Laurel's Quilts

My first zippered pouch!

2011-11-13T14:13:00.001-08:00

I am pretty proud of myself! My first seeing project with a zipper. I gave it to Andrew. He was happy.

Re-using old T-Shirts to make a skirt

2010-08-14T17:15:00.000-07:00

I am an avid follower of maya*made, a blog about crafting with sustainable and recycled materials. I purchased her pattern for the Reinvention Skirt on Etsy, and tried it out today with an old pink T-Shirt.

I created a "lettuce edging" on the hem using a ziz zag stitch, stretching as I went, and letting the stitch fall just off the edge of the fabric. Simple, and cute! Here is a close up:

I learned a lot this first time around, but all things considered, I think it turned out quite well! My daughter likes it, and even seems to like the matching headband I made from the T-Shirt's sleeve.

Thank you Maya!

Drawstring treasure bag for Eloise

2010-08-14T17:08:00.000-07:00

My dear friend Cristina's third baby, Eloise, came this year. I just love the name Eloise, and I embroidered her name and a little cat on a piece of burlap shortly after the birth. The scrap was tacked up in my kitchen for months before I decided to sew it onto a simple lined drawstring bag. I got the tutorial here, and adapted from there. I forgot to take a picture of it before giving it to Eloise today at the very special baby blessing ceremony. But Cristina tied it to the door to help welcome guests, and I snapped a picture of it there. The lining is a white and red large floral, a nice surprise when you open the bag. Julia tucked one of her little soft fairy dolls inside for another special surprise. I love how it turned out! I hope Eloise finds it useful to store her little treasures.

Golf Bag

2009-12-23T18:15:00.001-08:00

By special request, and using a design requested by the Golfer Himself, I made this custom drawstring bag with special golfing features. It was a Birthday Gift for my Dad, but I forgot to photograph it for this blog and he just kindly sent me this picture.

The bag is lined and padded, with a dividing panel inside to separate the inside of the bag into two sides, for two different types of golfing accessories (those pointly little ball rests that poke into the ground -- but don't poke out of the bag because of the lined and padded sides.) And there's an exterior pocket too to hold those little extras. I found a golf fabric and coordinated the black with that. My Dad seems to love it!

It is a great feeling to make something for a specific and useful purpose, and then see it used for that purpose. A success all around!

Sustainable Wrapping

2009-12-21T21:45:00.000-08:00

I got busy today wrapping presents. That is, making drawstring bags that can be used over and over again at Christmas. I'm so pleased with how they turned out!

Handmade Holiday: Matching Aprons

2009-12-21T10:19:00.000-08:00

These matching aprons came together in a snap. Cute cupcake fabric, eyelet edging, and a pink ribbon added up to lots of squeals and excitement from these cousins!

Handmade holiday

2009-12-20T19:33:00.000-08:00

In our quest to make this holiday as homemade as possible, we decided to try making wrapping paper. White paint and a couple of snowflake stamps -- and fingers and hands -- were all we needed to adorn these paper grocery bags (cut open and flattened.) Wrapped around a gift with a red bow and I think we're onto something here! Plus it was a fun project for the first day of Holiday Break.

This little handmade heart ornament was quick and fun. I think a few more of these may need to be made and turned into some last minute gifts or gift toppers. They'd look great on the snowflake bag wrapping paper too!

Big Bear Quilt and Bag

2009-12-07T22:14:00.000-08:00

I've been sewing again! Over the past few months I've been getting my sewing machine out and really making progress. It feels so good after a long absence. I've been working on a variety of little projects, some for Christmas. The in-laws left for a long vacation, so I gave them their gifts early. So, I can post pictures here even though Christmas hasn't arrived yet. I picked up some coordinating fabrics from the Big Bear fabric shop last year, and used it to make this lined bag, inside of which is the quilt. I'm pleased with how they both turned out!

You know you're a beginner when...

2009-07-11T08:46:00.000-07:00

I decided to try to make a bookmark with some ribbon and scraps of fabric. Sounds incredibly simple, but I managed to produce something that can only be described as a great learning experience! My fabric was too thin, and the ribbon melted under the heat of the iron (see the hole in the yellow ribbon?). And my corners on the top weren't crisp.

