pink pom poms

I posted a photo of the kids snuggled under their quilts watching a little Sesame Street and was reminded that I had never shown this little quilt (er, blanket). It’s a current favorite, and even though I made it with Hazel in mind, I’ve probably gotten more use out of it so far (mostly because I’m not as tempted to eat the pom poms as she is!).

pompomblanket2

This Nani Iro woodblock pocho is my current favorite. It comes in a few colors, but a couple of those colors (this one and the black I think) are an even looser weave, and consequently even softer than the usual double gauze. I bought mine at Nido – having felt it in person, I just couldn’t leave the store without it.

pompomblanket

Once upon a time I saw a photo of a quilt with pom poms on pinterest, and the image had sort of stuck in my head, so I decided to try it out with this fabric. I paired it some hot pink pom poms and a pink shot cotton. It does have batting in the center, but while I planned on hand quilting it, I decided I liked it as it was, so I suppose technically it’s not a quilt – three layers, yes, but no quilting… so no go? Either way, it’s super soft and fun with those pink pom poms. And once Hazel stops trying to eat them all, I’ll give it back to her…maybe…

pompomblanket3

Posted in baby, Fabric | Tagged , , , , , , | 15 Comments

in progress…feathers!

featherbed2

Well, I just spent a good 30 minutes searching old blog posts to link back to this stack of fabric only to realize that I had never actually blogged about it – I finally remembered that I had shown it on Instagram instead. My brain these days… not good!

Anyway, I pulled together that stack back in October, and then added to it in January and I’ve been waiting ever since to have a chance to start a quilt with them. I finally got most of my sewing obligations completed, so I thought it was a great time to sneak in a little work on this one. I’ve been wanting to make a Feather Bed quilt ever since Anna Maria Horner posted her pattern, and since then I’ve seen many beautiful versions – the latest being this beauty by Karyn.

featherbedfabrics

This color combo is not one I’m typically drawn to, but now that I’ve been staring at it for a few months I really love it. You’d think that the color combo came about based on that floral Liberty of London print, but surprisingly enough, no. That print just happened to be a perfect match for the navy, aqua, red and sour lemon thing I had going on. There’s a fun mix of fabrics – a little Nani Iro, lots of Alison Glass, some Denyse (of course!), a few Liberty of London prints, a Violet Craft print, a navy from Bonnie & Camille’s upcoming Miss Kate line, a couple Mochi polka dots and a Lizzy House stripe (to name a few, er, all!). It’s awfully fun to mix and match designers, and while I know many don’t love mixing fabric bases, I actually love the mix of textures (double gauze, tana lawn, a linen blend and quilting cotton, yes please!)

featherbed

I spent the afternoon yesterday sewing strips and cutting out feathers, and oh my, what fun! That part was surprisingly quick, and I’m loving how it’s looking up on the wall. I still need to figure out how big to go, and then hopefully soon I’ll be on to the next step!

Posted in Fabric, Posts about Quilts | Tagged , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

a confession.

quiltbackings

So, I have a confession to make. Another one! (my first was the number of unfinished quilts I have in my closet!). This time it’s about fabric. When I first started sewing and quilting I bought fabric – lots of it. It would seem that I thought that I was going to use the same fabric in a bazillion quilts (not so). Lately I’ve tried to be better about my buying habits – more often buying fat quarters and then waiting to see what fabrics I seem to reach for often before buying bigger cuts. And that seems to be working (that, and the fact that there are so many great new lines coming out – faster than I can sew them into quilts!).

quiltbackings2

(pretty (and soft!) Anna Maria Horner velveteens – several on sale at Hawthorne Threads)

Despite being good about buying smaller quantities for quilt tops, my weakness seems to be for sale fabrics or unique prints that ‘might’ make a good quilt backing. Apparently I’m able to justify a larger than necessary purchase with the thought of “wouldn’t this be great as a quilt back?” And sure, maybe it would make a good quilt back, but if you don’t have a quilt needing a backing then perhaps it’s not very useful. Looks like I need to make up a bunch of quilt tops…

quiltbackings3

 

Posted in Fabric | Tagged , , | 22 Comments