Category Archives: Quilting

A Secret Finish {Still Secret}

January 30, 2015 kittywilkin 9 Comments

I did it! I set my goal to finish this quilt in January for A Lovely Year of Finishes (ALYoF), thinking it would be quite an accomplishment if I met it by the end of the month. But lo, here we are on January 30th (with still one more day to finish burying those last threads and defluffing) and I have a finished quilt!

I can’t show you any more than this tease of a peek at the binding and folded back, but I promise the full reveal will be soon. Since my tardy goal-setting post on January 14th, I’ve pieced the quilt back–including my first ever needle-turn applique–, layered and basted, quilted on my domestic machine–both straight line quilting with a walking foot and free motion quilting–, and bound this quilt. For slow sewing me, that is quite an accomplishment. Enough of an accomplishment, in fact, that I felt the need to take the quilt out into the snow to take some sneak peek photos so that I could post them here as proof–it’s finished!

doe secret quilt peek — Everyone takes their newly finished quilts out into a snowstorm to take photos, right?

I can’t wait to show you more of this quilt. But I will. I’m planning an epic whole-family quilt photo shoot this weekend, weather and toddler willing, so you will get to see every detail. Soon.

For now, I’m linking up with ALYoF to document my January success, and Crazy Mom Quilts Finish it up Friday.

Off I go to bury some more threads!

Applique, Paper piecing, Quilting, Sewing

Key to a Cyclist’s Heart

January 28, 2015 kittywilkin 8 Comments

Despite 18″-24″ of snowfall over the past 48 hours, we managed to keep our power!! Huzzah! That means I was able to sneak some sewing time in between the outdoor snowy play and the indoor snuggly game playing and movie watching time. I’ve been working on a second version of my Key to My Heart pattern (only $2 on Craftsy and Payhip), with the plan to make them into another seasonal tea cozy for my mom. I’m fairly certain my mom doesn’t read my blog, so I think the gift surprise is safe. If I’m wrong and my mom is reading this, —hi, Mom!!– I hope to get it in the mail so that she gets it before Valentine’s Day.

key to a bicyclists heart — I love matching thread! Aurifil hasn’t let me down yet!

I can see myself making this block with MANY different fussy-cut centers. This one will become another reversible tea cozy, using Yvonne’s tutorial on Quilting Jetgirl. I was toying around with the idea of making one side both hearts, and the other side solid, but I think I’m going to mix it up. One side of the tea cozy will be the pink heart and pink solid fabric, and the other side will be the bicycle and teal fabric. That way, this tea cozy will be seasonally appropriate throughout the spring and summer, too!

I’m linking up with Freshly Pieced for Work in Progress Wednesday.

Life, Quilting

Preparing for a Snow{Sew} Day

January 26, 2015 kittywilkin 5 Comments

This Storm Could be HISTORIC… New England: “No Town will Escape the Storm”… Powerhouse Storm: When Will the Heaviest Snow Hit?

With headlines like that, there’s no question what we’ll be doing tomorrow: hunkering down and waiting out the blizzard, hoping our power stays on. Honestly, I love snow. I’m excited that our forecast calls for 18-24 inches of the white stuff, as long as our power stays on. We have a generator now, so even without power, we can run the circulator for the wood boiler (heat), and the water pump (water), and power a little electricity for the refrigerator and a light or two. Note that my sewing machine is not high enough in the hierarchy to warrant generator power. But as the Boy Scouts always say, “Be prepared.”

So, today I’ve been preparing. Preparing for snow: the chickens are fully stocked with food and water, the dishwasher has been run, laundry is going all day, jars of water will be set out later tonight just in case. But also preparing for sewing, just in case we keep our power and I get some sewing time after the kids’ bedtime. My biggest work in progress these days is my secret sewing Doe quilt. I still can’t show you, but I can promise the reveal will be soon! I’ve almost finished the quilting, so next up is squaring, binding, and the dreaded thread-burying. I cut the binding strips and am all ready to make the binding.

I’m using Architextures Crosshatch in Cadet with a splash of Poppy for my binding. This quilt will be all-things Carolyn Friedlander, so her Architextures fabric line had to have a role somewhere. These fabrics make the perfect binding! If I can make the binding and get it sewn onto the quilt tonight, then I will be SEW prepared in the case that we lose power–hand stitching, baby!

I’ve also been planning and pulling fabrics for my next version of my Key to My Heart paper piecing & applique pattern (only $2 until Valentine’s Day!). I’m loving this bicycle print, which is Bluebird Park by Kate and Birdie Paper Co., for Moda, and the colors that coordinate just happen to be my favorite color.

