Finishing essentials and boxy pouches...again?

I spent yesterday sewing with friends and got some quilt essentials finished. We all love making the tops, but sometimes the finishing bogs us down. Piecing the backing, quilting them, making and attaching the binding...wears you out just thinking about it, doesn't it? It's not that I hate that part, I just like making the tops better. When I quilt something it takes time, as I can only do about 3 - 4 passes at a time. ( I have a fussy back!) My machine is a mid arm so I can quilt about 6" -7" wide at a time. So if I can, I will quilt for a bit, do something else for awhile and then back to quilt. I hope to get close to finishing the quilting on the new sampler today. 

I need to finish the Off the Beaten Path baby quilt as I'm making it for my sister to give as a gift. I pieced the cute orange and white polka dot fabric for the backing and made the binding out of the Eric Carle print I had used for a border on the quilt yesterday. Ready to finish....it's up next on the quilting machine. 

 I haven't always quilted the samplers right away as it was easier to hang them unfinished on the walls at the store. I could leave them up for the duration of the classes (6 months) and have that visual every month during class. At my new location, I can't leave them hanging up, so I really wanted to get this new sampler quilted so that as take it back and forth to class, it doesn't get stretched or become a wrinkled up mess.

I made the binding for the new sampler yesterday too so I can bind it as soon as I finish the quilting. I need to get some good pictures of the finished quilt to advertise the class.

 When I finished that, I worked on a few Quilted Boxy Cornered Pouches. I really like making them and this time used a prequilted fabric. It goes much faster! I made 2 with the stripe on the outside and 1 with the blue paisley on the outside. These are so much fun to make and it's nice to have a few on hand for gifts.

Better get busy with that quilting!

Off the Beaten Path....baby style

 

About a month ago, I took part in the Desire to Inspire Challenge at Henry Glass and Co blog. The premise is that you agree to design something using their fabrics...and they send you some really cool fabrics. What could be better than that?  I was sent fabrics from the #LaughLoveQuilt collection by Amy Hamberlin.

You can read my blog post here or follow the link above to see the post on the Henry Glass and Co. blog.

Aren't these elephants adorable?

 I really like the pattern I came up with, Off the Beaten Path, and wanted to try it out using brighter fabrics. I needed to make a baby quilt, so decided to make it a bit smaller, but still child size. I don't know about you, but I always make my baby quilts at least 50" x 50". Then they can use them as they grow. I finished the top yesterday, so it is ready to be quilted. I purchases some cute orange and white polka dotted fabric for the backing, so as soon as I get that pieced, I'll be ready to quilt it.

Fabrics I used in the baby Off the Beaten Path quilt.

I finished the new sampler yesterday too, so as soon as I get some good pictures of it I will post them. I am really excited about this sampler design, and I hope others will be too. Here's a sneak peek....

One block used in Sampler 23, Doing the Splits.

Partial Off the Beaten Path  blocks chillin' in the shade.

Off The Beaten Path with Henry Glass and Co

I accepted the Desire to Inspire Challenge for May on the Henry Glass & Co blog recently and was sent a gorgeous pack of fabrics from Amy Hamberlin's #Laugh Love Quilt collection. It is a pretty blend of modern and floral prints. I knew right away that I would need to design something scrappy in order to use all of these prints to their advantage. Since the navy stood out from the rest, I wanted to use it where it would make a splash.

#laughlovequilt collection by Amy Hamberlin

My cats always manage to wake up and come running when I start cutting a new project. Smokey and Conrad like to keep an eye on how the project is progressing.

I knew that I wanted to make several different, but similiar blocks for this scrappy quilt, so figured out a design that was simple but intriquingto look at. I like quilts that have interesting design elements incorporated into the design...it keeps you searching for more. I quickly made some pieced sections for the center of most of the blocks and pieced the rest of the quilt. 

Since I had used the navy for the star points, I decided to cut a smallish border out of it to bring it out in the quilt. I added it to 2 sides and hated it. It took over, or was too much...something wasn't right. So I tore it off and made a pieced border with scrappy rectangles and squares instead. I realize as I'm writing this that I didn't take a picture that shows the border well, but it's a combination of pieced strips strategically placed and rectangles. I liked it much better!

Unsewing the border...

I quilted it using a pastel variegated thread and the Starburst panto. It was fun to see it come to life with the quilting!

I always take pictures of the quilt, front and back, as I take it off of the frame. I like to have a record of each quilt and this way if I forget to take a pic later, I have these.

When the navy didn't work as a border, I decided to use it for the binding. It didn't take long to trim it down to the right width. 

I think it's just the right amount of navy for this scrappy quilt.

It was fun taking it out for a photo shoot....though I don't think my camera caught the beauty of the fabrics like I'd hoped it would. They are always prettier in person!

Off the Beaten Path

I feel like I grow as a designer and quilter when I take part in a challenge like this with parameters and a deadline. You don't have the luxury of weeks of planning, or designing, so you have to know just what the fabric is trying to say, or what it's saying to you. I think you learn a bit about the fabric designer as well, using her fabrics. There was a large print fabric with this collection that I got, but couldn't use as I couldn't cut it up. I didn't have time to incorporate it into a pieced backing, so now I need a plan for it. Still thinking about that one!

Thanks to Vanessa and the folks at Henry Glass & Co for the chance to participate in this engaging challenge. Visit their blog today to see the post about my challenge quilt, Off the Beaten Path. Go back tomorrow to see which collection will be used for the June Desire to Inspire Challenge and get a chance to participate yourself!