Mod Sampler Quilt Finished!

Woohoo! I've finished another quilt! This time it is the quilt that I was making as part of the Mod Sampler Quilt along hosted by Oh Fransson! It was my first quilt along, online or in person, and it was so enlightening to see the same pattern made soooo many different ways with different fabrics. Thankfully I still like mine ;) but there are definitely some other versions out there that I really like as well.



I used an all over meandering stipple pattern for the quilting. That's what was recommended and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. It was the first time that I used that technique on a large scale like this. So I'm sure that I will get better and better at it.

I also used linen for the first time as part of the quilt. I really loved how the linen looked quilted. The thread blended in beautifully and the texture of the linen adds a detail that you can't get with a flat cotton.



This quilt also had a pieced back. I love pieced backs on quilts! It makes it more like two quilts in one really. I deliberated entirely too long on the fabrics used for the back, but in the end I think that it was worth it. The main fabric is part of the Lush line by Moda and I was lucky to find any! Add a couple of Joel Dewberry prints for the other part of the backing and the binding and I was set.



My husband thinks that the Lush fabric looks like camouflage! LOL In a way, he is right. That fits right in with the theme of the overall fabric line. Good eye Mike!



You can click on the link in the side bar to see more quilts done in this pattern.

More Online Fun

I've decided to participate in the Online Blogger's Quilt Festival being hosted by Amy over at Park City Girl





This is great because I have no idea if I will ever be able to participate in a live quilt festival. So this is a great way to get started. The only problem is that I am supposed to pick out my favorite quilt! How can a girl do that?! Each one is a labor of love and I learn something new every time I put a new combination of fabrics together in a different pattern.

But one of the most important quilts to me is probably the wall hanging that I made for my Dad last year.



I'm very close to my Dad and I take after him in a lot of ways. He's a math and science genius and I've come by my love of math quite naturally. He's always excited to see applications of mathematics visually, so I searched for a pattern that would represent a little bit of this. I have so many other versions that I want to try out (classic quilting problem...so many quilts...so little time) but ultimately I decided on what is both a classic quilt pattern and a great geometric visual.

This quilt, Cubed, is a combination of variations of the classic tumbling block. I love how the cubes have slices missing from them or seem to be facing a certain way. There is so much motion, yet everything appears suspended.



This was my first time attempting the tumbling block and in classic me fashion I did it in the most difficult way I could find. :) A little tedious, but I honestly loved how challenging the piecing was for this. The whole quilt is made up of pieced hexagons, another great shape to have in the quilt.



This quilt also gave me a chance to practice my free motion and straight line quilting. I used the leaf pattern of the batik as a loose pattern to follow, a technique that I've grown to love.



This quilt is displayed in my father's office at school and I have many people who've told me that they see it every time that they visit him. He had it up and on the wall at school the next day. I hope to someday have a whole collection of little quilts hanging in his office...all math related of course!

Home Sewn

Lately I've been trying to branch out a bit from just making quilts. I love quilts, but sometimes they just take too long! I need a little bit of immediate gratification from smaller projects. I had a friend contact me about sewing some placemats and napkins for her and I've been wanting to make some dishtowels. So I found myself sewing some home projects. Thankfully I was pretty happy with how everything turned out. In fact I want to make some napkins for myself!

The napkins are 100% cotton and a nice generous size. I've made napkins before and not made them large enough. I like a nice large napkin.



I used a pretty Amy Butler print for the placemats and ended up making them double sided with a green and white ticking stripe on the back. The have batting on the inside to make them nice and sturdy.



Later, I worked on these dishtowels. I had a lot of fun working on different fabric and color schemes. I have lots of other fabrics that I want to try, so I will be making more of these in the future. These are small dishtowels, sized at hand towel size. But I think that these would be great especially for parents looking for "help" from little hands.







I have lots more pictures of the dishtowels in my Etsy shop because these dishtowels are for sale! Although they keep calling my name. I need to make some for me! :)

Oh and I also posted that I'm participating in the "Spring to Finish" motivation being encouraged by Jacquie over at Tallgrass Prairie Studio. I have a whole bunch of things that I am trying to finish, so I thought that I would join in on her fun.
My list of projects that I want to tackle:
-my dishtowels (yeah finished!)
-my quilt for the mod sampler quilt along
-coin quilt
-lap quilt for guest bedroom
-find or make a great skirt pattern for summer skirts
-keep my fabric organized (oh so much yummy fabric and so much more out there!)
-figure out use for a collection of wonky log cabin blocks I made a year ago
-my row for the Row Robin quilt swap (yeah done!)
-more dishtowels...
-find a cute purse pattern
-make a bib pattern
-be more realistic in my sewing goals! LOL

Keep on Stitching

I've been hard at work the last week trying to get some sewing done. I got a little bit behind with all the work it took to set up this site. And I'm still learning how to manage my time, but I'll figure out how to multi-task. I have a few projects to share with you today.

First off is a little wall hanging that I made for my mom. I purchased the center panel with the fish over Christmas because I thought she would like it and it took me forever to figure out what to do with it. For the longest time I was thinking of doing a square border around the whole thing, but my mom doesn't like circles or squares at all in quilting. Ironically those are the very things that made me interested in quilting in the first place.



I did some curved piecing and rough edge applique pretty much for the first time for the upper and lower borders of this quilt. I also got to practice a bunch of different types of free motion quilting.





Overall, I was really pleased with it. It's nice when something turns out. Unlike the potholders I tried to make today. Grrr...


