Category Archives: Sewing Crafts Posts

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.

 

 

 

 

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.

Bernina Block of the Month#2

Quilts, Sewing, Sewing Crafts Posts,

It has been a few days since the Second Bernina Block of the Month(BOM) came out, and I finally finished it today.  Since I am buying my fabric as I go, it has taken me a while to find anything that I like.  I am roughly using their color suggestions.  I am trying to use my scraps and buy new ones along the way.

This month they called this the Shoofly block. It uses squares and half square triangles to make a simple 9 patch block.  I found myself at Craft Warehouse yesterday looking over their truckload sale.  I originally went in thinking that I would purchase 3 gray fat quarters, 1 blue fat quarter, and 1 yellow fat quarter.  I found some beautiful fat quarters, but soon realized that I was going to spend twice as much and get less fabric than if I bought a quarter yard of each fabric.  So I reluctantly put back the beautiful fat quarters and searched for a yellow, gray and blue fabric that I liked.  After a half hour of searching, I came up with the following fabrics.

When I got home, I put Abigail down for a nap, and began cutting the fabric into the needed squares for this month’s BOM.  I got all of my squares cut, then began cutting the larger squares into half square triangles.  I was not watching what I was doing, and on the last square I messed up cutting the triangle properly.  The worst part was that I did not have any extra fabric to just cut another triangle.  I guess that is the risk I take when I do not buy extra fabric and only buy what is needed.

I then began assembling the triangles last night.  Some how I managed to use the messed up triangle.  When I messed up the cutting, I managed to cut it in a way that still left me with a little bit of room to make my quarter inch seam.  Before I get too far on this quilt I may think about seeing if there is a product out there to secure that seam.  Whether I use some sort of iron on fusible webbing or a glue of sorts that will not let the seam fray.

This morning I put the three blocks together per the instructions and this is what I ended up with.

Quilt Labels

Quilts, Sewing, Sewing Crafts Posts

I got brave and decided to finally work on labeling my quilts.  Since my machine came with an embroidery attachment, I decided that it would be fun to use it on my quilt labels.  Right now I decided that I will just put my name and the date that the quilt was finished.  Later on, I can get more creative and add more wording.