A Birdie Sling for my Mom

 I made another Birdie Sling!  This one is for my mom.  We picked out these Amy Butler Lark fabrics a while back.  I looked around for the perfect fabric for the bands and handles and ended up settling on Essex linen in Navy.  I love how the solid Navy pairs so well with the print.

Like the last one I made, I added a snap to the interior bands so the bag stays closed.

Don't tell the other birdie slings, but I think this might be my favorite one yet!  I'm excited to give it to my mom!!

New Pillows!

I made a couple of pillows to match our new bedding.  I've been smitten with the yellow/citron grey combo ever since I saw the inspiration boards from Michael Miller last year .  My hubby and I decided on this bedding a few months back and so naturally I needed to make a couple of throw pillows to match.

The first one I made was this wonky cross pillow.  I used Elizabeth's tutorial and pulled from my yellow, grey and white fabric.  I started quilting this with straight lines - my go to quilting method - but I wasn't liking how it was turning out.  So I ripped out lots of stitches and pushed myself to try something new.  I've been wanting to do some pebble quilting and thought this was the perfect sized project to try it out on.

For the other pillow I decided I wanted cathedral windows.  I used Heather's awesome tutorial.  This is one of those blocks that's worth the time it takes to put it together, because I think the results are awesome.  I used so many of my favorite fabrics for these - many of which are from my Denyse Schmidt stash.  It seemed only fitting that I use her fabric (Aunt Edna) for the back.

Kelly's Quilt

Kelly and I have been friends for the last couple of years.  

Her son and my daughter met at preschool. 

They had a little thing. 

I so wasn't ready for it. 

Kelly and I have become great friends.  

She and her family are about to move out of state. 

Last year I went on a retreat in the mountains with 7 other moms.

Kelly organized it.

I will never forget it.  

I laughed so hard.  

I danced (nuff said).  

I pieced most of the top of this quilt there. 

I love these fabrics from Kate Spain's Central Park line. 

She saw it and said they were her colors.  

It's been her quilt ever since.

She didn't know it.

I pieced large squares of some of my favorite fabrics on the back. 

I sashed them in white.  

It's bound in Kona Cerise (a favorite).  

I gave this quilt to Kelly on Monday. 

 She loved it.  

 It wasn't hard to give away. 

 It was hard to see it go. 

 It meant she is going too. 

 I'm going to miss my friend. 

 Who is a big goof ball. 

 Someone who makes me laugh.

 A sincere friend.  

(excuse the lame iPhone photo)

It's not goodbye.  

I'll see you later :)

Quilts for Mozambique

 I've been working hard to finish up a couple of quilts for two special little girls.  Their names are Fina and Maria Jo and they live in an orphanage in Mozambique.  Members of my quilt club made quilts for each of the kids living in the orphanage and all of the quilts are being taken to the kids at the end of this week.  I wish I was there to get to see them receive their quilts.

The first one I made is a plus quilt for a 5 year old Fina.

 I chose bright colors that coordinated with a panel print I had in my stash from It's a Hoot by Momo for Moda.

 
I used the panel on the back and added a border all the way around.  I also pieced strips to the top and bottom  to get the back the right size.

I wanted to make it special for her, so I appliqued and then machine blanket stitched her name onto the back of the quilt before it was sandwiched.

 I free motion quilted with an all over loop-de-loop design, and it is bound in a Michael Miller solid.

The second quilt I made is for two year old, Maria Jo.  It was compeletely inspired by this quilt.  I love  Michael Miller's Zoology print and thought it would be perfect for a little girl living in Africa. 

I had a super talented friend quilt it since I was short on time. The quilting is a meander with occasional daisies and she even quilted Maria Jo's name into the quilt.  She did an amazing job!  

It wasn't quite wide enough so I used some of the other fabrics to piece a strip for the back.

 I bound it in Kona Melon and added a little label to the back.  I used embroidery floss for her name to give it texture and make it stand out a little.    

I had so much fun making quilts for these two little girls.  I hope they enjoy using them as much as I enjoyed making them! 

New in the kitchen

Last weekend we got a new table for the breakfast nook area in our kitchen.  It's a small area, so we got this one from Ikea.  I wanted a table in the kitchen so our kids could sit and eat, or do homework while I'm cooking and packing lunches.  Our kids have done some damage to our dining room table, including this little guy my daughter etched in a few months ago.  Needless to say, I knew a tablecloth was a necessity this time around.

  I have been hanging on to a couple yards of this laminated fabric, Summer Totem Tart from Anna Maria Horner's Loulouthi line, and decided it was time to put it to good use.  

 I measured the table and made the tablecloth like you would a fitted sheet; only I didn't use any elastic in the hem around the bottom.   

I figured this way my son wouldn't be able to pull it off the table easily.  I got the idea from my friend Nicki who has a very similar tablecloth made from oilcloth.  I hope it lasts for a while.  It has a piece of fleece laid underneath to protect the corners of the table from poking through the fabric.  It was relatively easy to make.  I don't have a teflon foot for my machine so I did some research and found out I could cover the bottom of my pressure foot with masking tape to help the fabric glide through my machine.  I'm happy to report that it worked really well!  

This week I also made a couple of taggie blankets and burp cloths for friends who have new babes.  

  

I'm about halfway done quilting my plus quilt, too.  Pics to come soon :)

Quilt Tops

I'm not quite sure how it happened, but I finished 3 quilt tops in the last month!   

The first is my Sparkle Punch Quilt based on Elizabeth's tutorial.This is the first quilt-along I've participated in, and it's been really fun!  Especially because I got my friend Becca to make one too!  I used Kona Coal for the background, and I love how it makes all of the colors pop.  This was a great way to put some of my very favorite fabrics all in one place.  I bought some flannel for the back and I think I'll be quilting it with some variegated thread.

  I've also been really wanting to make a plus quilt and finally had a good reason.   My quilt club is making quilts for all of the kids that live in an Orphanage in Mozambique.  I made this one for a five year old little girl.   I based the colors I used off of the large scale print from Moda's It's a Hoot line, which I will be using on the back.

  Lastly, I made a disappearing 9 patch using Allison's tutorial.    It's made mostly from Kate Spain's Central Park line and I threw in some pearl bracelets and a couple of other prints too. I'm half way done free motion quilting this one.  It's the first big quilt that I'm doing some stippling on and it's going better than anticipated.  I'm glad I stepped out of my comfort zone and tried something new.   You can see my daughter's little feet at the bottom...she was helping daddy hold it up :)

  Hopefully I'll be back soon with some finished quilts!

Anna Maria Horner at the LAMQG

I love being a member of the Los Angeles Modern Quilt Guild!  We've had some pretty awesome guest speakers, and our last meeting was no exception.  The amazingly talented Anna Maria Horner came to visit, and it was a great night!

 I am really inspired by her use of color and I loved hearing about her background and how she came to be a fabric designer.  She had a beautiful display of some of the quilts she's made, as well as some of her bags, pillows, and her fabulous embroidery too.  

She is one of my very favorite designers and I was so glad to be able to meet her.  Anna was SO nice and even signed my copy of her book and took a photo with me.