mini meadowland kitty quilt

oh my goodness... this poor quilt has been done FOREVER and just got mailed off last week.
it is WAY over due for it's time in the spotlight!

when i found out my dear friend jessica was having baby girl number three, i was thrilled to come up with a way to incorporate our childhood love of kitties in to this quilt.  but apparently that is the theme for her getting baby quilts... they come eventually!  (half hexi smokey cat quilt was baby girl #2).

being in the midst of quarantine while making this, and possibly even during my unemployment phase, i needed a pattern that was quick, easy and i could use my stash for.  the meadowland quilt was one i had my eye on for quite some time, and it was the perfect size for a wee one to grow with.  i had a lot of pinks, aquas and grays from previous projects, so it was the perfect mix for a baby girl.

the collections of pinks i had surprised me, since i don't often use them in my quilt!
granted, a bunch of them came from my rad 100 days 100 blocks quilt that was all over the rainbow.  the aqua kitty heads were just too cute to pass up when i did some shop hopping awhile ago, and they became the perfect tie in for this quilt!
these blocks were much larger than i expected them to be, which was great to feature these fabrics even more so.  bigger blocks = more kitty cuteness, am i right?  i used to think 12"blocks were gigantic and good, but something just feels good about these 16ish ones.  maybe that's because i spent a good three months making 6 and a half inch blocks a few years ago!i picked up the gray binding and raspberry grunge backing from caliquiltco.com to help tie it all together.  i felt like the gray was enough to frame it up without being too "in your face" while the pink on the back was perfect.  i did a simple crazy puzzle pantograph all over it to keep the focus on the blocks and not necessarily overwhelm it with quilting. i would absolutely do this quilt again, using a wider variety of colors and in a larger size.  could i use a new quilt for my bed?  hmmm...  6 quilts layered during the wintertime could be exactly what i need!  
i should also add that i found a blog post that helped figure out how to keep the directional fabric going the same way on all of the flying geese pieces (helpful for those kitty heads especially)
if you plan to do a meadowland and want to know how to keep it directional, the link is here: four at a time geese with directional fabric

pattern information: meadowland by then came june
quilt count: 141

double disney i spy quilts

 alright everyone, today we're going for a double header!
these quilts were so similar, and both stashbust quilts, it is only appropriate they live together in a blog post.

when i made andrew's disney ispy quilt a few years ago, i was left with LOTS of scraps.  i bought a quarter of a yard to cut ONE 6" square from... so yeah, LOTS of scraps.  since then, along with other disney fabric purchases (since it has been 4 years... oy!) i decided it was time to make some other quilts and send them on their way.  i cut, sorted and piled about a year ago (i remember a baby spud cat being involved in sorting) and came up with about 4 more disney ispy quilts in varying sizes.  this first one was about a row each way short of andrew's original quilt size, but still so bright, fun and colorful!

this variation has a flannel backing, meander quilting and even a hidden mickey stitched in it as well!  there were enough blocks to keep it borderless, but still have it be a nice large quilt for a child, or a perfect lap size for the kid at heart.this one was done earlier on, but still a pretty decent job at machine binding if you ask me.
i'm definitely glad that is a skill i've learned and worked on.  sure beats sitting on the couch under a quilt sweating in the summer! now on to the second quilt!for this quilt, the blocks were a little fewer in quantity, particularly to eliminate any repeats throughout the quilt.  with it being smaller in size, i went ahead and added a double border, which really brought out the mickey mouse vibes. i went ahead and quilted this one with the same meander style all over, keeping the focus on the fun disney characters, and the quilting there as an added texture.  of course, to keep with disney style, i threw in another hidden mickey, just for a little more ispy fun!while this quilt was also a "stash bust" project, the real struggle came when it was time to get binding.  i shopped for the binding "peak quarantine" so to speak, and was hitting up the local joann stores and guess what... as you would expect, they were WIPED OUT.  i managed to find this polka dot print at one, and it was the perfect mickey & minnie style print to frame it all up.  i bought the backing pre-quarantine, and thank goodness i did!  i originally planned it for the borders, but it was just too distracting from the blocks, but it made a perfect backing (and yes, you also saw it become 4 masks back in july)  this quilt isn't quite child at heart size, but it is absolutely a great toddler size!once i get through my next big boom of gift quilts (ALL october babies) then i think i'll finally be able to get back to finishing the other sets of blocks for these disney quilts.

as simple as they are, they make me so happy to look at... and that also might be aided right now in the fact that disneyland is still a no go.

