Category Archives: Quilts

Toes in the Sand BOM, Block Two

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I’m working on the Toes in the Sand BOM by Jaybird Quilts as one of my year-long projects. Check out my earlier post here.

I love the blues/greens/aquas in the fabrics selected for the BOM as they do have a beachy feel to them. The fabric is PB&J by BasicGrey for Moda. Check out your local quilt store for both the Toes in the Sand pattern book and the fabric.

For month two, we made 2 of the Santa Barbara blocks. These blocks came together quickly and easily!

Here’s a look at my blocks:

Toes in the Sand, Block Two

Toes in the Sand, Block Two

The weather here in Oregon has finally turned sunny so I’m going out to enjoy it for a while!

Happy quilting!
~Jennifer~

Memorial Day Weekend: Quilting and Gardening

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Over Memorial Day weekend, I had a little bit of time to work on several quilt projects.

The first project is a paper-pieced quilt that I’m planning on displaying at the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show this July. I’ve pieced it, quilted it, and just need to finish up the binding.

Here’s a little teaser:

Rolled binding strips

Rolled binding strips

I’ll post some photos of the completed quilt soon!

My next project involves sewing together lots of hexie shapes! This is a pattern called Snack Time by Jaybird Quilts. I was piecing together some of the shapes when my orange cat made an unexpected move and came to sit behind my sewing machine! Normally, he will only sit on the floor of my sewing room to do his inspection work. The lighting wasn’t great, but I had to take a quick pic before he moved.

Quilt inspector, Tiger, in window

Quilt inspector, Tiger, in window

In between rain squalls this weekend, my husband, 7-year-old son, and I decided to build a second raised bed in our backyard to plant more veggies and herbs. We made our first one two years ago, but decided we wanted to have more fresh salads and veggies this summer. We went to the local home improvement store to pick up some supplies and got building.

The larger raised bed is about 8 feet long! We planted zucchini, yellow squash, cucumber, bell pepper, tomatoes, lettuce, and kale. We also planted some herbs in smaller containers as well as sugar snap peas in a round container. Our cat, Cow, decided to test the catnip.

Catnip Inspector
Large Raised Bed

Hope you enjoyed your long weekend and a thanks to all who have served our country!
~Jennifer~

Country Lanes Block Swap

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I’ve signed up to participate in another quilt block swap with my sister’s guild. For this latest swap, we have to make 6 blocks using primary colors and a specific block called “Country Lanes.”

I’m really enjoying making swap blocks because they often use color combinations or patterns that I haven’t tried. I looked through my stash for primary colors that would really pop together.

I used batiks, but found out that I only had enough of the original yellow color for 4 blocks. For the last 2 blocks, I used a substitute yellow that I actually like better than the first one! Since the blocks are going to 6 different people, the difference in yellow fabric should be fine.

Here’s a stack of blocks:

Country Lanes - All Stacked Up!

Country Lanes – All Stacked Up!

Do the colors pop for you? I like the bright snap of these colors together.

Here’s another look at all 6 blocks together. In this picture, the 2 right-side blocks are the ones using the different yellow:

Country Lanes - 6 Swap Blocks

Country Lanes – 6 Swap Blocks

And, finally, what quilt block can be considered ready until it has received an official cat inspection:

Country Lanes Gets a "Paws Up" Rating

Country Lanes Gets a “Paws Up” Rating

My next step is to package up these swap blocks and mail them to my sister. I can’t wait to see what blocks I’ll get in return!

Happy quilting!
~Jennifer

Wonky Bird Blocks

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I posted earlier about participating in a block swap hosted by my sister’s guild. I made an applique test block originally, but I was just not very happy with it.

The block exchange has three basic requirements: there must be a bird on the block, the block must use primary colors, and it must be 12.5 by 12.5 inches.

I decided to change my block from applique to a free piecing technique inspired by Sarah on her blog, house of krom. In this technique, you don’t follow a specific pattern. Instead, you start with a block idea and just “wing” it!

