shortcake quilt

Hello again!  In my attempts to use my stash, especially the pre-cuts that have been sitting unused for far too long, I decided to use my “It’s A Hoot” jelly roll to make the Shortcake pattern by Cluck Cluck Sew.  I used the entire jelly roll (42 strips) and with careful cutting I was able to make my quilt slightly larger than the pattern’s throw size dimensions.  My quilt ended up at 56” x 73”.  (Since I’m tall, I like to err on the side of longer quilts.)  I loved making this quilt!  It is such a fast, easy pattern, without looking "boring"!  I highly encourage you to try out this pattern if you need a quick quilt  & have a jelly roll begging to be used! 

I purchased the background fabric years ago, when I made my daughter’s toddler quilt (made out of a charm pack of the same fabric line), so I knew it was a good complement.  I had just enough for the background, so that was another great way to use up my stash.     

For backing fabric, I used 2 yards of this blue "floral" fabric, which was also from my stash.  I used this fabric to back my last quilt also.  I still have 2 yards remaining, so I’m sure you’ll be seeing it again in the future.  ;)
 

I sent this quilt out to Abby Latimer of Latimer Lane Quilting and she quilted it with the Modern Loops panto.  I thought simple quilting would complement the pattern, especially since the fabrics are pretty busy.   

For binding, I went with a black and white stripe, again from my stash.  I couldn't believe how perfectly the stripes lined up on this corner!  This was such a fun quilt to make and the best part was using up so much of my stash in the process!  And how about one last look of the finished quilt....
 

Quilt Stats:
Fabric: 
          Quilt top - jelly roll of It’s A Hoot by Momo for Moda & cream with green polka dot background fabric
          Backing  - Hunky Dory by Chez Moi for Moda

          Binding - black & white stripe

Pattern: Shortcake by Cluck Cluck Sew

Dimensions: 56” x 73”
Started: September 2015
Finished: September 2015
Quilted by: Abby Latimer of Latimer Lane Quilting

Thanks for reading!
-V

Linking to:
NTT @ My Quilt Infatuation 
Finish It Up Friday @ Crazy Mom Quilts  
Whoop Whoop @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict

giveaway winner

Thank you to everyone who read & commented on my post about my hunky dory quilt!
I used Random.org to choose the winner :: 

Congratulations to Joan, who has been contacted by email. 

I will be back soon with another finished quilt, so check back or sign up to be notified when I have a new post!

Thanks for reading!
Valerie

hunky dory quilt (& giveaway)

Hello!  I’m back today to share with you a baby quilt I made from a charm pack of Chez Moi’s fabric line, Hunky Dory.  I bought the charm pack waaaaay back in 2011 (when I started quilting) and decided it had sat in my stash, sad and alone, for too long.

The inspiration for the pattern was from an infant car seat quilt that I saw on Pinterest, so I can’t take any credit for the pattern.  I simply sewed 2 charm squares together to make 2 half square triangles, then laid them out on point, sashed them, and added setting squares.  If I’m not mistaken, this was my first time laying out a quilt on point.  I love how much it adds to this quilt to have the blocks on point, and I think trying new things out on a baby size quilt is a great way to practice new techniques.  If you are curious, the charm squares started at 5”, the half square triangles finished at 4”, and the quilt finished at 34.5” x 41.5”.   

I bought 5 yards of this blue print from the Hunky Dory line when I purchased the charm pack, so I used a yard to back this quilt.  

I sent this quilt out to Abby Latimer of Latimer Lane Quilting and she quilted it with the panto, Lisa’s Lace.  I love the daisies and the little butterfly wings!   

For binding, I used the same polka dot fabric as the sashing.  (I used the same fabric on my daughter’s toddler quilt.)    

