Wednesday, April 22, 2009

pete + repeat

The quilts for my boys are finally done!
I love everything about them!

the fronts

the backs (pieced from my stash! woo-hoo!)

I think my favorite part is the binding. (Also from my stash! Another woo-hoo!) It's an Amy Butler dot in the most perfect shade of orange ever. It's like the icing on the cake.

I stippled them both in white thread. It felt like a stippling test, because the thread contrasted with so much of the fabric on the fronts and the backs. Even though it was a little stressful, I think I passed the test. :)

I thought of hiding a quilted heart into each quilt. I asked my boys if that was ok, because they ARE boys after all. They were very receptive to the idea, which made my sappy mom heart so very happy. Since I thought of the idea after I completed one quilt, I have to go back to hide a heart in the first quilt. It's so funny how much they love that little touch. (insert sappy grin here.)

And here they are on their beds.
I couldn't be happier with the results.

150 comments:

Anina said...

Absolutely wonderful! I love the little heart in the quilting.

Sue H said...

I assume the orange end is the pillow end? Very smart -- your design won't get covered up by the pillow. I love your colors and design, and especially your hidden heart: a special hug from mom to sons.

Unknown said...

They look fantastic! Way to go! I stippled my kids names in my last quilt, it was fun to do!

Angela Nash said...

They are perfect! I know what you mean about the stipple test - I just did one with two large dark brown sections.

apple cyder said...

These are perfect. What lucky boys. I love the grey and orange together. Oh, and we all knew YOU, of all people, would pass the stippling test! Molly

Dallas said...

Those are fantastic. I like the hidden hearts - very clever.

Unknown said...

Oh I love them!!! They turned out great and you're right about the binding...it's perfect! Good job!

Robin (RsIslandCrafts) said...

They look great! I like hiding something in the stitching too :)

roseylittlethings said...

Love them, and love that the boys likes the heart idea,so sweet!

ellen said...

They are really cool!

Amy said...

You definitely passed the stippling test. These are really adorable. I am really loving gray these days. You should be very proud of yourself!

B. said...

These are amazing! Love them, love them!

Elizabeth said...

Absolutely stunning!!

Mushyhed said...

Beautiful quilts! Hidden hearts....melt!

JenT said...

very nice! the hearts were a clever touch.

Thimbleanna said...

WooHoo!!! Congratulations CrazyMom! They're just perfect, melted hearts and all!

Mary on Lake Pulaski said...

Just awesome - lucky boys.

Betsy said...

Your quilts are wonderful. I'm sure your boys will treasure these forever. Great job!
Betsy

Fabric Fanatic said...

They are wonderful and the color choices are inspired! I've been collecting "oranges" for 2 years now and am about ready to launch into them. I love what you did with them.

Sarah said...

They look great! I love the colors that you chose.

Gretchen said...

We wouldn't quilt if we weren't at least a tiny bit sappy, right?

Ashley said...

Just beautiful! I already loved the fronts from the first time you showed them, and now I've fallen for the backs as well - there's something I love about stripes! and that heart detail - love it!

Sarah said...

I really love these.

Pat at Bell Creek Quilts said...

wonderful gifts for your sons! very sweet with the hidden heart :)

ilovebabyquilts said...

Great job you! Love those colors.

Lonci said...

Wonderful!

Unknown said...

Just absolutely beautiful! My ds would love the colors as orange is his favorite color!

Jessica said...

LOVE THEM!! And how cute are those hidden hearts? I'll have to file that idea away. Isn't it great that just when we think our boys are *BOYS* they go and surprise us with something so sweet and sappy?! I'm off to go give my boys a hug now :)
P.S. Oh, I just bought three yards of that Amy Butler tangerine dot off of etsy ~ I was afraid I was going to run out!!!

rachel griffith said...

omg aj!!!
pure awesomeness!!!
i really, really LOVE them.

and the ♥...
how stinkin' cute is that?!?!

Cathy said...

They look great on the beds. What a great job.

ohnikki said...

I love them! You did such a great job - as always! And I sooo love the little heart! I'm gonna have to try that!

Jackie Russell said...

Love the quilts.

Alissa said...

I love them so so so much!!! So modern and cute and boyish. Love.

sandra said...

They are so beautiful!

Alice S said...

Those turned out great! I never would've thought to put those two colors together.

Donna said...

Amanda Jean, they're fabulous! You have a right to be really, really proud of yourself ... high five!!

Liz Jimenez said...

