Mood Board: Missy's Tea Party

Today our neighborhood is slightly cloudy and warm. The fruit trees are starting to bud out and the grass is freshly mown. I visited Hawthorne Threads this morning to see what's new. Window shopping is good for my soul.

Inspiration Print: Hello Gorgeous by Iza Pearl Design for Windham Fabrics

Inspired by this print, I started picking out sweet pinks, dusty aquas, and springy yellow-greens. A touch of black dresses it up for a proper tea party. Come on over, Missy is waiting for you.  : )

1) Sketch in Kiss, Timeless Treasures
2) Stripe in Olive, Little Folks by Anna Maria Horner
3) Mercer Dot in Pink, Mecca for Moderns, Alexander Henry
4) Tiny Houndstooth in Black, Michael Miller
5) Designer Solids in Light Jade, Free Spirit
6) Gingham in Pink, The Simple Life by Tasha Noel
7) Pointelle in Celeste, Urban Mod, Art Gallery
8) Sprout in Petal, Madrona Road by Violet Craft
9) Stitch Square in Mint, Michael Miller
10) Piper Zig Zag in Yellow, Dear Stella
11) Mountainz in Mint, Monsterz by Michele Brummer Everett
12) Heath in Black, Alexander Henry
13) Designer Solids in Spark Gold, Free Spirit
14) Acorn Chain in Pond, Modern Meadow by Joel Dewberry
15) Eyelet in Pink, Flea Market Fancy by Denyse Schmidt

xx A

Quilting the Stargazer Quilt

(top view)

(back view)

After finishing the baby quilt last week, I was feeling a little guilty that my son's quilt (using the same pattern) was not done yet. It needed to be quilted and I decided to practice my swirls. It is getting easier, and I found pockets where I would get into a good groove. Then I would get stuck. I used the needle down function so I could stop and figure out where to go next. At one point, I sewed right over a basting pin that I didn't see and broke my needle. Whoops! Let's not do that again.

I really like the swirls, it has a rhythm to it that is more enjoyable than straight line quilting. Also, I think it adds a whimsical, dreamy quality to these stars. A hidden benefit is the workout it gave my arms. Quilting... oh yeah, feel the burn!

Sunday Review 12

Little bits of awesome I came across this week. Grab a cup of coffee (or tea) and enjoy!

Inspiration Don't miss this lovely interview with Anna Maria Horner on the Alabama Chanin blog. These two artists were meant to collaborate!

Tutorial My friend Kristy has a great tutorial (and giveaway!) on her blog, St. Louis Folk Victorian. It's called the Tipsy Triangle and it's wonky -meets- square in square -meets- half square triangle. Very clever! It's charm pack friendly and it has a fun modern aesthetic. I love her version using Glimma by Lotta Jansdotter and I'm already looking through my stash for something else that might work. The giveaway ends March 26th, that's Tuesday!

Tools Deal Alert! Clover Wonder Clips are on sale on Amazon, 44% off the 50 pack. I especially love using these for binding quilts.

Swap Are you up for a swap? I jumped at the chance to be part of Tammie's Denyse Schmidt Charm Swap.  There are still spots open if you want to join us.

Smile This goes out to my friends still dealing with snow. I hope the sun shines for you today!  : )

Baby Stargazer Quilt

A new quilt for a new baby, born just last week. Vibrant, sunny colors and graphic, happy stars. Quilted, bound and ready for snuggles. Welcome to the world, baby H!!  : )

This is the baby size from my Stargazer block tutorial and it measures 36"x48".

Madrona Road Bag Challenge

Bay Area Modern had a bag challenge using Madrona Road by Violet Craft for Michael Miller.  I had the hardest time deciding what to make until I pulled out all of the fabric from my stash onto my worktable and started to play.  

via Instagram

Right away I smiled when I saw a big piece of the donkey print still in tact. Yay! I had been fussy cutting this for an earlier project and there wasn't much left.  When I folded it to size, I realized it would make a really cute zipper pouch.  

For the other side of my bag, I picked out several scrappy strips to piece together.  I liked the strips as is and I didn't trim them down, or straighten up their sides.  

I love the texture of straight line quilting so I added lots of random lines all over each side before sewing the pouch together.  It  measures 5.5" x 10.5" and it's perfect for carrying a small notebook, pens and pencils for sketching.

South Bay Area MQG Tote Swap

The March meeting at the South Bay Area MQG meant it was tote swap time!! We signed up earlier in the year and were assigned secret partners and a list of likes and dislikes.

My secret partner, Susy, is always a joy to visit with. She brings a smile to my face every time.  Susy loves many things, but I concentrated on her love of bright colors, the sea and Malka Dubrawsky.  

This is what I came up with. I arranged the fabric in stripes to let the design and colors do the talking. Then, I quilted the heck out of it.  

Add a bold blue interior and a sassy flower and we're good to go.

On the flip side, I received two gorgeous bags from Pat.  

My tote came with it's own carrying pouch. Dots? Stripes? Orange? Aqua?!? Yup, she did good.  Real good! : D This was such a fun activity. I highly recommend you swap totes with your sewing friends.

Sleeping Beauty Swoon Bag

I made this for my friend Colleen to use as a quilting project bag.  I don't know if the picture actually gives you a sense of the size... it's big!  Colleen loves patchwork, linen, and most especially Heather Ross fabric.  She's also a hand quilter and often brings a project to work on at our guild meeting/sew days.

To make this bag, I resized a Swoon block (pattern by Camille Roskelley) to fit the fussy cut sleeping beauty.  The outer fabric is a mix of Far, Far Away II by Heather Ross, Echino dots and natural linen.  It's lined with the faux patchwork print from Heather's most recent line, Nursery Versery. I used fusible batting to give it some structure and quilted along each of the seams.

I had so much fun making this and it was the perfect excuse to cut into my precious HR stash.  If anyone would love it as much as I do, it would be Colleen!  ; )

Sunday Review 11

Little bits of awesome I came across this week. Grab a cup of coffee (or tea) and enjoy!

Wishlist Silk Scarf by Leah Duncan
Soft, crisp, modern and the perfect mix of colors. I want one.

Quilt Love I made the quilt above, called Happy Blocks almost three years ago and it was the most viewed post on my blog this week. That is so crazy and fun to see! : )

New Book Kaffe Fasset Quilt Shots and Stripes
STC craft posted the candid photos on their Facebook wall awhile back. I think it was even before the granny square quilt phenomenon. Anyways, I was so intrigued  by the quilt in the background, I printed it out for inspiration. Now we can see it again on the cover of Kaffe Fasset's new book. Yup, I still love it.
Book Cover, Preview, Candid 1, Candid 2

Art Inspiration Rise and Shine Print by illustrator Katie Daisy
I am NOT a morning person. But if I hung this in my bedroom, I could be.

Music Party Jams by Gwyneth Paltrow (and others)
This is very random. I fell down a rabbit hole on the internet and ended up on goop.com reading about Gwyneth Paltrow's Oscar dress regrets. That was followed by this post of music playlists. I'm happy because I love music even more than dresses! In my head I'm already rocking out to Guy Oseary's list. Call me a child of the 80's. I can take it.

Fabric Scrumptious by Bonnie and Camille
Both Bonnie and Camille shared sneak peeks of their upcoming fall line for Moda. The colors are so fresh. If you look closely there is a perfect striped orange binding hiding in the middle. I can't wait!

Happy Sunday,
-Adrianne