Umbrella Prints Trimmings Contest

This is my entry for the Umbrella Prints Trimmings Contest . Hop on over to Pinterest and take a look at all the cool items that people made with their trimmings. You can vote for mine or any other one that makes your heart sing.
Have a great weekend!

Kelly

Colorful Leftovers

16 x 20

In my last post I showed  you some wonderful inspirational quilts from my friends. As we were sitting around talking we all agreed as soon as we got home we wanted to sew. That inspiration is contagious!

I needed to get a backing ready for a quilt that I am dropping off at the long arm quilter's house today. Once that was done I dumped out my box of half finished, leftover blocks. I just wanted to create something without spending so much time sewing. I wanted it done today!

So I started by just laying out what I had in the box. Color was of no importance, size a bit more but not exactly the same size. Close was good enough.

I pressed all the seams open which made it lie very flat. Look at all those threads on my pants.....

I chose not to quilt over the little flying geese. I wanted them to stand out and not be interrupted with a line of quilting.

I used a light gray thread  (Aurifil) and quilted it with random width straight (well almost) lines.

Instead of binding it, I used a facing technique. You can find the tutorial here . I have used a few different ones but I like this one the best. Even if you have never done it before you will be successful, just follow the directions exactly.

It felt good to just sit and sew. My favorite part is not knowing how it is going to look when I am finished. It could be a waste of time but overall going out on a limb can be fun too!

Kelly

Inspirational Quiltinis!

How's this for an eye catching quilt! No, it is not mine, but my friend Christine's. Yesterday the Quiltinis gathered for some fun and inspiration. Both are always plentiful.

Christine used jelly rolls, so the pinked edges on the back also made for some good inspiration.

She also made this very cool pillow....

and a runner......

and a mug rug! She is our energizer bunny!

This is a wedding quilt she made for some friends. It is very striking and done in purples and grays......

and of course a runner and some coasters (not shown) were also made with the leftovers. She just has to use up every little last piece, she can't help herself!

Terry's quilt that was made with some very old florals. It reminded me of color wash quilts, remember those? She is going to use this to practice her long arm quilting.

Another one of Terry's quilts. She had a whole wall in her sewing room filled with small quilts, it was very charming!

Sorry this picture did not come out so good, it is a gorgeous quilt, another one of Terry's.

Stephanie's wedding quilt for one of her sons, she has 2 of them getting married this fall! Wouldn't this be a fun scrap quilt to make? All she has left to do is the binding and the label.

There were some more quilts shown, that I wished I could show you. For many reasons they will have to wait. You can be sure I will when free to do so.......they are amazing!
I so enjoy getting together with these ladies. They always have good feedback and are honest in their opinions, something I value very much. I don't think I could quilt without them!

Kelly

Lazy

These are my blocks for the Quilt Along I am doing with 1/4" Mark. This has been a fun QAL so far and easy to do as well.

The snaps on the light  fabric remind me of an old fashion washing machine.

I love my sewing room, it is colorful and happy! I love just walking in there.

Now for the lazy part......

I have been late getting to my gardens because we have to do some work in the front yard.

My husband is fixing the swale in our yard that helps the water go away from the house.

It involved moving lots of plants to the back yard.

How pretty is that Columbine?

At least the digging part was made a little easier with all of my husband's machinery.

My Mandeville that I kept inside over the winter is beautiful already!

The chive flowers look pretty surrounded by weeds!

Now I will have a whole new garden to plant. It may end up being bigger than the original. I am not so sure I am happy about that.....I want less to do, not more.
For once my laziness may have paid off. Last week we got a big hail storm and lots of people lost all their annuals that they just put in. The perennials made it but not the annuals. I feel like winter is still with us just a little bit!

Kelly

American Made Brand Giveaway Winner

First of all Happy Birthday to my grandson Elliot! He is 7 today!

This giveaway worked out perfectly as we Americans get ready to celebrate Memorial day this weekend.
I finished up my quilt using the Quick Curved Ruler.

The quilting is simple, but I am happy with the way it turned out. What is your preference, heavy quilting or minimal quilting? I like lots, and lots of quilting.

The backing was from my stash and I love the striped binding, I think it makes the quilt.

Th winner of the American Made Brand fabrics is Caffeinated Cotton. Congratulations! Thanks to everyone who left comments telling me about their favorite state, they were a fun read!

PS: From the last post (Sea Shells) I did not get a ticket.....

Have a great weekend!

Kelly

Sea Shells

I really like the simplicity and quietness of this quilt. It is small, 7 1/2" x 14". It reminds me of sea shells, hence the name. I don't like the whole idea of naming quilts, maybe I should just go with quilt #----? I also am not a label maker. I take a Sharpie and write my name etc somewhere on the back of the quilt, then hit it with the iron. My feelings are a label can be taken off, writing straight on the quilt with a Sharpie is there forever!

If you remember from an earlier post, I received these is the mail as a gift. I have another one too but am saving it for later. If you are interested in finding out more about these you can go to Umbrella Prints (I love the name).
They are also having a Pinterest Contest, check it out!

In keeping with the simplicity of the quilt, I did some straight line quilting that does not take away from the fabrics and has a modern feel.

It really just evolved. I started sewing like size pieces together.

Cut them apart here and there...

then sewed them back together in another spot. Sorry for the shadow, it was a rainy day.

The other day I was watching my granddaughter, Maddy.

I was parked in their cul de sac that is a no parking area, but there is no other place to park. There was myself and 3 other cars there.
While we were upstairs changing into her play clothes, we notice a police car in the cul de sac. Oh no I am going to get a ticket I said to Maddy. The following conversation went like this......

Maddy---What's a ticket mom mom?

Kelly---They put a piece of paper on your car and you have to send the police man money.

Maddy---and then does he get to go shopping?

I almost fell off her bed laughing!

Kelly

American Made Brand Giveaway

This is pretty exciting! Clothworks has come out with a line of solid fabrics completely made in the USA! It's called American Made Brand.

They have sent me a stack to giveaway to one of my friends who read my blog. Maybe you?

There are 8 fat quarters in the stack. Please leave me a comment and tell me what is your favorite state and why. I will pull a name on Friday May 22. If you are a no reply commenter please leave your email address or I have no way of contacting you and will have to pull another name.
Good Luck!

Kelly

Low Volume Swap

Yesterday my package came with the fabrics from the Low Volume Swap.

I will show you all of the pieces that were in the pack.

Those chickens are kind of interesting......not sure they fit in with the swap, but I love them nonetheless. The scissors on top were my contribution.

Some are confused as to what Low Volume means....

How cute is this?

I would describe them as quiet prints (no white on white, solids or marbled fabric) that would work well as a background especially with louder colorful prints. I love that second print called Domino....it looks like a domino don't you think?

Definitely with a more modern, dare I say Mod feel to them. The bottom fabric has a metallic copper color that I am not sure about, I am not a glitzy girl. I never liked Hoffman fabric because of all the gold and silver.
Love the leaves at the top....

The glasses are a favorite.

Lime green, yes!

So which one is your favorite?

Have you ever participated in a fabric swap? We are going to have one every month at our guild starting in September. Different colors every month, it should be fun and a great way to build up the stash. Like mine really needs some help......

Kelly