Finished Wedding Quilt

Just in time for "our first married" Christmas, I finished the guestbook quilt from our wedding.

I posted a few months ago about the first steps of creating this quilt.  Finishing it was the challenge - I was intimidated by the large size and the idea of maneuvering it around my sewing table and my small home machine.  The last few queen-sized quilts that I've made left me with sore arms and resolute that I would only make baby quilts from now on!

But I wasn't about to send this away to a long arm quilter - I had to finish it myself!  With patience, it came together just fine.  There were some sore arms, of course, but it was all worth it to spend so many hours lovingly stitching this together.  I think part of the difference was that I'm a more seasoned quilter now - I have a better grasp on how to approach a large project like this, and stronger free-motion quilting skills. Sometimes it's hard to notice this progress because it builds up incrementally with each project.  But then I pull off something like this and think, "wow, look what I can do!"

I even sewed the binding on by hand, which I wouldn't normally do on a quilt this large. But stitching the binding has long been my favorite part of the quilting process, and I wanted to take the time to do right by this quilt.

I love it.  It matches our bedroom perfectly, and is a wonderful reminder of the joy, coziness, and love that pervaded our wedding day.

Thanks to all of our friends and family who created squares to be a part of this quilt.  It is so special, and we'll treasure it forever.

Pastel Love Baby Quilt

This little cutie has been in my work-in-progress bin since the RI Modern Quilt Guild issued our jelly roll challenge back in...yikes...February!

This quilt was more of an experiment than anything - a way to push myself to try out some new free-motion quilting techniques.  But it turned out so cute and sweet that it's a perfect quilt for a new baby girl.  

This Pastel Love Baby Quilt is listed in my Etsy Shop.

Make it Modern Challenge Quilt

A few months ago, the Rhode Island Modern Quilt Guild issued a "make it modern" challenge.  Our task was to take something from traditional quilting and update it for the modern aesthetic.

Here's my project:

I updated flying geese with modern colors, a wonky layout, and some punchy sass. This was my first time trying a different kind of quilting - an overall pattern with a section where something different is going on: the little rebel goose who is flying away from the pack has her own trajectory of quilting lines.

My favorite part of this quilt: definitely the black and white fabric.  I love how it looks as a binding.  And I have more!

Connecting the Dots

I always relish an opportunity to make a connection between my "day job" and my creative work outside the office.  It feels good to not think of them as separate and mutually exclusive pursuits, but instead to see myself as a whole person with cohesive threads that run through all of the things I do.

I can be creative at an admin desk job!  I can be inspired by spreadsheets, databases, and press releases!

When a team of fantastic designers unveiled a special logo for my organization's 40th anniversary celebration, it screamed out to me: "Make me into a quilt!"

The modern colors, the triangles, the solids...it was made to be a modern quilt!

Here's the finished quilt, ready to be auctioned off at the event:

I quilted the logo (three connected H's) with straight lines, and the negative space with a swirly free-motion design.

Hidden among the swirls are cursive words that relate to our work - context, narratives, storytelling, democracy...they're like little hidden treasures.

  And, as I like to do, I used up all the scraps on the back.  No leftovers!

Happy House Quilt

Sometimes, I'm so excited to deliver a quilt that I completely forget to properly photograph it!

This quilt/wall hanging is for our friends Kelly and Nicole, to celebrate their recent wedding.  When Ian and I were married a few months ago, some of the most special gifts and cards we received were a play on our wedding invitation, so I wanted to do something like that for Kelly and Nicole.  

I appliquéd the buds on the invitation, and added a sweet little house to celebrate that they just settled in to a lovely new home together. These colors are so them - bright, joyful, and exuberant!

Congrats, Kelly and Nicole!

Monica's Quilt

I wrote a few months ago about how I came to realize during the wedding planning process that I needed to carve out the time to be in my studio - that it is essential to my process of recharging and reinvigorating myself.

So what better way to build it in to my life than to add quilting to the ginormous wedding to do list?

Sundays were my sacred day: no tea dates, grocery shopping, or even leaving the house.  Just wide open studio time, and countless episodes of Gossip Girl.

I made three quilts: two for my bridesmaids and one for our wonderful officiant.  It was such a natural way for me to express my gratitude to these wise, loving ladies who supported us all along the way.  When I give someone a quilt, it feels like I'm giving them a piece of my heart. It was the perfect way to take a step back, make space for reflection, and feel all of the love surrounding Ian and me.

Here's the first one: Monica's quilt.  

She is such a warm, optimistic, and passionate person - bright, sunny colors and patterns always make me think of her.

I had some fun with my new Angela Walters books - trying out some fun quilting patterns..loops, cobblestones, and connected boxes.

This quilt is the perfect size for curling up on the couch with a good book.

Just a simple large print on the back.

Monica is the creative genius behind Monicakes Bakery.  She was SO generous to make Monicakes as our wedding favors - a perfect and unique tasty treat for everyone!

Enjoy Monica!  I love you so much!

Madrona Road Challenge Quilt

A couple of months ago, the Modern Quilt Guild issued a challenge to its members: create a quilt using only the Madrona Road fabric line from Michael Miller, along with solid fabrics.  Here's my answer to the call:

I was inspired by one of the prints in the line to create a large herringbone design.  This is part of my attempt to make my quilt fronts more like my quilt backs...since my quilt backs are usually everyone's favorite!  I love the cleanness of how this design came out.

Here's the back - an improvised design using the leftover fabrics.  You might recognize the prints, since I used them in the tiny house quilt that I made a few weeks back for my brother and sister-in-law's housewarming gift.  I love how these colors go together!

This quilt gave me the opportunity to try out some of the new free-motion quilting designs from the books I got at Christmas.  I used pebbles in the sashing, and allover boxes for the rest of the quilt.  It was fun!

Thanks to my girlio Monica for helping out with this photo shoot!