Harvest Vine Table Runner and Sew The Library News

Happy Sunday! I hope you had a lovely Easter celebration. Things are starting to slow down a bit and I was able to sneak a bit of sewing here and there and I finished this table runner. The pattern is Harvest Vine from the book Pretty in Patch Work Holidays. This was supposed to be my Sew the Library project for last month, which was hosted by Jodi at Tales of Cloth. Unfortunately I was late to party... Speaking of Sew the Library, the link up is moving permanently to Weekend Doings. Heidi and Jodi have other commitments and couldn't continue hosting the link up. So starting this month the link up will here. I hope you could join me and share the projects that you made from a book or a magazine. The link up starts the 20th and closes at the end of the month. I also made a button if you would like to grab it. You can find the code here.

Have a wonderful week!

XO
Martha

Scrappy Log Cabin Quilt

Happy Sunday! I hope you had a wonderful weekend. I'm so happy to be sharing with you my latest finish. A few days ago I completed my scrappy log cabin quilt. I've been working on it for a few weeks already (you can see my progress here and here). It all started as an attempt to use up some of my fabric scraps (as you know they just keep on multiplying). I never thought I was going to be able to get a quilt out of them, I thought maybe a couple of pillows or a table runner of some sort. But,  boy was I wrong in my calculations: a 50X60 inches quilt was born and I'm beyond happy of how it turned out. This color combo is so happy and cheerful; like a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day. 

I kept debating on how to quilt it, but at the end I decided on simple straight lines. It adds a wonderful texture to the quilt and blends nicely with the log cabins. 

After such and unexpected finish I wonder what my next scrappy project would be. Time to start sorting through my fabric scraps and hope inspiration will strike.

Wishing you a lovely week.

XX

Martha.

WIP: Scrappy Log Cabin

Happy Sunday! I hope you had a lovely weekend. Mine was busy, but very productive. I made a few more of the scrappy log cabin blocks I had been working on. When I started this project, I just wanted to use up some of my fabric scraps. But I had no idea how big of a project I could get out of them. I thought maybe a cushion or a table runner. The pile of scraps didn't look very big at all. So with no plan, just enjoying the process and cheering every time I completed one more block I was able to put together a small quilt. That's what I love about quilting: how small mount of fabric pieces sewn together suddenly becomes a quilt. Amazing! And now my little quilt is basted and ready to be quilted. I'm still undecided about how to quilt it. Any suggestions? 

Speaking of basting; what is your favorite method for quilt basting? I've always used pins and my favorite tool the Kwik Klip to help fasten the pins. But I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Wishing you beautiful week!

XO
Martha.

Sew The Library: Patchwork Pot Holder

For our first Sew The Library link up I decided to make something from one of my favorite books: Zakka Style. I think it is one of the first craft books I ever bought and I love every single project in it.  It is hard to pick just one. But I decided to choose the most practical at the moment. My pot holders were in such disrepair, so I went ahead and made a couple to replace my old ones. I really like their round shape, scrappiness and the linen (my favorite fabric). I absolutely love the way they turned out that now I'm afraid to put them to use and get them dirty.  Or maybe I should just make a few more so I have a good supply of pretty pot holders to use and adorn my kitchen. 

This month's link up is hosted by Heidi @ Fabric Mutt. I hope you would join us sharing your projects that you made from a book or a magazine. The link up will remain open until the end of the month. 

Have a wonderful week!

XO

Martha.

Envelope Bag

Happy New Year! I hope 2015 brings you peace, love and lots of crafting adventures. 

I decided to start the year being a bit more organized so I made me this bag to keep my date book and stationary handy. It is a very simple envelope construction and it came together very quickly. Basically after I quilted a long piece of fabric I joined the sides together with the bias tape and added a magnetic closure. Sometimes simple finishes are so satisfying and so far it is helping me to keep my days organized. 

Wishing you a wonderful week!

XO

Martha

Marcelle Medallion: My Christmas Quilt

I hope you had a lovely holiday season. My Christmas was wonderful: busy, lots of good food and  amazing company (that's the best part of the holiday season, I think). But between gift making and cooking I was able to finish my Marcelle Medallion Quilt. Ever since I began working on this back in April I wanted it to be our Christmas Quilt for this year... Last year I started a tradition of making a new quilt for Christmas to snuggle under during our movie watching marathon, you can read more about it here. I've been so busy lately that there were times that I thought I wasn't going to finish on time: the quilting took a long time. I did concentric circles which create a wonderful texture and accentuate the medallion. However; there were so many thread tails to bury (I got to remember that next time I think about concentric circles for quilting). But at the end I finished it even with time to spare. Last Sunday my husband took me to explore a new (to me) hiking trail and as any quilter would do I took my new quilt finish to photograph. I love how the colors of the quilt pop against the lush green in the forest.  I absolutely love how festive this quilt turned out (not my usual color combo) and it made our Christmas feel even cozier. 

