Memory Tree Quilt Finished!

I'm excited to have this one finished and in its forever home. <3

This is a memory quilt I created for a customer.  With the "tree of life" as our inspiration, I used his mother's clothes for the trunk, leaves, and stripped border.

One of my favorite parts about doing memory quilts is that you have to be flexible and constantly in "design mode".  This darling little bird house was one of her sweatshirts, and I was stuck for a little while on how I would incorporate it.  It wouldn't fit into my leaf templates, nor would it fit the border.  Then it hit me...I could use it as an actual birdhouse!  

The quilting was a lot of fun on this too.  This is the first time I played with a lot of negative space.  I used spirals for the base and around the trunk, then I filled in around the leaves with leaf shapes and echos.

If you look closely, you can see I quilted a bark shape into the tree trunk.  

It was so windy...it was nearly impossible to get it all in one shot!

I'm always honored when I get to do a project like this.  This quilt was so special. <3

Thank you so much for stopping by!

Have an awesome day!

~Summer

I'm linking up today with Finish It Up Friday, Can I Get a Whoop Whoop? and TGIFF

Mini Quilt Potholders and Matching Coasters!

Happy Friday!!  I have some small finishes to share today, but even though they're small...I love them big. ;)

When you're working for hours on a more difficult project, do you ever need to take a break to just sew something, anything that's different?  I do!  The Tree Memory Quilt I'm working on is coming along famously, but one afternoon...I just NEEDED something else. So...I made these pretties!

I used Kate Spain's Grand Canal from Moda, along with Kona Solids in Ash and Charcoal.  I've had 8-point stars and flying geese on the brain lately, so that's what I channeled.

This first one was particularly fun, because, on a whim, I decided to quilt around the buildings in the center so they stand out.  ^_^

I LOVE the second one though.  Those gold and blue mosaic flowers on the navy...*swoon*

I have discovered the importance of quilting on the corners, even if it's just a simple straight line.  This makes it immensely easier to stop the fabric puckering and folding when attaching the binding.

Finally, I just had to add some matching quilted coasters to the mix.  It's not my fault Kate Spain has this darling print in 4 colorways, right?  

I had a lot of fun quilting these with narrow, random wavy lines.  I'm really happy with how they came out.

I think they feel like spring.  <3

I absolutely love making these potholders...I get the entire quilting process done in a short period of time, then I get to enjoy those satisfaction of a finish.

Thank you so much for stopping by today!

Have an awesome day!

~Summer



I'm linking up today with TGIFF, Finish It Up Friday, and Can I Get a Whoop, Whoop?