Presenting: After the Storm

Welcome, old friends and visitors from the Blogger's Quilt Festival!

It's time for me to share my finished "After the Storm" quilt.  I'm so excited to share its story with you.

It started back in September 2012.  I had just finished making a quilt for my in-law's 30th anniversary and it was time to start planning one for my own parents 30th.  Luckily, I had just won a FABULOUS FQ bundle from Rita at Red Pepper Quilts, and was chomping at the bit to use it.

However, choosing a quilt design to make for my mom was HARD.  She doesn't seem as intrigued by all the gorgeous modern quilts out there that I love.  I got the feeling she really liked the quilts that reminded her of the ones my grandmothers used to make.  Uber traditional and not really ME.  Plus, my mom has done her share of sewing and quilt making, so I didn't want to mess this one up. 

Finally, I came across this pin on pinterest:

SOURCE:  Pinterest

 Unfortunately, it doesn't lead anywhere!  I searched and searched for more photos like this one, but the only one I found has now been taken down.  Oh well,  it doesn't matter.  I had found my inspiration.  The pattern is called "Storm at Sea" and it is super old - very traditional, right?  All I had to do was give a little twist with color placement and walla!  Modern Traditional.  Totally something I could get on board with, and hopefully something Mom could agree with.  So I started sketching.

Then I made a few practice blocks:

And some more blocks (I got better with time.  In fact, I grew TONS as a quilter over the course of making this quilt).

 

Then I had a quilt top.

And then I made it slightly bigger.

I came across this photo today and couldn't help but share it with you.  My twins have grown SO much since this photo.  I had forgotten the days when I could do a little sewing without them getting into everything and begging me to play with them instead...

I used up most of my FQ bundle on this section, so I stopped there.  Of course, then I had the extreme fortune to win myself another bundle - this time they were Oakshott solids and they were from Lily's Quilts.  I decided to make my quilt bigger.  I discovered the Snail Trail block and was happy to find that it works perfectly with the Storm at Sea block.  So I sketched some more.

And cut up some of that beautiful, shimmery Oakshott.

At that point, I decided to put this quilt on back burner and worked on it in bits and pieces here and there.

Gradually, I built up my stack of Snail Trail blocks,

and made a bunch of diamond blocks,
By the way, all of the blocks were paper pieced and there were LOTS of pieces.  Wanna guess how many in the whole quilt?  Well, I'll tell you.  3,118.  True story.

I assembled all of the blocks into 9 sections before quilting.  This is as close as I came to a completed "top."

My plan was to quilt this in sections and put them together "Quilt As You Go" style.  The quilt top was about 114 x 123, so I wasn't about to try quilting the whole thing on my home machine.

Quilting close up from the first (center) section

I took Ann Peterson's "Quilting Big Projects on a Small Machine" class and loved it!  I decided to use her "Medallion" method for attaching my quilted sections.   It was a TON of work and there was a lot of time spent in front of the TV with a pair of snips, but I think it turned out great! 

Quilting close up from the second section - see how the bottom part is not quilted yet?

I agonized for days on what type of batting to use.  I read over and over again that polyester batting is slippery and difficult to quilt with on a home machine.  BUT I happen to know that my mom loves it.  She believes that quilts should be PUFFY (which it ended up not really being because I couldn't help but quilt it heavily).  So I bit the bullet and used polyester.  GASP!  I know!  And I really didn't have any problems.  I spray basted using Ann's method and really only had one big pucker in the entire quilt!  This one, right here:

Of course, by that point I wasn't about to go back and fix that.

 I think the reason I had so much success with the poly batting was because (once again), I took Ann's advice and stitched in the ditch around ALL of my blocks before doing ANY free motion quilting.  I am a complete fan of this method from now on.

You can read more about my quilting experience HERE.

And here are a few more up close shots of the quilting:

Before diving in, I put my original sketch in a sheet protector and started doodling designs with a fine tip dry erase marker.  I ended up more or less going for the top design.

I was hoping to finish the quilt in time for my parent's 30th anniversary, but I just missed it.  Instead, it was ready by the day before Easter - only one week late.  Here's the problem, though.  I laid it outside to take photographs and this is what it looked like:
It was gorgeous and all, but it would NOT lie flat (I'm pretty sure it's because of the way I quilted the center section and then attempted to add an unquilted section to it, and still match up seams).

Especially in the corners.  No amount of tugging was going to fix this.

