Design Wall Monday--Moda Love Pillow

 It's Design Wall Monday--see more Design Walls on Judy's Small Quilts and Doll Quilts blog. 

I actually sewed something for the first time in weeks!  My mood being what it was, the untouched big projects on the cutting table remained where they were.  I dug into a box of smaller unfinished projects for something more attractive, and found a Moda Love pillow top I made last July from a mini charm pack. I pulled some choices for a backing and pawed through the leftover binding drawer for something suitable.

After sewing on some 2.5" borders to make the pillow to 16.5" square, I decided not to quilt the pillow front but ironed on some thin interfacing and stitched a few straight quilting lines by machine, just to hold the interfacing on, as the fusible wasn't very sticky. 

The mini charms, Bubble Pop by Sandy Klop, have a '30's-40's vibe, and I found this floral leftover binding that seemed to go well.  However, there was not enough to go all around the pillow top.  I pulled many different choices from stash but nothing really felt right until I tried this Pezzy Print, another Sandy Klop fabric, in black and white.  I wanted to use as much of the floral as I could, and positioned equal sections of the Pezzy Print in the corners only, trimming them to extend 3" from the corners. 

I attached the flower print sections one at a time as I made my way around the pillow sandwich with the walking foot...

...Stitched in the ditch by machine from the front to finish. I think it turned out well!  It needs a pillow form and then will be ready to brighten up a couch or chair.  I'll share another finish next post. 

It's Design Wall Monday in May--see more design walls on Judy's Small Quilts and Doll Quilts blog.

Off my design wall--and finished!  This is a charm pack Moda Love quilt--a free pattern, here.

Mostly Vintage Picnic charm pack fabrics.  I auditioned a number of choices but settled on this green print from stash for the binding.  Backing was pieced from stash too.

Last week was a hard one for this hunker-downer.  The pressure at work with telemedicine patients, new technology, crowded internet, training sessions/learning a new EHR, not being able to see my family or go anywhere--really got to me.  Shhh, don't tell, but...

I got a home manicure from my friend (we both wore masks the whole time). I had been wearing bandaids on two fingernails that continuously split for weeks and superglue before that.  I gave my friend the Love quilt...she was thrilled, loved the red in the center, her fave color.  The first Love quilt I made was for her daughter a few years ago.  My friend told me that she sees that quilt every time she Facetimes with her daughter living out of state, as it is always on her daughter's bed.  That makes me happy!

Over the weekend a lot more time was spent sewing on all the borders to the Summer Breeze quilt I showed earlier this month.  I tend to make borderless quilts but really liked the design for this one.

Pattern by Kim Brackett from her Scrap Basket Surprises book--she made hers of Robyn Pandolph prints.  It's a nice throw size and just the bit of cheerfulness I needed to finish up the weekend.   More quilts are being released from their boxes and totes.  I'm trying really hard not to start anything else new!

Design Wall Monday--4/25/2020

Design Wall Monday to close out the longest April in history...see more design walls on Judy's Small Quilts and Doll Quilts blog.  

Lots more activity in the sewing room, including quilting smaller projects.  I made a Baby size Moda Love Quilt a couple of years ago and it stalled after the top was pieced--a fairly typical bump in the road for my quilt making process!  Something simple was called for and, since I had the right size batting and quickly stitched up a backing, quilting commenced.  

I started this quilt with a charm pack of Bonnie and Camille fabric and added neutrals and a few other additions from stash to finish out the layout.

Chunks of leftovers for a backing.   I used my Hera marker to space lines 1" apart and neutral thread.  I love the texture it gives.  There not being any other Bonnie and Camille fabric in stash, there were many options pulled and rejected.  Finally I happened upon a green print that works and it has been cut and sewn, ready to attach when I have the walking foot out again. 

A leader-ender project jumped ahead of others too.  I finished up the last five blocks of Cross My Heart from Kim Brackett's Scrap Basket book and commenced layout of the tablerunner I'm making for my brother, all greens from scraps and stash. 

The bright yellow-green blocks were too loud and got pulled, and I had one leftover double.  I have to cut setting triangles before assembling but have the rows pinned in stacks.

Mini, my 15 year old cat, found the empty project box irresistible...

Her, um, +/- 15 lb body didn't really fit in the photo box...

But she gave it the old college try--for a few minutes anyway, lol.

Design Wall Monday-February 4

It's Design Wall Monday again.  See more design walls on Judy's Small Quilts and Doll Quilts

Is is just me, or did January go by in a flash for everyone?  Well, maybe not those stuck in the Polar Vortex...we've been getting plenty of rain and road closures due to flooding and mud flows from all the burn areas around here.  The hills are green green green, so pretty to look at, but all the grass can become fuel for fires later. 