Love, love, love! They look wonderful, and I love that binding. And well done on the stippling with white thread! I stippled a quilt with contrasting thread the other day and... well... it was less successful. Ah well, live and learn. :-)

Glad the boys like them, too!

Dresden Quilter said...

These are absolutely amazing! I am going to have to learn a new vocabulary to describe your quilts. I feel as though I say the same thing over and over again. I love the heart detail.

Cheryl Arkison said...

Gorgeous! They look perfect in the room. I bet when they are 30 they will still remember that little heart.

Lynn said...

I love the quilts - but what I really want to know is how do your get your boys to keep their room so neat? Maybe you could help some of us other moms out with a tutorial for that! Thanks as always for the inspiration and for sharing.

Jaime said...

Those are STUNNING! The part about the hidden heart is so sweet. :)
I'm also a full moon dot junkie - must buy more as they are getting discontinued!

Amanda Jean said...

lynn,

i cleaned up before the photo. it's NOT always this neat. trust me. :)

aj

Karen said...

Totally amazing quilts! LOVE LOVE LOVE the orange and the little hearts are adorable;) Lucky, lucky boys;)

Collette said...

Man, those look just great.

Tee said...

Love the colors. Am I the only one that has caught that your first two pictures show the quilts hanging from your gutters??? LOL -- it worked well, the pictures are very bright and clear. Of course you could have taken the pictures in a cave and the quilts still would have looked great!

Jessica Christensen said...

Great job, Amanda Jean. And I'm with Lynn in being impressed with the clean room. None of my boys can keep their rooms clean -- actually, neither can my girls. You have inspired me to make new quilts for two of my boys. Of course, I will not finish them as rapidly as you did yours. I am absolutely certain of that. Okay. I'm off to plant hydrangeas. Can't wait to see what you come up with next, girl!

Anonymous said...

oh, AJ, they are so awesome. So. Awesome.

Cristin said...

Amanda Jean, where does your creativity end?! These are stinkin' adorable ... yet masculine~ Orange and gray is one of my favorite combos right now! Well done!

Nanette Merrill said...

I love this idea. Look how cool they are on the beds. So so wonderful.

Julie said...

This is just grand, from the super-mod design to the very boy-friendly colors to the fact that you did TWO to the perfect, perfect heart idea.

Inspiring! Thanks for sharing.

karen said...

these are so beautiful!!!! thanks for sharing!-- I would have never put the grey in with the orange, but the results are really gorgeous!

Roxanne said...

So so so so cute! or handsome I suppose I should say! :) love the heart in the quilting...I bet they will love these quilts forever!

Robin said...

Absolutely stunning!! Really, these are just so visually appealing and the hidden heart is so special. They will be showing that heart to thier kids one day! Awww!

*~hj~* said...

Great quilts! You have sweet boys, I can see how they would appreciate the heart from Mom! How does P like school?

Unknown said...

They are great! Love the heart quilting!

Jess said...

How terrific! and so manly...

szkornelia said...

I absolutely love them. Nice job!

nettie said...

perfect! i love them, especially the hidden heart

Niki said...

they really do look wonderful, even on the computer which everybody knows does not do pictures or colours any justice at all, so I can only imagine what they must be like "in person" ~ great job!

Jensmom said...

Your quilts are great! How do you find the time? I just adore all of your quilts. Keep up the great work.

EmileeHope said...

These turned out great! I love the heart idea. What a nice way to add an additional special touch that only comes from things that are custom made! I really need to learn how to machine quilt so I can get around to finishing some quilt tops that I have put together!

Victoria Findlay Wolfe said...

Fabulous!
love that orange!

Betsy said...

AMAZING! Love that orange. I am doing quilts for my boys room and I am so copying your heart idea...LOVE that!

Emily Cole said...

Great work! I love them - I also love that your boys share a room! The hidden heart is also a nice touch, you can just imagine the boys trying to find it one morning or evening.

Banaghaisge said...

Very lovely - mirror image looks great on the two beds. I always sneak hearts into my quilts for Just The Four Boys (now Just The Six Boys with two handsome stepsons! What a bonus - a lovely bloke AND funny dog AND two lovely boys!!!).
Keep sewing/quilting.
Hugs from Down Under.
xxxx

Amy Jo said...

Looks awesome!!! Love the orange/grey combo!

Patty said...

They look very nice on the beds. Do your boys keep their room this clean?

CJ said...

So handsome! I love the quilted heart touch and if I ever quilt my own I will do the same, without asking though, just let them find it one day on their own. My kids would be very receptive to something like that (a boy and a girl).

