spring quilt | NW Quilted Cat

I started this mini quilt last week in my post about a batik play day. I had to take a quick 3-day business trip to Austin, Texas during the work week so I did not get any sewing time. On Saturday, I had a whole sewing day and finished the One Sunny Day mini quilt pattern by Carol Doak.

There was a brief ray of sunshine this morning that illuminated my back fence. I decided to snap some quick pictures of the completed quilt. It measures approximately 21 inches by 21 inches.

Here’s a look at the whole quilt:

Completed One Sunny Day Quilt

I used a really pretty fabric that changed from dark blue to turquoise for the binding. Then, I thought: why not add a little bling? I added just a few sparkles by applying crystals to the sun rays and the tulips. I also practiced using some different types of free-motion quilting using my home Bernina. I did some wavy lines, pebbles, cloud shapes, and swirls. You can click on the individual photos to see a larger image.

Close-up of the crystals on the sun rays:

Crystals on Sun Rays

Close-up of crystals on tulips and dragonfly button:

Crystals on Tulips and Dragonfly

How do you like the little dragonfly? I had wanted to put a cute little frog button at the base of the tulips, but I didn’t have one in my button stash. Instead, I found this sparkly silver dragonfly that I think adds a little fun to the quilt.

Enjoy this early taste of spring!
~Jennifer~

For Christmas gifts this year, I focused on giving handmade items such as holiday soaps or quilted wall-hangings.

I wanted to make a fun bird themed wall-hanging for my sister in bright, cheerful colors. Why? Because she lives in snow country, and I thought that a little taste of early spring would be a welcome addition to her craft room.

I found a cute little paper-pieced birdie pattern by bcheri on Etsy. I made (1) 6-inch birdie block, but the seller does give you instructions for reducing or enlarging the block.

Once I had finished the bird block, I added an inner white (Kona cotton) border and then an outer border from a green leaf print. I added some hand embroidery details on the wing, the legs, the eyelashes, and added the word “Bird” to the lower right corner of the “grass” area.

I did simple quilting on my Bernina and then added a small black button for the eye. I used solid black (Kona cotton) for the binding.

Here’s a look at the finished Birdie wall-hanging:

Bird Wall-Hanging

Here’s a close-up look at the bird block:

Bird Block Close-Up

I found some great decorative wire hangers for little quilts online at Pumpkinvine Corner. I highly recommend this retailer because they shipped the hangers fast and adjusted the shipping costs after the sale to reflect the actual shipping cost! I will definitely order more hangers from this store for future projects.

I hope you enjoyed your holiday!

Happy crafting,
~Jennifer~