Indigo Sky Quilt

March 21, 20163 Comments

It seems like all of my friends are all having babies right now. I try to hand-make at least one gift for each of them…but of course, time is usually too short. (Sound familiar, anyone?) My girlfriend, whom I’ve known since kindergarten (!!!) is pregnant and is expecting this week! Her baby shower has already passed, but at least I was able to squeeze this quilt in before he’s born 😉

This stack of Handcrafted Indigo by Alison Glass for Andover Fabrics is like “whoa,” right?!? I love love blues and all of these different variations are just killer! These beauties were picked up at my little quilt shop when was first released about 5 months ago and they’ve just been sitting in my stash. When I found out my friend was having a boy, I immediately went to these fabrics. I was going to use solid white to have these blues “pop” but quickly reconsidered since this was for a baby. Wise decision. Instead, I went to Essex yarn-dyed Linen in nautical as one of my go-to blenders. It’s such a nice alternative to a solid and gives a great layer of texture.

Although I didn’t have an exact quilt pattern in mind, I knew I wanted to make some Flying Geese and keep the quilt asymmetrical. So I figured I’d kinda improv the design. I used Connecting Threads tutorial to make two no waste geese blocks per fabric. Each block is 6.5″ x 3.5″. After lots of playing around, I settled on my random design of stacked geese with lots of negative space.

With so much Essex Linen, the binding on this quilt had to be scrappy in order to highlight the Indigo and add some fun. It’s a bit of work to attach all the different binding fabrics, but well worth the effort.

The quilting was straight-line 1/4″ apart using Gutermann’s blue variegated thread. This was my first time quilting with the 100% cotton thread and it won’t be my last. The changes in the thread color are very subtle against the Essex and of course, the blues.

For the backing, I was lucky to have this Doe fabric from Carolyn Friedlander for on hand. (1) It’s a nice contrast to the front design. (2) It really complements the quilting and (3) I’ve been on a fabric diet…

This quilt was so fun to make. I loved every moment and hope baby boy enjoys it just as much!

Keep Stitchin’

Cristy

Hello Bear Triangle Quilt

February 1, 20163 Comments

One of my dearest friends is expecting and I knew I wanted to make something very special for her. The Hello Bear collection by Bonnie Christine for Art Gallery Fabrics came to mind immediately…especially, since I just made the Dwelling Quilt with it. It’s whimsical and playful with such a soothing palette…and best of all, it’s gender neutral! My girlfriend wants to be surprised with the baby’s sex, so I chose colors that could go either way.

On Black Friday, I picked up several Sizzix Quilting dies, including this 4.5″ Isosceles triangle one. I made one other triangle quilt awhile back and definitely cut off all the tips as I pieced the top together. There is such a striking look with all the triangles and I knew getting a die to help me cut my fabric would help me keep the point intact!

I have a paper-crafter friend who bought a new Big Shot for herself awhile back. She then sold me this one for less than half the price….score! I initially just wanted to use it for paper but quickly found out about the fabric dies. These are a bit pricey, but I’m hoping to add to the collection as I scout out good sales. Let me know if you ever see one 😉

Since there is a finite width to the Big Shot, some pre-cutting is needed to fit the fabric on the dies. But since I could cut up to 4 layers of fabric in one turn, this was still the faster way to go.

The die gives you the perfect notches to make piecing SO much easier and more accurate. I’m pretty proud of these beautiful points (above!) And did you know, you don’t have to trim after piecing? That’s the winning feature for me because I despise trimming. That is probably my least favorite thing to do…

To add more texture and variety to the Hello Bear fabrics, I used Robert Kaufman Essex Linen in Indigo. You can also see some solids from Art Gallery’s Pure Elements and I added a splash of Bound from April Rhodes.

The finished baby quilt is 40″ x 40″. I quilted along the triangle edges to not distract from all the fun forest creatures you can see here. This was such a fun quilt to make as I tried out my new Sizzix “toy”….but it was more special because this is going to such a dear friend. <3 I can’t wait to see her baby wrapped up in this quilt!!!

Happy Stitching,

Cristy

Dwelling Quilt {Pattern Testing}

September 28, 20154 Comments

I was holding onto my Hello Bear fabric for awhile, waiting for the right quilt pattern (and baby) to come along. Well, both happened to coincide recently! A dear childhood friend recently had a baby boy and Holly Gets Quilty was getting ready to release this Dwelling Quilt Pattern. You can find this Mug Rug I made using the smaller block from the same pattern.

I just love the modern whimsical palette of this collection. The teal and mint play so wells with the grays and browns. This is just a beautiful collection for babies and children. I mean, who can resist these woodland creatures???

For this quilt, I used the larger of the Dwelling Quilt paper-piecing templates. It creates a 8″ x 9 3/4″ unfinished block. I went for a scrappy house look with some fussy cutting for this baby quilt. Who knows what kind of mess this will be exposed to…so the various colors and patterns works to camouflage any potential incidents 😉

This was a 5 x 5 block design which created a 35″ x 43 3/4″ finished baby quilt.

As you can see, I added embroidery to the blocks with Valdani Perle Cotton Size #8 Thread in 171 Rich Brown . It was fun to add some extra texture and of course, that personal touch. Hopefully, Baby Axel will love this quilt and appreciate the extra love put into it 😉

To get the embroidery lines, I printed the letters on paper in the Return to Sender font. I like this font because it was masculine and wide enough to work with this quilt. The letters were traced onto the fabric using a water-soluble fabric pen along with a bright light source so I could see the letters from underneath the fabric.

The quilting was straight-line in a diamond configuration with Aurifil 2310 Light Beige for the top and 2615 Aluminum in the bobbin. Timberland Green was used for the binding with some fun Adventure Springs accented in to keep with the scrappy feel.

Buck Forest Mist was the perfect backing. It’s a very masculine print and the gray lends to easy baby management…er….laundry 😉

I can’t wait to see Baby Axel wrapped up and enjoying this quilt 🙂

Happy Stitching,

Cristy

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Handcrafted from the Heart

Tag: Baby Quilt

Indigo Sky Quilt

Hello Bear Triangle Quilt

Dwelling Quilt {Pattern Testing}