Never Just Jennifer

2016 Finish Along {Q1 Goals}

2016-01-06T09:05:00.001-05:00

Looking back on my 2015 finish along goals, I didn't do so hot. Sure I got a lot finished in Q1 but not much of what was on my list. In Q2 I did much better at following and finishing what was on my list. I didn't even manage a list for Q3 or Q4. Check out all of my posts related to last years finish along here.

I'm aiming to be much better this year though. I have some big plans for that long WIP list from last year. So let's get down to it with my list of goals for quarter 1.

1. Finish the match for this commissioned quilt.

I'm really excited about this one! No picture yet though so I'll just share one of the first memory quilt I made for this customer.

2. Complete a T-Shirt quilt for my cousin using her college tees.

Sarah made this lovely quilt with her Gramma and I'm totally stealing her idea. It's a Sweetwater pattern made with embroidered blocks but I'm thinking it's going to be perfect for the t-shirt quilt too!

Photo courtesy of Smiles Too Loudly

3-4-5. Finish quilting three baby quilts.

This fall I made three baby quilts while I was at retreat. I have one about 70% quilted, The other two still need to be basted but then they are ready to go. They are surprises so I only have this one WIP picture to show you for now.

6-7. Complete these Open Wide Zipper Pouches.

I have several pouches started so far. Some are for a trade with girlfriends (they crochet, do needle point, and weave, I'm very excited!), others are for gifts.

8-9-10. Quilt the three different versions of this Liberty and Peppered Cotton butterfly quilt.

I have been having so much fun playing with these Liberty of London scraps and some pretty forest green peppered cotton. I made two quilt tops and one mini-quilt out of these absolutely lovely fabrics. I'm planning on keeping one and perhaps selling the other two. We'll see!

11. Quilt my Tree Skirt

Over Christmas a close family friend was state-side for a bit and she let me borrow her pattern and ruler to make a tree skirt.We went shopping together the year before when she bought the fabrics for her two versions and they are absolutely lovely! I finished sewing my Cotton + Steel and Carolyn Friedlander version in an afternoon!

So there you have my list! Looks like I'm going to need to buy some more thread and batting so I can get all this quilting done! Let's see how I do! Linking up with A Quilter's Table for the FAL and with WIP Wednesday today too!

This year the FAL is hosted by several different bloggers. Be sure to visit them for all the details!

Debbie - A Quilter's Table - USA

Jess - Elven Garden Quilts - Australia

Stacey - SLO Studio - Canada

Jennie - Clover & Violet - USA

Helen - Archie the Wonder Dog - UK

Nicky - Mrs. Sew and Sow -UK

Cindy - Fluffy Sheep Quilting - Ireland

Rhonda - Rhonda's Ramblings - USA

Leanne - She Can Quilt - Canada

Modern Double Cross {a finished quilt}

2015-12-31T11:06:00.001-05:00

This is the year of finishing things. According to my blog history this quilt was imagined and started in February 2014 in the form of a tutorial for both 12 and 6 inch blocks for my turn as queen bee of We Bee Learning. My cousin was graduating from High School that spring and I needed a quilt.

The blocks quickly came pouring in from across the country and, with the addition of a few more on my end, were ready to be pieced into a top by May. Since the colors were so saturated I really felt like they needed breathing room, plus my cousins on this size are very tall and I didn't want to make 1000 blocks, so I played with some alternative layouts,

Once I had decided I bought the background fabric, going with a basic extra-wide blue and started to work out the piecing. This was my first adventure into using an alternative layout so it was definitely challenging for me. I eventually ran out of background fabric, purchased some more, and then it sat. I'm not sure why. Maybe I was overwhelmed with the though of trying to piece the whole thing together? Maybe it was because it's simply larger than any of the rooms in my house so I didn't have a place to lay it out and work on? Finally when I went on retreat this fall I brought it with me, hoping that would give me the kick I needed to get it finished.

Well I was right. I found a big room, figured out how I had intended to put it together, and got to work FINALLY sewing the top together. I had some much needed help squaring it up and learned some great techniques (the trick is to make the flooring work for you!) and it was ready to ship to the longarmer.

Katie at Home Hearth Quilting did a fabulous job on it, quilting a fun bubble feather pattern on the blue background and crosses to echo the piecing through the orange and red. She even added in a special quote for my cousin, who is studying music.

"Do not fear mistakes, there are none." - Miles Davis

Being a teenage male he was tough to read but I think he liked it. :)

I gifted the quilt at our family Thanksgiving this year and promptly put him and his brother (both of whom are 6ft+, to work holding it for me for pictures. This quilt finished at 107" x 96" so I really needed their help to get some pictures!

Nearly two years after it had begun, I was really glad to get this one finished. Another WIP crossed off the list and happily received. Linking up with Needle and Thread Thursday and Finish it up Friday.

Best of Never Just Jennifer {five posts from 2015}

2015-12-26T10:55:00.000-05:00

The lovely Cheryl at Meadow Mist Designs is hosting a fun end of year link-up highlighting your best content of 2015. This year has been absolutely crazy for me. I started right out of the gate with a strong January, almost doubling my blogging schedule and sewing schedule. Life does have a way of getting busy though and I tailed off at the end of the year, really slacking in October and November particularly.

#1 Round Trip Quilts:

My favorite project by far this year was working on the Round Trip Quilts round robin bee. I got my quilt back in September and it's absolutely amazing. I haven't had a chance to photograph it yet to share with you but fear not, it will be done. I loved seeing the instagram/blog posts of when these amazing talented ladies received their tops. I can't wait to see the finished quilts start popping up.

Some of my favorites to work on were:

Mary's Traditional Rainbow Medallion

Leanne's Star Theme

#2 Two Birds, One Stone:

This is by far the quilt I'm most proud of this year. I sleep under it every night and bring it with us when we travel. My husband even likes it! I put a lot of work into designing and thinking out this quilt pattern and could not be happier with the final result. I still need to work out how to write up a pattern for it thought. :) You can see all of the posts related to this project here.

#3 Oakshott Scandinavia Challenge:

This quilt was made a part of a challenge with Sew Mama Sew and Oakshott Fabrics, using their Scandinavia collection. I loved the opportunity to make something that honors my family heritage and reminds me of the memories I made when I visited Finland as a girl.