I’m actually contemplating making an entire quilt of hearts, with various things I love in the middle of each heart, and of course in a rainbow of colors. How cool would THAT be?! I’ll add it to my ideas list under “selfish sewing”. Perhaps one day!

What’s your favorite thing to do on a snow day?

I’m linking up to my first Monday Makers! Maybe I’ll have my heart (and secret quilt!?) finished by next Monday for the next link-up.

Paper piecing, Patterns, Quilting, Sewing

Finishes New and Old

January 23, 2015 kittywilkin 11 Comments

Remember back before Christmas, when I only showed you tiny peeks at most of my projects since they were to be given as gifts? Well now that the holidays are long over, now that I’m back and getting into the groove of home life, now that I finally have a free minute to blog about them, now I can show you the full gifts!

I also have finalized and posted another Valentine’s Day themed foundation paper piecing pattern, which goes live in my Craftsy (for US buyers) and Payhip (for international buyers) today! It’s a day full of finishes, both new and old. A picture is worth a thousand words, so without further ado…

Open Wide Zippered Pouch by Noodlehead

I made this pouch for my sister, since her favorite colors are teal and lime green. The zipper installation was my FIRST ever zipper, and I think it came out quite well. I used linen blend fabric leftover from my Go Anywhere Bag, and I think my sister loved it! Anna from Noodlehead has the best tutorials, and this one was a perfect first-zipped pouch tutorial.

One thing I learned while making this pouch, though, is that when the directions say to “align… the side/bottom seams” while boxing the corners, you really need to line them up perfectly. The bottom and side seams for mine (as you can see in the photo above) did not line up perfectly, since I flew past that little bit of instruction, but now I know for next time! I’m hoping that the chocolates inside the pouch distracted my OCD sister from this slight misalignment! (Love you, Lucy!)

Reversible Tea Cozy

When talking to my mom about quilting about a year ago, she made it clear that she thought making a quilt was too much work and too time consuming, and therefore she did not want me to make her a quilt. She instead requested “a tea cozy for every season”, since it’s a quick project that can be completed in a couple hours. She also drinks tea from her tea pot every afternoon, so it will be well used and loved. It has taken me a while to get this first one made, but I don’t think the next one will be far behind. I used the fabulous tutorial by Yvonne at Quilting Jetgirl. I definitely will be using her tutorial again, since the tea cozy fit my mom’s large teapot quite well. Here are the two Christmas-themed sides of the tea cozy I made for my mom.

A New Paper Piecing Pattern!

And finally, a recent finish: a new paper piecing pattern called Love Struck. Special thanks to Julie from That’s Sew Julie for her awesome pattern testing! This pattern includes printable foundation paper piecing templates including two “printer pages” to help save paper when printing multiples, clear assembly instructions, a coloring sheet on which you can try out color schemes before beginning, and sewing tips along the way. You can find in on Craftsy here (for those in the US) or on Payhip here (if you’re international). Both this and my Key to My Heart pattern are on sale for $2 until Valentine’s day!

We’re getting lots of snow this weekend up here in Maine, so I know what I’m doing all weekend–sewing (and playing with my kids in the snow). If you’re looking for a good weekend project, turn this block into a festive table runner or pillow. Here’s the pillow Julie made from four blocks. AND she says she “whipped up this whole thing in a week while taking care of five kids, one sick, and getting a double crochet hat order together.” Holy smokes, Julie! You’re amazing!!

Get the pattern here:

Craftsy (if you’re in the US)
Payhip (if you’re international)
…or go to Julie’s blog and comment to enter for a chance to win a free copy of the pattern!

If you do decide to make this pattern, share the love and tag me @nightquilter on IG or twitter, and use #lovestruckpattern. I’d love to see!

I’m linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts Finish it up Friday and TGIFF. Happy weekend sewing!

Quilting, Stash Building

Rainbow Thread Eye Candy

January 21, 2015 kittywilkin 17 Comments

I have a confession to make: I’ve never made a quilt for an immediate family member. There, I said it. Yes, I have two kids and another on the way. Yet, I’ve never made a baby quilt for one of my own babes let alone myself or my husband. Well, that’s finally about to change! I’ve been working on a Rainbow Jelly Roll quilt for my daughter Maddie since early July of last year (as seen HERE and HERE), but it always seems to get shoved to the back burner behind projects for other babies, baby showers, and other family members. Finally, on Maddie’s birthday right before Christmas, we laid out the quilt and matched some threads to help psyche myself up for quilting and hopefully finishing her very first quilt.

