Sunshine Quilt

When I started this I had some sort of bizarre dream that I would be peacefully finishing up the handquilting while in the maternity ward after Chipmunk was born. I think because I spent 5 boring days at the hospital with Goose that the same would happen. Instead, I was beyond exhausted at the end so there was no energy for quilting, then she was a week late and we spent less than 48 hours in the hospital. Poof! Dreams were gone.

Then it was a rush to finish quilting it because I forgot how freakin exhausting the first months are and she was a good sleeper even early on!

So the quilt that I started in January so that I would have some sunshine during an otherwise gray and seemingly unending winter... was finished in July. Whoops.

And then of course I couldn't find the photos I took and had to sheepishly ask my cousin to send me some. I'm sure that didn't sound narcissistic at all!

I love how wrinkly a hand quilted quilt can get!

Sparkle Punch Crib Quilt

I finished this right after the New Year, but it's taken me awhile to get any photos of it (and I'm not seeing how blurry they are-- photos on the iPhone look so much sharper!)

The pattern/tutorial I used was from Oh Fransson! I fell in love with the pattern as soon as I saw it, especially since it had the added bonus of including a wonky element!

 

The little 30" x 40" quilt was definitely supposed to be bigger but when I made it this far I put all my blocks up on a vertical felt design wall, stood back to admire them and watched in semi-horror as Goose knocked over the dress form standing next to the wall and they all fell off. From there on out he realized that nothing on that wall was permanent and he could take down and rearrange at his own discretion. All of a sudden this size seemed large enough (and my patience not nearly).

I chose to hand quilt this one for many reasons. First, I don't really like machine quilting. I'm not sure whether I'm not really good at it, I'm using the wrong needle and thread (though I've tried a hundred combinations) or my 15 year old-$100-Walmart machine is not feeling up to the task. Second, I wanted a project that would keep my hands busy while I spent time with my family at night instead of shacked up in my studio (thereby freeing up my studio time to start a new project!).

I loved it. I used a size 8 Pearle cotton in a wine and pale green color. It was rhythmic and relaxing. AND I think it gives the quilt the best finished look. Little imperfections can be overlooked and it has a really squishy, comfy feel to it.

I wonder if I'd feel the same if I hand quilted a beastly sized quilt....