Blogger's Quilt Festival

I've decided to participate in the Blogger's Quilt Festival this time around.  I've enjoyed seeing all of the great quilts around, so I thought I'd share.

This quilt is still one of my favorite quilts that I've ever made.  I think because at the time that I made it, it was one of the most advanced quilts I've made and I was just in love with the color choices.  Before this quilt I tended to lean towards jewel tones or bright colors.  Now, I have learned to branch out, although I still love jewel tones.  The colors for this quilt were inspired by the border fabric, which I fell in love with.

This was the first paper pieced quilt that I ever made.  I thought it was the best thing ever when I first did it.  Looking back at the quilt, I see a ton of mistakes,  but I still love it.  I took a class at a local quilt store on paper piecing for this quilt.  I took the class with my aunt, who was making the same pattern but never finished the quilt.  The pattern was originally for one block to be made into a small wall hanging, but I loved how my block turned out soooooooo much that I made another 8 squares after going back to buy more fabric. 

Here are some close ups of the individual blocks.  The pattern is from Carol Doak's 50 Fabulous Paper Pieced Stars. 

100th Post - A Look Back

I started this blog just under a year and a half ago not knowing where it was going to take me.  My purpose for starting this blog was to share my passion for quilt making with others who shared the same passion.  I started it during a week long vacation after Christmas when I had a bunch of time to quilt.  I didn't know how often I was going to be able to blog, what I would continue to blog about, but I wanted in on blogging. 

Over the past year and a half I have found some amazing quilting blogs that include talented quilters, designers, and companies.  I always liked to stay current with the latest trends, but it wasn't until I started blogging that I really felt like I was current with the trends.  I never would have known the big designers, hottest lines, and all of the great bloggers out there.  I want to take this opportunity to thank all of the fantastic bloggers out there that inspire me on a daily basis. 

As I mentioned, when I started this blog I didn't know where it was going.  I didn't know how often I would be able to post.  I didn't know what I would post about.  I didn't even know how much time I would be able to dedicate to quilting.  But writing this blog has helped me to quilt more.  My passion grew quite a bit after starting this blog.  After seeing all of the fabulous work that is out there, I've been inspired by color trends, patterns, fabric lines, and most importantly, to step away from a pattern and do my own thing.  Since doing this blog I've designed two quilts on my own (I've only showed one though) and am in the process of designing another, although that one has been pushed aside right now.  I wish I had the time to post more, but I've come to the realization that I can only post an average of 4 times a month.  With a full time job and so much going on in my life, I don't have as much time as I'd like to quilt, but I do so whenever I get the chance. 

With that, I'd like to post a few photos of my quilts over the past 100 posts...

I look forward to another 100+ posts.  Over then next week (don't hold me to it) I'd like to post a giveaway as a thank you to my followers. 

Baby Quilt Tutorial

I made this baby quilt for a friend with a matching baby bumper and I thought I'd share this quilt as a tutorial.

Materials:
(I used Eden by Tula Pink for this quilt, except for the yellow)

Purple (nine-patch and binding): 1 yard
Green (nine-patch) : 1/2 yard (you'll use almost exactly 1/2 yard, so if you may want a little extra for a buffer)
Purple/Green Vine (blocks): 3/4 yard
Yellow (inner border): 1/2 yard
Border: 3/4 yard (you'll need exactly this, so you may want a little extra for a buffer here as well)
Backing: 3 yards


Finished Quilt size: 42" x 54"

Cutting Instructions:
1. From the purple, cut 8-2 1/2" strips for the nine-patches.

2. From the green, cut 7-2 1/2" strips for the nine-patches.

3. From the purple/green vine fabric, cut 3-6 1/2" strips.
4. Cut 17-6 1/2" squares out of the 3 purple/green vine strips that you cut in step 3.

5. Cut 6-2 1/2" strips out of the yellow inner border fabric.
6. Cut 6-4 1/4" strips out of the border fabric.


Instructions:
1. Take 6 purple strips and 3 green strips and sew them into three sets of purple/green/purple strips, pressing towards the purple.

2. Take 4 green and 2 purple strips and sew them into two sets of green/purple/green strips, again, pressing towards the purple.
3. Take your sets of purple/green/purple strips and cut 36-2 1/2" strips.

4. Cut your green/purple/green strip sets and cut them into 18-2 1/2" strips

5. Sew 18 of your purple/green/purple strips to the 18 green/purple/green strips

6. Add your remaining 18 purple/green/purple strips to the other side of the green/purple/green strips.

7. Sew 14 of the nine-patches to 14 of the 6 1/2" squares

8. Sew your sets created in step 7 into 7 rows of 2 nine-patches and 2 squares

9. Take your remaining 4 nine patches and 3 squares and add them to the end of the 7 rows so that you have 4 rows that begin and end with a nine-patch and 3 rows that begin and end with a square.

10. Sew your 7 rows together to begin assembling your quilt top, alternating the nine-patches and the squares.  
11. Add the inner border
12. Add the outer border
13. Piece your backing
14. Baste, quilt, and bind the quilt and enjoy!

Baby Bumper
I also made a baby bumper using additional nine-patches and squares and a 2 1/2" yellow border.  I used 13 nine-patches and 13 squares to make a really long bumper to wrap around a crib.  I used an additional  yard of purple for the nine-patch and binding, 1/4 yard of the green for the nine-patch, 3/4 of a yard of yellow for the border and 1 1/2 yards for the backing.

Enjoy.  I'd love to see pictures if you decide to make one.