california dreamin’ mini quilt

star-quilt-corner

I should be showing you the two other quilts made from these fabrics before I show you this mini one, but, well… those aren’t technically finished yet. Soon enough though… I have a deadline, you know! Actually, you don’t know, so I suppose I better back up and tell you the whole story so this post makes sense…

A few weeks ago I received an email from Jenean Morrison, asking if I’d be willing to make a couple quilts for her. Jenean seems to be busy with a wide variety of projects – painting, photography, designing stationery, and now even rugs… oh my! (check it all out at her website and blog). What you might be most interested in is the fabric she designs for Free Spirit. Her latest line, California Dreamin’, is coming out this fall and she was hoping for a couple small quilts to show off these lovely new fabrics at Quilt Market. Was I interested? Of course!

Well, the quilts are almost complete, and I was left with a little pile of smaller scraps… what to do but make a fun little mini quilt for Jenean!

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I’m a little obsessed with these stars lately, and I thought that her beautiful fabrics would look really lovely paired with a lot of white. I made up several stars, using a variety of the prints from the Venice Beach colorway – lots of fun pinks, oranges and lime greens, and filled in the rest with Kona white solid.

For the back, I used this pink print to make a wide stripe.

star-quilt-back

And then near the bottom I included a portion of the selvage… because, really, when your name is on the selvage, shouldn’t it be included in your quilt?!

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It’s bound in Kona olive, and I did some fun straight and curved quilting lines. It measures about 24″ x 32″.

I hope you love it, Jenean! Thanks for giving me the opportunity to play with your wonderful new fabrics!

(oh, and yes, I definitely have plans to make a larger quilt in a similar style!)

Posted in [search] Liberated Quilts, 2009 Finished Quilts, Finished Quilts, Household Sewing - bags, napkins, pillows, Posts about Quilts, Quilts | Tagged , , , , , , | 26 Comments

another fall quilt…the mini version

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Remember my fall quilt top? I love the colors so much that I decided to do a mini version as well. Mainly, it was so I could try out some new (new to me, anyway!) quilting. Have you seen the quilting that Lauren of My Aunt June does? I’ve long admired it, and I’ve always wanted to try it out. If you haven’t already, you should go watch her video which explains how she does this type of quilting – it’s quite entertaining.

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I used a grayish-brown thread, and just started sewing away. I used my bigger machine (because it’s way faster!) and just the regular foot. (For those who might ask, this machine doesn’t have a walking foot, but it didn’t seem to matter.) I didn’t drop the feed dogs, just pulled the quilt a bit from side to side as I moved along the quilt. Sometimes I went all the way down the length of the quilt and then turned and went the other direction, and sometimes I went just a part of the way down and then put the needle down and flipped the quilt around to go in the opposite direction.

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I love the way this quilting looks! As Lauren mentions in her video, there was one brief moment when I wondered what I was doing to this quilt, but then once more of a pattern emerged, I really was quite taken with the look. I’d love to do it on a larger quilt, but I’m not sure I have the patience! I’m going to keep it in mind though… maybe a good project for one of those long winter days…

For the back of this one I used a solid green. This is Kona Olive, one of my new favorites.

fall-mini-quilt-back

It’s bound in a tan solid and measures 17″ x 20″. I’ve been spending some time just admiring it.

And now for sale in the shop!

Posted in [search] Charm Quilts, 2009 Finished Quilts, Finished Quilts, Household Sewing - bags, napkins, pillows, Posts about Quilts, Quilts | Tagged , , , , | 31 Comments

another star…

…this one for Amanda Jean, for her quilt for Quilts of Valor. I love the look of these maverick stars, and it’s something I’ve wanted to try for quite some time. She linked to this tutorial, in case you want to try your hand at some stars. Though beware, once you start, you might not be able to stop!

maverick-star

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