craft book month 2014: a quilt made with love

It's Craft Book Month again over at Craft Buds!

Lindsay has put together another awesome month of encouragement and giveaways. Link a project made from a craft book to this post and you could win some amazing prizes!! You have all month to link up.

I was glad to sneak in a last minute spot to the party because I have a quilt to share that I haven't blogged about yet!!

Several months ago my friend Kim's son deployed.  Having been through multiple deployments  Rachel, Becky and I (fellow quilters and military wives) decided to make the deployment quilt - Look to the Stars - from Rachel's book, Quilts Made with Love.

We divided the quilt into sections, chose bright scraps for our own stashes, and then Rachel (who lives in Ohio) sent her work to me and Becky and we sewed up the top.

 And Becky worked it on her mid-arm quilting it so beautifully!

 And I love the way it turned out!!

photo courtesy My Go-Go Life

The best part of the story is that Rachel drove 8 hours here so we could all surprise Kim with a visit and the quilt!  It was awesome!!!! If you would like to read that part of the story from Kim's perspective you can HERE.  Rachel's is HERE. And Becky's, HERE. Besides, their stories are way more fun to read - this is like the reader's digest version!

I loved making this quilt because it really was made with love.  Rachel's book is full of simple and beautiful designs to give on occasions to show our love to each other!  And isn't that what we love to do as makers? Make things for people?  Tangible hugs they can take with them when we are not there to give one in person?

photo courtesy My Go-Go Life

scrappy trip around the world

I drank the kool aid folks.  There was this amazing surge of awesomeness happening on Instagram a couple of weeks ago.  Lots of little scrappy blocks turning into beautiful quilt tops in what seemed like seconds!

It is basically a trip around the world quilt made with 2.5" squares!  It's strip pieced with a twist to make it so easy!! Go see the tutorial at Quiltville, I'm not going to explain it all again, but I'll show you some pictures of what I've been up to!  You can also see many more by searching #scrappytripalong on Instagram or Twitter.

Remember when the lovely Fat Quarter Shop asked me to curate a fat quarter bundle for them?  I decided this bundle would be the perfect start for this quilt.  Although, to make a large lap quilt it's not quite enough fabric!  So I went to my LQS and picked up some red Riley Blake mini chevrons and dots!

I needed to keep all of these strips organized since I was not doing a true scrappy look. So I pulled out my clothes drying rack and hung them all right there next to my sewing machine! Perfect!

 

I chain pieced strips together in sets of two and then again into sets of four.  And they went together really quickly!

After sewing these sets into tubes (the tutorial explains this and it make more sense once you see it) I cut them across the seams into strips of little blocks! yippee!

Once you get the strips organized and sewn back together you get something like this:

And I have all of these small 2.5" strips left over that I am going to be able to use for a baby quilt.  I'm excited about that too.  I just love these fabrics so much.  And the colors!! They make me happy.

This may be the Chinese year of the rat snake - but for me? It's the year of the quilt. I've got plans to finish up some UFOs!!

sew & tell v3.26 a collaborative baby quilt

I've talked about my friend Brynn here before.  She is an excellent quilter!  Not only is she precise and accurate in her piecing but she has an amazing ability to start and finish projects rather quickly!  We've teamed up recently to make a few quilts for some friends who are having babies.  She cuts, pieces and bastes the quilts and then passes them off to me.  I quilt and bind them!  I think we make a great team - she does the part I drag my feet on (cutting) and I have a deadline to actually finish them! And I think you all know how I feel about having local friends with whom you can sew!

This is our latest!  Pardon the grainy instagram photos! I did take some others that I'll share later so you can see the cute back too.

Fabric: All-Star, Riley Blake
Quilting: Free motion stippling

What have you been finishing up this week?



Your turn to share ~ Show us what you've got finished!
Linky Rules.  Please follow along for a fun party!

1. Please write the post for sew & tell - or add a blurb mentioning sew & tell to a post written since the last sew & tell.  If you are linking to a post with your own tutorial, please make sure it was a finish from this week and that the completed project is shown first.

