Catch Up

Here's what I've been working on the last few months!

Most importantly, this little man, who joined us on Thanksgiving Day :)

(quilt is "Dapper Canon" from Camille Roskelley's book Simplify)

I also finished my Quatrefoil quilt in Hello Darling. I'm sending this one to my sister who

 lives in Denver. I hope she and her cute kids have lots of good snuggles with it!

This hot pad was a fun little quilt along with Pen and Paper Patterns.

(The pattern is free on Craftsy!)

I also started a new Scrappy Trip with Gooseberry fabric by Lella Boutique, 

and white contrast, which I am loving.

I still have a lot to catch up on here, but this is progress :)

Super Fast Baby Quilt (Using the Scrappy Trip Method)

 "Scrappy Trip Around the World" is a quilt pattern that, as far as I can tell, originates here. It uses a very unique piecing method involving unpicking seams (on purpose!). It's a great way to use scraps, and delightful to see how the different patterns emerge as you go. I am making a classic "Scrappy Trip" right now, you can see my progress on Instagram @woodberry_way (#marquittascrappytrip).

I received a quilt order for twins this week that needed to be finished rather quickly, so I thought I'd use this method to save time, and it worked wonderfully. I've created this tutorial with very beginning quilters in mind.

Supplies:

12 different 1/4 yard cuts in coordinating prints (I used Cottage Garden by The Quilted Fish, plus some blenders.)
1/2 yd for binding
1 1/2 yds for backing
You will also need your trusty seam ripper:)

1. Cut strips to 4.5" by WOF. (You can technically make two of these quilts out of 1/4 yd cuts, if your cuts are very careful and straight.) You should have 12 strips, one of each print.

2. Arrange the the strips however you'd like. I do this on the ironing board because I have little fabric stompers at my house. You can blend the colors to achieve an ombre look, or go for high contrast with distinct stripes. The stripes you see here will be the same as the diagonal stripes in the end. Also, keep in mind that the top and bottom rows will touch eventually, so make sure you like the way they look together.

 You can see here I arranged the colors with two different results in mind- one with blended colors and one with contrasting.

3. Sew strips together.

You'll have what could be a simple striped quilt top. Don't trim it yet! The fabric widths vary depending on manufacturer, and that's alright. 

4. Press seams, alternating the direction on every row. This will ensure that your seams nest in the end, making it much easier to match up corners.

5. Fold in half, right sides together, and sew the top and bottom strip together. You will create a tube of strips. You can see I don't fuss about threads until the end.

6. Lay the "tube" flat, and cut perpendicularly into 4.5" strips. I fold it in half again for easier cutting, just make sure it's lined up! You should have 9 tube strips.

7. Take a tube strip and unpick one of the seams. Keep in mind that wherever you start unpicking will determine which print will start the pattern in the upper corner. Lay that strip flat.

8. Determine which seam needs to be unpicked in the second row by looking at the first two prints of your first flat strip. Unpick the seam between those two first prints. When you lay this one next to the first you will see that the prints have all shifted over one spot. Continue to do this, laying them out with the first color from the last row in the last spot on the next, and you will see the diagonal stripes emerge. (You can see I have highly qualified help!)

*Note: You can't rotate the layout (like in the original Scrappy Trip block) unless you reduce the pattern to a 9 by 9 grid. It will only work with a square layout. I highly recommend trying that too, it's super fun!

9. Sew your strips together, "nesting" the seams as you go. As you put your strips right sides together to join them, you'll see that the seams you ironed will alternate, making them easy to tuck into each other as you go. This eliminates the need to pin, and you can feel that the seams are lined up perfectly, making perfect corner points. Press your rows all one direction and trim any threads.

Voila! You have a lovely 36" by 48" quilt top ready to go-  the perfect baby size. Layer, baste, and bind with your favorite method. There are lots of wonderful tutorials out there for these steps if you are still learning.

Thank you for following along, have fun sewing!

Shortcake Quilt

 This was a quilt-along I participated in last fall. We followed the Cluck Cluck Sew pattern "Shortcake", and I did mine out of citrusy colors from my stash. This pattern comes together very quickly, especially if you use Jelly Roll. (I obviously didn't since I used various different lines.)

 Since I don't have a little girl at my house, I was going to put this one in my shop, but my sweet Mama snagged it before I could even do so. She loves quilts, but hates quilting, so we have a rather mutually beneficial relationship :) I assumed she was going to save it for the next granddaughter that came along, but was thrilled to discover that she placed it on a brand new Jenny Lind crib in a spare room in her house, along with another quilt made by me. She's now ready for visiting grandbabies of either gender, and in the cutest way, if I do say so myself!

Flying Geese Quilt

I made a LOT of things for Christmas 2014, but probably my favorite was this quilt for my oldest son's bed. The best part is how much he loves it! Seriously, bedtime has been easier because he's eager to jump in and snuggle it. There is nothing more that a quilter mom heart could ask for!

My new favorite quilt ever

It has been a major quilt fest on this blog lately. But then again, my life is a major quilt fest, so it's really not surprising. This one was so fun. It's my favorite size and colors. (40 inches square, if you're wondering.) It is super soft, works for girls or boys in my opinion, and I haven't listed it in the shop yet because I am probably going to keep it I love it so much. Also, my niece Molly joined unexpectedly for the photo shoot, so...bonus cute girl!

And another!

Here's another recent quilt finish. This one was so much fun, I'm doing another with the same design in different colors. And maybe more after that:) I loved using square quilts for my babies. This one is pretty tiny, and therefore less expensive, if anyone is looking for a great gift for a new little man! I've got only little ladies being born in my life right now, I need to get on that!

A New Quilt

I finished another quilt this week! I love this quilt because it includes some of the very first fabric I ever got. My mother-in-law took me to an absolutely heavenly quilt shop near her home in Utah and bought the fabric for me. She spoils us! She is also the other Allison's mother-in-law, by the way, and she is pretty great. Anyway, most of this quilt was made from those sweet little prints. (The fabric line is Tasha Noel's "A Simple Life".)

Girly Zig Zag Quilt

A friend at church asked me to make this quilt for her new baby girl. She picked the fabrics and I helped her design it. It turned out really soft and cozy with flannel on the back. She also wanted her initials and a heart stitched in the corner, which I loved. Happily, she loved it too and every time I see her she has her baby snuggled in it. Warms my quilty heart!

Jungle Quilt

I started quilting and crochet in 2013 and I am still learning. There is a LOT of trial and error in my life! One of these days when I do the laundry I will post a picture of all the wonky dish cloths I crocheted when I was learning. I kept them and use them to remind me that practice makes perfect! This quilt is not perfect, but it's a lot better than my first one, that's for sure.

                                                     The back is my favorite. I love dots!

Princess Baby Quilt

This unfinished project I started 1 1/2 years ago. The butterfly art I did yesterday inspired me to finish something else. What was meant as a "first" blanket will still get a little wear time before my daughter outgrows it. I regret not finishing this sooner.

All I had to do was bind it- well, just the hand stitching on the back. Easy, just tedious. I used invisible thread to machine quilt the top that I learned about in a machine quilting class I took once upon a time.