It's Good To Be King! (bed runner that is)

As I'm sitting here watching the torrential rain, not wanting to venture out for the much needed thread or that trip to the dreaded grocery store.  It seems a good time to blog about a project that has been finished!

When I first received this custom request, the first word I saw was KING.  My eyes glazed over for a split second until I realized it was a King Bed Runner.  I was intrigued, as I had never made a bed runner, let alone ever thought about it.

When Rachel first contacted me and let it be known that she had been quietly 'stalking' my shop and my quilting style seemed right up her alley, I knew I had to work with her! After a little back and forth with ideas, size and colors we came up with a plan!  

22" x 88"

The finished bed runner!  Sand, Sea and Sunset.  Perfect for condo living on the beach! Rachel was amazing to work with.  I loved making each intricate panel for her, but really loved that I had been given creative control to do what I do.  

The gray back ground lets each panel and color stand out.  I was a quilting demon with the waves!  Lots and lots of horizontal organic lines!

Creative photography...I love shooting pictures from crazy angles just to see how it turns out.  This shot was my favorite!

Besides the runner, there was a pillow cover in the mix too!  

20" x 20"

Of course staying with the theme, I incorporated all three panels in to one lovely pillow! Classic envelope closure in gray and again, lots of quilting.  Except for the pillow I used different thread colors. 

You never really know if someone is going to like the finished product in person.  Selling on Etsy has been amazing for me.  Perfect solution to my quilting obsession.  That being said, the majority of people do not come back to let you know how they liked something. Even when you make custom quilts for them!  I know...I maybe a little insecure!  

Rachel came through!  Not only did she let me know right away that she loved her new bed jewelry, she sent me pictures!  

I kinda want to live here!  Gorgeous room Rachel!  I am ecstatic with the finish and that you love these.  Thank you again for having complete confidence in me!  

...and it is still raining...

LINKING:

FABRIC FRENZY FRIDAY

CAN I GET A WHOOP WHOOP

SEW SOLID SUNDAY
ANYTHING GOES MONDAY

Itajime Cross Body Bag

Itajime Shibori.  What?!  Itajime Shibori is a shape-resist technique.  The cloth is sandwiched between two pieces of wood or plexiglass shapes and clamped together very tightly.  The shapes prevent dye from penetrating the fabric, creating some amazing designs. 

I received this Itajime fabric from my daughter, Britt.  When she was first starting her Fiber Education she was required to try many different techniques.  This was not her favorite, but she came out of the class with some pretty gorgeous pieces of fabric.  This piece has been sitting around for way too long!  

10" x 10"

I mustered up the courage to attempt a new purse.  I am not known for making bags and frankly, I'm not comfortable making them.  They never turn out right!

So, I decided yesterday to kill two birds with one stone...use this fabric and make myself a small bag. You can't get any simpler than this one!  But could I pull it off?! 

The piece of fabric was not large.  I had to work with the width and that was fine.  I wanted smallish.  One piece for the outside, solid for the lining, fusible fleece...oh, and a little pocket too!  I lightly quilted the outside, but I didn't want to go overboard.  

For some reason I decided to square the corners.  Which I'm fine with.  A long skinny handle was the final decision.  Super easy, super fast and in all honesty...I had fun, I like it and plan on using it!

I will admit that it took me awhile to figure out how to assemble this!  I know, like I said I am 'bag challenged'!  I looked several patterns from bags to buckets!  Seriously!  I got this! Give me simple!

LINKING:

ANYTHING GOES MONDAYS

LET'S BEE SOCIAL

Bed Runner WIP

Have you ever made a bed runner quilt before?  This will be my first time.  I have never ever considered it before, it never crossed my mind...never.  I'm always up for something new, so when I was asked if I could make one, well heck...why not!

I guess if I look at it a little differently, I could just say it was a large table runner!  I'm not sure why I didn't think of that before!

The theme will be pretty evident.  The design will be familiar if you have followed me.  

SAND

OCEAN

SUNSET

The sand panel design is a new one.  I wasn't sure if I could pull that off or not.  About half way through I had my doubts (which is normal when I do this kind of work).  But I have learned to keep going.  You never know where it will end up or how it will turn out.  And really, its only fabric...bite my tongue!!

The three panels will end up being about 18" square and the finished runner (for a king size bed) will be roughly 22" x 88".   I hope, hope, hope that the gray will pull it all together.  And then quilting. Usually I would quilt tight wave lines in several different thread colors.  I'm leaning towards the same quilting technique, but using gray thread and quilting from one end to the other.  Thinking on this one!

And since I was in the improv wave piecing mode ~ 

I tried one combining ocean and sand!  This was good practice for the pillow I need to make that will coordinate with the bed runner!  I plan on adding a little sunset to the pillow! I think it will tie everything together pretty nicely!

LINKING:

LET'S BEE SOCIAL

WIP WEDNESDAY

FABRIC FRENZY FRIDAY

CAN I GET A WHOOP WHOOP

Julian And His New Quilt

This is the fun part of selling on Etsy!  It is a total rush when I get a sale, excitement that someone appreciates my craft.  Getting to see something you made put into action, is a whole different feeling!

Back in April I was contacted by Taylor (also my son's name) wondering if I could make a quilt like the one in my shop, but with different colors.  They didn't have to be dyed fabrics (which is what the listed one was...and thank you for not saying tie-dyed Taylor!), just different and no pink.  We went back and forth on colors, figuring it out was pretty easy. This girl knew what she wanted for her baby.  She wasn't in a hurry.  We had plenty of time. The special day wouldn't be until August.  

The quilt came together months before birth, just waiting...and waiting.  Why?  There would be a monogram patch added after all the stats were known.  A perfect special touch! 

32" x 43"

Lots of straight line quilting, bright bold colors and believe it or not...not one single hand dyed fabric to be found!

And now, let me introduce Julian...

World, meet Julian. 

Julian was born on August 18th at 11:47 p.m. (he seems to like late nights).  He weighed in at 7 lbs. 15 oz. and was 20 3/4" long!  I healthy, happy and 'oh, so dang adorable' baby!

See how he outshines this quilt?!  I don't even see the quilt with him in the picture!  Taylor, you better watch out...this guy is going to break some hearts!

I was very happy that Julian's Mommy took the time to share these pictures with me.  

It made my heart skip a beat!  It made me smile.  It made my day and then some!  Thank you Taylor for finding my shop.  It was such a pleasure working with her!

I would like to thank my friend and fellow Guild member Stefanie.  She was kind enough to monogram the patch with Julian's stats for the quilt!  Stefanie is also the owner of

Cotton Bliss, a fabulous online fabric/notions shop!  Please check it out!