I also worked on my row for the row robin quilt swap. This month's row is for Bobbi's quilt. Her design inspiration is modern quilt patterns with blues and greens. I decided to do wonky log cabins for this row.



I've been wanting to do some and it enabled me to search through my scraps (Bobbi encouraged that). I had a hard time at first liking the blocks because I am used to parallel lines (there's my math background). But once I figured out the right layout for the blocks, I was really happy with the row. I hope that Bobbi likes it. She's the one who has to live with it!





As I mentioned before, I tried to make some potholders today. That didn't go as well as I would have liked. One is literally in the trash can now. I might be able to salvage the other one. I'll post pics if I do. I felt like my sewing mojo was off, so instead I decided to try another quilt. (slaps head...) Like I need another quilt project. But I had all these scraps out and I didn't feel like putting them away. So I'm going to make a Chinese Coin Quilt instead. Just a little one, but still. Yes, I'm nuts. It's official.

Oh and I got a wonderful package in the mail today filled with bunches of lovely fabric I ordered. They were massively on sale (hence the splurge) and I was so excited to see all of them!

The Emmeline Apron

 

The Emmeline Apron is another fun project that I've completed recently. This is a popular pattern found easily for purchase on sewliberated. I was enchanted by others' version of the pattern and happily ordered this pattern to make one of my very own. And I admit that I'm pretty pleased with my results. Of course, it's hard to go wrong with a sweet pattern and Amy Butler prints.

One of the perks and minuses of this pattern is that it is two sided. It's lovely because you get two aprons in one, but that's also what makes this pattern more difficult than your typical apron. The two sides don't really need to match at all, they just both need to match the fabric used for the ties and binding (the yellow polka dot on mine). So I picked two beautiful and different Amy Butler prints. They showcase beautifully on this pattern because you get to see so much of the fabric.

The pattern itself was pretty easy to follow. The biggest hiccup I had was attaching the ties. I had a mental block at that point. I found that was the moment that I needed the most pictures and that was where there were the least. But I persevered and finally figured it out. Normally this wouldn't be a hard part to a pattern, but this pattern was pretty difficult for me to follow at this step. Of course, maybe I was just having a bad moment. ;)

I read some other's reviews of this pattern before I tried it and wish that I had followed one person's recommendation in particular to make the ties around the neck into two pieces instead of the one continuous loop. I find that the neckline is a little long for me. I also wish that I had put interfacing in both pieces surrounding the bodice top. The pattern only calls for interfacing in one of them, but the other could really use it too.

This is such a pretty apron that sometimes I have to force myself to use it because I don't want to get it dirty! But then I have to remind myself that I can always make another one! Everyone who sees it loves it. I bet you would too.

Current Activities

I'm clearly still new at this, so bear with me while I learn all the ropes. But I have so much to share and so many things that I'm working or want to work on. I wake up thinking about what I'm going to sew today! At least I can laugh at myself.

I just want to catch you all up on what I'm currently in the process of working on. I'm participating in a couple of "group" activities. Both are completely new for me and I'm really enjoying the collaboration that comes with so many people working on the same project.

First of all, I'm involved in the Row Robin Quilt Swap hosted by Tab over at Enjoying Life's Journey. There were so many of us, that we ended up divided into 3 groups. But I really enjoy following all the groups' progress with their different rows. At this point everyone should have made and sent their own off to the next person, so I think that it may start to get really interesting soon. We'll see if everyone really does like what other people are making for them ;) So far, there are some wonderful rows, so I'm sure that it will turn out great! I hemmed and hawed over my row before finally deciding on a double wedding ring pattern.



I really love some of the fabrics in this, especially the little frogs. I'll be honest, I really love ALL the fabrics in this! It's always good to make something that you love.



I even made some log cabin blocks. I'll probably use these on the back now. I was trying to make them for my row, but it just wasn't working for me. But I really like them now with the wedding ring row.




Then, I decided to join the Mod Sampler quilt along that Oh, Fransson! is hosting on her site. I've never done a quilt a long before, so it's been fascinating to see the same pattern made by SO many people and it looks so different. It's been a bit of a struggle for me because the pattern is not one that I would normally do. I've really debated over the sashing fabric. I've finally decided on a linen blend for the sashing. I've wanted to work with linen for clean lines and texture, so I'm going to take this opportunity to do so! I'll use the pretty lemon fabric on the back. Now I just need to figure out what the main back fabric should be! Decisions, decisions!
Here's just a few of the blocks.




Oh, there is so much more to share. But I've got to start somewhere. So hopefully this piques your interest. ;)

Introducing my new blog Cut to Pieces!

Whew! Well I've made a lot of decisions to get to this point of starting a blog. I feel like it's been a little journey just to get to this point. I way over think things. But if I was going to do it, I wanted to do it respectably. So here I am, newbie sewing blogger. I want my blog to be a place to find great ideas, colorful photos and helpful advice; all the things that I see on so many of your blogs.

A little bit about me. My name is Angela and I'm living in the South after Katrina. Unfortunately for me, that means that there are no longer any good fabric stores around. So in my search online for great fabric, I discovered a world of artists creating with textiles. That has brought me to so many of you. I find myself now beginning a journal of my own discoveries and disasters. I have backgrounds in both mathematics and interior design, which is why it's not a huge stretch of the imagination that I love to quilt. It combines those two loves perfectly.

I look forward to sharing my adventures with you!