Zoe's Quilt - a FINISH! {pic heavy}

Well.... it was a very productive weekend!  When I last left you, I had most of the rows of Zoe's onesie quilt sewn up.

This weekend - I FINISHED the quilt!

I sewed up the rest of the rows and the quilt top was done.  Then I pieced together the backing fabric - using an adorable mini flower fabric in greens & pinks - as well as a few "extra" squares that didn't make it into the front - and some pink & white polka dots, of course!

Then I made a "quilt sandwich" - - - backing, batting, top - - - and spray / pin basted it.

I had to move my sewing machine to the dining room table - to give me LOTS of room to work while quilting!  I used simple straight line quilting about 1/2" on either side of each horizontal seam.

When all the quilting was done, I basted around the whole quilt as close to the edge as I could - just so it didn't wiggle while I was trimming / binding.  This was my view for a few hours Saturday night after the kiddos went to bed {the hubby liked that I was busy - it meant video game time for him!}

Have I mentioned how much I LOVE the dual-feed foot on my Janome Horizon 7700???  Love it.  

Next, I trimmed it up and it was ready for binding!  Isn't the back adorable?!

{don't mind the front-loader photobomb!}

Originally I had a different fabric in mind for the binding.... but then I realized I didn't have anywhere near as much as I needed.  So I auditioned a few fabrics - and even got the hubby's input.  I think he made a good choice, don't you!?

Then I got back behind the machine and stitched the binding on.  LOVE using the foot of my table extension to hold onto that pretty roll of binding - perfect!  (I learned that trick from Maureen Cracknell Handmade - - - and honestly I geek out a little each time I do it because I am SO in awe of her work and I can't help but think "I'm quilting like Maureen!" - yep.... now you know how much of a nerd I am!)

And soon enough...... the quilt was DONE!

{It measures about 50" x 60"}

A big thank-you to the hubby who helped take pictures - even though it was POURING down rain! :)

How fun are those stripes?!  And the flowers?  Polka dots?!  So much girly fun in one quilt!

Then there are all the fun little details that I just LOVE!

Like a First Christmas onesie, little puffs of tulle on some adorable flip-flops....

Bows, ruffles, fan gear....

A special 1st birthday onesie...

Pockets!  LOVE the little pockets (there are a few on the front AND back!)

Each time they wash this, it will get softer and softer.

I hope Zoe and her family LOVE snuggling up under this blanket - and reminiscing about all the memories created wearing all these adorable clothes!

Today I boxed it up and put it on the porch - - - it will be home with their family later this week!

I am so honored to have been asked to work on such a special project - it was truly a joy to make!

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Want to read more about Zoe's quilt {this one took a while, for sure!}

Sort & Design

Cutting & Piecing

March ALYOF goal

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Linking up with A Lovely Year of Finishes - - as this was my March goal {finished well before the end of the month, SWEET!} - I'm entry #21 this month - can't wait to see what others have finished up!

Sharing on "Show Off Saturday" as well! :)

WIP Wednesday - Zoe's quilt {progress!}

After a wonderful vacation with a little bit of sewing sprinkled in - I was excited to get back behind the sewing machine {the iron?  Not so much!} this week!

I have a few different orders to work on right now, and each is a work in progress.  Some adorable dresses, a birthday onesie, super cute ruffly PJ pants - - - lots of fun things coming across my machine!

The last time I shared about Zoe's quilt I was sorting, designing, and stabilizing each piece.  Since then, her mom found a few rogue items that fell out of the bags when she took them to be shipped to me (oh no!!!) - so she sent them my way to be added in {phew, good thing I've been taking my time on this project - a few of them were really sentimental / important items!}.

Once I had sorted all the items by the size of the design, I started ironing on the stabilizer.  Stabilizer is important because onesies, etc. are all different thicknesses and most of them have some stretch to them.  Stabilizing them helps protect the integrity of the quilt (won't stretch out / break down).... but it takes time!  I knew I was going to work with three different block sizes - 6", 4", and 2" (finished square size).  I cut stabilizer a bit bigger than each size and ironed it on.

Then after returning from vacation, I got to cutting out squares!  150 of them to be exact!  {okay... actually a few more than that... it's good to have extras on hand - and they'll find their way into the backing!}

I *may* have had an unfortunate incident with my rotary cutter during this step.  Thank goodness some sort of survival instinct (or???) intervened and kept me from really doing BIG damage.  I still have all my fingers!!!!

Then I got my handy dandy colored pencil sketch of the quilt, and started stacking squares for each row.

I plan on using a "quilt as you go" method - similar to that shared by Maureen Cracknell - for this quilt due to its size (it will be around 50" x 60" when finished!).

A side note: Maureen is amazing.  Not only is her quilting beautiful and inspiring, but yesterday within minutes of commenting on a blog post of hers, and asking a question, she had responded by email!!!  To say I was a bit star-struck would be an understatement.  She answered my question, and truly took the time to respond with more than just a quick "thanks for commenting".  She even included photos to help explain her process!  Wow!!!  We emailed back and forth a couple times, and I was left even more inspired than before.  So a HUGE thank-you to her for taking the time out of her VERY busy day to offer some tips, etc., and truly show she is invested in the sewing community!

Anyway...... back to Zoe's quilt!

I now have all of the rows sewn together, and I have to say I LOVE how it's coming along.  I don't know the story behind all of the outfits, but I know how much they mean to her family, and I am so honored to be working on such a big, important project!

I'll be switching gears and working on clothes for the next few days - - - then will pick back up on this project again soon!!!  {though it's tempting to just keep sewing and get it all put together!!!}

What are you working on?  What inspires you?

I'm feeling refreshed from our vacation - and VERY inspired to create!

Linking up with WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced - - I am link #116 - so excited to see what others are working on!

Zoe's quilt - sort & design

What do you do with all your little one's baby clothes once they outgrow them?!

Why.... You send them to me! :)

I have worked on many quilts, and one very special birthday quilt that combined clothes, fabric squares with messages, embroidered messages, etc.  I love these projects because they create a wonderful quilt to display and remember all those special items that you just can't throw away / donate.

So when Zoe's mom contacted me.... I was so excited to be given the opportunity's to work on this project!

I received a BIG box on Wednesday and I have to say - it's fun seeing all the pink and ruffles (our boys don't wear pink / ruffles THAT often!).

This quilt will take weeks to sort through, design, stabilize each piece, cut, layout, piece together, and eventually quilt, bind, and send to Zoe - but it will be a labor of love!

Here are a few pictures so far... A disclaimer: they are cell phone pics!