Jelly Roll Jam :: Jordan’s Quilt

A sweet new munchkin was born in June and I am lucky enough to be his honorary (ornery?!?!) Great-Aunt.

I finally got the opportunity to make his baby quilt and try a pattern new to me made with jelly roll strips. This super easy, lovely quilt is a free pattern by Fat Quarter Shop called the Jelly Roll Jam and will make two baby quilts from a 40-piece jelly roll, plus yardage for backing and binding.

Wanting something with blues, I searched until I found “Charming” by Gerri Robinson for Riley Blake. I ordered from Jellyrollfabric.net and, once I received it and looked through the prints, ordered backing and binding yardage from Missouri Star Quilt Co. I love how masculine some of these prints are ... makes me think of cute boxer shorts and our oldest granddaughter said her Bampa’s neckties.

My Brother embroidery machine was recently serviced so I was able to use it for the quilt label, which I framed with scraps and then pieced into the backing.

And a tool I picked up at Joann’s that really helped me fly through this project is a magnetic seam guide. Very good purchase at a great low price.

This quilt goes together quickly and looks wonderful. Love it for a sweet baby gift. Jordan, I hope it brings you comfort and warmth ... it was made with so much love!

The 4th is With Us!

My darling Great-Nieces and Nephews are the reason I started quilting 6 years ago. Melody Rose received the first quilt I ever made in 2012. Two years later, I was a little more advanced and designed a quilt named Unsinkable for Molly Kae. Then came Thomas Maverick with an appliquéd Batman themed quilt. And now, the 4th is with us; Tucker Marcus inspired this fun Star Wars quilt.

I’m an avid subscriber of Block magazine (published by Missouri Star Quilt Co.) and a huge fan of Jenny Doan’s quilting tutorials on YouTube. When I found out the 4th Great was on the way and a Star Wars theme was happening, I was getting nowhere fast with ideas. Then the Block Baby issue came in the mail and the geometric design of the quilt pictured on the cover made me think of the command center of a space ship. 

So off I went to Joann’s where I bought amazing Star Wars print fabric for the quilt top and back, solid lime green for the second border and binding, and adorable black with white dots that resemble stars in a night sky for the first and third borders.

I fussy cut the Star Wars fabric for the 13 blocks featuring space ships, lasers, explosions and the Star Wars name. Everything else was half square triangles. I always put the child’s name and birth year on their quilt, along with a custom quilt label, usually machine embroidered. For Tucker’s quilt, I found the Star Wars lettering online, printed out his name and birth date, transferred it to HeatnBond Lite, adhered it to solid black fabric, then cut out each letter and number and fused it to the green border, finally machine stitching each one down.

For the label on the back, I sketched out my idea, starting with the large number 4, laid out the design using computer software, printed it out, transferred it to the green fabric using a water soluble pen and the light box my oldest daughter bought me at Michael’s, hooped it with tear away stabilizer, then hand-embroidered it. I did back the finished label with fusible interfacing to make it long lasting.

The quilt has been washed with a Shout Color Catcher, sent and received, ready to snuggle into. Tucker, Aunt Janie cannot wait to meet you in person and kiss those sweet baby cheeks!

Bunny Tales Quilt Finish

Finally got the last stitches in this quilt for my granddaughter, washed and dried it to achieve crinkly softness, and gave it to Abby.

This quilt had a few firsts for me ... I had never used a panel but had to try it the second I saw this Bunny Tales panel from Missouri Star Quilt Co. My daughter has always loved bunnies so I knew the momma and baby bunny would be perfect for Abby's baby quilt. Used two darling accompanying prints for borders.

Another first was big-stitch embroidery to highlight the panel. It was fun to do and turned out even better than I had hoped. I also hand-embroidered Abby on the momma bunny's kerchief.

I inserted a machine-embroidered strip on the back with her given name "Abelina" and birthdate, a few decorative touches and "Made With Love by Nana Jane."

It was a lot of fun to make and the baby already loves it. After taking it out of the dryer and draping it over the back of a kitchen chair to cool, Abby scooted over in her walker to look at it and touch it. Sweet girl!

Big Stitch Bunny Tales, part 1

 

I'm working on a quilt for my new baby granddaughter. The only purchase I made on Black Friday was from Missouri Star Quilt Co. I was in full scale holiday madness with a retail job at the time and did some quick online shopping, choosing this sweet Bunny Tales panel along with some accompanying fabrics. My oldest daughter has always loved bunnies -- even had one for a pet -- so when I saw the momma and baby bunnies among the pretty peaches, pinks and oranges, I knew it would be perfect.

