Summer Lee Quilts

I’ve been working on a really fun quilt for a dear friends new grandbaby, Titus.  We chose a darling African theme, with giraffe print and coordinating tans to go with a fun, realistic African animal backing.  To add some dimension and texture, we decided to piece minky dot fabric into the top in green and chocolate.

It’s been a pretty smooth, if not a quick, project.  I work with a lot of minky with my bibs and other baby items, but this has been a whole new learning process.  Minky does not like to be the top fabric.  It requires lots of pinning and it always had to be on the bottom when sewing.  Even with a walking foot, if the minky was on top it would push and fold.

But even with all the pinning and turning the rows back and forth (and lots of Downton Abbey)…the result was totally worth it!

The texture of this quilt is so fun.  Going from the smooth cotton to the minky and back is just wonderful.

Now that the top is done, I’m going through another learning curve…quilting with the minky on top!  As I planned the quilt, I assumed that a straight line pattern, probably a cross-hatch, would be the best course to take…I was wrong.  I’ve found that it’s actually lots easier to free motion with the minky on top!  Which is perfect, because I love free motion quilting so much.

I’m still learning as I go and have found some issues.  The biggest is that the thickness difference between the cotton squares and minky squares require different tension.  What’s happening is as I go over the minky, my machine sometimes skips stitches and I end up with places like this:

I’m fixing those spots by carefully clipping the thread and slowly restitching over the area.  What I’ve learned is that if I go slower over the minky than I do over the cotton, the stitches even out.  It’s looking good so far.

I have a little over half quilted so far, but I’m pleased with the results and glad to share what I’m learning.

Have you quilted with minky pieced into the cotton?  I’d love to hear if you have any helpful tips!

Hello friends! I am so excited to finally let the cat out of the bag…my dear, dear friend Rachel Flesher is joining me in this crazy and fabulous business!

Go back 5 years, and Rachel was the first person to ever introduce me to real swaddling/receiving blankets. She made a set for me when Evie was born, and they were the best! They were the PERFECT size for swaddling her at night.

Now, I use the same blankets for Amelia! Even after using them every day 5 years ago…they are still going strong and still my favorite receiving blankets.

I’ll go ahead and let Rachel introduce herself:

Growing up as the firstborn of 11 children, I’ve had lots of experience with babies. I’ve held them when they laughed, when they cried, when they slept and when they squirmed with joy. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that babies love to be loved. A cozy blanket is often a part of that comfort, and my mother lovingly made flannel receiving blankets for all-weather snuggling. Thanks to her example, I continued the tradition for my own family. Each of my own four babies were wrapped and swaddled in blankets, just like these.

Home is the center of our lives: children, food, learning, crafts. Work and play, learning and relaxing, eating and cleaning, savoring each of these precious moments, grasping at the ribbons of life as they slip so quickly through our fingers.
I pick over fabrics, choosing only the softest prints that I love. Washing, drying, ironing with care, trimming each piece of fabric to the best dimensions. My sewing machine hums happily as we work together to stitch the edges, making the best quality for your baby’s comfort.

This is why I am committed to offering lovingly crafted items to you and your loved ones: because homemade is best made, and each moment should be wrapped with love. My heart goes into every part of my process. Because of the stories from friends to whom I’ve gifted these wonderful blankets over the years and my own experience, I can assure you that these blankets will become a cherished keepsake to each family that receives them.

~Rachel

From Summer:  I’ve personally been wanting to offer these blankets in the shop for quite a while, and I’m so glad to have Rachel on board so that you all have access to another great baby blanket and I can continue to focus on the quilty side of things.

You can find all of Rachels beautiful blankets in here in my shop!

One of my 2014 goals is to increase my productivity (which should be super easy considering last year it was almost nil) and focus more on quilts.  Don’t worry, I will still be making bibs…I use them everyday and know they’re a good product; however,  I will be more  intentional about starting and finishing (!) more quilts this year.

With that said, here’s #2!  I think this is the prettiest quilt I’ve made in a long time.

I love the modern feel of the on-point blocks…

and the tradition comfort of the large florals.

I did a meandering/stippling pattern with the quilting that gives it this wonderful texture and softness.

I did go ahead with the grey binding and I’m so happy with it!

The Papillon Quilt is now available in my Etsy Shop here:  Patchwork Lap Quilt

Thanks for stopping by!

It feels so good to be sewing again!  It’s the feeling of good fabric under my hands and the soothing sound of my machine…it’s heaven!

This week I picked up another of my finished quilt tops.  I used Papillon by 3 Sisters for this one and it’s gorgeous.  Not because of what I’ve done with it, but because the fabric is just so fabulous.  I will be honest…I was a little nervous about free motion quilting.  It’s been nearly a year since I’ve done it, and I knew I wanted to meander/stipple this quilt.

I started 2 days ago, quilting while the baby naps, and today I’m at the 3/4 mark. And honestly, it was like finding an old friend.  So relaxing.

I think I’ll bind it in grey.  What do you think?

I’m joining in with quilters all over the globe for the following WIP Wednesday linkups:

Quiltsy

Freshly Pieced

Hola!  Long time no see, eh?  My world has been rocked since I last posted.  We have a beautiful addition to our family!  She’s 3 months old now and finally getting on a schedule, which means mommy is getting sewing time again! Yay!

This week I pulled out my Ten Little Things quilt top that I made so long ago I can’t find the post… >.>

Anywho, it’s all finished and I’m loving it!  It feels great to have a finished quilt.  I think I’ll pull out another quilt top to finish this week.

This quilt is now listed in my Etsy Shop here:  Ten Little Things Baby Quilt

Thanks for stopping by!  See you soon!  <3