preppy jungle

*Yes you see grass in this picture - no, we don't have grass in MN...my office has some fake stuff right behind my desk. It's nice to turn around and stick my toes in it.

I started this zig-zag quilt this fall and finished just in time for a xmas present!

Our newest nephew is a rolly-polly 4 month old and as mellow as can be. I hope he likes the preppy look.

When I first started making the zig-zag blocks (half-triangle squares aren't so hard), I intended on incorporating all the Katie Jump Rope, including the argyle. I then had a mini-panic attack with the thought of matching up all the diagonals in the fabric with diagonal cuts for the triangles. So I decided to go simple and just used up all the diagonal as one big piece in the middle.

There was another bit of concern when I realized the straight lines in the blue and green zig-zags would be a bit jig-jaggy, but I just pushed on through that thought and connected them anyway. I think they blend ok...

The back is just a piece of Urban Flannel - Friends print. Super simple! And a solid blue binding pulls these two sides together.

 

You will notice that I've talked about the fabrics that I used, which is unusual for me. I got so many questions about my choices for the potholders, it is now a resolution to be semi-aware of the designers/lines that I'm using in my quilts (and share with you).

pillows make me happy

It's a cloudy day today, but I have these new, cheery pillows to brighten the mood inside. The floral fabric is a light quilting cotton, so I used some batting and quilted the front to give it more thickness and some texture. The back is a dark teal to match that I just happened to find in my stash!! Sometimes it pays to be a pack-rat.

pieces of the puzzle

I'm getting the pieces of our entry pulled together. Painted the bench and mirror and started construction on a cushion. I don't like the results, so will have to try something else. I LOVE the fabric - I'll probably rip it apart and maybe add some batting and quilting? The weight is just too light to hold up to sitting. Bold, bright and shiny right when you walk in the door! I LOVE IT!

duckboy

This little number is finished. I tried to get outside to take some pictures before the sun went down, so thus the dramatic lighting. (and the tree...it was pretty gone except for on the tree)

It will not be going in my stash as I previously thought, but to a friend I've known for approximately 25 years (we used to play in the trees and make crafty stuff together) who will be having a baby boy in August. The name is an inside joke between my husband and a few close friends. It is a ducky quilt and its for a boy, but the name makes me giggle a lot.

Actually, the baby quilt stash will be gone soon (ok, there was never really a pile sitting in the basement - maybe I got through two baby quilts that were waiting for someone to have a baby). I'll have to start all over again for the next round of offspring.

peek

I'm not finished with the entry, but here is a sneak peek. I had picked the colors for the wall already, but this fabric for the bench will pull everything together. Now I just need to finish painting and do some sewing!

racing

A racing stripe in the entry. Yes - your monitor is adjusted correctly - that is a BLUE wall with a RED stripe right through the middle. I'm so excited about this project. I have a tendency to keep painting once I've started. In the past I've been spotted walking around with a can of red spray paint, wondering, "what else should be red?" Friday, the blue was barely dry before I was thinking out loud, "that wall should probably be blue too." Thankfully, I have a sound of mind husband to take the paint brush out of my hand. Well, at least until next week.

personality

The sun is lingering these days - I'm not sure what time it is setting this solstice week, but all of a sudden the sky is bright at bedtime. Now we are on the downhill slope. Time to enjoy these precious moments of summer before they slip away.

We've been busy playing, but I still got another top finished and a couple more baby drop-clothes. The baby quilt above is for my "baby-quilt-stash". Trouble with the stash is every baby that comes along needs something different than is already there. Each baby and parent has a personality and I try to match those with the quilt design...I'll have to match up the lost quilts someday...

I'm rambling. It's dark - time for bed.

hot top

Its HOT. Perfect time to hibernate in the basement and sew some TOPS. This is the first one: "circles and X's", named after a Lucinda Williams song that was playing as I was finishing it up. I used my self-described "strip and rip" method. Lay out the fabric, rip random strips, and piece around the center square. Then I squared them all up and framed with navy. I'm into offset stripes (really stripes of any nature, but especially offset)


Stay tuned tomorrow for another hot top.

a life less busy

I need to get some sewing done. All this time away from home is really taking a toll on the messy factor inside our house and the unfinished projects festering away in my sewing room. I suppose you aren't supposed to do too much of either during the summer. It was a beautiful weekend; spent by a pool and at an outdoor baseball game, so I can't complain. I did get this done last week - strips for a baby boy quilt. As soon as I rescue the iron from the closet, I can get it done. (The husband has also been working on a project, which is currently blocking access to this closet). Until then, here is a little eye candy.

circles + squares

This could be the title for a new quilt. I'm just starting to piece it together - no pattern, no straight edge...just random strips framing a small square placed in random spots. This is how I built models in architecture school. Hold a piece of chip-board up to the rest of it and cut. The color scheme is not so random. I've been working hard at finding the perfect colors to go with those center pieces - not as easy as I expected. I got most of these this weekend and I think they will be great. Now I just have to find the darker bits for shashing and borders.

This random/OCD mix seems to work for me. Just when I get too ridged, there is a mistake (although there are really no mistakes without a pattern - are there?) pulling the design in a new direction. I hope it turns out.

Stained Glass

This gorgeous stained glass fills the entire back wall of the Chapel at St. John's University. We were on a short weekend get-away with B's family and stopped by the campus. It is a great inspiration -in architecture and quilts.