My Modular Design Wall

I was finally able to enlarge my design wall so that it can be wider than 48 inches.  I did this by buying two more pieces of one inch thick foam insulation board.  Each of them were 24 inches wide.  I took the large flannel sheet off of my wide board, cut it into three pieces, serged the edges, and was able to cover all three boards.  It is attached to the back with extra strong Gorilla Tape.

I love my modular design wall.  I can have a four foot section like in the picture above, or I can add a second section with the corner cut off without blocking the walkway at all.  I make a lot of quilts 60 inches wide, and this is the perfect size design wall for that.

If I need a full six feet at the top I can use the other board and only block the walkway a little bit.

But if I want a really big board I can use all three.

This is now eight feet wide (minus the corner) and 89 inches tall.  While it blocks the walkway, I can still get in and out of my room.

I use a fabric scrap at the top to keep the design wall from tipping over.  I use the clips on my quilt hanger and then pin it to the board.  Monkey even tried hitting it from the back and it still stayed up.  I can use the extra big wall for a larger quilt or two smaller quilts.

A sneak peek at some stash busting quilts.

I can still store any or all of the sections in my closet and hang a quilt instead.  I love how functional and versatile this is for me.

Note:  The differences in white between the old section and new sections of my design wall is due to the fact that the four foot section is purple board and the two foot sections are blue boards.  They were purchased at two different stores so I could get the widths I wanted in the one inch thick foam insulation board.

XX,
Jasmine

How Many Quilts?

Last week I had people guess how many quilts bigger than a mini are in my house as part of a giveaway for my third blogiversary.  Today I am announcing the answer and the winner.

These were all of my quilts not in the bedrooms in April 2016.  I thought about piling all the quilts up again (like Amanda Jean did once or twice), but that sounded like a little too much work.  ;)  So please, take my word for it.

There are 26 small quilts bigger than 25 x 25 inches.  They are mainly used for wall hangings.

There are 35 baby quilts bigger than 35 x 40 inches.  They are mainly used for wall hangings and cuddles.

There are 21 lap quilts bigger than 50 by 60 inches.  They are mainly used for cuddles and some wall hangings.

There are 37 bed quilts bigger 70 by 90 inches.  They are mainly used for beds, cuddles, and displays.

That gives me a grand total of 119 quilts in my house.  (Yep, a crazy quilt lady does live here.)  Of the 119 quilts, I made 111 of them.  My mother made four of them (which I quilted).  My grandmother made two of them.  Cheetah made one of them.  The last quilt is a darling store bought applique ABC quilt, which I was given when Cheetah was a baby.   Considering that I have made made nearly 200 quilts, that means that I have given away about half of them.

Now, I never said that you had to guess correctly to win. I only said to comment and guess.  So, my Mr. Random has selected Mary Burnette who said:

"My guess would be 136 quilts. You didn't tell us how long you have been quilting so had to use an estimate close to my own. My favorite color combination is grey with teal blue right now but of course that changes each year. Mary"

However, Cynthia did guess the exact number of quilts, so she also won:

"I am going to say 119. Right now I am enjoying turquoise and purple together. Congratulations on 3 years!"

I will be making both Mary and Cynthia a handmade surprise in some of their favorite colors.  Congratulations!

Thanks to everyone for participating, following and leaving such sweet comments.

XX,
Jasmine

My First Bunting

I found some really cute panels of bunting made by Riley Blake.  I decided to use some of them to make seasonal bunting for my fireplace mantle.

I probably should have started with the Christmas bunting.  However, when I brought them home Cheetah said, "I thought we were going to hang our stockings on the mantle instead."  I ended up deciding to start with the patriotic one.

I backed the panel in white felt, stitched around the printed triangles, cut them out with a pinking rotary cutter, and sewed them together with one inch double bias tape.  I love how they turned out!  Here is a close-up of the front.

And here is what it looks like on the back.

It was fast, simple, and fun!

My husband's brilliant idea was to hang the bunting with stocking hooks.  It is great for two reasons.  First, it doesn't damage the mantle.  Second, if the bunting gets pulled there won't be anything large or breakable that will come down with it.

I am so pleased with how it turned out, even though I won't be using it until next summer.  My second bunting was made with paper and ribbon instead of fabric.

At least it was made for the current season.  ;)

I need to figure out where I will hang my Christmas bunting before I make it.  Any ideas?

XX,
Jasmine

P.S.  I will be linking up with some of the fun parties on my sidebar check them out to see what other quilters are making.

Third Blogiversary

This week is my third blogiversary.  I have come a long way since my very first post, "Why Blog."  More than just my header has changed over the years.

I feel like I have grown as a quilter and made many new friends.  To thank my readers for joining me on my quilting journey, I will be hosting a giveaway.  This giveaway will be open to all readers no matter where they live.  I will send the winner a handmade surprise.     

To enter the giveaway leave a comment including a guess as to how many quilts are at my house and your favorite color combination.  While my previous post about my home may help give you an idea, remember that I have more quilts in closets, bins, and storage.   There are quilts I have made and received as gifts.  