#4 Twice as Nice Superhero Quilts

These matching quilts were made for a coworker who had twin boys in November. They were really fun to make and I found it challenging to make these matching quilts different enough for the twins. You can see just the tops here and the finished quilts here.

#5 In Memory of, #1

This was by far the most challenging project of 2015. I was commissioned to make two memory quilts using the clothes of my customers parents. This first quilt was for her brother. In the end, I'm happy with how it came out but have to admit that the whole thing was a challenge. I struggled to find motivation to work on this quilt and really had to push myself through each step to get it finished. I'm starting on the second quilt soon and hope that I can take away some of what I learned from the first time around.

Thank you for following along as I reviewed my best of 2015 posts. I hope you'll take the opportunity to reflect on your best of as well!

Carpenter's Star {a finished quilt}

2015-12-17T10:54:00.001-05:00

This quilt has been a long time in the making. It began in early 2013 when I found out that my uncle was getting married and was born out of my strong desire to make a carpenters star quilt. I queried my uncles then soon-to-be wife and we settled on a red and white color scheme. Without delay I started buying up every red or white fabric I found on the internet, not really thinking about theme or overall composition. Keep in mind I didn't have a stash yet so to make a scrappy carpenters star I needed fabric. Since it's hard to tell what color red a fabric is online, the reds in this quilt vary from pink and peach to burgundy and orange. Because of my buying fervor there are some really interesting fabrics in this quilt. Some of my favorites include:

red and white zebras
balloon dogs
cutlery
"How to iron a shirt" fabric
coloring book animals
Pi and the angles of a triangle

I cut without a plan too. I knew I needed to make half-square triangles so I started cutting ALL of the fabrics I had bought into 10" squares. Then I sewed them into HST using the biggest, widest seam you can imagine. This was before I knew was a 1/4" seam was. The large seam resulted in blocks that were roughly 7", give or take an inch....more or less. I wasn't big on consistent sizing yet either I guess. Either way, the top came together fine.

I added three borders to the top to bring the size up to just under queen sized. One dark solid red, a 1 inch solid white, and then an red plaid to take it from square to rectangular. I didn't actually get a measurement on it before gifting. Let just leave it at "large cuddle couch quilt" / "small queen bed quilt" sized. I used the same red plaid on the back, but again, I wasn't big on measuring so I had to supplement with the excess red blocks I had cut and a pieced heart using scraps from the front. Personally, I really love the back of this one. The splashes of extra color make me pretty happy.

Originally I wanted to quilt this myself but the size of it was overwhelming to me. I made the decision and had it long-arm quilted locally. This is one of the reasons that the quilt took so long to make. When I got the quilt back I was really unhappy with the quilting. It was not what we had discussed when I dropped off my quilt, whole blocks were not quilted and the wrong thread color had been used. At that point I didn't know what to do so the quilt just sat for literally years needing only a binding.

Finally I decided that it wasn't worth it to take the quilt back and have it re-quilted. I certainly didn't want to rip all of those stitches out and frankly, didn't trust the long-armer to do it. So I sucked it up, cut a binding, and finished it in time to gift at our family Thanksgiving this year. And I'm glad that I did. They loved it, even though it was two years late, and were so excited to get a quilt. And to be honest, I didn't even notice the quilting when I gifted it and I don't notice is now in the pictures either. I guess I just needed an expectation adjustment. After all, Finished IS better than Perfect.

Remember that pile of squares that I cut at the beginning? Some of them became my Sailor's Take Delight quilt that I finished and gifted this summer.

Linking up with Needle and Thread Thursday and Finish it up Friday.

Open Wide Zipper Pouches, take two

2015-11-25T10:03:00.003-05:00

I have been on a role since I got back from retreat in October. I guess all I needed was a little extra time with my creativity and others like me to really get my sew-jo back. This Sunday I worked on making a bunch more of the Open Wide Zipper Pouch by Noodlehead. I made my first one back in May of this year and have been using ever since. I love it so much and I thought that they would make great gifts this year (although to be perfectly honest my ulterior motive was to make more for me! Don't tell anyone.).

I have a bunch of canvas fabrics that I have been wondering what do do with for ages. I found them again when I was cleaning out my sewing room post-retreat and left them out on the table figuring I'd make a bag or something. on Sunday, I was having some trouble with the thread tension on a baby quilt I was quilting so I set it aside, picked up these fabrics and just started cutting.

The first fabric I used is Itsy Bitsy, by Heather Ross, which you can still find here. The other is a fun records print by Melody Miller called Ruby Star from Spring 2012 for Kokka on an 85/15 cotton linen blend. I have the color ambrosia, which is a lovely sage-mint green. This is a really large scale print with the records measuring almost 7" across. I made three pouches in these fabrics, one large in the records and one medium and one small in the the Itsy Bitsy. I used a heavy weight Pellon fusible interfacing on all of these bags because I like them to have a little more structure and substance and I think they hold up better personally. Overall, the added weight/bulk didn't impact my sewing. They are also all lined with the same grey-brown Moda Grunge as my first pouch; perfect for hiding stains.

The second versions that I made are using a fun black and white forest animal canvas, that I think came from Spoonflower, and Essex Linen for the bottom. I'm pretty sure the color I used is either Graphite or Black. I made two large pouches and two medium pouches in this combination I love on these how the only color comes from the zippers. I switched up the colors using various bright zippers. Aren't they fun?!

My personal favorite is this Bear Boogie in Red by Kokka, a cotton linen blend. I have no idea where I got this fabric but since it's just so darn cute I'm glad it ended up in my stash some how. I only made one large pouch out of this one but would love a little set of them to use. This one isn't completely done yet, I still have to sew the tag to the end of the zipper, but I was so excited to use it that I decided to do that part later.

While cutting/piecing this one I tried to make sure that all of my seams would line up around the bag and was so pleasantly surprised when I flipped in right-side out and saw this perfectly matched seam!

I still have a few more to finish up before these are completely done. And they're so fast and easy I might just cut out a bunch more for gifts and to list for sale sometime. I think a fun modification would be to use laminate fabric for the inside for shower supplies or things that might leak. I'll have to explore that further too.

Linking up with WIP Wednesday today over at Freshly Pieced.

