Spidey Sense for Asher

Welcome to the world, Asher! Don't let your dad steal your quilt!

I started working on this quilt at the beginning of April at our 1st Annual Maritime Modern Quilt Guild retreat. It was great to just sit and plow through a bunch of pixels. So, although it's been finished for a bit, I had to wait until it was delivered before I could blog about it (and then I procrastinated for a bit too).



I really love how the colors work. That blue is beautiful.

Asher's dad is a big Spiderman fan so it's possible that he'll steal this until Asher grows into it. I generally don't like making baby-sized quilts because there's only so long that they'll be able to use it. This one is more like lap sized although to be honest, I didn't measure it.



I did a bit of a spiky free motion quilt all over it using black thread. The texture when it came out of the dryer was amazing.

For the back, I used a blue plaid flannel. I really wanted to use a Spiderman print but the pricing was a little nuts.

Next up: something not pixelated! Actually, I have started working on two non-pixel quilts. *Gasp*

Candy Coated Collections

Hi all! I'm not sure why it's taken me so long to share these with you but here it is. For the past year (yes, it's been a year already), I've been creating fun packs of Konas monthly for my fellow guild-mates. For a mere $15/mth they get 5 fat quarters of fabric in co-ordinating colors with an inspiration picture. Obviously I'm not the first to do this but a few of us were unhappy with the previous one we were subscribing to so I decided to do my own.

Please note that all of these photos are stolen from my lovely subscriber, Jenn @ Quarter Inch from the Edge

 

I try to have the fabrics go with some sort of a theme for the time of year. You'll notice above that June (which came out last May) has Grass, Sprout, and Snow. If that doesn't say May in Nova Scotia, I don't know what does.

 You may notice a pattern here - I like bright colors! When I put together one of these packages, I like to make sure you could take the colors directly and make a quilt from them.

 

Camping under the Northern Lights for February.

 

 

Chinese New Year for January.

 

 

As I said, right now, these are just for local peeps as I haven't figured out a way to ship them without adding too much to the cost. But, who knows if I get enough interest, that could change!

 

Do you subscribe to any monthly fabrics? Let me know!

Spring Flowers

If you follow me on instagram, you may have seen this quilt in various stages of completion. It took me a while because it kept being pushed aside for more urgent projects. Then, I had some personal things going on and stopped sewing for a month or so. But here it is! Finished! The layout of this reminds me of a slot machine but was actually inspired by The Marigold Quilt by Pen and Paper Patterns.

 

 

 

This past weekend was the 1st Annual Retreat for the Maritime Modern Quilt Guild. It was fantastic and really got me back into the swing of sewing (even if I did break my machine). I took the opportunity to get some shots of this quilt in front of this weird haunted house in the parking lot of the hotel. As you can see, the grass isn't quite green yet here in Nova Scotia but it's coming along. At the very least, there's no snow!

 

I also made a couple of pillows to go along with it. This was the last photo I took with my old phone - there's such a difference with the new one. Maybe I should do a shoot with them together. I probably won't, though.

 

 

 

Happy Spring, people. Hope the flowers are starting to pop up where you are!



Long time, no sew!

Hi all, it's been awhile since I've been here. Don't worry! I'm still alive - just haven't been sewing too much lately. I do have a couple of pics to share with you, though.

First up, my jerky cat, Oliver messing up my beautiful piles of pixels. He looooves sitting on fabric - especially when it has been neatly arranged.

 
Here's what the pixels turned into: a storm trooper, Bobba Fett and a rebel pilot pillow! These were done up for a Star Wars show at the Dart Gallery and they all sold!

I also did this Admiral Ackbar which I only just finished. The red is super hard to photograph and comes out looking like I used Batik fabrics. Trust me, it's all Kona! Sorry for the terrible pic of this one - it looks way better in person.

I've also been toying with the idea of selling some of these patterns. I'd have to find the time to write them up properly but let me know what you think of that. When I did these, Eric went a little over the top and designed about 10 more Star Wars pillows. They could even be put together into a quilt which would look cool.

Seaside

Hi all,
I wanted to share with you my latest finish. I actually was done a couple of weeks ago but didn't get a chance to take any pics because it seems like it hasn't stopped raining. There was a break in the clouds last night so I rushed out to snap this.

 

 

I'm going to call it "Seaside". The color scheme may look familiar as I used many of the colors left over from my mom's cottage quilt. This one will be headed to my Dad's house down Chester way. He lives right on the ocean so I wanted something that would tie that in.

 

Then I did some varied width straight-line quilting. Let's call this "organic" as I didn't want it to be too straight or uniform. I know I use that term a fair amount but this time it was on purpose. I won't show you the back because as one of my guild mates so helpfully pointed out: it's crooked. I don't think I could get away with calling that one "organic".

Now, for something completely different, here's my next project: pixels!!

