Crayon Commute

Remember this stack of fabric? 







Last week it was turned into this:








This quilt is a copy of this one that I made back in 2010:




 



I called this one Train Tracks and I have no idea why it never appeared on my blog! 


Both of these little quilts are inspired by this one that I spotted over at Bijou Lovely.  I love the simplicity of the pattern and how it lets the fabrics take center stage. 







The cute gray fabric in this quilt is called Crayon Commute and it is by Alexander Henry. The light blue is a Riley Blake blender fabric (color: Robin).  The red (binding too) is American Banner Rose from Moda and the yellow is from the Moda line Charlevoix.  I added in a Kona solid (Navy) and some white Kona for the sashing.


I used more of that buttery-soft yellow fabric on the back and added in a strip of stacked coins (one of my most favorite ways to piece a quilt back!)






Crayon Commute is listed in the shop!


linking up:

Working From the Stash

First of all, the winner of the pincushion giveaway is…





Di!  Di I’ll be sending you an email this afternoon.  Congratulations.  And thank you to all of you for your nice comments and emails!





This weekend I was able to complete several WIPs and get another one started.  This latest one is one that comes completely from my stash.  It always feels good to be able to construct a whole quilt without having to visit a shop.  This one will be quite small – probably about 40” x 45". 






I’ve been reading along with Jodi’s Sew Scraps Along.  She’s been talking about all-things-scrap this month and it’s been fun to see the creative projects that are out there.  Honestly I don’t dip into my scrap bins very much.


I’m thinking that I need to start using up my scraps.  My green bin and blue bin are getting quite full.  I love the look of these Scraptacular Picnic Quilts.  I’m still debating, but right now I’m leaning towards making one of my own. 


This photo of my green bin was taken a couple of weeks ago.  It’s now overflowing and the lid barely clicks back on. 


 


I use these tall bins to keep most of my scraps.  I love them because they have secure lids and the bins just happen to be the perfect height for the top shelf of my closet:






As you can see, I sort my scraps by color, but very generally – Reds, Oranges/Yellows, Greens, Blues, Pinks and Purples are together.  On the far right I also have bins for multi-colored scraps, one for browns/blacks/grays, and one final bin that keeps all of the whites. 


I also have one bin that I’ve been using to store selvedges.  Obviously that one needs to be bigger.  Either that or I need to get rid of some of my selvedges. 






To get my scrappy-quilt ideas flowing, I created a gallery over on flickr.  There are definitely several that are my favorites! 


If you’ve seen (or created) any fabulous scrappy quilts, I’d be interested in seeing them!  Leave a comment with the link or email it to me. 

Pincushion Jar Tutorial

Today I have a pincushion tutorial over at the Riley Blake Cutting Corners College – go and check it out!





I was really in need of a new pincushion.  When I am working on hand sewing a quilt binding, I carry this mug around.  It holds everything I need:






The only problem is that it tends to tip over.  Often.  Plus…it’s a mug.  Mugs are for hot chocolate.  Not binding clips. 

This new pincushion jar is perfect.    Everything fits so nicely inside:  scissors, thread, binding clips, thimble.


 


Plus, it’s quick to make.  Gotta love that.

I happen to have an extra pincushion – would you like one?  I’m giving this one away:





It’s made with Riley Blake's Love Birds Dot Stripe on Blue and it has a cheery red grosgrain needle holder. 

::giveaway is closed!  Thank you!::

To enter the giveaway just leave me a comment on this post.  Any ol’ comment will do!  I’ll randomly draw a winner on Monday at noon.  Sorry, but I’m afraid I’ll have to limit this giveaway to those in the US and Canada.

Thanks for stopping by!
--Andy

Lucky Nines

Remember my nameless WIP?  She’s done and she has a name:  Lucky Nines.  Thank you for all of the suggestions in your comments and emails! 





Like I mentioned before, I have had these 3.5” squares sitting on my table for months and when I had a few minutes I would sew them into nine patch blocks.  And when I say “a few minutes” I mean a FEW minutes.  I quickly figured out that each nine patch took me about 4 minutes to make.  That’s about how long it takes a toddler to use the potty.  And since he always needs his “pwrivacy,” I could use those few minutes to make a block.  How’s that for efficient! 


