A real beauty... in the here and gone snow

As I mentioned in my last post, I am trying to get a little bit more cohesive with my work.  I love pink, but there's a lot of it out there, so I'm starting to work with other color/fabric combinations that delight me.  Check out this ultra-hip quilt made with glorious Echino fabric by Etsuko Furuya (drool over  more of her fabrics HERE, then buy them from a independent seller on Etsy!).

I took advantage of the ONE snowy day we've had this winter and did some decent outdoor photography.  Goal for 2012: get better at taking photos.

In an effort to do something that isn't quite straight line quilting and isn't really stippling, I decided to pull the fabric back and forth under the needle while the machine was set to straight line.  I am happy with the result, and will probably use it on many future projects.  Here's what it looks like close up:

This bad boy is for sale in my shop.  I'm hoping someone will love it and invite it to come live with them!

20% sale on some small quilts!

Hey all!  Some of my smaller, baby-sized quilts are on sale in my etsy store through January 31.  It seems that etsy is flooded with amazing baby quilts, and my niche is more with larger stuff for grown-ups.  I am getting a clearer picture of what my store will look like in the long run, and certain things (while they're cool) are a little out of place.  So, here's your chance to buy them with free shipping and a good discount!

Lantern Bloom quilt, now $76:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/82214506/sale-modern-throw-quilt-or-baby-quilt

Mod Crosses baby quilt, now $68:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/81056593/sale-modern-baby-quilt-mod-crosses-with

Baby Mermaid Quilts with Heather Ross fabric, now $84:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/82552901/sale-baby-mermaid-quilt-with-pink
http://www.etsy.com/listing/82553085/sale-baby-mermaid-quilt-with-yellow

I've been working on a ton of stuff...

...but some of it is meant to be a surprise, so I can't share pictures until the holidays are well past.  In the meantime, I have found an amazing way to use scraps of fabric that are too precious to throw away but too small to put into a quilt.

Behold: flannel fabric note cards.

I love the way these look and feel.  This first batch is made using Anna Maria Horner's Folksy Flannels line (oh, I'm making MYSELF a quilt out of that fabric, by the way).  There are four sets of cards (four in a set) available on at softcityquilts.etsy.com.

Hope you all had a great holiday! 

Echo Quilt: Letting the Fabric Talk!

Some fabrics are best left to speak for themselves.  While it's a fun challenge to do an ultra complicated quilt, just sewing together some strips can be more effective.  Lotta Jansdotter's Echo collection (available here) is a distinctly Scandinavian collection that, in my opinion, shouldn't be sliced into too small of pieces.  Instead, I sliced mine into strips of varying widths and sewed them together into this simple lap quilt:

This was a relaxing project, and  I love the result.  The layers are stippled together and then bound in navy fabric, with a little strip of one of the aqua prints.  I could see this fabric collection becoming the basis of an entire bedroom set --- curtains, pillows, bedskirt etc. etc. with some Ikea furniture.  Alas, I am in no mood to repaint a room, so the quilt will be available in my etsy store.

Lou Lou Thi Quilt

I've been vewwwy vewwy quiet for the last several weeks, but I HAVE been working.  Right now, I'm about to begin a post-Thanksgiving, long weekend marathon to finish this quilt.  The quilt is another custom job through My Etsy Shop, this time for a lovely customer in Montreal.  She sent me a some of Anna Maria Horner's Lou Lou Thi collection which I matched with some Kona solids including a few new favorite colors: Amber, Yarrow, and Cayenne.  Ever notice how nice names can make you like a color even more?  Here are some photos.  I hope to post some pictures of the finished product within, say, 72 hours.

Wonky block quilts like my Abstract Big Blocks are fun to make.  You don't have the same amount rules and geometry as other quilts, like the City Block Quilt.  Don't get me wrong, making that quilt is a joy as well, and the final result is absolutely stunning, but sometimes it's nice to just piece together some crazy strips of fabric.  As usual, I'll be a little sad to ship this away to it's new home up north.  I hope it will be loved!

Also, I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving!

Some pieces in their "forever homes"

Fortunately, the first few days of my trip to California have coincided with a [brief] lag in my custom quilt orders.  I'm going to be starting back up in a few days, and some photos from recent customers have provided some inspiration.  Here we go...

First of all, how great does this quilt look on the Case Study Bed from HiveModern?  The soft, handmade appearance contrasts so well with the angular bed frame.  And kitties, I find, are the ultimate quilt accessory.

Next, you'll remember this one from my previous post.  The customer, Julia, sent me a great suggested layout for the quilt back, and it turned out to be nearly as nice as the front.  Toddlers and quilts are a good combination too.  What a cute kid.  I hope he loves his new bed!

And finally, since I'm on my way up to Cambria to visit my aunt, here is the lovely quilt I made for her a few months ago.  The colors and fabrics are pretty cool... kind of Gauguin-esque.  I'll be offering this pattern as yet another queen size custom offering on my etsy store as soon as I have a moment to write up a description.  Again... cats and quilts:

Happy Halloween, folks!  Stay warm!

Now what am I working on?

Hi!  I've been working on another custom City Block quilt.  I've finished the quilt top, picture here, as well as the quilt back.  Now I need to sandwich it together, do the actual "quilting" (when the layers are joined together by thread), and bind the quilt.  Good time for a break, I'd say!

I'm finding that this pattern is very versatile.  It always looks modern, but it can be very cute at the same time.  Here's a snap shot of the quilt top.  It isn't quilted yet, so it will look more cuddly and crinkly once it's finished:

This quilt is for a little boy who is moving from his crib into a big boy bed.  His mom chose 7 fabrics instead of the 10 that I recommend in the listing.  This is just fine, and still gives the quilt plenty of variation.  I'm probably going to adjust the listing so it says something like: "send me between 6 and 14 of your favorite fabrics" since I can see it working in either direction.  There just needs to be some solid fabric in the design or it becomes way too busy.  The eye needs a place to rest.

 

Look at what my customer did here: she chose one "focus fabric" (Michael Miller Zoology), two "solids" (one is a linen that has some visible texture, but it still looks solid overall), two "small" prints (dot n' square and stripes), and two "large" prints (Ellis Turquoise and the quarter dots).  Really, this is a perfect fabric combo, and I'm going to use it as an example for future custom work if someone needs help choosing their fabric. 

More pictures to come as the quilt is completed!