Next time I will try denim, I think. I'll also put the ribbon closer to the top so that it peeks out of the top of the book without having to have more of the bookmark out of the book than in it. Stay tuned for my Try #2.

P.S. Ender's Game is a great book!

Feeling Crafty: Homemade Birthday Gift

2009-07-05T17:27:00.000-07:00

I have been feeling crafty lately, and decided to try my hand at a simple drawstring bag. I made this with materials I had on hand as a birthday gift for a friend of my daughters. It took me about one hour start to finish.

The bag couldn't have been simpler. I cut out a long rectangle, and sewed a sleeve for the twine by folding the edges down twice and sewing across. Then I folded the fabric wrong sides together and sewed up the sides (taking care not to close up the drawstring channel). Turned it right side out, threaded the twine with a safety pin, and hand sewed on the name badge, which I made by tracing his name onto the white fabric with a pigment pen, then sewing on borders and folding the edges under. I slipped a little book inside, and voila! A mostly homemade birthday gift for a special little boy. I hope he saves the bag and uses it to store some boyish treasure.

Baby steps

2009-02-08T21:09:00.000-08:00

Well, I finally did some quilting last night, but my camera's broken and I can't show off! I've finished the top of Andrew's quilt. And today I picked up the batting I need to sandwich the whole thing together. Perhaps later tonight I'll get out my pins and put the layers together.

Meanwhile, I've got two new projects in mind. A friend at work had a baby boy over the weekend named Fox. I'd love to try a small wall hanging or doorknob hanger with his name and maybe a single block applique of a fox. But that will require me to draw a fox... I did some searching onine and found this funny quilt featuring a fox on the Time to Quilt site. Perhaps I can use this as inspiration for my fox drawing (see lower right corner). Wish me luck.

The other project is a baby quilt for my sister-in-law who is due to have a baby girl in April. I liked the rail fence and square pattern a brownie troop used for a charity quilt (shown here, and the 3rd one down on this post) and may try that with some girly fabrics from my stash. I love quilts that are simple and quick to assemble, but pretty nonetheless. I don't have enough quilting time to attempt anything too complicated or time consuming. So this simple quilt might be just the thing.

Maggie's Quilt is Done

2008-10-23T12:06:00.000-07:00

The Pacific International Quilt Show last week was so inspiring, I got out all my quilting things and finished up Maggie's baby quilt. Yay! I'm really pleased with the way it turned out. I had some fun with the quilting, trying squiggly lines for the first time, and I put some freehand hearts in the border.

Maggie is my neice, and is about 4 months old already. I hope she likes this quilt!

International Quilt Show in San Jose

2008-10-17T19:00:00.000-07:00

I was very lucky today, to have a chance to go see the quilting show at the Santa Clara Convention Center. My aunt is a wonderful and prolific quliter and she flew out from Chicago to combine a trip to visit her daughters with a visit to the show, and she knows I dabble in quilting and asked me if I'd like to go. I am so glad, as it was really great to see her, and I never would have probably gone to the show without her suggestion.

I created a pictobrowser to show the pictures I took of some of my favorite quilts from the show. Wow, I don't think I really understood what quilting could be until today. I think of quilting as a homey, fun hobby. But clearly there is much much more to it. These artists rank up there with the top artists in any other field. I am wowed and inspired.

Click on the thumbnails below the main picture to see more, and click on the numbers below that to navigate through the whole lot.

Finally finished it - Katie's quilt

2008-07-17T21:55:00.000-07:00

Well, it was supposed to be a shower gift, and little Katie turned two last weekend. Better late than never, as they say.

My goodness did I learn a lot on this one. I almost didn't give it to her, it was pretty bad. While I do like applique, I learned that I don't like this much of it, and this tiny. All of those leaves, hearts and letters were cut out and fused on. And because the pieces were so small, I didn't feel like I could do my usual machine blanket stitch around every one, so I tried a simple straight stitch around them, which I'd seen someone else do, but I must not have the trick because it came out awful. After a few shaky and clumsy attempts, I decided it was making things worse and I'd be better off just leaving them plain, no stitching. But I'm not pleased with that look either, and convinced that they'll all come right off with the first washing. I also feel that the colors are too jarring. So, this is definitely not my proudest moment nor my best work. But a good learning experience.

