Elk Grove Cheater Baby Quilt

If you follow me on Instagram (I'm @gwennypenny2), you already got a sneak peek of me working on this quilt. It was supposed to be a Christmas present for my nephew who was born almost two weeks ago, but I got it done before Thanksgiving and really wanted to deliver it to him, so we're back down to a big fat zero in the Christmas sewing department :)

The front and back fabrics are from the Elk Grove collection by Jay-Cyn Designs for Birch Fabric. This was a quick one because I used the Elk Grove Patchwork print for the front, no piecing required. Just layer, baste, quilt, and bind. I had this done from start to finish in about 2.5 hours!

The back is more Elk Grove...

The binding is also from Birch Fabric, from their Mod Basics collection...

It's nice to sew something for a boy once in a while :) Around the time I started thinking about making a baby quilt for my nephew, Jodi from Sew Fine Fabric contacted me and asked if I'd be interested in a little barter. I have been ordering fabric from Jodi's shop for about a year and a half now. She and I have very similar taste in fabric, so I know that if it's in her shop, I probably need want it! I have ordered from her several times, and I'm always amazed by how quickly I receive my order (flat rate shipping is only $2.50 in the US, $4.50 to Canada!) and how nicely the fabric is put together. She has an amazing selection. I highly recommend Sew Fine Fabric.

You can also find Jodi on Facebook, her blog, Pinterest, and Instagram. Oh, and make sure you sign up to follow Sew Fine Fabric in one of these ways so that you can find out about sales and new fabric in the shop (I took advantage of her 15% off sale a couple weeks ago :)

P.S. I was compensated with fabric for this post, but the glowing review is all mine. I have ordered from Jodi many times over the past year and a half (including once more two weeks ago!), and I will order from her again!

Suburbs Quilt

This fall I hit a deadline that crept up on me much quicker than I thought it would... Time to make my youngest a twin-size quilt so that she could move out of her toddler bed. I dread huge projects like this... if it can't be done in a day or two, I avoid it like the plague. So, of course, I waited until the last possible minute on this one until I couldn't put it off any longer. I really wish I was a process-loving person, but I'm a "final product loving" person ;)

The pattern is Suburbs from Allison Harris (Cluck Cluck Sew). My daughter picked it out herself. I was a little more than thrilled because I love this pattern. I decided to go with wavy quilting lines. I've never done anything by straight-line quilting, so I was afraid the wavy lines were going to look like a complete novice (or drunk person :) quilted it, but I absolutely love the way it turned out.

I'm also happy to report that all but the blue sky fabric and the backing came from my stash!

The entire back of the quilt is one fabric. It's from the House & Garden collection from Cloud9 for JoAnn's. I love the little pink birds on this...

So glad that this one is checked off the list. I actually have another quilt on tap... a cheater baby quilt. Much more my speed... should be able to hammer this one out pretty fast :)

Swoon Block Mini Quilt - It's My Party Day 2

It's the final day of our third annual It’s My Party and I’ll Craft if I Want To. Amy (from Ameroonie Designs) and I are celebrating our birthdays this week by sharing a few projects that we made just for us. On Wednesday I shared my flat-bottom zipper pouch. Today I'm sharing a single Swoon block mini quilt...

I've been in love with the Swoon pattern for quite some time, but I know it will be years before I can see myself tackling an entire Swoon quilt. I decided to try it out with a single block mini quilt to hang on the wall. One block is massive... like 24" square massive. And labor intensive. But I got through it and came out relatively unscathed :)

I added a 3" white border, and when all was said and done, the final quilt measures about 29" square.

The "X" quilting was inspired by the quilting that Kirsten from Gemini Stitches used on her gorgeous modified Swoon block. It ended up being a lot less difficult than I imagined.

The binding on this quilt has been waiting on the sidelines for the right project to come along. Rita from Red Pepper Quilts used this turquoise Patty Young Running Stitch fabric (from the Lush collection) on her beautiful postage stamp quilt, and I immediately ordered the fabric for "someday". Its been sitting around for about a year, and I'm so glad I finally got to use it for this project.

The back is some polka dot fabric I've had sitting around for a couple years. It never really went with anything that I was working on (since I tend to favor the ROY G BIV color scheme), but these colors really worked for this quilt.

I love the overwhelming sense of accomplishment you feel when you finish a quilt... even a small one :)

Make sure you check out Amy’s project today over on Ameroonie Designs. She made this adorable pillow (I'm a sucker for polka dots)...

Thanks for following along with our annual birthday week celebration. It gets scaled back a little bit every year as life gets more complicated, but I wouldn't miss this for anything. As always, thanks to my partner in crime Amy for joining me again this year :)

Seaside 1600 Quilt

When I said good-bye last month, I really didn't think I'd be away this long, but its been really great to just enjoy my family and my life and sew when I can along the way. I've actually been pretty productive over the past month, and hopefully I'll get around to sharing some of the things I've been up to soon. Today I get to share the biggest project I've completed this month... a quilt!

