Shane's quilt.

If you have a rotary cutter, mat and ruler and can sew a straight line, you can make a quilt. 
I PROMISE.
(All caps because I mean it.)

I am easily bored, far from precise, and if I can make one without setting fire to my sewing machine, anyone can.
 The thing is, you have to pick a pattern with big blocks that don't have to line up.
I learned that that the hard way with my second quilt.
Which I still love, but it is CRAZYYYY!
1/4 inch off here and there is apparently a really, really, really big deal.

So when I came across the Road Trip Quilt from Cluck Cluck Sew, I knew that it would be just perfect to redeem my quilting drought.
You see I started Janey's forever and ever ago, and now it is collecting dust.  Taunting me with it's tricky unfinishedness.
When and if I ever finish it, the craziness will be the talk of the longarm quilting shop.  Believe you me.

Just to prove my point, I made this happy mix of awesome in two sittings.  With a tiny newborn.
For reals.
It's that easy.
One night to cut.
One night to piece, sew, and iron.

Then I box it up, along with a yard of fabric for the binding, send it off to The Back Porch Quilters, stalk my mailman for a week or two, get it back, rip it open, race to the laundry room, wash and dry it, then freak out at the crinkly radness.

 EEEEEKKKK!!!!

For the back, I randomly patched together the extra pieces and some big scraps.  Sort of like a two-fer.  Why, oh, why would anyone want a quilt that reversed to a solid on the back.  ZZZZZZZzzzzzz.

This is no hang on the wall quilt either.
It is a beach quilt.  A backyard picnic quilt.  A cozy couch quilt.  A something I want to steal from my baby quilt.

But that would be mean.
So I will share it.

Since The Road Trip quilt is more of a baby size, and I wanted this one to be more of a twin size, I had to adjust the block sizes.  I should have taken better notes, since I have no idea how many of each piece to cut.
Follow the Cluck Cluck sew directions.  They are a million times better than mine.

What I do know is you will need about 8 yards of fabric.
I used a mix of fifteen half yard cuts.
All of the blocks are six inches wide.
The measurements and placements for each of the blocks are above.

It becomes a little jigsaw puzzle figuring out where each print goes, as to not touch a matching print above or below.  I am sure there is some sort of system to this, but I just lay them out on the ground and hope for the best.

Because I always want to know what and where to get fabrics here you go:
Some were from my stash, some from Etsy, Hawthorne Threads, and Fabric.com.

A.  Monaluna Circa 60 Beach Mod by Birch Fabrics
B.  Going Coastal by Michael Miller
C.  Random stripe from Joanns
D.  Random stripes from Etsy
E.  Chocolate Zebra by Jennifer Paganelli
F.  Remix by Ann Kelle
G.  Aviary 2 by Joel Dewberry

So are you going to make a quilt or what?
Next up on my sewing table is a Star Wars one.   Which my husband will steal from my baby.  The nerve.

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fighting it.

Over a year ago I began my adventures in quilting.
I fell in love.  I picked out fabrics for future quilts.
I even made two.
But then it happened.
Like it always does.
A.D.D. strikes back.
The fabrics were neatly folded and put away.  Only one of my girls had her own quilt.  I struggled with that.

Then Heather had to go and find this quilt pattern.  Not only find it, but immediately make one for her nearly born son.

I was smitten.  It was so different, yet so simple.  I knew immediately that I needed to make one.  How could I not?
Thankfully, I was about to see Heather.  She was going to be my personal quilting instructor. Yes, please.

She helped me (by help, I mean she used her crazy math brain) plan out the measurements and showed me some great tricks to assemble the blocks.  She even forced me to carefully trim each square so they lined up properly.  I am not always so good at proper.  While I was on my Norcal adventure I actually finished two blocks.  Two out of thirty...

When I got home I cut each square.  Lots and lots and lots of squares.  Cute, but boring squares.

Then I paired them up in as random of a pattern as I could.  This part was sort of fun.  Seeing how each fabric worked with another one.