2. One linky per person. (please put multiple projects in one post.)

3. Link to your specific post.  (See here for permalink instructions - or email me.)

4. Link back here with a link or a button (HTML on my sidebar).

5. Be sure to visit and leave comments on other's posts!

Please put your (blog)name instead of your project name, it helps us get to know each other better!

sew & tell v3.14: oh my stars! and bags! etc...

Hey friends! I had every intention of sharing a fun recipe with you this week.  Unfortunately as it goes, me (aka mom) got the sickies that everyone else in my house have been sharing for the last month! I thought I had successfully avoided it this time, but alas, the ear infection would prove otherwise!

I managed to get a guest post written for my friend Vicki's Focus on Free Motion Quilting series!





She is having link ups, guest posts, and prizes at the end of the month!  Go check it out, it's sure to be a good time.

For sew & tell this week, I thought I'd share a few other finishes from some December sewing.





I have had this bag in mind for a long time. In fact I had it almost finished when I took it to a sewing group back in the fall! It sat around being neglected and I finally finished it up.

The fabric is Oddysea by Momo for Moda.  I really love the shell print and the subtle colors.  It's a little change from my bright and vibrant Amy Butler and Sandi Henderson choices.

I love making these quilted dishmats.  I think it's very cute and kitchen-y!

I do love this citrus print.  It's from Patty Young's Sanctuary line.  I'd like to get my hands on some more!


I also made another quilt top this week.  I actually made the SAME one as the giant star from last week, but started with 10.5" squares, so it's finished at about 40" x 40".  It's a group effort for a mutual friend.  Another friend is quilting it and a 3rd doing the binding.  So it counts as a finish, right?

It was raining the day I finished it, so I had brotherlouwho hold it up inside so you could have a little perspective as to the baby quilt size compared to the last one.

Your turn to share!  Show us what you've got finished!

Linky Rules.  Please follow along for a fun party!

1. Please write the post for sew & tell - or add a blurb mentioning sew & tell to a post written since the last sew & tell.  If you are linking to a post with your own tutorial, please make sure it was a finish from this week and that the completed project is shown first.

2. One linky per person. (please put multiple projects in one post.)

3. Link to your specific post.  (See here for permalink instructions - or email me.)

4. Link back here with a link or a button (HTML on my sidebar).

5. Be sure to visit and leave comments on other's posts!

Please put your (blog)name instead of your project name, it helps us get to know each other better!

sew & tell v3.13 - giant vintage star

Welcome back everyone!  I hope everyone had a joyful, restful and happy holidays!


I wanted to share with you a quilt I made for my sister-in-law for Christmas.  I decided that I really wanted to sew something for her and asked my Tweeps (twitter friends) if anyone knew of a quick easy quilt I could put together in time for Christmas.  Jeni at In Color Order suggested her lovely Vintage Star Quilt Tutorial.  It was a match made in heaven for the fabrics I had in mind.

I had the 4 Amy Butler prints (Daisy Chain) for quite some time, but alone, they just weren't doing much for me.  Which may be why I had never used them!  When paired with some AB Lotus Full Moon Dots in Lime, and 3 Sandi Henderson prints (Henna Garden in Chocolate and Leaf and Garden Gate in Fuschia), I was in LOVE.  Seriously.

I was worried that the Kona snow I was using for the background would be too stark, but I actually really like it.

And I think the quilting on those sections really pop.  I love a nice wrinkled fresh from the dryer quilt!

The back is a Robert Kaufman Pimatex Basics.  I was able to pick it up at my local Hancock Fabrics.  Even though they had already closed, I was able to sweet talk my way in to make the quick transaction.

I machine quilted on the binding.  I had never tried this before, but I was kind of in crunch time mode.  Jeni also has an awesome tutorial for machine binding.  It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, and I wouldn't have finished the quilt in time otherwise!  I still enjoy hand stitching the binding, but in a time crunch, I'm totally not going to shy away from this.

This quilt was a first for me in another way.  Started and finished within 3 weeks.  It's a Christmas miracle!!  I'm pretty sure she liked it! Which always makes me happy!

Did you do any gift sewing? What have you got to share with us today?  Can't wait to see what you all have been up to!

Linky Rules.  Please follow along for a fun party!

1. Please write the post for sew & tell - or add a blurb mentioning sew & tell to a post written since the last sew & tell.  If you are linking to a post with your own tutorial, please make sure it was a finish from this week and that the completed project is shown first.

