dot your i's-a completed quilt

Welcome to finish it up Friday!

I'm extremely thrilled... my "dot your i's" quilt is complete! I have a bunch of photos to share, then I'll recap the details of the quilt at the end of the post.

Started: July 20, 2015

Finished: March 12, 2017

 

Inspired by: Carolyn Friedlander's Aerial Grove Quilts. Squircles technique from her book Savor Each Stitch. (Each one was hand appliqued.)

 

Background block size: 4" cut, 3 1/2" finished.

 

Squares used for the squircles: 2 1/2" cut

 

Quilting: I hand quilted in the ditch with gray perle cotton, then each squircle was hand quilted with white 25 weight thread.

 

Fabrics used: mostly out of print Denyse Schmidt fabrics from Flea Market Fancy, Katie Jump Rope and Hope Valley. (I used a little bit of my good neighbors fabric in it, too! That was super fun to add in! There are a few other random prints mixed in as well.)

 

Backing: Tiger Lily by Heather Ross for Windham fabrics

 

Binding: Citrus by Another Point of View for Windham fabrics

 

Finished size: 63" x 77".

 



As soon as I finished the quilt, I spread it out on the floor and my daughter immediately rolled up in it. Her grin pretty much sums up how I feel about this quilt, too!

A big shout out and thank you to my lovely neighbor, Mrs. Gohmann, for helping me out on my quilt photo field trip!

Since this quilt is finished, I'm about to jump into my next long term quilt project. I can hardly wait to get started! Woohoo!

Now it's your turn! Please link up your finishes for the week. Thank you, as always, for joining me for finish it up Friday!

dot your i's quilt top

Welcome to finish it up Friday!

This weekend I'm hanging out and sewing with my friends for our annual Gruber's quilt retreat. This is year 7 (!!!) and it keeps getting better and better. I've appreciated having the time to sew and laugh with my friends and sew some more. I'm super excited, because it gave me time to finish up my "dot your i's" quilt top! I started this project exactly one year ago. I'm thrilled to have it in quilt top form. Already!

There are a total of 396 hand stitched squircles in this quilt. I used Carolyn Friedlander's needle turn applique method that she shares in her book Savor Each Stitch. I thoroughly enjoyed the process of making this quilt! It measures about 63" x 77". It's an instant favorite! I'm looking forward to spending more time with it (hahaha!) as I hand quilt it. I do love a good long term project!

Now, it's your turn! Please link up your finishes for the week. Thank you for joining me for finish it up Friday!

dot your i's update

My dot your i's quilt has been sitting untouched for quite some time, until recently. That's ok, because this quilt is more about the process than the final result. That being said, I think I will like the final quilt quite a lot!

My boys both run track, so this has been one of the portable projects that I pack up when we head to their meets.

Each of the squircles (square circles) are appliqued onto a 4" background square. I am using Carolyn's method of needle turn applique and I enjoy it quite a lot. I like working on one small square at a time and adding it to the "done" pile. It's satisfying to see the project come along over time.

This isn't the best photo because it's a rainy, dreary day, but you can get a feel for the quilt so far. I think it needs a lot more aqua....and pinkish red! I'm aiming for a total of 396 blocks. I have 176 done, so only 220 to go! Not. too. bad.

Happy Monday to you!

dot your i's...making progress

After a bit of a break from this quilt, I'm back at it and it feels good! This one is all about the process. I mean, I'm sure I'll like and use the quilt when it's done....but having a hand stitching project at the ready is essential for my sanity these days! (I can use all the sanity I can get! Ha!)

I started off with scraps from Denyse Schmidt's first two lines of fabric...flea market fancy and Katie Jump Rope, which dictated the color scheme. It's an interesting color mix and it's somewhat brighter than I expected it to be, but that's ok! I've been adding in a few other random prints for variety, but slowly as to not upset the current balance. It's funky and fun and I really like it!

 

For more specifics about the quilt, you can read this post.

 

Happy Monday to you!

dot your i's progress

I really, really love this one!
114/??? blocks done.
Not bad progress for only being two months in!
More info about the quilt can be found here.

sweet tweets

Today I'm happy to be a part of the Sweet Tweets blog hop. Sweet Tweets is written by Erin Cox, who blogs at Why Not Sew? I've been a fan of Erin's work for a long time--she has a knack for putting beautiful fabrics together and making the sweetest things! Her book is full of cute little projects that are fairly quick to construct. I want to make several of them! I was deliberating quite a bit on which project to make first--and I kept changing my mind--so I had my 12 year old son pick one for me. (That's a great way to solve indecision!) He chose the rainy day bird coaster, which was perfect, because I wanted to stretch my skills and try my hand at the crochet trim.

I knew I was going to be out of town and quite busy during the weekend, so I planned ahead. (I was trying something new! ha!) On Thursday, I worked on piecing the coaster...I did a little hand quilting....broke a hand sewing needle during the process!...

...and got the coaster constructed. It was fun to make!

I worked on adding the blanket stitch (to prep for the crochet trim) on my way to quilt guild on Thursday night.

