Sew & Tell Friday: Amy Butler Love Ring

One year ago I was shopping for fabric for a HUGE quilt I wanted to make for one of my favorite sisters, Katy, because she was turning 40 in January 2016. I had already decided to do the Quiltsmart Love Ring pattern and I wanted to use Amy Butler fabrics. I'd seen a very intricate quilt that had used about a dozen different modern fabrics and they ended up looking so great together. I loved the intensity of all those rich colors together. Since this quilt was going to be big enough to put on the bed, I thought I'd get colors that wouldn't bother her husband too much. So, not pink. Okay, a little pink. 

While I was choosing fabric, I kind of had a nervous breakdown because they all looked so different and I couldn't tell if it was in a good way. I also didn't know how much to get because the directions didn't have a king-size recipe. And Bridget was dancing around me at the fabric store. In conclusion, I got too much fabric. Better than too little!

The morning after I'd finished it and washed it we had a beautiful snowfall outside. I couldn't tell where I was focusing, though, because it was so cold. 

I decided to use eight of my ten fabrics when I had the thought that one particular fabric made me think of Katy. And hey, I have two fabrics that are a wee more masculine than the rest and there are two boys in her family (her husband and son). Then I was like...HEY! I can use one fabric to represent each person in her family and put them in order of birth (except the parents). Katy is in the middle, then her fabric makes a complete square when the quilt pattern is finished.

Ta DA! Eighteen rows with eighteen squares. I didn't take pictures of the process. Probably because I did a little here and there for a year. I finally put it together during my retreat with Kristi in November. I had a box full of 4" squares and quarter circles that I had to iron onto the correct square, so I had to have it laid out on the floor to make sure I wasn't ironing the wrong fabrics together. I felt pretty triumphant when I'd finished that part of the process, but then I had to sew all those quarter circles onto the squares, cut the interfacing out of the back, then sew all the squares to each other in the right pattern. When I put it away at the retreat, I had each row in a Zip-lock bag and labeled. 

The back is a little less of an assault on the eyes. I used the gray and white version of Helena's fabric and a plain white row in the middle. I'm still on the fence with the fabric I chose for the border. I probably should have gone with something less busy. I can live with my decision because I don't have to live with my decision, knowwhatI'msayin'?

I had Wendy quilt it for me. I chose a modern pattern that wouldn't be too busy on top of everything else that was happening. I love that you can see it so clearly in the white stripe on the back. 

Whew! I finished it! And I got it to her before her birthday! Pretty proud of myself, actually. On to my next assignment... Maybe I'll push pause on that and finish cleaning out my Stash Under the Stairs. Hahahahaha! I make myself laugh.

Marco's Quilt, Last of the Lone Stars, and Pop Picnic Quilt

Just a quick report of three quilts I made that are now safely in the hands of their new owners. Since Makenzie decided to have a boy instead of a girl, I made a grid quilt with more appropriate colors than the pink and red I originally had for her.

The fabrics are from a line with characters from the "Guess How Much I Love You" book, which is one of my favorites.

Minky on the back, of course. I don't know if I love the quilting pattern. I liked it on paper, but not so much in real life. Hmmm.

Once again Makenzie had The Most Beautiful Baby Ever. Little Marco, from the pictures - I haven't seen him in real life yet :(, is perfect.

I have completed my mission to make every couple in my family a lone star quilt! It has been my homage to our Great Grandma Rhoda Paskett Lee. She made one for all her children and grandchildren and now I've made one for eight of her great grandchildren. This year I made a lone star quilt for Rob and Claire.

I took fabrics from a few different lines, starting with the center fabric. I liked it because it had black with all those bright colors and I don't see that very often. The colors reminded me of Claire, so I went with it. (These same colors reminded me of Claire when I made Moira's blanket last year. Interesting.)

Dragonflies, amIright?

