Saturday, October 26, 2013

A Improv Halloween Finish

I must be on some kind of blogging roll these past couple days! Because here I am again, sharing something else with you!!! It makes me so happy to be able to share my projects with the quilting community!
I was recently (like 2 days ago) part of the Wicked Blog Hop (you can read my post here) and was very sad that I did not have one of my quilts completed for you guys! SOOOOO, I busted my hump and got it D-O-N-E! (yep, a quilt from start to finish in less than 48 hours! It's a record for me!)

I pulled random fabrics from my stash that reminded me of Halloween and started cuttin' and stitchin' and this is what I ended up with! I'm really happy with the end result. It's a small little thang about 34" wide by 46" long. But I LOVE it! :-)
   I did an all over stipple for the quilting (which is my go to stitch because it's just so quick!) oh wait, I'm jumping ahead of myself, I forgot about the backing!!!!
I love the back just as much as the front! I don't know which one I like more....what about you? Back or front?
 I threw fabrics up on my design wall randomly and starting slashin' and stitchin until it was big enough! (I love this form of piecing! No worries, it's sooooo freeing!)

Here is a little bit better view of the 2 blocks I included in the back. I think they work really good with the rest of the fabrics!

I was thinking about leaving it out on my couch like this, but then decided against it! (Don't want the kids or dogs to ruin such a pretty thing!) Sooo, maybe it'll go up on a wall? I'm not sure yet, what would you do with it?


I used some Pearl Bracelets in Pumpkin for the binding! I think it brings the whole quilt together!
I've got a few more ideas for Halloween projects, but I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to get to them any time soon, but I am going to try!
I hope you like the finished product as much as I do!!!!

Quilt Stats:
Finished size- 34" x 46"
Fabrics used- random stash fabrics and Essex Linen Yarn Dyed in Flax for the background
Pattern- Improv Pods by Elizabeth Hartman
Pieced and quilted on my DSM

Linking up with Amanda Jean for her finish it up Friday

~Hope y'all are having a GREAT day!!!~

Friday, October 25, 2013

Blogger's Quilt Festival- My Entry

I have been so excited for the Blogger's Quilt Festival this time! I didn't get the chance to enter in the past 2 because I didn't feel like I had a "worthy quilt". Then I was torn, which quilt should I choose to enter? Will I have it/them finished in time to link up? Stressful, I tell ya! Well, as I was reading Amy's festival introduction post I saw that we can enter TWO quilts! So, I have the one I'm sharing in this post to enter and I'm really really hoping I get the other one I want to enter finished in time to link up!
This is my absolute FAVORITE quilt that I've made to date! I think the reason this is my favorite is because I had the help of some AMAZING girls and it is also my first Bee quilt! (Just wanted to say THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to the girls in Make It Modern Bee that made these blocks for me!!!) I will always hold this near and dear to my heart!
I love the way it turned out! If you all want to read more about this quilt you can read about it here and if you want to read my post about the block construction you can read about that here.

Let me show ya some more pics, cuz it's such a beauty I just HAVE to share it! LOL!




I love the backing too! I went for a giant pieced wonky log cabin, I think its a great match for the front!
I think this is my favorite pic of it though!
I used an all over design, resembling squares and rectangles meandering along for the quilting on my DSM.

And my stripey/scrappy binding to finish it off! Have I said how much I love this quilt? Cuz' I DO!!!! :-)

I'm entering this into the Group/Bee Quilt category! I'm sure there is going to be some AMAZING quilts in this festival (mainly because there always is!!!) So take a minute (or a few hours like me) and go check out all the wonderful quilts in ALL the different categories!!!! You can also enter to win an amazing Baby Lock Melody machine too, just sayin'! Click here to go to festival intro page!!!

Quilt Stats:
Finished size- Around 75"x75"
Pieced by myself and the AMAZING girls of Make It Modern Bee
Quilted on my DSM using a "wondering square/rectangle" pattern
Design was inspired by Elizabeth Hartman's Craftsy class


Thank you guys for stopping by to check out my entry! (wish me luck on getting the other quilt finished so I can enter it too!!!)

~Hope y'all are having a GREAT day!!!~


Thursday, October 24, 2013

My stop on the Wicked Blog Hop


Welcome to my stop on the Wonderfully Wicked Blog Hop!!!! If it is your first time here, WELCOME! I'm so glad you came! I hope you enjoy my "Wicked" projects. Take a look around while you are here, you can find my completed quilts under the tab "My Quilts" at the top of the page, I'd love for you to come back and see all the stuff I've got in store for the future!

Halloween is one of my FAVORITE holidays....I just love it! So, when I heard that this blog hop was going on I just HAD to be part of it!!! I had HUGE plans, and honestly, it seems like I always have HUGE plans and time just gets away from me!!!! I did manage to get some things accomplished that I wanted to, but not everything....so if you come back (and I'm hoping you will) I still have a few WICKED things up my sleeve!

Let's get on to the pretty stuff huh?
I made this "Not So Spooky" Halloween Quilt for my fav LQS using the Fat Quarter Shop's Jelly Roll Jam pattern. It came together sooooo fast!!! I really like how it turned out!


But here is the project I really wanted to have FINISHED for this hop....I didn't quite get it finished, but I will....very soon!
I crazy pieced a bunch of different fabrics together in colors that remind me of Halloween. I really love the way it turned out! I got the idea from Elizabeth Hartman's class Inspired Modern Quilts. She calls her quilt "Improv Pods". The layout is very similar to her quilt but I pieced the blocks in my "crazy" way!
As you can see there is really no rhyme or reason to the piecing, I just went with it! Slashing and stitchin' where ever I wanted! I love this kind of piecing!!! It is so FREEING!


I used Yarn Dyed Essex Linen in Flax for the background. I wanted my blocks to POP off the background so I bordered them in some Kona Snow.


Although I used the same fabrics for each block, they all turned out so different! (I have a few more put together for the back, which I'm working on as we speak...)  This is a small quilt, I'd say around 45" or so long by around 30(ish)" wide...I haven't measured it yet!

I hope you enjoyed my quick stop on the Wicked Blog Hop, but don't forget to go check out all the other amazing projects!!!!
Here are the links to the other hoppers today:
Tea Time Creations
Moosestash Quilting
More Stars In Comanche
Shape Moth
Selina Quilts
Debby Kratovil Quilts
Elizabeth Coughlin Designs
Robins Fabric Nest
Craft Nurse Quilt (that's me!!!)
Quilt Doodle Designs
Just Quilt It

And a HUGE THANK YOU goes out to Mdm Samm and Wicked Wendy for all the work they put in to make this Blog Hop happen!! Thank you ladies!!!

Like I said earlier, I would LOVE for you guys to come back and visit me! I would LOOOOVE for you to become a follower too! You can follow me by clicking the button of your choice (bloglovin, google friend connect, or by email) in the top right of my page!!!
Thanks again for stopping by! I hope everyone has a SAFE and WICKEDLY FUN Halloween!!!!



~Hope y'all are havin a GREAT day!!!~

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Baby Got Back- Quilt Backs

I'm posting TWICE in ONE day! It's a shocker right? Well, I just couldn't resist this GREAT linky party that Katie is hosting over at Swim, Bike, Quilt! It's called "The Other Side of the Quilt". It's normally all about the quilt top but this one is ALL about the quilt BACK! She wants to see how everyone else uses pieced backings for their quilts. I love a pieced back! I think it gives the quilt more character, and essentially makes it reversible!
  So, let me share a few of my quilt backs with you! (I dunno why but the song "Baby Got Back" is playing in my head right now! LOL!)

This is the back of my "Sew Hexy" mini that I made for Chris (Freckle Mama) a while back. (She has just released 3 amazing patterns BTW, you really need to check them out! I think Tinker is my favorite!)
You can read more about my Sew Hexy mini right here.
I crazy pieced the back of this mini. This was for my Modern Dresden tutorial. I love the way the back looks!

This is the back to my Scrappy Trip Along that I made for my mom. (I'm planning my 2nd one as we speak!) You can read more about this quilt right here.
And last but not least is the back of my Make It Modern Bee quilt! You can read more about this quilt right here.

I don't think I've ever made a quilt (except a few minis) without a pieced back. I just love how they add to the quilt!
On a side note, you guys can get some GREAT tips on how to piece quilt backs from Elizabeth Hartman's Craftsy class Creative Quilt Backs and it is completely FREE! She is an amazing teacher so I highly recommend this class!

I'm linking up over at Swim, Bike, Quilt and would love to see some of your quilt backs!!!!

~Hope y'all are having a GREAT day!!!~

Rock Candy Quilt- FINISHED!

I just could NOT wait to share my most recent finish with you guys!!!! I'm not trying to "toot my own horn" but I'm so darn proud of myself for this one! I had A LOT of firsts with this mini quilt! Okay, I'll share those along the way!

Y'all remember this picture? Well, I finished my Rock Candy Quilt!!!

I just love the way it turned out!!! This was my FIRST time (EVER) sewing diamonds and or triangles, I have to admit, I was TERRIFIED! Which, I think is the reason I kept putting this project off. But, I really was scared for no reason!
The pattern is called "Rock Candy" by the amazingly talented Julie Herman of Jaybird Quilts! It was released to go with her newest ruler, The Sidekick Ruler! (Which makes cutting all these shapes a COMPLETE breeze!)

I'll give y'all my thoughts on the pattern....
 It is very well written and easy to follow. Her cutting diagrams leave no guessing work! I love the way she has her ruler set up so the triangles match the diamond sides (if you have the ruler and or pattern you will know what I'm talking about) I love the fact that there is an extremely small amount of waste when cutting out the diamonds and triangles! Her directions are easy enough to follow if you know what you are doing. I did get frustrated at first though. I could NOT get my diamonds to line up for anything! After I ripped what seemed like my thousandth seam I googled "How to sew diamonds" after watching a few tutorials I went back at it. I did find a few of the tutorials helpful, but I'm stubborn and have to do things my way, so it took me about an hour more of playing around before I finally had my "DUH" moment! LOL! I did end up having to use a slightly larger seam allowance than I'm use to. (I use a scant 1/4" usually, for this I'd say I used a rather large 1/4" allowance) Once I figured those pesky diamonds out, this project came together extremely fast!
I would recommend this pattern for a confident beginner and up. It's really fun to watch come together!


This was actually made for a shop sample for my FAVORITE quilt shop EVER!!! (Bernina In Stitches) and Teresa (the lovely shop owner) picked out this fabulous print for the backing! (If you are ever in Johnson City, TN and have the chance to go to In Stitches, which I HIGHLY recommend, tell them Kelie sent you and I promise you will have a blast there!)

Back to the project.... lol! I was also nervous about the binding, the only binding I've EVER done is squares and rectangles! So, off to this wonderful tutorial by Julie, and a with a little trial and error I got it done!
See there? A perfect miter!!! (Not all the corners look that good though!)


This pattern reminds me of a star burst so I decided to do a little straight line quilting, just echoing the inside of each triangles (trying to mimic the star burst I was seeing). I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out.
You can't really see the quilting lines too good in my pictures, mainly because Aurifil thread melts into fabric like butter, but if you look close enough I hope you can see it!

Here is another pic, trying to show the quilting, again, not doing a good job of it. But it's soooo pretty to look at! LOL!

All in all I really loved the pattern and am plotting my next one! I think these would make a GORGEOUS quilt too! (Maybe one day!)

Quilt Stats:
Pattern- Rock Candy by Julie Herman of Jaybird Quilts
Pieced and Quilted on my home machine by ME!
Fabrics used- Madrona Road by Violet Craft for Micheal Miller

P.S. if you don't already follow me on Instagram you really need to! I'm going to be having an "Insta-sale" there later this week! All kinds of mug rugs for a great price! They make great gifts! (especially for teachers!)

Linking up with Amanda Jean's Finish It Friday! Also linking up with  Link A Finish Friday!

