a 2008 quilt is finally finished!

coin-quilt

It seems rather appropriate to have just finished this quilt, just in time for my 2 year blogiversary, since it’s one of the very first quilt tops I made. This happens to be another one of those quilts that I started way back when (according to the original post about this quilt, that would be in August of 2008), long before I actually knew anything about quilting. If I recall, I saw some version of this quilt on Flickr and decided I should make one. I wanted a scrappy quilt, so I used one piece of each fabric I owned at the time (I ended up having to buy a few scrap bags so as to not duplicate any!)

I do specifically remember that I wasn’t sure this sewing thing was going to stick, so I was really against investing in all the “quilting tools” which would have made my life easier. (Morgan finally talked me into a tiny cutting mat and a teeny tiny rotary cutter).

coin-quilt2

At this point in time I would look at a piece of fabric and would have absolutely no idea how to go about cutting it – either in a straight line, or in any shape I might want (even a simple shape like these rectangles!). I had my brother come over and cut several rectangular templates for me out of a file folder. Then I used my teeny tiny rotary cutter to cut around this paper template. The template got smaller and smaller as I kept trimming little slivers off each side (oops!). I convinced myself that wouldn’t really matter in the end, so I just kept going. Of course, we all know how that ended, right?

coin-quilt5

After I started sewing the rows together it clearly wasn’t lining up correctly and I got a little tired of it. I put it away for a while and then periodically pulled it out and considered finishing it. Each time I pulled it out I remembered why I hadn’t finished it. I was pretty convinced I wasn’t going to finish it and I almost cut it apart to get a few pieces of my favorite fabrics back.

Fast forward to about a month ago. I pulled it out (again!) and decided that it deserved to be finished. If for nothing else than to remind myself about how I started. So it’s done, and while it’s certainly not one of my favorites, I’ve decided to embrace it in all its wonkiness! And speaking of wonky, want to see that part?

Oh, here’s some!

coin-corner2

Oh, and here’s a little more wonkiness… (and yes, those little slivers are supposed to be full rectangles. In order to square the quilt I ended up just hacking the bottom off!)

coin-corner

But if nothing else, this might show you how a little quilting and a trip through the washer and dryer can make things look a lot better. And once it’s all rumpled on the couch I don’t even notice how it doesn’t line up correctly!

coin-quilt3

Posted in [search] Other Quilts, 2010 Finished Quilts, Finished Quilts, Posts about Quilts, Quilts | Tagged , , , , , , | 92 Comments

turns out I am a quilter… and a blogger!

Two years ago, on June 1, 2008, I was convinced to start a blog. Thinking back now, I’m not really sure why I started one — I wasn’t even sure what I was going to blog about! Anyway, my first blog post can be found here, and I imagine you might get a laugh from reading it. I owned that very tiny stack of fabric, and I’m not even sure I even knew how to sew at the time!

So this is a celebration of 2 years of blogging. Turns out I do like blogging, and since starting the blog, turns out I also love (love!) fabric and making quilts. I think it’s fun to celebrate milestones, and I think this one is worth celebrating! And by celebrating, I mean a giveaway, of course! Thanks to my wonderful sponsors, I have a fun list of prizes for you!

So, here they are, in no particular order…

tufted-tweets Prizes 1,2, & 3 from Laurie Wisbrun of Scarlet Fig

Laurie has been designing and printing fabulously fun fabrics through Spoonflower for some time. She also has recently worked with Robert Kaufman and her new line, Tufted Tweets, will be coming out in June. I know you’ve all seen it and love it (I sure do!).

Laurie has generously donated three prizes, one for each winner. There are 2 fat quarter bundles of her Tufted Tweets line and also a 1/2 yard bundle of Laurie’s Donkeys in Wellies collection through Spoonflower.

pink-chalk Prizes 4-8, from Kathy of Pink Chalk Fabrics

You all know and love Kathy, right? She has a wonderful selection of fabrics as well as a great selection of solids. She’s also well known for her fabulous customer service and her speedy shipping.

