Little Ways Quilts

Monday, January 13, 2014

Plus Quilt

I bought the Glimma fabric line in a fat quarter bundle with no plan of what I wanted to do with it. I've been wanting to make a plus quilt for awhile now, so I decided this would work great. I was so proud that I carefully made all my calculations and even used some graph paper and colored pencils to plan it out. Best laid plans…I somehow ended up 5 squares short! How frustrating. It took a lot of reworking, but I'm very pleased with the result! This may end up being a quilt I give away, since I am pretty good about keeping my quilts all to myself, and that's a habit I'm trying to change. I apologize for the photos, I'm missing my quilt holder (husband!).

Friday, January 10, 2014

Quick Baby Quilt

A dear friend came over for a visit awhile back, and the day before she came I whipped up this easy baby quilt for her very adorable new baby girl. I was kicking myself though, because I used a black sewing pencil to mark the quilting lines and it did not come out in the wash. It took running it through several soaks in Oxyclean and lots of Shout before the lines finally faded. So, I ended up having to mail the quilt. But, I love the colors and how it turned out. I think this is going to become a go to gift for my friends with new little ones! The backing is a light aqua herringbone print which I absolutely love. I still have plenty left over, but I wish I bought more.

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Christmas Ornaments

I know I'm a little behind, but right after Christmas we had about a week or so that the kiddos and I were all sick. For Christmas this year, I made little pieced stocking ornaments for the ladies in my quilt guild carpool and also to put in the Christmas cards we sent out this year. I loved how they turned out, and they were so fun to make!

And just for fun…my 4 year old daughter's Christmas list! This was a really fun year to do Christmas with her, since she seems so much more understanding of our traditions. It's a lot of pressure to make the season magical for my children, but oh it's so worth it!

Friday, December 13, 2013

Quilted Christmas Mat

Last year my mom sent me a cute Advent wreath, but it was bothering me that I didn't have anything to put under it. I have a couple Christmas table runners, but those won't get used until little hands aren't pulling them down all the time! So, I decided to quilt up a little mat using my scraps from various projects. I used the "quilt as you go" method, and loved it!

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Hello!

Welcome to my blog! My name is Jessica, and I'd like to start off by giving a little bit of my background, and how I came to love quilting, and sewing in general! When I was younger, my mom was always working on some sewing project, so I learned early on how to use her machine, and did small projects. In fact, the very first quilt I made when I was about 8, and it was a tiny nine patch block for a doll. The first large quilt I started was for my sister's wedding, and since I didn't have a sewing machine, I went to Walmart and got the cheapest Brother machine they sold. I did most of the cutting while on summer break at my parents' house, and then most of the quilting in my dorm room. I went to a military college, so someone making a quilt in their room was quite unheard of. This earned me a nickname (Gramma Bryant), and a steady stream of customers needing mending (think guys roughhousing in dress uniforms!) and patches sewn on. The quilt ended in near disaster, and sat for a couple years after my sister's wedding, until my mom mercifully suggested we bring it to AnnMarie to have finished. Not only did she do the quilting, but she did some major repair work to the back and all the binding! Amazing…but after that I took a break and did small sewing projects (a little quilt for my new niece…I vowed never to piece flannel and minky together again!). About a year and a half ago, I got out of the military to be a stay-at-home mom, and really got into quilting. The next big quilt I made was with some Kumari Gardens fabric, and also has some glaring issues, but I got it DONE. I may have one entire section of seams offset because I couldn't do a 1/4 in. seam right, and I may have spent hours ripping out some machine quilting designs gone horribly wrong. But…I've learned so much since then, and if you're still with me…here's some photos of my completed quilts!