quilt tops and new fabric...plus a new friend

quilt tops:

well, again...made from bali pops in the kiwiberry colorway

with a fun lime green dotted first border and a pretty purple "fusions" by robert kaufman large border

now look closely...they look similar; but, ARE different:

this is the mulberry color way jelly roll...

and, yes (chris) i will try to sell one of these...

i just need a while to decide which one ;)

new fabric:

above, all from ikea

say hello to my little friend...

spring has sprung

the grass is greener...when it's covered with batiks!

here it is...the finished project.  okay, not totally finished - i still have to hand sew the binding (i'm working on it tonight.)  it's so bright, i love it!  chris asks me everytime i finish a quilt, if i am going to sell it.  my response  is the same as before...no, not this one.

and, if that one wasn't bright enough for you...

this was made from the strawberry fields colorway of hoffman fabrics bali pops.  i've done diamonds before; but, these proved a bit harder to line up.  the colors are very vibrant in person.  it reminds me of a stained glass window in an old church. 

top o' the day to ya

                     happy st. patrick's day!

wait, wait, wait...don't get me wrong...i DO NOT condone drinking and sewing!  what you see there is a root beer bottle!  however, i absolutely support the celebration of st. patty's.  it's sooooooooo much fun.  thus, i decided to start my green quilt in honor of the day!  this is a sneaky peek, more to come of this one!

how can a pillow be such a pain in the arse?

okay, so maybe aeva doesn't seem to think it's a pain in the a$$; but, she is the recipient of the fruits of MY labor.

front and back views of my selvedge edge pillow.  the painful part was completely my fault.  i used a zipper that was way too short for the pillow form i had to insert into the case...so, a few of the seems ripped while i was trying to stuff.  needless to say i had to take the pillow out, repair and stuff again.  not that the zipper was easy to sew in the first place.  but, that's also my boo boo, i should have looked around for some instructions instead of making it up as i went along...

a handmade rack for my handmades!

two necklaces:

one made of oven bake clay to resemble the awesome candy found here in good old deutschland

and one of beads and ribbon in a new fangled style i've seen in the magazines

FUN owlies:
(l-r) the back, front with peepers, and without
the beaks are hand-sewn with yellow dmc floss
the materials are scraps of tula pink's "hushabye"

[you may remember the two quilts from the line?]

the beginning of the "happy b-day chris" banner i cut, stitched and painted. the best part...it's reusable!

here is my easter time carrot table runner...

what a fun and easy project from allpeoplequilt.com

and saving the best for last...

a fabulous quilt rack made by dad nelson!

i am very pleased with my gift and proud to display my quilts on it

the neatest part...

there are no screws or nails! just these cool pegs to hold it together. very portable for our subsequent moves!

THANKS, DAD!

guess what?! QUILTS! how did u know?

this one ended up not really being "my style"



i bought the "oh, cherry, oh" jelly roll online and found the fabrics a bit too sweet for even my tooth. maybe once i get my consignment contract at the shop going, i will sell it there

no, it's not a Pollack, it's a sheet from ikea that i used as the back of my string quilt




a string quilt is a great way to use those small scraps of fabric that are just too lovely to toss


i used the tutorial from the fun blog: film in the fridge.


each square has a 1.25" white strip in the middle as the unifying element








i have been called many things; but, the one i like the best is COLORFUL
which is why i have to proclaim this project my favorite!






after sewing about 50 of these little squares, i thought, i'm doing good...probably almost done. so i laid them all out on the floor and realized i would need at least another 50 just for a lap size!




i really enjoy studying the pieces and remembering the previous projects the bits were used in.

i've had this fabric ["neptune" by tula pink] for a while and have only recently used it in a project because i love, love, love it! and was kinda nervous about cutting into it.

i considered several ideas:
bags
clothes
stuffies...
but finally decided that a quilt is the best way to really make it last


the large squares of the design show off the fabric well - beautiful damasks made of sea turtles and horses; swirls of shells and corals; underwater shipwrecks explored by seals and fish; scales, anchors and buoys; and a japanesque sea scene.






i added the solid coral and navy borders as well as the red and green semi solid strips. the binding is a variegated, pieced from leftovers.


on second thought, this may be my favorite!














this little beaut is the first to wear my new woven label along with my stitched signature. please disregard the unfinished area of binding, he he

sacs and clothes, but not sac clothing

my first try at clothing.
this was a great project; i was very happy with how well the pattern of the fabric matched on each side (thanks to the great instructions in the pattern)

drawstring jewelry pouch from tula pink's new line, "plume"

patchwork drawstring bag, i was gonna sell it, but....

the inside of the next bag (same pattern as black, white and green bag)

again, "plume"

this time i customized the handles and added an inside pocket

this is a quilted bag with a velcro bow closure

i found it very easy to make...as long as you don't sew the handles in between the wrong layers and then turn it all right side out to find that they've gone missing, yeah, not that i did that...

at the multi-crafts store we don aprons to distinguish ourselves as employees.

i like to think it's similar to the lab coats doctors and scientists wear...so we're like craft experts, i suppose

the fabric is one of my favorite lines; called authentic by sweetwater for moda. i have a great quilt idea for the jelly roll i bought of this fabric. i call it my "quote quilt" and as soon as the ink for my printer gets here, i will tackle that project.