I decided to give it to Katie despite it's embarrassing details, because what else could I do with it? But I made it clear to the parents that this was no display piece. At best it's a doll quilt. Hopefully they will take it in that spirit.

After all that buildup, here it is:

This was also my first experience with this kind of label. I wrote it with a pigment pen, then ironed the edges under and used a hand blanket stitch to attach it. I hate doing labels and am still working on finding a reasonably painless way to do it. Haven't found it yet, although hand writing was way better than using my machine to stitch the letters, which is painstaking.

Katie's quilt

2008-01-29T22:44:00.000-08:00

I'm finally getting something done on Katie's quilt, which I have owed her since the shower (she's now nearly 2!) I have been busy with my own nearly two year old, but finally gained some inspiration and motivation. This quilt is completely different from the one I originally envisioned and purchased fabrics for, but I like it. It still needs to be steam-a-seamed down, and stitched, but here is the work-in-progress picture:

Fabric purchase

2008-01-15T19:50:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture of the fabric I purchased the other day, referenced in my last post. I just love the two patterns (green with orange leaves, and the funky mushroom-y looking green and orange pattern), and I purchased the accompanying colors to coordinate with them. Now if only I can start actually producing an output and blogging about that instead of purchases and plans...

Shopping provides inspiration

2008-01-06T18:03:00.001-08:00

I went shopping today for fabrics and came home with nothing like what I went shopping for, but love what I found. I'll post a picture shortly.

I also saw a beautiful sample from an upcoming class and signed up immediately. We will be making this pattern (click here.)

The raw edge applique technique should be fast and easy, so I am hoping it will come together fast. Another pattern caught my eye, which I bought as well (click here to see.)

And a little browsing online showed there are lots more in this genere. If the first project goes well, perhaps I'll make this trio (scroll down.) And this couldn't be cuter for October... And then there are all of the baby quilts I expect to want to make in the coming months for the flood of pregnant friends and relatives I have, such as this one... And then there are these patterns with a sense of humor...

What am I doing??? I am way behind on plenty of other projects... I shouldn't be adding more, especially since I quilt only once every few months. Perhaps I'll have to start spending more time on this after the kids go to bed...

Wonky snow covered tree

2008-01-01T12:24:00.001-08:00

I was inspired to pull out my sewing stuff by the snow covered tree tutorial I found on J's Quilting Blog (here). Decided to try it, with the following results. Mine don't look as cute as hers do, but its a start. Next time I need to start with a much wider strip of green. And much longer pieces so that my green triangles can be bigger. And offset them more I think. Thank you Joyce, for inspiring me to sew. This came together in a precious afternoon quiet moment in the house while the kids were occupied by my hubby. I rarely get quiet moments, and when I do I'm usually too exhausted to pull out all my quilting stuff. It takes so much effort just to get things out and put them away again. It's a huge demotivator and makes me determined to find space for a permanent sewing nook in our someday-to-be-remodeled house.

I am going to try some hand quilting on this little sample, something I've never tried before. Perhaps I will try putting in some words, such as is done commonly by Tonya (see example in the 3rd picture in this post on Lazy Gal Quilting.)

A Quilting Christmas Present

2008-01-01T08:43:00.000-08:00

My hubby bought me a quilting-related Christmas present this year! He actually took the time to go down to the quilting store to pick it out for me. I was so pleased. I had mentioned wanting a sewing box/basket of some sort to store my tools, thread, etc. The one he picked is not what I'd pictured at all, but it turns out the picture in my head is outdated. This works great, and now I'm totally organized, compact, and portable. My previous organizational method was to store all of these things in a set of 6 tiny little boxes. Now everything is together making it much easier for me to get my quilting things out and put away (since I don't have a dedicated sewing space in my house.) Thank you hubby!

Andrew's quilt

2007-12-13T21:47:00.000-08:00

I started this quilt while I was pregnant with Andrew, intending it to be a baby quilt for him. Perhaps not surprisingly, I didn't finish it (contrast this to my first baby, for whom I completed 3 quilts before she was born.) I finally picked it up again a few days ago (Andrew is 19 months old.)

