Metal Skulls

I've been working on the schedule of finishing one quilt on the longarm a month, and fingers-crossed, I think I might make it this year! Since it's October, I figured it's time to bring out and finish my Metal Skulls quilt.

The pattern I used is Sugar Skulls by Tula Pink, and I actually first made this quilt top with Tula's purple fabrics similar to the pattern quilt, but I loved the piecing so much that I decided to make it again, so this metallic version, using Luster by Zen Chic, is actually my second quilt top with this pattern.

I filled the background with dense swirls, with an outer layer of irregularly shaped geometric echoes.

For the skull blocks, I did some very basic quilting that just echoes the shape a bit on the inside, but I wanted to add some details to the skulls to give them personalities.

Just like the first skull quilt I made, Bone & Chain , I had their eyes roaming all over the place, with a few that are actually dead ... and one that's just pretending to be dead. I also quilted their noses a little different each time for some added fun factor.

I enjoyed making this little quilt so much! It was so fun both to piece and to quilt ... but the piecing was definitely the best part, and I don't say that very often.

Springtime Reflections

It's September and I still haven't made a single quilt top this year (I've been focusing on bags, bags, and more bags in my sewing room), but on the bright side, I've been able to whittle down the massive pile of quilt tops I have in my quilting room by actually finishing them!

The pattern I used is Mountain Reflections by Sweet Jane's Quilting & Design, but I named my quilt Springtime Reflections because the fabrics, Flow by Zen Chic, just look so spring to me.

For the quilting I was going for something that would be simple but still striking, and so I chose to juxtapose the use of white space with dense lines. I tried that for a quilt called City Tiles awhile ago, and really loved the effect, so I wanted to try it again.

I chose a very simple geometric design for the colored fabrics, just something simple and easy to execute.

Although there's a border on the original quilt design, I opted to leave it out.

I'm really happy with how this quilt turned out, as the background has a very mesmerizing look. And since next month is October, I'm definitely planning to quilt a Halloween quilt next.

Sky Harbor Tote & Mustang Purse Organizers

Last year when I went to visit Missouri Quilt Star Company (on a quilting pilgrimage), I saw this gorgeous dark blue fabric with a gold design on it, and I just knew it was going to be something special. However, I was unsure what pattern to use. And then, one day while looking for a new bag pattern on Sew Sweetness, I saw Sky Harbor Tote, and just instantly I knew, I was going to make it with this special fabric.

Sky Harbor Tote's main feature is the decorative zippers on the side, so I was very happy to find zipper tape and zipper pulls that complemented it so well! Along with that, the bag has hidden straps, slip and zipper pockets, and a recessed top zipper. It is very full-featured.

Since I have made several tote bags now, I figured I also need a purse organizer so I can swap bags more easily. And of course Sara has a pattern for that too: the Mustang Purse Organizer. I enjoyed making the first one so much that I decided I need another, so I ended up making one in each size.

The Mustang Purse Organizer comes chock full of different styles of pockets, and it is just so handy! I'm also totally enamored with the fabric I chose. These all come from my yardage stash and I'm so glad they finally have a home.

I used to make bags only because I wanted the finished product, but I didn't enjoy the process. I can say now ... I'm enjoying the process!

Flower Bouquets

Flower Bouquets is a complete delight from beginning to end. It was easy to piece, beautiful to look at, and the quilting process was so much fun. It was such a joy to execute this quilt! Both the pattern and the fabric is by Vanessa Christenson of V and Co.

I adore Vanessa's ombre collections and previously, I've made Glass Candies which was a metallic ombre collection. This time the fabric has a bonatical design, making it perfect for the pattern. Working with her ombre fabrics is always enjoyable because the colors are so lovely and they glow. There are rainbows I like and rainbows I don't, but Vanessa's palettes definitely fall into the former.

When faced with so much background fabric, my favorite thing to do is to mark out different areas and put different designs in them. I especially like to juxtapose straight line designs with swirls, as the contrast makes each stand out more.