Schnitzel & Boo Mini Quilt Swap - Sent

2015-11-23T09:35:00.000-05:00

Shortly after signing up for my first instagram swap I saw the posts about round four of the Schnitzel and Boo Mini Quilt Swap. I've admired the mini' that are made for this swap for a long time and immediately jumped on the chance to participate.

I was paired with Joy, @J.Meadows, from Texas who said she loved bright happy colors. In her free time, when she's not sewing, she likes to workout and spend time with Tiny, her Grate Dane. I wasn't sure what I wanted to make at first and ended up pulling out the scraps from Two Birds, One Stone, my Pantone 2015 challenge quilt and playing with the leftover blocks. I had a few small blocks left and started by chopping them up to piece a teeny-tiny star block. This sucker finished at 2.5" square.

After that I added two more rounds of star points to make the finished mini about 12" around. It was fun to use of these little scraps from my favorite quilt. I hoped that the bright, scrappy colors would translate to something that Joy would like.

I ended up procrastinating and getting caught up with work and other things and didn't get back to quilting my mini for about two months. I finally sat down to quilt it two weeks ago. I wanted to play with shapes for the quilting and started by outlining two squares, on point behind the largest and the middle stars. Then I filled in the background of each star, starting with a micro-stipple, bubbles for the middle, and straight lines for the outside. I'm really happy with how the quilting came on this. Although I must say that the foot I used for my machine started to squeak really badly after a little while. Any thoughts on how to stop that from happening again?

I used a large scrap for the backing that I happened to have on hand. It's not my favorite fabric but I though the colors did coordinate nicely. I bound the quilt using a bright yellow strip I had on hand. It was a littler narrower than I usually like to go for bindings but I managed to make it work by glue basting the unsewn side down before machine stitching it. That's a trick I picked up at retreat earlier this year. It's my new favorite method for perfect machine binding. Let me tell you, those corners are tight!

For extras, I included a charm pack of V and Co's Simply Style since my partner mentioned that she liked their fabrics. I also had a cute notepad and package of buttons that I had won previously at quilt guild but wasn't going to use. Joy asked for notions in her extras so it seemed like a good fit. Since I'm on a diet and I know that Joy likes to work out I threw in some yummy EPIC beef jerky instead of chocolate or sweets which was a win. She's had to hide the jerky from her husband since they both really like it!

This was a great experience for me and I think I would definitely participate in this swap again. Hopefully I'll be on top of things and catch the signup period on Instagram before it's closed for round 5!

You can find even more of the amazing quilts that were made

for this swap by searching instagram for any of the following hashtags

#schnitzelandboominiquiltswap

#quiltersofawesome

#makeaquiltmakeafriend

Linking up with Sew Modern Monday.

Jen Goes to Retreat

2015-11-20T13:50:00.000-05:00

This October I had the wonderful opportunity to attend a retreat for the first time! It is sponsored by my local quilt guild and really quite affordable. The last two years I haven't been able to attend because it actually fell on the weekend we got married and then our one-year anniversary and since I figured my then-fiance/now-husband wouldn't appreciate me missing both of those events to go quilting..... well, you get the idea. But this year it was the weekend after, and damn it all, I was going!

I think I brought every WIP I have to retreat to work on and even some soon-to-be-WIPs but did manage to get a lot accomplished. I started with several mini quilts that I needed to baste/quilt/bind and a block for a sampler raffle quilt for a local charity.

When I was done with the mini's I moved on to binding a large quilt that I'd been putting off for ages. Jane introduced me to glue basting the binding before I machine quilt it and I am officially now a convert. I stopped at Keepsake on the way home to get some basting glue for myself. It made finishing this large quilt off so much easier. It's a gift that I hope to give at Thanksgiving this year so watch for pictures soon shortly after!

Friday evening I laid out another huge quilt, this one is 90' x 107" and finished piecing the top. It's also a gift that is long overdue for giving but because of it's size I literally don't have a room big enough to lay it out in. I'm so excited to gift this one at Thanksgiving also. I'm picking it up from my long-armer in about an hour and can't wait to see it!

The next day I had some help squaring up this massive quilt from Lynn who showed me a genius way to use the floor boards to make sure my quilt is straight and taught my how to use two rulers to make sure my long edges are even. At some point, I'll try to show you what I learned. When I was done with that it was finally on to Leann's Round Trip Quilts. It has been languishing in a corner of my room for far too long so I was happy to finally take it out and work on it. I designed a fun star pattern and used four of them across the bottom of the quilt. The star was a really happy accident overall. I found a paper pieced pattern for something similar online, but couldn't print it any where. So I enlisted the help of Lynn, who is a Deb Tucker instructor, and Erma who was making a similar block and worked out how to do it as a pieced block instead. I know I say this a lot but I REALLY love how the star turned out and can't wait to make a full size quilt out of these. With the Deb Tucker rulers, it was so fast and easy! I never got a picture of the finished top for Leanne so the layout picture will have to do until she gets it in the mail and can show us.

On Sunday I pieced three quick baby quilts for some neighbors and friends that I hope to finish up in time for Christmas. They just need to be be quilted and bound now so that shouldn't be a problem. When I was finished I wanted to try something really new so I pulled out the Improv Handbook for Modern Quilters and a pile of fabrics I brought with me and tried my hand at Score #1. I found the process both stressful and liberating at the same time. I'm excited to keep working on it and see where it goes. Honestly, I'm not sure what the ladies though of it. We tend to be a more traditional guild so it was WAY outside of most of our comfort zones.

I clearly can't leave you without showing you some photos of the beautiful location we got to sew at all weekend. It's right on Lake Winnipesaukee so we were not lacking in scenery. We also took turns cooking meals so there was not a lack of good food either. I'm so glad that I got to go this year and can't wait for next October to come around so that I can go again!

Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts at Finish It Up Friday.

Nearly Wordless WIP Wednesday

2015-11-18T09:40:00.000-05:00

package received

sneak peak of packaged received

finishing the quilting for my package to send

mini to send complete

All pictures are from my instagram feed.

Modern Hexies Wall Hanging

2015-11-10T11:43:00.000-05:00

I have had this fun wall hanging done for awhile now. I made it to demo my machine binding technique at our local quilt show this spring but it was born long before that. My husband is on the road a lot: travelling to and from jobs, going to look at other potential work, or driving to find a great deal on equipment. Since he usually does these long drives on the weekends often times I'll go with him. Which presents a serious dilemma: I can't bring my sewing machine with me in the car. I don't do a lot of hand sewing or quilting but usually try to grab my bag of papers so that I can make hexies while I wait. Since I get car sick so I can't do much sewing when we're actually moving so it's not really that productive but since we're usually somewhere without service, hours of facebook/instagram/candy crush are out of the question.

