Black and Grey Hexagon Pillow - Modern Mini Entry

A few weeks back I posted here about a throw pillow I made for my husband. I decided to enter it the Modern Mini Quilt Challenge hosted by Jennifer Mathis at Ellison Lane Quilts.

The pillow measures 20" x 20" and the front was completely hand pieced in English paper pieced 1" hexagons (minus the small borders around the edges).  Total the front contains approximately 175 Hexagons.   The idea was to make a sort of fade or ombre effect while only using three solid fabrics.  My husband loves grey and black so I picked colors that he would like. 

I wanted it to be easy to take on and off so it could be washed and put back on quickly since it gets used almost every day.  So I used an envelope style opening on the back and made the pieces out of black and light grey material. 

I am very pleased with how this pillow turned out.  My husband uses it every day and was thrilled when I surprised him with the finished result!  What more can you ask for when making handmade?

I appreciate you stopping by to look at my entry.  Be sure to pop over to Ellison Lane Quilts and check out the other entries.

Have a lovely day!

Elise

WIP Sun Quilt Background

I tried to have this post ready in time for WIP Wednesday over at Freshly pieced but it closed before I was able to add my link (my bad, hopefully next week) so I thought I would just post it today and share with you!
 

This is the sun quilt in progress.  The sun itself is finished and I am working on the background pieces.  The three pieces of background I have done are made up completely of 2" squares (1.5" finished).

To create the background I started with my stacks of 2" squares and laid them out in a grid on some super thin fusible interfacing.   I then ironed them to the fabric so I can sew them row by row instead of piece by piece. I got the idea to use interfacing from Elizabeth Hartman's tutorial for a postage stamp quilt found here although I didn't follow her directions completely.

Once all the pieces are sewn horizontally I press the seams open and them I sew the vertical seams.  Again I press the seams open and the result on the back looks like this. 

I just wanted to share what I have been working on all this week.  Thanks for reading!  Have a lovely day!

Elise

Ocean View by Moda

A few weeks ago I received a layer cake for my birthday!  I have personally never purchased a layer cake before but I love the way you can get a whole fabric collection in one pack without breaking the bank.  The fabric is called Ocean View by Paul Brent for Moda.

It is a beach themed fabric (if you couldn't tell by the name or pictures) that has prints of flip-flops, beach chairs, coral, stripes, and waves.  I think the fabric will lend itself perfectly for a fun summer/beach quilt.  Can't wait to show you what I do with it!

Thanks for reading. Have a lovely day!

Elise

2013 Let's Get Acquainted New Blogger Blog Hop

I have the wonderful opportunity to participate in the 2013 Lets Get Acquainted New Blogger Blog Hop hosted by the lovely Beth at Plum and June.  It is a blog hop that showcases new bloggers who are active on their blogs and creating modern quilting projects.

From now through the end of July around 8-10 new bloggers will be highlighted a week.  Below is a schedule of the blog hop.  I encourage you to check out all the blogs and support all the new bloggers! 

Friday, June 7th
Nancy @ Owen's Olivia
Amy @ 13 Spools
Ashley @ Wasn't Quilt In A Day
Casey @ The Studiolo
Nanette @ Yeah, I Made That
Ange @ Heart Of Charnwood
Kim @ Robot Mom Sews
Erica @ Kitchen Table Quilting

Friday, June 14
Julie @ Jolie Maxtin
Melissa @ Melia Mae Quilting
Adrianne @ On The Windy Side
Molli @ Molli Sparkles
Laura @ Little And Lots
Sarah @ Duck Egg Threads
Kelly @ My Quilt Infatuation
Cari @ There's A Thread
Valerie @ Between Quilts

Friday, June 21
Leigh Anne @ Ella's Cottage
Stacy @ The Tilted Quilt
Sarah @ Quilt Candy
Jackie @ NW Patchwork
Liz @ Beadqueene's Bits And Baubles
Erica @ Happy Fabric
Stephanie @ Simple Sewendipity
Lauren @ Seraphym
Amy @ Cloud CouCou Crafts

