Nursery Quilt

A.K.A. Batik Machine Quilting Sampler
{a picture heavy post}

 

 

This quilt was so much fun to make.  It was inspired by a machine quilting project Amanda Jean shared on her blog, Crazy Mom Quilts.  She was using a quilt as you go method, but I didn't want to sew it together after quilting, so I pieced the entire top and then quilted it. 

 

This quilt is just fat quarters cut to the same size (about 17.5 x 20.5) with a four inch finished sashing.  I quilted the sashing with a walking foot about one inch apart. 

 

 

 

The free motion quilting designs were inspired by Amanda Jean of Crazy Mom Quilts, Christina of A Few Scraps, and Leah Day of the Free Motion Quilting Project.  Here are some close-ups of the different designs:

 

Loops and Hearts:

 

Pointed Spirals:

 

Double Loops:

 

 

Plain Loops:

 

Rounded Spirals:

 

Jagged Lines:

 

Maze (all right angles):

 

Regular Stipple:

 

Loops and Leaves:

 

Boxy Line:

 

Curved Branches:

 

Pointed Stipple:

 

The back of this quilt has a crazy almost metallic print on black.  The different colors of threads blend in pretty good because of how it shines. 

 

 

I used a new (to me) machine binding method to quickly bind this quilt.  I used this tutorial which was put together by Andy of A Bright Corner.  I sewed it to the top, then used binding clips to hold it in place while I stitched in the ditch on the top.  

 

 

I only had to fix a couple of missed spots.  It looks okay from the back for a first attempt.  I definitely improved as I went. 

 

 

So, why do I call this my Nursery Quilt?  It is not because I keep it in Monkey's nursery.  It is because I use it for singing time in the nursery at church.  Cute children ranging from 18 months to three years sit on a square while I sing with them.  (It is my favorite calling at church.)  Monkey is in the nursery, and he loves this quilt.  When I was taking pictures, he had to come sit on his favorite block (the purple).   It took a while for me to convince him to move.  He knows what this quilt is for. 

 

 

Here is my attempt at a more glamorous shot.  Why do other people's pictures look so much better?  I think the picture is kind of funny, but the colors are more accurate.   

 

 

 

Here is a picture of the entire quilt. 

 

 

Quilt Stats #55

Name:  Nursery Quilt

Pattern: Inspired by Amanda Jean's project

Size: About 78 x 86 inches

Batting:  Hobbs 80/20

Date Finished:  2013

What I Learned:

• Some designs are much easier than others. 
• It is fun to try new designs. 

XX,
Jasmine



P.S.  Even though this is not my most recent finish, I hope it is okay that I am linking up to Finish it up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts, and Whoop Whoop Fridays at Confessions of a Fabric Addict.  I wanted to blog about this quilt before I even had a blog.  Is it finally finished now that it has its own post?  ;)



2013 - Third Quarter in Review

July

Cheetah wanted another mini quilt and told me he wanted it to be purple.  So I made this star which finishes at 24 inches square.  It was inspired by the quilt Lucky made by Camille Roskelley. 



I finished this jelly roll race quilt and call it Blushing Zebra.  It was inspired by a black and white quilt with green squares I saw once.  (I had it bookmarked, but my ipad had to be repaired and I lost all my bookmarks--sorry.)



I then quilted this Ray of Sunshine quilt for a friend whose sister-in-law is going through treatments for leukemia.  Her family wrote messages on the central white squares.  It is backed in a fun yellow minky. 



August

I finally finished using the scraps from my Colorwash Trip.  I call this Colorwash Scraps.  (I am so original--not).  I hang it on this rod in my kitchen. 



My husband asked, "Are you sure you want a quilt in the kitchen?" I told him if it got dirty, it would be easier to wash than his grandmother's painting.  (It now hangs in the hallway, instead of the kitchen--a safer location.)



I finished this Hungry Animal Alphabet Slideshow for my Monkey.  It will be for his big boy bed... someday. 