I started these hexies on January 10th of this year and slowly worked up to 40 of them in various shades of peach and orange (probably my all time favorite color combination by the way). They finish at 1.5". I had some yardage of Moda grunge in the color grey and used that for the background, spacing them a little less than 1/2 apart. I really eyeballed the spacing relying on my obsessive detail about space and distribution. The quilting was done using Aurifil 28w thread in a light pink. I followed each hexie from corner to corner to create the distinctive diamond pattern you see on so many of these quilts. Normally I wouldn't use such a heavy thread but I really love how this one looks and will probably be using the weight again for future quilting projects. Martin Cat helped me square up the edges when I was done quilting and then it was a quick machine binding job to finish this one up. I used Squared Elements in Cetrine since I couldn't resist adding a little more color to the quilt.

I used lots of favorite fabrics in this quilt making something with just enough "whimsy" to truly reflect me. There are lions, butterflies, bicycles, sea horses, and tiny hearts. The backing is this fun large scale floral print. I don't have any of the salvage though so I don't know what it is.

Since I'm short on wall space at home I've hung this one up outside of my cubicle at work. I'm pretty much convinced that my coworkers think I'm insane though. This quilt makes the total number of quilts and wall hangings at my desk 8. I love having it though. It brings a little sunshine to my otherwise grey and beige cubicle.

Thanks for visiting!!

Bloggers Quilt Festival : Oakshott Scandinavia Challenge Quilt

2015-10-28T15:38:00.002-04:00

I'm just squeezing into the Bloggers Quilt Festival this year! If you hurry there's still about a day left to enter your quilt. Visit Amy at Amy's Creative Side for all the details! I decided to enter my Scandinavian Quilt into the Original Design category this year amid some tough competition no less. You can see the original post on this quilt here if you missed it, otherwise keep reading.

This Scandinavia inspired quilt was made as part of a challenge sponsored by Sew Mama Sew and Oakshott Fabrics to create a quilt using their new Scandinavian collection of fabrics. And, boy oh boy, these fabrics are are gorgeous! They are all shot through with a creamy white that gives them the most amazing soft shine. Pastel without being too Easter-y or babyish.

I wanted to do something original to honor by Finnish heritage, via my paternal grandmother (or Farmor). She grew up in Finland (and Sweden during WWII), a country I have had the opportunity to visit three times in my life, twice as a child and once as a teenager, and hope to visit again very soon once we can find the time and money. Each time I have visited I find great inspiration in the simple, clean designs found in the region and really wanted to be able to create something that could reflect both the design and the memories I have of visiting family there.

After some research I had several ideas sketched out, and ended up texting my "more Finnish" (as my Farmor says) cousin for help narrowing the choices down. In the end I pulled out the Ittala dinnerware that we received for the wedding two years ago and used that as a jumping off point.

Feeling inspired at the moment. #oakshottscandinavia #iittala #inspirationeverywhere #thanksforthedishesGram #FinnishQuilt - See more at: http://iconosquare.com/viewer.php#/detail/1058925302181042470_1222082853

At first I thought I would make a large quilt inspired by the black and white dinner plate and mug pictured above. I pieced a couple of arrows and then laid them out to take a picture but what I saw changed my direction completely. I spent two days piecing the rows and top, finishing it at around 1am the day before it was supposed to go to the longarmer. Ideally I would have quilted this myself but given the time crunch I was under I thought it was best to have someone else do. The quilting is simple. Katie Smith of Home Hearth Quilting quilted it for me in a simple birch tree-esque design following the direction of each row of piecing. I love how it adds texture to the quilt without distracting from the overall design. She did a great job and I highly recommend her if you're in the NH/VT area.

Thank you little brother and Dad for holding this for me!

The pattern came together really quickly since it's all row based piecing. I really love how the simple Kona Charcol and Kona White let the beautiful Oakshott fabrics shine in all their glory. While piecing I took a really ad hoc approach to adding in the colors, letting them fall where ever they would in the final top. The scattered colors are perfect and I love how the various sized strips add additional movement to the quilt.

a glimpse into our bedroom with the quit in it's new home. notice the nicely coordinated pre-existing paint swatches...

in love with this quilt.

quilting detail

The quilt is backed in a Lotta Jansdotter print and a large scale Windham Fabrics print. I chose these because of how they played into the simple, clean lines I was going for in the overall design. This quilt finishes at 90" x 86" and will hopefully be plenty big enough for the two of us to sleep under. I didn't set out to make such a large quilt but once I got started the fabrics and pattern made it easy to keep going. Plus, I had the added encouragement that my husband gets genuinely upset when I make small quilts.

I'm so glad that I had the opportunity to make this quilt. The final quilt is really true to my original vision and reflect the emotion I was hoping to convey. I think my Farmor would be proud. I plan on showing her the quilt at Thanksgiving later this year to see what she thinks. My Finnish relatives tell me that I captured Finland perfectly. Currently there is no pattern for this quilt but I hope to write one up in the next year.

Thank you for visiting and I hope that you like my quilt! Linking up with Amy for Original Quilt Design at Bloggers Quilt Festival!

Simply Mini Swap

2015-10-22T18:30:00.000-04:00

Back in August, I think I signed up for my first ever mini quilt swap. It's entirely managed on Instagram. You can find it by searching #SimplyMiniSwap for the full group or #SimplyTeamConni for my pool. For some reason I always seem to miss the sign-ups but I managed to catch this one and it seemed completely doable. The instructions? Make a mini quilt. That's it. No extras, just a mini quilt. Well the mailing deadline is this Saturday and I'm embarrassed to say that my partners mini isn't done yet but I'm off to retreat tomorrow for four days and hoping to sew tonight so finishing up shouldn't be a problem. (Don't worry Partner!)

In the meantime I wanted to show you the quilt that I received from Mariah who you can find on Instagram at @Gr8Manythings. She's an adventurer and nerd like me! Plus she has two seriously cute kids (not like me!!) and she made me the most amazing mini quilt! It's made up of teeny-tiny flying geese on a grey chambray background. I LOVE the orange and green ombre geese and the fun pink polka dot binding. It's backed in a nice bright green polka dot too! Plus how fun is this little green corner in the bottom?

