Circle Applique Quilt

I have been admiring this circle applique quilt for awhile now.  I set out to make my own version of it.  I used scraps for the circles and Kona Cotton brown for the back ground.  Here it is: 

 I think it turned out quite nice!  I decided to leave the edges raw on the circles.  I basted them on using a regular glue stick, which helped to keep them in place when sewing them on.  After the quilt was completely finished, I washed it.  Then, I took a toothbrush to the raw edges to help "fluff" them up.

The back is one of my favorite fabrics ever!  I thought it matched the circle front really well.

Spider Web Quilt

I would like to introduce you to my favorite quilt I have made yet:

And of course, it looks better with Kate on it.

This quilt is called a “Spider Web” quilt.  I first fell in love with the block when I saw this quilt.   I followed the tutorial and wah-la! 

I used scraps from my Kaffe Diamond quilt and from Big Bertha.  This quilt took a long time, from start to finish it took about four months.  But the end result was well worth it.  I really like the solid white background, it sets off the color in each spider web very well. The quilting shows up really well on the white, as well.  

Racetrack Quilt

Check out my latest quilt!  I am smitten.  This was my first attempt at making a quilt since Kate was born.  It is possible!

Have I mentioned how much I love Pinterest?  While perusing quilts one day, I came across this adorable baby quilt here and here.  I love the cute take on the traditional Drunkard’s Path quilt block.  I had never sewn a curved quilt block before, and I wanted to test my skills.  The pattern for the race track quilt is found in this book.  I was able to check it out from our local library. 

My mom’s most recent quilt book is all about curves in quilts, and I was able to use her fail proof technique to make the curves almost perfect!  Not one pin was used in the making of this quilt.  Check out her book for this fabulous technique. 

I have a new nephew arriving this summer and I knew this quilt would be perfect for a little boy.  I love it so much I might make another one using girly fabrics. 

After piecing the quilt top, I embroidered the dash onto the road with Perle Cotton embroidery thread.  I thought it would take a long time, but it acutally wasn’t too bad.  I chose denim for the back, it seemed fittingly boyish.  After I quilted it on the long arm, I washed it and threw it in the dryer.  It got all crinkly and soft just like I was hoping.   

Enjoy some more pictures:

 The quilting shows up nicely on the denim back.

The track is the perfect size for a Hotwheels car!

Diamond Quilt

The second quilt I ever made was a diamond quilt using Kaffe Fassett fabrics.  I love the rich, bright colors in all of the fabrics. It is quilted with veriegated rainbow thread.  I found the pattern online here.

  I fussy-cut  the center of every diamond so that each diamond would have a flower in the center. 

Fussy Cut Centers

I layed out each diamond block on our living room floor before I sewed them all together.  I spent about two days tweaking the blocks so that the colors looked balanced.  

In pieces

This is one of my favorite quilts I have made yet!

Kate's Ruffle Quilt

I wanted to make a quilt for my little baby girl.   I was 39 weeks pregnant when I purchased the material for it.   Several people joked with me that if I started a project it would make the baby come sooner.  So, I guess you could say I sort of hoped I wouldn’t be able to finish this quilt, at least not right away. 

I had never sewn a ruffle before.  So I called my sister, who is an experienced sewer, but is usually up to her eyeballs in trains, shooters and rockets with her two little boys.  When I asked her if she knew how to sew a ruffle she replied, “A ruffle?  Hmmm….I don’t know…we don’t really do ruffles here.”  With that, I turned to google and I found a great ruffle tutorial here.

 I folded the sides over and hemmed the raw edges down on my ruffle strips, this way the ruffles looked more finished.  I quickly learned that sewing ruffles takes a lot of fabric.  So I had to go back to the store to get more fabric halfway through. 

Before attaching the ruffles I quilted the gray fabric on my mom’s long arm quilting machine.  Then, I attached the ruffles.  I marked even, concentric squares on the gray quilt top.  I then pinned the ruffles on to my markings.  I sewed the ruffles on with my walking foot because the fabric layers were pretty thick at this point. Lastly, I put a yellow binding on.  

All finished...still no baby.  Baby Kate didn’t arrive for another two weeks!

Finished!

Kate (almost 4 months) loves how tactile the quilt is!