Friday, June 28
Green @ So Sew Green
Gwendellyn @ The Rainbow Revolts
Jessica @ Stitched In Thyme
Amira @ Little Mushroom Cap
Kathy @ Kayak Quilting
Michelle @ Factotum Of Arts
Paula @ The Sassy Quilter
Kris @ Sew Sunshine
Camilla @ Faffling

Friday, July 5
Christa @ Christa Quilts!
Alyce @ Wonderland By Alyce
Anna @ The Crooked Banana
Rachel @ Sew Happily Ever After
Stephanie @ Quarter Incher
Kristy & Shayla @ Sassafras Lane Designs
Caroline @ Carolines Craftiness
Lisa @ Hilltop House Creative Works

Friday, July 12
Leona @ Leona's Quilting Adventure
Karen @ Karen, {Novice} Quilter
Anne @ PlayCrafts
Rachel @ Let's Begin Sewing...
Jan @ Sew And Sow Farm
Anna @ Quilting Along The Grain
Cath @ Wombat Quilts
Sarah @ {No} Hats In The House

Friday, July 19
Karen @ Little Birdie Quilting Studio
Kathy @ Kwilty Pleasures
Katie @ Snuggle Up With A Dish From Karma
Alison @ Making Happyness
Ella and Nesta @ Ella & Nesta's Little Room
Adrienne @ Chezzetcook Modern Quilts
Nicole @ Modern Handcraft
Aylin @ AyliN-Nilya
Kelsy and Amanda @ everydayfray.com

Friday, July 26
Vicki @ A Quilter's Mission
RobinSue @ RobinSue Quilts
Elise @ Lovelea Designs
Elizabeth @ In The Boondocks
Jenny @ A Note To Follow Sew
Lorna @ Sew Fresh Quilts
Sonia @ Fabric & Flowers
Emily @ Sew E.T.
Em @ Sewing by Moonlight
 

Thanks for reading.  Have a lovely day!

Elise

Sun Quilt Part 2

Here is a little more of the Sun Quilt I have been working on.  I have all eight points done and am starting on the background. 

Since the sun itself is a little chaotic (not very structured design wise) I decided to make the background more organized and structured to contrast the sun.  To do this I took my True Blue Kona Fat quarter stack and cut about forty-four 2" squares from each color. 

From those squares I am making a postage stamp type background with finished 1.5" squares.  I think it will be very time consuming but worth it. 

Thanks for reading, more to come as I get more done.

Hope you are having a lovely day!

Elise

Finished Pillow Cases

These pillow cases are quick to make it took me about two days to complete all six.  The first day I spent sewing all the body, cuff and accent pieces together and the second day I sewed around the edges and created the french seams.

There is a great YouTube video tutorial here called Burrito Method Pillow Cases.  It is a great easy tutorial and teaches you how to make the pillowcases from start to finish.

After making all these for my dear mother-in-law, I want to make so for our own bed. They are just so fun, and I love how they all go together without matching completely! My father-in-law comes to town on Monday for a few days so these will be Caribbean bound within a few days!

 Thanks for reading

Have a lovely day!!

Elise

Sun Quilt WIP

Here is a sneak peak of my new quilt.  I am currently calling it the Sun Quilt, but I may come up with a better name.  This quilt uses the Burning up color story Kona Cotton Bundle that I posted about here. 

The goal of this quilt was to make a sun or a star type quilt that faded from dark red at the points to light yellow or maybe white in the middle.  I don't want perfect seams on this quilt, heck I am trying extra hard to get wavy lines in the seams.  I wanted it to be very improvisational and different from many of the other quilts I have made. 

Thanks for reading!

Have a lovely day!

Elise

P.S. The pillowcases for my mother-in-law that I posted about here are done.  I am just waiting for some better light to take some pictures!