When Hazel Met Andy Quilt Top

Hi Friends! I'm popping in today to show you my latest quilt top finish, When Hazel Met Andy.

When I was doing research for this quilt, I wound up pulling my color scheme from soup cans.
(No, really.) Granted, they were the limited edition Andy Warhol Campbell's tomato soup cans that Target sold a few years ago, but STILL. Soup cans.

You see, my younger sister is a huge Andy Warhol fan. And when I was thinking about what kind of quilt to make for the little bambino in her tummy, I couldn't decide. How could I top my niece's epic quilt that will probably hold a permanent spot in my top five favorite quilt makes? Forget topping! How could I even match it? Would this little one know that I loved him as much if his quilt was blase in comparison?

And then the idea of an Andy Warhol quilt hit me. It's been done before, of course, but I'm not sure it's been done using Elizabeth Hartman's Hazel the Hedgehog II pattern. (And if it has, that's totally okay too.) I pulled out my trusty kona card, matched a bunch of solids to my computer screen's representation of the soup cans, and crossed my fingers. Thankfully, I liked the fabrics when they arrived, and my sister, who owns all four cans, can tell me how well I did when she gets the quilt.

I used Architextures cross hatch prints for the background fabrics. (I know the yellow and orange are Curry and Tangerine, but I don't know what the white on white and black on white are actually called.) I wanted a little additional texture in the background, but nothing too big, and I've been wanting to justify the use of Architextures for a while now, so it all worked out well. If I could do it differently, I'd switch the face and body colors of the above block. It's quite similar to the other bottom block, even if those yellows are ever so slightly different. But I'm not sure I could have visualized that properly from soup cans and a stack of fabrics, and I'm happy with it all the same.

I haven't yet decided how to quilt it, and it will probably be the first quilt I tackle on Stella. I quilted my niece's first initial into her quilt, and that's the only thing my sister requested about this quilt. She wants my nephew's first initial quilted into this one. Can do.

This is the child's size version of the Hazel the Hedgehog II pattern, and it finishes at 48" x 54". I used a lot of spray starch on this one, which is unusual for me, but there are so many seams to keep flat that I found it easier to starch.

Do you have any ideas about quilting? I did hand quilting, FMQ, and straight line quilting on my niece's quilt, and I think I'd like to repeat that with this one.

All the Baby Stuff.

One of my Q4 2013 FAL goals was to sew up a bunch of stuff for my niece. (Other than her rockin' quilt, of course.)

I did not get as much sewn for my niece as I had wanted. I had big plans to sew her a stuffed turtle and some of those amazing knick knack knickers that Anna Maria Horner designed, and none of that came to be. The turtle pattern printed off a half an inch too small, and I haven't had a chance to reprint it. And I haven't even tried to print off the AMH pattern. I just don't have any time.

I did sew up some baby stuff this fall though, and while it wasn't all for my niece, it was all well-received, and if I can get through 2013 alive--seriously, I'm a little worried!--then I can pick up more sewing for her in the new year.

I made bibs using this pattern by Heather Bailey and ModKid's Rendezvouz fabric line for Joann Fabrics. One used the fun print above, and the other used the blue-green textured solid print from the line. (I've really enjoyed these fabrics, and I'm a little bummed I only have a bit left.)

A color book based on a picture I saw from Angela from Cut to Pieces. I also made a small book using 4" fussy cut novelty charms, which apparently I do not have a photo of.

Crayon roll-up. These are a bit of a pain to sew, but I really enjoy the look of them when they're all done.

Baby Toms. Pattern here. I'm halfway through a second pair, but this pair broke two needles and the final step was brutal since they are SO tiny, so I've been holding off. Maybe I'll get the nerve to finish the second pair sometime next year? I hope so! I selected the cutest heart print! With a hot pink lining!

I also finished the large Noodlehead pouch for my sister. It's a great size to carry a couple of diapers and wipes, and I used the Geekly Chic glasses fabric I backed my niece's quilt with, but apparently, I didn't take a photo of that either. LAME. I have the fabric cut and the interfacing fused onto another identical pouch, so if I can get that finished up soon, I'll snap a photo, and we'll call it good, right? Right.

You can see my original FAL Q4 2013 list here. I'm really excited because I only have one item left on my list! But it's a big one, so I'm really not sure I'm going to get it done. I'm going to try though!

Are you FAL-ing it?

BQF: Baby Boo's Quilt

I've got a finish, and just in time for the Blogger's Quilt Festival at Amy's Creative Side, woo! This quilt is for my baby niece, who should be arriving the first week of November. It's also a finish from my Q4 2013 FAL list, woo!

