A new obsession - the glitter quilt

I blame Megan for this new obsession. She started posting Glitter quilt blocks on Instagram. I'd already been eyeing Jen Kingwell's book, Quilt Lovely, and my sweet husband bought it for me for our three-year anniversary (Last week!). As soon as it arrived, I jumped in, picking out fabric combinations for my first block.

I won't lie: the y-seam and I haven't spent much time together. My first block was a struggle, but a fun one! I enjoyed the challenge, and focues on the attempt to get it right.

My first block is the center one. I'm going to lost that top point, and the bottom left y doesn't quite match up. But I'm okay with it. It was fun, and the second block went a little quicker than the first.

I've already picked out fabric for another handful of blocks. I intend for this to be a long-term scrappy project, and I'm cutting little bits for more Japanese x & + blocks as I go.

do.Good Stitches

I joined do.Good Stitches in January, 2011.

These were the first blocks I completed in the bee. I remember being a little daunted by these blocks at the time. I was new to quilting, still getting the hang of things like, seam allowances. I'm not sure that all of my blocks were good enough in those first few months. But I had fun, trying new techniques and block designs. I learned a lot and gained confidence. I made new friends in the sewing world. I found new sources of inspiration.

I made quilts. And in some small way, I contributed to others.

A quilt can represent comfort, warmth and maybe even home.

FO: Wonky Kites

I recently completed my last quilt for do. Good Stitches. After seeing this photo by Amber, I asked for blocks with a mixed neutral background and pops of orange, yellow, blue and green.

These blocks are a great way to use up triangle scraps, which always seem to multiply.

There's lots of ways to piece these blocks together, but I liked the wonky kites that formed in this layout.

I made a little strip panel for added interest, using mostly neutral solids and a small strip of each dominant color. That wasn't part of the original plan, but I love that section as much as the kites.

The quilting was so much fun, and came together quickly. I used my walking foot, and serpentined twice through each block, never touching the scrappy triangles. This sort of leaf pattern that resulted makes me happy, and I'll definitely use it again! I quilted the strip section with straight-ish lines from top to bottom.

The binding is from Ayumi's adorable Lighthearted line, and it was just the perfect orange for this quilt (with additionally awesome pops of yellow).

For the back, I used three bluesy fabrics, including the very fun Leah Duncan triangles, from her Tule line.

Up next, I'm going to share a little recap of my do.Good Stitches experience, with a mosaic of the quilts I contributed (and maybe one of the blocks I made for others, too).

Nicke's Fantastic Quilt Voyage

I just finished my contribution to Nicke's Fantastic Quilt Voyage, and it was inspiring! Nicke's pinterest board is full of soothing images with a very limited palette. I was particularly moved to recreate this image by Brandon Heller on flickr.

I made four string blocks (two shorter by 1.5") to recreate the door panels. I then joined them using additional string scraps.

I really love how the block turned out, and I can't wait to see how this quilt takes shape. Oh, and if you haven't already, you should definitely check out what Holly made for this quilt. AMAZING.