Quilting

I typed up a whole post about the quilts I'm making and my progress that I've made with my little quilting "business", but I deleted it.  I feel really uncomfortable sharing pictures of my quilts here on the blog.  I don't want them to be "pinned" to pinterest and then a ton of people finding my personal blog.  

If you'd like to see my quilts, you can follow me on Instagram @riseandshinequilts .  If you don't have a smartphone, you can also see my posts here: http://instagram.com/riseandshinequilts

I've been really happy with how things are going.  I don't want to get too "big", because I don't want it to take up too much of my time.  Ideally, I'd love to make 1 quilt per week or so.

Anyway, it's been very rewarding so far and I'm just loving it!  Instagram has definitely changed the quilting world, I feel like.  I could never have gotten this kind of exposure on Etsy.  I get mostly custom orders, and it has been fun to challenge myself and to make other people happy by making their ideas come to life.  I'm also in the middle of a "collaboration" with another "small" business and that has been a huge boost for me.

Little model

As I have finished my quilts, I photograph them before listing them for sale.  Olivia always takes the opportunity to pose for the camera, every single time.  She's my little Vanna White!

Close-ups

Like I said in my blog post last week, I've been busy quilting lately!  Garrett and I took some pictures of my quilts over Christmas break.

This one is a favorite.  It's pretty big for a baby quilt -- it would be perfect for a toddler bed or even an adult lap quilt.  The patterns have a nautical theme to them, so I did triangles and simple straight line quilting.  I love this one!  The back is just solid white.

This one I really love, too!  When I was fabric shopping online over Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend, I randomly came across this fabric bundle and added it to my cart on a whim.  It turns out that they are gorgeous in person and so nice and soft.  This quilt actually sold soon after I posted a picture of it on my Instagram account (I got a new IG account for my quilting projects - @riseandshinequilts .  I'm "listing" my quilts there first to try to avoid Etsy fees.)

This baby quilt was a custom order and it was really fun to make.  I love pinwheel quilts.

Three quilts, ready to be mailed out:

I made this herringbone quilt and I'm in love with how it turned out!

I made a mint one with a navy binding, too:

... with metallic dots on the back

And THIS.... this is my baby!  Haha.  I started this last summer and was finally able to finish it after I bought my sewing machine.  The quilt pattern is called "Fireworks" by Camille Roskelley, and I actually used Camille's "Vintage Modern" line of fabric as well.  I love how it turned out!  

Not too bad for my first time doing "fancy" free-motion quilting!

Another close-up

It feels so fun to have found something I really enjoy doing - I feel like I found my passion!  I love trying new techniques and connecting with other quilters and I have a lot of big ideas for future quilts and projects.  I'm really excited!

Busy

I am loving my new sewing machine.  I've been able to finish up a bunch of quilts that were only half done because I wasn't able to quilt them with my small machine.  I was also finally able to start selling them.  I'll be listing them on etsy soon, but for now I'm just posting them on instagram to try to save the hassle of using etsy (& mostly just trying to save on fees).  I've already been able to sell one that way and am hoping I continue to have some success!

Christmas gifts

Each year for Christmas, we rotate which siblings we are going to give gifts to.  This year, we had my brother and his family.  I decided to make them holiday banners.  I actually made 3 sets (one for us, and one for Garrett's parents) 

I still have to make a Thanksgiving banner for my brother (& for us) but I ran out of time.  I'll have to send that sometime in the next 10 months!

And for the nephews (they have 4 boys!), I made a set of bean bags (I actually made two sets - another set for another nephew on Garrett's side of the family):

They were fun projects, but a lot of work!!  Glad to have them done with.

Special Delivery

I finally bought it: a new sewing machine!

To be honest, I've had mixed feelings about buying this machine.  On the one hand, I need this machine.  I really enjoy quilting and if I am really going to do it right, I needed to get something that could handle making decent sized quilts (I have been pretty much forced to only make baby or small lap quilts because my previous machine was so small).  This machine was a definite need, and I have been saving for over a year for it, and researching machines pretty much for the last 4 years. (A big reason it's taken me so long to save up for it because I kept buying fabric!!)

On the other hand, I felt really guilty when I bought it.  Because even though I needed a machine like this to make my quilts... I don't need to quilt.  It's my hobby... an expensive hobby, too.  One that I wasn't even sure I should be doing right now since it's so hard to find the time for it these days. Maybe I should wait for all my kids to be in school?  Maybe I should wait until I have a dedicated sewing room?  Heck, maybe I should wait until all my kids are out of the house? (yeah, really thinking long term here!)

I really went back and forth about the purchase, wondering if I should just send it back and give up the dream for a while.  I ended up keeping it.  To be honest I still struggle a little bit in my head, but the truth is that even if I sent it back, the money I have been saving for the machine would just sit in my little bank account, the one I set up in my name for this very thing.  And, I either wouldn't ever spend it, or I would spend it on fabric... which I would make into quilt tops... which I would not be able to quilt on my little machine.  And then I would be frustrated all over again, just like I have been for the last 3+ years.

