Wild Cherry Quilt

Well, if any quilt can brighten up a cold, gray day, I guess this little one can. I love all the delicious shades of cherry, and the yellows and greens give it zing. You can read about how they all came together here.  Pardon the quality of the photos, hastily taken as I shivered in the wind and rain.

I like all its wonderful quilty texture.

 I was hoping to get this one finished sooner, but life happens--you know how it goes. And I always sew and hand quilt so much faster in my head. I'm sure you know how that goes, too. Truth is, I'm not good at sitting still for long. I can sit and hand quilt for an hour or so before I go stir-crazy. Some bloggers write how they hand-sewed the binding of their bed-sized quilt in one sitting while watching a season of 'Law and Order' or something...I wish I could do that, but I get way too squirrelly. So, I'm slow. But that's okay, it's not a race.

Speaking of binding, I take a shortcut: I trim the backing fabric so I can wrap it around to the front and use it as the binding. I've done this since my first quilt. I came up with it on my own, but a while ago I discovered this tutorial, which is very helpful for mitering the corners. I have bound two mini quilts the typical way (including hand-sewing the binding on the back), just to learn it and try it, but it made me so antsy to be done already...and antsy is not how I want to feel while making a quilt. I choose the backing fabric based on the binding I want, or I piece the back to give me the binding I want. I like my binding to be a little wider than standard, so I trim my backing fabric 1 1/2" wider than the quilt top (for this wall quilt, I trimmed to 1"), fold it over twice like in the tutorial, then machine-sew it from the front. I'm always pleased with how it turns out. Who says you have to make things the "right" way.

The backing, with all its colorful stitches.

It measures 34"x 37"

This is my first wall quilt; I've already started another one that I'll show you soon, and I keep thinking of ideas for more. I've long wanted to make one of Amanda Jean's ticker tape quilts (I've been saving my tiniest of scraps), and I really want to make one with Rossie's pebbles.  I like the thought of being able to change my wall art with the seasons or as the mood strikes me. So stay tuned ;)

Linked to Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish it up Friday

And Awaaay We Go!

Hello, and welcome! My name is Lynn. I sew and quilt and play with fabric in a little yellow house in a town in West Michigan. I'm a self-taught quilter (with the help of books and blogs), finished my first quilt in 2010, and haven't slowed down for a minute since then. I consider my style to be modern and prefer to work improvisationally, usually making things up as I go along, but I have a soft spot for the charming classics, so I often combine styles and techniques. And I love--need-- lots of bright, cheerful color.

I really enjoy reading sewing blogs; they give so much inspiration and a sense of community--I want to be a part of it, too! So this little space is where I want to show you what I'm working on, and get all excited about quilting, sewing and fabric, as well as a record for myself of what I make. I'm not always comfortable putting myself 'out there', and sharing like this to the big wide world is a little outside my comfort zone...but it's good to try new things, so let's see how this goes!

Okay, that's enough of me talking about me. Let me show you the biggest project I'm working on. (I'll save the other six quilts-in-progress for future posts!)  This quilt is called Sea Glass; I finished the top last year, but then I took a break to make a smaller red and white quilt for Christmas (I'll show you that one later in the year), so Sea Glass sat patiently in the closet, waiting its turn. After the new year, I finally basted and started hand quilting. It's a big queen size--hand quilting it is gonna take an eternity--but I'm half done, so it's getting there. 

I quilt like this, with no frame, just holding it draped over me and the chair.

This bright combination of purple, blue and green is one of my favorites.

If I leave it unattended for even two seconds, squatters move in.

Thanks for stopping by! I'd love to hear your comments...and come back soon, I'll have lots more to show you.