Quilt blocks

I finally got around to taking some pictures of my first three blocks for our FRMQG monthly swap. It's been so fun to make some different things, and to get inspired for my own future projects.

August {Kristen}

September {Melissa}

October {Traci}

A good night at quilt guild

I have thoroughly enjoyed being a member of the Front Range Modern Quilt Guild. I am learning so much, have made some lovely new friends, and appreciate having a fun evening out every month. Last night's meeting was particularly great. It started on a pleasant note when I was able to leave Truett home with Brett and Maren. It's so nice that he's to the point where I can leave him for for a few hours. I do love having him around, but a little break is welcomed every now and again. I'm so blessed to have a husband who enjoys his alone time with the kids. It is a gift!

My friends in the guild presented me with a lovely quilt in celebration of Truett's arrival. Each participant made a brightly colored 9 patch and I think it turned out so fun!



I also managed to win a fabulous giveaway thoughtfully put together by Randi. Each month the winner of this basket gets to keep all the goodies inside. Now it's my job to fill the basket with some fun things for next month's winner. I do have to say that I was lucky to win this month...it was filled with some perfect items for a new quilter.
I was also fortunate enough to snag those yellow and aqua fat quarters. See why it was such a good night? By the way, if you've never tried that toffee sea salt chocolate bar from Whole Foods you are missing out...YUM!

A quilted pink runner

Since I am a glutton for punishment, I decided to whip up a table runner for Maren's Pink Party. It actually was a pretty quick project...I just wish I would have decided to make it more than 4 days before the party. *wink*

I had all the materials on hand, which is what made me decide to tackle the project in the first place. I cut the fabric to random widths, sewed them together, quilted on either side of the seams, and added a funky black and white binding.

See those cake balls? They were almost my undoing. When it comes to things in the kitchen, I'm not great at following directions. Those poor balls of delicousness suffered the consequences. Dear Bakerella, next time I promise to read through your entire book before I begin to make up a batch of cake balls. I did use an amazing chocolate cake recipe from my neighbor. It has zucchini in it, and I promise to share it with you soon. You'll thank me.
Happy Saturday!

My first quilt

I did it! I finished my very first quilt! A few months ago, I joined the Front Range Modern Quilt Guild. It has been one of the most fun and inspiring things I've done in quite some time. I've also been blessed to make some wonderful new friends.

One benefit of being a guild member is having the opportunity to participate in various challenges. For this quilt, we were given [yup...for FREE!] a charm pack of Robert Kaufman Kona Cotton Solids. The 'rules' chosen by our guild were to include at least a portion from each color in the pack, to only use one additional fabric for the front of the quilt, and to create a quilt that was at least 40 in. by 40 in.

Here is my finished quilt:

I love how cheerful and summery the quilt turned out. The flowers and leaves are raw-edge appliqued, and I used a simple grid pattern for the machine quilting.

After the quilt was washed, the edges of the flowers have a cool, messy texture.

I had an equally great time finishing the back of this quilt.


I'm officially hooked! There are 3 more in-progress quilts sitting on the table in my craft room. I'm so thankful to have a creative outlet. It's nice to have something to keep my hands and mind busy during my evenings. If you've got a spare moment or two, check out what some other quilters from across the country have created for their own Robert Kaufman challenge quilts here. There are some mighty talented individuals out there in the quilting world!

Truett's Room

I am so excited to share Truett's nursery with you today! I have to admit that I was less than thrilled to decorate a boy's room after having such a great time with Maren's room. Then I found this fabric collection. I knew it would be a great jumping-off point for our little man's nursery. I chose to use the cars, pebble, and blue asterisk fabrics from the Birch Circa*50 collection. I found supplemental fabrics for the crib bedding and quilt from a fabulous little fabric boutique. Angie stocks a great selection of modern fabric, and I love being able to see and touch the colors and patterns before I commit. My mother-in-law generously offered to make the quilt and crib bedding. It was such a gift, and I love how it all turned out! The walls are Pale Avocado by Benjamin Moore. I can't remember what color the ceiling is, but I'm so glad we painted it. We found the crown molding on Craigslist for super cheap. Seriously, I think we paid about $10 for all of it. It was just wood and Brett painted it to match the rest of the trim in the house. I love how much it changes the room!

