Full Hearts Table Runner

 I finished up a table runner the other day, and I'm fondly calling it Full Hearts.

 I spotted these lovely red fabrics at a quilt shop over the holidays with the idea of making them into a patchwork Valentine's project (I bought pre-cut fat quarters without selvages, so I don't know the designer - apologies!). After a bit of plotting, thanks to my graph paper, I had a plan in mind. So I got out my trusty Bloc-Loc ruler (one of my favorite toys), and whipped up a number of HSTs to make these patchwork hearts.

Once the top was finished (4 hearts in all), I FMQed the squares using a design that was new to me. I'm not sure the official name, but I called it Potato Masher, since that's what it looks like to me! :) Then I used some of the leftover prints for the binding... love that scrappy look!

I'm really pleased with this runner, and hope it will be a nice Valentine's Day decoration next month - thanks for stopping by!

[Linking up to Crazy Mom Quilts]

Ice House Quilt

As I suspect many quilters did, I gave away a couple quilts for Christmas, including this Ice House Quilt.

 
This quilt was a special gift for my Grandma. She and my grandpa lived a couple hours away from us growing up, and visiting them was always fun. Sometimes when we'd visit in my childhood, we'd take a trip to the Ice House, a fabric/quilt shop in her area. I don't remember buying anything to sew at that age, but I do remember getting supplies and stenciling canvas drink coasters... fun memories!

Well, this summer my family and I were vacationing a few towns away from the quilt shop, so my mom and I stopped by for a visit. I purchased some purple-y floral prints, as well as a few coordinating batiks. Later on in the year, I picked a few more batiks and nature inspired prints, and ended up making this throw quilt.

 The braided panels were really fun, though I had a hard time with the "random" fabric placement... yet again... As for the quilting, I stippled it using a pale lilac Aurifil- you can see it best on the darker fabric strips.

I had lots of fun making the quilt, and I think my grandma is enjoying it!

And now that the "real" photos are posted, I also need to share these outtakes. Again, my brother was a great quilt holder...

But he had a few photo ideas of his own, as well.

I think this one was supposed to be "Quilt in Motion."

And this was "Dancing Quilt" maybe?

All in all, he was a good sport about the whole photo thing - thanks for your help, buddy!

[Linking up to Crazy Mom Quilts]

Go Blue! Quilt

 I was really excited for Christmas this year, because I had a special treat for my little brother: this Go Blue! quilt:

As a University of Michigan grad, I wanted to use my new quilting obsession to make a fun, scrappy quilt for him.

Lucky for me, the school's "block M" easily translated into a quilt design I could tackle. 

 The quilt is a generous throw size (60x80), which I hope comes in handy on these cold winter nights in the Midwest (hello Polar Vortex!).

 The blocks are all different versions of string blocks, though since I'm still learning I went ahead and paper-pieced these babies... all 224!

 To top it all off, I backed the quilt in Minky. It wasn't easy (I was thankful for my steam ripper many times), but in the end it was worth it for such a comfy gift.

And, the best part: the fabrics! I had a blast picking up fat quarters and other small cuts of different fabrics from about 10 different LQSs. Some of the fabrics are batiks, and others are cool prints (like a map of NYC or the Declaration of Independence).

I had an absolute blast making this quilt, and I hope my little brother enjoys it! Thanks for stopping by![Linking up to Crazy Mom Quilts]

Autumn Runner

To surprise my mom on Thanksgiving, I made her this Autumn Runner.

This summer, on one of our fabric shopping sprees, she helped me pull together 12 different autumnal prints, so I used them to make big maple leaf squares.

The runner ended up being about six feet long (whoops), but it fits perfectly on the dining table at my folks' house.

 I didn't want the quilting to compete with the bold shape of the leaves and the busy fabrics, so I stuck to a basic 1/4" outline of the leaves.

 And I think my mom was pretty pleased with the outcome!

 Speaking of pretty pleased, I just have to share these "outtakes" as well, as they make me crack up every time I look at them!

 My little brother was a good sport about holding the runner so I could photograph it, and couldn't resist hamming it up for a the camera after a while - isn't he the cutest?

Thanks for stopping by - hope you have a great weekend! (Linking up to Crazy Mom Quilts)

Autumn Pillow

The other day, I pulled together a few scraps autumn-inspired fabrics to make this pillow cover.

