Craft It Forward Batik Baby Quilt

I finally finished my craft it forward gift! I made a batik four patch/block quilt for Micah Jude Hebert, born July 25th. He and his parents are moving to Niger Africa in a few months, so I thought batiks would be fitting for the quilt. I made the pattern up as I went, and got the fabric from Fabric Temptations and Scottie Dog Quilts. Mama Hebert loved the quilt, and Micah looks cute on it!

The finished size is about 30"X30"

Close up shot of the batiks - I love the colors!

I did a border around the 4 patch and regular squares and added big blocks for the outside border. I did my own binding for the first time, love how it turned out!

Backing fabric

Hand made gift tag

Little Micah on his hand made quilt!

Here is the cute little guy at one week old, sleeping with his sock monkey and lulled to sleep with ocean sounds.

Quilt Exhibition

My friend Deanna and I headed over to the Redwood Acres fair grounds to check out the quilt exhibition today. It was so much fun to see all of the beautiful creations! I love to go to exhibitions like this because I get all kinds of ideas and inspiration. I bought some cute fabric and a purse pattern as well. Here are some pics of the fun!

Tatum Fei went along for the ride with sister Rowan. I could put these two in my pocket and bring them home with me!

Close up of a beautiful quilt from Scottie Dog Quilts.

My friend Liz was at her shop booth, Scottie Dog Quilts. She is an amazing quilter!

One of my favorite quilts from the show. I love the lines of this one.

A pretty red work embroidered quilt.


Close up of a pin wheel quilt Liz did. I love these repro fabrics!

Pin Wheel quilt done by Liz, beautiful!

Hexagon Quilt

A friend of mine made this gorgeous hexagon quilt over the holiday. She posted pics of it on face book and I fell in love with it. It's like a large version of the mother's flower garden, and she used 30's repro fabrics. I asked how she made it so quickly and she has offered to give me a lesson! I've never had a lesson from a quilter before, so I'm ecstatic! So look for this one made by me on the blog in the near future!

More Quilt Pics!

I found more pics of the rest of Grandma's quilts! I forgot I had taken pics of most of them, wohoo! I counted 20 total, so I guess 30-40 was an exaggeration. It sure felt like she had that many. I know that Ron's grandma's mom hand made quilts for all of her grand kids, so she has done many more than what you see here. There may have been a few more that weren't in good condition that I didn't get pictures of. Anyway, here are the rest and what a collection she had! It's interesting to me that she keeps all these quilts packed away. None of them see the sun, how sad is that! I feel like they're lost children with no one to love them. They are amazing heirlooms though, what amazing gifts to leave for your children and grand children.

Grandma's Flower Garden quilt top. Made by Ron's grandma's mom in 1941. Ron's aunt has already claimed this one, darn!

This one didn't have a tag. I love the design, so pretty!

Made by Ron's Grandpa's mom. No tag, but the fabrics are old and look like turn of the century.

No tag on this one. I like the monochromatic colors.

No tag on this one. I love these fabrics and the quilting. I assume Ron's grandma's mother made it due to the quilting style.

I love the fabrics on this one! I think it's my second favorite. Ron's grandma made this one.

I think Ron's grandma made this one.

Ron's Grandpa's mom made this one.

Made around 1915.

This one had no tag. The fabric looks really old.

Made in 1934 by Ron's grandpa's mom

This is the quilt made out of prisoner clothes in about 1936.

Grandma's Quilts

If you know me you know that I love anything hand made. Quilts are one of my favorite textiles, and I have made 4 in my life and I hope to increase that number! I have so many patterns I really want to make I almost don't know where to start!! Now that Justin is a little older I plan to get back into it. My friend Liz invited me to become part of a quilting exchange at her shop, Scottie Dog Quilts, and I am thrilled about it!

