Hop, Skip, Jump Quilt

I am filled with joy to finally have this quilt finished!!

 This was the 2013 Block of the Month hosted by Sew Lux Fabric. I rarely choose kits, but they were offering PB&J with this BOM, so I signed up. I love this fabric line from Basic Grey for Moda. It's one of my favorites.

I chose to put my blocks on point to make the quilt a little larger. It finished at about 48" x 65". It's a good size couch throw, and I've been enjoying cuddling up with my son and this quilt.

I knew I was going to keep this quilt (because I love the fabric), so I seized the opportunity to go a little crazy with the free motion quilting and get in some practice trying something new. I did random groups of vertical figure eights on horizontal lines across the quilt, and I worked in a whole bunch of quilting and sewing terms. It was fun to write these words out on my quilt, and I was actually surprised at how legible they ended up being.

 I quilted this one on my Juki 2010Q and Grace Frame with Signature thread and Pellon Nature's Touch 100% Cotton Batting. The backing is a vintage sheet. I love the softness from those broken-in sheets. Every time I find a good one at the thrift store, I count it as a huge win (for the comfort, price, and opportunity for a long new life). You can't beat a $1.99 quilt back, eh?

I think almost every quilter makes the following statement almost every year, but seriously: I think this is the year of the UFOs and stash sewing for me. Since the new year, I've completed this quilt and finished two quilt tops with stash-only fabric. I've also joined in the #2016fal fun by pledging to finish 7 UFOs in the first quarter. We'll see how close I come to that goal, but I'm really working hard on it.

Here's my finish-along goal collage:

Wish me luck!

Thanks for stopping by, and happy stitching!  :)

Jelly Roll Chop

I love Jenny's tutorials over at The Missouri Star Quilt Company. Every Friday I look forward to seeing her newest one. They are usually all about fast and easy quilts or other quilty type projects you can do with precuts.

When I first got the Gracie Frame to go along with my Juki 2010Q, I was so scared to load up my first quilt! A long-armer friend told me how pointless it is to practice on scraps, though, so I finally conceded to use a quilt top I made with Jenny's Jelly Roll Race tutorial for my first quilt on the frame.

I was shocked at how easy it was to load up the quilt layers onto the frame. The tutorials that Grace Company provides are excellent. I can't explain how intimidated I was by this whole process, but I was also thrilled at the same time.

I used a pantograph that I traced from a stencil for this first quilt and squealed gleefully all by myself down in my basement shop after I got going. It's so fun to quilt on this Juki/Grace Frame combo. It is lightweight to maneuver and very easy to follow the pantograph with the laser.

This quilt is really special to me, because of the whole experience. I wanted it to go to someone who I knew would appreciate the process of quilting as much as I do. I gave this quilt to my Grandmother in Maine for Mother's Day. Grammom is also a quilter, and she never keeps anything she makes for herself, so I knew she would love it.

I call this quilt the Jelly Roll Chop, because after I completed the tutorial, I chopped it up and added some sashing to make it a little bigger and give it a different look. The jelly roll is Summer House by Lily Ashbury, and I used Kona White for the sashing and binding. The back is a vintage sheet, and the batting is Pellon Nature's Touch (as always - because I love it so much!!).

Nonnie's Quilt

Does anyone else have a hard time choosing fabrics and patterns for guys?

My dear great-uncle, Nonnie, turned 81 this past week, and I started thinking about a potential quilt for him many months ago, but my previous attempts at boy quilts have been sub-par at best.

Last year during garage-sale season I got it into my head that I would make a quilt out of old shirts. I thought a St. Louis 16 Patch with mens shirts might be my solution to the boy-quilt dilemma.

One night…concealed by mask and cape…I snuck into the closet belonging to Mr. Sexy Pants, and stole a couple of button-downs that haven't seen the light of day in probably a decade. (P.S. …do all other guys hang on to every article of clothing until eternity, and go postal when threatened with a trip to Goodwill? I swear there are t-shirts in his drawer that must have once clothed a porcupine, but Sexy Pants won't listen to reason when it comes to spring cleaning.)

Anyway, back to the quilt at hand:

I ended up adding one of my own shirts to the mix, and rounding out the rest with a trip to Goodwill. There were moments of doubt when I started piecing these together - I'm not going to lie to you. I was trying hard not to plan anything…just grab strips and sew them together. But there is always some point during this process when I lean back to stretch, take a look at what's going on in front of me, and think, "What the heck was I thinking? Ugh!" Does this happen to any of you? As luck would have it, this happened at a point I deemed too-late-to-turn-back-now, so I pushed onward.

I'm glad I did, because when I eventually pulled the quilt off of the frame and got the binding on, I couldn't help but smile. I don't know what it is about this one, but I really dig it. It's simple and all-boy. I'm also happy with the fact that these old shirts have found a new cozy purpose in life. No longer do they have to hang (forgotten forever) in dark closets, or cry out from a sea of thousands of other previously loved shirts at the Madison Goodwill for someone to please take them home.

I got a call from Nonnie in Maine when he received his quilt on Saturday, and he was very pleased. I wish I could have been there to see him open it, but I know it will keep him cozy during his naps. :)

The quilt back is black yarn-dyed Essex Linen by Robert Kaufman, and the binding is from the freebie table that was generously sponsored by JoAnn Fabrics at Sew South! I quilted it on my Grace Frame & Juki 2010Q with a printed pantograph from the awesome Quilt CAD software by Grace.

Happy Quilting :)