I don't know what it is, but I'm totally in love with HSTs still; this time, I broke up the randomness of the triangles with a band of neutral fabric.

Thanks for stopping by and happy November!

Halloween Table Runner

I don't know about you, but it seems like Halloween is just around the corner - they've even started displaying candy corn in my local drug store!

So the other day, I dug into my fabric stash and made this Halloween Table Runner as a gift for my mom.

I actually picked up these festive fabrics at a quilt shop in Marshall, MI, over the summer, and I had a blast making my first Drunkard's Path blocks. I didn't have a template, so I got creative and used a cake pan... not a bad solution in the end, I think! I finished it off by quilting it with curly-q pattern.

This was a really fun project, and I hope my mom likes it!

I'm linking up to Crafty Mom Quilts - thanks for stopping by!

A wedding version of the Sprocket Pillow

Sprocket Pillow: tutorial by Cluck Cluck Sew

I recently made a Sprocket Pillow using Cluck Cluck Sew's great tutorial.

Sprocket Pillow: tutorial by Cluck Cluck Sew

This bright pillow was actually a wedding present to my cousin and his wife... and there's a story behind that fabric!

You see, my cousin and his lovely bride had DIY centerpieces featuring fabric flowers at their reception. Thanks to this awesome tutorial by my mom, a few family members made a zillion fabric flowers that my dad used to create these beautiful arrangements for the reception tables. Don't you love all the bright colors they selected for their reception? So fun!

I wanted to make my cousin and his wife a wedding present with a bit of meaning behind it. So as my mom made all those lovely fabric flowers, she saved some leftover fabric so I could make my cousins this little pillow.

I've been a fan of the the Sprocket Pillow for some time, and all those juicy prints made for a really cute pillow! I hope that this little cushion can be a memento of my cousins' wedding day, and when they see it I hope it serves as a quick reminder of just how fun and colorful their reception really was!

Sprocket Pillow: tutorial by Cluck Cluck Sew

I'm linking up to Crazy Mom Quilts' Finish it Up Friday - can't wait to see what else people are making!

WIP: Coral+Turqoise

Coral+Turquoise: Mitten to Apple inspired by In Color Order

 I have a new work in process: Coral+Turquoise.

Coral+Turquoise: Mitten to Apple inspired by In Color Order

I've finished the inner portion of the lap quilt, but I've yet to add the borders and other accents I have in mind.

Coral+Turquoise: Mitten to Apple inspired by In Color Order

So far, I'm loving the look of this little project! I've admired Jeni Baker's In Color Order Arithmetic Quilt for quite some time, and when I received a bunch of eighth yards for my birthday in various tones of coral and turquoise, I immediately wanted to create my own version of her popular design.

Coral+Turquoise: Mitten to Apple inspired by In Color Order

So I paired those beautiful colors with some beautiful Robert Kaufman Quilter's Linen- swoon! Then, using some math (to figure out how best to utilize those eighths) and graph paper, I figured out exactly how many squares I could make out of my gifted fabric, and I filled in the missing "pluses" with the quilter's linen... so simple!

Coral+Turquoise: Mitten to Apple inspired by In Color Order

I can't wait to finish this baby up - won't be long I now (<famous last words, eh?)!

*I'm linking up to Freshly Pieced's WIP Wednesday!!

Pinwheel Table Covering

Over the weekend I was able to "gift" the project I recently completed for my mom: a Pinwheel Table Covering.

Pinwheel Table Covering: Mitten to Apple original

Using pieces of printed Hobby Lobby fabric, along with solid gold and black, I made this 20x30" covering for a small table my mom has.

I ended up quilting in two different thread colors: black in one directly and grey in the other. Before sewing the binding, I also added strips of black elastic to the corners so the covering can be attached to the corners of the table I had in mind.

I'm pleased with how this project turned out and I hope my mom enjoys it!

Pinwheel Trivet

The other day I stumbled upon the sweetest tutorial on Craftgawker. And thanks to Schlosser Designs, I was able to make a super cute trivet for a Mother's Day gift. (Note: the tutorial calls them potholders, but I'll be gifting mine as a trivet, since the recipient could really use a cute one like this!)

Spring Pinwheel Potholder - Schlosser Designs

Isn't is just so sweet?

I got a little carried away with the quilting... but I was just having so much fun!

If you're looking for a simple and fun project, I'd highly recommend this project!