Signed, sealed, and delivered! I've finished off the Pink Sunshine quilt, and it's officially been delivered to the munchkin's math teacher, so it's safe to share, not that I think she's a blog reader :) I think she likes it, I sure hope hope she does. This super happy, mega scrappy quilt was a lot of fun to work on, using scraps of Lorelei's baby quilt  and other various pink fabrics floating around my sewing room.

I kept the quilting fairly simple, just doing a modified stipple with pearl clamshells here and there, majorly because I don't get to free-motion as much as I'd like to these days and I wanted to keep it from being a big hairy deal...but my machine is definitely in need of a visit to the spa, so it was a little more dramatic than I would have liked. It's been almost two years since her last spa date, so it's time, I need to just get her over to the shop for her full cleaning and tune-up. It's important to do, even with a fully mechanical machine! While I can oil my machine and clean out a large part of my machine, there's still areas I can't get to and things that need maintenance that are beyond my skill set. I used Aurifil 3660, a fun variegated pink, to go with all the different shades of pink used in the quilt, and also shockingly because it's the only spool of pink Aurifil I own! I must remedy this at some point.

The binding might just be my favorite part. It's a print called Lovebug Grid in Pink, which I stumbled on at Stash Fabrics when hunting for pinks. Perfect fabric for binding this kind of adorable baby quilt.

It feels good to finish a quilt. It makes me want to sew even more. I think the next quilt I want to get back to is my Anna Maria Horner quilt for my bed or the Lizzy House book quilt that I think is also destined for my bed, or maybe the living room. My HST bed quilt desperately needs another quilt it can alternate with!!
Quilt Stats
Quilt Name: Pink Sunshine
Size: 36" x 40"
Pattern: None, improvised strip quilt using scraps and made scraps
Quilting: Modified stipple with pearl clamshells in Aurifil 2660
Binding: Lovebug Grid in Pink

I've heard zillions of quilters say there isn't anything new in quilting, and loads of times, I agree with them. But that's not to say that we can't make little tweaks or twists on tradition that sometimes make something fresh appear - and when I filmed last fall for the new PBS show Fresh Quilting, that's one of the things I did.

I love trying to put blocks together, mashing up two different classic blocks that I love, and two blocks that I love very much are the classic Carpenter's Star and the Patchwork Wheel, or Cheyenne, block. I fooled around over and over again with the components of these two blocks, and came up with a mashup that I presented on last week's new episode of Fresh Quilting, which if you're an MQG member you can watch online for free anytime on the MQG Community site. I'd like to introduce you to the Carpenter's Wheel!


You can get your very own copy of the Carpenter's Wheel PDF pattern, from my Pattern Shop, and Craftsy, on sale this week for $3. It includes two different block sizes, 20" finished and 30" finished. This block is built with simple squares and half-square triangles and makes a great start for a medallion quilt, or a mini quilt of its' own! The pattern features tips and tricks on making eight half-square triangles at once, as well as loads of full-color illustrations to walk you through making the quilt block.

Carpenter's Wheel PDF download from my Pattern Shop
Carpenter's Wheel PDF download on Craftsy

I hope you enjoy it, and I can't wait to see what you stitch up!

I'm attempting shed my QuiltCon cocoon for the year this week, albeit with a nasty cold...all the while, working on building a new one for next year, but at least the crazy level of work is months from now. It's nice to have a bit of a breather at this point with work, at least a tiny one, for a few moments, but holy wow, there's so much to catch up with you all on.


Let's see, where to start...let's start today with cross-stitchy fun.

I've been cross-stitching like crazy. It's been an easy thing to pick up here and there between conference calls and Excel spreadsheets and mothering all that, and it's been the kind of craft I can manage to do without having to hide in my sewing room on the rare occasion that my husband is actually not traveling for work, so most of my crafting time the last few months has been the cross-stitching variety. Here's a few recent finishes...











And at least one still in progress...


I even taught my son to cross-stitch this weekend using a super cute kit I stumbled upon at Fancy Tiger that I cannot recommend enough - Cross Stitch Friends. He's seen me cross-stitch for a while, and this was just the project to hook him with!


Stay tuned for some QuiltCon treasures I purchased and some actual sewing soon! Woo hoo! Have a fantastic week everyone :)