Star Patchwork Baby Quilt

Star and Patchwork Baby Quilt

Greetings! Well, fair warning, this post has kind of a lot of photos! I just really, really love this quilt and I was actually sad to send it away. My friend's cousin recently had a baby, and her sister ordered a quilt for me. I've known this family since I was in middle school, so it's always nice to make something for someone you know. The only directions I had were to use a little bit of green to match a nursery, still make it girly, and embroider the baby's name on it. 

Maybe my favorite section. Love that horse and carrot!

Honestly, I had some problems for a while coming up with an idea! I didnt know what pattern or fabrics to use, so I was stumped for many weeks. I did know that I wanted to use a Tina Givens print, "Elephant Flight," which is the center pink square in the bottom row above. It is pink with white elephants dangling from hot air balloons!! I've been wanting to use it in a baby quilt since I ordered it. I had also recently ordered some cute prints from the "Wee Wander" line , which are cute kids and horses and have some green. From there I gathered up 8 or 9 other fabrics from the store, and ended up with what I think is a really fun color palate. Though there is aqua in it, and grey, it still felt new and fresh for me to use, possibly because of the addition of yellow and purple, 2 colors I dont generally use, especially together. 

Embroidered Star

I hadnt made a patchwork quilt in ages, so I thought I'd go that direction, but and the last minute decided to ad a few stars in a light, contrasting print, and I'm really glad I did because it's my favorite part of the quilt now. I cut 4 1/2" squares, and then embroidered the name on an 8" square that would take the place of 4 of the regular patchwork pieces. 

Close-up

For the back I used the elephant print, which I love cut up but also love as a large print, and added one row of scrappy pieces I had left over from cutting the patchwork squares. I quilted straight lines on either side of every seam, which actually didnt take that long on a quilt this size, maybe 90 minutes, and then I also outlined each star, which was tedious and added probably another 45 minutes, but I like it so it's ok. 

The back

For binding I used a coordinating aqua polka dot by Dear Stella, which has a slight bit of stiffness to it that actually makes it really great to work with as binding. Although I have recently learned how to hand-bind, and dont mind it, I must say my machine-binding technique is getting pretty solid too! 

Machine binding

I also really like how the aqua binding looks next to the pink of the backing fabric. Its almost a lavender-y pink, and they look neat together.

More machine binding

I kept this quilt around the store for a few extra days before sending it out because I just didnt want to part with it! I was also able to use a few fabrics that I used in a wedding quilt for the mother of the baby, plus a few fabrics I used in the baby's cousin's baby quilt, so I like that they are all kind of tied together. 

In the harsh light of sunset. 

Also, I sewed these squares up in sections of 2 or 3 at a time, instead of piecing whole rows, and it made a big difference in getting the points to line up. Some still didnt, but a lot more did than normal. Check it out!

Beautiful point matching.... and above, point non-matching

I love every single fabric in this quilt, and I love that even though I've been staring at the same group of fabrics in my shop now for 6 months I was able to come up with a combo that felt new to me. It was a fun quilt to make and I hope baby Marie Elizabeth will love it for years to come!

Striped Briar Tee

Striped Briar Tee (and again with the giant head!)

A few weeks ago I gave the Briar tee another go. I wanted it to be shorter in the back than the first one I made, but longer in the front than the second one I made (which I never blogged about because it was a horribly unflattering crop top in a knit that really smashed down my already small chest. I have since passed it along to someone younger.

From the back

I think I like the length of the back of this one a lot more. The fabric I used is a pretty lightweight knit that I carry at the store, with skinny black stripes. It hangs well and is really soft, and it wasnt quite as tissue-y as the first one I made, which was nice!

Side view!

I wish the front was just ever so slightly longer, because with some of my shorts its not quite long enough. I think the next time I make this i might make a much less exaggerated high-low. I do have a really nice, soft, thin black knit I got at Mood almost 2 years ago, so maybe I should use that! (1. Sad! I havent been to Mood in 2 years. and 2. I hoarded all my Mood fabric and never used it anyway, so I guess it doesnt really matter!).  Anyway, I really think the Briar is a great pattern! I wear this striped version all the time, and it's really comfy. I guess I'm really a much more casual dresser than I like to admit, but maybe I should just accept it and make myself lots more t's....

What's your favorite pattern for casual, comfy day-to-day wear?

Good Friends

One of the best parts about opening The Fabric Studio has been the amazing amount of support I have found here in Nashville. Of course my family is awesome and supportive from afar, (and from near, when Mattie visits), but the people I've met in town have really helped me do things that I could have never done on my own.

From the very first week I had the space, Keri and Amanda have used their unparalleled drilling and furniture-building skills to help me so, so much. They hung my bathroom shelves, whipped together all kinds of Ikea Expedits, helped me build my cutting table (which is so rad, I'll show pics of that soon).

Then this week they came back and expertly hung my pegboards on the front wall, which will house patterns, scissors, rulers, pins, and all kinds of fun stuff like that. That was a professional job that I never could have accomplished (even if my drill had drill bits). They are awesome people even without their construction and hanging skills, but I definitely appreciate the skills!

I also had help from my friend Miranda's basement workshop, and she took on the task of helping my frame out the pegboards so they'd have finished edges. She even hand sawed all the pieces of trim I needed, and the boards look so good now! She also supplied me with a spray paint area, and transported the finished boards. Awesome!

[caption id="attachment_40" align="aligncenter" width="224"] The peg boards[/caption]

Another awesome lady who has made The Fabric Studio come together, is Meghan Wood, who is a sign-maker extraordinaire! She hand painted my logo on the front wall, and today delivered the outside sign. She also designed my business cards and postcards, and everything she does is a million times cooler than I was imagining it in my own head.

[caption id="attachment_39" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Meghan hard at work[/caption]

I'll update soon with more pics, but for now  just wanted to thank all the awesome people who are helping me in such concrete ways. Not to mention being so excited and supportive. Nashville is an awesome town!