Best of 2018 Quilts

2018 was a more laid back year for me. I made 53 quilts and picking only 5 favorites was a hard one. It was an exciting year though because I started writing my own patterns! 8 patterns were released though out the year. My very first pattern was Double Up.   

My most popular pattern by far was Sweetart. This year I tried to do more custom quilting. I was really pleased with the look of the quilting on this one. Each line of the block has something different, but is repeated on each block through out the quilt.

 Two jean quilt tops were pulled out of the attic and finished with some custom quilting. This one is my favorite. Both jean quilts are being loved on my couch this winter.

 

Rainbow quilts never cease to disappoint and these two are my favorite for the year. It's hard to beat a postcard quilt!

And this sunny quilt makes the list not only because it was from a quilt a long, but because it has my most favorite backing of the year!

What a great year it has been! I did take a seemingly long break this fall to work on other projects, but I've been getting back to quilting lately. I have several new patterns in the works for the next year that I am anxious to get written. Thanks for joining me on my quilting adventure!

If you'd like to see other quilts I've made, you can find them on my pinterest board.

Camo Quilt

64" x 80" 

This camo quilt is gift for a friend of ours.  He loves hunting and fishing and has been wanting a quilt for a while. I thought I would surprise him this year with a quilt!

I dug through my stash and found rock fabrics and other textured prints to go with the outdoor tree/leaf print that I used on the back. I put one main leaf print in each block so there would be lots of it in the quilt.

It's definitely camouflaged! It matches our front lawn! I wish I could have captured the richness of the colors in the quilt, but even the pictures in my go to spot didn't look as good as I wanted them to.

I'm so excited about how great this quilt turned out and I know he will be please too!

A Little Rainbow Quilt

 40" x 40"

My good friend started this quilt well over a year ago and it had been sitting in her house waiting to be finished. She had everything cut and was working on the blocks when our quilting life group came to an end. I knew she wanted to use this quilt in her car so I asked her if I could finish it for her for Christmas.

I quilted one word on each block that describes my friend as a surprise for her since she knew what she was getting already. There are 16 words on the quilt.

She wanted the back to be pieces of the same fabrics on the front so I  played a little puzzle game and came up with this layout.  If you're thinking this looks familiar, I've made this exact quilt in a lap size before. She saw mine and wanted one too!

She has so many projects on her list of things she wants to do, so I am glad I can cross one off for her this Christmas!

Almost a Twin

72" x 84"

This quilt is made for wrapping yourself up in! It's almost a twin size and has a turquoise flannel on the back. I had a lady ask me to design a quilt around this large floral print and the striped print. She wanted a big quilt and she did not want me to cut the floral print into small pieces. And she wanted the prints to read solid. So I picked two of each color to add some interest to the 4 patch squares. 

She also requested a pillow case. The two prints worked perfectly for this request. I made it a big larger than the standard sausage roll directions. I always find those to be a bit small.

Getting close to being finished with the quilting list for the year. One gift quilt is done and one to go! I have to have them done by the 25th so I have plenty of time still. Hope you guys are getting your Christmas sewing all wrapped up!

Mug Rug

 6" x 9"

I made this little mug rug for a friend's birthday. The letters are outlined in black with a smaller stitch than normal so that I could make the turns easier. The inside was quilted with a tiny meander and the borders each got their own design. Working in such a small space was very challenging!

I love that I could give something quilted and it didn't have to be a quilt. This project was finished in an afternoon so it makes the perfect gift. A coffee cup and a few other small items were included with the mug rug.

On the sewing front, I have made great progress! Three quilt tops are done with 3 more in the works. I just didn't get one finished by today. Feels good to have lots of stuff to work on. Now I just need to get them finished!

Home Awaits

45" x 58" 

Here's a new pattern from Busy Hands Quilts. It's called Home Awaits. I chose to make the small lap size and used a layer cake called Sakura from Craftsy that I bought several years ago.  Funny how those precuts like to sit on my shelf for so long!

I found a textured black print to use for the back and binding. Looks great with those black prints on the quilt.  This is a fun pattern that came together quickly. I love that I only needed a layer cake. Who doesn't have one of those laying around?  The pattern actually comes in 6 sizes and I think it would look great in a bed size.

You can purchase Myra's pattern in her shop here. I noticed that she has the pattern on sale! Be sure to visit her blog Busy Hands Quilts.

Baby Rag Quilt

36" x 36"

This cute little girl of mine had a big hand in making this rag quilt that I started last year. She loves to sew (for a few minutes at a time anyway). Rag quilt square are perfect for this! So I asked her to sew the X's on the squares that weren't finished yet.

We worked on the layout together and then I sewed the top together and did the edge cutting. I feel like I got two birds with one stone on this project. She got to practice her sewing skills and I got a quilt finished that was sitting on the shelf!

And if you've read this far I have a treat for you! All my patterns are on sale in my Etsy shop today only for 50% off!  I'm also having a sale on bed sized quilts and baby quilts this week too.  Enjoy your holiday weekend!

Peter's Outdoor Quilt

40.5" x  49.5"

Perfect time of year for this quilt finish. My boys all have to make one quilt top in their youth. This was supposed to have been Peter's quilt top. He is 10. He picked out the fabrics and was very excited to learn to sew. I always have them practice on some scrap pieces before sewing the real thing because fabric is expensive and I don't want them to mess up their quilt. 

