Another Rose Star Block for the Pile

I haven't made much progress on Rose Star blocks in recent weeks with all of the baby quilts coming together in my sewing room. I'm traveling this week, so it's been the perfect time for a little hand sewing.

Taadaa! I fussy cut some of the fabrics to show off the little pagodas, bees, and flowers. I really like the way the damask print came together on the orange fabric. You can create some interesting patterns in these blocks by fussy cutting the fabric.

If you haven't tried making one of these Rose Star blocks, yet, you have to give it a go! Clare has a great tutorial over on selfsewn. The flickr group is full of tons of inspiring eye candy.

Making forward progress on sewing projects is tough when you're on the road. I'll definitely share some tips once I'm back in Austin and properly set up in my sewing room again.

Happy crafting!

Alice's String Quilt

I've shared with you before some of the quilts made by my great-grandmother, Alice, like a patchwork square quilt and a Double Wedding Ring quilt. Today, I've got an awesome string quilt of hers to show! It's all hand pieced and hand quilted.

True to her style, this is another large bed quilt. My limited wingspan is not enough to spread it out. I need to whip up one of those crafty quilt photo frames like Heather did over on fiberosity. 

Alice sewed clothes in addition to quilts, so there's no doubt some of these scraps were leftovers from garment construction. I'm in love with the little bunnies in the blue fabric in the foreground.

This quilt has definitely been loved, by people and maybe some moths. Oops. I love the brightly colored print below the worn yellow strip, though. I so hope that fabric was leftover from making an amazing dress.

The binding was made by folding over the back of the quilt and hand stitching it to the front. I haven't tried this binding technique, but I see folks doing this now, too. There are some tutorials out there.

The back is just two pieces of yardage sewn together to make a wide enough back. I've seen so many beautiful modern string quilts. This one fits right in with its improv style. It's such a treasure, and I'm glad I get to share it with you.

Hang on to those scraps. There could be a string quilt in your future that someone will treasure for years to come!

Happy crafting!

Liebster Blog Award

A squeal of glee rang throughout my house while I was reading through Chelsea's blog at Pins & Bobbins. She so sweetly bestowed upon me a Liebster Blog Award!

If this is news to you, here's the deal:
The Liebster award (German for favorite) is for bloggers with 200 followers or less. As a recipient of the award, you have the chance to thank and link back to the blogger who gave it to you as well as pass it along to five other deserving blogs.


Just to completely put me over the giddy edge, Chelsea said the nicest thing about what I do and share on my little crafty part of the web:
Claire Jain is a little dynamo, with more energy than I can believe! Maybe if I keep reading her blog some of it will rub off on me.

As someone who is never satisfied with the amount of sewing I get done, I was blown away by the compliment!

The other blogs Chelsea awarded are chock full of astounding projects, and I'm excited to have these amazing new blogs to follow. I'm thrilled to name some of my favorite eligible blogs (in alphabetical order) and pass along the Liebster Blog Award to these amazing ladies:

Celtic Thistle

Her Terrain pillow will light up your world.

Dee's Doodles
Of all the amazing Swoon quilts I've seen, her beautiful scrappy Swoon is my favorite.

Phone Home Designs by E.T.
Her New York Beauty will stop you in your tracks.

Pins & Bobbins
I daydream about this precious quilt and the beautiful quilting.

Selfsewn
The queen of English paper piecing who filled my life with Rose Star Blocks.

I know you'll enjoy their amazing work as much as I do!

Arkansas Traveler Block

We had a great time at the Austin Modern Quilt Guild March meeting on Thursday night. There were 40 folks there, which was amazing! I was so glad to go to the meeting, but I was sad to have forgotten my Summer Sampler Series blocks to swap and donate. Thumbs down. 

Thank you Canon Rebel T1i for taking such a great photo at dusk on a rainy day!