I'm so lucky to have received such an awesome quilt and I can't wait to finish up my partners quilt to get it in the mail ASAP! Thanks for visiting! Stay tuned for pictures from my first ever retreat this weekend and hopefully lots of newly completed projects. I'm bringing a long list with me!

I'm linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish it up Friday.

Twice as Nice Super-Hero Twin Quilts {two finished quilts}

2015-10-15T14:53:00.000-04:00

Wow, it's been a month again... how did that happen? So much is happening right now. Partly because I lost my sewjo again, the change in the seasons and my struggle with seasonal depression (and the loss of light) and an intense desire to watch re-runs of SVU on Netflix and eat cookies, and partially because of work demands and things that need to get finished at home before the snow comes in (winter IS coming). If you really missed me I have been active on Instagram. I vow to be more active here in this space moving forward though. This is important to me and you are too. I appreciate you taking the time to read my sometimes nonsensical rambling and comment on posts. I look forward to that interactions with each of you.

Today I want to show you the coordinated twin quilts I recently finished for a co-worker. I'm calling them my super-hero quilts. All of the different shades of red, white and blue make me think of Superman, Captain America, and the lot. I started these back in July and shared the tops with you shortly after as part of the Quilted Living Summer Blog Tour with Fat Quarter Shop. I made the Freedom quilt and, after a quick email to my coworker to make sure she was on board with the idea, decided to break it up into two smaller quilts for her soon to arrive twin boys.

I worked from my stash for this one and started with a big stack of bright red/orange, royal blue/navy, and a mismatched pile of low volume gray/cream/white. For backings and binding I used different fabrics for each quilt. I wanted these quilts to be a matched pair but not matching quilts, that way Momma can tell whose is whose, even if she can't tell who's who. Right Momma?

One quilt has a solid blue kona backing with a red binding and the other is a fun red-white-blue print with a coordinated blue binding. I kept the quilting very simple on each quilt, mostly using my walking foot to straight line quilt in coordinated blue, red. and white threads. I did go back and FMQ some areas as well. I really love how the quilting shows up on the solid backing by the way! Maybe as I become more confident with my quilting I'll do more of these in the future?

In usual fashion I procrastinated getting these finished until the week before Mommas surprise baby shower at work. I ended up quilting them over two days and then rushing to get the bindings on the night before. I did finish in time to give her the quilts but then had to take them back so I could snap some pictures to share with you. Unfortunately the weather was not cooperative so even the ones I got were not great (sorry).

I'm really happy with how these came out, even the FMQ, which I usually struggle with. Momma loves them too and was really happy to get some handmade quilts for her two newest boys. I did make her promise to send me a picture of her new babies on the quilts once they make their debut. I won't wish them to hurry up but I can't wait to meet them!

I'm linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish it up Friday.

Baby Love

2015-09-22T16:14:00.000-04:00

Just popping in quickly today so share this lovely picture of Jackson. He is the proud owner of my Baby F Quilt and today he's a month old! His Momma shared this photo online and I just had to share it with you here today.

It's the best feeling in the world to see something you made being used and loved.

I've been busy quilting and posting to Instagram and hope to have something to share with you here soon!

Oakshott Scandinavia Challenge Quilt {a finished quilt}

2015-09-08T10:51:00.002-04:00

Today I'm really excited to show you my latest finish: a Scandinavia inspired quilt sponsored by Sew Mama Sew and Oakshott Fabrics.

The call for contributors said:

Are you ready for a sewing challenge? We're looking for 6 people to sew with the gorgeous fabrics pictured here in an Scandinavian-inspired challenge. You can choose what to make (apron, mini quilt, table runner, etc.) but it has to use the fabrics from the collection and it has to be "Scandinavian inspired."

Well I jumped right on that. My paternal grandmother (or Farmor) is from Finland, a country I have had the opportunity to visit four times in my life, and hope to visit again very soon when we can find the time and money to go. I find great inspiration in the simple, clean designs found in the region and really wanted to be able to create something that honors that piece of my heritage and family.

The weekend before the fabrics arrived I visited Keepsake Quilting to pick up some (hopefully) coordinated fabrics to mix in with the Fat Quarters that would be coming. I ended up buying several yards of various white and grey fabrics, unsure of what would match. I had to stop and just admire these when they arrived, with 12 days to spare. These fabrics are gorgeous! They are all shot through with a creamy white that gives them the most amazing soft shine. Pastel without being too Easter-y or babyish.

I had several ideas sketched out, and ended up texting my "more Finnish" cousin (as my Farmor says) for help narrowing the choices down. In the end I pulled out the Ittala dinnerware that we received for the wedding two years ago and used that as a jumping off point.

At first I thought I would make a large quilt inspired by the black and white dinner plate and mug pictured above. I pieced a couple of arrows and then laid them out to take a picture but what I saw changed my direction completely. The next few nights were spent piecing the rows and then after an emergency trip back to Keepsake to get more Kona Charcoal, and a marathon sewing night ending at around 1:30am, I had a finished top. The next morning it was off to the quilter. Ideally I would have quilted this myself but given the time crunch I thought it was best to have someone else do it for me this time. I got the quilt back just in time to get binding on over the weekend and then enlist the help of my Dad and brother to photograph it. I have to tell you, I'm in love with this quilt.

Thank you little brother and Dad for holding this for me!

The pattern came together really quickly since it's all row based piecing. I really love how the simple grey and white let the beautiful Oakshott fabrics shine in all their glory. I took a really ad hoc approach to adding in the colors, letting them fall where ever they would in the final top.

a glimpse into our bedroom with the quit in it's new home. notice the nicely coordinated pre-existing paint swatches...

The quilting is simple. Katie Smith of Home Hearth Quilting quilted it for me in a simple birch tree-esque design following the direction of each row of piecing. I love how it adds texture to the quilt without distracting from the overall design. She did a great job and I highly recommend her if you're in the NH/VT area.

in love with this quilt.

quilting detail

The quilt is backed in a Lotta Jansdotter print and a large scale Windham Fabrics print. I chose these because of how they played into the simple, clean line astetic I was going for for the overall design.

