Recent projects

Here is a look at some projects I've sewn up lately. 
To start, a baby quilt for my new nephew.  I used a few solids from a Bella Solids 'Neutrals' bundle mixed with some high and low volume prints.  The pattern is a simple disappearing nine patch.  It finished at a nice crib size so it can be used for a toddler.

 I used minky for the backing.  It was pretty easy to quilt with.  Not as difficult as I expected it to be from what I read online.   I kept with simple straight line quilting.  I don't know if I would try fancy free motion with minky.

 Next, is another custom maternity gown.  I wasn't too sure of the fabric at first, but once the pink bow went on I loved the whole thing.  I used Spotted in the Crowd in Grace from Anna Maria Horner's Field Study line.

 I made this little pillow for my friend's daughter who turned two.  It was made from scraps I had left over from making her baby quilt before she was born.  I'm told she likes her pillow very much, which makes me smile.  I used Elizabeth Hartman's dogwood quilting tutorial. 

Again I used Svetlana's method for the back.  Just a few adjustments and I got the face to match up perfectly.  I love it!  This Tula Pink Parisville print kills me with how gorgeous it is.

 And that's about it for now.  It's been nice to have time behind the machine even though it means staying up until 2 sometimes 3 in the a.m.  I love the quiet time of the night.  Its great to relax even if I do pay for it in the morning.  Anyone else a night owl sewer? 
I leave you with a sneak peek of what I'm working on now.  It's so sweet and dreamy.

Thanks for reading!
Melissa

PTS 10

 

I have been wanting to participate in the Pillow Talk Swap on Flickr for a while now.  I've seen so many beautiful pillows made for each round, I had to get in on the action.  My chance finally arrived when I saw that sign ups were open for round 10.  Imagine my excitement when I saw that my partner was one of my favorite bloggers.  I already knew that she was a huge Anna Maria Horner fan, and in her mosaic I saw triangles, so that's the direction I decided to go in.  There is something about sewing triangles that I just love. 

I only had a few AMH prints in my stash so I ordered a charm pack of Field Study and Lou Lou Thi to work with.  I love the fact that AMH's charms are 6 inches instead of the usual 5.  I cut 60 triangles but ended up using only 25 of them.  Then I began playing with the layout.

 

 

This was ok, but ok wasn't gonna cut it.  It needed something more.

Enter some texty lovliness.  It was so fun showing teasers to the group throughout the process and getting such positive feedback.

 

Once the piecing was done I had to figure out how to quilt it.  I love free motion quilting but I wanted to push myself outside of my comfort zone so I decided I would attempt hand quilting for the first time.  I used six different colors of Perle cotton 8wt.  I also did not use any kind of quilting hoop or frame.

I must admit, I did pick out my stitches more than once due to uneven stitches.  Once I got in the groove though it went nice and smooth.  I did a simple petal motif in the center.

For the low volume background it took me forever to decide what to do with that area.  Finally I settled on simple straight line quilting that echoed the hexagon.  I did the colors by hand and then machine stitched the white with the perle thread.  I never knew you could do that but thanks to Little Miss Shabby, I discovered a new technique I will definitely be using again.

I really enjoyed making this pillow especially knowing who I was making it for.  I think it was pretty obvious that it was for her.  I wanted it to be special and I hope I achieved that.  Judging from her comments on Flickr I think she's going to be a happy lady.  I also made her a linen feather pouch and a wall hoop pocket but I forgot to take a pic of the hoop. :(

I cannot wait to see which pillow I receive!  There are so many beauties in the group I know I will love any one I get.

Thanks for reading!

Melissa