This is what they look like, though! Taadaa! Paper piecing success. I understood paper piecing in theory. Though, even after a hands-on class at International Quilt Festival in Houston, I had yet to successfully foundation piece something using paper this way. (Thanks to Clare at selfsewn, I have gotten the hang of English paper piecing.)

I can't wait to make more blocks! I think I'll keep using my Terrain fabrics by Kate Spain. What a fun series. I definitely upped my skill level on this one. I hope everyone is having a great weekend of sewing.

Remember to spring forward for Daylight Savings Time. Here's to longer daylight hours for sewing in 2012!

Finished: Terrain Baby Quilt

It's done! It's done! It's done!

It's overcast and raining in Austin today, but I photographed between storms.

I'm so happy to have finished this baby quilt for a little girl in Kate Spain's Terrain fabrics. I also threw in some extra purples and pinks to up the girly factor.

When I had to make (another) last minute run to the store for binding fabric, the gal ringing me up asked if it's hard to give away a quilt on which you've worked so hard. Between gifts and donations, this is my fifth quilt to give away in the last five months. Maybe it's the Terrain fabrics, but it is a little harder to say goodbye to this one. Luckily, the adorable two month-old receiving it more than makes up for the bittersweet farewell. I hope this quilt is loved hard and part of her life for a long time.

Having so recently finished the Empire baby quilt, binding this quilt went very smoothly. I mostly followed Sharon Shamber's approach, except I cut my strips 2 5/8" wide to begin with and used a 5/16" seam sewing the binding to the front of the quilt. I stitched in the ditch on the front to secure the binding to the back of the quilt. 

There were only three small places where the binding didn't catch on the back. I hand stitched those closed, ladder stitched the mitered corners, and I was finished. After washing, this quilt measured 51"x 36." I used Poly-Fil Cotton Classic Batting again. It's 100% unbleached organic cotton with a 1/4" loft.

With this quilt finished, I can incorporate photos from making it into the final pattern. Get pumped! I can't wait to make it available through Craftsy post haste! This is the third quilt I've made from this pattern. I can't believe it.

In other news, we had a great Austin Modern Quilt Guild meeting last night. I forgot my blocks to swap, so I'll show them off to you tomorrow and take them to the April meeting, instead!

I'm linking up this finish with Amanda Jean on Crazy Mom Quilts and Megan on Canoe Ridge Creations!

WIP Wednesday: Two Quilts and a Block

Arg. I so wanted to have this Terrain baby quilt done before today. Ya know, because that's the arbitrary deadline I set for myself and all. So close. It's quilted and squared. If I would just sit down and apply myself, I could have it finished today. I'm so ready to have the pattern finished, too!

The Storm at Sea quilt is still on standby.

I also wanted to finish my little orange and yellow rose star block before today, but that didn't happen either.

Ok, it's really time for me to hop to. I'm off to bind a quilt and make some magic happen.

Happy Wednesday! I'm linking up with Freshly Pieced, Sew Much Ado, and Someday Crafts.

A Visit from the Quilt Fairy

My friend scored this quilt top years ago at a garage sale with plans to finish it. It's hard enough as a quilter to finish your own projects, never mind picking up someone else's unfinished top as a non-quilter and making it into a usable quilt. She finally decided to take it off her To Do list, by giving the quilt top to me. Hooray!

It measures 84"x68" which means it could make a home on a full size bed, I suppose. The fabrics are not soft, and they're not very tightly woven. Some of them are really charming, though.

The cowboys and the yellow paisley prints are lots of fun. I don't know that the sashing fabric would have been my first choice for a quilt top that required so much work, but it is well pieced.

And all pieced by hand. Shazam. Very impressive. I've never made a block with eight intersecting points. 

I guess I have to put that on my To Do list, right along with finishing this quilt top. It's definitely been waiting long enough.

Have you ever taken a vintage quilt top and turned it into a finished quilt? Would it be wrong (or a waste of time) to take the blocks out and sash it with something cuter? The fabric in the blocks is still scratchy. I'd love to know what you think!

Happy Crafting!