Row Markers

This was my birthday present from my eldest daughter!  She found it on pinterest somewhere, snuck off to the craft room and whipped them up.

It's made from a quilting pin, a letter bead, and a small silver bead.  They are hot glued to each other. We didn't have any number beads (but they do sell them at Hobby Lobby), so she used alphabet beads.  I have already been using them for a quilt that just happened to have the rows marked with letters!

If you make these yourself, make sure to use long pins.  These are a little too short to go through multiple layers.  But they are still pretty awesome.  No more sticky notes for me!

Geo Garden Fence Quilt

 50 x 60

Here is my Garden Fence Quilt made without sashing.  Since this quilt is going to a man, I asked all my boys if they like the sashing or not.  They voted unanimously against the sashing.  Good think my seams are a nice scant 1/4 inch!  They lined up nicely.  You can find a free tutorial here on how to make the blocks.   I made a lap size quilt that is 5 by 6 blocks.

 I used several geometric fabrics in blue, green and a medium gray. Here are some closeups so you can see them. I used 12 fabrics in all.

I used the leftover fat quarters on the back. It's like getting two quilts in one!

One more picture with my cute helpers.  I think Peter likes his picture taken!

Becca's Wiggle Time Quilt

 68 x 84

Becca is taking a quilting class for high school.  She has just finished this twin sized Wiggle Time Quilt.  You can find the pattern here.

I helped her pick the fabrics, but she did most of it by herself.  She started with this piece on the back that she really wanted to use.  Then she picked the pattern and finally the fabrics.  I did the cutting, because I think it is important that she keeps all her fingers!  She did all the sewing, ironing, and even the quilting on the longarm!  She picked a panto called "All That Jazz".

She was hoping to be able to turn the quilt over and use the bottom as the top if she wanted a change in her room.  We didn't try it on her bed yet, so I am not sure how that will look.  But it much more colorful than the top!

I'm very proud of her and the job she did on her quilt.  I think she will get an A!  We still have to go over some color theory, but her class is close to being finished.

Picket Fence Quilt

66.5 x 66.5

Isn't she pretty?  This is the new Picket Fence Pattern by Myra of Busy Hands Quilts.  You can pick up this great pattern on Craftsy or in her Etsy Shop.  She has multiple sizes to choose from and it is layer cake friendly.  I made the lap size quilt and it used 40 of the 42 pieces from the layer cake.  The pattern is easy to read and understand.  If you make it from a layer cake, it whips up quickly!

The fabric line is Printemps by Moda.  I have been hoarding it in my closet for over a year!  I don't usually splurge on precuts, but I won a gift certificate from a quilt-a-long and bought a couple.  I have a love/hate relationship with precuts.  I love the variety of fabrics that you get, but I don't like the pinked edges.  Sometimes I have trouble getting things to line up nicely when pairing it with a straight cut edge. 

It is quilted with a Chantilly Lace Pantograph.  It takes FOREVER because each line is only 4 inches! I would quilt a couple lines and then take a break.  In a couple hours I was ready to quilt a couple more.  It only took 3 days using this method, but I have my sanity!  Sometimes you gotta put a little extra effort on a quilt.  This was one of those quilts.

I found a matching color at Joann's for the back.  I could not believe that with all my fabric stash that I could not find any of the colors in the quilt.  I guess I don't buy too many pastels.  Who knew?

This is not the best picture of Emma, but she's still my cutie.  I couldn't get her to smile at all.  Just one of those mornings!  

Pop on over to Myra's blog.  She's got her picket fence done and you can find  more info on the pattern. You'll be glad you did!

Stair Step Quilt

50 x 62

This is a cute stair step quilt.  The colored pieces are cut 2.5 by 10.5.  I used 3 or 4 different fabrics of each color. There are 31 little rows in this baby!  Seems like I have been working on this for a while.

It's quilted with freehand loops and hearts, nothing too fancy.  I was working on going into the heart in the same direction that I wanted to come out in.  I also wanted to make the hearts point in different directions.  Sometimes you get going and forget!

The back is a soft minky kind of fabric.  Yep it's crooked, but it was not big enough to square up. And I pulled it too much on the longarm so there is a slight wave to the top and bottom.  I really gotta work on this. I hope the recipient likes the warm soft back so much that it isn't noticed!  I know my kids would appreciate it.  They fight over quilts with minky on the back!

Have a great holiday weekend!