Thank goodness Kristi was with me when I chose the background fabric. I was STUCK on getting a black and white polka dot for the background fabric, but she found an awesome alternative. I'm glad I didn't use a solid. So much more interesting that way.

Lastly, I did a quick picnic quilt for Kellie this year. I found the bottle cap fabric and couldn't think of a cute way to put it into a new pattern, so I just used one big piece of fabric with a border. Denim on the back, of course. The only technical thing I did with this quilt was the piping on the binding. That equals special. ;)

That's it for December 2015. For all of 2015, actually. I should do a collage. Or eat breakfast. One.

Winter Quilts

I've made a lot of stuff the last couple of months, but I can't show most of it. Kristi and I had a wonderful retreat earlier this month. I had my very own bathroom! We were in a cabin in the almost-middle-of-nowhere and it was quiet and cold outside, but warm inside. I got so much done! I was super energized when I got home and that led to finishing up some more stuff. I haven't posted one of my favorite projects, so I'll start with that.

My lovely friend, Carmen, published a book with 10 patterns for her grid interfacing. My name is in her book because I did the piecing on one of the quilts. I loved the pattern so much I did a scaled down version, a triple Irish Chain with Moda Bunny Hill Designs "Mistletoe Lane" fabrics. Can you see the ice skates? It wasn't overtly Christmas-y, just winter and I love it so much. Secretly Makenzie was supposed to be pregnant with a girl so I could give her this quilt. But, whatever. It's got minky on the back.

This morning I finished up a mini lone star with cute Christmas fabric. The finished quilt is 20"x20" and since I've made so many big lone stars, it seems to go really fast. So fun! And I love how it looks on the table. 

I love a striped binding. Especially when it's red and white. Like a candy cane. 

Isn't the back so cute? It's Lecian fabric called "Merry Taupe Collection." Not catchy. 

There are several more quilts I've finished and can't publish pictures of for a little more than a month. One is The Most Beautiful Quilt I've Ever Made. I'll probably have to stop making stuff after that one because it's so awesome. That's some quality buzz, eh?

These two are in our etsy shop if you think you know someone who might like to have them. ;)

Milestones

The nieces and nephews on both sides of our family are starting to hit important moments in their life. I remember well the weight of All the Decisions. Where to go to college, to go or not go on a mission, whom to marry. AH! A few months ago Katy sent me some of her oldest daughter, Eliza's, T-shirts to make her a quilt. I've mastered the T-shirt quilt, guys. It's not a problem anymore. :) Eliza's is made up of Youth Conference shirts, percussion and music shirts and Spartan race shirts. I love how individual a T-shirt quilt turns out. This can only be Eliza's quilt. I put cozy minky on the back - it's the only way to go.

On the other side of our family, Janessa is getting ready to go on a mission to Peru and she took out her own endowments at the Payson Temple last week. Was that really only last week? It was the fourth day the Payson Temple was operating, so there were lots of newbies working. Brian was chaperoning Youth Conference and couldn't come, but I was so happy to be there to cheer Janessa on.

I had my camera to take photos afterward, but this one I took with my phone is my favorite. I love the view from the Payson Temple - seeing the farms feels very right. :)

Here is Janessa with her new friend, also going through the temple for the first time that night.

Janessa with Grandma and Grandpa.

Janessa's sweet work friends were there too. These are the ladies who work in my pediatrician's office. It was nice to see them out of context.

Next, this is not really a milestone, but I'm putting it here anyway. I had my piano painted! While we were at it, we decided to get the desk painted as well. (The desk was Brian's grandma's and it was in pretty rough shape.)

Before.

After of the desk. Bridget and I picked out the knobs. The third one down on the right broke off when we tried to twist it in. Nuts.

It's Annie Sloan "Louis Blue" chalk paint. A woman named Angie painted both the desk and the piano. She came back again to do another coat on the piano and a shiny polyurethane coat on the piano, too. She said she couldn't sleep knowing it could look better. Nice. :)

 To me it feels like the piano takes up less room now. We've moved it to a different wall and the new paint in the room makes it brighter in there too. Ahhh. Fun for everyone. Except maybe Brian. :)

Sew & Tell: Christmas Table Runner & Baby Quilt

I'm already forgetting what projects I've finished lately, so I'm going to plug them in here. Back in December a nice Canadian lady asked me if I could make her a table runner with bright Christmas fabrics. She bought a runner from me a year or so ago and she wanted another one. As soon as I was over the intensity of Christmas, I got to work. I used Kate Spain fabrics (her Christmas lines are always so cheerful) and a double wedding ring pattern.

Carmen quilted it for me, so of course that looks amazing. I didn't get to spend much time with this one - as soon as I posted it in our etsy shop, the lady who requested it bought it.

I have quite a few things in the works, but I'm only going to "show" the finished stuff. I bought some of the newest Lake House line of fabric. They have a print that looks like a scrappy grid. This baby quilt was lickety-split since I didn't piece anything together. I even quilted it on my machine.

Finishing stuff really gets my creative juices flowing. I also like not feeling the pressure of a hard deadline... like Christmas. :)

Sew & Tell: Rainy Day

My lovely quilting mentor (of course I have one), Carmen Geddes, has her very own printed interfacing for her grid quilt patterns. She's working on a book with patterns for at least ten different quilt designs. Last fall I pieced one of those designs for her:

This is before the seams were sewn - I just ironed on all those 2 1/2" pieces. When I laid it out I realized it needed another row of panels (the grid is 9 squares by 14 squares) to look right. Anyway! While I was piecing this for Carmen, I was making plans for my own grid quilts. I did a few table squares and then I used seven mini charm packs (42 2 1/2" squares packaged together, including every fabric in a line) to make this baby quilt:

The corners match up perfectly! I think this line of fabric was made for me. It's called April Showers. I got all the mini charm packs at The Gathering Place in Jerome, Idaho, after our retreat at the monastery. 

It's a baby quilt, so I put minky on the back. Check out the sweet umbrellas in the quilting.

My signature stripey binding... and minky fuzz on the binding that I didn't notice when I was taking the picture. Tradition! The grid pattern is addicting - there are so many different designs. I'm working on another one right now. I'm getting in the mood for some curves, though. Hmmmm.

Finally Christmas Day

 

I'm sure our neighbors have been wondering if we have some lights out on our tree or if the blinds in that spot are always turned the wrong way. Yes. The lights are out. This is what it looked like on Christmas morning when the kids walked in. I didn't take pictures on Christmas Eve because I was trying to be in the moment. I love having a lot of photos of this time of year, but I've noticed that I see the best moments through the camera and not in real life. This year I wanted to be in more moments, so less photos. :) 

Bridget got that extra present from Santa at the Christmas party, so I found something else for the boys to open on Christmas Eve in addition to their pajamas. Who knew Emil and Colin would be so into crazy slippers? Bridget claimed she'd been awake for "an hour" before Emil came in and told her it was CHRISTMAS DAY and time to open presents. Bridget and Emil then had to try to wake up Colin, who was in Mommy and Daddy's bed snoring. They finally convinced him to get up by reminding him about his new slippers. They look like monster feet and they make me laugh.

Aren't Bridget's pajamas from Santa beautiful! Emil and Colin were both very pleased with their pajamas. After forgetting about the pajamas until December 24th last year, they were my first order of business back in August.

Bridget got her American Girl Doll! Now she and Grandma Peggy can PLAY! :) They're dressed in the same pajamas and the doll has freckles and glasses too. (Brian to me: "You sound crazy right now.") Bridget was so happy, though. I love it! I asked her what she was thinking about naming her new doll and she didn't hesitate, "Annalee." I reminded her that Annalee was kind of my name (first name Anna, maiden name Lee) and she shrugged. Didn't even know that. 