I've been mowing down projects in my sewing room, trying to add stash fabrics to anything I can. The Moda Love Quilt quiltalong is going on now, and after making a layer cake sized Love quilt last year, I have wanted to try a different size, from a hoarded Bonnie and Camille Vintage Picnic charm pack.  I spent a great deal of time pulling neutrals and stash additions for the quilt--it became abundantly clear that I tend to buy off whites and not many light print backgrounds!

The charm pack had a lot more aqua and I had to sprinkle it around some.  I tried Bonnie Hunter's "webbing the top" method but had two blocks tangle and turn on me and had to take out seven seams to get them out of the red star center.  Of course they couldn't be on the edge!  This finishes at about 32" square so is nice wall quilt size.  #modalovequilt

I played with leftovers from the QOV blocks and came up with these little paddlewheels and windmill, so fun to put together.  I'll add this to the stack of blocks to mail in.  The QOV info said that while they accept other quilts, the majority of Veterans chose a patriotic themed quilt, when given a choice.

Since passing off a baby quilt to my sister to longarm for me, I got out the next priority project box.  I bought the charm packs and background fabric for this quilt probably two years ago--it is a long overdue gift for my son-in-law's  mom and stepdad.  I chose the Falling Charms Quilt from Missouri Star Quilt Co for this grouping: 

The Maison de Provence charm packs were from Connecting Threads, as was a neutral background.   Since I only ordered two charm packs of 28 squares each, I added stash fabrics to make up the 80 blocks for the 8x10 setting I want.  There is a very good video on YouTube for the quilt.  A jelly roll works but I cut the 2.5" strips with my Accuquilt GO cutter from yardage.  The squares now all have the first background strip on, and I got a dozen or so blocks done with the L-shaped sashing.  

Meanwhile, our younger daughter dropped a bridesmaid's dress alteration onto my list.  She called around but no one could make her deadline of Wednesday to shorten the dress before she gets on a plane for a friend's wedding.  So I'll be hemming a lot of chiffon and lining.  Fussy stuff but not a fit problem.  Erica laughed when she challenged me to find a matching thread for her mauve dress and I pulled out a perfect spool from the thread bins!  Stash is a good thing...except when it gets overwhelming. 

Moda Love Quilt Finish

It's always nice to have a finish to share.  The Moda Love quilt pattern stitched up quick, but as noted before, the quilting part got hung up for too long.  I got the binding stitched on and a label and delivered to the recipient's mom, so she could finally mail it off to her daughter. 

I'm happy with how the colors and prints played and would make this quilt again.  The large blocks  sew up quick (the free pattern is designed for layer cake 10" squares).

 The quilting lines are mostly straight, haha.

Though unplanned, in several spots the binding matched the blocks.  I liked that.  I hope Emma loves this quilt as much as I loved making it.   Many more quilts are patiently waiting for their turn through my machine.  I had finally ordered a plexiglass insert for my sewing desk for my new machine and that arrived while we were on vacation.  I'm ready to get another quilt finished soon!

Design Wall Monday--March 26

Off my design wall today is a quilt top that I finished six months ago.  Poor thing had backing and binding made but I did not want to try to quilt it on my little Viking. Christmas came and I got a new, spacious- harped Viking.  Finally, this weekend I set up an extra table to pin the quilt.  Not without misadventure, mind you--I cut the batting the wrong size and had to go buy another. Sigh. 

But after that the pinning went fine.  I was closely supervised by the giraffe bike in the corner :)  This quilt is for my friend's only daughter, Emma, who is away at college in Oregon.

This top is the Moda Love Layer Cake Quilt pattern (free on the united notions website) and makes a 72" square quilt.  I set right to quilting after pinning---well, after looking on Instagram for quilting ideas using the Moda Love Quilt hashtag. Lots of beautiful quilts and quilting there, and numerous mini versions of the pattern made from charm packs, so cute!  In the interest of a faster finish, I chose straight line quilting.  

I used my Hera marker to mark a line diagonally through the blocks and the edge of my walking foot to stitch, using a pink Aurifil thread I had on hand.  I like the secondary pattern the crossed lines make in the plain background squares. 

The light is Kona Snow, my favorite soft white.  Most of the prints are from an old Moda line called Boutique.  I have made a lot of different things from these prints--several tablerunners and some giveaway items.  The binding is ready to go and I'm hoping to get it sewn on over the next couple of nights.   See more Design Walls on Small Quilts and Doll Quilts. 

I bought a new embroidery pattern while at QuiltCon last month and got it ironed onto a leftover piece of the Kona Snow fabric.  I had never heard of this company before but they have monthly series of different designers' work.  The snap frame will be tried out for the first time too.

We will be watching our grandsons this weekend and I'm hoping to get some stitching done when they are napping/sleeping.  However, Cove (4 years old) has been having trouble staying in bed since the change to daylight savings time.  When we watched them last Friday, he came out of his room and had to be tucked back in about 7 times before finally settling down for the night.  That boy's brain is very busy!