5 months... 5 months with no disneyland... can you believe it?

quilt count: 138 & 139

jewel tone 9 patch baby quilt

time for a fresh finish!
a dear friend of mine just had baby number 3, and i couldn't help but throw something together for her newest little one!  the last quilt i made was in 2014 for her little boy (mod chevron) so i went with the same classic, crisp feel with this cute little 9 patch.  i used fabrics left over from 2 previous projects, plus the backing was something i already had in my stash that i inherited from my mom (or possibly my grandma.)  overall, it is bright, cheery and simply perfect for a new little one!
since it is for a baby girl, i wanted the "girl colors" to be one of the main colors, so i made purple one of the colors that was used 3 times as well as the aqua colors.  the white prints are scattered throughout to give a scrappy yet cohesive feel - most if not all of them have some form of floral print on it.
the original projects the fabrics came from were actually two i made for myself.
the colors came from my coloradifornia cameras quilt, and the whites were what i purchased for my pudge catvent quilt!  i used some of the same white fabrics that were still wide enough to create a scrappy white binding for the quilt.  yes, it's white and for a baby... but it just looked so cute!
the backing was a lucky find in my stash that happened to coordinate well with the fabrics used on the front.
this was a fun and quick project to put together, and i cannot wait for it to be enjoyed by its owner for years to come.  i'd absolutely do this pattern again, since the squares allow for both prints and solids to be featured well.  fussy cut i-spy style options, perhaps?  we'll have to wait and see the next time a baby quilt comes around... or if i double the size of this quilt.  so many options!
total quilt count: 109

sewvivor sewalong - hexing around

a day later than desired, but hey... better now than never!
still made it in time for the #sewvivorsewalong entry on instagram, so that's a plus, right?
when doing my project research for this sewvivor cycle, i stumbled across this hexing around block by freshly pieced, and knew it was what i wanted to do.  this was actually the first project i had decided on WELL before auditions even happened.  even better was i knew what fabric i wanted to do it with.  remember catvent 2013?  yep.  same fabric!  i was working through more of the batik fabric i inherited from my grandma, and all i had to purchase for this project was the gray used for the front and the back.  before i chatter more about this, take a look at the full quilt!
pretty stoked about this one.
the blocks pieced together easily, it was just SUPER time consuming.
sew two sides, iron, trim to the right angle, repeat 3 times for each color round. once i hit the green round, my pieces started to be too short and i had to connect pieced together just to be long enough, and then make sure i had enough just to get around.  once i got to the orange ring, i completely ran out, and pulled some yellow left over from baby mark's petite trellis just to complete that round.  i pulled in some red from that project as well, but was able to finish the blocks off and have enough to create the binding.  woo hoo!
i really like the purple parts, just like in catvent, but there just wasn't enough to make them the bigger ring to the quilt. oh well. i like the lack of scrappy purple on each one, and that it is a center point
more close ups. this is my top center block, and i like it quite a bit.
haha. i did such a awful job sewing on this tag. i literally finished sewing it, threw it over the cat and left for work yesterday. it's a little wonky, but that makes it unique, right?
the quilting was an absolute breeze to do.  i did it in two sittings, probably because i had somewhere to be (this week was chaotic, let me tell you what) but it was just around and around the hexagons.  easy peasy.  just time consuming.  and i really like how it looks on the back.  so glad i went with the solid gray fabric with gray thread instead of anything with a print or color.
i would absolutely love to do this quilt in a larger scale and see how it turns out.
i am out of batik remainders (finally?  is this true?  maybe almost...)  but i would love to see this done in different color schemes, and a different aspect ratio of blocks.  i didn't have much of an option since i only pulled off 12 blocks, but i would have loved to see this a little bit bigger with at least a 4 block across width.  something about 3 just doesn't do it for me... haha.
i'm quite pleased with how this turned out (i think i say that about all my quilts lately) and think it looks just like i imagined it in my head.  i love how all the same colors mixed around on different blocks make each one unique and so different from the others.
there you have it folks!  sew-vivor challenge 3: finished!

two music themed donation quilts

finally at the end of catching up, and now i should hopefully convince myself to start sewing the next project that has been cut out for days!  this year, my mom came up with the idea for the music camp my siblings have attended forever to have a quilt raffle in order to help raise money for the camp.  i did a music themed quilt for the high school a few years ago (quilt here) and this time had to bust out some quilts in a matter of days before the final day of camp each week.
these two quilts fall under the stash bust category since we had the fabric laying around, but did also have to purchase some filler fabric as well as the backing pieces in order to complete the quilts.  the first quilt (on the left) is based off of "pinwheel play" (link below) and pieced together easily.  the pinwheels are 10" finished, with a stashing in between.  i really like the colors on this quilt a whole lot.  a little more punch to them than the others i have done for music donations.  and we still have fabric left over to do another one for next year!
quilt 2 on the right is using the same "just can't cut it" pattern as the donation quilt done a few years back.  we had a LOT of black & white fat quarters that were managed to work in with this pattern.  this quilt pattern is a great one for a new quilter.  the blocks are easy to piece together, no tiny pieces, and everything goes together super quick.  i was able to put both of these quilt tops together in one afternoon, and send off to quilt within a few days after that.
due to the quick finish time and need for them to get sent off to camp, i didn't get a chance to photograph these quite like i usually do. so alas, this isn't a very picture filled post.  but there you have it, two more quilts done and out of here!
quilt 1: based off of pinwheel play by julie weaver in quilts for babies & kids
quilt 2: "just can't cut it" by all washed up
total stash busting quilts/quilt tops combined: 12