Because this quilt is going to my niece (who will be the second girl out of six grandbabies--my parents are so excited) I needed to make sure it was extra special. I have an amazing niece and two nephews from my older sister, but this is my younger sister's first baby, so even more reason to make the quilt spectacular.

In January, I finished up a quilt for a cousin's wedding. My younger sister saw it, fell in love with the feathers, and told me if I ever made her a quilt, she wanted a feather. Well, I made her two.

Of all of the quilts I've made, I'd say this quilt is the most me, which is why I chose it for the BQF. The colors, the fabrics, the craziness of it all...me. In fact, it is really hard to part with it, but I'm going to because it's for such a special kidlet. (I did embroider her first initial into the top, just in case I got weak and tried to change my mind.)

It took a while to piece. Those AMH feathers take a bit of time, and paper piecing all of those geese did too. I also drafted my own arrow paper piecing pattern because I didn't find anything online that I was crazy about. Elizabeth Hartman has a quilt called "Kaleidoscope" that inspired the section right under the feathers. I had to end the quilt with a bit of classic and used friendship stars and churn dashes on the bottom row. I'd love it if my niece got into quilting one day, so she needs a bit of traditional too.

As for quilting, I used nine different threads in three different weights. I handquilted the patchwork squares in lines 1/4" apart. When I ran out of one color thread, I'd start another. It was my first time handquilting a larger piece and handquilting so densely, but I love love love how it turned out. I did some basic straight line and echo machine quilting on the feathers, the arrow, and the bottom row. And I did some wild lines on my kaleidoscope-y section. When I sewed the first line, I was pretty sure I was going to hate it, but when it all turned out, I really like it. I'm glad I tried it rather than going safe and echo quilting. I FMQ'd over the geese, including two feathers that sprout from the center.

My fabric selection was lucky ducky. I picked out all of the fabrics online and ordered, even though I hadn't seen any of them in person and had no idea if they'd match. I am so pleased with how they came together. The backing is the glasses from Geekly Chic, and the binding is Kona Charcoal with a pop of Kona Corn Yellow. On the front, I've used some Comma, some Glimma, some Flea Market Fancy, some Sew Mama Sew, and a couple of other prints from lines I can't remember.

Thanks for letting me share this quilt with you. Even though it's small, it's probably my favorite quilt finish to date. My younger sister doesn't read my blog, and I've given her absolutely no clues except for the general color palette, so here's hoping she likes it as much as I do!

I'm linking up today with BQF in the Baby Quilts Category, TGIFF hosted by Quilter in the Closet, and Finish It Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts. 

FF: Birthday Love.

Three small(er) finishes this week, all for birthdays!

I finished this sweet bag for my oldest niece's birthday, which includes a yellow FMQ flower on the front that you can't see in this photo, but you can trust me when I say it's the cool. Her birthday is in December, and I am so on top of it this year. (But now I'm thinking, should I make a matching coin purse to go with it?) The lining is a hot pink satin, which I thought would be super cool, but was a total pain in the you know what to work with.

And I finished this sweet pair of Toms-inspired baby shoes for my newest niece who will be arriving in about a month. Woo! My sister and brother-in-law are Toms addicts, so I thought their kidlet should have a pair too.

The bag was made following this tutorial from Plum and June, but I did modify a few things, which I'm sure you can tell right off the bat since mine isn't QAYG! I also used both a mid-weight interfacing and batting because I wanted this bag to be sturdy. The shoes were made following this pattern from Homemade Toast. There is a toddler version of the Toms, and they're pretty adorable too. Since I broke two needles sewing these, I'm not eager to push out another pair any time soon, but I am happy I powered through.

I also made a color book for my baby BFF who just celebrated her first birthday. I saw a flash of a color book when I was reading this post by Angela of Cut to Pieces, and I loved the idea. I pulled out my scrap drawer, dumped it, sorted strips by color and started sewing it up. Then I pieced my book in rainbow color scheme since apparently I can't get enough rainbow goodness lately. (The back page, of course, is hot pink because my baby BFF will be a hot pink lover if I can at all help it.)

I'm linking up today with TGIFF, hosted by M-R at Quilt Matters, and Finish It Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts. 

WIP: October.

Hi Y'all! I've been brainstorming and sketching and plotting and planning, and I think I have my basket plans for the Fabric Basket Swap. Eep! And at this point, I just need to sit down and do a ton of quilty math, which sounds tedious and boring, so might as well kick a few other things off my to-do list first, right? Right.