I decided that I wanted to quilt this with simple seam-echoing straight lines in coordinating thread, but that would require a rainbow gradient of thread (awww, darn! I have to buy a spectrum of Aurifil!?). I had a couple of spools of organic cotton Scanfil and one 50wt spool of Aurifil that already matched, so I went onto the Hawthorne Threads site and ordered the supplementary colors. I opted for 40wt since I had never tried them before and the website said they were good for machine quilting. I figured a little bit thicker than 50wt wouldn’t hurt, so these 40wt beauties were added to my stash.

I’ve since then started and almost finished quilting this Rainbow Jellyroll Quilt, so I think my eye candy photo shoot worked! Here are some more gorgeous photos from my photo shoot with my adorable five year old, her rainbow jellyroll quilt, and the matching Aurifil thread.

matching rainbow thread — Most of the time, Maddie had fun giving me a smile for these photos.

I think she may have been a bit bored during some of it, though! LOL!

I seriously love Aurifil thread. It shines, has never broken once, and doesn’t fuzz up my machine NEARLY as much as other hand-me-down threads I use upon occasion. I’m excited to be slowly growing my supply of Aurifil.

It’s a bit of a motley crew, but I think the resulting quilting is going to be gorgeous!!

Here’s an Instagram selfie I posted while quilting. It’s my first-ever quilting selfie! See!? I’m making progress!

I’m linking up with Molli’s Sunday Stash and Lee’s WiP Wednesday. Building my stash to move a work in progress forward a bit more is always fun!

Applique, Paper piecing, Patterns, Quilting, Tutorials

Key to my Heart: Pattern and Tutorial

January 16, 2015 kittywilkin 12 Comments

Since returning from vacation, my design wheels have been turning and cranking out ideas faster than I can create them and turn them into patterns. I did manage to finish this pattern, though, complete with a tutorial. Key to my Heart is a pattern that combines foundation paper piecing and applique to help you create a perfect log cabin-style heart on a 9″x9″ block (or a background block of your choice. The heart measures approximately 8″ wide by 7″ tall). The log cabin pattern is paper pieced for quick, “perfect” stitching, and then the heart shape is cut out and appliqued onto the background of your choice. The heart is shown on the paper piecing template so that your block is perfectly centered and ready to go.

This block would be perfect for a variety of Valentine’s Day gifts, or even just to show your love any day of the year. I plan to make my block into a tea cozy using Yvonne’s great tutorial here, but you could make yours into a mug rug, mini wall hanging, table runner, or even add it to a larger quilt.

The pattern is for sale in my Craftsy shop for those in the US, or in my Payhip shop for international folk. It is on sale for only $3.50 until February 1st, when it will be listed at the usual $4.50.

Since this pattern combines paper piecing and applique, I decided to provide a tutorial to help explain and show each step more clearly. Once you’ve printed your pattern template, you are ready to go!

Instructions

Step 1

Paper piece the log cabin portion of the block until fabric extends at least 1/4″ beyond all edges of the heart.

Notes:

*Shorten your machine’s stitch length to 1.2 to make paper removal easy.
*The center square is perfect for fussy cutting! Find key fabric to share the key to your heart. Or, be creative! Do you love cats? Fussy cut a cat for the center. Love tea? Fussy cut a teapot for the center. Whatever you or the gift recipient loves can be fussy cut for the center of this heart.
Tip: Hold the paper and your fussy cut square up to a bright window or lightbox to be sure your fussy cut feature is centered before sewing.

Step 2

Using a long basting stitch (2.5 or larger), sew around the outside of the heart, approximately 1/8″ from the line (this distance does not need to be perfect, nor do the stitches need to be perfect. The purpose of these stitches is to hold all of your fabric flat while cutting out the heart shape.)

Step 3

Using scissors appropriate for cutting both fabric and paper, carefully cut along the dotted heart line.

Step 4

Remove paper piecing foundation paper.
Jump for joy at how easy it is since you shortened your stitch length to 1.2 before paper piecing!

Step 5

Applique your heart to the center of your background fabric using your preferred applique method.

Notes:

*To accurately center your heart, fold your background fabric in half and press lightly. With the fold running top to bottom, line up the center top and bottom of the heart with the pressed center line of the background fabric. Either measure the distance from top and bottom of the background fabric until it’s equal, or position your heart as desired.

Step 6

Find gorgeous matching thread. (I love Aurifil, and there’s ~~almost~~ always a perfect match!).

Step 7

Quilt and finish as desired.