The result is that each block with have its own unique characteristics. In my case, each bird block has slightly different shaped birds. The beak on one may be shorter than the beak on another bird. Or perhaps the bird legs will be taller or wider than the other birds. This is a fun technique that is a great scrap buster and will encourage you to experiment!

Here’s a closeup of one bird. I added 2 buttons for the eye (which can be easily removed before quilting).

Free Pieced Wonky Bird

Free Pieced Wonky Bird

I made 6 bird blocks in total:

Happy Wonky Birds!

Happy Wonky Birds!

I really hope that the swap participants enjoy these wonky birds, and I’m definitely going to use the free piecing technique again.

Happy quilting!
~Jennifer

Central Oregon Quilt Shop Hop Weekend

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This weekend, I went shop hopping in central Oregon with my mom. It’s a gorgeous drive from the Willamette Valley over to central Oregon taking approximately 3 hours depending on photo stops! We had beautiful weather with clear blue skies and temperatures in the upper 70s.

I love seeing the Cascade mountain range still in wintery snow coats against the blue sky. By summertime, much of the snow has melted so the vistas, while stunning, do not have the same pizzazz as they do in the winter and spring.

Just outside of Sisters, Oregon, you’ll find this stunning scene of the Three Sister and Brokentop:

Three Sisters and Brokentop

Three Sisters and Brokentop

Home of the famous Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show and the Stitchin’ Post, this quaint town was our first of eight quilt store stops. We picked up our passports, a pattern, and a fat 1/8th. Each store in the shop hop contributed 1 piece of pattern that will create a mystery quilt. In addition, each store provided a free fat 1/8th which you could use to make a special shop hop quilt designed by Jean Wells of the Stitchin’ Post.

This is the shop hop quilt using fat 1/8ths plus additional batiks: (sorry for the blurriness!)

Shop Hop Quilt

Shop Hop Quilt

In total, we visited these 8 shops totaling about 450 miles from home:
The Stitchin’ Post in Sisters, Quiltworks in Bend, BJ’s Quilt Basket in Bend, Sew Many Quilts in Bend, Homestead Quilts in La Pine, Material Girls in Redmond, Quilter’s Attic in Terrebonne, and The Quilt Shack in Prineville.

Here’s a little slideshow featuring some of the stores, quilts, and scenery from the shop hop:

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

It was a fun quilt shop hop, and I hope you enjoyed this little taste of central Oregon.

Three-Fingered Jack

Three-Fingered Jack


Enjoy!
~Jennifer

New BOM – Toes in the Sand!

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I had the great pleasure of taking a class from Julie Herman of Jaybird Quilts at the Block Party hosted by Quiltmaker here in Portland recently. In the class, one of the ladies mentioned Julie’s new BOM. I was intrigued!

I decided to sign up for this BOM through the Fat Quarter Shop. I think the BOM program is now full, but you can buy the full pattern set and pick up your own fabrics to make this great quilt.

Each month, the participants receive the materials to make 2 blocks. April is the first month so we also received the Toes in the Sand pattern book. This book is well laid out and easy to read so the blocks come together quickly and easily.

This BOM also uses Julie’s Hex N More ruler which is a very versatile tool for creating shapes in all kinds of sizes – hexagons, triangles, half-hexies, and jewels. Really, the possibilities are limitless!

I made my two “Baker Beach” blocks last night in about an hour while the hubs cooked a wonderful dinner. I had the opportunity this afternoon to take a photo in the Oregon sunshine with my dedicated cat helper and one of my official inspectors for all things quilt related.

My Cow cat has decided to rename this quilt — “Cat Toes in the Grass” BOM!

Toes in the Sand BOM - Block One

Toes in the Sand BOM – Block One

Hope you enjoy these fun triangle blocks, and I’ll post my progress each month.

Enjoy!
~Jennifer

A Quilt Mystery Revealed!

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For those of you who have been following my blog, you may remember that I’ve been participating in Carol Doak’s 2012/2013 mystery block-of-the-month program on her Yahoo group. My last post on the BOM showed my March block. You can still join the group to receive all the instructions and paper pieced patterns for this fun mystery!

In late March, Carol revealed the mystery solution! I’ve been working on assembling my quilt top for several weeks and even found a quick break in the rain today to snap an outdoor pic of the completed top. Once I’ve finished the quilting, I’ll post the finished project.

