Category Archives: Quilt

Swappin’ it up in 2012

Posted on February 6, 2012 by Alyson| Leave a comment

I’ve decided that I really need to connect with more quilters, like-minded or otherwise. I follow several blogs of friends, casual aquaintences, and people I don’t actually know – you can find that list over here on the right —>

But, I don’t really chat much with those folks. And I’ve been missing having a sewing buddy. To that end, I’ve opted to join some swaps! Years ago I used to participate in swaps through several lists on yahoogroups. I’m still on those lists but over the years they have become less and less and less active. I’ve done a few other swaps, in the mean and in between time, via the Quilt Art mailing list and some ladies on there. But I think I was missing the connection part, where you get to talk about what you are working on and show them pictures and, well, make friends.

Imagine my shock to discover a booming community of swappers on flickr? I mean, what a strange place to encounter this kind of activity. And yet, it’s strangely fitting. I feel a little like the last one to arrive at a party and they started the games without me. Inserting myself feels complicated and uncomfortable, but I think I’ve found a few groups where I feel less complicated and uncomfortable. But anyway…

The first swap I’m taking part is a group that swaps blocks monthly: Nubees. There’s a website and such coming soon. I’ve already chosen my fabrics and the block I’ll be making for each of my swap partners:

The block in the center is using my colors (purple, orange, teal & yellow) and the fabrics around the edges are the fabrics I’ve chosen for my partners in their selected color pallets. The block is “Envy” from Modern Blocks, which I received as a Christmas gift this year.

Next up, I’ll be participating in the Doll Quilt Swap cycle 12!. It’s a blind swap – you make and send a small “doll” quilt to someone who doesn’t know who you are and you receive the same in return. I received my name this morning, so now I have to start stalking my partner and find out what they like! I’m very excited about this one. My quilt wall could use some serious refreshing. That one is due to be sent on April 2ndish. Expect to see some blog posts about it. I have nothing to show for that one yet, but I’ll get there soon!

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Posted in Quilt, WIP

Tagged block, blocks, doll quilt swap, envy, exchange, friends, modern blocks, nubees, Quilt, quilters, Quilting, swap

Fascinating…a retirement gift

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Alyson| 1 Comment

Way back in the Spring, I saw on Craft a post about a totally awesome Spock quilt. Event though there was a tutorial on how to design the quilt, I thought, gosh, I wouldn’t know where to start. I showed it to some co-workers who thought it was awesome and that it would be a great gift for our boss, who is a Trekkie extraordinaire. But ethics being what they are, it really wasn’t appropriate for me to make it for him.

Fast forward to Octoberish when our boss announced his retirement in early December. I immediately thought of the quilt and did a search to find the post again. Lo & behold, not only did I find the original post, but I found that Carol, the brains behind the blog Funthreads, had started a really amazing, simple to follow, quilt-a-long! It made the whole project a lot less daunting.

Carol’s quit-a-long makes a twin-sized quilt in eleven parts. I thought a wall-hanging would be much more appealing to our recipient (and also easier for me to complete!), so I printed out each week of the quilt-a-long and wrote in new measurements for the pieces. If you want to change the size of a quilt pattern, do not skip this step! Have you ever tried to halve or double a recipe without re-writing the ingredient measurements? I ended up having to triple a batch of cupcakes just recently because I thought I could do the doubling math in my head as I went! When halving quilt measurements, be sure to take into account the 1/2 inch for seam allowances. Remove the 1/2 inch from the original measurement, divide the resulting number in half, then add the half inch back in. This will give you the correct (finished) measurement and your full 1/4 inch seam allowances all around. Also remember that when you halve both the width and height you are essentially making a quilt a quarter of the size of the original.

I free-motion quilted my version of this pattern only in the black/dark parts to make Spock’s face stand out more. I also stuck mainly with white/cream and black/grey for the darks and lights. I have to say I am exceptionally proud of this project. Not only was my boss thrilled with his quilt, but I really enjoyed making it – always key. I’m looking forward to designing my own quilt next, using the Funthreads tutorial – I’m thinking a Dr. Who quilt in TARDIS blue next?

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Posted in Pattern, Quilt

Tagged 2011, black, December, Fascinating, free motion, Funthreads, gift, patchwork, pieced, Quilt, retirement, Spock, Star Trek, white

Little baby blue

Posted on November 7, 2011 by Alyson| 5 Comments

Check it out! Number and 1 and number 2 of my nanoSEWmo projects!

The pattern for this baby quilt and pillow is a Wonky Rail Fence, using the Stack-and-Whack method. The backing material is a solid light blue that I had on hand. I also used a white/blue ombre rayon thread for quilting. It adds some extra sparkle to the quilt, I think. The pillow has a simple ruffle around the edge and an envelope style back.

To be honest, I’ve had this quilt top on hand for a while waiting for the right time, the right baby and the right skill set. My free motion skills are definitely improving. It’s tough to keep your loop-de-loops even, let me tell you. But it is so worth the effort. The look on the Mommy-to-be’s face made it so.

Congratulations Diana, Stephen & your little Rock Star Monkey! I can’t wait to meet him.

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Posted in Quilt

Tagged baby, blue, cotton, free motion, gift, pillow, Quilt, rail fence, wonky

Creative Prompts: Wings

Posted on September 1, 2011 by Alyson| 2 Comments

Jaye from Artquiltmaker Blog “dropped by” earlier this week and managed to convince me to give her Create Prompt Project a go. This week’s prompt was Wings.

I’ve had this moth wing print laying around for a while and I’d been wanting to try my hand at a word quilt. Match made in heaven? I think maybe:

It needs a little beaded dragonfly? moth? fairy? Underneath the “W”, I think.

Not a butterfly, though. I love a good butterfly as much as the next person, but I don’t think a butterfly works here…

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Posted in Art, Quilt

Monster Work in Progress

Posted on August 28, 2011 by Alyson| 2 Comments

Another To-Do list project: Monster Baby Quilt! No, not an extra large baby quilt, a baby quilt with monsters! I bought these monster “patches” from Jennifer of the Cotton Monster at Crafty Bastards last year. I originally intended to make a new quilt for Caleb, but I can barely get that boy to sleep under a sheet these days, let alone a quilt. I have about a bazillion friends who are pregnant or who have had babies recently, so Monster Baby Quilts just made sense…especially since Crafty Bastards is coming up again soon (October 1st) and I can’t bring myself to shop if I haven’t used what I bought last year! (OK, that’s a lie, I absolutely COULD bring myself to shop, but it wouldn’t be very “responsible” or “adult” of me. *natch*)

The blocks have been randomly pieced around each monster patch – there will be enough for 2 baby quilts when I’m done. This kind of piecing goes quickly until the end when you start measuring & trimming. For me, it also produces a lot of waste, there are lots of little edges that need to be trimmed and they pile up. Still, I love the look.