Riley's Birthday Quilt

I think temperature quilts are super fun!  If you aren't familiar with temperature quilts, the concept is to record the temperatures for every day in fabric. Makers create their own rules beyond that. Some considerations include: 

• Pattern/block design: pieced or appliqued
  
• Include high and low temps
• Precipitation- part of the block design or embroidered
• Month markers
• Special days
• Additional text: pieced, appliqued, embroidered, inked
  

Take a look at #tempquilt or #temperaturequilt on Instagram for a plethora of inspiration.  

Riley's quilt is the third temp quilt I've made, but the first one I'm blogging about. The first two represented the high and low temperatures for every day in 2018 and 2019.

#tempquilt2018 - 96" X 96" - 10° color ranges

 

#tempquilt2019 - 36" X 32" - 5° color ranges

When we were waiting for our first grandchild to arrive in 2020, I decided to wait until he was born to start. Here are the choices I made:

• High temps only.
  
• Pattern: I think the block looks like those toys with the beads that slide around. It takes two days to make a bead.
• Each row equals a month. Riley was born on the 22nd, so there was a lot of negative space to fill with the pieced text.
  
• I did a half-drop to create the zig zag look of the rows.
• Used a tight palette of blues and greens. Color changes every 10° Fahrenheit. 

 

I used the My First Alphabet pattern by From Blank Pages for the text.

When it came time for quilting, my beloved Bernina was in the shop for maintenance, so I had to use an unfamiliar machine. I couldn't get the stitch right for free motion, so I had to stick with straight lines with the walking foot. I had fun with some point-to-point work. I'm happy with the resulting texture. 

The label had to include the temperature ranges so I used some extra units to piece a big block. I pieced the back with leftover fabric from the front and a big piece of leafy print that I thought I might add as a border. I'm glad I left it off. It's big enough for our little guy.

Without a border, the binding needed a little something extra, and I do love a flange!

Riley's 1st Year

47" X 60" 

started April 2020

completed April 2021

Emily's Giraffes

Since I have some free time while I wait for my grandson to be born, I thought I would show you a couple of other baby quilts I never posted. This is Emily's Giraffes, made for my great-niece in 2017.

The pattern is Giraffes in a Row by Lorna at Sew Fresh Quilts. It goes together quite nicely with some careful cutting and accurate 1/4" seams.

 The pink baby giraffe is Emily.

I pieced the other 3 during a weekend retreat. Several friends have since purchased the pattern!

Big sister Jackie is purple, mom is teal and dad is Syracuse orange!

(See Jackie's quilt here.)

Quilting my standard loopy swirl.

Glue basting the binding to the back allows for tidy machine stitching from the front. It makes me happy. Is that weird?

The backing fabric was purchased years ago when my LQS retired. 

Oliver's Quilt

 Hi, everyone! It's been almost a year since I've posted here and I miss you! I've got some catching up to do. It won't be chronological, but I hope to include all my finished projects since last August. Eek!

Let's get back in the swing of things with Oliver's quilt! My niece in California is expecting her first baby in a few weeks. She is doing the nursery in blues and gray with whales and octopi. How cute will that be?

 

I knew Preppy the Whale by Elizabeth Hartman would be the perfect pattern.  It was fun to choose a bunch of blues, but I had to throw in that one fun orange whale!

I recently purchased a ruler foot for my Bernina. I just happened to have a (never used) Leaves Galore ruler in my stash that was a perfect wave. It was thick enough for the ruler foot to run alongside with no trouble. For my first attempt at ruler work, I think it went pretty well!

 

 

The print on the back is pretty cute, but was just a little too narrow. A bit more orange to the rescue! When it came time to add the binding, I couldn't find the gray strips that I had cut out. (Don't you hate when that happens?) I dug into my bin of leftover bindings and went with scrappy navy blues. I think it probably worked better than my first choice gray.

 

I couldn't resist using the larger cut offs from the stitch and flip triangles. I'm keeping that little mug mat for myself as a souvenir!

 With a little bit of terry cloth and some leftover fabrics, I made a cute set of burp cloths from a tutorial by made everyday. 

Oliver's Quilt

47" x 50"

Started May 28, 2017

Completed June 10, 2017

Tanzania-Inspired Baby Quilt

What quilter doesn't love making baby quilts? I had so much fun making this one for my nephew and his wife. We have been obsessed with African animals since last fall, so we were thrilled that the parents-to-be chose animals as their nursery theme. Lorna McMahon of Sew Fresh Quilts launched her Elephant Parade Quilt Along at just the right time! 