This quilt finishes at 90" x 86" and will hopefully be plenty big enough for the two of us to sleep under. I didn't set out to make such a large quilt but once I got started the fabrics and pattern made it easy to keep going. Plus, I had the added encouragement that my husband get's genuinely upset when I make small quilts.

I highly recommend the Oakshott Scandinavia collection if you're looking for a soft, light, and airy color palette for any quilt. They were absolutely beautiful to work with. You can find them here:

Oakshott Scandinavia Collection

Be sure to check out the other bloggers participating in this challenge as well, either through the links below, or with the hashtag #OakshottScandinavia on instagram.

Jessica Skultety from Quilty Habit
Jennifer Fullerton from Never Just Jennifer (you are here)
Mary Kolb from Mary on Lake Pulaski
Casey York from The Studiolo
Deborah Fisher
Caitlin Topham from Salty Oat

I'm linking up with Fabric Tuesday at Quilt Story today.

Baby F Quilt {a finished quilt}

2015-09-05T15:29:00.002-04:00

Remember this quilt I was working on? I finished it back in mid-August just before baby arrived on August 22nd.. The new mom and dad, family of my husbands, commissioned me to make them something special for their first baby, a boy.

The new mom has a great eye for color and suggested a color palette of Mint, Aqua, Navy, White, Grey, and Apple Green. We looked at a few patterns so that I could get an idea of what she liked and didn't like and then she basically let me run with it from there.

I used a simple equilateral triangle pattern, cutting my pieces at 5 inches tall. Once I was done cutting I had a quilt top done in less than a day. I quilted it the next day using a simple light blue thread echoed along the diagonals. It's bound is a solid dark green that picks up on some of the darker fabrics in the quilt itself.

The quilt is backed in this beautiful wood print fabric. I'm not sure who the manufacture is but it was too perfect to pass up for this quilt. I snagged it a few years ago at a large fabric de-stash sale in Manchester, NH at a great price. The grey of the logs coordinates perfectly with their gray crib and the overall feel of the piece really helps play into the woodland themed nursery.

I also made a coordinated bumper for baby's crib to match the quilt. I didn't get a ton of good photos of it before it was gifted though. I used a solid minty-aqua for one side of the bumper and a piece of Lotto Jansdotter for Joann's Fabric on the other side. Out of everything I made, the bumper took the longest. It was over 160 inches long and was quilted using my walking foot roughly every quarter-inch. I used scraps from the top to make the ties.

I'm so happy that the new Mom and Dad asked me to make something to be a part of their son's life. It was a lot of fun to work on this quilt for them and I hope that they will get many years of use out of it.

Linking up with Caroline at Sew Can She for Show off Saturday.

Round #6 - Mary at See Mary Quilt {Round Trip Quilts}

2015-07-28T08:36:00.005-04:00

Well hi. I didn't mean to take the month of August off. It just sort of happened on accident. Work has been incredibly busy the last few months and thought I've had time for sewing I haven't had time for blogging. I have a lot of exciting things to show you to get caught up. I'll start with a LONG over due post about the latest round of our round robin bee.

It's been awhile since I posted about our Round Trip Quilts adventure. We're nearing the end of the bee and some dates were delayed because of the craziness that surrounds end-of-school and early summer activities.

Today I'm excited to show you what I added to Mary's rainbow quilt. She blogs over at See Mary Quilt and is a fellow granite stater!

Remember this terror?

I was so frustrated while I worked on this top. Honestly, anything that could have gone wrong, went wrong when it came to this quilt. In the end I'm so glad I pushed through it though. I love how it looks and can't wait to see what Leanne adds and how Mary decides to finish it!

I get Leann's star quilt next for our very last round of the Bee and am over the moon excited to see what mine finally looks like after that!

200 Followers Winner {a giveaway!}

2015-07-27T09:07:00.000-04:00

Well it's about time I pick a winner for the giveaway celebrating my 200th Instagram follower.

Congratulations Anne!!

Now you can expand your modern fabric collection! I'll be emailing you shortly.

Thank you so much to everyone who entered the giveaway. I appreciate your support so much.

I'll be back later this week with some updates from Round Trip Quilts and some more finishes!

Cotton + Steel Strip Swap

2015-07-21T09:38:00.002-04:00

I'm hosting a swap!

I saw on Instagram awhile back that someone had made scrappy trip quilt entirely out of Cotton + Steel fabrics, though I can't find the picture now, and fell in love. I really wanted to make my own version! I love how the C+S fabrics all blend together but couldn't see myself making anything using all those prints until I saw that quilt. My wallet didn't like the idea of how much fabric I'd have to buy to make this vision come true so I decided to host a swap to get some more variety in my Cotton + Steel stash! All of the details are below if you want to join in on the fun!

RULES & DETAILS:

This swap will consist entirely of Cotton + Steel fabrics

You will send a specified number of Cotton + Steel fabrics, ranging in size from Fat Quarter (no 1/4 yards please) to half-yard

These will be cut into 2.5" by 16" strips

You will receive a variety of Cotton + Steel 2.5" strips back equal to the number of strips which were cut from the fabric you sent in

Fabric and $5 for shipping should be mailed by August 12th. Fabric will be postmarked back to you by August 31st

Once your entry is received I will email you my mailing address for shipping.

Please post and image of the fabrics you intend to send with the hashtag #cottonandsteelstripswap so that others can see which fabrics you chose and we can try and avoid duplicates

Sign up here or use the form below!

Choosing Fabrics {Midnight Mystery QAL}

2015-07-21T08:48:00.001-04:00

I did it. I finally chose fabrics for the Midnight Mystery Quilt-a-Long with Meadow Mist Design. This is a fun mystery quilt along which will be running from June 2015 through March 2016. Except I hate surprises. They literally cause me anxiety. So in an effort to keep my sanity I actually took advantage of Cheryl's "peak option" to see what the finished quilt will look like (hint: it's fantastic!).

For some reason I had a REALLY hard time choosing fabrics for this quilt but a day spent shopping with some real life quilt friends sealed the deal and I was in. I was inspired by my Clashy Classy Brights entry into Stiched in Color's last color mosaic contest. (In other news this palette matches my running shoes almost perfectly. At least I know what I like...)