***  I'm thinking about selling this quilt. If you are interested in purchasing, please email me at reengineered.designs@gmail.com for more details.  ***

Giveaway ::  I have 3 charms (5" squares) left over from making this quilt, as well as one floral fat quarter that I didn't end up using.  Just leave a comment below if you’d like to be in the giveaway drawing.  Make sure there is a way I can contact you!  If you are a no-reply blogger, be sure to leave your email address!  US only please since I will pay shipping.  I will pick a winner on March 17^th at 5:00 pm CST.   Giveaway now closed & winner announced in 'giveaway winner' post.

Quilt Stats:
Fabric: 
          Quilt top & back - Hunky Dory by Chez Moi for Moda

          Binding - cream with green polka dot

Pattern: half square triangles set on point & sashed

Dimensions: 34.5” x 41.5”
Started: August 2015
Finished: August 2015
Quilted by: Abby Latimer of Latimer Lane Quilting

Thanks for reading!
-V

Linking to:
NTT @ My Quilt Infatuation 
Finish It Up Friday @ Crazy Mom Quilts  
Whoop Whoop @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict
TGIFF @ Dizzy Quilts  

civil war mini-charm giveaway winner

Thank you to everyone who read & commented on my post about my 30's / feedsack patchwork quilt.

I used Random.org to choose the winner ::  (17 comments on the previous post, but one commenter was from Canada)

 
Congratulations to Joye, who has been contacted by email.  

I will be back soon with another finished quilt (& another fabric giveaway), so check back or sign up to be notified when I have a new post!

Thanks for reading!
Valerie

30's / feedsack patchwork quilt (& another giveaway)

I need to get better at blogging after I finish a quilt!  This 8 month delay I have going between finishing a quilt and blogging about it makes it difficult to remember the details about the quilt.  And I always forget to take a picture of the fabrics before I cut them up!  This quilt came about because I had a stack of 30’s fabrics in my stash (not pictured) and I had ordered a few Pam Kitty Morning fabrics that caught my eye.  I had also received 2 mini charms of Penny and Friends by Darlene Zimmerman from Miss Rosie’s Quilt Company.  

I decided to mix them all together in a traditional patchwork quilt.  Because some of the fabrics were fat quarters, some were fat eighths, and some were standard ¼ yards, I decided against strip piecing.  I had less waste by cutting the 4.5” squares from each fabric individually, and I was able to have a more random layout of fabrics.  That also meant that I had to lay out 288 squares of fabric, one at a time.  More time consuming, but for some reason it didn’t seem to bother me.  (I pieced the mini-charms together to make 4 patch blocks that I interspersed among the other squares.)  The squares finish at 4” and the quilt measures 64” x 72”.
 

For backing fabric, I used another 30’s print that I had in my stash - orange background with pink flowers.  It wasn’t quite large enough for the entire back, so I added a polka dot fabric that I had in my stash to the sides.  In fact, this fabric was at one time the curtains & crib skirt for my daughter’s nursery.  But those days are long gone and there was no reason to save them, so I cut them up and re-used them. 

I sent this quilt out to Abby Latimer of Latimer Lane Quilting and she quilted it with the Nectar panto.  I love the bees and flowers and think this design complements the 30’s / feedsack fabrics perfectly.  

For binding, I used more of the polka dot fabric.  I debated on a black and white stripe, but I think the polka dots make the quilt feel a little more whimsical and vintage.

I didn’t make this quilt with any recipient in mind, so it will probably just stay with us.  According to my kids, you can never have too many quilts for a fort.

Another giveaway ::  I ended up with very little fabric leftover from this quilt, but I do have a little stack of 2.5" squares (mini-charm pack?) of Civil War fabrics if anyone is interested in those.  They would make a cute little doll quilt or mug rug!  Just leave a comment below if you’d like to be in the giveaway drawing.  Make sure there is a way I can contact you!  If you are a no-reply blogger, be sure to leave your email address!  US only please since I will pay shipping.  I will pick a winner on March 3^rd at 5:00 pm CST.  Giveaway closed & winner announced on this post. 