I am happy with the machine.  It's fast, and great for free-motion quilting which is what I am trying to improve my skills on.  And all I have to do is look online for about 5 minutes at all those really expensive sewing machines (THOUSANDS of dollars!) and tell myself I really didn't spend all that much. ;)  The damage could have been worse!

I have a lot of high hopes for my "quilting future".  I still have not ever made quilts for my own girls (my mom does the baby quilts, plus a "2-years-old" quilt), but I have a goal to make a large (twin-sized?) quilt for them when they turn 8.  I can also hopefully start making quilts on commission, which I haven't really been able to do in the past because I was really limited with what I could make.  So, I'm excited!  Now, if I could only buy some new fabric... guess it's time to start finding more piano students!

Another project

I was recently commissioned to repair a couple of 30-year-old baby quilts.  They were falling apart and the old batting was matted and bunched up inside. I cut little slits in the back and pulled out all the old batting, then just treated them like quilt tops.  I sandwiched them with new batting and a new back, then hand quilted over all the old hand quilting so that it showed up on the new back. I also put on a new binding, and there were some parts that needed small repairs so I did that too.  It was a lot of work, but really enjoyable because I just did it in the evenings while I watched a show or talked with Garrett, or while I was at book club or whatever.  I love projects that are portable like that, and I loved seeing how well they turned out.  They were as good as new!  I just finished them a few days ago and brought them over to the owner and she was so happy.  Her kids were actually in town also so they got to see them while I was there and it was so rewarding to see their reactions.  They all loved them.  The owner even told me that she wants me to make some quilts for her! I would love that.  I've been saving up for a new sewing machine and this job easily gave me the remainder of the money I have been needing.  Now I just need to pull the trigger and buy it!

I'm so grateful my mom taught me how to quilt.  She helped me make my first quilt when I was in high school and of course I still have it!  Quilts are such treasures.

An "up close" shot of the process:

Making progress

I'm making progress on the Fireworks quilt that I started a few months ago.  I finished all 16 blocks that the pattern calls for, but I'm considering making 4 more to make it a little bigger.  I am loving it so far - and I'm planning to keep this one for myself.

Latest project

I've started quilting again.  This one is definitely a keeper... I love it!

I am using the "Vintage Modern" fabric line by Bonnie & Camille.  It's a gorgeous line with grays, reds, pinks, aquas, and some green and blue.

 

I bought a quilt pattern (also by Bonnie & Camille) called "Fireworks".  As soon as I saw a picture of it online I knew I had to make it.  The pattern was emailed to me and I got started right away!  Here's Ellie helping me cut the fabric... she was playing with the "crusts":

First block finished:

More blocks... I really love the houndstooth fabrics.

10 blocks done, six more to go!  The quilt pattern makes a square quilt that is 4 blocks x 4 blocks, but it would be easy to make more blocks to make it larger if I wanted.  I don't think I'll need to, though... this will be a nice size of 64" squared.  We'll see, though.  A bunch of people have asked me what it's for and I have told them, it's for ME!  That's right, this is my snuggling quilt.

But I sure am tempted to make it a twin sized quilt, make two more, and then give one to each of the girls. How cute would these be on thier beds?!?  But ask me again when I'm hand-quilting it... I really love quilting on my machine but my basic little Brother machine isn't big enough to handle something this size and I certainly don't want to pay over $100 to send it out to have it done somewhere else.  So, that'll be my next big project, but that's okay because I never mind working with fabrics this beautiful.

Happy Birthday to You

Today, I am 28.  And giving is always better than receiving, so to celebrate my birthday, I am going to fulfill goal #31 on my "101 in 1001" list: give away a quilt here on the blog!

As you probably know, I love to quilt.  I love beautiful fabric, I love thinking up a design, and I love seeing it all come together.  If I could, I would keep all that quilts I make - it's hard to even list them in my Etsy shop, and even harder to put them in the mail and send them off to someone.

I think every home should have at least one beautiful quilt in it.  And, I think we should all use these beautiful quilts, instead of letting them sit in closets because they are "too nice".  So, I'm going to give away a quilt this week - a quilt from my Etsy shop.  All you have to do to enter this "giveaway" is to leave a comment here on this post.  It doesn't matter if you've never commented before, or if I haven't seen or talked to you in years, or if I don't even know you!  I read plenty of blogs of people I barely know, or used to know, or haven't even met but I know who they are.  It's okay, I won't think you are weird. :)




 

You can say whatever you want in your comment, but please do include which quilt you think you will choose if you win (I will use Random.org to choose a winner, but I am curious to know which quilts are favorites... each quilt has a title in my shop).  Please keep in mind that these are baby quilts, so they are smaller.  Some are larger than others, though, and could be categorized as "lap quilts".  Sorry if you don't want/need baby quilts... but they sure make great gifts!

One comment per person, please. And sorry, there are no opportunities to "earn" extra entries by telling people about the giveaway... I am not interested in increasing my readership.  In fact, the less people that know about it, the better chance you have to win, right? :)  Giveaway will be open for one week - I will announce the winner on Friday, April 27.

Good luck, and Happy Birthday to you, whenever it is.

(*Note: all quilts are currently for sale in my Etsy shop.  I cannot guarantee that your first choice quilt will be available when the giveaway closes)