the small scraps to create blocks---the technique was quite similar to the one used for the pieced pillows Kait and I made in March.

I did random straight-line quilting on the pillow top, which is something that I've wanted to try for ages, but was always intimidated by the prospect of quilting an entire quilt that way. This pillow was the perfect introduction. It's big---over 20"+ square---and squishy and will be perfect in our new guest room.

See the pretty quilt Kait made here.

Coming up next month: Kelly's pincushions

two pea[nut]s in a box

This weekend, in between packing boxes and drinking iced lattes to stay cool, I made a second Peanut to accompany the first. Both are now safely packed up and on their way to Minnesota to meet two soon-to-be-born babies!

LMP+QG june challenge: pinwheel duvet cover

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. 

Thanks to an impending move (next week!), I've been thinking a lot about how I want to decorate our new space. Inspired by the purchase of a huge yellow lamp off of Craigslist, I decided to go for a yellow and gray color scheme in our new bedroom, and a new duvet cover, this month's project, seemed like a great starting point for changing things up. To make the duvet, I used extra wide white muslin and a Lotta Jansdotter print I picked up from the Portsmouth Fabric Company during a trip to New Hampshire earlier this month. I love the Scandinavian print and how well it translated into pretty and fresh bedding.

You can see Kait's version (and her magenta bedroom wall!) here.

Coming up next month: Little Bits quilt

LMP+QG may challenge: summer breeze

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. 

For the month of May, Kait and I decided to tackle the Summer Breeze quilt---just in time for summer picnics and trips to the beach.

The top came together quickly, though choosing fabrics was the hardest part and took the most time. I eventually settled on a DS Quilts print to use as my focus fabric, and pulled a number of coordinating prints and solids from my stash. I paired everything with a chambray I scored from the $2.97/yard table at G Street Fabrics in Maryland.

My plan is to baste, quilt, and bind this in June, so that I can bring it on our next picnic in Duke Gardens. I'll be using this vintage floral sheet for the backing, which I picked up from an Austin thrift store a few years ago:

Any tips on how I should quilt it? I'm thinking some variation of straight lines, though I'm open to any and all suggestions!

You can see Kait's pretty Summer Breeze here.

Coming up next month: Pinwheel Duvet Cover