KateKwiltz said...

They're fantastic! And "old" enough that they can drag them off to college!

Aimee said...

Beautiful! I love the idea of hiding a message in the quilting! Your boys are so lucky to have such a creative and loving mom!

Pat said...

Very nice quilts and how nice that the boys were receptive to having the heart hidden in each quilt! (Hope you remembered to go back and put one on the first quilt now.)

Allie said...

I love everything about them too!

Erika said...

I love them they are absolutely fantastic

katTMD said...

I love them! Just fabulous. I swear, if you sold these, you'd be rich :)

MommaMari said...

I love it! I'm so excited because I'd love to tackle something similar for my two young boys.

Thanks for the inspiration!

Anonymous said...

You should be proud! They've turned out so well!! :) Nice little touch with the heart too! ;)

heather said...

They look GREAT!!! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE them!!!

Lori Jolley said...

Those look beautiful - and boyish! How fun! I love the idea of hiding a heart in the stippling!

connie said...

Oh, my these are incredible. What lucky boys. The stippling is wonderful

Carlotta said...

Very nice quilts. I sure wish I could get that stippling under way. You did a great job.
~Tootles for now!

Mark said...

They look fantastic! Love the little heart touch, so very sweet!

Linda said...

They look great! I'm sure the boys love them!

Jane's Fabrics and Quilts said...

They look great, love the colors and the secret heart, also, their room so claen, could they show my 13 year old daughter how they do that!!

dig this chick said...

Oh beautiful! Love the hidden heart.

A Spoonful Of Sugar said...

Brilliant quilts - love the colours and the little hidden heart is the perfect finishing touch!

Sherry said...

The boys quilts turned out just awesome. Love that orange/gray combo. The hearts stitched in the stippling is a wonderful idea. Another wonderful job, you should be proud! :)

Tracy T. said...

Totally wonderful quilts - the color combination is spot on!

. I can *so* relate to checking in w/ the boys about the hidden heart - my two are young enough that I could get away with it, that is, if I had the free-motion skills!

Another fine job - you're a whiz!

Fiona said...

Hi AmandaJean,

I adore the quilts so much that I want to make something similar for my son. How did you make the off-centred blocks? Are they done in the same way as your Paintbox blocks, or are they more like a Wonky Log Cabin?

Hope this isn't a dumb question ... I'm a quilting newby. Just completing my first quilt and have lots of ideas for other quilts that I want to try!

Thanks,
Fiona

Philigry said...

those look great! how sweet. i love the hearts.

Natalia from Piece N Quilt said...

They are so cute! I love the colors and well.....everything about them!

Karine said...

They look great. Your boys are lucky :)

Vicki W said...

They are great!

Di~ said...

Very Very Nice. You are the best!

Ann said...

These are fantastic! Really, they are so great! I love the color combination and the simplicity of them.

Anonymous said...

These are great. I want one for my bed ... maybe with a few hidden hearts :)
margie

Duyvken said...

They're divine!! What lucky boys.

RosaMaría said...

hermosos!!!!

Leslie said...

those look so great...

Anonymous said...

LOVE those! And the little heart - so sweet! :)

Unknown said...

I double love these quilts! Orange is one of my favorite colors and I love it with the dark gray. Beautiful!

Jocelyn said...

Great quilts! Love the little heart. A mama's love will always be covering them.

Beth said...

I love everything about them, too!

Christine said...

I need advice: I love all your quilts you make, but how do you find the time to keep whipping them out? I'm having a hard time just starting one.

Anonymous said...

They look very nice on the twin beds, and I love the detail of the little hidden heart.

e.c said...

THESE ARE AWESOME! I love the orange/grey. And the binding is perfect. Gosh. Your little close-up of your stippling is sweet too. What lucky boys. Thanks for sharing your work!

Anonymous said...

WOW your amazing keep the great work up. Love your blog
Raelene

Allie said...

Love these! How perfect for boys!

Hannah said...

Love them! They turned out beautifully, or should I say, handsome...

Anonymous said...

OH MY GOODNESS, those are wonderful. The color pallette is so YUMMY!

Tara said...

Probably repeating someone, but they know whose is whose? They are of course fantastic, any ideas for a full size quilt for a monkey loving 2 1/2 year old? Everyone I speak to, apparently knows about you! Book or TV in the works? We're all wondering!

DIDI said...

Absolutely fantastic quilts!
Amandajean strolling to your blog each day is both interesting and frightning.
Frightning because you explain things so quilts seem so easy to make that I want to start making it straight away and then I'm terrified by the idea that I'm too new to quilting and will have to leave it for further on!! Know what I mean??

