another baby quilt finish.

Thank you, 2012 Olympics, for helping me get this quilt's binding done! Several lengthy sessions of gymnastics resulted in a finished quilt, now all washed and crinkly and ready to get dropped in the mail!

It sounds kind of crazy--and I'm sure I looked even crazier--but I snapped these photos in my apartment complex's laundry room. I had planned to take the photos around my apartment--possibly in the grass or lounging on a chair by the pool--but I pulled the quilt out of the dryer, and voila! I saw the wicker loveseat and knew. And in my photos, you can't even see the dudes just outside that window tearing rotten wood siding off of the building. Are those photo skillz or what?

It measures roughly 41" x 49", and I backed it in this lovely green batik I purchased at 50% off. (Woop woop!) You can see a hint of the quilting on the back (yep, that's black on green, a traditional lazy Audrey technique that involves using a contrasting thread to loudly announce any quilting wobbles) but I quilted 1/4" inside the sides of the whale squares, then stitched in the ditch to cross over to the whale square just below or just above, depending on what direction I was quilting. That probably doesn't make sense, but you can't see it well on the front, and the back doesn't tell you anything anyway, so you'll just have to trust that it looks rad.

I bound the whole thing up in a magenta solid that I think is Kona, but I can't swear to that. The black is Kona black, that I do know, and the whales I found at Hancock Fabrics.

This bad boy is headed off to a friend to celebrate the arrival of her fifth kidlet--a lovely baby girl! And I'm off to work on paper piecing! I couldn't quite work up the courage yesterday, but I've got all of my pieces of fabric cut and in a nice order, so maybe? Just maybe....

WIP: Frustrating Edition

Hi Friends! Welcome to another week of WIPs!

I'm still plugging away on my black and batiks lap quilt. I'm loving it, and I've conquered four blocks now, but this last block...oh vey! It took about twice as long as it should have, and grrrr.

Nothing about this block was particularly tricky--HSTs, nine patches, some stripes...all straight seams, and all stuff I've done before. I loved the complicated look of the block but the lack of complicated features. Still, I don't think I've ever used my seam ripper so much for one block, and if I had enough fabric to do it over, I would, but I don't, so I'm stuck making do with what I have. I will make this block again, but I will certainly do things differently next time.

This bad boy was my first set of Y-seams, and while my first Y-seam was less than amazing, the second one came together much easier. I probably should have referenced a tutorial or some form of instruction, but I looked at it, guessed what I needed to do, and did it. (There are probably much easier ways to accomplish this.)

And a star within a star because I love me my stars. One of the points in the center star is too close in value and hue to the background material, so it kind of fades, but I'm hoping to remedy that with some echo quilting or whatnot. I am totally planning to quilt this in black thread, BTW.

All four blocks together, and I've got two more to go! Each block is 20.5" unfinished. I've got a paper pieced block to tackle in the next day or so--yikes! My first time foundation piecing!--and one other block that should be the easiest of the bunch. Then, sashing, friendship stars, pinwheel border, etc., but I think all of that will be pretty easy to put together.

I finished a couple of small lovelies this week. A pillow for a pregnant friend--my back always killed me and demanded a pillow near the end of both pregnancies, and she's in her third trimester, so I'm trying to halt as much pain as possible...

...and cheerful bunting for her baby shower. It took me forever to complete this, mostly because I was trying to work up the effort to make my own bias tape, then saw how ridiculously cheap it was at the store and just bought some. Totally worth it. I love this bunting. I am very sad to see it go, especially since it looks so cheerful in my sewing room dining room...

...and Annabel's quilt, which I'm hoping to post about later this week!

What are you working on?

I'm linking up with WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced!

 

sequintastic september.

 
Hi Friends!

(Let's Get Acquainted Blog Hop post here.)

I have decided to participate in a most interesting blog hop--a sequin blog hop, in fact. I know that might sound a little silly since I'm a quilter, and we primarily work with textiles, but I thought it would be an interesting way to push myself to learn something new--mainly, bead and sequin embroidery skillz. My amazing friend Sarah is hosting the hop, and I'm really excited to get to work on my project! I'm planning to use my stack of Summerlove FQs to make a mini, then add in some sequins to really spice it up! I even know exactly what kind of blocks I want to piece and where I plan to hang it in my house when I'm done, so really, the only hard thing (besides cutting into my stack of Summerlove) is to pick out what kind of sequins I want to use!

