Christmas Reveal: Batiki Bird

Last June my grandmother gave me an amazing book for my birthday called Pretty Little Mini Quilts, compiled by Ray Hemachandra.  Normally I think that buying a quilter a book of patterns is a little like buying someone underwear, because it is highly personal and you never know exactly what they will like.  However, she managed to hit it right on the head.  This book is now my go-to for mini quilt gifts.  There is a wide range of techniques represented, and plenty of different motifs.

So for Christmas, I wanted to make my mother-in-law a little quilt.  My mother-in-law is a flamboyant, gregarious woman to say the least, and I wanted to make her a quilt that captured her spirit.  The "Batiki Bird" pattern by Sarah Ann Smith just screamed out her name to me.  Bright and tropical and plenty of fun ... plus I could see myself not having to do any major free motion quilting since this would only be my second try at it.

My completed "Batiki Bird" mini quilt.  Pattern by Sarah Ann Smith.

I think this was one of my favorite fabric store trips.  The blue I found for the binding is probably one of my favorite batiks I have ever found.  It is one of my favorite teal-y (tealish?  tealesque) colors, and I need to make some couch pillows or something for myself with the leftover.

All finished and bound up.

Once I assembled the quilt, which is actually fairly easy and incredibly forgiving, it was time to quilt.  That was a bit of a nail-biter for me.  I started by outlining the tree and the bird a quarter inch away.

I managed to find the perfect orange scrap for my bird in my stash.

Then I added straight lines up and down with some leaves popping off the sides every once in a while.  To be quite honest, that's how I left it because the idea of doing more really intimidated me.  Those swirly vines weren't there when I wrapped up the gift and stuck it under the tree.  But then my son got into the Christmas presents and changed my mind.  We were getting together at the end of January for Christmas with the in-laws, and he just couldn't understand why there were still unopened gifts under the tree after Christmas.  He brought the unwrapped quilt to me ("Present!"), and I decided since I had practiced more on several other quilts, I would add some swirly vines in between the long lines.  I'm glad I did it, because it added a lot more to the quilt.  Still not great, but at least it doesn't look barren any more.  :)

It may be sad,  but it's quilting.

When I zigzag stitched my applique on, I elected to use the same red-orange thread on the back of the bird as I did on the front.  I love the pop of color on the back of the quilt.  It's not often that I enjoy the look of the backs of my quilts, but I sort of love that this echoes the design on the front in a more sedate form.

The back of the quilt.

You could play with so many different fabric selections for this quilt.  I highly recommend this particular book as well as the other books in the Pretty Little series.

Christmas Reveal: Little Mermaid Wall Quilt

I am a huge fan of mini quilts as gifts.  They are small enough that they don't require a large wall or bed for display, they can be changed out and stored easily, and they can be made in a lot less time.

Since my sister-in-law has never lost her childhood obsession with the Little Mermaid, I came across this pattern and had to make this quilt for her:

Little Mermaid wall quilt.  Pattern by DebraHarryArtQuilts.

The 3'x3' quilt is made from a pattern by DebraHarryArtQuilts.  The pattern is available for sale in her Etsy shop; you can find the listing here.  While you're over there pattern shopping, be sure to take a look at some of her ready-made art quilts.  They are really quite stunning.  The border of this mermaid quilt is designed to be pieced, but I was in a time crunch and went with large sashing instead.  The mermaid is done with a raw edge applique technique.  I used fusible webbing because that's what I'm most comfortable with.  The pattern is easy enough for beginners in piecing and applique, but you can add personal touches that really liven it up and add to the artsy aspect.

This was actually my first time FMQing, and I used my new darning foot.  The scales are a little wonky, but I'm sure even a real mermaid wouldn't have a perfect tail.  :)

I added a few sequins to the hair after FMQing it.  They help anchor some spots where the applique comes together and add some fun sparkle.

I had a lot of fun experimenting with different techniques on this quilt.  When I assembled the sashing, I included some lace to act like foam, then quilted a long, wavy line on top.  I zig-zagged around all my applique to make sure it would hold, then outline stitched the mermaid.  I FMQed the scales on her tail and some lines in her hair.  The hair turned out to be my favorite part, and I added some sequins for more fun.  If I had more time, I probably would have added in some beads or charms, but I had to "scale" back (haha) on this quilt.

Lace trim and a wavy line create stylized waves at the top of the quilt.

I zig-zag stitched around the large and small starfish, then stitched an interior line on the smaller one. 