I picked up several fabrics from a coordinating set, featuring fanciful animals. Back when I was pregnant, I fussy cut several cute animal scenes and surrounded them with colored strips. I had 6 blocks like this one when I got distracted and put the project aside.
I'm not sure I had a clear vision for the quilt when I started it, and if I did I have since forgotten that vision, so I've been trying to figure out what to do with these 6 blocks. Here is another fabric from the collection that I purchased, an adorable border fabric.

I think I had envisioned oritinally using this border fabric on all sides, but looking at it now it seemed too wide. So, I ended up deciding to try putting just a panel along the bottom of the 6 blocks, which I matched up and sewed together using filler strips to even things out. Here is where it stands today. (Oops, I'm not sure why it came out sideways... you'll have to turn your head to get a good look at it.)

I don't know where I will go from here, but hopefully I'll come up with something. Probably not the best approach to quiltmaking, but at least it is coming together, and heck, with bright colors and silly animals how can you go wrong for a little guy?

Wonky house first try

2007-09-10T21:20:00.000-07:00

I am crazy busy at work, and facing a work event tomorrow that starts at 7am and goes through dinner, which means I won't see the kids on either end. Thinking about it has me in a bad mood, so I've been stalking around the house restlessly trying to figure out what to do with myself. I don't seem to be hooked on much TV these days, and I'm too restless to settle down and read. And another tulip block seems boring. (I have only finished one so far, and I have many to go, so it's not a good sign that block two seems boring...) So, I decided to try Tonya's house tutorial. Somehow that seemed like just the thing. It is my first try at freehand piecing. I messed up the roof -- it's offset terribly. Looks pretty funny, but it was a good first try. There is a cat in the doorway, and a mouse in the window, in case you can't tell what those are. Hee hee hee! I have no idea what I will use this for if anything, but it was sure fun!

Tulip blocks coming together

2007-09-09T20:11:00.000-07:00

In an earlier post I showed 1/4 of this block, and now I have one complete block done. I am using one of the quilts in "At Home with Patrick Lose" for inspiration, but I am kind of choosing fabrics as I go. I found a great green in my stash for the sashing inbetween the four segments of the flower. Now I have to decide what color to use for the sashing inbetween blocks. I am amazed to see the difference sashing makes. In this first photo, I took a picture of the block against a white fabric:
Next I laid down my inspiration fabric (planned for the wide border) and then a sheet of the same dark green I used inbetween. Wow does it jump out so much better!

And then just for kicks I laid it on top of a sheet of purple. The purple also coordinates with the border fabric, so this is another possibility. I can't decide which I like.

The center square, by the way, is cut from the border fabric. I thought it would look interesting if each square looked slightly different. I'm cutting the squares carefully so that I get mainly the pink/orange/red shades, not the greens.

By the way, I like this digital camera. Somehow seeing the pictures seems like it gives me a different perspective than looking at it live.

Well, my progress is painfully slow (remember I have a one year old and a three year old in the house!) but at least I am quilting again!

Dianne's Quilt Finished

2007-09-04T21:42:00.001-07:00

I have finished the quilt for Dianne, the wife of Jeff's dying partner, Ken. I had the hardest time trying to decide what to do for her, and finally decided to go for this sampler quilt, inspired by Alex Anderson's beginning quilting book. I have actually never done a sampler before, and ordinarily wouldn't think to give one as a gift, but something about the variety appealed to me for this particular quilt. This sounds sappy, I suppose, but I feel like the variety is appropriate in a quilt that celebrates a life, and is intended as a comfort to someone who shared that life. I showed it to my mom and she pointed to the single Friendship Star block (middle of the 2nd row from the top) and said "that's Ken." Made me cry. Anyway, I hope Dianne likes it, and derives some comfort from it somehow.

I try to make sure that I try something new with every quilt I make, and while none of these blocks are difficult by any means, most of them were new to me. I am also particularly proud of the fact that I found quite a few fabrics in my stash to round out this quilt. As mentioned in a previous post, I purchased several fabrics just a few weeks ago in Big Bear, envisioning that the whole quilt would come from these fabrics. But it quickly became apparent that I needed more variety, and was thrilled to find that my gradually growing stash had some gems in it that matched with the overall tone of this quilt.