I am making quite a few of these - assuming I don't get sick of them!

Meet me!

Hi everybody! I am being featured today over at Fun Threads Designs. Go on over and make it look like I have followers!

Also, I promised a picture of what my flower quilt looks like in it's new home. For those of you not on instagram, here it is in my family's Parlee Beach hideaway.

Bowser

Hi all! Just wanted to stop by quickly to share another commission I just finished up. I never used Bowser when I played Mario Kart, he was always too slow for me but I thought it was hilarious how he overflowed the kart. He looks quite a bit less scary when he's stuffed inside a tiny car. I love how he turned out in this quilt!

I'm so happy to have green in the background of these photos!

Detail

The Back

I also have another hobby that is taking up some serious time and space in my home. Check out these pyrex finds I snagged last weekend.

The Friendship pattern is my absolute favorite! It's so cheery!

Blue Horizon divided dish

I thought these two bowls both belonged to the primary colors set but now I'm thinking the larger one is orange, not red and may belong to the friendship line.

Bright yellow refrigerator dish

Yikes! Like I needed something else to obsess over! Looks like this summer will be filled with yard sales and antique shops. The thrill of the chase and getting a good deal is probably the most fun but it's also nice to walk into an antique shop with a great selection of clean pyrex in good shape.

Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts for finish it Friday!

Sea Glass finished!

Hi folks, I wanted to show off a recent finish. My fellow members of the Maritime Modern Quilt Guild already got a sneak peek at this last night at our meeting. This quilt is called Sea Glass and the pattern is by "Talk of the Town" and can be purchased at Craftsy. I made a couple of changes to the pattern but mostly just wanted to increase the size to Queen. So I doubled everything. I probably should have moved the flowers a bit to make it more even but honestly didn't even think of it until it was hanging in the back yard.

 

I changed the colors and used Kona fabric to go with the cottage where it will live.

The pattern suggested quilting it with ghost petals in between the colored ones.
I loved this as I wanted it to be less stiff than if I quilted the crap out of it.

 

Pieced the back with the colors from the front. I will add a special little graphic on the back
as requested by the person who commissioned it.

I hope to get a picture in its natural environment this summer. Also, don't know if you noticed but there is actual green grass in that picture (Ignore the yellow grass where my dogs have done their "artwork"). Have a nice long weekend! Don't forget to get some sewing in!

Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish it Friday!!

Last Stop on the Blog Hop!

Hi folks, thanks for stopping by on the last stop of the Meet Maritime Modern Blog Hop! I hope you've checked out all of my guild-mates blogs as well.

Eric and I on our honeymoon in Disneyworld.

I live in Dartmouth, NS with my husband and a menagerie of pets. Accountant by day, I like to build my patterns in excel which works out well since they're mostly pixel quilts. I've been quilting for about 5 years or so. Before that, I've tried lots of other crafty-things including knitting and stained glass but I have never stuck with anything as long as this.

Here are a few of my finished projects:

My first finish! I recently added more panels to this as my nephew apparently has grown.

As you can see, my work tends to be mainly pop culture inspired. The Sheldon Quilt and Captain Picard quilt have gotten a ton of attention online and I just sold off the Duck Hunt one. Krusty has a sacred place on the couch with Eric.

Hope you have enjoyed my stop and don't forget to check out the other quilters if you haven't already!

Monday, May 4 - Introductory post @ Maritime Modern Quilt Guild
Tuesday, May 5 - Jenn @ A Quarter Inch from the Edge
Wednesday, May 6 - Adrienne @ Chezzetcook Modern Quilts
Thursday, May 7 - Tracy @ Quilting on the Dark Side
Friday, May 8 - Anja @ Anja Quilts
Saturday, May 9 - Val @ Purple Boots and Pigtails
Sunday, May 10 -  Linda @ Scrapmaster
Monday, May 11 - Jeanette @ Stamp Stitch CreateTuesday, May 12 - Dominique @ The Running Thimble

-Aimee

Meet Maritime Modern Blog Hop

As you may or may not know, I am a proud member (and treasurer) of the Maritime Modern Quilt Guild. Our lovely VP, Jenn from Quarter Inch from the Edge, has put together a blog hop so you can get to know us all better. Over the next nine days, please follow along and meet some of our great quilters!

Monday, May 4 - Introductory post @ Maritime Modern Quilt Guild
Tuesday, May 5 - Jenn @ A Quarter Inch from the Edge
Wednesday, May 6 - Adrienne @ Chezzetcook Modern Quilts
Thursday, May 7 - Tracy @ Quilting on the Dark Side
Friday, May 8 - Anja @ Anja Quilts
Saturday, May 9 - Val @ Purple Boots and Pigtails
Sunday, May 10 - Linda @ Scrapmaster
Monday, May 11 - Jeanette @ Stamp Stitch Create
Tuesday, May 12 - Dominique @ The Running Thimble
Wednesday, May 13 - Aimee @ Candy Coated Quilts (Me! Last, but definitely not least)

Pink Lemonade Finished!