 Luckily, I Ann Peterson ALSO taught us how to "Block" quilts when they won't lie flat.  So I washed the quilt on a gentle cycle, patted it dry as best I could, laid out a bunch of towels on the basement floor, and proceeded to tack the quilt down flat and straight all along the edges.  Then I left it to dry overnight with a fan on it.  Now it lies MUCH flatter.  Thank you, Ann Peterson!

But still.  After quilting and washing, this thing was about 116" x 108" (a full 3.5 inches smaller than the quilt top on all four sides) and huge!  That's almost 10 feet long!  I really struggled to find a place to photograph it.  I tried hanging it off our deck, but it was still too big, and it was obviously much to big for the hubby to hold up by himself.

Luckily, the in-laws have a second story deck and lots of brothers/sisters in law to hold it up.

Wait a sec.  Who are those two cute boys supervising the quilt holding?  Surely not the same ones from that other photo...

My parents LOVED it!  I think my mom suspected and hoped I was making this for her all along, so she was pleased.  It's so great to have this finished!

For the back, I collected solids from the remnant bin at Joanns over several trips and ended up with giant log cabin. 

I love how the quilting looks on the back.  I'm a firm believer in matching bobbin thread to top thread, so most of the quilting is white and really stands out.

 And just a *FEW* more photos, just for fun.

 

I only wish I had remembered to take a photo of it on our bed before giving it to my parents.  We recently scored a HUGE King sized bed set and I was really looking forward to trying it out.  Of course, I did get to take a peek of it on my parent's King sized bed, so I guess that works.  It turns out that the quilt fits pretty well with plenty of drape on the sides, but about 10 inches more than is strictly necessary on the bottom.  Oops.  At least this way, Mom and Dad will be able to tuck it under the mattress and it won't come loose (I totally hate it when my blankets don't stay tucked in while I sleep, don't you?) - which is pretty much the main reason I made it so big.

*EDIT* 6/8/14:
I borrowed the quilt from my parents to enter it in a show and finally got those pictures on my bed!  Proof that maybe there is such a thing as a quilt that is too big?

Of course, a friend recommended that I turn the quilt sideways, and that helped.  :)

And finally, the stats.

Quilt stats:

Started: September, 2012

Finished: April 19, 2014

Fabrics:  Kona Cotton Solids, Oakshott Colorbox solids, Kona Bone, Symphony Eggshell

Finished size: 108" x 116"

Recipient:  Mom and Dad

Methods used:  Paper Piecing, Free Motion Quilting (on my home machine)

Binding:  Machine stitched to front, hand stitched to back

Approximate number of hours spent:  At LEAST 100 (near as I can figure)

Total number of fabric pieces (not including backing):  3,118

All previous progress posts for this quilt can be found HERE.

Anyway.  If you've made it this far, congratulations!  You are awesome.  Thanks for stopping by to visit my quilt!  For tons and tons more inspiration, check out the rest of the Blogger's Quilt Festival here:

I'm entering this quilt in the ROYGBIV category.

One more thing - this quilt is now a PATTERN!  I'm SO EXCITED to be releasing PDF copies in my Etsy Shop:  Always Sewin Somethin.  If you want to make one for yourself (and it doesn't have to be King size - the pattern includes 7 size options), check it out!  I'm even considering pattern testers right now.  Let me know if you're interested!

I'm also giving away TWO copies of the pattern HERE.  Giveaway is only open for a little while longer and closes at 5 pm Pacific Time on Friday May 16, 2014.  

Thanks for stopping by!

P.S. This quilt is part of my Q2 Finish Along List, which can be found HERE.  Linking up:

Henrik's Quiet Book

I made another quiet book!  Yay!  Here's the story.

Several weeks ago, a friend of mine came over with her son Henrik who is just a few months younger than my boys.  She wanted to see my quiet books, so I got them ALL out and proceeded to talk her ear off about each one and how it was made.  :)  I figured she was there for inspiration and wanted to make one of her own.  Then after a little while she whipped out her checkbook and said "I want one."  I was so surprised (as I always am) someone wanted to buy one of my quiet books that she had a check written out before I could even stop her!  ANYWAY.  For such an awesome friend, I couldn't decide which one to make her, so I took all the best parts and combined them into one book!  Now I'm thinking I'm going to have to add this one to my shop.  :)

Wanna see?  Here it is:

I decided it was time to take the plunge and try adding SNAPS!  After much research, and several returned products, I found a pair of snap pliers and snaps at kamsnaps.com and they are TOTALLY AWESOME and VERY reasonably priced.  I think I'll be adding these snaps to all my quiet books now!  It turns out they are a little tough to pull apart, but they are definitely strong and won't be coming off anytime!

