Bloggers Quilt Festival :: Willow Baby Quilt :: { Finished! }

It's finally done! Well, technically it was done almost 2 months ago, but let's not get bogged down with semantics.

I made this quilt for my sister-in-law, Katie, who was having her first baby, a boy...now named Simon. I sent her over to Hawthorne Threads and she made me a long list of her favorite fabrics. Willow by Alexander Henry was on there, so I ordered a fat quarter bundle to simplify things. Then I popped over to All People Quilt and looked up some patterns. I ended up settling on the Fresh 4 Patch Table Topper. The quilt ends up at about 50" square, which is a great size for his crib or just hanging around the house. I'm really pleased with how it turned out and so was mom.

Here it is! A big thanks to my mom and her weary arms for holding this up while I played photographer.

Close up! That upper left square is just my favorite in the entire thing! It's like a little path leading into the quilt, inviting you into a cute little cottage.

My first pieced backing! I've made a couple of smaller baby quilts before, so this was my first time having to create a larger backing. I thought it would be fun to include a sampling of prints from the front.
You can also see all the straight-line quilting really well here. I outlined each square and border with 1/4" seams on either side. It's the most detailed quilting I've done and took a few hours, but it was worth it.

I love how this strip turned out!

I got one of those fancy dancy fabric pens and made this my signature block. I've been very bad about not doing those, so this was a nice and easy way to do it. Now that we're sure about his name, I have to go back and fill it in.

Here's mom at the shower! She was so pleased and surprised by the fabric I chose and what I did with it. She said it will make the perfect crib blanket for him because she didn't like any other bedding she has seen. I won't lie, I always enjoy the whole "wait, no way, you made that?!" chatter that ensues after someone opens my handmade gifts. I'm surrounded by creatives, but absolutely none of them sew. The additional praise suits me just fine :)

Check me out!

Jackie over at Sweetie Pie Pumpkin Noodle is doing a Vanity Week featuring fabulous vanity displays and today she featured little old me! Run, don't walk, to go check it out!

Giveaway :: Win a { Raygan Wristlet Clutch }

Hello fans and friends! Jemma Coleman Photography, a Palm Beach Wedding Photographer is offering a week of prizes and giveaways on her brand spankin' new blog and website!



The awesome giveaways are going on RIGHT NOW and today you have the opportunity to win one of my Raygan Wristlet clutches! How cool is that? Better hurry on over and make a comment for your chance to win! You have until 3pm Thursday to enter.

Heather Ross :: Giveaway Winner!

Let's start with the most important thing here: I love Aneela Hoey and she now officially has a special place in my heart. She had a fun Heather Ross scraps giveaway on her super cute blog Comfort Stitching and I won! Of all things to win, this would be it...except maybe a Go! Cutter, but I digress.

Look at all this amazing loot! This is way better than buying yardage because I ended up with some uber rare prints that I've only ever dreamed about! Gnomes and bicycles and mermaids, oh my!

I tore into the package immediately and didn't even wait to get back to the house. As I flipped through the pile, each one got better and better. The best part was, the elusive little gnomes I've been eyeing were right on the very top. I may have squealed and I definitely jumped up and down with delight.

Just look at all the bicycles! My heart exploded when I saw so many of them.

And oddly enough, even with all the Heather Ross goodness, this was one of my fave scraps in the whole pile. So cute and whimsical and right up my alley. I think I might frame it for the sewing room. Cute story to go along with it: I had all these scraps as a shrine/display on our dresser. One morning my hubs walks by, glances at the stack and says "I like this giraffe one." So cute!

Any idea where/what this print is???

So here's the question for all you professionals: what the heck do I do with all these scraps???
I'm thinking Heather Ross tribute quilt, but what style.......