With the scraps from both Slideshow quilts, I made this Rainbow Scraps quilt.

 I love doll quilts for my own American Girl Dolls.  I got them both this year so I could sew little girl things.  My niece thinks I am such a cool aunt, and we talk American Girl accessories together. 

I also helped three of my nieces make tote bags.  Cheetah wanted to sew like his cousins, so I helped him make his own first quilt.  He calls it Fuzzy Cheetah. 









In August I also cleaned my craftroom and gave away fabric and old projects to people who would enjoy them and finish some of them for charity.  I had realized that I didn't have to finish everything just because I had inherited it.  That is also why I now like working on one or two projects at a time.  I don't want to leave a bunch of UFO's for someone else to finish. 

September

I finished these two quilts for my younger boys, Panda and Monkey.  (Cheetah already had one.)  I did the piecing and quilting in August and just finished the binding in September. 

Here is Panda's Collection:

And here is Monkey's Collection:

Now, each of my boys have a baby quilt, mini quilt (or two), and two twin size quilts I have made for them.  Cheetah likes to keep track! 

Do your children keep track of who gets what and how many? 

XX,

Jasmine



2013 - Second Quarter in Review

April

I finally finished this old UFO.  It was from a class I took in 1997.  I call it my Leafy Northern Wind.
 



I made a little pillow for my niece C with the left over blocks.  (She loves teal.)



I then found this old UFO from 1995.  (I had actually forgotten about it.)  I didn't want to make a vest, so I just made this little mini.  Each yo-yo is about one inch in diameter. 



I then pieced and quilted this Giant Christmas Star from Jeni's tutorial at In Color Order.  I loved the simplicity of the pattern.  It was so much fun to piece.  I will be donating it to a local charity. 



Then I made more pillows to put on my bed.  The big European Pillows in the back are covered in minky, and I made the small 36 patch pillow in front.  I had made the other pillows previously.



I also made three table toppers to protect our new bedroom furniture. 



These all match my favorite quilt which is on our bed.  (You can see the other two table toppers on our nightstands.)

I actually made this Americana quilt in four days.  It was donated to a new Veteran's Hospital in Utah. 



May

I made this quilt in less than 24 hours from the time I was given all the signed squares.  It is for a young woman with leukemia in my ward. 



I also made her a matching quilted tote bag to carry her quilt to and from the hospital for treatments.

I finished quilting and binding this Triple Irish Chain for my mother. 

Then I pieced this quilt top for my mom from the Turning Twenty pattern.  She wants to quilt it on her new longarm machine. 







I then made these two quilts for both grandpas for Father's Day.  The kit was purchased as the April Mystery Quilt from Stitches and Sew Forth.  I made the blocks more like a turning twenty than the blocks in their tutorial. 



I felt like doing some hand sewing, so I pulled out this UFO JoAnn had started.  I finished the hand piecing, and machine quilted it.  I call it Compass Rose. 



I also completed this black and white quilted bag.  I just made it up as I went along, but learned that I should have sewn the handles on better! 



I have to be careful about how much the stuff I put inside it weighs, but it can hold a twin size quilt perfectly. 



June

Sadly, no sewing was done in the month of June.  However, we took an awesome family vacation to San Diego.  Each of my boys got to see their favorite animal at the Zoo and Animal Park.  We all wore matching shirts from Old Navy.  The red made it easier to keep track of our precious animals. 



We watched the cheetah run off the leash at the San Diego Wild Animal Park.  We also saw a cheetah from the tram and at the zoo. 



We saw the Panda at the San Diego Zoo.  My Panda Man thought it was worth the long wait in line to see his favorite animal. 



Here is Monkey watching the monkeys through the glass at the San Diego Zoo.  When the monkey walked right in front of the glass, my Monkey got scared.  He liked them better at a distance. 



I sure had fun this quarter and finished up a lot of UFO's.  All of the finishing parties online really helped motivate me, even though I did not participate in them.  It was so much fun to see my UFO list shrinking each month. 

XX,
Jasmine