UFO Finished!

Since bringing the puppy home over a year ago, my sewing machine has been languishing in the office, sad and unused (just like this blog!). But after returning home from Hawai'i, I was motivated to get a few things done. Hoku seems to be fine for an hour or so (and by fine, I mean he isn't whining his head off begging me to play) just laying by the gate.

I started this quilt sometime in Oct/Nov 2011 for a dear friend who was pregnant with her second daughter. Several pieces of the fabric in the star have special meaning - one is a scrap from a pair of PJs, one is part of my friend's dress from sometime in the 80s. The changing pad is made up of the same fabrics in one inch squares.

I used the backing fabric to guide the hand-quilting on the changing pad. The front seemed too busy to be bothered with quilting, so I focused on the back. It seemed an interesting way to tie the front/back together.

The design is based on a free pattern from Moda Bake Shop:
http://www.modabakeshop.com/2012/01/star-light-star-bright-quilt.html

A Work in Progress

I had small scraps left over from a baby quilt, and decided to put them to use by making a coordinating diaper changing pad. Each square was 1.5 inches for a finished square of 1 inch. The fabric for the backing is a favorite from my stash - it doesn't necessarily match the  colors on the front patchwork, but I loved it so much, I decided to use it anyway.

I've been thinking of hand quilting one of my projects, but fear of failure has kept me from it. But I decided this was the one. And because I'm never one for convention, I decided the quilting would follow the flower patterns on the back of the quilt. The front has so much going on that it didn't seem right to do a fancy pattern on the front - and stitch-in-the-ditch didn't feel right, either. I've managed one flower. My stitches are far apart and not very even (and nearly invisible on the front), but I'm content with this as a practice piece.