Warmest winter wishes

I know I'm a bit late, but I wanted to pop in and send a Happy Hanukkah (hello, Schunke family!) and Merry Christmas to all of you out there. I hope you're all snuggled warmly and surrounded by people you love.

Waterfront Park Quilt finished!

Yippee, yippee, yahoo! The Waterfront Park quilt is done! This is by far the most "involved" quilt I've ever made, and I'm beyond thrilled with how it turned out. So much so that I really, really wish I didn't have to give it away, but it's destined to be a wedding gift for my brother and sister-in-law this weekend, and I hope they love it was much as I do.

 

 

 

 

My brother and sister-in-law met back in architecture school, so the original idea for this quilt began with the Architextures line from Carolyn Friedlander. Of course, by the time I started on the quilt, it was impossible to find the entire (or even most of) the line anywhere, so I was forced to go down another path, and I'm so glad I did. I love everything about the Waterfront Park line — the designs, the colors, the variety. And, of course, there's a bridge print, which satisfied my desire to get a little architecture nod in there.

The bridge print is the only one that didn't get incorporated into the front, mainly because I didn't want to break it up and lose pieces of the bridges. Instead, I included the full fat quarters in the back and then worked in the remaining pieces in strips. The back definitely took a lot less time than the front, but I love it almost as much.

For the front, I used the charmed whirlygigs tutorial from Turtle Hill Quilter, which is really well done. I started with six rows of whirlygigs across and seven down but ended up adding two half rows (one on the top and one on the bottom) after I realized the quilt wasn't going to be as big as I'd hoped. It's already boxed up, and I forgot to measure, but I think it ended up measuring around 48" x 60".

As I've mentioned before, the layout was greatly inspired by Jess's bee blocks, which I still think are great. Maybe I need to make a mini version of this quilt. Her little whirlygigs are too cute.

I ended up buying more of the wonderful domino dots in navy from Hawthorne Threads for the binding, and I really like how it frames the quilt so well. I thought about using one of the peachy fabrics, but I love how the navy really pops against the pale gray. I attached the binding by machine using my normal technique.

 

 

I quilted it using pale peach thread, which was a nice touch. It blended so well with the colors but also gave a little pop of color. I quilted it with straight lines in an asymmetrical "V." I think the quilting plays nicely with the twirling shapes on the front without detracting from them, and you can really see the quilting in the negative spaces on the back.

 

This beauty is now folder, boxed, and ready to go off to help some wonderful people make a new home together.

Of course, a reveal post wouldn't be complete without a few blooper shots. It was a very windy day, folks. Thank you to my wonderful hubs, who stood in the snow in his running gear (we stopped at the park pre-workout) so I could get pics.

 

Psst ... I'm linking up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced!

Giveaway Day winner!

Thank you to everyone who participated in Giveaway Day! The random number generator has spoken, and the lucky winner of the holiday coaster set is ...

#8: Catherine, who said, "I love candles... and, during the holidays, I love all of the fun decorations that involve candles (oh my goodness, Pinterest is overwhelming me!) -- with bells, with bows, with pine branches, with peppermints or candy canes, with glitter... it goes on and on!"

Congratulations, Catherine! I'll be in touch to get your contact info.

Progress and a giveaway reminder

Progress, progress, progress. First of all, thank you for all of the sweet and encouraging comments about the top for the Waterfront Park quilt. I am LOVING how this beauty is coming together. On Wednesday night, I finished the back, and last night I basted it. Sneak peek of the back (or the back of the back — I couldn't reveal all! — in preparation for basting. You know what makes great basting TV? The Sing Off.).

Okay, you win. Here's the back:

Love it too. Yesterday, I also picked out the thread for the quilting, and this morning, my binding fabric arrived from Hawthorne Threads! I decided to use the wonderful domino dots in navy for the binding, and while I was at it, I picked up a few AMH True Colors prints that I couldn't resist any longer. (Had to make the most of my shipping charges, right? Hmm.) Tonight, let the quilting begin!

 

Also, bonus pic: this guy. We spent our evening looking for suits for Matt, and B spied this hat while we were in Banana Republic. Of course, he refused to let me take a picture of him while he was looking at the camera, but I snuck one through the mirror, as any good mom would do.

Finally, don't forget the holiday coaster set giveaway for Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day ends tonight at 5:00 PST, so get on over to this post and comment if you'd still like a chance to win. Good luck!

WIP Wednesday #53

Howdy, Wednesday. I'm back and have lots to share, so let's get to it!

Completed:

Holiday coaster set!

These are the prize in my Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day giveaway (still open over here). You can read all about them over in that post, but the four colorful coasters are reversible and made of half-square triangles. The matching tray is based on a pattern from I Love Patchwork. Since I'm giving these away, I may just need to make myself another set since they match my new table runner.

In progress:

Baby, we are finally making some good progress on the Waterfront Park quilt! After taking time away from sewing while our guests were in town, I finally got back to it last week. Things went remarkably smoothly, and I thought I'd finished the top on Monday night.

But then I consulted the hubs, and we both agreed it was too short. I didn't want to compromise the original design, nor did I really have the time to make another row of colored blocks, so we compromised on this:

I added a half row of grey blocks to each end, and you know what? I actually love it. I think it looks better than the original version, and the length is just right now. It was the perfect mistake.

So, after several very late nights, the top is finally done! Last night, I started working on the back, which I'm planning to keep pretty simple and hope won't take long. I've got to get started on the quilting for this beauty.

Getting close to the end of one quilt always gets my mind wandering to the next thing, so I got to work picking out fabrics for two more projects. The first is the MQG Riley Blake Challenge quilt. As some sort of cruel joke (or obvious ploy to get you to buy more of their fabrics), this was the stack Riley Blake supplied for the challenge.

Hmmm...colors that do not go together include. I decided to ditch the aqua and yellow and focus on the gray, navy, and orange palette, and I'm loving it. I picked up a few more coordinating basics, and I think I've got something good on my hands. Now I just have to decide on a pattern.

But before I get to that quilt, I've got another baby quilt on my list. After much hemming and hawing, I snatched up a bundle of the precious Bluebird Park fabrics, and I adore them. Look at those bicycles! Bunnies! Hedgehogs!

It's no mystery that I'm a fan of the 'ol teal and lime green color palette, so combine that with the sweetest illustrations, and I was hooked. I'm planning on using a pattern from Fat Quarterly's Shape Workshop for Quilters.

Finally, I'm still working on my pillows for the STLMQG Pillow Bomb Project. The fabric's cut, but otherwise, it's pretty much waiting for the Waterfront Park quilt finish (see above). Wish me luck!

 

On the "to do" list:

Get back to the T-shirt quilt and Kitchen Window quilt 
Giveaway Day goodies 
Christmas table runner 
New tie for B (with a tutorial, finally!)
Superhero cape for B
Re-covering the downstairs chair

New pillows for the downstairs chairs
iPod workout strap
A mug rug for me
Ironing board cover
Another divided basket from the Noodlehead pattern 
Reusable snack bags
Living room quilt
Washi dress

This week, I'm linking up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced!