See Jane Run Quilt

See them run! Run, guys, run!

Back in June (when we were wearing shorts- just think, tonight has a forecasted low of 17 degrees!), I began a quilt using Dick and Jane-themed fabrics. You can see from those original layout pictures that I still ended up with something different. My bad math meant that I was going to be short two blocks to make it the twin-sized quilt I had originally intended. Bummer. I played around with potential sashing and maybe just large borders. I ultimately ended up with a framed center block.

Arranging the pink and blue blocks still provided me a challenge.

The framed center added some visual interest while allowing me to keep my intended size of the top.


The final pieced top. Not too shabby, if I say so myself!

I quilted it with replicated loops all over. I am happy how this one turned out! I used one of the blocks that had been pushed out by the framed center block and made a matching pillow. All that bad math paid off!



Quilt and pillow, ready to go!

Quilt Earrings!

I have been playing around with polymer clay recently. A while back, while I was cutting fabric scraps for a scrap quilt, I needed to take a fabric break. That's when it hit me: quilt earrings! I could still maintain the quilt motif while using a different medium!

I love the way these guys turned out! They are small and the stitching details make the "quilt" pop!

I love the way these turned out! It took some serious concentration and steady handwork. They are cute! Some I attached to stud posts and others clip on earrings.

The dime conveys the size.

Some are clip-on earrings.

Some have posts.

I listed a variety of them in my mom's Etsy shop. I will list the clip-on earrings later. These are too cute! I can special order colors and blocks. I can also do bulk orders. Check out the earrings at Cumberland Quilting Co.'s Etsy shop!

Bad Math = Opportunity

I used to do well in math. I suppose without constant exposure to geometry, one can lose those skills (like a language learned in high school). So I drew out how I wanted to use a stack of fabric. I counted, I added, I multiplied, I did it all again. This will be great! So I began cutting it all out. I love this Dick and Jane fabric!

I made two sets of open nine-patch blocks, one with blue and light pink and one with green and a red-pink. Hot diggity, the blocks came together nicely! Then it was time to lay out the blocks. At this point, it was probably 11:30pm and I was feeling giddy. I love it when projects are closer to completion than beginning.

Wait a minute. I had done bad math! Or miscounted! Or ahhhgkkghh! I made too many blue and pink blocks and not enough of the green ones. So the alternating pattern I had in mind wouldn't work out! Gah! Should I make the top and bottom just blue blocks? Should I make a throw-size quilt and a baby quilt, instead? (I had intended this to be a twin-sized quilt). It was time to leave the miscounted blocks laying there and go to bed.

The next morning I got up early and took a moment to appreciate the day and drink some coffee. My dad's coffee is near thick enough to have to cut with a pair of scissors. It surely will kickstart anybody's day. With a breath of fresh air in my lungs and caffeine surging through my veins, I decided to do some rearranging. 

Half of me loves the new layout (with a different design within the blocks). Half of me knows this is just a cover up for bad math. Ultimately, I ran out of time to piece these together, so I put them in a box for the next time I venture up to my mom's. Maybe by then, I'll have completely come to grips with the new block pattern and will complete it. (Or maybe I will just go ahead and make two separate quilts).

Qualitative brains, unite!

Scrappin' Log Cabin-Style

My mother brought me a bag of scraps during my time working at an isolated park (in rural, south Georgia... in a cabin). She mentioned I might have time (since I had no cable nor internet connection) to iron some of the pieces out and "do something" with them. She was correct. I had time.

So I ironed and cut. I did not have a sewing machine, so I just laid the blocks out. On the kitchen floor.

Kitchen floors *can* serve as a work space.

Log cabin-esque seemed appropriate, as it could accommodate various sizes AND I was living in a cabin (although, it was not made of logs). I stacked them neatly in a box for when I had a chance to use a sewing machine. (I cut out enough for two quilts... incidentally, I still have a box of scraps in my closet). That chance was at my mom's house a few weeks ago. So I headed up to Cumberland City with my box-o-scraps.

A table, mat, and ironing board prove better work surfaces than kitchen floors.

I pieced the blocks together as I had originally intended, then laid them out into rows (the blocks varied in size, so I laid blocks into rows with similarly-sized blocks). I pieced together the rows, then cut the edges so they could lay together.

TA DA!

The finished product!

It came together quite nicely, if I say so myself. I chose to quilt it with an all-over larger stipple, as I did not want to take away from the funky of the scrapness. So now I have a scrappy, log cabin quilt (that was born in a cabin). I have more pictures over at the Cumberland Quilting Co.'s Etsy page, if you want to take a peek.

Fun with Owls (and Quilting)

I had a chance to visit my Mom's yesterday and finish up some projects we started together a while ago. We completed three baby quilts for the Clarksville Downtown Market (of which she is at currently!).

She pieced these puppies while I quilted them. My favorite turned out to be the owl quilt. A combination of the cute fabrics and panels provided for fun inspiration.

"hooo hooo"

all the quilting! 

stars and swirls

ribbons sewn in the seams provide tactile stimulation

I had a blast working the longarm these past few days. I also finished up a scrap quilt (for another post!). Now I turn to my next project. Hmmm...

here we go

"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" -Mary Oliver

I plan to keep living. And while I enjoy writing, I also enjoy creating. Writing is a form of creation, but I like to change up my mediums. I like textiles and canvas and ink and yarn and well, anything tactile. So I will use this space to write about what I create (and blend the two). At the end of last year, I completed a quilt from a stack of fabric that I had intended to use as complimentary fabric for a cut of cloth with an ocean motif. As the fabrics came together, the ocean fell to the wayside and I began cutting strips with the intention of making random blocks:

They came together nicely, in fact (although, I kept having to cut down pieces to fit... spatial planning is not my strength).

I chose a continuing abstract, replicating square and rectangle quilt pattern (quilted on my mom's long arm machine).

This modern quilt sold this past week at my mom's quilt booth at the Clarksville Downtown Market. I was sad to see it go, but I am glad it has a new home and a cozy bed to keep warm!