I made this whole quilt out of scrap fabric.  The background actually has gold sparkles in it, and all the borders are done in various batiks.  The original pattern calls for one large piece of background fabric, but I thought I would add some interest to the quilt with a sea bottom.  I had the stone bottom from making my Book of Monsters block, and it worked perfectly here.  I scratched my head for a while trying to decide how to liven up the side sashing, and I finally decided to sketch out some sea plants with a chalk pencil and zig-zag quilt them.

Zig-zag seaweed offers some interest in the side sashing.

I hope my sister-in-law loved it!

Christmas Reveal: Denver Broncos Mug Rug (and a giveaway!)

Now that our family has finally had its last Christmas celebration (the season lasted FOREVER this year!), I can reveal all the fun quilty things I made as gifts.  I will be sharing those over the next few weeks, as well as the rest of our Frozen Friday blocks.

With the Seahawks' recent Super Bowl win, I thought I would get cheeky and start with a gift I made for my father-in-law, who is a huge Denver Broncos fan.  I wanted to make him a mug rug or small wall flag featuring the team's logo.

The finished mug rug.

My first try at crosshatch quilting.  I think this was the perfect project for it.

These would be incredibly easy to make up for a fan of any sports team.  I simply went to Chris Creamer's Sports Logos Page to find the logo, then reversed it to create an applique pattern.  I appliqued it onto a 6"x9" piece of background fabric, did a quick crosshatch quilt job, and bound it.  I used white thread on the binding and I love the way it looks like an inner border.  The whole project took me maybe an hour and I was able to do it with scraps I already had.

Sitting on my pallet coffee table, which will be receiving a light coat of whitewash this summer.

Is it just me, or is that poor pony looking a little sad?  I suppose next year I will have to make him a Seahawks championship mug rug to keep it some company. But enough gloating.  ;)

Speaking of orange and blue, and of bowls, how about an introduction to the blog's first giveaway?  We are giving away three prizes:  first prize consists of this cool fish bowl quilt kit and 2/3 a yard of the orange batik fabric I used in mine, and the two runner up prizes consist of the quilt kit only.

Grand prize:  School of fish quilt kit and 2/3 yard of orange batik.

Second and third prize:  School of fish quilt kit.

I have been piecing so many tiny little blocks lately that I wanted a quick pick-me-up project with some instant gratification.  I had bought this pattern at a local quilt shop with a coupon from a doorknob flyer, and I set it aside thinking I would use it some day for a baby quilt.  The kit ("School of Fish" by Darlene Zimmerman, via EZ Quilting) includes everything but the fabric and batting that you need to make the quilt.  You get the Tri-Rec rulers, the fish eye buttons, and the complete set of instructions.  The Tri-Rec rulers are amazing and I have used them in many different projects, including the Modern Trees quilt-along at Christa Quilts!  The finished quilt measures 33.5"x45".

My two color choices.

The blue batik up close.

I chose two very unusual colors for me:  bright orange and bright blue.  They are both batiks, which I just love for their colors and the fact that they press so well.  These were calling out to me at the fabric store, but I had no idea I would love the completed quilt so much.  The blue looks exactly like the bottom of a swimming pool in the sunlight.  This was so much fun to stitch up with snow falling just outside my sewing room window.  The pattern would work really well with colorful scraps, also.  Think Rainbow fish!

There are a few spots where the points don't match up exactly, but I am really trying to get over my perfectionism when it comes to quilting.  I don't do a lot of traditional piecing because that bothers me so much, and paper piecing allows me to get the precision I like.  However, there is something really satisfying about being able to make a quilt top in an afternoon.  Here is my quilt top so far:

My quilt top.

This one is my favorite.

Here, the batik looks like a fish eye.

In a few spots, the batik pattern just happened to look like eyes.  I will probably leave the eye buttons off those fish because I love the effect so much.  I was planning on giving this quilt away, but my husband and I fell in love with the bright, cheery colors and I think I will keep it as a summer wall hanging.  Soon we will be adding a curtain rod on our blank living room wall so we can switch out quilts seasonally.  Now I just have to get all my seasonal quilts made!  I hope to have this one quilted and bound by the time our giveaway ends, so I will share the final product with you then.

To enter the giveaway, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post, linking me over to your favorite easy weekend project.  Quilting, sewing, crafting, jewelry-making ... as long as it's a fun project that gets quick results, I want to hear about it!  Of course I would love for you to follow the blog and share it with your friends, but none of that is a requirement to enter.  Please make sure you sign in before leaving a comment or leave an email address within it; if I cannot contact you, I will not be able to declare you a winner!  I will draw three names on Sunday, February 23 and announce them in a new posting then.  Good luck!