We've been spending most of our summer weekends out on our boat. Even though it's been super humid here lately, there are days and evenings when it gets windy and cool out on the water. I decided that I wanted to make a quilt for the girls and I to cuddle up under when it gets chilly while we're out cruising around. There are so many ocean and beach-themed fabrics out right now, but I knew right away that I wanted Seaside by October Afternoon for Riley Blake. It has a very vintage feel to it and (I think) has a bit of a New England vibe. This month's Point of View theme "Outdoors" was a great motivator... I finished this quilt in five days from start to finish! If you've been reading my blog for a while, you know that I'm always complaining talking about how slow I sew, so five days for me would be like three days for everyone else ;) And you may be wondering why a quilt fits the outdoor theme... It's a bit of a stretch, but we're using it outdoors, so why not? Ready to see it?

This is my largest machine-quilted project to date (about 48" x 64"). I wanted a quilt that wasn't going to take forever to make, and I had seen this quilt that Darcy over at Modern Cozy made (which is beautiful!), so I decided to try out the 1600 Quilt tutorial for myself. It's so quick and simple to put together. I had the quilt top done in just over two hours!

This quilt uses forty 2.5" wide strips (Thank you pre-cuts!). Like Darcy, I didn't angle the ends of my strips. I just like the look of it better.

The back is solid gray with a 12" wide horizontal strip of red Lizzy House Pearl Bracelet...

I'm really glad I went with the royal blue binding. It really frames the quilt nicely...

I added a little piece of "Seaside" selvage to the bottom of my quilt label. I've never done that before, but I thought it was appropriate since the quilt is going to be used on a boat :)

I love this quilt, and I will definitely be making more 1600 Quilts. They go together so quickly, they'd make a great gift for someone special.

Now it's your turn... Check out this month's Point of View collage and link up your past or present outdoors-themed projects at the Point of View Link Party! We want to see what you've been up to!

Scrap Jar Stars Doll Quilt

One of the gifts that I made for my two year old for her birthday was a doll quilt. I had a really hard time deciding what pattern to go with. I ended up choosing the Scrap Jar Stars block from A Little Bit Biased because a) I love this block and b) I will never have the patience to make enough of these blocks to create a large quilt from this pattern. Here's the finished quilt...

Of course I went the way of ROY G BIV :) I had a hard time selecting the right pink, but I think the one I chose works pretty well. The quilt is about 17.5" square.

The back is a single fabric multicolored polka dot print...

To label the quilt I just used a fabric pen to write a little something in four of the polka dots...

So here's the kicker... my daughter couldn't care less about this quilt. It bothers me a little, but I kind of expected it... she's two. One day she may surprise me and start playing with it :) But it doesn't matter... I love it!




I'm linking up over at {Sew} Modern Monday at Canoe Ridge Creations and Fabric Tuesday at Quilt Story.

I'm also entering the Modern Mini Challenge at Ellison Lane Quilts.

A Tale of Two Quilts: Part II

Last Monday I shared the first of two quilts that I sewed as Christmas gifts for my girls. Today I'm sharing the second quilt, the quilt that I made for my youngest...

I mentioned in a post way back in August that I wanted to make a plus quilt. I'm so glad I did. I really love this quilt pattern.

The finished quilt is about 43" square, and I used charm squares again. If you're interested in making a plus quilt, Jeni at In Color Order has a great tutorial, which I used to decide how to sew my quilting lines. Love the look of it...

Here's the back. It's a little busy, but I kind of like it...

And here's the label on the back of this quilt...

Same style as the label I made on the other Sherbet Pips quilt. Again, I got the idea for this label design here.

I love these quilts, and I really think I'm getting hooked on quilting. In fact, I'm working on a doll quilt right now that will be a birthday gift for my youngest later this week. Hopefully I'll be showing it to you soon. I still have to show you some other Christmas gifts that I made, too. Can you believe January is almost over?!? Crazy! Have a great week :)



I'm linking up over at {Sew} Modern Monday at Canoe Ridge Creations and Fabric Tuesday at Quilt Story.

A Tale of Two Quilts: Part I

I told you I'd be back today ;) When I checked in after the holidays, I mentioned that I had sewn two quilts as Christmas gifts for my girls. These quilts were a long time coming. I bought the Sherbet Pips fabric for them way back in March of last year, intending to get them done right away. When December rolled around, I finally used Christmas to motivate me to get them started. I am so happy with the results. Today I'm going to share one of the quilts, the quilt that I made for my four year old...

