A wedding quilt

My cousin Chelsea got married recently. Ok, it was two years ago but who's counting? 
I offered to make them a quilt with messages from their wedding guests. We had everyone sign a square of fabric instead of a guest book.

Photo credit:  Remember This Photos by Krista Horton

Photo credit:  Remember This Photos by Krista Horton

It was such a stylish shabby chic wedding. I mean, look at that gorgeous couple. Chelsea even made all the centerpieces and her own bouquet from paper and vintage-y things. Very cool.

Photo credit:  Remember This Photos by Krista Horton

 

Photo credit:  Remember This Photos by Krista Horton

Chelsea didn't really have colors, per se, but somehow we settled on the yellows/greens/blues. It's been so long I've forgotten some of the details. But she did help me pick out the fabrics a little. 

*note about the pens: I bought about 5 different "permanent fabric pens" and didn't like how any of them showed up on the fabric. Too light. Or too 'bleedy.' Or not smooth enough. Or hard to use, or whatever. In the end I went with good ol' sharpies. It's what my mom always used to write on my brothers' socks. And heaven knows those got washed a ton. I may have been all wrong, and maybe there's a "professional" wedding quilt maker out there who is cringing. So I guess this is my disclaimer! I'm not a pro. That's just what I used, in case anyone reads this and wonders!

 I planned to sew it together like a normal patchwork quilt, but some people wrote too close to the edges of the squares, leaving no room for seam allowances. I put a note on the sign-in table, but I suppose even adults can't always follow directions closely. *wink*



That's ok! I improvised and sewed all the squares to a large piece of white fabric so in the end it looked like sashing between the squares. The top sat finished for a long time, but I didn't know how to quilt it. It was too large for my dinky machine. And I knew that hand-quilting it would not give me the look I wanted.

 finished quilt top - before I quilted it.

Recently I lucked out and met a quilting friend who has a long arm machine and she said I could come borrow it. So that I did. On a Friday. And by Sunday I had the quilt bound and wrapped and ready to give to Seth and Chelsea. I was so excited for her to finally see it, just two days shy of her 2nd anniversary!

 

Normally I wash a quilt and put it in the dryer before gifting it (because I love the crinkled look), but this time I didnt. I think it will wash up great, though. Especially with some of the raw edges of the squares.

Simon tried it out. Seemed good.

There's light blue minky on the back so hopefully it will be extra snuggly. 

I told her please do not fold it up and store it away, but to use it and wash it and love it! It makes me sad when quilts don't get used. What else are they for?! Take it on a picnic! Snuggle with it during movies! Get it worn in and dirty and soft. :)

Ahhh. It feels so good to have this quilt finished and gifted.

And now blogged! 

check check check.

red & aqua

 
 
I am finally posting about this quilt I finished for my brother and his family. This was meant to be a Christmas gift but I didn't finish it until May - whoops! 



The awesome thing that made this quilt possible is that all the fabric for the top was provided from my sister-in-law Amanda's stash and I just did the sewing. She loves fabric like I do, so I told her to choose her very favorites from her shelves and I would surprise her with a quilt for their living room.

She pulled the reds and aquas and greys - mostly from Camille Roskelly's Bliss and Ruby lines. I did large pinwheels (starting with 10" squares) and used this handy method from my friend Marion. Made the half-square triangles go so much faster!



I put plush grey minky on the back and managed to quilt it myself on my little machine. I think this is about the largest size I can fit in that machine. I just did straight-line quilting along the squares. I think minimal quilting actually makes for a more cuddly quilt.




It wasn't meant to be a baby gift, but I finished it just days after their 6th baby was born. Cute little George. Heaven knows when you have a newborn, a lot of time is spent on the couch or bed snuggling/feedling/rocking so I think the quilt will come in handy.

 

 

I love the way it looks on their couch.

finished size, approx 50"x60" 

linking up:

for baby Rory

I have to share this quilt and a cool little story that goes along with it. 

It was a custom order for darling baby Rory. My friend (Rory's aunt) ordered this name blanket for her a few weeks ago:

Rory's mama (Sandy) loved it so much that a friend of hers ordered another blanket for her. So I did a coordinating minky quilt to go along with it. I love the color combo ... orange/grey/aqua/green! I love working with new fabric combos, I think that is what keeps sewing and quilting so fun.






I planned to put white on the back of the entire quilt. As I was sewing, one square accidentally got flipped. I noticed it as I got to the end of the row, and I *just about* unpicked it. 

But then I stood back and decided I really liked the way it looked - on both sides. Can you spot it in the photo below?
 

I had a feeling that Sandy (and Rory) would like it, too. Ruby told me I should change it, but I told her it was artsy. 

