Covered in Threads 2013 Guild Challenge

As in past years, the women I quilt with decided on an annual challenge for our Covered in Threads quilt guild. You'll recall that the 2013 challenge was to create a polka dot quilt. Last weekend we gathered at my house for a few days of sewing during which we showed our polka dot projects. It's always fun to see what people come up with:

We also decided on our 2014 challenge. After several suggestions and a group vote, we decided that our next project will be a log cabin quilt.

This will be the sixth year we have a challenge. I love that we've been able to keep the tradition going.

Jungle Safari

This quilt was finished last summer but I just received the photos. It's a baby quilt for my husband's cousin's son, Max.

My mother-in-law and I worked on this quilt together. We decided to use the pattern I'd chosen for my solid's quilt challenge. The blocks are bit wonkier and it's cool to see how the prints play in to the quilt compared to all solids.

Here's a photo of me taken while we were measuring the batting during a spring quilt retreat.
 

I was uncertain of the colors. Max's mom had sent a photo of the jungle safari bedding she wanted us to try and match. It seemed like a lot of different prints and colors. But I think they work against the khaki and green.

We also found the great fabric for the back. It had all the prints and colors and matched everything perfectly. Most will think we matched the fabric on the front to the back which isn't the case; it just worked out that way.

 And here is my quilt partner, modeling the project.

Sparklepunch for Auna

I know I've said this before but I love making baby quilts for friends - especially those who truly appreciate the time and effort that goes in to the process. My friend, Jessica, is pregnant with her second baby and when I asked what colors she wanted, she practically jumped for joy. Because it was her second, she didn't want to ask me for a quilt. (I had just made a quilt for her first, born in 2012.) Nonsense, I told her. ALL babies deserve their own quilt, regardless of birth order!

Baby #2 is a girl and Jessica requested purples and greens. I love this color combo! I sent her several photos and asked her to choose the pattern she wanted.

She picked Sparklepunch. This quilt pattern is courtesy of Elizabeth from Oh, Fransson! I had seen the quilt on her blog and then it was featured in a quilting magazine I received. I could have made the quilt without the pattern but it was nice to have the measurements. It's the type of quilt tha tyou have to lay it out as you go. All the pieces are intermixed for the pattern.

I love the finished product and hopefully little baby Auna will love it, too!

I quilted this with an overall free motion pattern of stars and loops - one of my original go-to free motion patterns.

This is the 101st quilt I've ever made. Bazinga!

Chezney's Quilt

I was thrilled to learn my cousin's daughter was accepted and planned to attend IU. It's always great to have another Hoosier in the family! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to attend her high school graduation party earlier this summer but my mom and I planned to make her a quilt for her dorm room.

She requested hot pink, gold, and black. My mom wanted to do a log cabin and since she had a lot of pink scraps and I had a lot of gold scraps, I suggested we make them wonky. I was a little unsure of the color scheme but after putting together some blocks and laying it out, I fell in love.

These colors look awesome together!

We didn't finish the quilt in time for Chezney's move-in to the residence hall but luckily we were all together for the first IU tailgate to give it to her. 

Polka!

The 2013 Covered in Threads Quilt Guild Challenge was to make a quilt project with polka dot fabric. When this was decided earlier this year, I was very excited because I already had some polka dot fabric that I was ready to cut in to. I decided on a literal translation of polka dot quilt but using my polka dot fabric to make a larger polka dot design. I played around with a few different layout options:

When I finally had the layout I wanted, I used appliqued the circles on to the quilt. I thought that would be the hard part (I don't particularly like applique!) To continue the polka dot theme, I decided to quilt it using a pebble style quilting. THAT was the hard part. I LOVE the look of pebble quilting but it. took. for. ever.

Here's a shot of the quilt in progress; you can see the quilting I've started in the middle.

It was hours and hours of sewing but I love, love, love how it turned out. 

I am DEFINITELY keeping this quilt for myself. It's currently hanging in my sewing room.

The title of the quilt is very appropriate and it's also an homage to my Polish family.

UPDATED: You guys, I just added this to my list of completed quilt projects and it's the 100th quilt I've finished. YAY ME!!

Hooty

I bought some adorable owl fabric at Yoder's in Shipshewana a few years ago and it's been sitting in my stash, waiting to be cut up. Who doesn't love owls?

When a friend told me she expecting a little boy this fall, I decided it was time to use my beautiful owl fabric. I did a simple four-patch and all fabric, including the backing, came from my stash.

 Have a "hooty-full" day!

Uniquely Yours Quilt Shop

The Polack and I recently took a road trip to Nashville, Tennessee to celebrate our wedding anniversary. I've been quilting a lot lately so I was in the mood to do some fabric shopping. Do you know that Nashville doesn't have a single quilt shop? I was surprised by this. I did find two quilt shops listed in Franklin, Tennessee, a suburb about 30 minutes south of Nashville but unfortunately, we didn't have time to make the trip to Franklin.

But the Polack, who is awesome and always so supportive of my craft, insisted we find someplace to stop on the drive home. Some searching through Yelp brought up Uniquely Yours Quilt Shop in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. I also wanted to stop by Crimson Tate in Indianapolis so I wasn't sure which to pick (we only had time for one) but after reading some great Yelp reviews, I decided on Uniquely Yours. It was a great decision. (Crimson Tate is awesome too! More on that later.)

We had a bit of trouble finding the Uniquely Yours. For some reason, the map app I was using took us down a dead-end country road. Luckily, another map app steered us on the correct course. As we ventured to another part of the county (on the other side of Elizabethtown), we almost passed by a house with a small sign advertising Uniquely Yours. We drove down the driveway to the back of the house where we found the entrance to the quilt shop.

I have to admit, I was doubtful. A quilt shop in someone's basement; this place didn't look like much from the outside.

And then I walked in.

Uniquely Yours was stuffed with bolts and bolts of fabric.

Bolts on shelves, from floor to ceiling.

Bolts in front of bolts. Bolts in boxes on the floor.

Look at all those grays!

 Most of the fabric was in one room; a second room had fabric (including a clearance section where I scored some $3/yard fabric!) as well as a work area. Just off the work area was a four seasons room with a long arm.

As I chatted with the owner, I told her how impressed I was with her selection. She boasted that she has over 4,000 bolts of fabric. FOUR THOUSAND BOLTS! That is very impressive. And she picks them all out herself. She has a great eye for fabric; I wasn't overwhelmed by boring Moda organized by line; she had a great variety and there were several modern prints, including this awesome bundle. (Which I didn't purchase, much to the disappointment of my mom and mother-in-law.)

Doesn't the Polack look so cute sitting there, waiting for me while I shop?

Here is my favorite find of the day. I'm not sure what I'll do with this but it has to be something incredibly awesome.

In addition to the chevron print, I purchased some red and white fabric to go with my collection I've been accumulating. I also purchased some lilac and grass colored fabric for a baby quilt I'm working on.

Don't be fooled by the outside of Uniquely Yours; this is must visit quilt shop located about 15 minutes from I65 in Elizabethtown, Kentucky.