Strippy Pillow Cover

I saw this pattern posted on the Moda Bake Shop recently. I couldn't find it on the Moda blog so the link takes you directly to the designer's blog, Quilting in the Rain.

I thought the idea was really cute. For some reason I've had a brand new 14" square pillow form in my closet for a while. I thought this was the perfect pattern to use to make it an outfit.

I adjusted the original pattern a bit because my pillow is smaller than the 16" one the pattern is written for. However, it was very easy to tweak the pattern and fairly quick to make.

Urban Baby

My Urban Baby quilt is finished!

I'm in love with this one! I may need to make a larger version for myself.

I really wasn't sure how to quilt this and did not end up doing any of the designs I had planned. They just weren't speaking to me so I simply started on one part, the print parts. The ideas for the rest came to me as I was working.

The back:

I used up almost all of the Dazzle line of prints I had for this one. I'll have to use different fabrics if I make another one. The finished size is 42" by 52". I quilted it with Signature Cotton 40 wt. Pink thread.

The pattern is an adaptation of the free runner pattern that comes with the Quick Curve Ruler.

One more picture of the front. I just enjoy looking at it.

Modern Monday Quilt Along

Block 28:

And I got all my squiggly stripes going the same direction! I can't take credit for that though. It was just luck.

Go over to Caroll's blog, Attic Window Quilt Shop, to see how her pansy turned out. Then stop by Jenifer's at 42 Quilts to see what will be making this week.

New Bag

I had my head turned by this bag on my friend Caroll's blog. Then my friend Stephanie decided to take the class and do a pattern review with tips for me. Thanks so much Stephanie! I got my elastic yesterday. I don't need another bag, but I am making this one any way.

I ordered the pattern and hardware kit from an Etsy store, iTrust. While at work yesterday I had a few minutes in between customers to shop for some fabric for my bag. I couldn't decide between the light blue and the gold fabrics for the bag interior, so I bought both. I'm thinking one will be the interior and one the pockets.

I have been admiring that circle batik for a while and I thought it would go nicely with the antique brass hardware. I would have preferred a different finish on the metal, but this was the only option. I hope to start on my new bag next week. This is the kind of thing I need to concentrate on to do a good job. Thus not a good project to start during Spring Break when the boy is home.

Charity Finish

I finished one of the charity tops I pieced at the February retreat.

I just did an all over meander for the quilting. Nothing fancy but it looks nice and is functional. The finished size is 35.5" by 44". I think the pattern called for a border, but obviously I forgot to put that on. C'est la vie!

The back is really cute! Click on the photo to see it larger.

I used up the very last of my pre-made leftover binding on this quilt so I made up some more.

I really like making up a bunch of binding for scrappy charity quilts all at once as well as using up every last bit of binding leftover from other projects.

Love Birds

I finished my guild challenge piece.

Love Birds

The flowers came from a lei I brought home from a party. The lei went into the dress-up box and these were rescued from it once it fell apart. The little heart dangle the birds are holding might have originally been an earring. It was a "treasure" brought home by my son. He found it somewhere and thought I needed it. The finished size is 9" by 14.5".

I've also started a new project, a class sample.

This is just the first block. There will be forty in the quilt. I'm using a packet of Tonga Treats in the Blueberry colorway. Unfortunately, every single strip (yes, all 40!) were 2.5" at one end and 2.25" at the other end!!!! Not a happy quilter here. My working title for this project is "Tonga Torture"!

Luckily I only sewed two pairs together before realizing the problem. I ended up just cutting all of them down to 2.25". Using pre-cuts is suppose to be a time saver, but not if you have to square up 40 strips! I'm pretty sure I could have cut forty 2.5" strips from yardage in less time than it took me to fix the entire package. As far as the pattern goes, using 2.25" wide strips as opposed to 2.5" wide strips is not going to make a bit of difference. However, I may never purchase another package of Tonga Treats again. 

Modern Monday Quilt Along

Block 27:

I opted to make something different than Jenifer last week.

This week we are making a pansy block. I love pansies! Go over to Caroll's at Attic Window Quilt Shop to see what we were suppose to make last week. She is also advertising a biweekly block beginning in May that looks really fun.

As I mentioned last week, I have taken over the blog for my local quilt shop, Heartstrings and Heirlooms. We are having a giveaway this week for four fat quarters of brand new to the shop fabric. Enter here. The drawing will be next Monday morning, so there is plenty of time to enter.