And, if the idea of working with sequins puts a buzz in your bonnet, by all means, sign up! Sarah is taking sign ups until August 20th. Sounds fun, right? I do understand if you've got much too much on your plate. In that case, go ogle Sarah's work because she's really quite good, and sometimes I hate her a little for being too awesome, know what I mean? But since we're friends, of course I would NEVER tell her that. (Hi Sarah!)

C'mon! This will be fun!

august goals.

I found having a quilty to-do list for July was a huge push to get things done. I finished four of my six goals, and I probably would have finished all six except I had two quilts pop up midway through the month that demanded immediate attention.

Oh! Here's my Let's Get Acquainted Blog Hop Post if you're looking. 

Here is August's List:

• Finish the blocks for Steph's quilt--20.5" blocks; 3 of 6 done.

• Finish the binding for Baby A's quilt--75% done

• Start cutting into my stack of Summerlove for a mini quilt--have idea sketched but need to decide fabric placement and make a list of cuts; add in a solid?

• Pillow for a friend--I'm thinking basic patchwork in grays and whites
• Do something with my wonky star blocks--maybe a mini-quilt for my end table?
• At least 6 more picnic quilt blocks
• Finish Marie blocks--12 of 20 done
• Tote--have pattern picked out; need to pick up fabric

• August block for HST BOM--HSTs assembled; need to trim and piece
• Triangle mini quilt--idea sketched
• Finish bunting for baby shower--need to attach triangles to bias tape
• Ironing board cover--have all the supplies, just need to do it!
• Pick out fabric and a pattern for my first apparel piece--a skirt! Hooray!

Okay, so I more than doubled last month's list. (Oops!) And I'll probably have other projects pop in randomly, so I don't intend to actually finish all of these, but it was nice to get them all written out so that I have a clear idea of my goals.

WIP: Edition of Few Words

Even in an edition of mostly photos, I am too verbose to eliminate words all together. If you missed my Let's Get Acquainted Blog Hop post, please check out my tutorial for a fun baby quilt!

Baby A's Quilt--Almost Finished with Binding!

S' Quilt--Block 1 of 6 Done. 20.5" {Tutorial Used}

Business Card Holder--Needs Button! {Tutorial Used}

Other WIPs:
Marie Quilt - Blocks 12 of 20 Done.

Linking up with Freshly Pieced and Lily's Quilts Small Blog Meet. Time to go devour the other quilting blogs' offerings!

let's get acquainted, shall we?

My name is Audrey, and I'm the evil mastermind behind Hot Pink Quilts. I'm so glad you're here! If you're joining me from the Let's Get Acquainted blog hop, you already know the drill. If not, I'm going to tell you a bit about myself, share some pictures, answer some questions, then stun you with my mad quilting skillz.

But before I jump into that, be sure to check out Michèle-Renée's blog, Quilt Matters. Also, mucho thanks to Beth, who organized this shindig. Finally, thank you for stopping by!

I am Mama to two amazing little boys (2 years and 4 months) and the wife of a Ph.D. student. In the sixth grade, my mom taught me how to sew a dress, but no sewing machine and no additional instruction pretty much killed further sewing dreams. Until! My husband's grandmother gifted me her 1953 Singer sewing machine (Agatha), and my pal Karen taught me how to quilt. (Hi Karen!) When I'm not quilting or being a mommy or wife, I'm working on writing a five book YA series.

Now, here are copious pictures (or nine) of things I've made!

How long have you been quilting?
I started quilting in October....maybe November...of 2011. So not quite a year.
Favorite fabric (or wish list fabric):
I seriously heart Tula Pink. I have spent (and will spend) many many hours putting large quantities of her fabric into online shopping carts, only to face reality and my fabric budget.
Favorite craft book:
I apparently have joined the Elizabeth Hartman Practical Guide to Patchwork cult. It was the first modern quilting book I picked up, and I drooled over each and every quilt included in its luscious covers.
Favorite book (or book you are currently reading):
Right now? I adore Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta, and Savvy by Ingrid Law. There are about a kajillion others, but since this is supposed to be about quilting, I'll control myself. I'm currently reading Elantris by Brian Sanderson and Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard.
Favorite children's book:
Madeleine L'Engle was my favorite author when I was a kid, so I spent a lot of time immersed in her work. I was (and still am!) a huge Nancy Drew fan.
Favorite quilting tool:
My trusty sewing machine, Agatha. But since that's kind of cheating, I guess my rotary cutter with a fresh blade.