Quilt Stats:
Fabric: 
          Quilt top - mix of 30’s, feedsack, Pam Kitty Morning, & Darlene Zimmerman fabrics
          Backing  - orange with pink flowers 30’s print

          Binding - white with various shades of pink polka dots

Pattern: traditional patchwork

Dimensions: 64” x 72”
Started: July 2015
Finished: July 2015
Quilted by: Abby Latimer of Latimer Lane Quilting

Thanks for reading!
-V

Linking to:
NTT @ My Quilt Infatuation 
Whoop Whoop @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict   
Finish It Up Friday @ Crazy Mom Quilts 
TGIFF @ Lisa in Port Hope 

polka dot fat quarter giveaway winner

Thank you to everyone who read & commented on my post about Vivi's baby quilt.

I used Random.org to choose the winner ::

Congratulations to Jennifer, who has been contacted by email.  

I hope to be back later this week with another finished quilt (& possibly another fabric giveaway), so check back or sign up to be notified when I have a new post!

Thanks for reading!
Valerie

vivi's baby quilt

In my effort to blog about my 2015 finished quilts, I am back to share a quilt I made last May for my cousin Jayme's then-soon-to-be-born baby girl.  Jayme shared a few pictures of quilts that she liked and one thing they all had in common was sashing between the blocks.  She also wanted soft, delicate fabrics that were feminine.  I came across Bouquet by Annette Tatum, which I thought fit with what Jayme was looking for.  I also decided on a pinwheel pattern to continue the theme.  I chose a cream Basic Grey grunge for the background fabric, thinking that white would be too stark and also too difficult to keep clean for a baby quilt.  As I was making the blocks, I thought everything was looking great.  However, I was slightly disappointed in the final quilt top.  The focus fabrics ended up looking washed out compared to the background fabric.  There was just not as much contrast as I thought there was going to be.  I should temper my disappointment by pointing out that the quilt photographed even worse than it looked in person, so I don't think it was quite as bad as it appears in the pictures.  My cousin seemed to love it though, so I guess that is all that matters!

I sent the quilt to Abby Latimer of Latimer Lane Quilting and I love the quilting pattern that we chose, which was Pretty Paisley.  I think the quilting really added to the soft, delicate feel of the quilt.  For binding, I went with a pink & cream stripe from the Bouquet fabric line.  I just love a quilt bound with a striped fabric. 

 

The Bouquet fabric line had been out for quite awhile when I made this quilt, but I lucked out and found just enough of the floral print on blue to use for the backing fabric. 

And here is one last look at the entire quilt.  I hope Jayme, and especially her baby girl, Vivi, enjoy it and use it until it falls apart!

I don't have fabric leftover from this quilt, but I have been organizing my sewing room, and found 3 fat quarters that I don't think I'll ever use.  If you want to be entered into the giveaway, just leave a comment with your email address! (US only please since I will pay shipping costs.)  I will randomly pick a winner on 2/4 at 5 pm CST.  (I will announce the winner with a new blog post, so feel free to follow my blog if you want to get a notification when the winner has been selected.)  Giveaway now closed and the winner had been contacted via email & announced.

 

Quilt Stats:
Fabric: Bouquet by Annette Tatum
Pattern: HST pinwheel design with sashing
Dimensions: 40" x 44"
Started: April 2015
Finished: May 2015
Quilted by: Abby Latimer of Latimer Lane Quilting
Made for: my cousin Jayme's daughter, Vivi
 
Thanks for reading!
-V 

Linking to:
NTT @ My Quilt Infatuation
TGIFF @ Busy Hands Quilts 
Finish It Up Friday @ Crazy Mom Quilts
Whoop Whoop @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict 

purple / pink fabric scrap giveaway winner

Thank you for all the kind and helpful comments on my previous post!

I used Random.org to choose the fabric scrap giveaway winner....  (2 of the comments were replies with emails added to the original comment, so I used 39 for the number of entries instead of 41, in case you keep track of those kind of things.)

Congratulations to Kelly Grace, who has been contacted by email.

I hope to be back later this week with another finished quilt (& possibly another fabric giveaway), so check back or sign up to be notified when I have a new post!