I finished the quilting on my niece's quilt. I just need to piece the binding and get 'er done. I handquilted part of this, did some backstitch embroidery, and also machine quilted it using both straight line quilting and FMQ. This totaled nine different types of thread in three different weights. Yikes! But I like the way it turned out.

More feathers! Hooray! I wanted to keep this bad boy for me, but my niece won out, and I will be sending it to her. I made sure to embroider her first initial, just in case I tried to change my mind again. Oh! And I've talked with a few of you about getting my paper pieced pattern for the arrow. I'm still working on it, I promise! I lost part of the pattern that I used, so I have to re-draw it, and then scan it in and email it. But I didn't forget you.

I finished the quilting on Lito's quilt, and I've started handstitching the binding.

I've cut fabric and started piecing Baby Kenna's quilt. I've also made a couple of small finishes, which I'll share with you on Friday, and I'm working on small goodies to include with my fabric basket, as well as a pillow to match my Rainbow Northern Lights. Yikes! That's a lot of stuff in the works! But it's a good kind of busy feeling, and I'm happy with my progress, so that's the most important thing.

What are you working on this week? I'm going to go peruse the lovelies at Freshly Pieced's WIP Wednesday party and get myself linked up. See you there?

FF: Baby Quilt Top.

I finished this top a couple of weeks ago, and have been waiting for the right time to share it. I blindly ordered a stack of yellows, oranges, and pinks, and when they arrived, I yip yipped that they all went together well enough AND they were lovelier in person.

This quilt was so much fun to piece. I knew I wanted to piece rows instead of blocks, even if some of the rows are comprised of blocks. From AMH feathers to designing a pattern for paper pieced arrows to some traditional HST blocks to randomly slicing up a perfectly unoffending set of strips only to sew the pieces back together a la Elizabeth Hartman's Xylophone quilt.... Oh, Friends. This quilt has been fun.

I'm planning to machine quilt it and add in some hand quilting too. I certainly went random with assembly--why not add quilting to match?

I think my favorite aspect of this quilt is that it is a truly "me" quilt. So often, I make quilts based on what I think people will like, and usually, there is some "me" in there, but this quilt? This is ALL me.

I'm linking up today with TGIFF hosted by Em at Sewing by Moonlight and Finish It Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts.

WIP: Baby Quilts Everywhere!

Hello, Friends! Welcome to the Baby Quilt edition! Since I have eight quadrillion preggo friends/family members/people-I-have-to-make-quilts-for, baby quilts have taken over my life and my sewing workspace.

 

I've finished my log cabin blocks for Lito's quilt. I think I liked them better with just the gray and white borders, but we'll see when I've pieced the entire thing together.

I've started cutting my rainbow Northern Lights quilt. So far, so good. (The cutting takes forever because I'm being extra careful to be accurate, but I know it will be worth it in the end.

I've been piecing AMH feathers, paper piecing flying geese, and putting together churn dashes for Baby Boo's quilt. My next step is to add in a strip of Elizabeth Hartman. I was really inspired by her Xylophone quilt from her book Modern Patchwork, and I'd like a little bit of that in there too.

It's going to be a crazy quilt, and as I suspected, I'm already in love with it, and it's going to be difficult to hand over.

I need to baste a quilt top destined for my older sister and attach binding to my second 100 Quilts for Kids quilt. That's five active projects! Yikes! But I'll get them done. I always do! I'm linking up with WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced. And now I'm off to look at everyone else's lovelies.

SS: Baby Girl Quilt.

Friends, it is with great excitement that I announce my baby sister is having a baby girl. Woo! I think of all the fun girl sewing I'll be able to do, and I dream of teaching her to quilt and picking out fabric with her and basically shaping a mini me. Sweet gig, right?

Perhaps not a mini me, exactly, but I am excited about sewing this new little one a bunch of goods to welcome her into the world the proper way: with sparkles, with ribbons and trim, and with lots and lots of hot pink.

And of course, she'll need an awesome baby quilt to go along with it. I chose this palette because initially my sister was leaning towards some magenta-ish fabric choices for her crib bedding. (She has since detoured and gone the route of grays and aquas, but my palette remains unchanged because can I be honest? I'm more excited about working with hot pinks and oranges and yellows.) The top chevron is what I pulled everything from, but I ordered mostly oranges and yellows because I already have one or two*** pink prints on hand.

There is some Comma in there, and there is some Glimma in there, and there are some other prints too. Can't you just see a delicious baby quilt emerging from this beautiful stack of goodness? I've got the design planned, and I'm eager to get started, but first! I really need to finish up some of these other projects. (Is that the story of my life, or what?)

I'm linking up with Sunday Stash at Pretty Bobbins. 

***And by one or two, I mean one or two thousand.