As always I kept the design fairly simple in the colored fabrics, but quilted very densely around it. The only tricky part was getting into the nooks and crannies, but swirls are flexible enough that it can be done.

This was such an enjoyable and relaxing quilt to longarm that I was almost sad to take it off the frame! Almost.

Shimmer On

I'm a total sucker for metallic fabrics, so that explains why I'm so excited about this quilt. Shimmer is a collection designed by Jennifer Sampou, and I just love the gorgeous sheens in this fabric collection in nature-inspired colors.

The pattern I used is Nellie by Gudrun Erla, and it's one of those intricate-looking but super-easy disappearing quilt block patterns. I've often talked about how much I love Gudrun's Stripology ruler, and this pattern was designed to be used with Stripology to make it super simple.

I kept the quilting of this quilt very simple in the foreground, with just a simple geometric design to hold the quilt down. I absolutely do not want to quilt heavy over metallics, as I have more issues with my thread shredding over such fabrics, and of course, I don't like to obscure the gorgeous fabric with quilting.

I couldn't resist quilting the background more heavily of course, and there's no way I would not quilt some dense swirls on a background like that. But I didn't want the whole background to be just swirls, so I also alternated in a geometric design.

This entire quilt was fun and easy to make, and I had such a good time playing with the stunning fabrics. Sadly it is very much out of print, so I can only hope Jennifer will design more collections like this in the future.

Cruise Wallet & Jewelry Organizer

I'm going on a cruise with my family this summer, and it's my first cruise post-pandemic. Of course, I had to make something for it. Or, as it turns out, somethings.

I made a Turnpike Convertible Wallet a few years ago, but I've been itching to make another one since then.

It's not as practical as other wallets I've made (it doesn't hold as much), so I haven't had reason to make another one until now, but I figured for the cruise, easy and relaxed is what it's about, and this wallet is just perfect for that. Hands-free with the strap (which is removeable as well), with just enough room for my phone, and just a few cards. Plus, it's absolutely adorable!

The other item I made for this cruise is the Calliope Jewelry Organizer. I was fascinated by this pattern as soon as I saw it, as I just loved all the little bits and bobs and compartments this organizer had. Also, I was dying for an excuse to use this turquoise vinyl fabric I had in my stash. It was a bit of a pain to cut all the pieces for this project though, but once the sewing started, the real fun began. I won't pretend this wasn't a challenging project with very thick layers, but once it was done, I was so happy with it ... even if I put in one of the panels upside down, but hey, it still functions just fine!

Both the Turnpike Convertible Wallet and Calliope Jewelry Organizer are patterns by Sew Sweetness. I've become completely addicted to Sara's video workshops, and I just find myself finding excuses to make more!

Handiwork (Build-A-Block) Quilt

I'm always shocked by how quickly time passes, and I'm definitely reminded of it when I decide to pull out a quilt to finish it, and realized I pieced the top 4 years ago. It just didn't feel like that long! But it does feel like time has been on a speed warp ever since 2020, it's like COVID warped my view of time forever.

I finished piecing Handiwork in November of 2019. Handiwork is a Build-A-Quilt (block of the month) run by Angela Walters, and the fabric is Handiwork by Alison Glass. I really loved working on this one because the fabric is stunning, and of course, the final layout is very interesting, definitely not like a typical sampler quilt.

I've worked on just a few sampler quilts in my time, and one of the things I really enjoyed is going to town designing something interesting for each block. If I didn't enjoy quilting it, it doesn't matter because there's only the one anyway!

The background of this quilt definitely calls for swirls. I do love filling large swaths of the background with swirls, and though I occasionally I think I overuse this design, most of the time, I'm fine with it.

I did leave out a border from the original design, because I didn't like the way it looked, and I hate putting borders on anyway. I really love the end result, and of course, the cherry on the top is the lovely binding fabric!

I think I've already finished more quilts this year than all of last year, and it's only the middle of the year, so I'm really happy with my progress this year! But now that summer is in full swing, all bets are off, as I know I tend to get really slow in the summer and then have a hard time revving back up the engine after.