Also, I've heard that the Amish will often put a "humility block" in their quilts, or some sort of intentional mistake, just to remind themselves that only God is perfect. This could be folklore, but I like the idea.

So I finished the quilt and sent it off. When I heard from Sandy today, her first words were something like "the single blue square!!?? I am in love!!" And I explained that it was a happy accident. She was shocked. She thought that her friend had requested that blue square because she often calls the baby "Little Bleu" ... as a term of endearment. An inside detail that I didn't know, of course.

Sandy said she gasped when she saw that single blue square. I love it!
Makes me believe there can be divine intervention in all we do, even quilts. 

And - how often do we make seeming mistakes in life, only to find out later that they brought us happiness? Or an "oops" becomes a blessing. All things happen for a reason. 

Here's darling Baby Rory with her new quilt:

Thanks, Sandy, for letting me share this story and sweet baby Rory. Aha- a rhyme!



Interested in ordering a similar baby item?
I am currently doing only custom orders (too busy to make anything pre-made for the etsy shop!)
If you're interested in a SewSara item similar to these, please email me or contact me through my facebook page. 

xoxo!

Norabelle's Quilt

I just remembered that I never posted a photo of my niece's quilt here on the blog. She was born in November and we haven't even met her yet. Utah and Iowa need to be closer! A simple patchwork quilt just never gets old, in my book. I really just love the way they look and how easily they come together.

I almost always put minky on the back of my quilts now. it's just so cuddly!
I made THIS ONE for her sister. I think they coordinate nicely without being too "matchy."

Nesting Quilt

I was making my bed one day and decided I need a new quilt before the baby is born! That was a Thursday. I worked on it all weekend, and by Monday was ready to take it to be quilted. It's the largest - yet fastest - quilt I've made. I made the top completely from my stash. It's simply 12" squares - nothing complicated. I just needed something that would come together fast and easy. I picked out all the springy and bright fabrics. It measures approximately 92x92".

I figure when I get tired of having it on the bed, it will be a great picnic quilt or guest bed quilt.

A close-up of the quilting. I chose a 'bubble' pattern and I love it.

I knew I couldn't quilt this huge thing on my machine, but I was excited to find a quilter who had a one-week turnaround time! If you're in the area, I highly reccomend Sew Shabby Quilting!

For the back, I used a duvet cover from IKEA. Which means I also got two pillowcases - sweet! It's a pretty wild and colorful quilt, and I love it. I knew I wanted something to freshen up our room before bringing home the new baby. Let's be honest, that's where all the diaper changes and nursing sessions end up happening for the first few weeks/months.

I had a little helper (Simon) join me while I was taking the pictures. I couldn't resist getting a shot of those cute toes! Isn't it funny how adult feet are so ugly/repulsive yet baby/kid feet are the cutest things ever?

 You should see how many blankets and quilts I've made for Baby Sister ... it's starting to get out of hand. Yesterday I made 3 more. Well, two-and-a-half. Need to finish the last one today. I don't know what else to do while we wait! 10 days and counting now ...

Ruby's quilt (finished) and Go! Baby Giveaway!

I got Ruby's crazy quilt finished! I put pink dot minky on the back and did straight line quilting. I used some striped fabric from my stash for the binding (yay for stash-busting!). I hand stitched the binding on our way to Idaho. It was a 4-hour drive and I worked on it most of the way - wow!

I like the way the circles frayed after it was washed/dried.

the quilting looks cool on the back.

Goofy Ruby agreed (somewhat) to take a pic with her quilt.
My favorite name suggestions were Rubylicious and Ruby Cubes.
I suggested both of them to Ruby and, well, let's just say she's been a moody and opinionated 4-yr-old lately. She said "it doesn't need a name!" She's just been calling it "quilty." Ok, fine ...
I guess she should have a say in it. But I'll call it what I want here on the blog!

Then Max grabbed his quilt and wanted in on the photo action too. They were giggling so hard as I tried to get them to "smile normal!" Ha! Goofballs.

And here's the giveaway I promised.

You can win your own Go! Baby Fabric Cutter + 3 dies of your choice + cutting mat!


*this giveaway is now closed. Thank you!!

Simply leave a comment on this post if you'd like to win!

4 possible extra entries:

(leave separate comments)

• follow my blog with google friend connect (see side bar)
•  Like SewSara on facebook.
• Give me your favorite cookie/brownie recipe (or link to it)
• Add the giveaway button to your blog

<a href="http://sewsara.blogspot.com/2011/07/rubys-quilt-finished-and-go-baby.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w51/junetobermama/giveawaybutton.jpg" alt="SewSara" width="200" height="125" /></a>

*thanks to Accuquilt for sponsoring this giveaway!

This will remain open for ONE WEEK -- until Tuesday July 19th.



linking up: