Sewing Machine Cover

On Monday, I gave you a peak at what was the beginnings of a new sewing machine cover.

What I didn't show you was the sewing machine cover that came with the machine.  It's plastic and ugly, but it served as a perfect pattern and supplied inserts for my new sewing machine.

 

I created inserts on the inside of the new sewing machine cover to allow the plactic sides to slide right in.

It worked out perfectly to give the new sewing machine cover shape and stability.

The back is rather plain at the moment.  I plan on hand-appliqueing something onto the back, but I haven't decided what.  Does anyone have any ideas?  I would love any creative (and appropriate) suggestions. 

It's now time to get ready for my parents' visit.  I'm off to clean some bathrooms...

Guest Post and Blogiversary!

One year ago today I started this blog to document and share my quilting journey with family and friends.  It has grown into so much more and I love the online quilting community I've had the privilege to meet throughout this past year.  Thank you to all those who have stopped by and shared in my love of quilting.

To celebrate, I'm guest posting over at the Fort Worth Fabric Studio's blog!  I've created a tutorial for this Celtic Cross block.  Head on over and enjoy!

Weekend Progress

I had a very productive weekend behind the sewing machine.  My weekend began with finishing up my blocks for the wedding quilt.

After piecing the top, it felt very chaotic.  I ended up framing the top with a thick navy border to help give the prints a boundary.  I'm typically not a border kind of quilter, but I think it works well here.  It gave the quilt top a better finished.

I also pieced the back with fabrics from the Belle collection.  I had a jelly roll on hand that helped bring the prints to the back.  I used half of the jelly roll in the back and the other half I used for a scrappy binding to finish off this quilt.

I haven't purchased my batting for this quilt yet, so this will continue to hang up on my design wall until next weekend. 

In the mean time, I started working on a new sewing machine cover.  I made a smaller sewing machine cover about a year ago that works well for my smaller Bernina, but my Juki has been neglected long enough.  I had some scraps left over from my Arkansas Traveler Quilt that has been sitting in my fabric cabinet just waiting to be used.  I started working on the piece that will make up the sides and the top of the cover.  I just love the braided herringbone look I've seen in so many quilts and wanted to replicate it here.

I attached the pieces directly to the batting and quilted as I went.  I've seen this technique used on lots of bags and thought it would work perfectly for this cover.

I used the scraps off the braided herringbone that I trimmed off and created this strip along the front panel of the sewing machine cover.  Again, I attached it directly to the batting.

The front panel is complete and I will be working hard this week to finish up this project.  I want to have this done before my parents arrive from out of town this coming weekend.  They are bringing LOTS of sewing room goodies that I can't wait to share with you.  I'm so excited!

A Wedding Quilt

A friend of mine is getting married this summer and I wanted to do something special for their gift. With the birth of my two children, this friend gifted us with two beautiful baby blankets.  They were warm and personalized.  My children still use these blankets today and they adore them.

In return, I wanted to gift a quilt as a wedding present.  I'm using Amy Butler's Belle collection.  I have 2 layered cakes, backing fabric, and some Kona Snow.

The thing with Amy Butler fabrics that I love are the bold patterns.  These bold prints necessitate the need for larger cuts so that you can still showcase the colors and designs on each fabric.  I tossed around ideas for what I wanted to do for this quilt several times, but I finally made a decision and just started cutting before I changed my mind again.  I took the layered cakes, cut them in half, and then cut one of the half pieces in half again.

After laying out all the pieces on the floor and matching up my groups at random, I started sewing everything together.

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I'm trimming the blocks to 8 1/2" blocks.  I'll be alternating the direction of the blocks on the quilt to create a fun and easy pattern.

I'm hoping to have all the blocks sewn and trimmed by Friday night so I can start piecing the top together this weekend.  I can't wait to see how it looks as it comes together.

X-Plus Quilt Top

I finished up my X-Plus quilt top this weekend.  I really love how it all came together.

I spent a crazy amount of time trying to match up and align the top and bottom parts of the plus for each block.  I'm glad I did because a wonky plus sign is definitely not the look I'm going for.

I also did a lot of ironing. 

 As you can see from my ironing techniques, I iron to the side AND I press my seams open.  Here's how I determine how I'm going to iron something.  If I have to match a seam, I iron open.  If I don't have to match the seam, I iron to the side.  I find matching my seams works better this way.  I've tried to nest seams before and I always end up ironing a seam the wrong direction and it causes lots of unnecessary frustration.  Which technique do you prefer and why?

I'm falling in love with this quilt top.  I love the Denyse Schmidt fabrics and I love the block pattern.  The scrappiness is wonderful.  It's a good thing this quilt is for me to keep.  I know not everyone is a lover of the DS collections, but there is just something about the fabrics that draw me in.

Unfortunately, this quilt top is going back in a basket to be basted/quilted at a later date.  I've got some other projects that have deadlines coming up.  Wedding dates and due dates tend to trump personal projects.  At least I have something to look forward to completing in the near future.

Starburst Quilt

I'm finally getting to post about this quilt!  I was trying so hard to finish taking pictures on Friday, but a group of children on a field trip crashed my photo session and I didn't finish up until yesterday.  Thanks, Kelly, for your assistance!

This quilt is for a little girl who is moving into her new "BIG" girl bed.  I made her a baby quilt a couple years ago and now she is growing up.  Her new room is going to be brown and green with a touch of aqua.  Her mom wanted a quilt that was fun on the front and somewhat neutral on the back.  This is what I came up with.

The mom picked the fabric that's in the middle star and she wanted solids for the rest.

For the back, I pulled all my scraps into this one to make it come together.

 
I did cheat a bit on the binding and went with this cute patterned print for an added touch.  I hope she likes it!