2. One linky per person. (please put multiple projects in one post.)

3. Link to your specific post.  (See here for permalink instructions - or email me.)

4. Link back here with a link or a button (HTML on my sidebar).

5. Be sure to visit and leave comments on other's posts!

Please put your (blog)name instead of your project name, it helps us get to know each other better!

{amylouwho} Blogger's Quilt Festival - Fall 2011

Welcome Quilt Festival friends! I was trying to figure out what quilt I could share for the Blogger's Quilt Festival knowing I hadn't finished anything recently. I went through my old posts and found this one that I finished over 2 years ago. I started it for a friend whose birthday is on July 4, well before I knew I would be a military wife, or had heard the name Amy Butler.

I am pretty pleased with this project considering it was the first quilt I've ever designed, pieced, quilted, and bound all by myself (with a few tutorials from my mom!).  That being said, if I were to make a quilt for my friend for her birthday this year - it would look nothing like this. Even if her birthday is on the 4th of July.

Since this was the first thing I have quilted with a walking foot I wasn't ever really sure I was doing it right, because it just seemed like there was something off. That it should have been easier than it was. My stitches were uneven and the fabric wasn't feeding well. I was borrowing my mom's foot and remembered not having this much trouble working with it when she was with me.

So I was on the phone with her working on those minky baby blankets, with the walking foot and expressing my frustration - being the day AFTER I finished this quilting. Our conversation went a little something like this:

my mom: Do you have the little black arm attached to the presser foot screw?

me: what??! what little black. . . . (looking closer). . . oh, you mean that one. (attaching the foot properly - and grumbling)
Well that's interesting - it works just fine, NOW.

my mom: I didn't know you didn't know how to attach it.

me: you mean the way I also didn't know that a fat quarter measured 18"x22" until last fall?

my mom: (chuckles)

me: The problem here is that you know so much you just assume I've learned it all through osmosis! I'm totally going to blog about this. A post entitled: Things my mom thought she taught me, that I wish I had known.

my mom: Oh no you're not!

me: we'll see.


I guess we know the outcome of that one. (Thanks, mom!)

I love how the binding turned out. I think the stripes really complete it and make it a little fancier. I used to think I hated sewing on binding, but I knocked this out during a viewing of this. And it's not as hard as I used to think. I reccomend running your thread through beeswax or thread heaven to keep it from tangling. I learned that from Bend the Rules Sewing (and yes, I think my mom knew about that trick too).

Thanks for visiting!!

sew & tell: v3.2 ~ a quilt (but not mine)

Hello! I wanted to share a quilt with you today! It's not one that I made, but I did help with the fabric selection.

I have a good friend here who's husband is deployed.  He will be home on R&R soon and she wanted to surprise him with new bedding.  She picked out a quilt from Amy's book and I helped pick some fabrics to go together that weren't too feminine or masculine.  I think we struck a good balance.  And besides, each print was made by 3 of my favorite designers.

Lime Full Moon Dot by Amy Butler, Putty Henna Garden by Sandi Henderson, and Magnolia Bloom by Laura Gunn.

She whipped this quilt up so quickly it's inspiring.  I think this is only the 2nd quilt she's ever made.  The first one was made a month prior!  This is my same friend who made all the skirts.  The girl has drive! 

I'm impressed with Amy's patterns too - this one was brilliantly put together.  All of these blocks are strip pieced into the same block and then just turned to create the pattern.  Genius! 

I wonder if there is work in just choosing fabrics.  THAT, I could do, because I'm the worst at finishing things in a timely manner!

Can't wait to see what you have finished this week!

Please follow the guidelines as spaces are limited - linky will close after the first 30 entries. I will try to monitor the links to make sure everyone linking up is playing nice.  :)

Linky Rules.  Please read carefully.  The delete monster will be eating non-compliant links.

1. Please write the post for sew & tell - or add a blurb mentioning sew & tell to a post written since the last sew & tell.  If you are linking to a post with your own tutorial, please make sure it was a finish from this week and that the completed project is shown first.

