All posts by mymommycrafts

Baby Loudermilk’s Lady Bug Quilt

Quilts, Sewing, Sewing Crafts Posts

Some how I found the time to finish the ladybug baby quilt that I began so long ago for my second child.  It has been very hard to not only find the time to quilt/sew, but also been a little uncomfortable sitting at my machine for hours at a time while being pregnant.  Now that I have finished her quilt, I am ok with her showing her face to the world now.

Here is a recap of what I have used on this quilt:

Fabric used was a collection of fabrics called Caravan Roundup by MaryJane Butters for Moda

  • Backing Fabric and some Ladybug backs: Caravan Roundup Rodeo Sweetheart Gypsy Sisters
  • Ladybug backs: Caravan Roundup Rodeo Sweetheart Cowgirl Territory
  • Heads and underbellies of Ladybugs: Caravan Roundup Adventure Rodeo Dance the polka
  • White Ladybug background squares: Caravan Roundup Adventure Cowgirl Territory
  • Green Ladybug background squares: Caravan Roundup Tandem Campground Do Si Do
  • Blue Border: Caravan Roundup Big Sky Campground Do Si Do

I used coordinating Gütermann  100% polyester thread.  This thread seems to work really well in my machine and it holds up really well.  In the end I also ended up using 3.5 yards of Fusible interfacing for all the appliquéd ladybugs.

What I learned from this quilt:

  • I like using the Bernina Stitch Regulator “plugged in” that is.  I tried it for 99% of the quilt not plugged in, so the foot just acted like a regular quilting/free motion foot.  I wanted to try this to see if I got better results and to see if I could control my stitches.  I can, but I will need a lot more practice.  The BSR plugged into my machine works better for a beginner like me.  Either way, I had fun with swirls and random feather like patterns in the border, just for fun.  I outlined each of the ladybugs and free motioned their antennae’s.  Since it is not perfect, it is what I call “rustic”.  I love it.
  • Each Lady bug was ironed on with fusible interfacing, then each square was sewn together.  Then I used the blanket stitch from my machine to go around each ladybug.  The only thing that I would change, is that next time,  I would do the blanket stitch around each ladybug before putting the entire quilt top together.  It created a lot of extra bulk when I was trying to turn and go around each ladybug.
  • I loved using my walking foot for this project.  It really helps to keep all the fabric together with out puckering or bunching.
  • For this ladybug quilt, I used coordinating threads for the top of the project and a perfect match coordinating thread for the bottom of the quilt.  I am glad that I did this, instead of using a crazy color combination.  It helped hide all the imperfections.

My last step is going to be a quilt label for the back of the quilt.  I think I am going to wait till we move to complete this step.  I think for this quilt label I want to put my child’s name on the quilt along with my name and a finished on date.  However, due to the fact that she is not here yet, I’m not 100% on a name, and we are not telling anyone her name before she arrives, this will have to wait until a later date.

 

 

 

 

Panel Quilt

Uncategorized

I officially have a new nephew.  Somehow I managed to make a cute panel quilt for him between finishing the my master bedroom quilt and starting on my next project for my new baby girl.  I went to craft warehouse and fell in love with a really cute panel.  The panel has bears fishing.  I love the colors too; greens, browns and reds(very boyish).

I first bought the panel and some coordinating fabric for a border.  When I got it all home and looked at it, I decided that I would need to make it bigger.  I then went back to craft warehouse a week later and found a fat quarter bundle of coordinating fabrics.

I first bordered the panel in a red and black checkered fabric.  I then decided to cut each of the fat quarters in half and sew them lengthwise around two sides of the panel.  I set up a pattern with the fabrics and rotated them around.  I think it came out great.  I then used the leftover scraps for the binding.  The backing is a really nice green cuddle fabric.

The top is cute and fun, just fitting for a two year old boy, and the back so cozy and soft.

I decided not to quilt too much of this quilt for a couple of reasons.  First cuddle fabric is not the easiest to work with, as it can pucker very easily.  The second reason is I wanted to make sure that the quilt was going to be soft and not too stiff.

For the quilt label on this quilt, I used the lettering feature on my machine.  I usually embroider the label, but I wanted it small and not so large.  After all, this is a small quilt for a child.  I also hand stitched the label on to the back of the quilt.  I think it looks really good.

 

 

 

Master Bedroom Quilt- A finished project

Uncategorized

Here is my finished quilt for my bed.  It is a king size quilt, and boy am I glad that it is finished.

   

It was very difficult to quilt this beast on my domestic machine, but I managed.  I decided only to quilt in the ditch and I am glad that I did.  This quilt was just too big and heavy to manage any other way.

On my last post I was just about ready to start putting together this quilt top.  I inserted a plain gray square between each sixteen patch block.  I then put this quilt top together in stages.  I assembled a bunch of larger 9 patch blocks then I put them together in rows and stitched the rows together.  Once everything was assembled I managed to put the quilt on my bed, that way I could make sure that it actually fit.  I also did this so that I could decide if I needed to add any borders.  After placing the quilt on the bed, I decided that borders were not needed.

I then pin basted my quilt on my living room floor.  I found a lot of good tips online for trying to baste this large of a quilt.  Some people mentioned that they tape or pin theirs to the carpet.  I decided I would give it a try.  Since this method worked very well for this large of a quilt, I decided that this would be how I now pin baste all my quilts regardless of size.

I then proceeded to quilt this quilt.  I decided to take it slow, use my walking foot and stitch in the ditch.  It worked out very well.

Now that my quilt for my bedroom is finished, I can now begin my quilt for my new baby girl that is due in January.

Master Bedroom Quilt

Quilts, Sewing Crafts Posts, Uncategorized

I have managed to finally get all of my sixteen patch blocks sewn together for this quilt.  It began with two jelly rolls.

Kona Cotton’s  “Pool Party Palette” Jelly Roll and the “For You” Jelly Roll by Zen Chic

              

I then took some time to lay out all of the strips.  I selected two strips from each jelly roll to make one stack.  I selected my colors carefully so that each stack of 4 had one light blue strip and one dark blue strip.  My goal is to have the light blue run on the diagonal from left to right and then the dark blue run on the diagonal from right to left.  This way each sixteen patch block would essentially have an “X” of the Pool Party Kona blues running through it.

I then had to spend a little more time planning.  Before I could sew these strips together I had to combine each of the stacks of 4 strips with 3 more stacks of 4 strips.

I then decided that it would be easier to create an excel spreadsheet as a guide.

Once I created my guide, I began sewing the strips together.

I labeled each set: A1, A2, A3, A4, B1, B2,B3….E4

Now that all the strips were together it was time to cut them all into 2.5″ strips.  Making sure to keep everything labeled was essential.

 

It was time to put the sixteen patch blocks together.  I made sure to keep the excel guide handy.  I then worked hard at making sure that all my seams were quarter inch and that all the seams nested, so that all the square points would come together.

Here is my finished five piles of the sixteen patch blocks.

Each stack has 17 completed blocks, which means I have a total of 85 completed blocks. Since this quilt is for my bedroom and I have a king size bed, 85 blocks will be just enough to get it large enough to fit.  My next step is going to be to cut 8.5″ squares out of a coordinating grey fabric.  The grey will go between each of the colorful sixteen patch blocks.