  

I wanted to personalize the quilt with both the baby's full name and nickname so hand-embroidered "abby" on the momma bunny's kerchief. I've added simple borders with the carrot and polka dot fabrics. 

 

For the back, I machine embroidered a large panel with her full name and birth date, a butterfly to mimic the butterfly backing fabric, and my Made With Love info. This piece was inset on the lower back.

 

Having been enamored with big-stitch quilting for some time, I felt this panel was the perfect chance to give it a try. I'm using DMC #5 perle cotton floss purchased at Michael's.

 

My Mom had a quilting stand and hoop that she no longer uses and she very kindly shipped it to me for this. It is completely awesome!

 

See the cute little jeweled butterfly on the momma bunny? That's a needle minder, a magnetic place to hold/rest your needle when you stop. Mom had included several of these with the quilting stand. So fun and functional!

 

I am having a great time doing the big-stitching! I've always been a fan of hand-embroidery and this is so fast and so pretty. I'm just picking elements in the panel to feature and outline that will hold the quilt layers together.

Once I've finished the oval design center, I'll machine quilt the rest of it and finish with carrot striped binding. I'll post again when it's done, but wanted to share how much fun the big-stitch quilting is ... I highly recommend giving it a try!

Dotty Disappearing 9-Patch Baby Quilt

A sweet new baby girl has arrived in the family -- welcome, Nova Jade -- and her special quilt has been completed. The pattern is a Disappearing 9-Patch made with 5" charm squares of Classic Dots from Connecting Threads. Each center square was plain white before cutting. 

This quilt was so much fun to make, I think the Disappearing 9-Patch is going to become a favorite of mine. I used 96 polka dot charms and 12 white charms to make a dozen 9-patches. After cutting each into fourths, the yield was 48 6-1/2" blocks. Used 45x60" crib sized Warm & Natural batting and finished size was approximately 40" by 53" with binding.

To honor baby Nova and personalize her quilt, I replaced one 6-1/2" block on the front with a variable star block. Her name, birth month and year were embroidered on it in light green thread. I made the star points with the colorful backing fabric to bring it to the front and make the star pop.

On the extra block, I embroidered label information and attached it to the lower back along with my Handiworking label made by Lilla Lotta.

I figured why stop the dottiness now and bound the quilt with mini dots white-on-black fabric. Since I prefer not to prewash my quilting fabrics, I did wash and dry the quilt to clean and crinkle it up before sending.

Congratulations and much love to Nova's momma, daddy and super big brother!

So many projects, never enough time!

Unsinkable Quilt

Baby quilts are just plain fun to make! With a new great-niece expected to make an appearance in August, a few months ago I started planning a special quilt for her. And with Molly Brown as the name of the baby-to-be, I just had to design an Unsinkable Quilt.

Starting with some sweet charm squares -- Bartholo-meow's Reef by Tim and Beck for Moda -- I laid out a simple design. The charm squares are nautical in theme with the cutest anchors, fish, stars and waves. I added bright white sashing to make the colors pop and decided to embroider the year, baby's name and Unsinkable in the three panels.

A few years ago, Hubby mounted a curtain rod over the closet door in my crafting studio and I hung a flannel-backed tablecloth from it to use as a design wall. It's pretty handy because I can take it down or slide it to the side when necessary. 

Sewing each row together is easy when it's all laid out on the wall. And even though I was still fussing with and rearranging the charm squares until the last minute, it helps keep everything in the proper order. I also like to take pictures of the layout to reference just in case I get turned around.

I've tried spray basting but I really find the process of pin basting the quilt layers together to be soothing and satisfying. It's a zen place for me.

The actual machine quilting, not so much. 

Another part of the process I really enjoy, though, is making quilt binding. I could cut, press and roll binding all day long. Makes me happy!

I love the way the backing and outer border fabric resemble water. I found this fabric and the orange dot binding at Jo-Ann's.

One last thing was putting a label on the quilt. In keeping with the Unsinkable theme, I embroidered a boat on the label and "With Love from Aunt Janie." I like to use scraps of the leftover quilt fabric to frame the label. Here is my method for making quilt labels. 

The quilt reached the Browns exactly one week before Molly's appearance.

Welcome to the world, baby girl … we're so pleased to meet you!

Molly's Unsinkable Quilt pattern is a free download on my Craftsy page.

So many projects, never enough time ...