When the mood strikes...

Not a lot has been happening here in Crafty Musings land lately. I have been lacking motivation to baste or quilt. So even though that pile of unfinished stuff continues to taunt me, I finally decided I just need to get sewing again. So I'm starting something new! Woo!

I'm going with another Julie Herman (of Jaybird Quilts) design called "Framed Coins." It is from her book, Skip the Borders. I'm definitely getting my money's worth out of this book-- this will be my third project from it!

I'm hopeful that I may even get it put together in time to join in with the Jaybird Quilts Sew Along being hosted by Sew Sweetness. Everything is cut and I have until June 13th, so it is possible, right?

Boxed-In

This is the fifth of my recent roll o' fabric quintet:

The pattern is "Boxed In" from Julie Herman's book, Skip the Borders. I checked this book out from my local library and have since purchased my own copy. So many of the designs speak to me. It is a fabulous book!

Of all of the quilts I've made from the roll o' fabric, this one is definitely my favorite.

I quilted the heck out of this one. I started by doing some stabilizing straight lines with my walking foot along all of the box borders. Then I quilted all of the squares-- each one has that sort of flower design. Finally, I quilted circles through all of the solid green parts. Throughout, I used Aurifil Cotton Mako 50/2 in Dove (#2600).

The quilting makes me happy!

Even the backing makes me happy. This hummingbird print has been sitting in my stash for quite some time. I was delighted to find that the colors in the print actually coordinated with the colors in the top. Yay for stashbusting!

The Project Linus label is stitched on already, so the quilt is good to go (pardon my sideways pic).

Happy!

Easy as 10

The fourth in my roll o' fabric quintet:

This is "Easy as 10" from the book, Simple Quilts from Me and My Sister Designs: Easy as 1, 2, 3.

I checked this book out from the library and haven't invested in my own copy yet-- but I need to! I also made "Easy as 11" from this same book. The instructions for both quilts were straightforward and very easy to follow, and both were quick to put together. And there are a number of other fun designs in the book as well!

On this one, I tried to add to the quilt by quilting in a secondary design-- the interlocking diamonds around the squares. I think it worked pretty well. I also quilted flowers in the center of each colored square (using the fabulous Free-Motion Quilting with Angela Walters as inspiration). Through the paisley bands, I stitched a figure 8 design, but it is kind of hidden in the print. Throughout, I used Aurifil Mako 50/2 in White (#2024).

This is the last of that retro pepto-pink fabric... woo!

And there is the happy Project Linus label. I'm loving the orange binding too. It is finished by machine using the Red Pepper Quilts Binding Tutorial.

Easy as DONE!

"Floating Triangles"

Oh, my gosh! It has been a busy couple of weeks! Spring Break involved many adventures-- but blogging was not one of them. But, I'm back and ready to continue with the Project Linus roll o' fabric parade of quilts. This is the third of the five I recently finished:

The design is from the fabulous book, Skip the Borders, by Julie Herman (of Jaybird Quilts fame). It is called "Floating Triangles."

It really is such a neat design! It speaks to me. And I appreciated that I didn't have to stress out about cutting off any triangle points.

I kept the quilting pretty simple, beginning with straight lines around the focal spot where the triangles come together in the lower left corner, and then more straight lines up the main paths from the outside of the diamond to the outer edges of the quilt. Then I stippled over the center of the diamond area and everywhere else. I used Aurifil Mako 50/2 in White (#2024) throughout.

Another uninspiring back here... just trying to use that stash!

There's that happy Project Linus label. And this is another machine-finished binding as well. I was feeling brave though and attempted a contrasting rainbow variegated thread (Superior Threads King Tut 40/3 cotton, #921). My machine binding skills are still not as consistent as I'd like, but I am definitely getting better with practice.

I really like this quilt! Hopefully it will make someone else just as happy.