She's a Rainbow - Finished Mini

This March, my local quilting group, the South Florida Modern Quilters, was invited to hang quilts in a special exhibit in the Broward Quilt Expo. I'm not quite ready to start submitting my quilts to shows, but I thought it would be fun to participate in the exhibit with the rest of the group.

I decided to make a mini for the exhibit, as all of the other quilts I've made are being used, and I didn't want to send any of them away for the month.

This was inspired by the Fiesta Wall Hanging in Quilting Modern. I used the same process and measurements, but made it a rainbow. This is my first quilty project from a book, and I'm really happy with how it turned out.

My strips were from AMH's True Colors.

The finished enter panel was a bit fiddly. I pressed my seams to the side, but I think this made it a little stretchy. It was hard to keep it stable (and square) when quilting. I don't know if pressing my seams open would have made it a little easier, or if I just needed more starch....any tips?

I did matchstick quilting with a guterman variegated green thread, and used Kona Emerald and Grass for the borders. I can't remember which gray I used. I do like the green with the rainbow. I could turn it into a St. Patrick's Day themed quilt, but I don't really do holiday decorations, so I won't :)

 

 

I had a lot of fun doing the strip piecing, and I really like making this mini. I can't wait to get it back and hang it on my wall. Has any one else tried this, or any other quilts from Quilting Modern? What was your favorite?

 

Linking this week with Fabric Tuesday at Quilt Story,  NTT Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation, Finish it up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts and the Weekly Inspiration Linky Party at Nini and The Sea 

 

This is #4 on my 2015 FAL list, nearly halfway there! I don't think I'll make it through all 9 this quarter, but it's nice to have goals!

Two Finished Totes

One of my goals this year has to been to learn to make new things, like clothes and bags. I thought tote bags would be really challenging, especially because I like a lot of pockets in my totes, but I've been pleasantly surprised.

My first tote from this year was the 241 tote by Noodlehead. I asked my husband for the pattern for Christmas, and I've wanted to make this tote for a long time. I love the different shape, and the side pockets.

I don't really have any great photos of this one, but I have been using it every day. I am happy to say I made this all from my stash. I do have another one planned, in more solids, but I am happy with how it turned out--I'm also glad I had coordinating fabrics and a zipper on hand.

My second bag is one of my 2015 FAL goals. I made a beach tote for my mom and sister to take on their cruise last month.

I made this one up as I went along, and I was relieved it turned out as well as it did. This was another one I made completely from my stash. I do wish I'd bought a matching zipper for the front pocket, but I don't think they notice as much as I do.

 

 

I made this bag with some quilter's linen and charm squares from Zen Chic's Barcelona. I added an external zipper pocket along with a drop pocket on the inside.

I also learned how to do a ladder stitch to close up the lining. I've been really lazy with all of my bag linings so far, but I'm glad I took the time to figure out how to do a ladder stitch, because it's really a lot easier than I thought it would be.

I am happy to say that this bag did survive their 10 day cruise, and I hope they do get a lot of use out of it this year. My 16 year old sister told me both of my bags are very 'high tech' because they have zippers, magnetic snaps, and pockets in them. It's lucky she feels that way, as I predict that she'll be getting another one of these 'high tech' totes for her next birthday. I also think I'm ready to start my Art Student tote next week.

Hope everyone is surviving the winter! It's been colder here than usual, but 'cold' here is around 60 degrees, so I can't complain. I am looking for some warmer weather and barbecues this spring!

This is another one of my finishes for the 2015 FAL...(list here) I think I've shared three so far...just 6 more to go :) 

Finished Supernova Swap Quilt

YAY!!!

I finally finished putting my supernova swap quilt together: 

My partner Amy and I swapped 5 blocks over 5 months to put this quilt together for the Supernova Friendship swap (organized by Stephanie of Late Night Quilter and Sandra of One million stitches -- based on a Quilt-Along from Lee at Freshly Pieced.)

I tried to get some nice, sunny photos on the coast this morning, but it was a little to windy and sunny.



We both used a bundle of AE Nathan's Quiltology, along with our own scraps to make the blocks. Our color theme was aqua, blue, green, orange and gray. It's hard to tell in the photos, but we used Lizzy House's pearl bracelet in sandbox for the background fabric. I'm glad we went with the sandbox, it looks great against the bright colors we used without being too stark.

I hand quilted around and inside each block segment using black perle cotton. I was a little nervous using black thread against such a light background, but I think it really pops! I think any other color would have gotten lost, and there's no point in spending 3 months hand quilting something if it's not going to show up!

 

You can really see the hand quilting on the scrappy back. I bound this with a Denyse Schmidt print I got at Joann's. I went back and forth on the binding a lot, I was afraid this was too light, but I think the coral and blue does fit perfectly with the colors in our blocks.  

 

 



I loved the process of making this quilt, and the bright colors make me so happy! I have been enjoying looking at everyone else's finished quilts, and I can't wait to see how my partner Amy's quilt turns out!

Because we swapped for 5 months, and the top only requires 9 blocks, I did have an extra block which I turned into a cushion.

I'll be linking up my finished quilt on the Supernova Swap Flickr group.

This is also one of my finishes for Q1 of the 2015 FAL. I've actually finished 5/9 of my projects, but haven't posted the rest of them. Better get on it!

Happy Valentine's Day!

This week I'm linking up with Fabric Tuesday at Quilt Story,  NTT Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation, Finish it up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts and the Weekly Inspiration Linky Party at Nini and The Sea