Batik String Top - Festival of Strings

I am so excited to share this string top with all of you.  I am sure you all know my love of the scrap bin at my local quit shop, all the scraps you can fit in a bag for $5.50.  Recently there was a ton for strings in there of pretty batiks that all went together and I was so excited!  I pulled them all out and couldn't wait to find something to make with them.  Then, after thinking a bit, I came across an old International Quilt Festival Quilt Scene magazine from 2010/2011 that had an awesome hexagon pattern in it.  I loved the strings hexagons and figured my batik strings would be perfect for it.

I sewed strips of the strings together and then cut our the three sections needed for each hexagon.

I then sewed the hexagons together into rows, making sure to leave the quarter inch open to set in the next row.

I put half hexagons on the top and bottom to make the top and bottom edges straight, but I am leaving the sides with with zigzags.

Each strip used ranged from less than an inch wide to 3 inches wide.  My batik string quilt measures about 40" x 50", not too shabby for all those little pieces from the scrap bin.

And to end it, a picture from the back.  Look at all those seams!  I used 8 bobbins sewing all those little pieced together.

Now to find the perfect backing and figure out how to quilt it, but for now I am so happy with this finished top.

I am linking up to the Festival of Strings hosted by Rachel at Stitched in Color.  There are so many amazing amazing string quilts there.

Project Quilting Bonus Challenge

My Project Quilting Bonus Challenge is complete!  Wohoo, done with time to spare! It was also my May finish for A Lovely Year of Finishes.   The bonus challenge, Tradition Times Three, was started with a special bundle from Fat Quarter Shop.  I used 10 of the 12 fabrics, omitting the two beige fabrics, and added one white fabric which was the same as one of the blues in the bundle (the white is part of the Seascapes line by Moda)

As my traditional block I chose flying geese.  After looking through many books I kept going back to a flying geese quilt in the Better Homes and Gardens book, Quilting: Pieces of the Past.  Loving the look of the geese, I used this as my jumping off point.  

I chose to use the fabric in the bundle as my geese and use the one fabric that I added as the background.  I feel this made the geese really stand out.  

There are 6 sizes of geese in the quilt.  Some are paper pieced, some are pieced using the quick geese method and the few lonely ones are pieced with scrap triangles.  I quilted the quilt with a wave pattern on my little Simplicity American Denim machine using Coats and Clark cotton machine quilting thread.

The geese go all different directions in the quilt which reminded me of seagulls because a recent study showed that seagulls have no set direction in their flight patterns.  A trip to the boat seemed to be the perfect place to photograph the quilt, though it was so very windy out that it was hard to control.

I backed the quilt with Sketch Cherry Screen Texture by Timeless Treasures which was also in the bundle.  I added in some flying geese pinwheels for fun, too.  

Quilt Stats:

Flight of the Seagulls

54" x 75"

Pieced by me on my Brother machine and quilted by me on my Simplicity machine with Coats and Clark machine quilting thread.  The batting is Pellon Nature's Touch cotton batting.   

Made in my home in Lanoka Harbor, NJ. 

Bloggers Quilt Festival - 2

It is that time of year again, Blogger's Quilt Festival over at Amy's Creative Side.  I love being able to see so many amazing quilts linked up in one place.

For my second quilt I am entering Aunt Carol's Blue Wave Quilt.  I am entering it in the Quilt Photographer category   I love all the photos I took of it at the beach in January.

This quilt was made for my Godmother, Aunt Carol, as a Christmas/birthday gift.  She loves the color blue and the beach, I mean she is a Jersey Girl ;)

I used the french braid pattern to give the quilt movement.  To keep with the beachy feel of the quilt, I free motioned waves on each strip on the quilt

Blue Wave Quilt is backed in an almost solid blue with a strip of sandy footprint fabric running off-center.

These photos were all taken at Island Beach State Park in Ocean County, NJ the week it first reopened after the storm.  Although it was cold and windy and I almost lost the quilt to the wind at one point it was a perfect day to go to the beach because I missed it.

There were some great shells and the waves were amazing that day, too.

Aunt Carol's Blue Wave Quilt measures 44" x 58"
I free motioned it on my little machine at home using Coats and Clark machine quilting thread.

Bloggers Quilt Festival - 1

It is that time of year again, Blogger's Quilt Festival over at Amy's Creative Side.  I love being able to see so many amazing quilts linked up in one place.

