Star Struck!

Last week, Angela Walters was in the Handi Quilter's studio filming for QNN tv. I had the honor of meeting her and somehow convinced her to sign a few things for me. She's one of my quilting idols - I think her approach and attitude towards quilting is phenomenal and so inspirational, especially to non-professionals like myself.

Before she began, I suggested she warm up and make sure the pen worked (wink, wink) on my whiteboard in my office (like I hadn't already tested the pen before she came in!).

Then I had her sign my trusty Fusion first (just in case she ran out of time or patience ;)

And it turned out amazing!

Then I had her sign two books she authored that I owned copies of...and as if that wasn't enough, she gave me her one and only hard copy - her advance copy!! - of her new book Shape by Shape (due out in September)!! 

And by the way quilty peeps, this book is fantastic! Pre-order now! Each section has a typical pieced shape, and there are a bunch of different ways to quilt it with detailed instructions on how to quilt the design. Angela breaks it down and they are easy enough for even me to follow! I love the hexagon section so much - it inspired me to work on finishing up a hexagon quilt. 

That's her signing...

She's just as nice and genuine and down to earth as you might expect. I can't wait to see her again. 

Happy Quilting!

Modern Crosses

I finished up this quilt about a year ago and failed to take final pictures of it. Lots of scrappy low volume lights for the background with pops of bold colors for the crosses - most of which I believe are Free Spirit prints.

The pattern is called Modern Crosses out of the Modern Log Cabin Quilting: 25 Simple Quilts and Patchwork Projects by Susan Beal. I wasn't thrilled with the instructions - I ended up just making up my own pattern/cutting instructions, but in the end, I love this quilt.

I quilted a bunch of straight lines with random distances from each other - love the modern look it added to this quilt. Also love the yellow butterflies for the backing and the black and white stripes for the binding - just the perfect finishing touches for this one.

Will be finding a place to hang this one up in our home.

Quilting Progress - Finishing Quilts!

I have been loving my HandiQuilter Fusion machine. I am also super lucky to have the Pro-Stitcher for it, which is the computerized quilting for the HandiQuilter quilting machines. Although I love the process of and results from free motion quilting, sometimes it's nice to sit back and let the machine do all the work...and frankly, sometimes all a quilt really needs is a good all-over pattern.

According to Instagram, both of these quilt tops were finished a year ago (heavy sigh), but alas they are quilted!

First up, my Houndstooth Quilt. Simple navy and white solids.

Close-up of the quilting...the pattern is called Turbulence by Apricot Moon. I thought it added the perfect touch of movement and curve to the straight lines of the houndstooth.

I found this Alexander Henry print called Sloane and instantly new this had to be the backing. I think it adds the perfect contrast and complement to the front.

And my St. Louis 16-Patch Quilt. I used a variety of Anna Maria Horner and Art Gallery prints - and there is even a token Tula Pink print in there.

I found this great all over digital pattern for the quilting - it has some leaves, flowers, and a swirl. Thought it was the perfect pattern for this quilt top. Here are some closeups.

 Now my to-bind stack of quilts is growing! I'm thinking a binding/movie/netflix weekend may be in order.

#MoxieQuilt Done!

I couldn't be happier with how this Moxie quilt turned out!

I love Tula Pink's Fox Field line. It was so much fun - the colors and the prints - and the Moxie pattern was easy to follow and so fun to do! You can find Tula Pink's free pattern by clicking here.

For the quilting, I put on my big-girl panties and got really - REALLY!!! - brave and tried all sorts of new things. Only the top and bottom "wave" were done using the Pro-Stitcher, the rest was completely free hand.

More closeups of the quilting...

Loving My Handi Quilter Pro-Stitcher

My mom gave me this gorgeous quilt top to quilt. It is going to be a gift for my aunt. She didn't have anything specific in mind, so I used this quilt top to get to know my Handi Quilter Pro-Stitcher.

Here is a closeup of the quilting:

My mom was a bit short on backing fabric, so she used some leftovers from the borders. I think the end product is even better than if she had had enough of her original backing planned fabric. I love pieced backings! 

Bicycles Lane - DONE!

Finished up this quick strip quilt last weekend.

I'm donating this quilt to a high school friend who is raising money for their adoption of a little girl in China. They are hosting a dinner and silent auction in a couple of weeks, and I am hoping this quilt helps them get a little closer to bringing their daughter home.

Tried out some Flower Power long-arm quilting:

Loved this fun and funky chevron print for the binding....

My daughter has yet to miss "helping" during a quilt photo shoot.

Most of the fabrics are from Riley Blake Designs Dress Up Days line by Doohikey Designs.

Happy Friday

Just a little sneak peak at something I'm going to finish up this weekend...

Lost and Found Quilt

Finished up this quilt Sunday. I used Riley Blake's Lost and Found fabric line (or at least that is what most of the fabrics are). There really is no pattern, I just started with a square in the middle and went from there.

Here are some closeups of the quilting in progress:

This might be my best feather to date:

 

Here are some closeups of the finished quilting:

Here is a closeup of my machine binding:

 

And here she is fresh out of the dryer in all her crinkly goodness:

 

More Giggles

This is actually the first Giggles & Giggles quilt I completed. My mom and I made this quilt probably about a year ago - she is such a trooper and does the ruffling for me - for my daughter, who is two now. 

It was a very cute kit Emily at Materials Girl in Draper, Utah had put together. I love all the rich, bright pinks and oranges, with touches of gray and yellows. Perfect for a tiny little girl with a very large personality.

This is the pattern by Sew Much Ado.

This was also my first attempt at doing some fancier free motion quilting designs.

It is certainly far from perfect, but I went outside my comfort zone and I'm happy with that. Practice practice practice! My new philosophy when it comes to long-arm quilting: have a drink, put on your big-girl panties, and get stitchin!

Here's a peek at the back:

And a few more looks....

Getting Braver!

I acquired a new-to-me long-arm quilting machine. This has been very exciting and scary and overwhelming and fun all in one.

I've used it to quilt six or seven quilt tops now, and I have done stars and loops, loops and flowers...basically pretty easy patterns...but all free motion. I finally decided to be brave and try a more challenging pattern. This is a quilt my mom and I worked on together that is for my almost-two-year-old baby girl. I love how it turned out! And I'm super excited to try new patterns and get some of my quilt tops finished.

I love the idea of making an entire quilt from start to finish, and I've gotten much better at embracing the imperfections. After all, if I wanted perfection, I could have machines and computers do it for me.

This quilt is actually done...the binding is even sewn on it, and now I just need to hand stitch the binding to the back. And it's been seen sitting that way for a couple months now. Must get to it.