going once, going twice...

Another auction item for donation! This one is for my SIL, Lisa, who is the principal of a Lutheran K-8 school. Every spring the school (which includes all grades from K-12) hosts a big dinner and auction to help support school functions and student programs.

If you are a long time reader, you may recognize this quilt top from this post over two years ago! It's been safely tucked away, waiting to be quilted and finished so that a new baby or young child can enjoy it.

The pinwheel center is quilted with a meandering large stipple pattern, while the inner border has some lazy intersecting curves.

On the outer borders I tried something different and quilted the cursive lower case alphabet - it seemed appropriate since the border was already filled with letters!

I wanted the quilt to feel somewhat personalized even though I don't know where it's new home will be, so I used one of my favorite quotes on the label. I don't know who said it, but it always makes me smile when I read it.

The backing is more letters - lots and lots of letters on this quilt! And a machine-sewn binding for durability.

I didn't make a resolution for this to be a year of sewing finishes, but it feels pretty good to have two things done right out of the gate :)

March Blogger's Pillow Party

March has me thinking of daffodils, green shoots popping up from the ground, and warmer breezes that bring the scents of spring. So my latest pillow combines all my favorite parts of spring: sunny yellow and fresh green with some spinning pinwheels to twirl in the breeze...

This pillow will be living at my LQS until the end of April when I'll be teaching a group how to make these fun blocks with the L'il Twister Tool.

I quilted some twirling loops inside the pinwheels to add a little more movement, and some vining leaves in the green dot borders.

Another envelope closure with a contrast binding to finish it off. I can't wait for the end of April when it can come back home again!

Be sure to head over to the Blogger's Pillow Party to see many other beautiful and creative pillows :)

Fabrics used are Moda Origins by Basic Grey charm pack, Kona cotton in Snow, and Michael Miller Ta Dot in Moss.

Wee Woodland Pinwheels

Another baby quilt made using the L'il Twister Tool (previously blogged about here) ...


This time I used a Wee Woodland charm pack from Moda by Keiki, some Quilters Linen for the background, Moda Crackle in brown for the flange and cornerstones, and the green alphabet Lollipop print from Moda by Sandy Gervais for the final border.

Here's my favorite pinwheel block with the little bird and the lone bit of pink in the quilt...


And I do LOVE a flange! They are so easy to add, yet they provide such a great frame for the quilt center...

I think I'll try a corded flange next time. The Wrap 'N Fuse piping seems like just the ticket to make that a simple addition.

Happy Sewing!!

A garden of pinwheels

My L'il Twister pinwheels quilt is now finished!

I did lots of straight line quilting in the center, some free-motion loop-de-loops on the inner border, and lots of free-motion spinning daisies on the outer border. The quilting is still my least favorite part of the entire process, but I am becoming more comfortable with it. I guess it's like anything else in life - the more you do it, the easier it gets :)

This is the first time I have done the binding entirely by machine for a quilt. I've done some small potholders, but never an entire quilt! I have to say that it was easy-peasy. I cut the binding at 2 1/2" (I usually cut 2 1/4") and stitched it to the front as usual. Then on the back I used some 1/4" Steam a Seam to fuse the binding down before stitching it. Binding time from start to finish = 1.5 hours. I'll take that! I don't think I would use the machine method for something fancy-schmancy, but for a baby quilt that will hopefully get lots of use and see lots of washing time, I think it works.

Here is a better view of all the different quilting (you can really see the cute daisies better on the backing) and the binding back...


I forgot to take a photo of the whole thing after completion, so here's a previously posted photo of the top...

We are having a most spectacular weather week here in Northern Illinois! I'm trying to just enjoy it and not think about what will be following it in the not-so-distant future :)

Happy Columbus Day weekend!

baby pinwheels finish and Kaffe quilt

Earlier this week I finished the baby pinwheels quilt top that I wrote about last time. The L'il Twister tool delivered what it promised, which was easy pinwheels. I even got over the amount of fabric waste caused by it's use :)


I was very unsure of this border before I sewed it on. My original plan was to use this fabric lengthwise (instead of crosswise as shown here) in order to show a unique complete flower stripe on each side of the quilt without cornerstones. But one look at that on the design board, and I knew that would be waayyy too overwhelming... the borders would completely overpower the pinwheels. There is still a LOT of pattern, and it's still growing on me, but I'm leaning towards being happy with it. The cornerstones were a definite necessity with all that busy-ness.

Not sure where this quilt will end up, but in the near term, it will be hanging at my LQS where I have a class planned for the October/November time frame.


On another note, my Kaffe Crayon Box is completely complete! I got it back from my genius long-arm quilter and friend, Paige, and got the binding on just in time for a local quilt show last weekend. The show was held at a nearby garden center, where the staff hangs all the quilts inside the greenhouses with lots of lovely flowers. It isn't a judged show, just a gathering of quilts made by local people. Every year it gets a little bigger, and a little better attended, but the main point is just to view all the pretties made by others in the area.


Now that it is back in my house, I've got to decide where to put it. I put some hanging tabs on the back, just in case... and we do have plans to re-paint and re-decorate a room... hmmm...

adventures in pinwheels

I'm trying out a new tool this week called the L'il Twister; it's supposed to make pinwheels easier. Right out of the gate I'm a little skeptical, because how could they be any easier than the half-square triangle kind? But I'm giving it a go with these cute fabrics... lots of polka dot charm squares, some Moda Bleached White solid, and a flower stripe from Michael Miller:

Start by making a four-patch unit with charm squares and border it with 3" cut strips on all sides...

add this tool...

Cut like so...



Re-arrange like so...



And sew it all back together to make this ultra-cute pinwheel! The finished block is 9" square.



As I was going through this process, I was thinking, "this sure is a LOT of seams and cutting to make a 9" block! And this (photo below) is a LOT of waste!" (BTW - I loathe fabric waste, except in the case of paper-piecing New York Beauties... I mean how else are you going to get those super-sharp points, right?)



Anyway, even though I was extremely skeptical and so sure that I would not be happy with this tool, I can report that I AM happy with it. Those pinwheels are so cute and the process required little more thought than which charm squares to put together, that I have been won over. I'll keep you updated on the progress of this project; it's going to be a baby quilt when it's finished.

Incidentally, there is another Twister Tool sized to use with layer-cake squares and several projects for using both tools in the new book Let's Twist published by Country Schoolhouse Quilt Shop. It seems that quilt shops are having a difficult time keeping these items in stock, so I don't know where to direct you to purchase them. If I get more info I'll pass it on!