Okay, now that we've waded through all sorts of amazing and thrilling information and photos, how 'bout we get to the project? A good friend of mine is having a baby come late September, and of course, I had to make a quilt for her. After deciding on a design, then changing my mind and picking another one and repeating that cycle 3 or 4 times, I finally landed on this:

Baby K's Quilt
Materials Needed:
(36) 5" charms
3/4 yard fabric (2 different kinds) for border A & B fabrics
1 1/4 yard fabric for backing
1/3 yard fabric for binding
batting
coordinating thread

The quilt measures 42" square, and the fabric I used is Reunion by Sweetwater for Moda plus a lovely crimson batik. I have no idea what the backing or binding fabrics are, sorry! [Edit 12/8/12: The binding fabric is Sassy by Sandy Gervais. Thanks, Kelie!]

Cuts:
charm squares: cut all 36 into (4) 2.5" squares for 144 total squares
border fabrics A & B: (12) 3.5" x 12.5"; (18) 4" squares

1. Assemble the 2.5" charm pieces into four individual patchwork grids of 6x6. They should measure 12.5" square when complete. Of course, you're welcome to do as you'd like, but when I cut my charms, I made four separate piles so that each patchwork piece would have 1 of each type of fabric.

2. Using the 4" border fabric squares, create (36) 3.5" HSTs. If you're unfamiliar with HSTs, In Color Order has a great tutorial.

3. Create pinwheel blocks with your HSTs. (They'll measure 6.5" square.) I made five of my pinwheel blocks "spin" in one direction and four "spin" in the other direction. (See the picture below.)

4. Place 1 Border A and 1 Border B fabric pieces right sides together. Sew along one 12.5" end. Repeat this with the other 11 sets.

5. Assemble by row, then sew the rows together. (See the picture below.)

6. Baste, quilt, bind, and then you'll have your finished quilt! I quilted mine with straight diagonal lines through the corners of each patchwork square and 1/4" echoing the inside of the pinwheels and stripes. If you're into FMQ, I like the idea of feathers in the border stripes or Elizabeth Hartman's dogwood quilting in the patchwork sections.

In the past, I've lockstitched my quilting lines or just run them off the quilt, and this was the first quilt that I actually buried my threads. I had thought it would be a complicated and tedious process, but it really wasn't. It did take some time, but I would finish quilting one patchwork section, bury the threads, and move on to the next. The time was worth the effort as the starts and ends of the quilting lines look a lot cleaner.

This is the first time I've attempted to write out a project, so if you have any questions, or if anything is unclear, let me know by email or in the comments area, and I'll do what I can to clear things up. (Thanks!)

sewing with my two-year-old.

This morning, I spent some time chain piecing 48 charm squares for that baby quilt I forgot about decided to put together last minute just to see if I could do it.  My little one woke up from his nap and demanded to be fed, and halfway through our feeding session, I realized it had gotten quiet, and unless it's late and both kidlets are in bed, quiet in this house is never a good sign.

I found my son giggling with excitement because he was sitting in front of Agatha. (Since his feet can't touch the pedal and my needle was down, I wasn't too concerned.)

After I finished feeding Lito, Banzo and I proceeded to sew some of "his" scraps together. When I have pieces that are too small, I typically give them to him, and he uses them in his cooking endeavors. But today, he was super excited to bring them to me so that we could sew them together. Of course, he couldn't understand why I kept flattening out the huge wads of fabric he gave me, and I think he started to question my artistic discretion, but kindly, he said nothing.

Lito lay in his massage chair--I kid you not, this thing reclines and vibrates and plays music, and sometimes I wish I had one--while we finished, and after Banzo and I were through, I even managed to finish my chain piecing. I'm excited to see this quilt top come together. I'm only using a handful of fabrics, but I think the finished product will be nice. (Woo!)

We have a friend in town this weekend, so I'm envisioning very little sewing time. Better get to pressing all of those blocks before he arrives!

Have a lovely weekend! Do you have any fun sewing plans?