My Version of "The Hood" Tree Skirt

I saw this tree skirt on a blog (FreshLemons) last year.  This year I found one on Flickr by LolaBlueOcean.  Apparently,  there was a pattern published in the 2010 issue of Fat Quarterly by Brioni Greenberg. I think all of the variations are adorable.  When my daughter asked me to make her a tree skirt, this is the one that popped into my mind.  Then she said maybe just blue stars.  Really?  I showed her the picture on Flickr.  She said it looked too complicated.  

Okay.

I decide to make this one for us.  We have had the same tree skirt for over 30 years, I think.  My mom bought it.  It is a weird mix of country and tacky, with two inch wide lace around the edges.  But the presents cover it.

Anyhow.

I start cutting and placing some of the houses and send my daughter a picture.

She liked it.

So, about 10 hours of work later, her tree skirt is done!

Tada!!!

I had a lot of fun making the houses and trees and stars.  I even made a house with their name in it next to a Christmas tree.

The Christmas lights are up early this year because my husband actually did them (for the first time, I think).  Aren't they pretty?  Well, it is daytime, so not so pretty right now but beautiful at night!)

Here is the Christmas tree!  I quilted their name onto the blue house.

Swirly quilting!  I outlined the houses and trees with the darning foot, too.

This part will be under the tree, of course.

I made wide stripes on the back and used the same fabric for the binding.

The houses and trees are on my quilt.  I just need to sew a backing, baste it, quilt it, and bind it.  We will be getting our tree on Saturday.  Hmmm...  I wonder if there is any chance I will be done?

Thanks for visiting!  Come back again soon!

Baby Quilt

This little quilt is finished and ready for the new baby to arrive any day now.  The new mom is a teacher at my school and she is due two days after my daughter.  This quilt started life here as a possible back to the scrappy stash quilt.  

I had fun quilting it like crazy!  Two of the grey borders have straight line quilting, then I did a wavy line in the blue and stippled the pink.  The center is done in a paisley pattern.  I will bring it to school tomorrow, hopefully just in time for the new baby to enjoy it!

This back was easy to figure out!

Love all that texture!  I am washing it tonight so it will crinkle up.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great Thanksgiving everyone!

Richard Quilts

Scrappy Stash Quilt-along Finish!

I was inspired to create this quilt by Jennifer at Ellison Lane Quilts and her Scrappy Stash Quilt-along. I love strip quilts and log cabin quilts and scrappy quilts and rainbow quilts so this was a perfect fit!



Of course, I forgot to read all of the directions before I jumped right in.  The blocks were supposed to end up at 8.5 inches and I made mine at 12.5 inches.  I did meet the minimum of 30 blocks and it is a large quilt (for me to quilt on my home machine).  I decided to try quilt as you go but I did it in only two sections.  It definitely made it easier to quilt!  I stitched in the ditch and a half inch on either side of each seam and then I made a sampler of the FMQ stitches I know how to do.

Some I like more than others.  My favorites might be the paisley and daisy chain blocks.  My husband has been very supportive during this process.  He usually doesn't say much about my quilts but he seemed to like this one.

Following my stubborn  creative tradition, I wanted to piece the back also.

It was interesting.

Version Number One: I thought I would have a rainbow of colors with grey in between.  I cut some strips and sewed them end to end and then I pretended it was a jelly roll race and assembled them.  It was too small and I really didn't like it.

Version Number Two: I made four small square in a square quilts using colorful scraps and grey in between.  I had high hopes for this one!  It took forever!  As I finished each little quilt, I loved it.  However, when I put them together, not so much.  Hmmmm.....  (don't worry, I will use the four little quilts for some little babies that are coming soon).

Version Number Three:  I sewed big blocks of each color of scraps.  Hmmm....

Version Number Four:  I know!  I will cut 9.5 inch squares out of each block and make a nine patch on the back.  Problem is, the back will have a split where I have to assemble it for the quilt as you go and there is not any way I will be able to match up the fronts and the backs.

Final version:  Ta Da!!  And I really love it.  (Good thing!)

Such drama for a back, I know.  But I love a reversible quilt!

Do you piece your backs?

Happy Anniversary, Baltimore Modern Quilt Guild!

Our guild is officially two years old.  We had a challenge to use the Alexander Henry umbrella fabric in a 16" pillow (to swap or not-your choice). 

 I couldn't make it to the sew-in/meeting this month because I had a very important birthday party to attend (my adorable granddaughter turned 2!).  My pillow was a little closer to an 18" pillow.  I paper pieced the NY Beauty block and then I quilted the front and the back.  It  finishes with an envelope closure and I put binding all the way around.  Someday I would like to learn how to do piping.

My attempt at paisley a la Leah Day.  It improved by the end.

Back of pillow- I quilted little twirls all over. Also added some binding to the envelope edge.

Pop!

I decided to keep it.   :)


I am joining up at:

Pincushion

Our guild is one of five guilds participating in a pincushion swap across the country.  I made this little gem. 

 I followed a tutorial for adding the triangles around the square.  Basically, you lay out two equal squares right sides together, sew all the way around the outside of the squares.  Then mark the X on the back of one square and carefully cut the X on the top square only.  Iron it back and repeat.  It was simple to do but I didn't like how the corners were all chopped off by the next seam. 

Back of pincushion

 This was the first time I made a box like (not flat) pincushion.  I just winged it and I think it worked out pretty well.  I also quilted the top of the pincushion.  Not necessary but I liked the added dimension.  I guess I won't know who gets it.  Hmmm...  Hope they like it!  Finally,  I added some little felt balls around the edges.

Tada!

Vrrrooom! Vrrrooommmm! Blogger's Quilt Festival

I decided to enter this quilt in Amy's Blogger's Quilt Festival.  So many gorgeous quilts!

This quilt is my favorite so far this year.

We had a shower for my oldest daughter last Saturday.  She had friends from her childhood and friends from her adult soccer team.  All three of her bridesmaids were here.  She received many, many lovely gifts for her baby boy to be!

Her friend Renee made some incredible food and took care of most of the details.  We cleaned the house and picked up the cupcakes and drinks.  

The main thing I had to do, of course, was make the baby his quilt.  I decided on a car mat quilt, inspired by this the car mats we use with the Kindergarteners in the blocks.  I added some rainbow houses, a lake with fish and roads with curves.

 I had fun quilting all different patterns in the different sections.  I tried pebbling in the lake but it turned out more like fish scales or waves!  It was fun imagining my grandson playing on the quilt as he gets a little older.

 Surprise!  The other side is for my daughter.  She is decorating the nursery in blue and gray.  She likes modern, geometric designs.  So I made my first chevron quilt on the reverse.  It is hard to really say which is the front and which is the back!

 You can see the quilting was definitely on the house and road side!

 All washed up and snuggly.

Can't wait to meet the baby (he is due at the end of November so we have a little while to wait!)

Blogger's Quilt Festival Information

*Quilt Measurements; 60" by 60"
*Special Techniques used, if any: Improv, curves, chevron
*Quilted by…Me!
*Best category – Baby quilt! Scrap quilt