Tuesday, August 25, 2009

USA Tablerunner

My parents host our family’s annual 4th of July picnic at their house every year, so when I saw this pattern I knew it would be the perfect gift for Mom.
The original pattern was for a lap quilt, but I took just the flag, U, S, and A blocks to make this tablerunner.  Many people commented how beautiful it turned out.
If I get ambitious I may actually make the lap quilt one of these days. :)

Monday, August 24, 2009

Blue Star Tablerunner

Since I’m posting tablerunner projects, here’s one I made for my parents.  My mom had asked me to make chair pads for their dining room chairs and barstools.  Since there was quite a bit of fabric left over I made a tablerunner to coordinate with the chair pads.
The blue fabric is quite bulky so I had to use a fairly simple pattern so the fabric would lay flat.  This is a simple Ohio Star block set on point with plain borders.  It makes a great everyday tablerunner to dress up the dining room and protect the table.

Ohio Star Placemats and Tablerunner

Yes, it’s true.  I do more than just baby quilts and lap quilts. :)  This is a tablesetting I made for my mother-in-law for Christmas a few years ago.  I had a lovely poinsettia fabric and thought it would make a nice tablerunner and placemat set.
The blocks are just simple Ohio Stars, some in red and some in green with the poinsettia fabric in the corners and borders.  I found a nice red fabric with a gold holly print for the backing and binding.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Raggedy Ann Star Baby Quilt

Apparently I must have bought way more of this Raggedy Ann and Andy fabric than I needed to make my niece’s baby quilt, but I’m glad I did.  This is the third baby quilt I’ve made using this adorable Raggedy Ann and Andy fabric.  It’s the perfect size to use in the nursery in the crib, as a wallhanging, or as a floor blanket for playtime.
This is another quilt that looks complex but is really pretty simple to piece together.  The entire quilt is made of squares and half-square triangle pieces, but when put together they make a beautiful star pattern.
I recently sold this quilt in my shop on Etsy.com.  Be sure to check out my shop.  I also do custom orders so please contact me if you’re interested in having me make a quilt for you.  I’ll be happy to work with you to create a beautiful item for you.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Friendship Angels Lap Quilt


This is a quilt I made for my manager for Christmas a few years ago.  Since our structure name is Team Angels I thought the angel fabric was appropriate for the background stars. 
Although it looks complex, the piecing is pretty simple for this quilt.  The blocks are simple Friendship Stars, and the placement of the background fabrics creates a secondary Friendship Star pattern.
If you’re looking for a fast project for a gift that doesn’t look like you did it really fast, this is a great one.  I’ll be posting the pattern for this quilt when I get a chance.  In the meantime, the second picture shows a closeup of the blocks so you’ll probably be able to make it without the pattern.  It’s just squares and half-square triangle pieces.  I made 9-inch finished star blocks, so each of the smaller squares and half-square triangles would be 3 1/2 inches before sewing them together.  The middle angel square measures 9 1/2 inches including seam allowances.

Friday, August 14, 2009

V-Stitch Baby Afghan

This baby afghan was crocheted with a v-stitch using 2 strands of light blue medium worsted weight yarn held together for extra softness and warmth.  It is currently for sale in my shop on Etsy.  This would make a great gift for any mother-to-be or for the special child in your life.
Love this blanket but prefer a different color?  I welcome custom orders.  Please contact me and I’ll be happy to work with you to create a special item just for you.
Want to make one yourself?  I’ll be posting the pattern for this gorgeous afghan here soon.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Hugs And Kisses Quilt

This is the perfect quilt to give as a wedding or anniversary gift since it features “X” and “O” blocks - the hugs and kisses.  I’ve actually made this in two different sizes for two different wedding gifts. 
The first quilt features smaller X and O blocks (and more of them) with green, blue, and a cream and tan background with “Faith, Hope, Love and Trust”.  It was made for my cousin Jordan and his wife Jodi’s wedding - the last of the three that my mom, grandma and sister-in-law helped me create.
After making Jordan and Jodi’s quilt with such small blocks I decided to make the blocks larger in the second one.  This one I made for my friend Leslie and her husband Ron’s wedding ~ they’re shown holding up the quilt in this picture.
I will be posting the patterns for both sizes when I have a chance.