Have a beautiful week and thank you for visiting my little blog and leaving me your lovely comments throughout the year. I truly appreciate them. 

XO

Martha

WIP: Marcelle Medallion

It has been several months that I've been working on and off on my Marcelle Medallion Quilt. There were times that I thought I was never going to finish it, but this weekend I finally finished quilting it, yay! Just need to attach the binding and it will be done. Can't to see it all finished.

Wishing you a happy week!

XX
Martha

Scrap Challenge: Dottie Constellation

Happy Sunday! I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving weekend. I'm so happy to share with you my latest finish.  It all started a few weeks ago when I won the Lark Scrap Challenge contest held by Rachel at Stitched in Color and generously sponsored by Heather at Lark Cottons. The challenge was to create a project using the dottie fabrics in the fat sixteenth bundle that I received. 

I love polka dots and from the first time a saw this rainbow of dottie prints wonky stars came to mind.   I wanted to have a whole constellation of starts and the variety of colors gave me the opportunity to create a set of unique star blocks.  Big, small and in between each block has its own personality. I used Kona cotton in Snow as the background for my starts; I think it is the perfect complement and allows the stars to really shine. I found the fabric that I used for the backing and the binding at my local fabric store and it was such a lucky find. I still can't believe how perfectly the color and dots match the stars; that doesn't happen to me very often.

I didn't plan on the size of this quilt before hand. I simply went where the fabric scraps took me and amazingly I ended up with a 60X65 inches quilt. Wow! I just did't expect that. I absolutely love how it turned out.

Thank you to Rachel and Heather for this challenge. I really enjoyed working with all of these yummy scraps. Please head over to Stitched in Color to see the creations of the other challengers.

Have a wonderful week!

Martha 

On My Table...

Happy Sunday everyone! Did you have a good weekend? I didn't get to do as much sewing as I had planned but I managed to sneak a few moments on my new quilting project. I'm super excited   about this one: a Granny Square Quilt.  It has been in my wish list for such a long time and finally I'll be making one.  I used the tutorial by Blue Elephant Stitches and after making a few blocks I can't stop! They are so much fun to make.  The only difference is that my blocks are going to be slightly smaller since my squares are 2 inches instead of the 2.5 that the tutorial calls for. I had some 2 inches fabric strips already cut up that I wanted to use up and they seem to be working out great. 

I'm really looking forward to making more progress on this little project.

Wishing you a wonderful week!

XX

Martha.

It's All About The Little Things...

Sometimes the smallest things can bring you so much joy... Last weekend I was playing with some fabric scraps and decided to make a spool block, which has been in my mind for some time. I used the instructions from the book Liberty Love. Though I made a little mistake and ended up making it narrower, but I still liked my block very much that I made it into this itty bitty quilt. It is so tiny! (it only measures 6X5 inches). However, I think that what it lacks in size it makes up in personality. I think it is super cute. It now hangs in my sewing room and it makes my heart sing every time I look at it. So it got me thinking... this is exactly what life is all about: always appreciate the little things and love what you do. 

I hope you are having a lovely week!

*Linking up to Let's Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts*

XX

Martha

Plus Quilt

For the past few weeks I've been planning on making a quilt for my sister. Her birthday is coming up and I wanted to give her a quilt. But I couldn't settle on a design. I wanted something young and fresh and I just couldn't make up my mind.  Then suddenly one day the light bulb in my head went on: a plus quilt! The design is simple yet modern for a young lady...There is something so special about simple patchwork that I'm always drawn to it. I don't think I can ever get tired of it. The piecing was fast and easy (maybe that is the reason I like patchwork so much) and I used only fabrics from my stash. 

For the quilting I did a meandering design that blends in well with the fabrics but gives it a nice texture. 

One of my favorite parts about this quilt is the backing. I found the fabric at my local fabric store and I bought it because it reminded me of Charlie Brown's t-shirt, don't you agree?

I hope my sister likes her present as much as I enjoyed making it for her. 

Wishing you a beautiful week.

XX

Martha.