more quilt along info

Thanks for all the feedback about my pattern writing questions in the last post. It sounds normal for pattern writers to round up by about 1/4 yard. I find I do the same thing. For the quilt along fabric requirements I already rounded up, so you shouldn't need to. (Unless you want to, of course.)

(I cracked open my fat quarter pack this morning...I can't wait to start cutting and sewing!)

To answer some questions....

How do I join in the quilt along?

That's a good question. I will post the instructions here on my blog, you quilt along. Feel free to show progress shots, as well as your fabric selections in this flickr quilt along group pool and on your blog.

What size are the squares?

2.5" cut. Which means it's a jelly roll, layer cake or charm pack friendly pattern.

If I am using jelly rolls, how many would I need?

1

If I am using layer cakes, how many would I need?

1

How many charm squares would I need?

123 (since charm packs vary in count, I can't calculate the exact amount of charm packs you will need.)

If I am using scraps, how many 2.5" squares will I need?

You will need 490 colored squares. Unless you are cutting scraps, don't cut into your fabric yet, as we will be strip piecing. If you are cutting from scraps, you may want to start now. :)

Does the background need to be plain white?

No, but I would recommend a tone on tone fabric or something extremely subtle.

What fabric are you using for your background?

I'm going to use white Kona cotton.

Thoughts on fabric selection...

Take note of the value (light, medium, dark) of your fabrics. If you use lighter fabrics, you will have a softer, more subtle quilt. If you are using brighter/darker fabrics, the pattern will have more definition and will be bolder. If you are using pre-cuts, try to choose the darks and mediums from the line. Or choose only the lights. If you mix in the light fabrics with the mediums and darks, you are going to lose the pattern definition in your quilt. Most pre-cut fabrics have a mix of values since it's a representation of the entire fabric line. So, to get around that, you could buy more than the required amount to work around the values or substitute in some coordinating fabrics. Scrappy is always good, right? Just something to think about as you are planning your quilt.

I plan to start next Monday, June 7th.

I'm glad that so many of you will be quilting along with me!

quilt along #5

Here is my initial plan for the quilt along.

(why is it that posting quilt sketches feels so revealing!?!) This sketch has a few errors, but you get the idea, at least.

Ok, let's take a closer look at the pretty fabric.

It's Anna Griffin's new line The Lizzie Collection (comes out in July, I believe). This was my one market purchase. Too pretty to pass up!

Now, on to a few estimations.....

I'll start sometime after May 31, so you can finish up Jacquie's spring to finish challenge.

Quilt size: 64" x 88" (twin size)

Approximate yardage required:

Background fabric: 4 1/2 yards. I might buy 5 just in case. Having an extra bit of white hanging around wouldn't be the worst thing.

Main fabrics: I'm going to use my stack of 20 fat quarters, which will be more than plenty. IF I calculated correctly, I will only need 20 fat eighths. Or 10 fat quarters. Or 2 1/2 yards. But again, how could it hurt to buy a little too much?

Backing fabric: about 5 3/4 yards.

Binding fabric: I usually just buy a yard or whatever I choose for binding. 3/4 of a yard should be plenty.

Any questions? Anyone want to join me?

And one more question...for those of you who write patterns (even if it's "just" on your blog), when you calculate yardage, do you round up say, a quarter yard, or do you list the exact fabric requirement? For those of you who use patterns, do you buy the exact amount of fabric or do you buy a little bit extra, just in case? I guess that's two questions. ;) Any feedback would be much appreciated.

quilt market

When Diane asked me to tag along with her to quilt market, I jumped at the chance to go. It was so fun to hang out with her and talk quilts all day long. (oh, her poor ears!) My husband took time off of work on Friday to make it happen. Sweet, huh? It was my Mother's Day gift from him. (Ironic that my mother's day gift would take me away from my family for the entire day, isn't it?) Anyway, quilt market was overwhelming and great and tiring, OH, MY!

Meeting so many other bloggers was certainly a highlight. I got to meet Anna, Kellie, Bonnie and Camille, Anita, Lissa, Vanessa and Heather. I can't say just how neat that was. (And plenty intimidating, too!)

I got to see quilts made by:

Monica,

Cherri,

Alissa

and Ashley.

3 of my favorite quilts there were old (or antique) quilts...made with teeny tiny pieces.

Each piece in this quilt was only the size of a quarter. Stunning.

Same size squares on this one, but pieced with triangles. It's quilts like this that make me wonder why I call myself a quilter.

This one was from the 70's. It was done by a woman who made it while her dad battled some sort of illness. It was beautifully made and intricate. All hand pieced. Amazing.

I was good and only bought one FQ bundle the entire day. Over the weekend I came up with a quilt along idea to use it for. More on that next post!

my challenge quilt

There are a few great posts that I have been mulling over the past week and a half. I think they really struck a cord with me because I've been feeling the urge to try new (to me) things. I'm bored churning out the same type of quilts over and over. So...I thought I would give applique a shot.

I really wanted a project that would be portable, too. Perfect for summertime, or orthodontist appointments, or for movie watching...you get the idea.

I'm challenging myself even further in that I'm not using plain white fabric for the background...which is a huge step out of my comfort zone. (yay me!) I've never really worked on a quilt based on values, so I'm giving that a shot at the same time. It's been so fun to rummage through my stash and play with color combinations.

I have NO idea how long this will take. Or how big it will end up being. But I know I'm stitching a lot of tiny stitches by hand while hanging out with my kids enjoying the nice weather. It's been a lovely start to this quilt.

snips

I feel kind of "meh" about this quilt. I don't know what it is about it, but I'm going to put it in my quilt cupboard and pull it back out in 6 months and see if I like it more then. Sometimes the 6 month waiting period helps.

