the panda quilts: #18: little emelia

this quilt is for emelia elizabeth, who came into this world just two days ago. emelia's mama tommie is my sister carrie's best friend & i've known her for 25 years.  this is baby #3, and once again i didn't do this whole quilting thing when the first two were born (sorry, ellie and reuben).

i picked out the purple dandelion fabric during textile's annual sale (it's an older alexander henry print). i used kona amethyst, aloe and snow to coordinate, as well as this denyse schmidt print from joann:

i didn't know what sort of pattern to use for this. i trolled flickr and pinterest for inspiration, and finally decided on fresh lemon's greek cross block from this tutorial). i found this tutorial for a quick-piecing method very helpful & time-saving.
greek crosses are another one of those things that seem to have hundreds of different layout possibilities. these were just two i tried out:

option 1?

option 2?

 once i sewed the top together, i decided to add a border to make it just a little larger.

i straight-line quilted on the inside of the squares & also around each of the crosses.

 

back

the quilt, just chillin on the swing

the panda quilts: #16: the mister's quilt

after making quilts for both of my sisters, my dad, and countless baby quilts, i was beginning to feel a little guilty about not having made one for my husband. i kept my eye open for fabrics he may like and patterns he may find appealing, but the quest for the perfect combination of both kept this quilt un-made for a quite awhile. plus, i know how particular he is about EVERYTHING, so i wanted this one to be just right. i can't even remember how the decision was ultimately made, but i pulled a stack of some kona solids (windsor, sage, yarrow, chocolate and medium grey), asked him if he liked the color combination (he did), and ordered 2 yards of each.

from there, i set out cutting a bunch of triangles with my trusty creative grids 60 degree triangle ruler. (i cut them at 6").  i played around with different layouts and asked for his input. i love the hundreds of permutations that occur with triangles...

we decided on organized rows, double brown. (no go on the moon print, but i was able to use those in tracey's baby quilt). i spent the month of february sewing row-by-row whenever i'd get a chance (our house had sold but we weren't closing/moving til mid-march, so i had some spare sewing time again). i finished about half the quilt top before the move.

schminkey the cat, keeping tabs on me

new sewing room floor (and the quilt top 2/3 complete)

i can't remember when i got back to work on the other half, but it was well after we had moved in and unpacked. 17 rows of 21 triangles = 357 triangles. it's about 60" wide by 90"long, approximately the size of an extra-long twin quilt.

straight-line quilting, of course.

for the back, i did something a little cheesy, but i incorporated championship racing stripes, a nod to the mister's love of cycling. and kind of a bianchi celeste back there, too (it's the kona sage from the front). you can really see the diamond-shape quilting on the back.

says he: "i love it." he plans on taking it out on tour with him, so this quilt will see the likes of a stinky 15-passenger van, lots of states, some drippy taco bell fire sauce, and maybe some laundromats on the way. it's ready for adventure.

side note: i used quilter's dream wool batting for the first time; normally i use the natural select cotton. i've washed and dried the quilt a few times and i'm seeing crazy amount of "bearding" with this. i didn't even know this term existed, but when i googled "wool batting fuzzy problems" (or something like that) i learned that this sometimes happens.  it has to do with science! and molecules!  (if i think of it this way, i feel slightly less disappointed). i'll definitely stick to using regular cotton batting from here on out.  

the panda quilts: #17: moony triangles for baby brandon

Skipping #16 (a special quilt for the Mister....years in the making) to tell you about the 17th quilt I made: a triangle quilt for my cousin Tracey's baby boy (Brandon, born on July 30). I didn't know how to quilt when her first two kiddos were born (sorry Mairead and Connor), so I was excited to make a quilt for baby #3.

I had cut the moon triangles (part of the Lizzy House "Constellations" collection) as a "maybe" for Quilt #16, but I didn't end up using them. So I thought they'd be perfect for this quilt. I had some leftover grey & navy triangles, and I used the beautiful white starry fabric & a Lotta Jansdotter turquoise stripe as well.

it's always fun testing out various layouts

finished product

This one was a lot of fun to make. I loved the way the fabrics blended together - the colors are so calming; I am happy it went to a familial home. I still haven't met the 2nd child in Tracey's brood & I am hoping I get a chance to visit them all soon. If we lived in the same state, I know I'd hang out with them all the time. 

more Lotta for the binding

the back...used scraps to make the "shards"...

the panda quilts: #15: one for Maddox

Hey-o, it's been awhile. I suppose selling and buying a house will do that to a person. In an effort to chronicle all the quilts I make, I went back in my time machine to revisit a quilt made for Maddox, Holden's baby brother.  I can't even remember when I started this one - was it December of '12? January? Again, selling and buying a house will make your mind mush.  Regardless, Maddox was born in March, and I know I mailed it off before then, so....

Maddox's family lives near to the beach & his dad can surf, so I went nautical for this one. I chose a few prints from Cloud 9's Seven Seas collection. I'm an absolute sucker for Michele Brummer Everett fabrics (I was a fan of her Monsterz collection, too)...all those critters! They're so strange and awesome and adorable!  The flags seemed very Newport Beach to me, which then made me think about Arrested Development.... All the while Echo and the Bunnymen's song "Seven Seas" is playing in my head.... and then this quilt is the result.

The colors are bolder than I'm used to/drawn to, but it works. A beachy blue and yellow and red to go along with the elements in the prints. I quilted sideways V's jutting from one of the sides.