Let's start the tour!

We used the same furniture that was in Maren's nursery. The one thing we didn't buy the first time around was a comfortable chair. I found the Pottery Barn rocking chair on Craigslist for a song. I can't say enough good things about this chair. If you are having a baby...buy a nice chair! You will not regret it! The rug, lamp, basket for diaper-changing necessities, and black shelf are from Homegoods. I love that place. The shelf has little wood milk bottles, a vintage puzzle and a turquoise ball jar with dominoes...all toys that belonged to my dad at one point. I think vintage items that have special meaning are such treasures. The print above the chair is from Studio Mela and it's the sweetest thing.

The corner shelf isn't my favorite in here, but it will work until my sweet husband can execute my other vision for that space. *wink* There's a variety of fun little things on the shelf for now...a vintage globe from a thrift store, a piggy bank, a few more vintage toys, a neat picture from a dear friend, a special little carved Noah's ark that my grandpa made. I'll have to remember to get some close-up photos of those things someday. The little rocking chair was mine when I was a girl. I thought it would be nice for Maren to have a place to sit while I'm nursing Truett.

Isn't the crib bedding so fun?!



I love the simple little collage above the crib. I wanted to keep it neutral because I knew the bedding would be bold. The large 'T' is from here, and the smaller one from here. The 'I am a child of God' print came from here. I love Etsy, and was thrilled to support these great shops. I found the little scooter print at Target. I thought it added a little whimsy.

This is the quilt. Isn't it awesome?! The quilt pattern came from Modern Obsession: Modern Quilts with Traditional Roots. If you are a quilter and have not seen this book, you must take a look! It has some wonderful patterns and ideas.

The back of the quilt is even fabulous!
So, there you have it...one special room for a pretty amazing little guy. For now he's still sleeping in our room in a cradle, but he'll be spending some quality time in his room before long.

Thanks for stopping by!

On learning to quilt

Happy June, friends!

I was thrilled to flip that last calendar page. With June came the opening of our community pool, a taste of some actual summer-like weather, the simplifying of our weekly calendar and the anticipation of the arrival of baby boy! Lord willing, we are somewhere within the 2-week waiting period, and we cannot wait to get our hands on this little guy! I've been doing my best to keep the house picked up, to finish up some creative projects and to enjoy each moment with Maren. I know our life is about to change in so many ways!

Some of the projects I've been working on have stemmed from a new little hobby I've picked up. A couple of months ago I took a leap out of my comfort zone and joined the Front Range Modern Quilt Guild. My mother-in-law is a seasoned quilter, and she invited me to join this new guild in our area. For the past several years I have enjoyed sewing, but making quilts seemed like such a significant undertaking. I had no idea how inspired I'd be by the other amazing women in the guild, and I've surprised myself with some of the projects I've taken on already. If you've ever been interested in learning to quilt, I highly recommend joining a local modern quilt guild. I've learned so much already, and I haven't felt any pressure or intimidation from the more experienced members of the group. It's been such an inspiring and fun creative outlet.

So...I introduce my first ever quiltish project...a sunny little mug rug for a guild swap. I have to admit, it was a little difficult for me to give this away! Thankfully, my partner seemed to love it. Our assignment was to make a summery mug rug. I completely made up the pattern and was thrilled with the way it came together!

I raw-edge appliqued the sun circles...

I wanted the actual quilting part to look like a sun with rays...
The mug rug was a great beginning quilting project. I learned so much, and it was small enough to finish quickly. I learned all the quilting steps without working on a monstrous project. I think my mug rug was about 7 in. by 9 in. finished. If you're interested in learning to quilt, I highly recommend starting with something like this!

I'm almost finished with my first larger quilt, and I can't wait to share it with you. As part of the guild, we were given a charm pack of Robert Kaufman Kona Cotton Solids. We had to make up a quilt using some of each color from the pack and one other fabric for the quilt top. Once the binding is stitched on, the quilt will be complete. So far I've loved my venture out into the quilting world.

Do you have a desire to learn a new creative hobby? I say go for it!