I combined all the pages from my shapes book into one.  I like this WAY better because I omitted the extra words and it was nice not having to stitch ALL those itty bitty letters.  There's a little bear behind those tent flaps, by the way.  And I added googly eyes to the little baby behind the door.  SO CUTE.

Most people say that they house page is their favorite from my two original quiet books.   So I had to include one for Henrik.  And that barn page is pretty awesome.  I picked it up from Homemade by Jill.  Instead of stitching eyes and noses, I used more googly eyes and a couple buttons.  Way easier and totally awesome.  Because this is the only page that I didn't create an original design for, I don't feel comfortable selling pages made from it.  So I will have to think of a new page to sell in my shop.  Hmmm.

I could tell that my friend like the buttons version of my colors books the best, so I made a colors spread with buttons.  Again, it was nice omitting the extra letters and using some fun fabric scraps.  

And then I couldn't stop!  I wanted to make one more spread, so I made a counting page and an I-spy page.  Mostly because they were the simplest, but also because they added the most variety.  Plus, I wanted a chance to use those cute star beads.  :)

Of course, I added a baggie to the back for storing velcro shapes, or whatever else needs to be stored.

One more shot.  I finished the last page after the sun started going down, so I snapped this quick fuzzy photo in my (poorly lit) sewing room.

And the best part?  My friend LOVED it!  I brought it to church with me and handed it to her son right before church started.  She told me after church that everyone in their pew was playing with it and that I'm probably going to have to make another one for her husband because he was having so much fun with it.  :)  Pretty awesome praise.

I've got another quiet book in the works - ABCs.  It's going to be epic.  Probably a lot of work ahead of me, but I'm excited to try some new designs.

As always, thanks for visiting!  You guys are all so awesome.

Edited 6/13/14:  Linking up with Fort Worth Fabric Studio's "Oh Sew Baby" series.  Check it out!

After the Storm: My First Pattern and a Giveaway!

Hi everyone, and welcome to those visiting from Sew Mama Sew.

Well, I'm totally doing this backwards, but I can't really help myself.  See, today is SMS Giveaway day.  I wasn't planning on giving anything away this time around, but then I had this idea - maybe a good one, maybe not so much.  We'll see what you all think.   ;)

My regular readers probably know that I finished my gigantic and color explosive "After the Storm" quilt recently.

I've blogged about it a TON, but still haven't done an official reveal.  I wanted to save that for the Blogger's Quilt Festival, which begins on Friday, so come back then for more photos.

What most of my regulars probably don't know is that I decided to sit down and write a pattern for this quilt.  I've had many positive comments about my progress, and finally one of my readers messaged me begging for a pattern.  So I thought about it for awhile and decided that even though I've never done it before, "How hard could it be?"  Of course, then I decided I wanted to include alternate size options for the quilt, in case other people don't feel inspired to make theirs huge-o-mongous like mine. 

Four weeks and many hours later, I have a finished quilt pattern with SEVEN size options.  :)  I'm super excited to be finally releasing it!  The pattern is paper pieced, and although I have not included instructions on how to paper piece, I did include lots of awesome links to tutorials online.  The pattern is super detailed (at least, I think so), and even includes diagrams for cutting fabric efficiently (because we all know how much paper piecing tends to EAT fabric).

You can find it for sale in my Etsy shop here:  Always Sewin Somethin

To celebrate my first pattern release, I am going to giveaway two PDF copies!  The winners can choose either the large quilt sizes (King/Queen/Full),

or the smaller quilt sizes (Twin/Lap/Baby).  The pattern will be emailed to the winners, so obviously anyone is welcome to enter! 
(Of course, I'm still pretty nervous about putting my first pattern out there for everybody to see, so hopefully somebody is willing to try it out for me!)

To enter, leave me a comment telling me what fabrics you might use for your version of "After the Storm."  Prints?  Solids?  A particular fabric line or color scheme?  I'd love to know!

For a second entry, follow my blog and leave another comment.  I'd love to know how many out there are reading along!  ;)
This giveaway will remain open until Friday, May 16th at 5:00 PST.   I will choose a winner via Random.org and email the winner their choice of pattern.

Now go check out all the other amazing things up for grabs:

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED! 
Congratulations to Cynthia and Bonnie!