LMP+QG february challenge: stacked coins quilt

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

This month, Kait and I tackled the stacked coins quilt in LMP+QG. I've been trying to have these monthly challenges be an opportunity for me to both work from my stash, as well as try out new materials and techniques. In that spirit, I pulled out a fat quarter pack of Julia Rothman's Miscellany line for Cloud9 Fabrics, which I had been hoarding for months, and finally cut into it, and paired it with a linen-cotton blend (Robert Kaufman's Essex), a material I've loved the look of and have been wanting to try for ages.

For the back, I paired leftover coins with white from my stash:

I finished both the top and back for the quilt, though I haven't had a chance to put everything together quite yet. I must admit that while I'm happy with how the top turned out, I love the back more. I loved piecing all of the leftover coins into scrappy blocks---it's definitely a technique I'd like to try again.

See Kait's pretty blue version of the pattern here.

Coming up next month: Pieced Pillows

paintbox pillow

A pretty patchwork pillow to brighten your morning, made by my mom for my birthday last year:

craft social mug rug swap

Earlier this month, I participated in Craft Social's mug rug swap, the first swap I've done in awhile. For my swap partner, Yvette, I made this churn dash mug rug from linen and a floral print from the Dream On collection:

The inspiration for the design came from this Purl Bee project, which my friend Kait had reminded me about the week before.

In return, I received this adorable crocheted mug rug from Beth:

pillow swap: what i received

So way back last summer, when I participated in the Triangle Modern Quilt Guild's pillow swap, and made this pillow for Quilt Dad, I received this amazing pillow from fellow guild member Valerie in return:

I loved the color palette that Valerie used so much, that it wound up being the inspiration for our living curtains. Thanks, Valerie!

P.S. Happy Valentine's Day!

settling in

Thanks to my mom's help on a recent visit, things are actually now hanging on the walls in our house.

Photo and prints all in black frames.

Mirror above the hall shelf. 

 Modified chalkboard which now holds spools of thread.

Embroidery hoops.

Noah's Ark crewelwork, finally framed (and first blogged about here).

P.S. My Etsy shop is back open! I'm hard at work making new quilts and things for the shop, and my new business partner, Anna, is hard at work listing everything. To celebrate, we're offering a coupon: use the code "FREESHIP" for free shipping through Sunday, February 12!