Thanks for reading!
Valerie

tensley's 4th birthday quilt (& fabric scrap giveaway)

As promised, I’m back to (finally) share the quilt I made for my daughter’s 4^th birthday (which was last April).  So without further delay, here is Tensley’s 4^th Birthday Quilt ::

 

Tensley requested a “purple quilt” for her birthday.  I decided to add in some darker shades of pink and a few aqua fabrics.  Below is a picture of my original fabric pull.  I ended up culling the navy blues, yellows, and greens and I added in more dark purples.

My inspiration came from a picture I saw on Instagram.  (One of the drawbacks of Instagram is there is no good way to link to pictures you find there, especially if the person you follow has a private account.)  You can find a tutorial for the quilt block on Cluck Cluck Sew’s website.  I churned out 56 blocks in no time.

 

(Full disclosure :: I had a clumsy moment one afternoon and spilled Dr. Pepper on 28 of the blocks!  After a few choice words, and many hours of attempting to remove the stains using every method & concoction under the sun, I finally gave up on trying to save those blocks and had to make 28 more! Lesson learned there.)

 

I found the backing fabric at my LQS.  The colors match the fabrics in the quilt top perfectly, and there was just enough on the bolt.  I used Cut to Pieces’ tutorial to make the quilt back out of regular width (44”) yardage.  It is so fast & so easy!

 

Kim at my LQS did the long-arm quilting.  She used a pink-purple variegated thread that was perfect for the quilt.  

The quilt measured 84” x 96” before washing.  I worried that it wasn’t going to be wide enough or long enough for her full size bed, but it is actually wider & longer than it needs to be, even after washing.  I guess if she ever gets a queen size bed, and this quilt is still around, it will still fit on her bed.  

 

For binding, I used a dark purple fabric with a slightly lighter purple polka dot.  Perfect for hiding dirt. ;)  And polka dots, what’s not to love?

 

I have quite a bit of leftover fabric from making this quilt, so if anyone wants it, just leave me a comment & I will enter you into the giveaway.  (US only please since I am paying shipping.) I will randomly pick a winner on 1/21 at 5 pm CST.   Giveaway is now closed & the winner has been emailed.

Quilt Stats:
Fabric:
          Quilt top - lots of various purple, pink, and a few aqua fabrics
          Backing - purple / pink tile pattern fabric
          Binding - dark purple with lighter purple polka dots
Pattern: tutorial from Cluck Cluck Sew
Dimensions: 84" x 96"
Started: January 2015
Finished: March 2015
Quilted by: Kim Barrett @ Quilt-N-Kaboodle
Made for: Tensley for her 4th Birthday

Thanks for reading!
-V

Linking to:
NTT @ My Quilt Infatuation
TGIFF @ Faith & Fabric 
Finish It Up Friday @ Crazy Mom Quilts
Whoop Whoop @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict

christmas is coming... advent calendar

I'm back today to share an advent calendar that I made last year.  I didn't get it finished until about December 5th last year & then of course, with the busy holiday season, I never got around to taking pictures of it or blogging about it.

I knew I wanted an advent calendar of some sort to hang in our home, mostly just to cut down on the "When is it going to be Christmas" whining.  After looking around on ones to buy, I decided to make one instead.  I used a charm pack of Basic Grey's Blitzen and 2/3 yd of background fabric, which is a Basic Grey grunge.  I didn't take many pictures along the way & the ones I took were all blurry, so here is a brief synopsis of what I did....