safari animal "circus is in town" quilt top

this was mentioned in june... and then never blogged.  and then july happened... still not blogged.  so here we are in august, finally catching up on blog life.  time to knock out what i have done before school starts on the 26th.
the fabrics from this stashbust came primarily from a quilt i made for my childhood bff's older sister in 2010.  yeah, three years later, finally busting out the rest of the fabric and making something of it. (original quilt)  this quilt pattern was yet another from my "quilts for babies & kids" book that i've had forever so i just had to try something new out.  i tweaked it a little bit and didn't do all the borders it had (ran short on some fabric) but still love how it turned out!
the blocks turned out to be a pretty decent size, which helped the safari animals be a good size in the center of the blocks.  everything pieced together so well, and boy am i impressed with how those squares lined up for me.  usually, that's my hardest part.
seriously. look at that nearly lined up striping. winner winner!
one last closeup of the blocks.  totally like the safari animals than the clown print that was shown in the book.
pattern: "circus is in town" by michelle crawford in quilts for babies & kids
stash bust total: 10.  wow.  last quilt top i posted was back in may...  yikes!

black & white cats kaleidoscope quilt top

i'm still not sure if "kaleidoscope" is spelled right.
google chrome hasn't told me it's wrong yet, so i'm going with it...
this quilt reminded me a lot of the daisy chain quilt i did for meagan's wedding back in 2011.
not necessarily the exact same pattern and layout, but general assembly idea.  with a few tweaks here and there.  but it was fun to put together!  well... until about the last two rows.  then all sewing chaos broke loose.  more on that in a bit.
the original tutorial had all scrappy materials (which i may do again with this style of quilt. but more blocks) and was pieced on basic computer paper.  i decided to use muslin for my back pieces, which i guess was a good thing since we had no computer paper in the mouse anyways.  the cat fabrics were from my bag making overload days (one of them made for a craftster "cat lovers" swap here) and stashed away to make more for the craft shows lisa & i used to do.  when i started this "stashbust" project, i really wanted to do a black and white quilt, and when i came across this hoard of cat fabrics, i knew it was what had to be used!
the tutorial i used was really easy to follow, and i knocked out the majority of this quilt in one day.  of course, minus the cutting part that is.  i used the turquoise blueish fabric to create the "window" effect of the kaleidoscopes, and also keep it from being a little less of a black & white eye sore.  haha.  the hardest part was trying to get everything to line up so that no two fabrics were the same touching from block to block... which is where all my oops started to come in.  i got down to the last two rows, and somehow, no matter HOW hard i tried.  something was touching the same.  even though when i had it laid out on the floor, all was good.  or so i thought.  so while half watching "hitch" i ripped and resewed.  ripped and resewed.  and bumped in to the iron that was sitting on the floor (which i thought i turned off) and now have a lovely burn on my leg...  wheeee.  eventually, this little 4x6 problematic quilt was done.  and i think having the backs pieced on muslin helped my hulk style seam ripping.  it was intense...
here's how the back looked. much neater with the raw edges from each cat fabric hidden in between.  stashbust in this house also means using random spools of thread...  this one had that burgundy color, green, and i think some hot pink in the mix as well.  i emptied three spools from the drawer, so that's a plus!
tutorial used: film in the fridge's string quilt block
stash bust quilt tops total: 9.  whoop whoop!

hopscotch cherry quilt. sorta...

sooooo... this was originally from a pattern i found on pinterest.  but in the cutting/sewing process i guess i can say it became an artist's interpretation of a pattern...  more on that later.
so i had this cherry fabric for what seems like forever (the little cherries and hearts) because i think i planned to make myself a skirt or something out of it.  and then maybe i planned to make an apron.  i don't know... either way, i know i just had a decent amount of yardage of it and it needed to have something done with it.  the big cherries i had made something from... probably for a craftster swap awhile back, because the fabric was hacked up in to weird shapes like no tomorrow.  and i think the pink came from this bo peep dress i made for a photo project in 2009.  alas, this was the first stash bust quilt top i have had to purchase just a smidge more fabric for... and it was that pink.  oh well, at least it was cheap!
my number of blocks were built around the middle squares, because i only had just enough for however many blocks there were.  and actually, there are still a few more around the house i didn't use because of another fabric measuring oops.  man, this quilt is full of oops stories.
so here we have the full quilt top on the right. looks good, right? i think so... even if it's totally not how it was supposed to be.  basically, the insides of the blocks are all opposite of what the pattern has them as.  the blue cherries were supposed to be the two outside squares, while the inside square is the one that alternates.  the  "same colors" weren't supposed to be touching.  at all.  so basically, instead of hopscotch, this quilt is a bunch of tetris T tiles.  sounds like a legit cover up story.
block comparison.  cherries went horizontal, while pinks went vertical.  so very bright and cheery.  and girly all over.
yes, i plan to redo this pattern the "right way" and see how it turns out. maybe i'll like it better... maybe i'll like mine better. maybe it inspires me to do a full on "tetris" quilt.  hm.  maybe.  those seem pretty intense, and full of needs for "exact" blocks.  yargh.
original quilt pattern:  fabric cafe: hopscotch
stash bust tops complete: 8 <- four more, and i can technically call my goal met... right?  hm.  not really.  but this 3 month ahead of schedule boost will come in handy in june for sure.