You know I couldn't just follow the pattern. I had to tweak it just a little and add my own details. I pieced fewer blocks and added a cute border. 

Our memories of our Tanzanian safari were stitched into this baby quilt. There's nothing sweeter than a mama and baby elephant!

I had done all the piecing of this quilt on my vintage Featherweight. When it came time to embroider the eyes, I didn't want to switch to the Bernina, so I tried free motion embroidery on the FW. It worked! I'll show you how I did it very soon.

I went with yellow for the birds because I was already planning to use it in the border, and because we saw these cute birds everywhere.

By the way, the blue elephant below was pieced from fabric leftover from the wedding quilt. 

I simplified Lorna's flower pattern (and used orange fabric from the wedding quilt)...

... to mimic the fireball lily.

The leopard tortoise makes an appearance.

 The border print is Peek-a-Zoo by Timeless Treasures. After cutting the directional borders for the front, I didn't have enough left for the back.

 

Since I had to piece the back anyway, I figured I may as well make this a 2-sided quilt. I super-sized Lorna's adorable giraffe. One of the leaves is the label, with a space left blank for the baby's name.

 

When I saw the picture of Lorna's design, I told her it reminded me of my favorite view of giraffes on safari. They are so funny and beautiful!

Heidi is a beautiful mom-to-be. Mark is ready to go with his new burp cloths.

Great Grandma crocheted a beautiful baby blanket. Mollie is thinking, "Hey, that looks just like mine!"

 

They had a surprise for us, too! Great Grandma cut into the gender reveal cake to find she'll be 6 for 6 with girls. No great grandsons yet.

 

So there you have it. Washed in Ivory Snow, all crinkly and soft.

 

Elephant Parade

 Started 4/9/15

Completed 4/16/15

43 X 52" (after washing)

Designed by Lorna McMahon of Sew Fresh Quilts

Friday Catch Up

Has it really been two weeks since I've posted? It's easy to fall off the blogging grid when Instagram is so quick and easy. My apologies to those of you who follow along here, but not there.

I've been quite busy, stitching up a storm! I'll give you a sneaky peak of the two quilts that will be gifted tomorrow. Many more pics coming soon!

The wedding ring star for my nephew and his wife is done and it is massive!

The same couple is having a baby in July, and their baby quilt is done, too! Stay tuned for more, including a tutorial for free motion embroidery on a Featherweight.

I always like to do something extra for baby showers. This time, I made burp cloths using this tutorial on Made. I've been wanting to try them for a while, but couldn't find terry cloth that I liked. One day strolling through JoAnn's, the baby terry caught my eye. The gray chevron flannel matches the sheets on the baby registry. I strongly recommend pre-washing both fabrics as the flannel shrinks like crazy. They are super soft and cuddly. It's a good day when I remember to add my labels!

This week, I've been working on the center medallion for a guild raffle quilt. Since it was my bright idea to put a mariner's compass in the center, it was only fair that I should piece it. 

Julia was home last weekend to attend the ROTC military ball with boyfriend, Fred. She lucked out and found the dress for $19 at Marshall's. It took longer to find the shoes ($59). Not my best hemming job (somehow the lining was 1" too short) but it works. Her best friends did her hair, makeup and nails while I was at a quilt class. (FTW) They are a great couple and so happy together!

Yes, I did take that job. I will be training as a dental assistant, working two days a week. I spent way too much money at the uniform shop, but I love my fancy new scrubs. I'm going to try sneakers for a while. I'm not ready for Dansko clogs just yet. Yes, I'll probably start making my own scrub tops soon!

OK! That's all for now. It's time to get ready for a fun family weekend packed with a concert, baby shower, and first communion. Can we squeeze in a quick birding hike?

Baby Bricks I

Another UFO to add to the pile. I can't stop piecing lately. I'm actually digging in my bins to look for stuff to piece. Feeding two pieces of fabric under the presser foot is my happy place.

I don't know what this pattern is called or where I saw it (online or in person). It looks a little bit like a zipper, but that's a different pattern. If you know who designed this, please let me know.

It is really simple to piece. You just need bricks and squares. My bricks are 2" X 3.5" so the squares are 3.5".

This project goes a lot faster if you already have a pile of bricks. Several years ago, I chopped up my novelty stash into bricks, squares, and strips.

When you clean up, if you find two more piles of bricks that fell onto the chair, you'll just have to piece another quilt!

What will Tina piece today?