Kathy’s generously donated 5 $20 gift certificates so the winners can select exactly what they want!

hope-valleyPrize 9, from Charlie and Lindsay of Hawthorne Threads

I sometimes feel like Charlie and Lindsay are my neighbors, though while NY is close to VT, it’s not that close! (I do receive my fabrics really quickly though!) They have a really great website — tons of great fabrics from all your favorite designers as well as a fun color matching feature and photos of finished projects. I also love their ‘coming soon’ section – it’s fun to drool over the new fabric lines. They offer discounts for larger purchases and tiered pricing for repeat customers.

They’re offering a fabulous fat quarter bundle of Denyse Schmidt’s newest line, Hope Valley.

freebirdPrize 10, from Jody of the Fabric Shoppe

Jody is a new sponsor, with a wonderful Etsy shop, specializing in all your favorite fabrics, sold by the yard and in fun fat quarter, 1/2 yard, and yard bundles. Jody also puts a different fat quarter on sale for $1 on a weekly basis. I always love to see what’s being offered that week, and of course it’s great to be able to add a fun piece of fabric to your stash for only $1!

Jody’s offering a fat quarter bundle of Freebird, which is the newest line by Momo.

mosaic394a0a2aabf0e919da77818d089474288546068aPrize 11, from Randi at Fresh Squeezed Fabrics

Randi is also a new sponsor. I was first attracted to her shop for her fun, bright mix of fabrics and then I also discovered that she also carries some fun patterns – lots of great bag patterns and my favorite tunic pattern, the Shearwater Kaftan. She also has a really great sale section!

Randi is offering up this great new bag pattern, the Emma Day Bag by Tanya Whelan, as well as 2 yards of fabrics required to make the bag.

LiberatedQuiltsPrize 12, from Pam at Mad about Patchwork

Pam is located in Canada and has a great online shop with great printed and solid fabrics. She also sells bundles, patterns, books and even cotton rick rack in great colors. She also has a great blog here, with photos of great quilts. I’m loving these quilts in shades of purples!

Pam is donating one of my favorite books, Liberated Quiltmaking II by Gwen Marston. You might remember that my Flying Farfalle (and my (still unfinished) Dinner Date quilts are inspired by one of the quilts in this book).

IMG_4951Prize 13, from Cindy of Sewing on the Edge

Cindy isn’t currently a sponsor, but I absolutely love her pincushions and asked if she’d want to participate in this anniversary giveaway. She collects all kinds of selvedges and creates some of the very best pincushions. I’m lucky enough to have one made of Heather Ross selvedges and I love it! Cindy uses crushed walnut shells and it gives the pincushions a really great weight. Each one has a variety of selvedges and cute piping and a corresponding print for the back.

For this giveaway, Cindy is giving away the pincushion shown in the front in this photo (others, such as the two in the background of the photo, can be found in her Etsy shop).

Circa-50-set-of-12Prize 14, from Cynthia of Fabricworm

Cynthia was my first sponsor, and I think her shop might have been the first shop I ordered fabric from online! She has a huge selection of prints and I always find something new (and almost always something I never even knew I needed!) She also has a great selection of Japanese prints and a fun selection of childrens prints. Cynthia has also started Birch Fabrics, which produces 100% organic fabrics.

Cynthia has generously donated a fat quarter bundle of their newest line, Circa 50.

Film in the Fridge PrizePrizes 15 & 16, from Sue at Blueberry Buckle

Sue has all the Kona solids you might ever need! She carries over 150 different Kona colors, so you’re sure to be able to find the color you want. She sells them by the yard, 1/2 yard or FQ, or, if you’re like me and like to order multiple yards of your favorite colors, Sue is quick to set up custom listings.

Sue is offering 2 $25 gift certificates so you can select exactly what you need.