I began to be interested in quilting about 10 years ago. Ron and I had visited Ron's grandma in Boise Idaho after his grandpa had passed away. While we were there his grandma was kind enough to show me her wonderful and amazing family quilt collection. I can't even remember how many she has, but the number between 30 and 40 sticks in my mind. I was in absolute awe of these intricate and artistic works in fabric. Her mother was an avid quilter and was a true artist. Her hand quilting is beautiful artistic designs and the stitches are perfect. Her husband's mother also quilted and her style was simpler, but beautiful. As I looked at each quilt I found out the story behind it: Who made it, what year it was made, who it was for, etc. I wrote down all of the information on a piece of paper and pinned it to the quilt, (now I hope that won't leave rust stains on them!) Ron's grandma was in her late 80's at the time, so we wanted to get all the information while she could remember. I remember that one quilt was made from inmates outfits from the local jail! Many of her quilts were given as wedding presents. There were quite a few tops done by her mother. Her quilting was so intricate and perfect that she didn't have the time to finish them all. She also designed her own patterns - I wish I could have met this lady!

I'm really bummed I didn't get pictures of every quilt, but I did take some of my very favorite ones. I remember there was a pretty mother's flower garden one as well that I wish I would have gotten a picture of, ah well. I found a fruit basket design top that I loved, and his grandma gave it to me with the stipulation that I would hand quilt it...ten years later and it's still not done, but I promise I will do it eventually!! I will post pics of that one later. I'm so glad I have one of her quilts and I feel fortunate to be blessed with it! Here are the pics of my favorite quilts:

The Fan Quilt: Made by Ron's grandma's mother. This quilt takes my breath away! The colors are so bright and cheerful, and the fan design is gorgeous. The picture doesn't do it justice! The hand quilting is intricate and beautiful. This was my favorite in her collection. I can't remember the exact year it was made, but I think around the 20's.

The Sun Set Quilt: Made by Ron's grandma's mother. I think she may have designed this pattern, but I'm not sure. It's a true work of art.

This quilt top has such beautiful red fabrics in it. I'm not sure what the pattern name is, but the fabrics look very old, maybe Civil War era.

The Wedding Ring Quilt - I'm pretty sure Ron's Grandma's aunt made this for her wedding. It is in such great condition and the fabrics are beautiful! I think it's a 30's quilt.

Found the tag for this one! Made by Ron's ggg grandma in the 1890's - what a beauty!

Sun Bonnet Sue Quilt top: Another one made by Ron's great grandma. It looks like it was made in the 30's. Love this pattern!

I'm a designer now...sort of! & Justin's quilt

I've been contemplating creating a vintage style kids' clothing line for a long time now. Well, the time has finally come. I recently checked out an amazingly cool store in Eureka called Shipwreck. This is my kind of store! It's like etsy, only you get to see and feel the items first hand! The store has all kinds of cool vintage things from pottery to suit cases. It also features local boutiqueish hand made items. The store owner told me she is always looking for new sellers, and after thinking about it I decided I would go for it. Honestly, the store was what inspired me. I believe in supporting the local artists and local stores here in Humboldt, and what better way to do it than to create a kids' clothing line and sell it locally? Here are a few shots of my first creations. I appreciate feedback, so let me know what you think! I'm working on dresses now, and pants will follow....

"Bluebell" Size 18-24 months. Made from repro vintage fabrics & a vintage embroidered napkin.

vintage embroidered napkin detail

"Apple Blossom" Size 2 T Made from repro vintage fabrics & vintage pillow case lace.

Cargo pocket detail

Justin's Quilt

Justin's quilt is finally done at long last! I worked on it from when he was about 6 months old, and finished it around his 2nd b-day, so it took about a year and a half. It is my first pieced quilt ever and I had it machine quilted at Scottie Dog Quilts (Thanks Liz!) Now that I have two kids there just isn't time for things like hand quilting any more! Justin loves his quilt although he insists on using it as a floor mat, (I think the reason for this is that I had it laid out on the floor for months while I was designing it.) :)

I love my new floor mat...I mean quilt, mom!

At Ron's suggestion I put the colors in diagonal rows, a boy quilt must have male influence I say.

Close up of the quilt block, these took forever to cut and piece, but the end result was well worth it!