I would love to see if you create this block. Photos of your finished block can be posted in my Night Quilter Creations group on Flickr found HERE, or can be added to the Craftsy page HERE. The first three (3) people to buy, complete, and upload a photo of a completed block to either the Flickr group or my Craftsy page will receive a full refund OR choice of another pattern from my shop. How about that for sharing the love!?

Want to share the love some more? Instagram your blocks and tag me @nightquilter.

I’m linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts Finish it up Friday. Share the love ❤

Life, Quilting

A New Year’s Goal: Balance

January 14, 2015 kittywilkin 7 Comments

I’m baaaaack!! Did you miss me!? I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, and that the new year is off to a great start. As lovely as our extended vacation was, I’m happy to be home, even if it is -12 degrees outside right now. I’m also happy to be back in this space, sharing inspiration with you. I have some gifty and secret projects I am itching to show you… all in good time. There’s so much to share, I hardly know where to begin. So I’ll begin with my favorite, a photo:

hexies in paradise — I did not do a stitch of sewing while actually on vacation, but I brought these hexies along for a tropical photo shoot in Cozumel. Talk about paradise!!

Every new year, it feels like a chance to begin fresh, set new goals, and form new habits. I am so excited for this new year and all the potential it holds. I have some big goals for this year, both crafty and family-related. I’m heading to my first QuiltCon in February, and our family is welcoming a third child in late May or early June. Many of you have shared a word to guide your year, and I’ve decided that my word should be “balance”. I love to sew, quilt, create patterns, and share inspiration. I’m also a full-time wife and mom to a wonderful 5 year old and busy, busy, busy (and equally wonderful) 2 1/2 year old. With another baby coming into our family mid-year, I know that finding a good balance between family and sewing is going to be my biggest goal. On a slightly jestful note, I’ve already been practicing balance; I spent the first week of the year in the 80+ degree tropics and the second week of the year (and every one hereafter) in -10 degree Maine! giggle-freeze

To help me learn to focus on one main goal project at a time, I’ve decided to join in with A Lovely Year of Finishes. I missed the January goal-setting post deadline since I was away, but that doesn’t mean I can’t set a goal! I think my favorite part about ALYoF is that it ~~forces you~~ encourages you to choose just one project to finish each month. I am a perfect case of an ADD quilter–I often work on many projects simultaneously, not making any serious progress on any particular one. I’m hoping that joining ALYoF will help me stay focused and actually FINISH some serious projects.

For January, my goal is to finish my secret sewing quilt. I know, I know… I can’t show you much since it’s a secret!! But I can show you the little peeks I’ve shared on Instagram, and can tell you that so far I have the quilt top finished. I need to piece the back (I have a grand plan of trying needle-turn applique for the first time ever to make the back as awesome as the front), baste, quilt, and finish the quilt. For a busy momma who gets maybe 5 hours tops per week to sew, this is a big goal. Why not start with a bang, right!?

Since this is already one of the wordiest posts I’ve written, I’ll finish up with some peeks at my secret quilt progress. I get to play with Carolyn Friedlander’s new Doe fabric, which Robert Kaufman Fabrics was kind enough to send me a month in advance so that I could get the quilt finished in time despite the late December release date in the US.

doe fabric peek — Doe goes SO well with its coordinating Kona solids.

This project has helped me let go of a bit of my OCD. I let this imperfect seam match go, but the perfect center (far left) made up for it!

I can’t wait to show you more, and I hope I can get it finished!!

What are your goals for the new year?

Quilting

A Modern Hexies Mini Finish

December 19, 2014 kittywilkin 10 Comments

I’m sneaking in one last post before I disappear for a few weeks on a much needed vacation & blogging break. I finished the mini quilt I’m making for my partner in the Schnitzel and Boo Mini Quilt Swap, and I just have to share! I have loved working on this quilt, and I’m pretty certain my partner will love it, too! Nicole at Modern Handcraft has a wonderful tutorial on this short-cut hexagon quilting method. I’ve done some blogging (and a lot of Instagramming) about my progress on the quilt, which you can read here and here.

Are you ready for a total photograph color explosion? Okay, good. I took a LOT of photos of this baby, and in my usual style I can’t choose just one.

modern hexies mini quilt finish — I took the quilt to the city (Bangor, ME) to find a good brick wall on which to photograph it. I wanted to mix it up a bit from my usual shed/barn side backdrop. I love the effect!

