Sew Fresh Quilts: October 2017

28 October 2017

Smitten Kitten

Introducing Smitten Kitten! It was over two years ago that I shared the Dog Gone Cute and I can't believe it has taken me this long to come up with a cat pattern that would be it's equivalent. But for me it was worth the wait and I couldn't be happier with these sweet kittens!

Here you can see the Smitten Kitten quilt hanging out on the hay wagon in front of the bean field and with the beautiful blue sky in the background.

The kittens were made using a fat quarter bundle of the Daisy Days collection by Keera Job for Riley Blake Designs, solids for the ears, noses, eyes and occasional white striped cat face, added for interest.

The Daisy Days collection made it easy for me. You know how much I have been challenging myself to use more prints in my quilts. This collection has a wonderful selection of colours and different types of prints.

Large florals....

Dainty tone on tones....

Small florals....

A great mix that also includes a stripe with flowers.

As a first for me, for the background I used Essex Yarn-Dyed in Charcoal. And for the backing I ordered a Widescreen Crosshatch in Black. I ordered enough for the width of the quilt. So because I like to quilt parallel to the crossgrain of the backing, this was quilted from top to bottom, instead of my usual side to side.

I used a medium grey thread both on top and in the bobbin to quilt those organic wavy lines. But then used black thread for attaching and finishing the binding.

The "Smitten Kitten" quilt finished at 64" x 78"

and was the 58th use of my 2nd edition of 100 labels

ordered from Ikaprint.

Kitten Approved!

The Smitten Kitten pattern provides instructions for making the blocks in both a 12" square or 6" square finished size. There are 7 different quilt settings included, ranging in size from 15" square to 78" square. Pattern includes fabric requirements, cutting and assembly instructions for all 7 settings.

And you can find the Smitten Kitten pattern here.

Smitten Kitten - 30" x 30"

Smitten Kitten - 50" x 64"

Smitten Kitten - 15" square

Smitten Kitten - 15" square OR 30" square

Smitten Kitten - 64" x 78"

Smitten Kitten - 78" x 78"

Linking up to Finish it up Friday with

Amanda Jean of Crazy Mom Quilts

Keep On Quilting On!

To follow Sew Fresh Quilts by email....

Fat Quarter Shop Quilting Fabric, Kits, Notions and Patterns

27 October 2017

Sweater Weather for Quilty Magazine

Earlier this year, I was contacted by Quilty magazine. I was also approached to make a submission for a quilt to be featured in an upcoming issue. This was the design I settled on.

Elaborating on an earlier quilt I made called Ugly Christmas Sweaters, I drew up a revised design on grid paper and wrote myself out a pattern to follow. Then set to work cutting all the pieces. This design includes life size sweaters, mittens and hats.

The front is made using a new collection by Tula Pink called Holiday Homies. And the backing is Makin' Waves in Ink from the True Colors collection, also by Tula Pink for Free Spirit Fabrics. The boldness of this print is a great contrast to the front.

What I love most is that those big blocks allow for those Holiday Homies fabrics to shine!

Of course, the quilting is my usual organic wavy lines using my walking foot. I used plain white Gutermann thread both on top and in the bobbin. The retro look of those adorable deer and the graphic look of those blue triangle Christmas trees are so cute on the binding!

The "Sweater Weather" quilt finished at 54" x 60"

and was the 57th use of my 2nd edition of 100 labels

ordered from Ikaprint.

Imagine my surprise!!!

I'm a cover girl!

Quilty magazine November/December '17 issue, includes my Sweater Weather quilt and can be found at your fave fabric shop or newsstand beginning today!!!!

Linking up to Finish it up Friday with

Amanda Jean of Crazy Mom Quilts

Keep On Quilting On!

To follow Sew Fresh Quilts by email....

26 October 2017

Giraffes in a {Rainbow} Row

Look up! Way, way up!

Is it a quilt? Is it a sail boat?

No! It's a row of rainbow giraffes!

After a lot of indecision about choosing prints or solids, the giraffes were finally made using all Kona solids - Lipstick and Deep Rose, Tangerine and Orange, Sunny and Canary, Avocado and Pea Pod, Cyan and Pool & Magenta and Violet.

I wasn't sure if I wanted to go dark or light for the background, but in the end I chose white to match my blog header. And I am so happy with how the quilting stands out against that crisp white!

Prior to this quilt, I have never had one of my tops sent out for quilting. I had this quilt professionally quilted by Sarah Yetman of Spooled Rotten Quilts. I met Sarah when I was giving a trunk show for her guild back in September. She is a longarm quilter who offers custom quilting. I was hesitant to have someone else quilt one of my quilts, but I am so glad I took her up on the offer. My only instructions were to have fun with it. And she sure must have followed those instructions.... It turned out beautifully! Thank you Sarah! You are a master!

For the backing I sent along this print called Wideback White Words from Mad About Patchwork. And I used Kona black for the binding.

The "Giraffes in a Row" quilt finished at 60" x 60"

and was the 56th use of my 2nd edition of 100 labels

ordered from Ikaprint.

You can see my 4 giraffe version of this pattern here.

The Giraffes in a Row quilt pattern comes with instructions for the 4 giraffe quilt, that finishes at 39" square, using one colourway (yellow/brown) OR 4 different colours, AND for the 6 giraffe quilt, that finishes at 57" square, using 6 different colours. And you can find the pattern here.