Quilted Kindle Keepers

 Steve gave me a Kindle Touch recently for my birthday. I love it! So compact and easy to use. We were leaving to go to NYC for a holiday visit last week, and I needed a case to protect my Kindle while it took up residence in my purse. I sewed up the red and grey "Kindle Keeper" by following this tutorial: http://frizzylizzie.blogspot.com/2011/02/patchwork-kindle-cover-tutorial.html

Before we left I also whipped up 2 more Kindle Keepers that are slightly larger to gift to Steve's sister and his Dad's wife as they have different Kindle versions. They loved them!

 The backsides

 Not only are they handy for travel, but a great cover/cozy for when it is resting on my bedside table. 

I finished my first book on the Kindle while on our trip- "State of Wonder" by Ann Patchett and highly recommend it. Let me know if you are in need of a Kindle/Ipad/Nook Keeper - they are a fun small project!

Book Club Holiday Gift Exchange - Placemats!

 It's that time of year again, Secret Santas, White Elephant Parties, and my book club's annual Holiday meeting and gift exchange!  I mixed it up this year, and decided to make my gift and went with these placemats. I used Alissa Haight Carlton's pattern -  http://www.handmadebyalissa.com/placemat-pattern/  and changed up the colors. The red, linen and cream are holiday inspired, but still can be used year round.

Close up of the detailed straight-line quiliting

The back-side

We had our dinner and meeting last night at Kate's and do a "White Elephant" style gift picking with stealing up to 2 times. My bag wasn't chosen till the almost end, and I think Coral was happy to receive them. I hope she and her family enjoy them through the holiday season and beyond!

"D'Amore" - Wedding Quilt for Damon and Alexis

Alexis and Damon, good friends here in LA, got married on 10/15/11 at an intimate hotel in Palm Springs. It was a great weekend and beautiful wedding full of love, great food, gorgeous desert and mountain settings, and definitely a lot of style! When we received the invitation, I was immediately inspired to create a quilt based on the Moroccan Tile aesthetic. The vibrant yellow, orange, green and purple on a linen backdrop really spoke to the modern quilting I've been doing. With Steve on board as co-creator, the D'Amore wedding quilt was on its way.

The Inspiration

 

 For the quilt top, I created a "tile floor" design, with long rectangle tiles in a "subway tile" layout, with smaller mosaics surrounding as borders. 

For the quilt back, I did a random spattering of hexagon formations. This was my first attempt at paper piecing hexagons and I loved it. My next work in progress is all Hexies!

 Since the top was so geometric I quilted with dense straight lines through out and some cross-grids as well.  Lots of texture!

 Steve and I collaborated on the fabrics we used. We were able to find some awesome Moroccan inspired prints both online and at Sew Modern. Below is the backside of the invitation.

We gave the D'Amores their wedding quilt last night and they loved it. I hope it provides them  warmth and comfort for YEARS to come! And provides a visual memory of their awesome wedding day - Enjoy!

LAMQG Anniversary Scrap Swap- Letter Pillow!

 
Last month, I participated in my Quilt Guild's (LAMQG) 2nd Anniversary swap. Rules: bring in a sandwich bag of your own fabric scraps, swap w/ another member and create something for them and vice versa.

I got Jules, who was in the process of creating a quilt for her daughter Talia's first big girl bed - she is 3. She gave me a bag of awesome orange, pink and brown fabric scraps, and asked for something to help decorate Talia's room. So, I went with a pillow and created this:

T is for Talia

I got the idea for the patchwork letter from Elizabeth Hartman's blog, Oh Fransson! http://www.ohfransson.com/oh_fransson/2011/10/finished-billboard-quilt.html - It was fun, and very spontaneous to create. For the back I made a window pane effect which was reflective of the picture Jules gave me of the quilt she was making.

Here are some close ups of the swirly quilting on the front, as well as the fun little flowers that accent the T.

I hope Talia and Jules enjoy the pillow for years to come! Once I take some pictures, I will post them of the awesome tote bag Cynthia made me with my scraps!

H&B's Wedding - Chuppah Quilt in Action!

Hayley and Brad's wedding was this past Sunday and here are a few pictures of the Chuppah Quilt in beautiful Coronado, San Diego - Enjoy!

A great feeling to see my creation being used in such a wonderful way!

Sealing the deal under the Chuppah!

The Display for the Guests

Best wishes for a Lifetime of Love and Warmth together, H & B!

Hayley and Brad's Chuppah Quilt!

Such a labor of love! I was introduced to Hayley, the bride, by her older sister, Allison - a UCLA Aephi sorority sister. Hayley and Brad wanted to include their close friends and family in their ceremony and the idea of a "Chuppah Quilt" was the perfect way. They chose 36 participants and each friend, family member or couple created a 10" by 10" inch original quilt square, which I then put together into this finished Chuppah Quilt. Their wedding is coming up in 2 weeks from today (8/21) and I can't wait to see the images of it looking down on this wonderful couple as they get married. I will post pictures of it in action once I get them.

The finished quilt actually includes 42 squares - a few extras were added last minute from Hayley's grandparents and nieces and nephew. I added 2 additional squares to round it out.

The backside is a "Tree of Life" with 2 lovebirds, framed by an improvisational Log Cabin design.

Close ups of a few squares - many people used quotes, marriage advice, pictures, and Jewish symbols to express their best wishes to the couple. It was so great getting each and every one in the mail and seeing the creativity and love their friends have for them.

One of the original squares I added.

Close up of the Tree

Lovebirds - Hayley and Brad :)

I used an all over "stipple" free motion quilting technique to bring everything together. The colors and fabrics were inspired by a shopping trip with Hayley and complement her bridesmaids dresses which are in more lavender, grey, and maroon tones. I also think they evoke nature and the Tree of Life theme with grassy greens and vibrant pinks.

The big day - fast approaching!

I delivered the quilt to Hayley this past week, and she truly seemed to love it. It will also be on display during the cocktail hour of their reception for all of their guests to see. This was such a rewarding project and experience. I hope to get the chance to do more Chuppah Quilts in the future! More pictures to come from the actual wedding... Mazel Tov to Hayley and Brad!

Family Tree Pillow for Baby Emily

I have a special quilt project on the horizon that I will be starting in the next week or so. It is a commissioned quilt for a college friend/sorority sister's sister, Hayley and her upcoming wedding to Brad. The quilt will act as their Chuppah (wedding canopy), and will be comprised of squares made by close family and friends on the front. And for the back, I wanted to include a Family Tree/Tree of Life design. So I found this awesome design on www. redpepperquilts.com and decided to try it out to practice w/ fabric scraps I already had. I then turned the "practice tree" into a pillow front for Baby Emily, as a gift for her baptism which was today.

E is for Emily

This is my first ever appliqued project and I think it came out nicely! I used Heat n Bond fusible web and stitched the design using my free motion foot, basically doing raw edge applique. It was a lot easier than anticipated!

Many of the scraps were from the original quilt I made for Emily when she was born, so I hope she enjoys them both for years to come!