It was a WIP that was sitting around for way too long. A few weeks ago I pulled it out and worked out some of my stress and frustrations while finishing it up. Quilting is GREAT therapy.

It's a lap size that measures 50" x 60". The background is bleached muslin. It was inspired by this earlier quilt of mine, but I stuck to all solids this time around. I did a smaller stipple than usual, which I like quite a bit.

Binding and backing came from the stash.

Speaking of stash...I've been trying to make a dent in mine, so I've been keeping track (loosely at least) of my fabric usage this year. I've only busted about 46 yards so far. My goal is 100 yards. I still can't believe that I have THAT MUCH FABRIC! I guess I've been living in denial. ;)

three of a kind

This little quilt is all about using hoarded fabric and celebrating my little girl at the same time.

She certainly doesn't need another "baby" quilt, but I figured why not? I have one girl and I might as well get all the enjoyment of sewing for her while she is still little. I had this lovely Heather Ross fabric in my stash that NEEDED to see the light of day.

I didn't want to chop it up into bits, so I simply sewed 3 1/2 yard pieces together for the top and stippled it. She's already using it and dragging it around the house.

Hurray for well loved quilts!

I had to!

I saw this on flickr the other day. Oh, mylanta, how I love it! When I woke up early this morning, I busted out the scraps and I did a little sewing. What a great way to start off the day! I also got the sweetest card from my oldest boy. A happy mother's day, indeed!

I have no idea where I'm going with this quilt, so right now it's all about enjoying the process. I love it!!!!!!!!! Each square is 1.5" cut and finishes at 1".

Happy Mother's Day to all you other mamas out there!

bluebirds

43" square

I made this little quilt for my daughter, who turned 4 yesterday, using Anita's fabulous tutorial for the birds.

It was intended to be a lap quilt but it does double duty as a cute wall hanging for my dining room. It's perfect for the little birthday/tea party that I am hosting tomorrow. I thought it was only fitting to whip up some birds to hang from the chandelier to match.

Happy Weekend!

explaining myself

Thanks so much for your gracious response to my re-entry into blog land. I'm very thankful that you all are so excited! I've missed you guys! I'm excited and a little bit nervous, too, if I'm going to be truthful.

I feel like I need to explain myself a bit. You see, I try to be a woman of my word as much as possible. Back in January when I said I was done blogging, I really thought I was done. Then tax time rolled around and I needed info on some quilts I had donated. Well, I looked back on my blog and it was all there. How handy! Plus, I saw tiny snippets of my life that I had recorded over the past few years. It all made me realize just how valuable my blog is to me and what a great documentation tool it is. So, here I am, back at it, for better or worse. :)

The quilt shown above is a king size that I stippled for my haircut girl. We worked out an arrangement where we are bartering haircuts (and highlights!) for quilting services. It's a happy arrangement for both of us! I'll admit that I'm glad that she will be the one binding this monster quilt.

Happy Monday to you!

coming back soon...

quilts of 2009

the links to each specific quilt are here

Happy New Year, friends! I really like the new year. It's a good time to reflect on the past year and to look forward to what's ahead.

Looking back....
You know you made a lot of quilts when you can barely fit them into one mosaic.
I finished a total of 44 quilts last year. I'll be the first to admit: that. is. insane. If I weren't me, I don't think I'd like me very much. :)

Looking ahead....
This was a very hard decision to make, but this will be my last post on crazymomquilts. When I started this blog I had no idea where it would lead. It's been an amazing journey that has been exhilarating at times. It has provided me opportunities that I never would have dreamed of: working with moda on the bakeshop, being published, and teaching at a retreat in CO. It has also been a lot of work. Anyone who keeps a blog knows what I'm talking about. It's been such a big part of my life for over 3 years, but I know that it's time for me to move on. My husband and I joke that I am resigning from my full time unpaid position as quilt blogger, but that's what it feels like. I'm not sure what I'm going to do next, but I am excited about what's ahead. It really is bittersweet.

A few notes of business to wrap up...

I have closed my P.O. Box, so anything that has been mailed to me at that address will be forwarded to me, but it is no longer my current address.

I had many questions about the tide is high/lazy summer days quilt pattern. I haven't decided for certain yet, but I may share the instructions for the quilt over on flickr sometime after January 31.

I plan to keep my blog up as is as a resource. I'm not sure for how long, but I guess at this time, indefinitely.

I still plan to post my quilts on my flickr account.

So, for one last time...thank you for reading. thank you for commenting. thank you for being a part of my life. it means so much. big huge hugs to you.

amandajean

geese in the forest

Here's my last finish of the year. It combined two of my wip's....geese in the forest and tokyo's triangles...which is handy. :)

The center panel is made up of the 12 blocks I managed to make for Anina's quilt along. The top and bottom borders were made from flying geese triangles that I made using this method. I kept adding borders until I came up with this layout. I l-o-v-e the results. It's not huge-it only measures about 50" x 64".

I backed it with green and added a pop of pink for the binding. I love those two fabrics together.
I did loopy quilting all over, which wasn't easy. This quilt is not assembled as neatly as I would have liked....it's actually quite wonky. Hopefully that's all unnoticable after it takes a trip through the washer and dryer. :)

Since it's the last day of the year, here's a little WIP rundown....

I started Jacquie's Joy in the New Year Challenge with 19.
I have finished 12 quilts since that time.
9 were WIP's, 3 were new projects.
(This quilt took two off my list, but I'm only counting it as one finish.)
My final count will be 9 for the challenge.
And I'm left with 9 WIP's.
There's always next year, right? ;)

How did you do on your WIP's?