For the last two months (at least) Emil has been cutting out the toy trucks in all the Cal Ranch ads. I saved the first one because I love that he was doing that. Make no mistake, Emil was getting a TRUCK and a trailer. And also, two horses. Then he borrowed my new flashlight:

Always check under the hood.

Colin got a new train set and tracks that match the tracks that Aunt Makenzie and Uncle David brought a few weeks ago. We can almost fill a room with all the tracks! It's super fun, but not so much fun in the box on Christmas morning. Colin opened the big box from Mommy and we spread out the quilt. He made an appreciative, "Ohhh!" noise and then I told him it was for him - I'd made it for him. "WHAT?! FO ME?! THANKS, MOM!" Then he jumped across the quilt in his monster feet and gave me a big hug. It was easily my favorite moment of Christmas morning and I cried. :) Happy tears. (The stars and the circle lines glow in the dark, by the way.)

I got a new 50mm lens for my camera. (I used it for the above photo. Who takes a photo of a camera lens?) Happy day! Get ready for tight shots of food and quilts and kids. :)

Daddy got new tools (nothing says "get to work, Dad" like new tools). Here he is looking at our new treasure from Makenzie and David - a family tree with four generations on it. It's so beautiful! We have most of those people framed on our wall in the front room. Love it. We had Makenzie and David this year and I made them this:

Yes, it's the lone star I was going to keep for myself. But it was done! And I had both the boys' quilts to finish and the piecing on a twin-size Irish Chain that I did for Carmen. Not to worry, Broadbent's had the fabrics in stock and I made one change (different red), so Makenzie and I will be Lone Star Twins. Also, I loved this one so much that I felt good about giving it away.

I can't get enough of that stripe-y binding.

That's Bridget's stash in the foreground. When Aunt Katy heard Bridget was asking Santa for an American Girl Doll, she asked me if she could make a sweater and hat set for the doll. Isn't that amazing? It's so beautiful, too. Let me remind you that Katy has six children of her own and three of them have birthdays in December. That cute little sweater set was here and under the tree by the 22nd. I still can't believe it. (Aunt Katy also made that beautiful brown blanket next to Brian. Talent!) Bridget got a store-bought dress from me this year instead of a quilt like her brothers got. Remember how I wanted to be around for more moments? Yeah, another sewing project wasn't going to work.

Each of the kids got a game from Santa. Colin got a Scooby Doo matching game. It's always out now. "Wanna play Gooby-Doo Match with me, Mommy?"

We ate breakfast and played for a while, then went to Grandma's to see what was going on and open more presents. We were there at the same time as Uncle Kyle and Aunt Diana and their family, which hasn't happened for a lot of years, I think. Grandma liked her new calendar. Whew!

Grandma gave the boys new Lego sets and Colin squealed with delight. It made Aunt Diana and Uncle Kyle smile and it reminded me that our kids are at the most fun age ever for Christmastime. We're loving it. Colin will never disappoint with his reaction to a gift. So cute.

Bridget got a very fancy art set from Grandma and Grandpa.

Emil got real Legos instead of Duplos. The day after Christmas he and Daddy were putting his construction site together while Mommy, Colin and Bridget played Frozen Uno on the other side of the table from them. We'd been playing for a little while when Emil asked, "Mommy, are you having fun?" Yes. I'm having fun. :)

We waited around to watch Nate open his presents and eat more of Grandma and Grandpa's food. The kids had kind of a glazed-over look. Dreams coming true is exhausting! Emil is wearing his new hoodie from Grandma Peggy. She also made everyone three travel bags for laundry and sundries. I keep forgetting to tell her how awesome that is. I hate putting my dirty stuff next to my clean stuff in such close quarters of a suitcase.

So, Christmas was a huge success. For me it was a success because I was done shopping a long time ago and all the last minute activities didn't wear me out. I've learned from Christmas past! Miraculous.