Eden's Big Girl Bed Quilt- Pink and Purple by request!

Polka Dot Front - Sunny day, hence my shadow!

 My very adorable niece, Eden, turned 3 in early May and is moving into her "big girl bed", aka a twin this week. This quilt is a belated birthday gift and a sequel to the very first quilt I made. Eden was my inspiration to start quilting, and I took my first class at Sewing Arts Center and made her this quilt - http://bymissywithlove.blogspot.com/2011_01_01_archive.html  while she was still in my sister, Robyn's tummy.

Stripey Back

 Eden confidently requested a "Pink and Purple" quilt and Robyn and I picked out these great fabrics at Sew Modern. Robyn wanted something that wasn't too baby-ish and that she can grow into and use for a long time. We added a splash of grey with the polka dot fabric and the fun butterflies to tone down the girly colors!

Flower Stamp Quilting

I kept the pattern simple and modern with appliqued circles/polka dots on the front and a scrappy border. For the back I did a simple strip quilt with alternating stripes. 

 

 I decided to play off the floral pattern in a few of the fabrics and used a Stamp-like all over Flower pattern for the quilting. I learned the technique from one of my favorite resources, Elizabeth at Oh Fransson! - http://www.ohfransson.com/oh_fransson/2010/06/machine-quilting-loopy-flowers.html

Bugs like Butterflies!

Eden!

 I of course had to personalize Eden's quilt - and she loves that her name is on it! She pointed out the E's right away!

Taking a rest on a park bench

I can't think of a better inspiration for being creative than my spunky and fun loving niece, Eden. I can't wait to tuck her in some night soon - here is a picture of her looking especially adorable, in her favorite color of course- :)

Eden Malia!

Just One- Jessica's Wedding Lounge-

Just one picture of the pillows I made for Jessica's April Wedding- used in her "lounge" area! Great shot!

Pillow talk- Pillows for my sister's living room

 My sister, Robyn, has a built in bench area of her living room. A couple of years back before I knew a lick about sewing, we had picked out some nice, but neutral pillows from Crate and Barrel to adorn the bench. Robyn was looking to add some color and pattern to her living room, so we picked out these bright, modern, graphic prints - Peacock Blue and Taupe print by Lotta Jansdotter, and the bold Coral and White print by Lizzy House - and now she has new custom pillows!

 I used some Essex Linen to accent the pillows as well as this taupe stripe/dot print above.

I also added contrasting binding on each pillow and backed them in linen with a binded envelope enclosure. 

 

Robyn and her family love their new pop of color! If only I could figure out the cover for their long bench pad.... will try for the 3rd time sometime this week!

Four Seasons Mosaic Quilt - A Second Anniversary Gift for Ken from Angela

"Four Seasons Mosaic" Lap quilt

The colors of the seasons pop against the charcoal grey background

 Angela is an acquaintance that I met through my good friend Meredith (Addi's quilt) during Meredith's wedding festivities a few years ago. We've been Facebook friends since and she's followed my quilting work through FB and my blog. 

I was excited to hear from her in late March as she was looking to give a unique gift to her husband Ken for their Second Wedding Anniversary. Little did I know that in the Traditional Anniversary Gifts by year, the second anniversary is COTTON! And what's a more perfect cotton gift than a quilt? Angela is one smart cookie :) 

So we collaborated on an idea - Ken and Angela got married at the Four Seasons Hotel in San Francisco and she thought it would be cool to do a Tree quilt similar to the Chuppah Quilt tree I did for Hayley and Brad.  And here we have it, the "Four Seasons Mosaic" Quilt for Ken and Angela. A very fun commission!

The famous Four Seasons Restaurant in NYC Logo -   inspiration

 As part of my design process I am always consulting Steve on ideas. He led me to the above logo for the Four Seasons Restaurant in New York City and I loved it's modern aesthetic. I used the way the branches are drawn to design the 4 different trees structure. Thanks Steve!

I connected each Season with a Mod Mosaic block comprised of the Fabrics used in the 2 connecting Season's blocks. Below is Autumn to Winter.

Close up of a Mosaic

SUMMER

AUTUMN

 Summer evoked a full green tree with lush cherries through out. Autumn is a mix of red, yellow and orange leaves including some falling of course!

2 Butterflies - Ken and Angela, married for 2 years

WINTER

 Winter was a bare tree with snowflakes floating by and holiday ornaments adorning the branches.

Spring is a budding green tree with pink cherry blossoms.

SPRING

View of the Back side and the detailed Quilting

For the back I kept it a simple light Grey (Kona Ash) so the detailed Pebble quilting could be highlighted. 