IMG_1480Prize 17, from Jackie of Canton Village Quilt Works

If you’ve spent any time looking through blogs, you’ve probably read a comment from Jackie. She reads and comments on a huge number of blogs, all the while maintaining her online shop and her own blog! Jackie also sells a great selection of Kona solids, including the absolutely essential Kona color chart, as well as charm packs, roll ups and fat quarter bundles of Konas.

Jackie is offering a beautiful ROYGBIV fat quarter bundle of Kona cottons. A great start to your collection, or a wonderful addition to any Kona stash!

MMS-300x225Prizes 18, 19 & 20, from Phiona of Nido

Phiona is a local sponsor who owns a fabulous fabric and yarn shop in downtown Burlington. She carries a great mix of all the newest designer fabrics, along with an entire range of corresponding solids. I love that she carries more than just quilting weight cottons too – I’ve picked up a lot of the Anna Maria Horner voiles, as well as some of the new Nani Iro double gauze fabrics. She also carries some Marimekko prints and several prints by Mod Green Pod, which I’ve been using for market bags. And did I mention how cute the shop is? I go there for the fabulous fabrics, but often spend a lot of time openly coveting her antiques! If you’re in the Burlington area, be sure to stop by and say hi!

Phiona has donated three wonderful prizes – 1 yard of a gorgeous Nani Iro print as well as two sample bags of Marimekko fabrics, which each include 5 cuts of fun Marimekko prints.

fmfAnd lastly, for Prize #21, I’m donating some of the very first fabrics I fell in love with long ago (and what really fueled my love of fabrics) – the fabulous Flea Market Fancy by Denyse Schmidt. I’ve put together a collection of fat eighths of some of my very favorite prints.

Thank you all so much for visiting the blog and for leaving such wonderful comments. You are all a huge part of what keeps me motivated to keep blogging!

And of course a huge, huge thank you to my fabulous sponsors! I hope you’ll all take the time to visit their shops and let them know you appreciate them as well!
___
So.. the giveaway! Everyone is welcome to enter – please just leave a comment on this post to be entered (one per person, please!). I will close the comments on Thursday night and will announce the winners on Friday morning. Winners will be randomly selected and the prizes will be paired randomly to each winner.

I look forward to many more years of quilting and blogging!

Thank you to everyone who entered and left such nice comments! Comments are now closed and I will announce the winners tomorrow morning!

Posted in Fabric, Giveaway! | Tagged , , , , , | 1,790 Comments

ready for the weekend!

I do love me a long weekend, and I’m definitely looking forward to this one. The weather promises to be nice, so I’m imagining some sunny days by the lake… perhaps photographing a quilt or two, and maybe handsewing some binding.

ready-to-bind

I’ve been slowly working on this one. This quilt has been around forever and is still not finished. In fact, I almost scrapped it completely, but in the end decided it should be finished. I’ll share the rest of it soon, including why I’m not so fond of it! (and certainly not being fond of it has made this the longest finish!)

fabric-stack

(just cause it’s pretty! fabric that needs to be put away (as always!))

And here are a few random things of note:

– Market photos… I’ve been loving reading about Quilt Market and seeing all the photos. It’s been especially fun to spot my Unfurnished quilt! I’ve seen it here, here and here – yay! So many gorgeous quilts to look at… and all that new fabric! (although it just makes me feel like I really need to get sewing so I can justify adding to my stash!)

– Jess at Give it a go is hosting a block swap using my modified bento box quilt block tutorial. Just think of the fun, colorful quilt (or table runner, placemat, pillow, etc) you could end up with! You can read all the details here and can head over here to join the Mod Bento Block Swap Flickr group.

– I’ve always said I’d never join Facebook, and while I’m still holding strong about not having a personal profile, I did break down and start one for Filminthefridge. Not sure yet what I think about it, but we’ll see how it goes. You can check it out here if you want.

…..Oh, and someone has a 2 year blogging anniversary coming up. Check back next week… there will be prizes!

Hope you all have wonderful weekends!

Posted in General | 14 Comments