Usually my children pick up sewing pretty quickly and are able to sew a decent quarter inch seam. Peter has 5 older siblings who have sewed before him (and one younger one), so I was surprised when he had so much trouble.  So much trouble that I didn't let him sew this quilt. I know you're going to tell me that I should have let him sew it anyway.  He will just have to try again next year when his coordination is better.

Since he wasn't sewing the top, I wanted to make it bigger. So he was happy to help me lay out more squares.  Of course he then wanted to make it into a twin size for his bed, but he already has a quilt on his bed so we agreed that it would be put in my shop for a while.

I know he doesn't look super happy in the picture, but he really was! It was his idea to get in the picture so you all could see him. We will be trying again next year and he is okay with that.  I think he should be helping me pick fabrics, don't you?

Linking with Busy Hands Quilts

Layer Cake Custard - A Short Cut Quilt

Here's a new Short Cut Quilt pattern from the Fat Quarter Shop releasing today called Layer Cake Custard. It's a FREE pattern that you can make quickly!

63" x 88"

I bet you guessed by the name that this quilt is made from one Layer Cake. I choose to make my quilt with Moda's Return to Winter's Lane. It has such beautiful wintery prints. I love the snow and the plaids and the cardinals.

There are only 2 blocks in the quilt, so this is definitely a short cut quilt. The large blocks are great for showing off all the beautiful prints.

This is a big quilt as you can see from this photo below. That's my husband holding it as high as he could. This quilt is nicely sized for snuggling on the couch which is just what I plan on doing with it!

Be sure to check out other versions of this fun pattern on the Jolly Jabber blog today. Then hop over and get the free pattern here! There is also a video tutorial to help you make this quilt.

The Fat Quarter Shop Blog - The Jolly Jabber - has some great versions of the Layer Cake Custard quilt so go take a look!

Altered Book

Hi there everyone! I don't have a quilt to share this week and possibly next week too. What have I been doing? Well, I have been leading an art group through my church the last couple months. We are making an altered book. What is that, you ask? It's pretty much anything you want it to be. Mine is a hardbound book, most pages removed, the remaining pages glued together in 2's for more strength and then decorated with vintage style papers and ephemera.  It's also called a junk journal, but I have no junk around my house so mine is mostly Vintage French themed. 

Pockets are everywhere with papers for journaling. Even the pockets and envelopes can have pockets. There are lots of corner tuck spots and different style envelopes. I made two different sets of tags from pages. I'm having a lot of fun making this and finding new techniques to share with my group. 

I'm about half way done with my book.  Quilting should resume soon, even if it's a slow pace. Holidays are coming you know! I  have some new patterns stewing in my head for the new year. And there is a ton of stuff on the shelf that still needs to be made into a quilt because it won't fit in my storage bins. I'm still wanting to get things cleaned up and more organized for next year.  Hope you enjoyed a peek at what I've been working on.

Pumpkin Quilt

56" x 70" 

I've finished this pumpkin quilt just time for November! Yes, I realize that fall was also in October, but it really has only been cold enough to use quilts for a day or two. I'm on the fence if I want to keep it. I really like this quilt, but we just rearranged the living room and added a couch. The two jean quilts are sitting on my sectional and I am loving them!

Aside from the background fabric and binding, this quilt top was made entirely from my scrap bins. I had a ton of orange 2.5" squares and was able to dig up enough green, brown and gray between the 2.5" squares, 5" squares, and the 2.5" strips.

I purchase some orange minky for the back since I was initially making this for me. It's wonderfully warm and soft. Too bad I don't live up north were I could use it longer.

It's been so rainy and cloudy here, I decided it was so nice out this morning with the sun coming up we should go out and take a picture in it. So here's the full sun shot for you!

Linking with Myra at Busy Hands Quilts.

Rainbow HST

 64" x 72"

Here's a Finally Friday Finished Quilt! This quilt is made with a gray mirage fabric and 16 Kona Cotton solids - Carnation, Bright Pink, Pomegranate, Watermelon, Nectarine, Goldfish, Lemon, Cactus, Pear, Kale, Azure, Peacock, Malibu, Surf, Mulberry, and Wisteria. I love that there are so many Kona colors to choose from which helped get the rainbow that I was looking for.

I wanted to quilt something different than my typical meander, but simple at the same time. I used the squares to keep me on track and looped up and down across the quilt.  Nothing fancy on the back either, just a get it done kinda quilt.

Linking with Busy Hands Quilts.

Sunnyside

56" x 72" 

Here's a fun and happy quilt pattern for you called Sunnyside. It's a new one from Myra at Busy Hands Quilts. I love that it uses multiple fabrics in 3 colors. I chose my favorite colors to make this quilt which worked out great since I have so many fabrics in turquoise and lime green.

It doesn't show up real great in the photos, but I used white and off white prints for my background fabrics. There are arrows, circles, and flowers on those white prints along with some other tone on tone prints. I just love how it looks!

This is a pretty easy pattern and comes in a bunch of different sizes. I hope you'll go check out Myra's Christmas version. You can find her pattern here as well as all her other patterns.

Was glad to get the photos done because it was real windy yesterday. We have a big storm rolling in today and it is supposed to rain like crazy for the weekend.  Until next time!