Falling Charms Quilt

Aloha!

This is the falling charms quilt that I made for another grandchild. I got the pattern from this tutorial by the Missouri Star Quilt Company. Thank you Jenny!

The tutorial has a pattern of the layout. I stopped the video at this point and made a copy of the layout by using the print screen function on the keyboard. It helped when it came time to lay out all the blocks.

I cut the 2.5" strips from yardage and used a few charm packs from Amy Butler's Soul Blossom line. The remainder of blocks are from my own fabric stash. Here are some pics of my progress.

Block design

The blocks are laid out on my bed because I have not made a design wall yet. I plan to make one soon. I take photos of my layout to refer to as I sew the rows. This helps if things get mixed up as they frequently seem to around here. Hey, I'm new at this!

The back was a challenge for me. I wanted to make the back different. I used left over charms to make the quilt back instead of just one large piece of fabric. The charms in the middle were warm colors so I used a brown border around them. Then I pieced all the other charms using the disappearing nine patch technique. I say it was challenging because, I realized that when I went to machine quilt it, the design on the front wouldn't line up with the design on the back.

I decided to machine quilt an all-over design of loops and hearts. That way the back wouldn't look too bad.
What do you think? The last photo is the pillow that I made to match. It has some blocks made from the Soul Blossoms charm pack and some that I had purchased. The bug blocks are from fabric I purchased from eBay. I believe it's discontinued. I appliqued her initial in the middle block. I'm not sure if you can tell from the photo but it's quilted on the white strips.

Falling Charms Quilt Front

Falling Charms Quilt Back

 

 

Square block pillow

 
The quilt I'm working on now will be from Batik fabrics. I plan to use the same block size as on the front. If I understand correctly, the back must be bigger than the front for machine quilting purpose so I plan to add a border around the edge. I hope it doesn't get all wonky during quilting!

Thank you for reading my blog. I'd love to have questions or comments about my projects. Helpful suggestions are always appreciated. I'd love to see your creations too!

Mahalo!

My first quilt in a really long time.

Aloha!

The workroom has been filled with my sewing stuff. I still haven't unpacked the jewelry making supplies yet! It seems I need to organize more space to have even a small inventory at hand.
 
I made a quilt a while back. It was a Blanket of Hope for the Soldier's Angles charity program. It was my first attempt at making a quilt. I made a rag quilt which came out pretty good. The second attempt at quilt making was a queen size for my bed. It remains a UFO to this day.

I decided to make quilts for my grandchildren. I started with a baby quilt for the youngest. Here is my progress through it. I learned a lot from searching the web but apparently I must learn a lot more! More about that later.   

She likes Disney Princess.

The journey began with a trip to the local fabric store for princess print fabrics. With these and a few fabrics from my own stash I was on my quilt making journey. After rotary cutting everything I tested out a pattern by placing my quilt squares in rows and columns. Looks okay but something is missing.

My daughter mentioned during a phone call that they purchased new furniture and the baby was moving into a bunk bed. (She lives in Cali and I live in Hawaii.) So, back to the fabric store for more fabric. I felt that I needed white to make the prints pop. I also found a princess panel that I figured I would use for the quilt back.

I felt that the size must be bigger as it was now for a bigger bed. Back to the drawing board. The white blocks were added to the design. Still not big enough. Okay, lets put a border. Not wanting to return the the fabric store I used the fabric I had left and pieced together a bunch of them for the border. Sewing it to the quilt piece was a challenge as; I had never done a border before, the strips were too big or too little. Some creative piecing was done and whew, it went together!

Now the back. I'm not sure if it was my lucky day or if this happens a lot but the printed panel was off. To square it up was a challenge. I hope you can't tell too much. A little cut here and there, another border or two and I got it squared up, assembled and ready to quilt. I've watched free motion quilting tutorials and practiced a bit and was ready to go.

Not quite. Why not a few appliques? Now I've never appliqued either, but did that stop me? Heck no! So what started out as a simple baby quilt turned into this. She loves it. I made a pillow too. It's called the sprocket pillow. I found a free tutorial for it on Cluck Cluck Sew.

How does it look?

Finished top.

Back

Pillow

Pillow back

Hearts!

 

 

 

 

What did I learn? You should probably use a pattern if your a quilting newbie. Stick with a plain back for your first one. I know it's not perfect but I accomplished my goal. My granddaughter loves it!

Aloha! We have a new family member....

Well, 2012 was quite a year. Dear hubby participated in the WBRC, blind rehab program for three months. Then, it was off to dog school. I am so proud of my hubby. He has over-taken this latest obstacle with patience, humor, and the endurance of a soldier.

John and Rocky's Graduation Picture

I have linked to the Western Blind Rehab Center and Guide Dogs of America. I cannot thank them enough for giving me my husband back with a positive view of our future. The programs and people that work there are absolutely wonderful. If anyone has vision that limits their daily functions please contact those facilities. I believe you must be a veteran to attend WBRC although GDA has their own admission requirements.

Also, a special thanks to the puppy raisers. Your love and dedication has enabled Rocky to transition into our furry clan which includes, our adopted children Mickey, our dog, and Felix, our cat.

While John was away I worked on turning our second bedroom into a dedicated studio. We got lots of ideas from houzz.com. I am completing the process of adding the sewing items to the room. Next I will add the jewelry making supplies.

I have gathered the fabric for a baby/toddler quilt which I will work on this afternoon. I also found this great fabric store. They have a design wall feature so you can see the fabric choices together and get an idea how they will work in your project. Check it out! Till next time, be creative, love what you do!

Mahalo!

Hubby is going on a business trip!

I hope to get some projects completed. There's the costume for my granddaughter, and one for her classmate. They are due in about a week. No wonder I don't mind being alone until the first week of May. Do you get inspired when you are alone?

Then, there is the quilt I have to finish. I hope to use some machine quilting techniques that I read about on Leah Day's site. Hope I do this right:

 Free Motion Quilting

Pictures will be up soon.

Aloha!

Changes and Challenges

Aloha! I apologize for being away from my blog. I had surgery to remove my gall bladder in November. My husband's vision has gotten worsened so I have been his driver since I recovered from the surgery. My dear Mother passed away December 31.

My granddaughter was Tiger Lilly in the school play. I made her costume and will attempt to get a picture up.

Since my surgery I have been challenged with arthritis pain in my hands, arms, wrists etc. My doc thinks it's carpel tunnel. I sleep with braces and am taking new meds that help most of the day.

I am learning how to quilt. I made one, a rag quilt, several years ago. This one is a patchwork quilt. I am totally confused right now. I found a great site the Missouri Star Quilt Company. Their website can be found here: http://www.missouriquiltco.com/

Well, that's it for now. I'll work on getting some pics up.

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I have Justin Bieber photos if you have a Bieber fan, vintage clocks and sugar skulls will be uploaded this weekend.

J & J Design Inspiration: Aloha!

J & J Design Inspiration: Aloha!: "I promised a photo of the gown I made for my granddaughter and here it is. I had to wait for my daughter to send the photo and then scan it ..."