I didn't end up winning the contest, though I still really love the colors I picked. So when it came time to decide for this QAL I knew I had a winner. My mosaic is below:

Nuanced Neon #2 - Clashy Classy Brights

Fabrics are as follows, left to right, top to bottom: 1. Speckled in Periwinkle, 2. Pressed Leaves, 3. Butterflies in Red, 4. Gingham in Silver, 5. Leaves in Ultramarine, 6. Chasing Butterflies in Fruit Punch, 7. Word Find in Pink, 8. TinyScript in Red, 9. Leaves in Plum

And with the help of Sarah at Smiles too Loudly while we were at Keepsake (more on that later), and Karin at Leigh Laurel Studios on Instagram, I was able to pull together the fabrics below, A-D, left to right. My main color group inspirations were Kona Watermelon, Radiant Orchard, scrappy Low Volume, and Blue-Violet. I have to admit, I'm still not super satisfied with the pinks and may have to revisit that one again....

Now I just need to cut and I"ll be caught up for July!

You can join in on the fun in the Midnight Mystery Facebook Group and find all of the instructions to date on Cheryl's blog.

Also, don't forget to enter my 200th Instagram Follower Giveaway, open until Friday 7/24!

I'm linking up with Fabric Tuesday at Quilt Story today.

Thank you! Thank you! {a giveaway!}

2015-07-20T14:14:00.000-04:00

I am seriously blow away by all of you. First of all thank you. After my post on June 19th my instagram followers jumped by nearly 80 people! Wow! Thank you! And thanks to Jayne for being the 200th person!

When I started this blogging adventure I didn't know that there would be so many people who would appreciate what I am doing here. I figured, at best, my grandparents, cousins, and some random people from high school would follow along with feigned interest.

left to right, top to bottom: 1. paper piecing, 2. Triangle Quilt Along,
3. at MQX, 4. priorities, 5. welcome home kitty, 6. aurifil BOM

I had no idea how much support I would get from all of you. You help me make design decisions and tough calls when I'm not sure how to proceed with a project. You help keep me from being overly critical of my work when I've fallen out of love. And you help me fall back in love.

left to right, top to bottom: 1. sugar block club, 2. Mom Date, 3. Round Trip Quilts Journal,

4. Round Trip Quilts Center, 5. Beautiful NH Day, 6. Quilt rulers building stairs

You let me be open and honest with my work, even when it's not that great. You aren't afraid to tell me that something isn't working and I always appreciate that extra set of critical eyes. You've followed along on house projects and family trips and you've put up with ALL of the cat pictures.

left to right, top to bottom: 1. Irish Chain, 2. One Year, 3. Beautiful Fabric,

4. Windows Mini Quilt, 5. WIP Churn Dashs, 6. Round Trip Quilts

You have helped me find new patterns and learn new skills. You've directed me to resources when I have been totally and completely stuck. And you asked what's wrong when I've disappeared.

left to right, top to bottom: 1. New Foundation, 2. Fields and Furrows, 3. Slouchy Eco Hat,

4. So much pressing, 5. Another Knit, 6. MartinCat helping

Thank you. Thank you so much for all that you do for me. Your kindness and openness has helped me grow so much. Because of everything that you do for me, I want to do something for you.

left to right, top to bottom: 1. Two Birds, One Stone, 2. organized, 3. Solids,

4. I fail at selfies, 5. VT Shop Hop - the Kaffe room, 6. Modern Hexis Mini

Fat Quarter Shop has graciously agreed to sponsor a giveaway here on the blog.

The winner will receive a fat quarter bundle of their choosing.

I'm currently crushing on:

These beautiful Christmas Fabrics

Gramercy by Leah Duncan

Honeymoon by Sarah Watts for Cotton + Steel Fabrics

Yummy solids to beef up my stash

Maureen Cracknell's Wild & Free

Blue Zephyr by Rashida Coleman-Hale for Cotton + Steel Fabrics

Here's how to enter:

Simply leave a comment here under this post! We'd love to know which bundle you'd choose? (one entry)
Follow Fat Quarter Shop on Facebook, their blog, or Instagram. Just let me know that you did by leaving a separate comment below. (optional entry)
Like Never Just Jennifer on Facebook, follow on Instagram, or stay up to date with your favorite blog reader. (optional entry)
Tell everyone you know about the giveaway! Share on Instagram using #NeverJustJenniferFQSgiveaway! (optional entry)

With four possible entries your odds are pretty good! The giveaway will remain open from now until Friday, July 24th at which point the winner will be picked at random. This giveaway is open to everyone! Thank you for your support!

left to right, top to bottom: 1. finished raffle quilt, 2. NLQG Quilt Show, 3. high tech design tools,

4. a rainbow nightmare, 5. love the trimmings, 6. Kitty Cuddle Puddles

Quilt Love

2015-07-17T13:10:00.003-04:00

This picture says what I could never say in a thousand words. This is why I love to quilt. This is why I give away my quilts. These two goof balls enjoying a sandwich and a movie with my finished Aurifil BOM quilt

Quilted Living Summer Blog Tour {Chelsea at Patch the Giraffe}

2015-07-15T08:57:00.003-04:00

Just popping in today to remind you to visit Chelsea over at Patch the Giraffe. She made an absolutely stunning version of the X-ceptional quilt using solids and low-volume prints!

Chelsea is another local New Hampshire quilter and a fellow member of the Round Trip Quilts bee. Go visit her and tell her I said "hi!"

See you soon!

Quilted Living Summer Blog Tour

2015-07-13T07:35:00.000-04:00

Welcome back! I am so excited to welcome you to the start of the Quilted Living Summer Blog Tour with the Fat Quarter Shop.

Gerri Robinson’s Quilted Living book was first launched about a year ago though the quilts feel so relevant for the season right now. It is all about beautiful, simple quilts for a comfortable home, perfect for summer cuddling. Simple patterns and repeating shapes mean that the tops come together fast, making them ideal for working on during those summer afternoon rain storms.

Seeing as it was just the Fourth of July I was really drawn to the red, white, and blue quilts in Gerri's book. There are several designs, each one unique but still nicely coordinated. I love how they are patriotic without feeling too cliche or overdone. In other words, I won't feel ashamed to have one of these quilts on my couch year round.

I decided to make the Freedom quilt, top right in the picture above. I pulled a big stack of bright reds, leaning towards orange in some cases, royal blues and navy, and a mismatched pile of low volume grays, creams, whites, and off-whites (and now need to refresh my low volume stash!). I was able to piece all of my star blocks in less than an evening, even taking care to make sure that the directional fabrics were all lined up appropriately.