Here’s a pic of the completed mystery top (excuse the weeds growing in the flower beds!):

Mystery BOM Completed Top - Outside

Mystery BOM Completed Top – Outside

I used just 2 fabrics for the quilt top. The darker fabric is navy blue with large lighter blue stars and small gold stars. The tan fabric continues the star theme with small printed white stars and miniature blue dots. Unfortunately, I do not know the name of the blue star fabric, but the tan fabric is #1472722 – American Banner Rose by Minick & Simpson for Moda.

Here’s another look:

Mystery BOM Top - Inside

Mystery BOM Top – Inside

I really love how the quilt top turned out with the dark blue stars and the tan background. It has a patriotic/Americana feel to it and both my husband and son really like it!

This weekend, I hope to get over to my mom’s house to quilt a few of my quilt tops.

Until next time, happy quilting!
~Jennifer

Black and White Swap Blocks Received

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I participated in a group swap where each participant made black & white or black/white & zinger 12-inch quilt blocks and then sent them to the swap hostess. All the blocks were designed by Carol Doak.

Yesterday, I received my blocks in the mail! I am so happy with each block that I received and feel that each one is special since another quilter made them with caring and great attention to detail.

Here are the blocks:

Black and White by Mary D

Black and White by Mary D

Black, White, and Yellow Zinger by Dorothy H

Black, White, and Yellow Zinger by Dorothy H

Black/White/Pink Zinger by Erica W

Black/White/Pink Zinger by Erica W

The top block is from Mary D in Oregon, the middle block is from Dorothy H F in Massachusetts, and the bottom block is from Erica W. Thanks also to our wonderful block hostess – Cathy from Texas!

Here are the blocks lined up together:

Swapped Blocks Together

Swapped Blocks Together

I am going to use these 3 blocks and add in some of my own black/white and black/white/zinger blocks to make a fun wallhanging! I had such a great experience with this swap, and I hope you enjoy looking at the photos.

Happy quilting!
~Jennifer

Create Custom Quilt Labels with Spoonflower

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One of the great things that happens at quilt conferences, classes or events is learning about new techniques from other quilters. Several weekends ago when I attended Quiltmaker’s Block Party, I learned a new way to create custom quilt labels from Julie Herman of Jaybird Quilts.

In the past, I’ve either made an embroidered quilt label, printed one at home using fabric paper, or hand written one using a fabric marker. I would then hand sew the label to the quilt after completing quilting and binding. That is, if I remembered the label at all!! The problem with this method is that hand sewn labels are not very secure. The stitching could eventually become weakened and the label may fall off (or the label could even be removed at some point). Another issue that I had with home printed labels is that I could never be sure that the printed images would be archival.

Spoonflower to the rescue! What is Spoonflower? It’s an online store where you can create your own custom fabric or purchase custom fabric designs from other people. The beauty of this service is that you can create a simple quilt label as your custom fabric design and upload it to Spoonflower. Your design is then printed on the fabric of your choice and shipped to you.

I created a simple quilt label that is approximately 4 inches by 6 inches using a graphic program on my computer. I used PaintShop Pro, but you can use any graphic program. At the top, I used my initials as well as my name and location. I left the middle of the label blank so I could use a fabric marker to write in the quilt name, date, or any other important details about individual projects. At the bottom, I listed my blog address as well as my blog’s avatar for easy identification. I then drew a grey line for seam allowance around the label.

I got 60 labels printed onto 1 yard of basic white combed cotton for $15.75 plus $3.00 shipping. I got a 10% discount for using my own design.

Here’s a look at the whole yard:

Spoonflower - 1 yd - quilt labels

Spoonflower – 1 yd – quilt labels

And here’s a look at 1 label with quilt details added:

Spoonflower Label

Spoonflower Label

My goal with these labels is to piece them directly into quilt backs and quilt through them. The stitching will secure the label permanently to the quilt.

I hope this post inspires you to label your own quilts and maybe try your hand at creating custom labels.

Enjoy!
~Jennifer