I am entering my Frittata Quilt.  I made Frittata Quilt in March for a Project Quilting challenge, Print Publications.  (Original post)

I was inspired to make this quilt using a picture in a magazine of a frittata.  The colors were bold and bright and couldn't get them out of my head.  

I free motioned swirls on the solid blue sections that were inspired by the pattern on the blue batik.  

The back is pieced with leftover solids from the front. I love how the swirls pop on the green on the back. 

Frittata quilt measures 32" x 32"

Free motioned quilted by me on my little home machine.  

Go and check out all the different quilts in Blogger's Quilt Festival, so many amazing quilts. 

Frittata quilt is in the Baby Quilt group. 

Project Quilting - Bonus Challenge Update

I feel like I haven't written much lately, but I have been sewing up a storm, working on my Project Quilting bonus challenge, Tradition Times Three.  Here is my progress so far....

I chose flying geese an my traditional block for this project.  I have straight flying geese, swirly geese, confused circle geese, and giant geese.

So instead of just three, I have four sizes in my quilt (and I might add baby geese in just for fun).

You can kind of get the idea how it will look from this layout.  I am working on getting sections sewn together right now so it will be easier to put it all together when I am ready.  

I have a lot of piecing left to do along with a couple other commitments to finish before the end of the month.  I better get sewing :) 

Mother's Day with the fam

Mother's Day was fun this year with my sisters, nephews, brother in law, and my parents.  We celebrated a little early, but the love was still the same.

It was a beautiful day so we spent a lot of time outside.  Matt practiced his pitching to Aunt Cindy.  I love the concentration on his face.

Chris played with his bubble mow mow, then on to the boat, then some sliding then some mischief.

And then Chris went through my I-spy charms, pulling out the puppy squares so he and Matt could tell Grandpa what kind of dog to get, haha.  

I think that mom enjoyed her Mother's day.  

A Lovely Year of Finishes - May Goal

It's that time again... goal setting for May's A Lovely Year of Finishes.  

This month's goal is easy.  Project Quilting bonus challenge, Tradition Times Three, is due at the end of this month and well, I haven't started it yet, haha.  Nothing like waiting until the last minute to start.

I will be turning this awesome bundle picked out by Kim and sold at Fat Quarter Shop to make a traditional block in three sizes with a modern spin.

And what better day than today to re-read through my quilt block books looking for a block while I recover from another nerve block.   

Thanks Em for the great book!

There is also the Off Season Project Quilting challenge, Pantone Color Pallet quilt.  I am planning something fun for that.  I think  may be out of my sewing slump.  

Can't wait to see what everyone is working on this month, maybe it will be all colorful and springy since I think it finally arrived!

Project Quilting Off-Season April

Project Quilting is hosting off-season challenges and that are really fun.  Last month it was based off your sign.  I'm a Pisces and I love the water.  Seriously, if I could spend all day every day in the water I would be happy.  So they say that a Pisces is the chameleon of the zodiac.  A pair of fish represents Pisces which suggests that they "go with the flow" and they "don't make waves".  Generally I am like that but lately I am fighting back.  Pisces also like to immerse themselves in creative outlets.  And to top it off, they like to relax by participating is sports, water sports specifically.

Well hey, here I am, I love anything that has to do with water especially kayaking.  I am a happy beach and river girl and I have to say the more waves the better.  And I love to be creative so I guess you can say that I mostly fit in the Pisces mold.

So I thought and I thought and changed my mind quite a bit.  The only thing that remained the same was I wanted something to do with kayaking in my little quilt.  I was looking at finishing piecing my kayak blocks that I designed but I hit a slump this month and had other things come up.  Then when looking though some boating pictures the Pyranha brand was popping out of each picture, what could be better!?!

So here is my Pyranha mini quilt.  You might be thing, only one fish?  Well, although I usually go with the flow, lately I have been fighting back and I will swim as hard as I have to to get back to where I was.

I printed the Pyranha onto a light blue batik and framed it with other bright batiks that represent me.  I backed it with a pieced back representing my boat with the red, the water with the blue, and stormy way I have been feeling and fighting with the swirls.  

It is bound with the blue I used in the front and I even hand stitched the binding (gasp!).

I will celebrate like this again someday!