I showed it to my kids on Friday morning and we squealed with delight! (Ok, so the 15 year old didn't squeal, but he liked it, I could tell by his huge grin.) My 12 year old asked if he could keep it, to which I selfishly replied "no". (Isn't that terrible of me?) I took the project with me to Fargo over the weekend so I could work on finishing the crochet trim. It's nice that it's portable! When I was on the road traveling home, I realized that my unfinished coaster was still sitting on my friend's ottoman in her living room back in Fargo. Doh! So much for planning ahead! I was too far away to turn back to get it. I decided that I would just have to make another one.

When I got home, I made this version especially for my son. I skipped the crochet trim and top stitched around the perimeter instead. He is quite pleased with it! (This is scrap project #107!)

I'll have to show you mine (crochet trim and all) when I get it back and finish it. :)

Congratulations, Erin, on your beautiful book! You did a great job on it!

If you would like to win a digital copy of the book Sweet Tweets, please leave me a comment in this post. In your comment I'd like to hear your thoughts on applique. Have you tried it? Do you love it? Needle turn? Fusible? Both? Neither? I love to dabble in both needle turn and fusible applique....there are so many possibilities! I will pick a winner in a few days. International entries welcome! :)

Also, be sure to check in on the other stops on the tour. Erin will be having a big giveaway at the end, so be sure to check that out when the time comes!

Tuesday, Sept.8 - Erin (Introduction post) Why Not Sew?

Wednesday, Sept.9 - Heidi Fabric Mutt

Thursday, Sept.10 - Debbie A Quilter's Table

Saturday, Sept.12 - Jacque Brown Dog Prims

Monday, Sept.14 - Amy nanaCompany

Tuesday, Sept.15 - Svetlana s.o.t.a.k handmade

Wednesday, Sept.16 - Renee Sewn With Grace

Thursday, Sept.17 - Martingale Stitch This! The Martingale Blog

Friday, Sept.18 - Heather Vintage Grey Handmade

Saturday, Sept.19 - Clara and Jennie Clover & Violet

Monday, Sept.21 - Amanda Jean Crazy Mom Quilts (You are here!)

Tuesday, Sept.22 - Cindy Live a Colorful Life

Wednesday, Sept.23 - Carla Grace and Favour

Thursday, Sept.24 - Mary Molly Flanders

Saturday, Sept.26 - Erin, Big Giveaway Post!!! Why Not Sew?

Happy Monday to you!

dot your i's quilt-the beginning

First off, thank you ALL so much for your kind words about my oh my stars! quilt. Those long time WIPs make for especially sweet finishes! I appreciate each and every sweet comment that you left!

About a week ago, I started a new portable project. I had the need for one, since my star quilt is finished. I have to say, this quilt was quite pre-meditated!

I've wanted to make a quilt titled "dot your i's" for years and years--at least 8 years, if I had to guess. The problem is, I only had the title, but no design idea to back it up. No matter how hard I tried, the idea just wouldn't come. Well, after I made this pin cushion, I KNEW I wanted to make an entire quilt with "squircles" on a patchwork background. I recalled my title and paired the two together. Perfection!!!

Each of the irregular circles are hand basted onto a 4" background square and then appliqued down. I was inspired by Carolyn's aerial grove quilt and followed the hand applique instructions she gives in her book Savor Each Stitch.

I am using a variety of light fabric for the backgrounds (much like this quilt) and my most precious, most hoarded scraps for the circles. (Original Flea Market Fancy, Katie Jump Rope and other older Denyse Schmidt prints.) I figured since I will be hand stitching, I will get maximum enjoyment from these precious fabrics.

I decided to line up the blocks along the top edge of my design wall so I can enjoy them while the quilt is in progress. I can't believe how fast this project is growing already! I guess it goes without saying, I really like hand stitching...and scraps, for that matter! :)

Happy Monday to you!

playful petals blog tour

Today I'm happy to be a part of the Playful Petals blog tour. Playful petals is written by the uber talented Corey Yoder of Little Miss Shabby. She has a great post about why she wrote the book here. (I love reading the story behind a book!)

The book features 9 full quilts and also 9 pillow options. (You know how I love a good throw pillow!) All of the projects include petal shapes using fusible appliqué. It's a beautiful book and the technique is fast and fun! I know that a lot of people are scared of applique, but really, there is no need to be.

I took inspiration from the quilt on the cover (love it!) and made this mini based on it. Can you believe I passed up an opportunity to make a throw pillow?! (hahaha) I traded in my normal candy colored palette and went with a red and tan color scheme instead.

This was a fun way to play with scraps! I used my blanket stitch on my Janome to appliqué the petals down. (It always feels good to use some of those "fancy" stitches on the machine.) I added some quilting around the petals to add more texture. I love how it turned out!! It measures 15" square and it's scrap project #88/101.

So, what are your thoughts on applique? Do you love it? Hate it? Scared to dip your toe in the water? I'd be curious to hear your thoughts!

Be sure to check out all the other stops on the blog tour. Corey will be giving away a copy of the book at the end of the tour as well!