~Hope y'all are having a GREAT day!!!~

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Happy Bunting Mug Rug- a Tutorial

I hope you guys are ready for this! I've got a really fun and simple Mug Rug tutorial for you!!! It comes together really quick and is a GREAT way to use up your little bitty scraps! (Because if you are like me, you can't throw those away...they may come in handy one day!) Well, this is the day! I hope my instructions are clear but if you have any questions please leave them in the comment section as other people may have the same questions! I will warn you, this is a very photo heavy post, but it's only because I wanted you guys to be able to see exactly what I am talking about! I will be posting a "Part 2" for the binding, I figured this post was going to be long enough!
Alright, y'all ready to get started????
                                                    Happy Bunting Mug Rug

I hope you all enjoy!
Materials Needed:
- Pile Of Scraps in whatever colors you choose!
- 8.5" x 10.5" base fabric (I used Essex Linen for mine)
- A piece of cardboard or template plastic (I used the back of a cereal box)
- Washable glue stick
- Triangle shape to trace (I used the 2 rulers pictured above, the Sidekick Ruler and EZ Triangle Ruler) but you could easily draw out a triangle using a regular ruler
- Rotary Cutter and Mat (I used my smallest rotary cutter but you don't have to)
- Fabric safe pen or marking tool
- Non fabric scissors
- Scrap of batting at least 9.5" x 11.5" (not pictured)
- Backing fabric (around the same size as the batting. Also not pictured)
- A strip of fabric measuring 2" x width of fabric for binding (not pictured)
(I use my walking foot for every step in making this mug rug, but it is not necessary!)
First thing you need to do is PRESS every piece of scrap you are going to use. It will make it MUCH easier to work with! Once you get them all pressed set them aside.

Let's make our triangle template!
Trace a 1" triangle onto your cardboard.

I then used the pointy side of my Sidekick Ruler to make a complete triangle. (You can just free hand one if you choose.)


Using your NON fabric scissors cut out your triangle shape. As you can see, the triangle does not have to be PERFECT!

Line up your triangle with a clean edge of your scrap and use your rotary cutter to cut around it. Take your time with this part, you don't want to cut your fingers!


You can flip your triangle over and cut again from the same scrap if you have a bigger scrap.
Continue this until you have at least 20 or so triangles!


I always cut more than I need so I have a lot of fabrics to choose from. I also make at least 4 of these at one time.


Now, with your base fabric and fabric safe marker/pen draw out how you want your bunting to hang. You can make this as simple as you want or as complex as you want! I always draw at least a slight curve to mine.


Here is another example of how you can draw your lines.


Start laying your triangles out. You want the edges of each one to slightly overlap the previous triangle, also make sure you line them up with your drawn line.


Play around with your layout until you have it looking just the way you want it!

Once you have decided on your layout get your washable glue stick and glue the triangles into place, one at a time. You don't need a lot of glue, just enough for the fabrics to stick to each other.


Center your base fabric onto your batting piece. I don't usually pin here but you could use a few pins to prevent shifting if you want.


Now take that to the machine and we are going to top-stitch. Start at one end of your bunting, using a 1/8" seam allowance (or smaller) stitch all the way across to the other edge of your bunting.


At the end of your bunting keep your needle in the down position and pivot to stitch down the rest of the triangle. I do not break thread at all during this step. I stitch until I reach the bottom corner, pivot again, stitch back up to the top, pivot, take a stitch to reach the next triangle and repeat until I'm back where I started stitching. I do back-stitch on the very last triangle before I cut thread. (I hope that makes sense)


You will repeat the above step for each bunting. Once you have it should look something like the above picture. (I guess you could say we are raw edge appliqueing?)


Now you are going to go the edge of your base fabric, where you drew your lines and stitch from edge to edge following your bunting as close as you can. I stitch this line multiple times.

(I hope you can see my stitching lines from this picture so you have the idea of what I'm talking about)

Once you have completed the last step, trim all excess batting.


Get your backing fabric out, make sure it's really good and pressed flat. (This is when I attach my label to the backing fabric.) You will center your finished top onto this backing (wrong sides together) and baste (using your preferred method) into place. (I use 505 but it's just as easy to add a few pins in there)

Once you have that basted together, take it to your machine and stitch around all 4 sides using a seam allowance slightly smaller than 1/4".

Once you have that completed, all you need to do is trim the excess and bind it! I use a 2" wide piece of fabric for my binding, and I do it all by machine. I'm hoping to get the tutorial for how I bind my mug rugs up tomorrow or Sat.
(I stitch the binding onto the back and then fold it over to the front and machine stitch it into place.)


Here is my completed mug rug! I love how these look! They are so quick to make and perfect little gifts for anyone (teachers especially!!!)

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and that its easy to follow. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask!

Linking up with Amanda Jean's finish it up friday!



~Hope y'all are having a GREAT day!!~