I will be counting every quilt today that is finished and larger than a mini.  I define a quilt as a covering for walls, beds or people with three layers, stitched together, and bound.  Mini quilts have a perimeter of less than 100 inches.  Table runners will not be counted, even if Monkey occasionally tries to cuddle up in them.  ;)

My followers (new and old) may leave a second comment telling me how they follow my blog.  

This giveaway will be open through Monday, November 14, 2016.  I will announce the winner and total number of quilts on the 15th.  

Good luck in the giveaway!

This giveaway is now closed.

XX,

Jasmine

Quilt Kisses Home Tour

Welcome to our home.  We have lived here for seven months now and we are loving it.  It is filled with love, laughter, and quilts.  In fact, it doesn't take very long once you walk in to realize that a crazy quilt lady lives here.  ;)  There are at least four quilts in my front living room.  

When you walk a little further into our home, you will see our great room.  Usually there are several more cuddle quilts laying around, but they have been put away for the sake of the photos.

We love how big and open this room is. For big gatherings we separate the sectional and can add three more six foot tables for lots of room to eat.  I love having a fire place and mantle where I can add a few seasonal decorations in the family room side.

I try to keep the kitchen as clean as you see it in these photos.  Here you can see my new-to-me kitchen table.  It is actually a little older than me and is a beautiful hand-me-down from my parents.

Between the kitchen and dining area is a hallway leading to the garage, half bath, laundry, and mudrooms.  I love walking past this quilt hanger my husband made where I display a different quilt every month. (Read more about them here and here.)

My laundry room houses one of my favorite quilts, Quilty Kisses.  I love how it brightens up the room.

Opposite the laundry room is my mudroom.  I think every home should have a place for shoes, coats, artwork, schoolwork, and a bench.  This is my secret to keeping my home as clutter free as possible.  There are three cubbies for each person in our family and one cubby with a bin for dirty socks.

On the opposite side of the house are some bedrooms.  Here is the master bedroom with lots of bright quilts.

My sweet husband has never complained about all of the pink and purple.  I still plan on making some blue table table toppers which will match my Modern Farmer's Wife quilt and add some more masculine color.

Monkey's bedroom is bright and fun.

I have shared a couple more photos of Monkey's bedroom here and here.

Panda's room is a haven for my Lego loving boy.

I have shared some more photos of Panda's bedroom here and here.

The landing at the top of the stairs houses more quilts, our library, and our family scrapbooks.

Cheetah's room is on one side.

And my craft room is on the other side.  (Read more about my craft room/studio here.)

We also have an unfinished basement with a play area.

On the other side of the quilt on the "wall,"  we also have what is known as the "quilt storage room."

I am sure these quilts will find a better display location once the basement is finished at some future date.  I am grateful my family appreciates quilts as much as I do.  I feel like they help create a cozy atmosphere.  When some friends visited and received a home tour, their seven year old daughter realized that the only rooms without quilts were the bathrooms. (My husband doesn't think I need to change that.)

We have come a long way in the last year since it was a hole in the ground and a bunch of swatches.

Thank you for stopping by!

XX,
Jasmine

P.S.  The paint color of my walls is Accessible Beige by Sherwin Williams.  I love how it looks with all the quilts.

Baby Gifts

I love buying baby flannel at JoAnns on Black Friday to make baby gifts.  I had flannel on hand, but was behind on making and giving them as gifts.  I decided to try and make as many a possible to catch up.  In preparation for making lots of blankets, I cut up an older cutting mat and taped it to my new mat. (For more information about my cutting table check out this post.)

This made my cutting mat 48 inches by 72 inches instead of just 40 inches.  Now I can lay an entire width of fabric on the cutting table and cut all of the way around.  So much better.

This was so much easier and faster.  I can move my cutting table into the middle of the room and walk around all four sides.  I also decided to try my new corner ruler from Creative Grids.  I now love the look of rounded corners on the baby blankets.

After all three layers are cut and pinned around the edges I sew them together using the envelope method and top stitch around the edges.  I used to tie them like on this blanket.

However, I decided to try something new and machine quilt them instead.

My first try was a bit too puffy and made the edges ripple a little.  So I started quilting a larger stipple and that seemed to work better.

I used up the last of my comfort loft polyester batting on these blankets.

Then the I switched to my Hobbs 80/20 scraps which I zig-zagged together.

I love how they turned out with the Hobbs 80/20 batting.

I plan on using it for baby blankets in the future.  I think it will be so much better for snuggling a baby.  It will also take less room to store finished blankets before I give them away.

 I was very happy that even though the edges were finished before they were quilted, I had no tucks on the back of the quilt.  There was just ripples around the edges.  The 80/20 batting solved a lot of that issue and I will keep making baby gifts like this.

My new cutting method and quilting instead of tying saved me more than a half hour per blanket.  (Check out this post for a tutorial on how I used to make baby blankets.)  When I make so many gifts all at once that saved time really adds up!  Now I need to buy more baby flannel.  All but two of these blankets have been given away or are destined for a certain little baby.

What is your favorite go-to gift for new babies?

XX,
Jasmine

P.S.  I will be linking up with some of the parties on my sidebar.  Check them out for more quilty inspiration.