2. One linky per person. (please put multiple projects in one post.)

3. Link to your specific post.  (See here for permalink instructions - or email me.)

4. Link back here with a link or a button (HTML on my sidebar).

5. Be sure to visit and leave comments on other's posts!

Bloggers' Quilt Festival - Spring 2011

Hello fellow blogging quilters! I'm so happy to share this quilt with you today!

This was my first quilt made by me from an online quilting bee.   But I can't really say it was made by me since I had 11 other awesome folks help bring the picture in my head to reality.  And really, I think that the reality is better than the picture in my head.  Lovely Amy, organizer of Bloggers' Quilt Festival, did the block in the middle of the bottom row. Of course, she did something fantastic and unique!

This is the first quilt I have ever quilted on my own little machine.  It was not easy.  In fact, I kind of loathed it by the time I was done.  It was just so hard maneuvering all that fabric through a tiny throat space.  It doesn't help that I've been spoiled and used my my mom's long-arm. (Well, it was only once.  And about 10 years ago.  But I LOVED it.)

I liked doing loop-de-loops  (I think it hides more mistakes).

I love this IKEA fabric on the back.  I'm going there this week and stocking up.

I love the requisite binding shot.  And the cherry red Amy Butler dots!

I know there are so many other quilts to go check out!  Enjoy!  If you are interested in seeing more photos and read about all the lessons I learned making this quilt, you can go HERE.

sew & tell - all you need is LOVE

**I've had to delete some links today :(. Check with the requirements for linking on that tab up there!  Thanks!!**

Amy Butler LOVE that is.

Speaking of love.  Do you see that little button with those cute faces on it.  Over there? On the right? At the top?  That is my sister-in-law's sister and husband, Rachel and Ryan.  They are wonderful people hoping to start their family.  Most adoption placements are found word of mouth, so keep them in mind if you hear anything.  You can read about their daily life on their blog here. Or click on the button to go to their adoption profile page.

I did finally finish the quilt, and washed it, and hung it up to photograph!  I love it! No pun intended.

I loved the look I've seen on simple square patchwork quilts where the quilting is done in straight lines on either side of the seams.

 It gives a great window pane look.  I used a varigated green Gutermann thread with a walking foot on my little machine.  I probably could have gone with just a light green, but in the end it doesn't really matter.

What is surprising to me is how I obsess over every little stitch and think it's not straight enough or hidden enough or something-enough, and when you step away - you don't really see any of it.  Sewing is so forgiving.

I prefer to hand stitch my bindings down.  I'm getting better and faster and I really love the way it looks.

I really do love it.  My baby looks so sweet sleeping under it.  I'll get pictures of it on the bed when I have the other projects finished...


ARE YOU READY TO HAVE SOME FUN???
The generous folks at Amy Butler's studio sent me a nice stack of patterns to giveaway!  I am giving one away today!  You get one entry for linking up (follow the rules!  Please only finishes from this week!) and one for leaving a comment - tell me what your favorite Amy Butler fabric/pattern/product is and tell me you love my quilt.  So if you link up AND leave a comment you get 2 entries!

The winner will receive this awesome pattern!

image via Amy Butler Design

Heck, I'll throw in some scraps big enough to make one with too!

As always the linky will expire tomorrow, but comments may be left until Tuesday morning - 24 August!  A winner will be drawn later that day!


And now the challenge!
On September 24, 2010 we will have our first ever Amy Butler exclusive Sew & Tell!  There will be more patterns, fabric, and handmade items to giveaway and you will earn entries similar to today!  Along with Amy's studio, Fabricworm and the Material Girls Quilt are sponsoring the event by donating the prizes!

Get out your Amy Butler patterns and fabrics - only linkies featuring her fabric or patterns for projects completed in the next month will be accepted that day!  It will be loads of fun!  I have lots of her fabric tucked away for different projects.  I'm hoping to get one finished each week until then!

Let's have fun with this!  I'm so excited! Can you tell?!  I've only used 100 exclamation points this post.


What sewing project did you finish this week?

Please refer to the sew & tell page   if you have any questions or wonder why your link may have been  deleted.

1. Link to your specific  post  about a sewing related finish you had THIS week.

2. Please mention sew   & tell in your post and link back to this  post (link or button) so  everyone can join in.
3.  Pat each other on the backs in the comments!