winter quilting

These quilts marked a renewal of quilting after an extended break. From September through January, I had left my machine to gather dust. My sewing room more like a ghost town, and despite trying to force myself to get back to it, I had zero drive or inspiration.

Once my husband deployed again, I needed to satiate my nervous energy, so I got back to quilting. And these quilts are the result, with almost all of them being completed within a two week period. In fact, some of these were old WIPs, that had long been abandoned. It felt pretty wonderful to complete them.

This was one I let sit for almost 2 years, as a pile of blocks waiting to be assembled. 

This color palette was bold and foreign to me, and that's probably exactly why I love it. 

The Nani Iro fabric is so soft, and between the backing and the wool batting, this one is extra fluffy and crinkly!!

Did I mention that I love this one? The black fabric in particular!

This quilt is like a snapshot of some of my MOST favorite fabrics and designers!!!  From the Liberty, to the Alexia, Heather Ross to the cotton + steel stars!!

When in doubt, big-patchwork it out, I always say! 

I don't actually say that, but I do love big patchwork.

The creamy colored binding on this one makes me happy.

catch up

Hey friends! It's been a while. I don't have a whole lot to share, so instead I will just share a recent quilt I made. I have a few more quilts I have completed, but this one I am sharing here is my favorite. Partially, due to it's color palette, partially because I love using traditional patterns with modern fabrics. It's that straddling of time-tested and fresh takes that I love so much.

My first ever 9 patch quilt, but certainly not my last.

My sweet quilt holder!

muted

I am going through a muted phase. Not the non-speaking variety, unfortunately for my children......I am talking color palettes.

I had been drooling over this gorgeous Kelly Ventura lawn print in Cottoneer Fabric's shop for a bit. That picture isn't the best at showing the color-- this picture is better  I think it is the top right fabric, because the gray is actually like an icy blue-gray mix. I bought it, along with a bundle and some other fabrics, and as soon as I saw it, I fell in love.
this picture is better
I started building around that main fabric, and eventually had a color palette. (which definitely evolved to include another color, with one of the fabrics below being omitted.)

And in keeping with my idea to Quilt the Book, I flipped through the book to determine a pattern. I knew I was going for a soft, modern look, one the did not look overly planned. So the Tagged Quilt was the clear choice for me.

And so I began constructing a basically improvisational patchwork quilt, using bigger blocks, and keeping a soft palette.

I knew  before I began quilting it that I loved it.  But the quilting just amped up the love.

Sometimes that happens for me, where I am not sure if I love it until I quilt it. And sometimes even after I quilt it, I'm still unsure. Fortunately, the latter is pretty rare. Because I know pretty early on during the piecing process whether or not I am liking a quilt. And the ones I am not are usually cast aside. There have been a few I continued on with. And of those, most I am happy I did. -- I will be honest and say that I have made a couple that even after it is finished and washed and all crinkly and cuddly, it still feels blah. I can think of 3 right off the top of my head, but I don't think I should share which ones because one was a gift, one went in my shop, and one is still sitting here, and I don't want to attach my meehhhhh feelings to these quilts. haha.

sorry.....I got sidetracked.

This quilt was not meeehhhhhhh AT ALL. I loved it. Here she is!

This quilt is available in my shop here  :)

Watercolor Boardwalk

I ordered the most delicious bundle of fabric from Cottoneer Fabrics. The bundle , titled Gelato, was built around a Nani Iro fabric that is pure fiber magic. The colors, the double gauze, the soft design as if someone painted delicately atop the fabric.  MAGIC.

As soon as my order arrived (which was full of fabric goodness), I quickly searched for a minimal pattern that would do the fabrics justice. I have a list of various patterns I want to use, and pulled up this one I starred a while ago from Cloud 9 Fabrics, called Village Life. You can find the pattern HERE.

I decided to size it down a bit, so if you are interested in my block size, let me know. It ended up finishing at 40 x 51 inches. I quilted it with straight lines to stick with the simplicity of the quilt.

And here is where I will break the rules of quilt humility and say I really love this quilt. It is soft and dreamy and filled with negative space to evoke that easy, yet modern feel that I crave.

I almost went with a striped binding in lavender and I am sooooo glad I changed my mind after cutting two binding strips. Not sure what it is about the silver Kona that I love here but I feel like it perfectly frames it.

I mean, look at that house lavender house (which is made with Lucy Engels handprinted fabric I have hoarded for a year) with the most perfect Nani Iro roof. I would move into that house in a heartbeat.

Remember when I said I bought 13 yards of the lavender fabric, so be prepared to see it popping up in quilt backs. Well. I was speaking truth.

My kind of village. 

What is it about a quilt swirl that makes me sigh a big ol breath of content? 

This quilt might be my most favorite in quite a while. When my husband FaceTimed us from the desert today, I was so happy with it, I made him hang on so I could go get it and show it to him. I never do that. He's not as into quilts as I am. haha. But he still put on a smile because he could see how happy I was with it. 

The quilt is listed in my shop HERE!