happy halloween!

 

My new faux pumpkin, stitched by hand with black yarn.

quilt market

Detail from Melody Miller's booth at the 2012 International Quilt Market, Houston

This past weekend, I went to Quilt Market for the very first time for work. It was a quick trip (and I only managed to take one picture!), but I did see many exciting, soon-to-be released fabric collections, discover a few new fabric companies (like this one, out of Japan), meet friendly people, and buy a few things at the Sample Spree. Did any of you go this year? What was your favorite part?

P.S. Thank you to everyone who donated to our team for the Walk to End Alzheimer's! I was so disappointed not to be able to attend because of my last-minute trip to Houston, but my husband still went to represent our team on Saturday, and thanks to your support, we were able to raise $2,000!

scrap challenge: chevron napkins

When Rachel at Stitched in Color announced that she was going to be doing another scrap challenge (I loved the results of the first!), I immediately volunteered to participate and was so excited when I was one of the four people selected to create something using all of the scraps pictured above.

My husband and I are heading to a wedding soon, so I figured this would be a great opportunity to make something for the newly married couple. After a bit of brainstorming and sketching, I decided to make a set of napkins using mini half-square triangles.

I wanted the napkins to be modern and simple, so I decided to incorporate the ubiquitous chevron, along with a lot of negative space. I created the chevrons from half-square triangles, and then pieced them into columns that ran the width of the napkin. Each napkin features all of the fabrics from the bundle, arranged in a random order.

I improvised the placement of the column in each napkin, to mix things up a bit and create some interest, but once I finished, I worried that it looked more like I hadn't measured properly! Hopefully the couple won't mind.

I really loved the color palette of the bundle, and particularly loved having the chance to work with new fabrics with different textures, including two Kaufman linens and a Moda Cross Weave. I paired everything with a white organic Kona, which I also used on the back. The napkins wound up being slightly more than 18 x 18 inches.

Thank you to Rachel for organizing this fun challenge, and a big thanks to Pink Chalk Fabrics for the gorgeous bundle of fabrics! You can pick up your own bundle here.

do. Good Stitches swap: what i sent

Last week, I mailed a small package to Erica (an amazing quilter who blogs over at Kitchen Table Quilting), as part of a swap amongst the members of the Wish Circle of do. Good Stitches.

In it, I included a set of coasters I'd made for her using Essex linen and prints by Anna Maria Horner, one of her favorite fabric designers. The pattern for the coasters came from Rashida Coleman-Hale's I Love Patchwork. The coasters were fun to make---and a great way to use up scraps!---and I'd love to make more for both holiday gifts and upcoming craft fairs. I backed each coaster with a coordinating scrap from my stash, and quilted everything with zig-zags.

I also included a little bundle of scraps for Erica, in the colors she'd asked for: navy, green and gray.

This was such a fun swap to participate in, and it was nice to be able to get to know my fellow circle members a bit more. Hopefully we'll do more swaps in the future!

new look!

I've been wanting to change things up on the blog for a while, and after taking a website design class at Sewing Summit, I finally felt ready to do it. After reading some online tutorials and designing a few new things in Photoshop (a huge accomplishment for me!), I wound up with something I love---a clean, simple space to highlight my projects. What do you think of the new look?

prismatic quilt

Not long after sharing a sneak peek of this quilt, I finished it! Consisting of oversized half-square triangles, the simple quilt pattern is called Prismatic, and can be found in Kathreen Ricketson's Little Bits Quilting Bee, one of my favorite quilt books.

To make it, I paired almost all of the light blue prints in my stash (ranging from vintage to new) with solid white---I love how well the various prints work with one another, despite differences in scale and value.

For the back, I pieced together a number of larger scraps, including a few treasured prints I'd been hoarding.

I quilted it on my own machine (!) using an all-over stipple. This is by far the largest quilt I've ever quilted (it's approximately 81" x 90"), and while the stitching is far from perfect and took forever to complete, I love the final, crinkly results.

I bound it with a beloved Kei Honeycomb Dot I snatched up in a sale a few years ago, and added a new label.

P.S. The DC Walk to End Alzheimer's is this Saturday, and we'd love your support! Details about the walk can be found here.

do. Good Stitches: September Blocks

I'm back from Sewing Summit and finally catching up on my to-do list! Above are the blocks I made for Lynn for September's quilt for the Wish Circle of do. Good Stitches. Our group members created scrappy blocks using Ashley's converging corners tutorial; I think the final quilt will be stunning!

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.