It's finished now except for the label on the back. I haven't labeled most of my quilts, because I don't have a very good system worked out for labeling yet. (Any suggestions?) But I feel like I should probably label this one. But other than that, it's done. Here it is:

As I mentioned in my last post, inspiration and momentum continue to strike, and I am beginning work on my next quilt. Here is a sample of one quarter of one block I am working on for baby Katie.

Quilting momentum continues

2007-09-03T15:37:00.000-07:00

I finally figured out what to do with the fabrics I purchased for Dianne's quilt, and it came together so quickly, once I got started. It's all done now except for the last bit of hand stitching on the binding, and the label. I will post a picture shortly.

Meanwhile, I'm very excited about my next quilt, which is more than a year overdue. I purchased these fabrics before baby Katie was born, intending them to become a quilt gift to her mom, my neighbor Ann, at the baby shower. Needless to say, I missed the deadline (and then the next deadline, Katie's 1st birthday, too!) But inspiration has finally struck and I have a rough plan for this quilt, and these lovely fabrics. More to come soon.

A sad source of inspiration

2007-08-27T21:08:00.000-07:00

I was driven by an almost irresistable urge to find a fabric shop when I was on vacation in Big Bear a couple of weeks ago. It was upon word that Jeff's law practice partner, who has been sick for much of the past year, has taken a turn for the worse and may not make it through the month. Since hearing that I've been irrepressibly drawn to the idea of making a quilt for Dianne, his wife. I can only imagine what she must be going through. It's not like a quilt can do much at a time like this, but maybe even so small a gesture could help a little.

I pictured in my mind something with soft browns, muted pinks, and pretty greens. Fortunately for me, Big Bear has a nice fabric shop where I found the colors on the right of the photo.

I found a few other fabrics in my stash upon returning home that coordinate nicely, so I'll add those for variety (the fabrics on the left in the picture).

I've been working quickly (it's a simple design), but don't have pictures yet of my work in progress. Hopefully I will be done in a few more days and can post the finished product. I've been extremely sad and really affected by what's happening, and the quilt making process has been a nice way to channel that energy. I hope she enjoyes it, and I hope that I finish it in time for Ken to see it too.

Finally quilting again!

2007-07-15T21:06:00.000-07:00

Inspired by Cheri's gift of an I-Spy quilt, I decided last week that it was time to get back to my quilting. Many things have kept me from it for the past year or two, not the least of which was the feeling that I didn't really have a good place to quilt in the house. So Jeff helped me set up a quilting station using an old plastic table we had in the garage. A lamp and powerstrip was all we really needed to complete the setup.

To get back in practice, I decided to start with a simple project, a gift for a neighbor girl named Emma, whose birthday party was this weekend. I used some fabrics from my stash:

Here is the finished product, which she can hang over a doorknob or on a small slice of wall somewhere.

Here is a detail of the letters, which I appliqued on with the help of a fusible web. Then I used a blanket stitch on the machine to outline the edges for readability and to keep the edges firmly attached. I like the way it turned out.
I hope she enjoys it. I know I enjoyed making it, and the feeling that I am finally back in the game!

I Spy Quilt gift from Aunt Cheri

2007-06-28T15:13:00.000-07:00

Since it's quilt related, I will post a link here to my post on the family blog showing off a beautiful gift quilt we received today from Aunt Cheri. Click here to see it!

Kira enjoying her quilt

2006-07-21T19:53:00.000-07:00

Here is another picture of the quilt I made for my neice Kira, that I forgot to photograph before giving it away. I finally figured out how to steal a picture off of somebody else's blog, in this case Kira's Blog. It shows Kira enjoying the quilt during a trip to the beach. Looks like she likes it! And it matches her hat.

Quilt for Baby Kira

2006-07-13T20:31:00.000-07:00

I forgot to take a picture of this quilt before giving it to my new neice Kira, but Kira's mommy, Kim, has a blog and she posted pictures of Kira's room, where you can see the quilt draped over the back of the futon. See the picture on her blog here.

