Octagon Quilt for Oliver!

So, I managed to put together the octagon crib size quilt again with Heather Ross fabrics---only this time with boyish fabrics for my soon to be born second son Oliver. I can't wait to free motion quilt again. Too much fun, but maybe I'll try and take it easier this time and spread it out over a couple of nights. This is such a fun pattern for me now that I've done this quilt so many times. The template set makes it really easy and it is such a great way to showcase fabrics when you don't want to cut them up too much. This is actually my fifth octagon quilt now... Guess you can say I like this design!

Octagon Quilt Quilted!!

Oh my! Last night after Alexander went to bed I started free motion quilting this quilt and literally could not stop! Except to change bobbins I spent nearly 4 hours quilting this and am now so happy to have it done (except for the binding). I just LOVED quilting it, even though it did me in a little bit at the end. I had the presser foot down at full speed at the end and felt like a mad woman on a mission by 10:30. I hope my friend loves this quilt as much as I do! Now I want to make another one for my own little man soon to arrive! It might be harder to dig out some masculine Heather Ross prints, but I'll see what I can find!

Another Octogon Quilt!!!

So, some people are stuck on making hexagon quilts, it seems that I am stuck on making octagon quilts. I have the template set to make this quilt and I love the way that it showcases fabrics, so I keep making it. Yesterday I finally started doing some quilting and was in the process of working on my red and aqua winding ways quilt when my walking foot broke:( How sad and how difficult for me to get replaced. I called the place where I bought my sewing machine and asked them how much to replace it and they replied 120$!!!! They asked me for pictures and when I bought the machine though. So, I sent that through to them and we'll see what they say. I am not expecting much from them though as so far I've had the worst customer service experience through them. What can I expect from Canberra though? If they didn't have a monopoly on selling Husqvarna machines, I definitely wouldn't have bought through them. Can you believe that when I bought the machine the lady only demonstrated the machine and did not let me sit down and sew on it? But, I do love my machine and have gotten a lot of use on it so far--so no regrets in buying the Viking Sapphire 870.

So, yesterday (night) I whipped up this baby quilt that I have been contemplating making for a while now. I dove into my most coveted and hoarded fabrics-- Heather Ross's... I picked my way through all the girly fabrics that I had from her and put it into this perfect cot/crib size quilt. I'm very excited to finally be using her fabrics in a quilt. I have sewn clothes with Heather Ross material, but have yet to make a quilt from her fabric. I decided I need to use my girl fabrics for a friend that is having a baby girl soon. No use in me hoarding anymore as I don't expect to have a girl now that number two is also to be a boy! Husband says two is our number--hmmm...ok... I really hope that my friend will like this quilt, I don't know if she is a Heather Ross fan or not, but how can one not be???? Ok, now to pin and (gulp) free motion quilt! I am a bit nervous about the free motion quilting on this lovely fabric, but excited too.

Some More Quilt Tops Finished

I think from the pictures in this post it looks like I've been more productive than I really have been lately. All of these quilts were fairly easy ones to produce and have been in the works for a while now. In actuality I have been absolutely going crazy all day with a sick little man for weeks now. He's had high temps with strep throat and a chest infection. On top of that he is his usual sensitive self and has had a reaction to the antibiotics I had to give him. Nine months pregnant, an unfinished house with a builder who never shows up when he says he is going to, plus a sick toddler equals stress for the mama!!! Quilting is my only sanity when I do get a chance. Here are the quilts I have most recently finished on the new guest bed in the still unfinished room!!! All of the quilts are Denyse Schmidt inspired or with her fabrics... I'm on a real kick lately to finally use the fabrics that I have been saving and saving for years now. Fabric is meant to be used though and as good as it looks on the shelf, I think it is important to use it.

I do understand though why quilters hoard fabric. Sometimes when you make a quilt it doesn't do the fabric justice and then there is the disappointment or feeling that the fabric was wasted. While it sits on the shelf the possibilities are still all in front of you. I have that feeling about the Katie Jump Rope fabrics that I have been saving. I've made a few quilts now out of this fabric and I am not sure that the visions I had for its use is measuring up in the quilts that I've been making. For example, the first quilt shown here is a Kaleidoscope quilt that I have dreamed about making since 2006. Put together I am not as happy with it... I think I made the blocks too big, I should have made smaller blocks--maybe around 8 inches. Also, I feel like there is too much white space. I think I will still put a border around this one which will hopefully contain all the white space that I feel is too much.

The second quilt top is my wonky log cabin finished. I really enjoyed making this quilt as it was easy, fun and very different from anything I have made. I very much enjoyed working with the black and white, but I think I am over it now. It was one of those things that I just needed to do, but now I think I am done. I love how the black and white allows the colorful Flea Market Fancy fabrics to express themselves... I am still debating on how I will quilt this one. Also, do I use a colored binding or a black and white one???

The third quilt top is from the free pattern by Denyse Schmidt for her Flea Market Fancy fabrics. You can still get this pattern free from the Free Spirit website. I used Katie Jump Rope fabrics again instead of the limited supply of Flea Market Fancy that I still have. As soon as I get some batting, I will try to start quilting some of these quilt tops!!!!