Monday, August 10, 2009

Golden Wedding Ring Quilt


This quilt was my first attempt at paper piecing.  My mom, grandma and sister-in-law helped me make it for my cousin Andrea and her husband Al’s wedding.  It was the second of the three quilts we made in 2006. 

We made this with a light blue and green for the focal fabrics, and the background is cream and tan with “Faith, Hope, Love, and Trust” scattered across the fabric ~ appropriate for a wedding gift. :)  It could easily be made with other color combinations to create a kaleidascope look on the quilt. 

The first picture shows the full quilt, held up by my aunt Elaine and my husband Al.  (In case you were paying attention, yes, my cousin and I both married guys named Al.)  The second picture shows one block of the quilt before it was sewn together with the other blocks.

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Love Around The World Quilt

 This quilt is a romantic twist on the traditional Trip Around The World pattern. 

I found some beautiful fabric with “Faith, Hope, Love, and Trust” on it so I used it in this quilt that I made for my cousin Ginger and her husband Aaron for their wedding with help from my mom, grandma and my sister-in-law Melinda.  We had three family weddings within four months so we worked together to make the quilts.

The first picture shows the full quilt.  The second picture shows the border quilting which features hearts that are connected.  This was my first attempt at free-motion quilting and I'm pretty happy with the results. :)  

Teddy Bear Pinwheels Baby Quilt

This quilt was made for one of the ladies I worked with at a title company.  The funny thing is I had to scramble to get this done in time for the baby shower, but the baby came early on the day of the shower so the shower had to be postponed anyway. :) 
It features the same fire fighter teddy bear fabric as the Teddy Bear Heroes quilt.  This is a great quilt to make if you need a cute baby quilt in a hurry.

Teddy Bear Heroes Baby Quilt

This is a quilt I made for my cousin’s son Caleb.  It is made with two traditional blocks - the Snowball block and 9-Patch block - and features and adorable print with fire fighter teddy bears. 
It’s difficult to see in the picture, but I quilted a teddy bear design in the Snowball blocks and a paw print pattern in the border.  I will be posting the pattern for this quilt when I have a chance.

Just For Dylan Baby Quilt

This adorable quilt was my first attempt at applique.  I think it turned out pretty well. :)  This was created for my cousin’s son Dylan.  It’s based on a pattern I found The Quilter magazine. 
I was looking for a border fabric with frogs to coordinate with the center applique and happened to find an adorable flannel fabric so I decided to do the entire quilt in flannels.  It’s so soft!

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Starry Path Of Friendship Quilt

For this quilt I combined the Double Irish Chain and Friendship Star blocks.  Usually the Irish Chain blocks have a plain setting block in between the chain blocks, but since I was doing a red, white and blue theme I thought it was fitting to have stars instead of just plain setting blocks.  Many quilters use a faster strip piecing method to piece the Irish Chain blocks, but I pieced each square separately to give a scrappier look. 
I recently donated this gorgeous quilt to the VSA Arts of Minnesota Silent Auction held September 20, 2009.  For more information visit the VSA Arts website at www.vsaartsmn.org.

ABCs For Hazel Baby Quilt

This beautiful but simple quilt was made for my cousin’s daughter Hazel.  I found the alphabet and dot fabrics several years before I knew what I was going to do with it.  When my cousin found out she was having a girl I thought this would be a great time to use the fabric.  The pink fabric used for the binding and backing is from the St. Jude’s Quilt of Dreams fabric line, so a portion of the sale of the fabric was donated to the St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis.  I will be posting the full pattern for this quilt when I have a chance.

Noah's Safari Baby Quilt

I made this quilt for my nephew Noah just before he was born.  My brother and sister-in-law chose not to find out whether they were having a boy or a girl so I wanted to make a quilt that would be appropriate for any child.  When I found this safari animals fabric I knew this was the one, especially since I knew they would name the baby Noah if it turned out to be a boy. 
I used two simple blocks and surrounded them with a plain border, although the striped fabric makes it look like more than just a plain border.  Need a quick baby gift?  This is a great one to make.  I will be posting the full pattern for this quilt when I get a chance.