quilting

2 by 4 Quilt Top

two by four quilt top - NoodleheadI finished my 2 by 4 quilt top yesterday! I’m definitely excited about it. I had been plotting and planning after finalizing my fat quarter bundle for Stash Fabrics Design Star last year. There was no way I wanted it to sit around any longer! I just love these colors and fabrics together. They’re fresh and springy and make me pretty darn happy.

I had considered doing something a bit more elaborate with the bundle and kept flipping through my list of quilts that I someday wanted to make. Nothing was quite striking a chord though. Until Ashley posted her latest 2 by 4 quilt top, that’s when it sort of clicked in my head, but then it took my brain a few months to finally commit and then one day I started chopping up fabric. It just felt right.

The blocks came together in less than the Hamilton soundtrack and I chain pieced the rows together and finished the top in a few hours as well.two by four quilt top - Noodlehead

As I was sewing the blocks together I realized I really didn’t have a plan for this quilt and who it will eventually live with. Almost every time I make a quilt I have a gift to give or already have somewhere I want to donate it to, but not this time. I suppose I might keep it for myself but I think I’ll wait until its finished. It’s kind of different feeling to not know where it’ll end up, but I do know I’m excited to quilt it. It doesn’t feel like I make a lot of quilts, so I really enjoy the quilting process itself. I’ve spent enough time making mistakes and learning that now I’m able to not worry about messing things up, so it’s relaxing and exciting at the same time.two by four quilt top - Noodlehead


Pattern: 2 by 4 Quilt Block by Ashley (Film in the Fridge)
Fabrics: Stash Fabrics Fat Quarter Bundle that I curated last year (bundle here at Stash)


two by four quilt top - Noodlehead

quilting

Natalie’s Print Shop Quilt

Natalie's Print Shop Quilt - Noodlehead

Natalie's Print Shop Quilt - Noodlehead

Natalie's Print Shop Quilt - NoodleheadI’m so excited about this finish! It was my daughter Natalie’s first quilt top that she’s made. She loves sewing little blankets and things for her stuffed animals, but this was the first time we spent time going over rotary cutting basics and piecing. We settled upon Alexia Abegg’s Print Shop fabric collection that I picked up at my local quilt shop, Olive Juice Quilts. We added a few other Cotton + Steel prints that I had in my stash. When I spotted the Swatch pattern for the first time I knew it would be a great one for Natalie to try!Natalie's Print Shop Quilt - Noodlehead

Natalie's Print Shop Quilt - Noodlehead

She’s just a few weeks away from turning 11 and I think it was a great age to try piecing a simple quilt top. Natalie cut about half of the pieces, while I cut the other half. We worked together by taking turns pressing and starching our fabrics and then making the different cuts. It was super nerve-wracking for me to watch her with the rotary cutter, but I’m glad we did it together. Teaching her basic safety with the rotary cutter was super important to me. I’m glad she has a bit of that under her belt now.Natalie's Print Shop Quilt - Noodlehead

So when it came to piecing the top I did the pressing and pinning for her. I suppose I could have had her do a bit of it, but she is pretty good at that already so I figured it would help move things along if she was able to focus on the actual sewing part. Getting a nice consistent seam allowance and troubleshooting any inconsistencies from cutting, etc. Overall it took maybe four different sessions of sewing for her to actually complete the quilt top. She would sit down on a no school day or early release day and sew for maybe 20 minutes or so? It wasn’t long in most cases and sometimes I admit there was a little bit of prodding. But I knew that if she finished it she would be so proud! So the other night she finished and we agreed that I’d piece the back, quilt, and bind it.Natalie's Print Shop Quilt - Noodlehead

I had a blast watching her and we did have our moments, but it’s so fun to have her try a bigger quilt! The back was fun for me to piece as I finally used my much hoarded piece of Summersville (by Lucie Summers for Moda) which I thought paired so nicely with Print Shop! P.S. Lucie has an amazing shop of her designs and hand printed fabric, so if you love Summersville, go check it out! Anyway, while she was at school one day I quilt and bound the quilt. It was so fun to be secretly finishing it for her as I was able to surprise her with it when she got home from school. She loves it, took it upstairs right away to put it on her bed.Natalie's Print Shop Quilt - Noodlehead

Natalie's Print Shop Quilt - Noodlehead


Pattern: Swatch by Alexia Abegg
Fabric: mostly Print Shop by Alexia Abegg for Cotton + Steel,
backing has Summersville by Lucie Summers plus scraps from Print Shop


Natalie's Print Shop Quilt - Noodlehead

quilting

Colorblock Quilt complete!

Colorblock Quilt Finished - Noodlehead

Remember when I made this quilt top from my friend Nancy‘s book: Quilting From Every Angle? Me too! And I was totally shocked that I completed it almost a year ago exactly! I hardly ever let quilt tops sit around for long, mostly because I love the way a quilt top transforms once it’s quilted and because I actually really love the quilting process itself. For me it’s one of those relaxing tasks that I enjoy so much – all while feeling creative and accomplished.

Colorblock Quilt Finished - Noodlehead

So I dug out the quilt top the other day and got to work. I picked out this perfect backing (it’s Carkai by Carolyn Friedlander) and had it basted and quilted in just a few hours. I chose simple straight line quilting, spiraling squares out from the center block. I had some issues with the tension at first, not sure if it was because I forgot to put on my walking foot, but once I did – all was solved.Colorblock Quilt Finished - Noodlehead

I’m hoping a certain someone will have a baby girl and then I can gift this little quilt to her. Of course it could definitely be for a boy too, but I really like the way the peach colors make this quilt soft and more feminine.

Colorblock Quilt Finished - Noodlehead

What are you up to this weekend? Any fun sewing projects?

Colorblock Quilt Finished - Noodlehead


Pattern: Colorblock Quilt from Quilting From Every Angle
Fabrics: Cotton + Steel (Melody Miller’s Picnic and Alexia Abegg’s Paper Bandana), Hello, Bear by Bonnie Christine,
shot cotton, mystery chambray I pulled from deep within my stash.


Colorblock Quilt Finished - Noodlehead