Once the blocks were done, I considered making two matching baby-size quilts.  Wouldn’t they be sweet for two twin boys?  I had just enough blocks to make two little quilts that would be about 45” x 45".  I chose instead to make one toddler bed-sized quilt.  The deciding factor was simply that I needed to get this project off my table so I could make room for the next few!  This is a great size though – the finished quilt measures 56” x 67”





For the backing I used this green print from the Hooty Hoot line.  I was hoping to be able to find the Blue Jacks print for the back and the blue and brown stripe for the binding, but the green is my second favorite and ended up working just as well. 





Lucky Nines is in the shop!



linking up

A Little Inspiration

I’ve decided that I need a new quilt for myself.  I have become a bit enamored with this fabric and *I think* I’ve decided to use this as the jump off point for my quilt.  A plus:  the mister just walked in, saw the above pic and proclaimed “wow! I love it!”

The fabric is from the Long Live Vintage line by Adornit.  Not sure of the name of this particular print.  I DO know that at my LQS there is only about  2 yards left on the bolt.  I’d better get down there and grab the rest of it tomorrow!

(original photo of fabric from here)

Currently Working On…

My current project (well, ONE of my current projects) is an advent calendar.  It was a custom order through etsy.  I really thought that it would be challenging to work on a Christmasy project right after Christmas.  Instead, I am finding it… fun. 





All 24 of the little felt ornaments are done, as well as all of the applique numbers. Honestly, those parts were the ones I was dreading.  Now that they’re done the rest will be a breeze.  I love getting the dreaded parts over with first, don’t you?

Crayon Commute

On my last trip to my local quilt shop I discovered this adorable fabric:





The bolt was wedged in with some other transportation themed fabric, but this one just jumped out at me.  It’s called (rather appropriately) Crayon Commute and it’s by Alexander Henry. 

It didn’t take me long to find some coordinating solids.  I found a blue Riley Blake blender fabric (color: Robin), the red is American Banner Rose from Moda and the yellow is from the Moda line Charlevoix.  That yellow fabric is the most beautiful yellow color, and it’s buttery-soft.  I’m not a yellow fan, but just the feel of that fabric makes me want to find an excuse to use it again. 


And speaking of using things again…

I’m still a huge fan of the Hometown line.





This quilt top is created with all of the leftovers from my Right Turn Only quilt.  This one is small – about 42” x 46” or so.  I’ll show more of it soon – once it is quilted and bound.


linking up:

On A Roll

This has been a great week for finishing things.  Feels good!

This was one of the things I completed.  The quilt top was finished back at the beginning of December.  I’m calling this one Stars Abound 2.  (The original Stars Abound can be seen here.)





The fabrics are from the Tidbits and Treasures line by Piece O’ Cake Designs (Robert Kaufman) and I used Kona White for the background.  I love the bright and happy colors!

It took me a little bit to decide what to do for the backing.  In the end I decided on a lovely yellow print that reads more as a solid.  It’s warm and buttery and just makes me long for the warm sunshine. 





The binding is done in (what else?) a cheerful red dot.  For my bindings, I use this tutorial.  I always machine stitch the binding to the front of the quilt, and about 90% of the time I hand stitch the back.  I love how the invisible stitching looks.  Such a clean look. 






Stars Abound 2 is currently looking for a new home.  She’s listed in the shop!  (sold)

Edited to add:  The pattern for Stars Abound is now available in my shop!




I'm linking up to Finish It Up Friday

and

A Nameless WIP

Sometimes I know immediately what I’m going to name a quilt.  Sometimes I have no idea.  Why does a quilt need a name, anyway?  I feel they do.  Not sure why.  This quilt currently has no name.  I’m open for suggestions. 

This is a quilt that I’ve been working on here and there over the past few months.  The little stack of 3.5” squares stayed on my table and when I had a few spare minutes I would make a 9-patch block and add it to the pile.

 


I was able to finish up all of the blocks and get them pieced together over New Year’s weekend. 





The quilt top is done, and I already have the backing and the binding.  I’m just waiting (not so patiently) for an order of Warm & White to arrive in the mail  so I can finish this!

Finally Finished!

My latest pattern is finally listed in the shop.  I owe a big THANK YOU to my fabulous pattern proof-reader!  You rock. 





You can find Jack’s Blocks listed here.  (The sample quilt for Jack’s Blocks is finished as well and will be listed in the shop soon.)


Now on to other things!  I’m a new member of the Do. Good Stitches online bee.  Our group is the IMAGINE group.  We just started this month and we were asked to create two sawtooth star blocks using reds, pinks, whites and grays. 







Each month our group’s completed quilt will be sent to the wonderful people at Threading Hope.  My month will be April and I’m pretty sure it will take me until then to decide on ONE idea.