I finally got around to putting the binding on this quilt and getting it out in the sun for some pics. I chose Citrus for the binding which I love. The girl at my LQS thought it might be a bit bright but she obviously doesn't know that bright is my thing.

Please excuse the snow, there's not really any part of my yard that isn't covered with the stuff.



Here's a close-up of the quilting. I had some fun with it using some parts that criss-cross and some that don't.  

 



Added a little strip of color on the back just for fun.

 

This quilt is up for sale in my Etsy shop which is linked on the front of my blog. It is a great size for a play mat (38"x41") which is used during something called "tummy time" I'm told.

I Heart Kona!

Jenn over at A Quarter Inch from the Edge issued a challenge for Kona enthusiasts to curate their own bundles. I jumped at the chance since I have felt the ones I was receiving to be a little dull. Here's what I came up with:

These first two are actually the same bundle. Amazing how different they look just by changing the lighting a bit. I admit that the lighting is not the greatest but it's winter in Nova Scotia and there's not that much natural light to be had.



L-R Caribbean, Cyan, Aqua, Azure + White for the background

I have actually been using these colors in a current quilt so that's why I chose them. I think it will work quite well. It had better because I'm in the middle of cutting out over 100 flower petals with these colors.



Top-Bottom Azure, Aqua, Cyan, Caribbean + white background

 Then I just had a little fun pulling colors from my stash. I love the combination of the coal with bright colors.

 

L-R Azure, Sprout, Punch + Coal Background

 

Tried the Palette Builder from Play Crafts with a picture of Darwin haha

Well, that was fun! What would you pick?

Pink Lemonade

What?!? I'm using pink? That's right, I'm going all crazy up in here. It must be the cold weather or something. I love lemonade and for some reason, the pink lemonade tastes even better. I don't know why. Anyway, when I started to do up my Kona challenge list, I realized that I had a ton of pink that I needed to use up. I'm on a bit of a fabric diet so this was a good chance to play with some stuff I already had.

I knew I wanted to do HSTs but what layout?

Flying Geese?

 

All Crazy?

 

Orderly?

 

 

 

I decided to go with the flying geese but put one row facing down to mix things up a bit. Then I added some white in between the rows and as a border (not shown). 

 

 

Still working on the quilting which I should be done very soon. I was on an HST kick though so I did some of my charity blocks for our guild. We are using the colors as set forward by the Modern Quilt Guild. I surprised myself by having almost all of the colors - Wasabi, Cerise, Glacier and Bahama Blue (clockwise starting top left). The only one missing was Cedar. I will have to get some of that soon. I know that MadAboutPatchwork has a bundle that I might get.

 

 

 

I'm having fun with these HSTs and might do a bunch more! Wooooo! No pink this time, though.

The Kona Challenge!

Jenn over at A Quarter Inch From The Edge gets full credit for this idea but I thought I would copy her. She made a list of all the Kona colors including the newest ones and crossed off each project she has made with them. I did this today while cross-referencing all of my purchases from Mad About Patchwork. It's been a while for some of them but I think I did a pretty good job with my listing. Have a look at it and tell me what you think here. Clearly I am using way too much Chartreuse and Bahama Blue because I stopped adding to those lists as they got too full.

 

In my reminiscing and sorting, I realized that there were a couple of quilts that although finished, were never posted. I think it may be because I finished them before I started the blog but nonetheless should be included.

This first one is baby HSTs (half-square triangles). I think it's actually the only HST quilt I have done. Crazy, eh? It was a quilt for a prego co-worker. I've been feeling HSTs again though so I may attempt something else soon.

 

And here's one that I made for my mom a couple of Christmases ago. I call it Fall Colors. It matches my mom and her house and also managed to tick off quite a few colors that I wouldn't normally use. This was before I learned to Free-motion quilt so it's looking a bit saggy - please excuse my early lack of skills. I actually don't even remember how this was quilted - maybe just in the ditch between squares?

Odds N Ends

Hey folks, I have a few little odds and ends to post. These have been on my instagram but I haven't shared them over here (silly me!). With my machine at the shop for a whole 4 days now, I'm feeling a bit at a loss. I even organized my sewing room last night! Clearly, I'm getting desperate. So, here's what I was up to before I broke my machine:



My Ghostbusters wall hanging which is currently up at the Dart Gallery



Wall hanging with my pillow below it.

Ghostbusters pillow now available at The Dart Gallery

 

My pouch for the swap with the Victoria Modern Quilt Guild - plus the goodies to go inside

Rocket Raccoon costume Eric made for my nephew

 

Beauty wool blanket I bought at the Acadia Craft Fair

Darwin, being adorable.