Next was the sewing and the cutting.  Lots of sewing.  Lots of cutting.  Sigh.  This pile might not look like much, but it contains 120 unpressed, untrimmed little beasts.

Little beasts that need to be carefully, individually, precisely pressed.
Bore to the ing.
With my $12.00 iron.
Then the trimming.
Oh, the trimming.
A.D.D. is making it's presence known.
But I keep clicking back to Heather's quilt.  Thinking of what this will soon be.  Once I can force myself to get past this stage.
Keep me accountable.
Keep me ironing.
Or come over and do it for me.
It is sooooooooooooo boring!!!
But it will be soooooooooo cute.  Soon.  Soon.  I hope.

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sending them off

sweet Halley started kindergarten today.
how?
wasn't she just in J/K a minute ago?
I am so excited for her
new friends,
new adventures,
new skills,
new responsibilities.
I really missed her at lunchtime today.
Her seat was strangely empty.
Sniff.
As I was snapping this picture I realized that is
will be the last one in front of our red door.
Double sniff.

So while she was gone, Lulu helped me pack up my other baby.
Quilt number two is heading off to be finished.
This one is for me. Me alone.
I used 5 charm packs for the front and appliqued birdies on random squares from the scraps that awesome Ashley from Lassie Girl sent me.

The back is a super crazy mix of all of my Summer in the City pieces with a little chocolate zebra and polka dots thrown in.
I am not sure if I like the front or the back better, but I do know that I cannot wait for it to return to me.
Perhaps I can curl up and cry in it when I think about my baby girl being at school all day.


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shocking.

I don't think I have ever gone this long without some sort of post.
I honestly thought it was a day or two. Not a week!
I am a person who likes routines.
(a.k.a. needs, requires, freaks out without them)
Selling this house has thrown all routines out of the window.
Crafting, blogging, napping.

But...
We sold our house.
In a week.
In this housing market.
For reals.
I am still trying to let it all sink in.
The second we signed the papers,
out came the sewing machine
and the dumb bird charm packs.
Another quilt is nearly finished.
Order and routines are restored to our lives.

Happiness.

So who is the happy new recipient of the Mixed Media Mama prints?
Click here to see if it is you.
(All I can say is... yum.)

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quilting questions answered

Here is the super honest (I promise) truth about
my first adventure in quilting.
{feel free to catch up on the back story here}
Out of all of the things I have ever made,
this quilt is by far my favorite.
A huge part of my love for it involves that fact that I can't
believe that I actually finished it.
Or that I actually loved every single step.

It didn't hurt that every step was
simply illustrated with pictures here.
I big puffy heart Old Red Barn Co.

With my whole heart, I want you to know, that if I can make this, so can you.
Seriously.
Skill wise I would rank it a 2 out of 10 in the difficulty scale.
I am not kidding.
Not a 2 from a person who is a professional,
Parsons School of Design trained seamstress.
A 2 from a self taught, real person, who only sews simple things.
Who is horrible at following patterns,
has insane A.D.D.
and sneaks in craft time as the critters sleep.

Rotary cutting.
Straight line sewing.
Ironing.
That's it.
Seriously.
It took me less than 10 hours from start to finish.
Just four Monday's worth of nap time.

The only hard parts were choosing the fabrics
and battling my A.D.D. when I was ironing the seams.




What always held me back was the thought of actually "quilting" the quilt.
I know myself.
I know my skill level.
I know my severe lack of patience and detail.
I know my sewing machine.
I know that if I attempted to quilt it,
I would have to break up with my sewing machine.
I also would probably have to go to the ER for a
broken foot from kicking said machine.

I felt like a failure when I decided to send it out for quilting and binding.
But then REAL quilters told me that is what they do as well.
For their quilts that are real works of art.
With curves, patterns, details, things that I could never ever do.