I used Rae's Storytime Squares quilt pattern, slightly modified. I had to change things a little because I was working with a charm pack (5" squares) instead of the 5.5" squares that the pattern calls for. I went with wider sashing around the outer edges of the quilt and traditional binding. I used Kaufman's Quilter's Linen for the sashing. This was my first experience with this fabric, and I really like it. It has a nice weight to it. The finished quilt is 43" square.

Here's the back...

I really like the way the back turned out. I was afraid it was going to end up crooked. This is only the third quilt I've ever made, and this was the first time I used more than one fabric on the back of a quilt. I added a little Pearl Bracelet in red (from Lizzy House Outfoxed) and solid gray to the Sherbet Pips for the pieced column.

I incorporated the label into the quilt itself instead of sewing it on the quilt at the end...

I got the idea for this label design here.

My daughters were thrilled when they opened their quilts on Christmas morning. They knew they were getting them, and they saw the quilts as I was working on them, but I didn't let them see the finished product until they unwrapped them. Santa brought them little red armchairs this year, and these quilts hang on the back of their chairs in the living room. I love finding the girls curled up in their chairs under their quilts reading books or seeing them build a fort by flipping their chairs over and covering them with the quilts.

I don't think I have ever been more proud of a project that I have done. There is something so satisfying about completing a quilt. And it's even more satisfying to give that quilt to someone you love. I believe I may have been bitten by the quilting bug :)

I'll be sharing the second Sherbet Pips quilt next week. Tomorrow I have an awesome giveaway for you guys, so make sure you stop by. It feels good to be back!



I'm linking up over at {Sew} Modern Monday at Canoe Ridge Creations and Fabric Tuesday at Quilt Story.

Pin It Wednesday: Plus Quilts

Back in March I set a goal for myself to complete two little Sherbet Pips couch quilts for the girls by October 1st. Although I thought I'd have plenty of time to get them done, I didn't have high hopes of making it, and now I know for sure that it's not going to happen by October 1st. However, I have started planning and prepping. In fact, I've invested way too many numerous hours trying to decide on just the right quilt pattern for each and how to lay it out. I need to stop wasting time and start sewing if these quilts are going to be ready for winter.

After looking over lots of different quilts, I am really digging the plus quilt. I had originally planned on just making regular patchwork quilts, and a plus quilt is basically just a patchwork quilt with a little more prep work :)  I have found some gorgeous plus quilts that I can't wait for you to see. Here are this week's pins...

1. Castle Peeps Plus Quilt from ann-marie s.
I love the colors on this. It just looks so inviting.
I want to curl up in it. With cocoa. And cookies.
(Ann-Marie was inspired by this quilt by Jeni from In Color Order.)

2. Red Letter Day Plus Quilt from you know what i love?
This is such a fun quilt. It was made for a little boy, and I think the colors are perfect.
I really like the quilting on this.

3. Summer Sherbet Plus Quilt from Film in the Fridge
I think the green is really unexpected on this quilt, and I love that. And if you look closely,
the quilt is mainly made up of solids with only a few prints thrown in. So pretty.

4. Voile Plus Quilt from The Student/Teacher

This quilt is stunning. And I love that Emily went with voile fabrics, so it's super soft.
I never would have thought to do that. Such a clever idea.

So as of right now, my plan is to make a plus quilt for my youngest, but I still need to decide which direction I'm going to go for my oldest. As for my deadline, I have a revised goal of Thanksgiving... we'll see if I get there :)

If you're interested in seeing my other quilt pins, click HERE. Interested in seeing ALL of my Pinterest boards? Click HERE. No clue what Pinterest is? Click HERE.

Pin It Wednesday: Quilt Inspiration

Today's theme is "quilt inspiration". If I had all the time in the world to sew, this is what I would be doing. Here are this week's pins...

1. Bizzy Kid Quilt from Allison at Cluck Cluck Sew.

I already purchased this pattern and can't wait until I can find time to make this quilt. Love it!

2. Argyle Quilt via Quilts and More.

Get this... through a bit of research I found out that this quilt was actually made by

Vanessa of V and Co. and published in Quilts and More magazine. I LOVE this quilt. Gorgeous!

3. Rainbow Quilt from Jolene at Blue Elephant Stitches.

Love the bright colors against the white, and that polka dot binding is perfect.

4. Diamonds Mini Quilt from Lindsay at Lindsay Sews.

I love the gray background and the scrappy rainbow binding. Beautiful!

Do you have a favorite quilt pinned in Pinterest or bookmarked to make someday? If so, leave me a link in the comments so I can check it out. Thanks!

If you're interested in seeing my other quilt pins, click HERE. Interested in seeing ALL of my Pinterest boards? Click HERE. No clue what Pinterest is? Click HERE.