Anonymous said...

OMG..... these are gorgeous!! I love the stitched heart detail and the colours are stunning. great work!!

Betty said...

You did a great job of making them attractive and boyish. Your quilting is great too. Betty

Mama Urchin said...

They look so nice. The heart touch is so giid.

a friend to knit with said...

oh, amandajean.
i want those. my boys would LOVE those.
you are amazing.

Anonymous said...

Those are amazing!

Judy said...

AS well you should be...happy that is. They are fabulous!

roylancemommy said...

Wow, I just love them. You have an awesome stash too by the way......nothing seems to match in my stash! They look great....lucky boys :)

Sarah said...

these are amazing! i love them!

Lucy said...

Superb as usual.

I'm curious AJ -- did your stippling ever look choppy -- wonky? We in stippling pre-school need to know if there is any hope for us. giggle

Rebekah said...

cute quilts! I love the little heart detail

meg said...

Well, those are simply fantastic. I love the little heart detail! Just the right amount of sap for growing boys. ;)

Nicola said...

i love them! i am loving orange these days, so these especially caught my eye. sweet touch with the hidden heart!
nicola
http://whichname.blogspot.com

Mandy said...

These look so wonderful. A very special pair of quilts.

Shanna said...

I am always in awe of how your simple quilts turn into such masterpieces!! I love the colors together and I am sure the boys will love them for a long time!!

Shawn said...

Yes Amandajean, I think you passed the stippling test (a while ago)!!

Threeundertwo said...

That is so sweet that you sneak those hearts in there. The quilts are fabulous. They look so great together!

dutchcomfort said...

Totally cool quilts!! And the little extra quilted heart makes them even more special!

jacquie said...

i think these are my fav of all you've made. there's just something about them. simple, but so graphic and such impact...lucky boys...great idea putting in a hidden heart. makes for a wonderful quilt story.

The Calico Cat said...

Complete awesomeness!
Love the Amy Butler polka dots - I picked up some red ones at a quilt show in February - so happy. (They did not live in my local shops...)

Lisa said...

Very nice lookong quilts for boys! I like the heart touch too.

The Calico Cat said...

I almost forgot - such a nice neat & clean room...

Oh & I want Amandajean to be my mommy...

Jane said...

STUNNING!
I love the heart idea!
And yes, my dear,
You Passed The Stippling Test!

Oiyi said...

That heart is such a great touch!

Kerri said...

oh, wow!! these are so amazing! i love every bit of them!! so striking on the beds!!

Elizabeth said...

Ooooh! I really love these. Great color choices. (And I totally agree about that orange Lotus dot!)

Unknown said...

These came out really nice. Thanks for sharing!

Kathy - Pink Chalk Studio said...

Wowza! I absolutely adore your color scheme, perfection!

leigh said...

I love the orange and grey. My boys' room is blue, grey, and orange. I just asked my 8 year old and he says he thinks they're cool too. Maybe I'll just have to make some too. Thanks for a great idea. (and all your great ideas :)

Meg said...

These are great! I love that they like the hearts. Very simple and masculine.

Lori Holt said...

I think those twin quilts are fab! I especially love the title to your post. thats what my dad used to call 2 of my brothers:)

Unknown said...

Love your twin quilts! The sweet little heart in there is a great touch :)

Katherine said...

Oh, you should pat yourself on the back with these perfect boys quilts, Amandajean.
I love the heart idea - and can just bet how much your wee men love their new, special quilts. Bravo, momma quilter!

lera said...

"Pete and Repeat" were walking down the street ... (sorry, I couldn't resist).

GREAT job, Amandajean.

Clair said...

Fun.

april said...

I love these quilts. They look so cute on the beds.

sulu-design said...

You know I was already a huge fan of these quilts. Now that I know about that heart detail, my heart is melting over them! You must have some more quilts that need naming... bring them on!

Anisbee said...

I like the hidden hearts, I like the colors too. I love the twin quilts (the same but not exactly the same) they are absolutly fantastic!

may said...

I know you're not blogging anymore but I hope you will answer my question. I just stumbled on your site and I LOVE it and am sad you won't be blogging anymore. I have twin boys and would love to make this quilt for them or have it made. Would you be able to share your pattern? Also, what fabrics did you use? I am clearly a newbie. Thanks so much for your help and inspiration!

Regina Diniz Outeiro said...

Wonderful!!! Pretty fabrics!