September 15: Amy @  Stitchery Dickery Dock

September 16: Melissa @Happy Quilting

September 17: Jessica @ Quilty Habit

September 18: Faith @ Fresh Lemons Quilts

September 19: Amy @ Diary of a Quilter

 

September 22: Sherri @ A Quilting Life

September 23: Amber @ Gigi’s Thimble

September 24: Lori @ Bee in My Bonnet

September 25: Amanda @ Crazy Mom Quilts

September 26: Lee @ Freshly Pieced

Malena's quilt top

Welcome to finish it up Friday!

I'm not sure how I manage to block it out of my memory each year, but I am always so surprised by how CraZy this time of the year is. There is gardening and yard work to do, field trips to attend and lots of other work to do besides. My house is perpetually dirty and my sewing machines have been neglected! All that to say, I'm glad that I was able to sew at all this week....and I'm super happy that I was able to finish this quilt top.

A few years ago I started this quilt for my niece with my niece. She helped me design it and she also helped select the fabrics. I never blogged about it, but I figured out it was the summer of 2012 because we saw the movie Brave at the drive in theater during her visit here. It's good to have a reference point! :) We only had time to make a few circle blocks back when we started it, but I finally found time to work on it again. (I have TOO many irons in the fire!)

The circles were cut out on my GO! baby. I don't use this cutter nearly enough...but it makes QUICK work of cutting circles. I love that it is fast, easy and accurate, too. My kids love to help crank the fabric through, which is a bonus. (It's fun for kids AND adults. :) )

I used a blanket stitch on my Janome to attach the circles to the background fabric. I did not use any kind of fusible web beneath because I didn't want to deal with the bulk (or the stiffness) of the fusible web. I plan to quilt the circles well and the quilt will be so nice and soft when it is finished. The edges of the circles will fray slightly when washed, but I think that's all part of the charm.

The quilt top measures about 60" x 75".

 

Now it's your turn! Please link up your finishes for the week! Thanks for joining me for finish it up Friday! :)

 

Also, do you think it's time to take a break from finish it up Friday for the summer or should we keep on going? I'd love to hear what you think.

apple cake quilt

Merry day after Christmas! I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday. We enjoyed some quiet time home (just the five of us) and we also spent some time with friends. It was lovely and fairly relaxing, which is quite a feat with 3 young children! ;)

Today I am so happy to share my apple cake quilt with you! I started it in the spring of 2010. When I started this quilt, I wanted to stretch my quilting skills and I also wanted a portable project to work on while I hung out with the kids over the summer. This is my first foray into hand applique (you can read my thoughts about it here) and I'm glad to have the experience under my belt. I enjoyed applique very much!

The other way I challenged myself was to NOT rely on solid white for the background squares. Once I got out of my box, I LOVED using print on print and working with light and dark values. It gives so much depth to this quilt! I have plans to do that more often. It's a very good way to reduce the stash.

 The backing is asymmetrical, which wasn't my first choice, but in the end I kind of ended up liking it.

I hand quilted the whole thing, which was also a stretch for me. I think I only hand quilted one other quilt ever. I'm still not very good at it, but I love the results.

I love how delicate the hand quilting looks on the white portion of the back. The white also hides uneven stitches very well. :)

I used bliss dots to bind it. I hand stitched down the binding on this one. It was odd to do that after machine binding so many quilts. I was surprised that I didn't really miss the process all that much. It's funny, because hand stitching the binding used to be one of my favorite parts of quilting. Maybe I got my fill of gazing at the quilt during the hand quilting process instead?!

I think I took about 60+ photos of it. I am so, so thrilled with this quilt. I've been snuggling under it every chance I get.

It measures 56" x 70".

Happy Monday to you!

thoughts on applique from a beginner

Applique was very scary to me before I tried it. Maybe it was that little mark thingy above the "e" that intimidated me? (What is that thing called, anyway?) I'm not sure what my hang up was, but I'm so glad I jumped in and finally tried it. I'm loving it!

I've learned a few things along the way....

Use matching thread. I know...duh! I won't tell you how many blocks it took me to discover this. :) Matching thread helps! I'm using thread that matches my top piece rather than the background. I wasn't sure which was the proper way to do it, but that seems to work.

Applique is much like learning how to ride a bike, or how to free motion quilt, or how to drive a stick shift. It may look easy, but doing it is another thing. It takes practice. No getting around that...practice!!!

Well timed encouragement is priceless. Lori Holt, whom I hear is an applique expert, shared this with me. "I always tell my students..."remember your goal is just to stitch one fabric on top of the other making sure that raw edges are under to prevent fraying....don't worry about the rest...that all comes with time...just relax and enjoy the process of moving the needle in and out of your fabric". Thank you Lori! That helped me immensely.

And a little tip I picked up from Mary: always keep a project ready to go by the door. I LOVE that mentality. You will always have something ready to take with you, even at the last minute.

A few specifics about this project...

It was inspired by Nanette's Parcheesi quilt.

I cut my blocks 4" so they will finish around 3.5". I drew up my own template for the leaf.

I am using the freezer paper applique method.