My cat Whitney helps Cheri with her quilting

2006-07-10T13:01:00.000-07:00

My aunt Cheri and cousin Jocelyn stayed in our house last week while we were out of town, and while Jocelyn was recovering from surgery. Cheri used the time to work on her quilting, and my cat Whitney, always curious and into everything, decided to help her out. Cheri caught it on camera, and posted it to her quilting blog! To see Whitney helping Cheri quilt on my kitchen table, click here!

A gift for my new neice Hannah

2006-07-10T12:56:00.000-07:00

I made this quilt, shown here on the wall in Hannah's room, as a gift for my new neice. I used my tried and true Slick 'N Quick pattern, but added three appliqued butterflies which I found really transformed the quilt from something ordinary into something special. At least I hope so!

A quilted treasure from Aunt Barb for Andrew

2006-07-08T18:27:00.000-07:00

I can't take credit for these. My Aunt Barb Smith, an expert quilter, made this quilt and matching stuffed elephant for Andrew. They are made of the softest fabric imaginable and Andrew loves snuggling with it! What a wonderful gift!

My tiniest quilt

2006-07-08T18:24:00.000-07:00

When I was making the heart quilt, shown in previous posts (here, here, and here), I needed to experiment and practice with my free motion quilting technique. I was lucky to have a leftover square after the piecing step of the project, so I used it as a learning piece. It turned out well, so I decided to finish it off with a binding and a hanger. Turned out to be a cute little accent for Julia's room! Here's a random picture of Jeff and Julia that happens to show it in the background, followed by a picture I took today to show it up close.

Julia likes the back better (so does Mommy)

2006-07-08T18:21:00.000-07:00

I don't remember this quilt being part of this photo session, and in fact this was the only picture (among 50 or so taken in the session) that shows the quilt. But I include it because it shows one of my favorite things about this quilt -- the back! This is the blue and yellow quilt I've discussed before in previous posts, but here you can sort of see the back. I chose a completely unrelated, but adorable and very funny fabric for the back. It shows cats and birds, with the cats saying "Birds drool, cats rule!" (See detail picture below.)

Riley's Baby Quilt

2006-07-08T18:20:00.000-07:00

I made this quilt for Jody's first baby, Riley. Riley has his own blog, and posted this picture there originally (click here to see his post). I got the pattern from a book called "Special Delivery Quilts" by Patrick Lose.

Happy Valentines Day!

2006-07-08T18:11:00.000-07:00

Another example of my quilts being used as backdrops for Julia photo sessions. This photo session was done for the Valentine's Day cards we sent out. The quilt is discussed in prior posts (here, and here.)

Hopefully not a reflection on the quilt...

2006-07-08T18:09:00.000-07:00

As I look back through my pictures of the past couple of years, I find that my quilts are a common backdrop for Julia photo sessions. Here is an outtake from a set of pictures we took of Julia at about 3 months old. Hopefully this funny face doesn't reflect how she feels about my quilt!

Quilts make good napping places

2006-07-08T18:07:00.000-07:00

Can't resist posting this one. I've already shown and discussed this quilt in a prior blog entry, but I just love this picture of Jeff and Julia sound asleep on Julia's nursery floor -- which is covered by my heart quilt! I love to see the quilts getting good use!

Quilt, bumper, and basket! A gift for Julia from Aunt Barb

2006-07-08T18:05:00.001-07:00

I didn't make this one: Aunt Barb Smith made it, and sent it as an absolutely incredible gift for Julia. Not only did she make this adorable rag quilt and matching bumper, but she made the basket too! Julia slept here for the first couple of months. In this picture, Julia is just a few days old. (See the green light glowing from behind Julia's head? She had a touch of Jaundice after birth, and we were instructed to place her on this green glowing spatula looking thing - a "bili blanket"- for the first few days.) The quilt is hard to see in this picture, but it's made with an adorable cowgirl fabric.

A quilt for Jeff

2006-07-08T18:05:00.000-07:00

My next quilting challenge was to make one for Jeff. I went back to Sandy Bonsib's book for the pattern I used here, and for inspiration on the fabric colors. I got creative here and quilted Jeff's name into the border of this quilt. It's subtle, but you can read it! This quilt is the largest one I have made to date. The picture below was taken in our backyard in Redwood City, just a few days after Julia was born.