1. Cut (24) 5" squares for the pockets (I used charm squares)
2. Iron the edges under on all sides (I didn't want raw edges, but you could leave them raw to save time, especially since the charm square edges are pinked)
3. Cut 24 squares of interfacing at 4.25"
4. Iron interfacing to the wrong side of the charm square (to give the pocket some structure)
5. "Stamp" the number on the charm square using fabric paint and a stencil (I used Martha Stewart paint, stencil, and "stampers" from Michael's)
6. Mark where you want to place the charm squares on the background fabric (I did a 4x6 configuration, with 1" between each charm.)
7.  Layer the backing fabric, batting, and background fabric
8. Pin the charm square onto the "quilt sandwich", making sure the square will not twist
9. Sew the charm square 1/4" from the edge on 3 sides (not the top, or you won't be able to open the pocket)
10. Remove pins, square up the quilt
11. Bind quilt

To hang my advent calendar, I sewed loops into the binding on the back.  I just used white ribbon to make my loops.  They are visible when I hang the calendar, but I think it looks cute that way.  I'm sure there are a ton of different options for hanging, so use whatever way you prefer!

That's all there was to it! Hope you enjoyed this short tutorial!

Thanks for reading!
Valerie

honeysweet fabric scrap winner!

I used Random.Org to decide my winner for the Honeysweet scrap giveaway.....

 and number 8 is Stephanie, who said :

8. AnonymousNovember 14, 2015 at 9:50 AM

   This is beautiful! I am currently working on a coin quilt for my Nana with a Fig Tree & Co. jelly roll in Mirabelle. They really have beautiful, vintage-y looking fabrics, don't they? I'm pretty sure I just invented a word there...vintage-y! :) Anyway, very nice job on your quilt and have a great Thanksgiving!
   
   Stephanie
   barefootcontessajunkie@hotmail.com

   
   

   
   

   
   

   Thank you all for reading & commenting!  Stephanie, I will be emailing you soon to get your mailing address!

   Valerie

clovers & jam

Oh man, I did not intend to take such a long hiatus!  I don’t have a good excuse other than that my last post was last November (a full year ago!) and I think I probably got busy with the holiday season & after that I jumped right into making a full size bed quilt for my daughter’s 4^th birthday.  And I’ll show you that quilt soon(ish), but first before Fall is completely over, I want to share this quilt I made LAST FALL!

I pre-ordered this quilt as a kit directly from Fig Tree & Co in the spring of 2013! I loved the fabrics (Honeysweet by Fig Tree & Co for Moda) & the pattern (Clovers & Jam, also by Fig Tree & Co) and I was really looking forward to making this quilt in the fall of 2013.  Easton was born September 23^rd, 2013 and for some reason I had thought I would be able to find the time to work on the quilt after he was born. Not so much. So I pushed it off and finally got around to working on it in September of 2014.  I finally got it pieced & sent out to be long arm quilted in November of 2014.  And then it sat for another 6+ months before I finally put the binding on!  

But anyway, it is finally finished & we are putting it to good use now that we are starting to have some cooler fall weather.  (This fall has just been unreal with 60-70 degree temps up until this week, which is very unseasonably warm for Northwest Iowa.)

As much as I like this quilt, I learned that making a quilt from a kit is maybe just not for me.  For me, a huge part of the enjoyment of making a quilt is not knowing quite how it is going to turn out.  I love the surprise of seeing the final product and how it came together in real life versus how I thought it would look “in my head”.  

As a thank you for reading this blog post after my long hiatus, I'd like to giveaway the leftover fabric from making this quilt.  To enter, please leave a comment on this post about ANYTHING!  Your favorite Thanksgiving dish, favorite thing about Fall, favorite color, favorite quilting tool or technique, literally anything you want!  Please make sure you are not a No-Reply commenter, or if you are, please leave your email address so I can contact you.  (Open to US only please since I am paying shipping.) I will leave the giveaway open until next Friday morning at 8 am CST.  Giveaway now closed.

Quilt Stats:
Fabric: Honeysweet by Fig Tree & Co for Moda

Pattern: Clovers & Jam by Fig Tree & Co
Dimensions: 71” x 71”
Started: September 2014  
Finished: November 2014
Quilted by: Abby Latimer of Latimer Lane Quilting 

Thanks for reading!
-V

Linking to:
NTT @ My Quilt Infatuation
TGIFF @ Quilt Matters 
Finish It Up Friday @ Crazy Mom Quilts
Whoop Whoop @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Link a Finish Friday @ Richard & Tanya Quilts