Tree quilt on a Tree!

Close up of the "Pebble Quilting"

 This was my first time doing Pebble quilting. I love the look and texture, but wow does it take a long time and A LOT of thread!

Dedication square - Ken and Angela married 5/30/10 - at the Four Seasons, San Francisco

San Francisco Fabric from Spoonflower

 I found this awesome San Francisco fabric on Spoonflower (www.spoonflower.com) but just a little too late, after I'd already started the front. But glad I could incorporate it!

I really love how it turned out and thankfully so do Ken and Angela. They received it today and Angela told me it is more than she ever imagined! :) Pretty awesome feedback. They are excited to have a visual memory of their Anniversary/Wedding day and also a really cozy one! Congrats Angela and Ken!

Max's Quilt - Elephants and Apples

Elephants and Apples - for my newborn cousin, Max!

Patchwork Backside

 My cousin's Jonathan and Lauren in Michigan (also Jonah's parents of the Super Star Quilt fame) welcomed baby Max in early March - so I quickly got to work on this fun and funky baby quilt to welcome him to the family. I used Jacquie Gehring's Modern Dresden Plate chapter from "Block Party" for the Elephant circles on the front.

Who doesn't love these Elephants?

or this great "boy" color palette?

For the back, I went with a random Patchwork design with a big MAX, of course! I love the mix of the peacock blue with the apple green and greys mixed in. Sew Modern once again came through with some great graphic fabrics, including a few of Denyse Schmidt's Flea Market Fancy re-release.

Max from Michigan!

Free Motion Quilting

From the West Coast to the Great Lakes

Great shot of a para-sailor over the Pacific on the left!

Max's quilt was delivered today, and his mom texted me that he LOVES it! Well, he is a very smart 2 month old after all. I hope he spends many a day and night cuddled up with his very own Elephant and Apples quilt.  Enjoy Max, Jonathan, Lauren and Jonah!

Spring Scrappy Projects - LAMQG Tote Bag and Spider Web Pillow

The LA Modern Quilt Guild (LAMQG) organized a "Green" Tote Bag swap for the April meeting. The only rule was that some part of the bag had to be pieced or quilted. I decided the Friday before the Monday meeting to tackle my first tote bag.... and this was the result! I used all fabrics that I had on hand with the exception of the linen used for the lining, and finally made good use of the Improvisational Blocks I created at the Denyse Schmidt workshop I took last June. 

 The central part of each side was made up of the Blocks from the workshop - my pieced addition. The sides and red and white border were fabrics from a giveaway I won from Sew Modern a few weeks ago. 

 I used a very easy to follow tote bag tutorial from the Bijou Lovely Blog- 

http://www.bijoulovelydesigns.com/2010/05/market-tote-tutorial.html 

I like that this bag calls for a layer of interfacing to make it stronger and stiffer to the touch.

 The swap at the meeting was a "White Elephant" style with each bag being able to be stolen once. Mine was picked early on and stolen midway through - :)  I got a great pink and brown tote, with adorable popsicle fabric and other great details. Need to take a picture!

Me modeling my Tote!

 In between large projects, I like to tackle smaller ones, to learn a new skill and or pattern. I recently finished this large quilted floor pillow that I made using 4 Spider Web blocks.

 I dug into my stash and pulled out some bright pinks, reds, oranges and purples. I love the contrast against the grey. I used 2 of the Liberty of London fabrics I got as part of a scrap bag I bought from Purl Soho in New York. They are so soft and lightweight!

 Close up of the echo quilting with in each star.

The Pillow Back

Yellow and Grey Pillows and Runner - Jessica's wedding accessories

Pillow fronts

 My sweet cousin Jessica is getting married to Mike in late April 2012 in Del Mar, CA. Her wedding colors are the very modern Yellow and Grey. Jessica asked me if I could make some pillows for the white couches and ottomans that will make up the lounge area at her wedding -  and Oui La! 

 Jessica and I made a trip to Sew Modern and got these great graphic, modern prints. 

Pillow Backs - envelope enclosure, w/ contrasting binding

Runner top

 There was a lot of extra fabric, so we decided to do a runner that will be used on the entry, sign in table at the wedding. 

Close up - simple straight line quilting, and big block patchwork pattern

Centerpieces I made for Jessica's Bridal Shower which was last weekend.

Runner Back side

Film Strip Accent

I can't wait for the big day to see my cousin walk down the aisle and see these pillows/runner in action! I'll post some pictures from the wedding for sure.