French Carnival Baby BoxStep Quilt

I have a new finish I am excited to share with you today.  I've been waiting a while to post this because I wanted to give this gift to baby and mama before showing it here.  

This quilt is the baby sized version of the Boxstep Pattern.  It's so darn cute and crinkly.  I have to confess - I normally don't like to wash many of my quilts right away.  But since this one was being gifted for a baby, it will undergo many washings, and I thought it best to gift it soft and crinkly.  
Over the winter, my (non-sewing) friend asked me for fabric advice.  Who me?!!??!  Fabric?!?!!?  No kidding!  She wanted me to recommend where she could find fabric to decorate her baby's nursery in a "Vintage French Carnival" theme - using the colors, red, green, yellow, and navy.  Holy cow - how awesome, right?  I suggested a few lines and she found what she wanted in Pam Kitty Picnic by Pam Kitty Morning for Lakehouse Dry Goods.
She hooped up the fabric in embroidery hoops and made some cloth lanterns to decorate the room.  I offered to make a quilt for the nursery with the scraps.  I decided a baby Boxstep was the way to go.  I added a few complimentary prints to round out what I had and I love the scrapiness of the blocks.  A lot of color, but it's not overbearing.  Instead it's playful.  Perfect for a baby I think.
It's not often I get to quilt smaller quilts, so I really enjoyed taking my time on this one.  I spent some extra time adding a lot of detail to improve my free motion skills.  I quilted large chrysanthemums in the centers of the blocks and wavy lines through the sashing.  I also added some fun loops on the pale yellow border.  I really enjoyed the process and felt myself improving by working through this quilt.
The pictures up close against the brick turned out super dark.  I'm not sure why.  I'm currently learning to use a hand-me-down DSLR, so me (the photographer) is probably the culprit.  I found this adorable old brick building near my son's preschool.  And knew I wanted to take quilt pics there.
Overall, I loved working on this quilt.  A small project, for a friend, a chance to expand my FMQ, and try out a new photo shoot set.  It's a good day.
Quilt Stats.
Name: French Carnival Baby Quilt
Size: 34" x 49"
Fabric:  Pam Kitty Picnic by Pam Kitty Morning; Kona White, unknown 30s prints from my stash
Piecing:  Me
Quilting: Me


Bella Maiden Quilt Finish - In American Quilter May 2014


Meet my latest quilt, Bella Maiden, that is in AQS' American Quilter magazine for the May 2014 issue.  Isn't she lovely?  Last year, we made Old Maid's Puzzle blocks for the Sisters' Ten BOM.  I really love the look of this block - and I decided I wanted the Old Maid to be featured full size in a quilt.  With all the complimentary triangles that match and mate in this block, it felt extremely fitting that an over sized version of this block should also be composed of triangles.  This time as Half-Square Triangles.
Sisters' Ten Old Maid's Puzzle Blocks
I enjoyed piecing this quilt as each triangle in the overall design is composed of both prints and solids.  The HSTs pair the solids and prints together to add dimension to the quilt.  This line is Bonnie & Camille's latest line, April Showers.  I personally think all of B&C's lines break up very nicely into different color families which I was trying to showcase here.
Funny story about this quilt.  I was working on this quilt in January and February with the awful winter we had this past year.  Michele Duffy, editor-in-chief of American Quilter and a wonderful person to work with, was asking me to take photos of this quilt outside for the issue.  I was in a complete panic!  In the two weeks I had to get the job done, we never crossed into positive digits in terms of the temperature outside.  Not to mention we had several inches of snow on the ground - while I was supposed to get my quilt model to look "springy" for a May issue.  With the subzero temps and swirling snow, I never made it outside with the quilt.
Instead I tried my best to get shots indoors in my home.  The pictures used for this quilt are in my home.  My own home!!!  On the pages of a magazine!  How strange does that feel to see your own home looking all Martha Stewart in the pages of a magazine.  :)  It has that same strange feeling as when you clean your house immaculately for the realtor to come take photos when selling your house.  It almost doesn't look recognizable since there are no legos or nerf guns on the floor.  
Overall, I love this quilt.  It was easy to put together and is quite stunning.  If you are interested in making Bella Maiden, pick up a copy of American Quilter May 2014.  This pattern takes and Old Maid and turns her into a beautiful maiden.  :)
Quilt Stats.
Name: Bella Maiden Quilt Pattern
Size: 64" x 64"
Design: by AnneMarie Chany
Fabric:  April Showers by Bonnie & Camille for Moda
Piecing:  Me
Quilting: LAQ Beany of Quilty Pleasures

Bee Blocks 'n Such

Last month I waited until the day of the meeting to sew my bee block...  I don't normally operate at the last minute, so I was worried how the block would turn out.  These two blocks are for the Columbus Modern Quilt Guild's Bee - CbusMQBee.  Janna let us pick whatever block we wanted for March - including colors.  Talk about overwhelming...  The decisions!  I decided on this Blueberry Pie block, based on seeing Canoe Ridge Creation's Starburst Minis on Instagram.  I love the way it came out!  I need to stop avoiding purple.  It can be such a lovely color when you choose the right shades and prints.

This month I am all over it - not wanting to leave it to the last minute again.  I'm SO not good at procrastinating.  This block is for Cynthia - she chose to have us make this Rolling Stone block with the centers all using Leah Duncan's Meadow print.  Dreamy!  This quilt will look fantastic once it's put together.

I am so glad to be back in a bee.  It always forces me to make blocks I haven't tried before - and I love being able to explore without having to commit to a whole quilt.

And the last little project I will show today, is this cute little Plus Pillow.  I made this along with the class I taught at Dabble & Stitch in March.  Cheerful, right?  I'm going to send it to my niece, who will love all the fantastically girly colors.