Author: Life of Momma B

Strawberry Quilt

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Thank you for stopping by today.  For those of you who have been following along, I have temporarily (or at least that is the plan) set aside my New Year’s Eve Mystery Quilt to complete one of my UFO’s.  My Strawberry Quilt is 100% complete.

I designed this quilt sometime ago. Inspiration came from a piece of wide fabric I picked up at a destash event.  When I came across it, I fell in love with it. At the time, I had no idea what I would do with it, but could not leave it behind. It has sat in my stash for a little while. I set out to make a quilt for my youngest niece, and browsing my stash remembered this piece of fabric, and built the quilt around it.

My first thought was to include it in the front, but I just could not find a pattern that I was happy with. So, I used the theme and colors as inspiration for the front.  In addition to the back, I also used it as the cornerstones. As the fabric was not was not quite long enough to cover the back, I added a little border to the top and bottom to complete the back.

For the quilting I used a combination of designs.  I began by filling the background with a large meandering free motion design.  Then switched to my walking foot to outline the strawberries and create a diagonal grid on the strawberry body.   I finished off the quilt with red binding. 

I am happy to report that it has been gifted and now back to the New Year’s Eve Mystery Quilt.  I am at the dreaded stage of pressing my HST seams open.  It is so hard for me to find the motivation to spend time at the ironing board. Since they are not going to press themselves, I guess I better get back to it. 

Happy Quilting.  

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NYE Mystery Quilt: Part 2

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Progress continues on my Sparkling New Year’s Eve Mystery Quilt.  I was only able to spend one night working on it, so I set out to mark all of my half square triangles for sewing. 

I realize that this was part of the preparation step that was supposed to be done before the sew-along, but I was not able to mark any of them.  But all my squares are now marked and ready to sew.  

When I mark my HSTs, I prefer to mark all of the sew lines.  My go to supplies include a FriXion pen and my Omnigrid Marking Ruler.  The pattern recommends using Deb Tucker’s 180 Studio, Quilters Magic Wand.  I have not personally tried a Magic Wand, but it is essentially the same thing.  They are both ½ inch rulers that you are able to center diagonally on the square and mark the sewing lines, ¼ inch on both sides of the center diagonal.   

As this is not a sponsored post, and I do not receive any compensation for my opinions, here is why I opted for the Omnigrid Marking Ruler.  They are sold in a set of three in various lengths.  This allows me to use a ruler that is right for the job. The rulers are clear and the length is clearly marked in standard 1/8 inch which allows them to be used as a basic ruler when needed.  I find it a plus whenever a tool can serve multiple purposes.  Please note, there are other brands of rulers available. Regardless of which brand you choose, a ½ inch ruler will make all HSTs easier. 

The next step is to sew and cut all of my HSTs, and then the dreaded step of ironing them.  Stay tuned to see as the quilt progresses. 

NYE Mystery Quilt: Part 1

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Today I wanted to share my current quilt project with you.  I am working on the Sparkling New Year’s Eve Mystery Quilt. Stitchin’ Heaven, Craftsy and National Quilters Circle joined together to hold a virtual New Year’s Eve Quilt-along.  The virtual event was hosted by Rob Appell and Tiffany Hayes.

Being a mystery quilt, I had no idea what the pattern would look like. I opted for a spring beachy vibe and will be using coral, light blue, gray and white.  To add to the adventure my sister joined me New Year’s Eve to sew together while we watched the streaming video.  During the 5 hour long stream we walked through each step and the final quilt was revealed in the end.  While there is no way that anyone could complete this quilt top in 5 hours I did manage to get 1 block done, along with some sub-blocks. 

Now that the final quilt pattern has been revealed, I think I would have changed up the color arrangements. However, I have decided to keep the fabric arrangement I selected and count it as part of the mystery quilt process.  If you would like to see the final pattern you can find it on Craftsy (here). 

I am usually able to sew for a couple of hours each week but that has not happened lately. I am reminded of a verse in Proverbs

“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps. Proverbs 16:9”

I have great plans, but life seems to go awry, and my attention is needed elsewhere.  I have not been able to work on it lately, but hope to be able to sew some this week. I will keep you posted as I make progress. Stay posted for more updates. 

Wheelchair Lap Quilt

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Welcome to 2023. I’m happy to see 2022 in the rearview mirror.  It was a rough year for me personally, but I’m hopeful that this will be a better year. 

Now that the holidays are behind us, I am able to share a couple of quilts I made for gifts.  The first quilt is this super simple Wheelchair Lap Quilt. 

I made this for my mother-in-law.  She suffers from advanced dementia and is no longer mobile.  I saw one similar to this on Pinterest, and designed my own pattern.  It features a pocket to keep her hands warm. 

I used my walking foot to complete the majority of the quilting work.  I added some dense free motion stippling to the pocket for added interest. 

My MIL loved it. What do you think? 

Texas Christmas Quilt – Santa Hat

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I had hoped to complete a few blocks of my Texas Christmas Shop Hop Quilt last week, but life got in the way. I have been extra busy at work and preparing for the fall craft fair season with Creative Sisters of TX.  But I have not abandoned this project.  Today’s quilt block is a Santa Hat from Urban Spools Sewing Lounge in Dallas.   

My goal is to complete a few more blocks this week in between work and a top-secret Christmas project that I am working on. 

What are you working on currently?