So I got my quilt ready to go to Back Porch Quilters.
I pressed all of the seams,
clipped all of the threads,
made the backing out of pink and white polka dot fabric,
included batting,
one yard for the binding,
(as soon as I found out they did binding too I did a little dance)
folded it all up,
said goodbye and gave it to my mailman.

Within days Mr. Backporch Quilter called me to discuss thread color and quilting pattern.
I told him how clueless I was, and if he could help me pick.
Quickly he put Mrs. Backporch Quilter on the phone.
She advised me on thread color (I used Pinky Pinks)
and when I told her the pattern I was thinking about (Waterworld) she kindly suggested that pattern might be a bit too busy for my already bright and vibrant (read busy) quilt.
Together we chose Alfresco.

A little over a week later my quilt returned to me.

I didn't pre-wash my fabric or binding, so when I did thrown it in the wash it would wrinkle and crinkle. I think that is actually my favorite thing about it.
How it is so new, yet already looks well loved.
This quilt is 5 x 7 feet.
It could have been bigger, but thanks to my lack of details, I mis-measured and didn't pay very close attention while I was cutting the squares.
12 of them came out the wrong size.
But, 5 x 7 is a perfect size for a twin bunk bed.
I am going to make pillows out of the leftover blocks

Halley would much rather play dress up, than be bothered with posing for a photo, but each nap and bed time I tuck her in under her quilt and she looks at me and says:
"Mommy, thank you for making me a beautiful quilt."
While she is off in dream land,
she doesn't notice that many of the blocks do not line up.
Or that it is far from square.
She just cuddles under the warmth and love made for her by her mommy.

I rarely make anything more than once.
It doesn't take much to bore me.
Shockingly, I already have fabric picked out for three more quilts
and I simply cannot wait to carve out time to work on them.
That is how easy this was.
That is how much I loved making it.

So find some yummy fabric.
(All of mine is from Etsy. You can find
great 1/2 yard sets here, here, and here.)
Grab a rotary cutter and sew.
You will never know if you can do it unless you try.

Happy quilting.

37 Comments
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I'm no quilter.

Duvet maker?
Sure. I can bust one out in my sleep.
But I have never attempted a quilt.
I planned to.
(Which has since been used for other projects.)
But chickened out.


I have a misconception that all quilts
are detailed and fussy.
Two words that are not in my vocabulary.
But when I saw this quilt that all changed.
It didn't change enough though.
I chickened out again.


So early this morning as I was reading Kelly's blog
(who by the way is having a really fun giveaway)
I came across Old Red Barn Co.'s Quilt Along.
Basically the instructions on how to make my
dream quilt step by baby step.

So I went to my fabric cabinet,
picked out a bright and funky mix of prints,
Michael Miller that I purchased here)
grabbed my assistant and her Bumbo,
changed the blade in my rotary cutter,


and somehow managed to cut all of the strips
before the rest of the family woke up.
Look at this yumminess.
Simply. Cannot. Wait.


So here they sit, ready for the next batch of instructions.
In a little over a month,
I too, will be a quilter.

Want to join me?
There is plenty of time!

Oh, and when all is said and done,
I will no only have a newfound skill,

but a chance to win a crazy sewing machine worth over $1,000.

Will I win?
Doubtful.
If I don't, I'll just curl up in my new quilt and give love to my
simple sewing machine that helped make it.
I'm cool with that.

24 Comments
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It's in motion.


Thank you so much for the quilt encouragement.  I am going to make them.  Two of them.  I am also going to put Sandi Henderson's children through college with the amount of fabric I ordered.  Halley's is going to be from the Ginger Blossom line and Lulu's is going to be from the Farmer's Market goodness.  I love how the two lines mix but aren't too matchy-matchy.  My girls are the most opposite you could imagine, and I see Halley's girly-ness in the vintage G.B.  and Lulu's funky spunk in the F.M.  I think I am going to paint the walls a sassy lime to coordinate.  Now I can't wait for my mailman to bring me the zillion yards of twenty four different prints!

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