Finished quilt stats:

Name: Modern Hexies Mini Quilt (for Schnitzel and Boo, Round 3)
Size: 24″ x 18″
Fabric: Hexies are primarily Anna Maria Horner’s True Colors collection, with supplements from my stash (including but not limited to Carolyn Friedlander’s Botanics, Timeless Treasures Sketch, other Anna Maria Horner fabrics); backing Kona Snow; binding is Carolyn Friedlander’s Leaves in Charcoal from Botanics.
Quilting: Straight-line quilted through each hexagon, lines 1″ apart
Thread: Aurifil 50wt 2615 – Aluminum (light grey) and 28wt 2000 – Light Sand in the bobbin
Finished: December 2014
Related blog posts: Schnitzel and Boo Mini Quilt Swap: I’m in!, A Mini Sneak Peek, Modern Hexies Mini Progress

I’m linking up to Crazy Mom Quilts’ Finish it up Friday!

Quilting

Modern Hexies Mini Progress

December 17, 2014 kittywilkin 18 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share a commission.

One of the secret projects I have in progress is actually not entirely secret. It’s for the Schnitzel and Boo Mini Quilt swap. I suppose I can share all of my progress photos, I just can’t say for whom the quilt is being made! We’ve had a long string of uncharacteristically dark days here in midcoast Maine (it usually snows every few days with lots of sun in between), so I’m sharing photos taken with my iphone. Instagram has a wonderful array of filters and adjustments that help bring out the light and color in an otherwise dark space. Many (all?) of these are repeats from my Instagram feed, so I apologize to those of you who also follow me on IG. Just think of it as an inspiration flash-back de ja vu color explosion!

After I finished making English Paper Pieced (EPP) hexies out of the Anna Maria Horner True Colors fabric line, the foundation and inspiration for this Modern Hexies mini quilt, I decided I needed some supplementation.

evolution of a modern hexies mini quilt — Fabric pull for supplementary hexagons.

I cut out my chosen ones, and was all ready to EPP some more gorgeous hexies.

Next, I played around with layout and decided upon an Instagram-approved arrangement. It was decided that the bottom right dark blue-white hexagon would be best removed. I had been struggling with it already, upset that I didn’t have the perfect transition fabric to make it “work” in the flow, but hearing other IG friends and quilters suggest removing it helped me make the final decision. Out it went.

Next, it was time to start actually gluing! Yipes!

Nicole at Modern Handcraft’s pattern is fantastic. This is such a simple and “easy” method, yet the outcome is so fabulously gorgeous. I love the aesthetic of the borders between each hexagon, and the range of possibilities is endless. I didn’t have the suggested Aleene’s Fabric Fusion glue (Get yours here–affiliate link), so I used Fabri-Tac, which I had already. Boy was it a stinky and stringy experience! The glue would bubble up on the tip of the bottle by the time I got the next hexagon trimmed and de-papered, so it was quite a sticky process. Next time, I will definitely try Aleene’s, since I love the all-purpose glue for just about any other craft project. Sticky stink aside, I finally got all 44 hexies glued down, in a little over two hours.

I layered, basted, and was all ready for quilting! I only got a few passes done with the quilting before my sewing window ended for the day, but I’m very happy with my progress. I can’t wait to see this quilt completed, and I definitely will be making another one (or ten) in the future!

Update: I have finished the quilting and I’m getting ready to bind! I will show the quilt in its full completion after the recipient has received it (most likely… maybe sooner if I just can’t wait!).

Question for those of you who have participated in mini quilt swaps before: Do you stitch on a hanging sleeve, or leave it as is in case the recipient would prefer to clip it or hang it in a different way?

I’m linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced’s WiP Wednesday!

Life, Quilting, Sewing

Much to Sew, About Nothing (to Blog)

December 15, 2014 kittywilkin 6 Comments

This is a tough time of year for me in terms of blogging. I mostly like to share photographs of my progress and projects, but this time of year I’m spending every free second frantically trying to get projects done (and not very many free seconds blogging). On top of that, I’m currently working on two secret projects and three Christmas gifts, so there’s not a whole lot I can really share in full. I’m considering taking an official “Christmas vacation” from my blog, but also don’t want to miss all of you too much.

For now, I decided to take some crazy close-up photographs of some of my works in progress to share with you in an aura of mystery. Here are some of the things I’ve been working on. Go ahead and guess what they are, if you want! It reminds me of the backs of Ranger Rick magazines I read as a child, where they had a grid of super macro photographs of everyday objects and you had to guess the object. Have fun!

I also have to include this process shot, completely unedited. This was my first time using my new Massdropped pink clover clips, and this one glows in the dying light. I think it’s such a cool photo!

If you’re a quilter-blogger who also has a lot of holiday and family obligations this time of year, what do you do to ease your stress levels? Take a break from blogging? Let go of obligations or personal expectations? I’d love to know!