Browsing Tag

baby quilts

finishes

the girliest quilt I could think of.

Girly Quilt by Kim Soper/Leland Ave Studios

the girlies girl quilt

This past month I’ve been very quiet. I apologize, and thank you so much for bearing with me! I am finally typing this on my brand new computer, and though I am adjusting to the “newness” of some of its features, I’m super-psyched to be getting back into an online groove! I have many things I’ve been waiting to share with you over the past few weeks, so let’s get to it!

the girliest girl quilt

I recently had the opportunity to make a quilt for the sweetest little girl. She is a complete gift to her family after many hardships, and I wanted to make something that just screamed happy! joy! GIRL!

I think I accomplished that (wink).

I also think I had waaaaaaay too much fun making something pink! As a mom of three boys, it’s not often I get to make something exclusively feminine and sweet!

the girliest girl quilt

My goal was to work with value to create the illusion of the bottom right corner being lit up by the fireflies, and then as the squares graduated away from the “light”, have the fabrics become darker. Much like working with value on Diamonds in the Deep, I find that I tend to purchase fabrics that are way further apart in value than they should be to create the gradual shift that I intend to create. I definitely did not need to pick such a light of a pink for the bottom to create the desired effect.

the girliest girl quilt

In the end, I know the recipient is not going to care that my lights were too light and my darks too dark. And I know that with each project I am learning about color, value and hue. So I’m happy to wrap it up with a bow and know it’s going to keep someone that I love!

the girlies girl quilt

So happy to be back here! I’ve missed you! Hope you are having a great week! the girliest girl quilt

Linking up with Sew Cute Tuesday and Quilt Story.

finishes

lattice love complete!

Lattice Love by Kim Soper/Leland Ave Studios

Lattice Love - Complete!

My lattice love baby quilt (the one I shared here) is complete and already gifted away! I finished just in the nick of time, which is why the only photos I have were taken on a windy, stormy day! But we lucked out, because the day of the baby shower (the next day) was absolutely beautiful!

Lattice Love - Complete!

The tutorial from Bonjour Quilts was really easy to follow. While I’m not one to use a pattern, it certainly was easy to understand, and the graphic effect of the pattern has such great impact! I knew it would be great for the geometric nursery being planned for our nephew’s arrival.

Lattice Love - Complete!

Despite how clear and easy the instructions were, constructing this quilt had it’s ups and downs for me. I had a more difficult time than I expected trying to line all of those seams up! (Doesn’t that seem to be a theme in my quilting — I expect it to be simple, and I end up frustrated and challenged!). But even where the lattice lines aren’t perfect up close, it gives the illusion of a straight lattice when you stand back and look at the quilt as a whole. Somewhere along the way, I realized the cause of my struggle — the white Kona fabric was stretching. And even with straight pressing (careful not to iron), I found that precisely-cut pieces were no longer their original size once sewn and pressed. But still, in the end, the distortion was minimal. It was glaring to me, since I was on top of the quilt trying to perfect the seams. But to my sister-in-law and anyone else looking at the quilt, it really was not noticeable.

Lattice Love - Complete!

And this is the back! I had so much fun piecing it! I love improv piecing! No rules, nothing is right or wrong, just going on gut and instinct. So. Much. Fun! I added the elephants because my sister-in-law is in love with them, and the fabric had all of the colors of the nursery (which are echoed in the pattern on the front).

I am so happy to have completed this quilt by the deadline, in spite of the holiday, school vacation, and a few other hiccups along the way! And I can’t wait to meet that little baby boy who is going to call the quilt his own, in just a couple of weeks!

Hope you had a beautiful week! Now I’m off to make some granny-square blocks for do. Good Stitches! What are you working on this week?

 

 

work in progress

sometimes life gets in the way.

kim soper/leland ave studios

starting to piece the blocks

Even the best laid sewing plans can get waylaid when the unexpected happens. Like, say, your three year old getting into the recycling and spraying clorox in his face and getting it into his eye. Thank goodness it was not serious, and with some antibiotics for a scratched cornea, we were very very lucky that nothing more serious happened. But, stuff like that tends to push sewing to the back burner. Add to it a husband that unexpectedly had to travel this week, and. . . well. . .you have only the very beginnings of a baby quilt to show for it.

the very beginnings of a baby quilt for my future nephew

So here’s to a *less eventful* rest of the week, and maybe some progress to share with you by friday (I hope)!

work in progress

working with florence.

Quilt for Jane by Kim Soper/Leland Ave Studios

IMG_1598

I have to be honest with you — oranges, burnt oranges and orange-reds are not colors that I would normally gravitate toward. But after working with Denyse Schmidt’s Chicopee line to make this baby quilt for my friend Melanie’s fourth baby girl, I wanted to work with more of her fabric, whatever color it may be. Even though it’s outside of my [color] wheelhouse, I am really happy with the graphic quality of the quilt. I mixed in a lot of grays that I purchased in a bundle from Pink Chalk Fabrics, and I think the coolness of the grays made the fiery oranges really pop! I’m looking forward to basting and quilting it up this afternoon, because I have a new project waiting in the wings!