Patches and Pinwheels

Most of the quilts I have made in the last 2 years have either been sold or given away.  I've reached a point where I have to be selective with what quilts I keep as they are starting to take over my house.  The quilt I have to share with you today is another gifted quilt.

I pieced this quilt back when I was still in college, like 2009 or 2010.  In fact I blogged about it way back in the day when I finished piecing it (see post here).  I have been holding onto this quilt for a while because I wanted to give it to my father and his fiance' for their wedding gift.  Well, it seems that this lovely couple is destined to be perpetually engaged.  I know they are going to be together forever, and yet wedding plans are still not seemingly in the works.  Nonetheless, I got tired of waiting to give this to them, haha.

 I finished the binding on this quilt this past summer on a work trip, hence the photos taken in a hotel room. :)  Finishing this quilt was so therapeutic for me, because it felt so great to finish an older project, and also there were some nostalgic fabrics in this quilt. 

The pattern that I used for piecing is "Patches and Pinwheels" which is a free pattern by Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville.com (pattern here).  It is really a 2 block quilt, and even though there are some small pieces, it goes together quickly.  I love the movement of this pattern, and I am sure that I will used this pattern again.  It is a great way to use up scrap strips of fabric.

I broke from my quilting norm, and tried to do something a little different.  I quilted free hand maple leaves in a random all over design.  I love how it turned out, even if some of the "leaves" are a bit wonky looking.  I haven't tried quilting with pantographs yet, so I am always trying to find new designs to use.  I can't use swirls on EVERY quilt, ya know?!

It made my heart happy to give this quilt to people who have been so supportive of me.  My dad is the kind of person who cares about listening to what you have to say.  He is intelligent, and open minded, and he can always give good advice without making you feel stupid in the process.  My Stepmom, in perfect contrast, is warm and caring and a little bit sassy.  These people, despite being family, have often been some of the only people I can always count on.  I wish I had more than just this quilt to give them.  It certainly doesn't begin to pay back all the things they have done for me.

Thanks for letting me share this quilt with you. :)

Have a great weekend!

Cristina
The Quilted Mitten

Stargazing on the Farm

Hi Guys!

Did you miss me?!  The last year has been a whirlwind for R and I.  First of all, we got married in August (yay!).  Then we adopted a new puppy.  Then we found a new place to live. Then on the day we picked up the keys to our new place, R ended up in the hospital for a short stint (hes fine btw).  THEN we lost our beloved 14 year old American Bulldog, Dodge.  Its been a lot of drama in a short amount of time, but it seems that we have finally found some peace and quiet. (don't worry, I was knocking on wood as I typed that).

Understandably, 2016 was not as productive for quilting as 2015, however I do have quite a few projects to share with you, and there has been progress and even some recent quilt finishes. 

The quilt I want to share with you today is one I actually finished last February (eek!).  I had contemplated the "Feedsack" line from Moda for a while, and finally bit the bullet.  The pattern I used is "Lucky Stars" by Atkinson Designs.  I love this quilt pattern because it uses 12 fat quarters and background.  That's it.  In my version, I did add a border to make this more of a lap quilt size.  This pattern does make larger sizes as well however using more fat quarters.

I have made this pattern multiple times now, and it never gets old.  This size quilt makes a great gift, and it goes together quickly.  Because the stars "float" in the background, it is easy to get perfect points every time.  It is also a great way to show off larger prints because the pieces are a decent size.

The fabric in this quilt is so cute!  I especially love the tiny trucks.  This line also has a lot of smaller classic prints that were blend in well with other lines by this same designer.  I loved the pop of robins egg blue as well.  It gives this line of fabric something unexpected.

This was one of the first quilts I finished on my long arm.  I quilted it all over with my favorite swirls pattern.  Swirls look great on almost every quilt, and I admit I have probably used them too much at this point.  Sometimes I just can't think of anything else I would prefer.

This quilt hung up in the quilt store for a short time, but is now back home where it belongs.  I'm not sure what my plans are for this quilt yet.  Perhaps it will end up in the Etsy Shop?

Thanks for visiting everyone!  I hope everyone is having a great start to 2017!

Cristina
The Quilted Mitten