{Blogger's Quilt Festival:Fall 2012 Edition}

It's {Quilt Market} time which also means it's time for the {Blogger's Quilt Festival} hosted by {Amy's Creative Side}. My entry for this quilt festival is the SWOON quilt I made as a 75th birthday quilt for a very special family member.

I fell in love with the SWOON quilt pattern and ordered it from Thimble Blosssoms. I wasn't sure who I would make be making it for but decided to use a fat quarter of Chrysalis by Sanae for Moda that I had purchased a few month earlier. 

I made my first block in October of 2011. I hadn't been quilting for very long at that point in time and this was the most difficult quilt block I had attempted. I gathered all my material, carefully cut out the pieces for the first block and started sewing.  I used a Singer machine that I bought for my daughter when she was in Junior High School. The only presser foot was the one attached to the machine and even though I thought I was sewing a 1/4" seam it seems I was a bit off. The finished block was supposed to be 24" and mine finished at 23". Oops. I figured as long as I was consistent in my inaccurate seaming, all the blocks would end up the same size and my finished quilt would be a little smaller than the pattern stated.

 I ended up sewing two more blocks between October and December 2011. All of them finishing up at 23". Great. 

Fast forward to January 2012......I purchased a new Singer machine specially designed for quilters. It came with a huge selection of presser feet, the most important being a 1/4" foot. Excellent. Now I'll be sewing accurate 1/4" seams. I had set aside the SWOON blocks and busied myself with making a few other quilts. Once I realized the SWOON blocks would make a great quilt for an upcoming birthday celebration, I pulled out all the fabric, cut another block out and started sewing with my new machine. This block ended up being my favorite.

And, yes, this block finished at 24". A whole inch bigger than the three other blocks. There was no way to make this work with the other three blocks so I had to pull out the old machine and make another block with my familiar inaccurate seaming. So, after a little agonizing and aggravation she was done. 

This quilt was quilted by Melissa at {Sew Shabby Quilting}. I picked out an allover pattern of loops and butterflies, which fit perfectly with the butterfly theme of the fabrics. Melissa had her done and back to me in little more than a week. I was so happy with how this turned out. She finished at 53x53 and was delivered to her new home in September of 2012. 

Thanks for peeking at my {Blogger's Quilt Festival} entry. I'm really enjoying this quilting journey. Click  over to see the beautiful entries from the quilting community.

                                                     CLICK HERE

{Flying Geese}

I know it's probably just me, but making an accurate {Flying Geese} unit is a pain in the arse. Just sayin'....

{Project 365+1: Week 42}

{A Thought for Today}

You aren't wealthy until you have something money can't buy. ~ Garth Brooks

{I L.O.V.E. My UPS Dude's Special Deliveries}

From where I sit at my desk I'm able to see when the brown UPS truck pulls up. Most days the delivery is for a neighbor or my husband. (He likes to buy drum related stuff or CD's from Amazon) Today...(claps hands excitedly) the delivery was for me. I knew it was coming but was excited anyway. The box was from {Fat Quarter Shop} and inside was the long-awaited {Flower Girl} quilt kit. 

I ordered the kit the day it was released. As soon as I saw the pattern, which I wrote about HERE back in July, I knew I wanted to make this quilt. What was even better was that a kit was being offered with Bonnie & Camille's newest fabric line {Marmalade}. I love their fabrics, each and every one of their collections. The orange.... I just love it. 


Photo by Camille Roskelley

Now, this quilt will be added to my ever growing list of quilt projects. The problem is deciding which to work on first.

{Project 365+1: Week 41}

{Mystery Block of the Month: Month 3}

August's block, aka block #3, is called {Weather Vane} and was designed by {Me & My Sister Designs}.

I really love the {Vintage Modern} fabric line by {Bonnie & Camille}.

Yes, I know it's October and I'm only just getting around to August's block. There's just not enough time in a day to do everything I'd like to. So, slowly I get myself caught up.

I cut the pieces out one evening while I was watching TV.  {Downton Abbey} is my viewing choice while sewing.  OMG, have you noticed the beautiful clothes all the women wear? Some of Mary's dresses are breathtaking. I can't wait for January 6 to come around. Season 3 begins in the US and I will be watching. Anyway, I sat down yesterday to sew the block. It wasn't difficult but I do seem to have a problem with flying geese units. They usually end up too small by a little bit. I'll have to try and sew more to the corner side of the drawn line on the next block and see how that works. 

{Project 365+1: Week 40}

{A Thought for Today}

Don't look back unless you are planning to go that way. ~ Henry David Thoreau

{SWOON is Complete}

Finished her up tonight. Bound, washed and quilt label attached. Tomorrow she goes to her new home.

{Chrysalis SWOON Quilt}

I'm so excited! Ann's SWOON quilt just came back from the quilter yesterday and I love it! The fabric used is {Chrysalis} by Sanae for Moda.

 The colors are so pretty and the fabric patterns are wonderful. The theme throughout is butterflies so I chose an all over "flutter byes" pattern for the quilting.

I sent this quilt out to a new quilter. Her name is Melissa from {Sew Shabby Quilting}. I read about her over at {Diary of a Quilter} blog and figured Amy Smart wouldn't steer me wrong. Melissa's shop is in Utah and she prides herself in a quick turnaround time. I package up the quilt and backing and mailed it off. One week later the quilt was on it's way back to me.


I'm always excited when a quilt comes back. I couldn't wait for a free moment to tear open the box and get a look. I'm so happy with the results! Melissa quilted the butterfly pattern and chose an ecru thread to match the quilt top. It was a perfect choice. She did a beautiful quilting job and I can't wait to see it finished. Tonight I'm making the binding and I hope to have it finished by the weeks end. More photos to follow........