what's one more iron in the fire?

i just joined in the old red barn company quilt along.

i'm ok with it, because i'm using up my stash. yay!
so i can buy new stash. YAY!

it's a vicious cycle.

but so much fun!

(dana is only on week 2, so it's not too late to start.)

giveaway winner

and the winner is...manbrid! thanks to all who entered in the giveaway.

oh-cherry-oh

this weekend i cut into my oh-cherry-oh jelly cake and made this quilt top...

....using this wonderful quilt pattern.

i would like to give a copy of this pattern away. if you'd like to win it, leave me a comment and i will draw a winner on wednesday sometime. (if you don't win, you can purchase the pattern here.)

and here's my monday mini quilt. (a day late.) it's so me, isn't it?

jolly rancher quilt

The jolly rancher quilt is finished! I LOVE it and now I (kind of) wish I had made it larger. The top is 100% scraps. Love that.

The one question comes up when using this many colors of fabric in a quilt top: what color of thread to use? I took a chance on grey thread and I think it works so well-even on the white....

....and I love how it shows up on the yellow backing.

I call this concentric square quilting, but really it's a squared off spiral. I quilted each of the 9 blocks separately. I love how this quilting looks and it's easy! (I used a walking foot, so that does most of the work.) I didn't mark anything, just used the squares as a guideline for quilting. This is where the small size of the quilt was much appreciated. (it's about 40" square.)

The only thing I bought specifically for this quilt was 1/2 yard for binding-that's it! Now, if I could start to notice a dent in my stash, I'd be ecstatic.

so far, so good

I started the line quilting on my square dance quilt, and so far, so good! I think it's the perfect quilting treatment for this one. Since I had so many questions about this technique, I thought I would run down a few answers. First off, it's done using a walking foot. My lines are between 1/4" and 1/2" apart. It's VERY easy to do and somewhat mindless, especially on this quilt, since I am using the squares as my guidelines. Early on in the quilting process, I crossed over the seam lines, and it looked really sloppy, so I ripped it out and decided to keep the stitching between the rows of blocks for a cleaner look. It does use a lot of thread and it is somewhat time consuming. I have about 1/3 of the twin sized quilt done which I did over a day and a half. So, not THAT bad. I started quilting about 1/3 of the way in and worked my way to the edge. Now just (ha!) 2/3 more to go!

Now, to answer the question, "so, what do you do with your mini quilts?"

We use them. :)

(it's very easy to get an action shot with a 3 year old.)

And...I posted a new tutorial on the Moda Bake Shop today.

mini quilt monday

do you know about mini quilt monday?

i was very excited to discover it for two reasons: 1. it will help me accomplish more of the quilts i hope to make in my lifetime (the list is scary and lengthy!) and 2. it's a great way to try out new quilt techniques on a smaller scale.

i have two to share today.

16" x 18"

the first is a string X block. there is a tutorial here.

(hey, it's been awhile since i made a pink quilt!)

there is a gorgeous X quilt here.

what i learned:

-spray starch helps a ton.

-i'm not going to make one of these quilts on a larger scale, as it took me 4 tries to stipple this one. (oh, the seams!)

-my spiderweb quilt is going to be a huge pain in the hinder to quilt.

14" x 17"

this is a little quilt i made for the purpose of trying out a new-to-me quilting technique. (i love the color scheme of this one. and i used scraps!)

the inspiration for the quilting is here. AMAZING, wouldn't you say?

i'd like to try this technique on my square dance quilt. but then again, i'd like to finish the square dance quilt sometime this year, so i'm torn. :)
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today is day 22 of the quilt along. i have 37 nine patches complete, for those of you who are curious.

happy monday to you!

waiting....

...for inspiration to strike. any ideas?

oh, and the chocolate cake was fantastic!

a weird day

i'm having a very weird day today.

it started with my daughter sleeping until 9:45, so right off the bat, i had about 2 hours of time to myself. that's unheard of. it was really really nice.

then, out of the blue i had the urge to bake a chocolate cake. i don't care for cake. chocolate cake would be my least favorite of all cakes, so that really really threw me off. i think i'll blame it on katie. :) (i'm baking one using this recipe.) it's all working out, though, because my brother is coming tonight and will be babysitting my kids AND it's his birthday tomorrow, so i guess my gut feeling was timely. hurray for that!

today i was getting serious about finishing my wips. for the first time in months, i have no flimsies (quilt tops completed, but waiting for the quilting) in the house. not even a doll quilt! i can't remember the last time that happened.

i made two quilt backs and basted two quilts this morning. and i'm not planning to stipple either one.

see, i told you i was having a weird day.

quilt along

it's day 17 of the quilt along. so, how's your progress?

bento box quilt

after a marathon of basting, quilting and binding this weekend, my bento box quilt is done! this thing is a monster!!! (it's a king size.) we even slept under it last night. (hurray!) i have to admit that i wasn't really loving this quilt until i had the last bit of binding done and i laid it out on the bed. it looks SO GREAT on my bed. :)

there is a whole lot of stippling in this quilt. i was thankful for every inch of arm space that my sewing machine has. i didn't time my quilting, but it took over 12 bobbins of thread. (i'm estimating that i used 2000 yards.) strangely, i think the hardest part of stippling this quilt was the very beginning because the entire weight of the quilt was pulling against me. (and because i was scared!) the middle really wasn't as bad as i thought it would be. i don't think there are any puckers in the back, except one little one on the bound edge. that's progress!

see, here's proof that i did all the quilting myself. :)

for the back i used a king size flat sheet from target. it's not an exact color match, but i love having a solid color (rather than muslin) on the back. for $14.99, it's quite a bargain. not having to piece the backing is worth that alone. i just squeaked by size wise...the sides of the quilt went into the hem to the sheet just a bit, but not too much so to hide inside the binding. whew!

i'll show a photo of it on my bed when i finish-or make, i should say-the pillow shams. hopefully it doesn't take me 6 months like it did the last time. :)

jolly rancher

my jolly rancher quilt top is done. (thanks to victoria for the name inspiration-i love it!) i had mentioned before that working with such bright and saturated colors was really pulling me out of my comfort zone. you have to appreciate a quilt that has purple and orange right next to each other and it looks "right". part of me wants to keep going and make it larger, but i'm going to leave it as is. it measures 40" square. (i sure wish i could figure out why i have such a hard time making small quilts!) i really really really love this quilt.

i thought i would post this picture to help those of you who are contemplating making a spiderweb quilt.
4 blocks=one. day's. work.

whew.

(but it's TOTALLY worth it.)

wednesday

today i am spiderwebbing... (i'm making a very conscience effort to work on my wips, not add to them. it's very difficult!)

and potty training. as cute as it is when my daughter says, "mom, i'm all peed up!", i've heard it plenty.

fun times here at the crazy mom household.

what are you up to today?

9 patches

here are my 9 patches for the one a day quilt along. i wasn't completely sold on my color choices, so i thought i would lay them on muslin to see how the blocks work together. i'm in LOVE with this. white sashing does wonders! i'm finding that my favorite blocks are ones that have a solid and a print in them.

we are on day 8 of the quilt along. (if you are behind, no worries.) i tried to add all the names to the sidebar, but with over 275 participants, i am sure that i made some errors. please check to see if your name is there and that your link is working properly. i'll adjust things as necessary. and don't forget to upload your blocks to the flickr quilt along pool.

if you were on the fence about joining, it's still not too late. nudge, nudge. but no pressure. :)

also, jacquie is continuing her spring to finish her challenge through May. you may want to sign up if you need a little motivation to finish up some of those unfinished projects. i know i do!