Going quilt crazy for Julia

2006-07-08T18:04:00.000-07:00

I got VERY ambitious while pregnant with Julia (must have been those nesting hormones) and made three quilts for her. Here is a picture we took to document my growing belly (I am 9 months pregnant here) and the three quilts I made for Julia happen to be in the background. The two hanging on the wall are from "Quilts! Quilts! Quilts!". The one on the chair is another pattern from Alex Anderson's book (see below.)

Here are pictures of each (taken today) so that you can see them in more detail:

Nathan's baby quilt

2006-07-08T17:57:00.000-07:00

I made this quilt (another pattern from Alex Anderson's book -- see below) for my nephew, Nathan. Here is a picture of Andrea opening the quilt at our joint baby shower (we were both due with our first babies at nearly the same time, so Mom's friend Diane thew a joint shower for the two of us.)

A gift for a very sick friend

2006-07-08T17:55:00.000-07:00

I was shocked to discover that a good friend of mine from my days in New York was being treated for a rare form of cancer. I made this quilt as a gift for her, representing my get well wishes. I found the pattern in Alex Anderson's "Start Quilting with Alex Anderson" book.

Christmas quilts

2006-07-08T17:44:00.000-07:00

My enthusiasm for the Slick 'N Quick pattern (see previous post) was so great that I decided (very ambitiously) to attempt FOUR more of them, this time as Christmas gifts. I made two of each of the quilts you see in the picture below. I gave them to Susan & Paul, Brad & Kim, Mom & Dad, and Andrea & Craig. It was such a great feeling to give gifts that I put so much time and effort into. Despite the fact that they were supposed to be Christmas season quilts, Mom & Dad keep theirs draped on the rocking chair in the family room, and I've seen Susan and Paul's on a rocking chair in their bedroom at Big Bear. How nice!

Me in action

2006-07-08T17:06:00.000-07:00

I was so excited by what I learned in the quilting class mentioned below, I went straight out the store to purchase more fabric for a second "Slick 'N Quick" quilt. I made this quilt as a gift for Michael, Cindy and Robb McCormick's baby boy. I didn't remember to take a picture of the finished product (made from adorable teddy bear fabrics), but I did find this picture of me working on the quilt.

First quilt I completed: Bev's Slick 'N Quick

2006-07-07T17:58:00.000-07:00

This quilt is my first official quilt, since it's the first one I completed. I created it in a weekend workshop called Begin with Bev at my local quilting store, Eddie's Quilting Bee in Mountain View. Bev Stookey was a wonderful teacher and gave me the basic techniques, and a little confidence -- just what I needed to launch further quilting efforts. Bev calls this quilt pattern "Slick 'N Quick" and I liked it so much that I made a several more quilts with this exact same pattern, as you'll see in the next few blog entries.

First quilt I started

2006-07-07T17:45:00.000-07:00

I actually can't remember exactly what triggered my interest in quilting. For some reason, I started watching Alex Anderson's quilting show on TV, and really admired the quilts of Sandy Bonsib, one of her guests. I ordered her book, Folk Art Quilts, and pulled out my mom's old Singer sewing machine. This quilt was the result. I titled this blog post "First quilt I started" because it's not the first quilt I completed. Mid-way through making this quilt, I decided I was enjoying myself enough to try taking a class. I signed up for Begin with Bev at Eddie's, my local quilting store and school. The green quilt in the blog post above this one is the result of that class, and the first quilt I completed. I finished this quilt shortly thereafter. Here's a picture of Tucker where he happens to be resting on the quilt, followed by a picture I took today to show the quilt in full.

Why this blog?

2006-07-06T16:42:00.000-07:00

I've decided to start a second blog so that I will have a place to capture my quilting and perhaps other creative pursuits too. My main blogging effort is on my family blog which I update several times a week. In contrast, this blog will probably not be updated quite as often, at least not after I finish the initial flury of loading my past quilting efforts. But I really want to see everything I've done all in one place. New quilting projects will go up here as I finish them, but with a new baby I don't have too much quilting time available! My first step will be to sift through all my old photos looking for pictures of my quilts and hopefully populate the blog with pictures that show the quilts in use or in context. It's nice to see how the quilts become part of the fabric of our lives. ; )