The next night I was ready to cut and piece my blue chevrons. As a quick recommendation when making these blocks, sew an extra line to the outside of your marked line. Then when you cut your blocks, you'll have a half-square triangle ready to press and trim for another project! I have a big stack of nearly 100 blue and white half-square triangles ready to go!

When it came time to piece the top I had a moment of revelation, realizing that these blocks would make a great baby quilt. One of my coworkers is having twins later this year and I asked her if she'd be interested in a matched set of baby quilts. Her resounding yes sealed the deal and I was off piecing the tops!

I love how these came out. They are bold, graphic, and modern but still have that touch tradition that really speaks to my style. I also like that they are clearly the same quilt pattern and layout but the different fabric set them apart.

I took them to a nearby commons to snap some pictures. I love the location and think it really highlights these quilts nicely. I'm waiting on backing fabric right now and then I'll be off and basting to get these finished up in time for babies!

Be sure to visit the Fat Quarter Shop and the rest of the blog hoppers taking part in this Quilted Living Summer Blog Hop. And don't forget, the Fat Quarter Shop is running a giveaway!

Monday 07/13/15

Fat Quarter Shop

Jennifer of Never Just Jennifer

Wednesday 07/15/15

Chelsea of Patch the Giraffe

Thursday 07/16/15

Melissa of Happy Quilting

Friday 07/17/15

Gerri Robinson

Jane of Quilt Jane

Paula of The Sassy Quilter

Thanks for visiting! Come back soon to see how these lovely matched baby quilts finish up!

2015 Finish-Along {Q3 Goals}

2015-07-08T13:31:00.000-04:00

I did pretty good on following through with my goals from Q2. Read about my goals and what I finished here and here.

Now to set some goals for Q3. I'm taking the approach of listing all potential finishes with the hope that I'll finish 4-5 of them.

1. Finish Commission Quilt 2 of 2. Read about the first one here.

2. Photograph and blog my Modern Hexi's Mini Quilt.

3. Finish hand sewing the binding on this commissioned baby quilt for a family member.

4. Finish my Rocky Mountain Puzzle bee block quilt. I need to make a few more blocks then put the whole thing together.

5. Finish making additional blocks for my Low Volume Scrappy Trip Around the World quilt then put the whole thing together. I think I want to back this one in Voile or Lawn for a nice, light, summer quilt. (This is part of my LQG 2015 challenge.)

6. Make fabric baskets for Mom and I to use in our locker at the gym.using the One Hour Basket pattern. I'm going to use some of the Cotton + Steel prints I got during the VT Shop Hop.

7. Finish my Modern Double-Cross Quilt. It's a graduation gift for a cousin who graduated high school LAST YEAR. No pictures yet, since it's a surprise. (This is part of my LQG 2015 challenge.)

8. Bind the wedding quilt made for my Uncle and Wife who got married in October 2013. Also very late.

9. Complete my Delectable Mountains quilt. I need to finish making the blocks and sew the whole thing together.

10. Finish the signature quilt from our wedding. This one will also depend on USPS and how fast they can mail some additional blocks to and from people who weren't able to sign blocks already. (This is part of my LQG 2015 challenge.)

11. Sew together this massive pink, grey, and yellow bee block quilt. (This is part of my LQG 2015 challenge.)

12. I have fabric washed and pulled and patterns picked out to make some new shirts to add to my wardrobe rotation.

13. I joined the #SimplyMiniSwap on Instagram and will be making a simply awesome mini quilt for my secret partner.

14. Finish ripping stitches and then re-quilt my Triangle Quilt Along quilt top. I wasn't happy with the quality of the straight line quilting I started with.

15. Finish up some secret sewing for a blog hop coming up very soon!

16. Sew the final hem on my Colette Dress. I took the sides in to make it more fitted and just need to hem it!

17. Make a matched pair of quilts using bee blocks I received about two years ago. I know who they are intended for but I can't say on here.

Linking up with Adrianne at One the Windy Side.

2015 Finish-Along {Q2 Recap}

2015-07-07T09:47:00.000-04:00

I did pretty good this quarter getting some of my goals finished. Let's review what I accomplished.

1. Finish Commission Quilt 1 of 2 by the end of April. The top is done. I just need to sew the backing and then baste/quilt/bind for my customer to gift.

Done! My customer gifted it to her brother on July 4th, her mother's birthday. He loved it!! You can read more about it here.

2. Finish this fun Modern Hexies mini-quilt I started working on. Quilting is done, just need to bind and hang.

I Finished the binding in the nick of time on July 1st while listening to Moby Dick on YouTube with my husband, but ran out of time to photograph. Hopefully I will do so in time for the Q3 linkup.

3. Pull fabrics for a commissioned baby quilt for a nearby family member. We'll be using this pattern and have decided on a color scheme: gray, light blue, mint, navy, white and a green apple color.

We didn't use the pattern we had first chosen but did stick to the color scheme. I just need to sew the binding down and take some photos.

4. Start/Finish some secret sewing I have to finish for a secret person that I can't tell you anything about yet.

This was my delectable mountains blog hop quilt. I have all the fabric cut. I just need to sew up the rest of the blocks and put it together.

6. Finish my Modern Double-Cross Quilt. It's a graduation gift for a cousin who graduated high school LAST YEAR. No pictures yet, since it's a surprise.

Still not put together. Late is better than never right?

7. Quilt and bind my #orangepeelQAL quilt from last year.

Done! It's called Hot + Cold. You can read about it here.

8. Quilt and bind my scrappy red and white hourglass quilt, also from last year!

DONE! I'm calling it Sailor's Take Delight. Blogged here.

9. Bind the wedding quilt made for my Uncle and Wife who got married in October 2013. Also very late.

Not bound yet. Hopefully soon!

I'm linking up with Fabric Tuesday at Quilt Story today.

Never Just Jennifer

2016 Finish Along {Q1 Goals}

1. Finish the match for this commissioned quilt.

2. Complete a T-Shirt quilt for my cousin using her college tees.

3-4-5. Finish quilting three baby quilts.

6-7. Complete these Open Wide Zipper Pouches.

8-9-10. Quilt the three different versions of this Liberty and Peppered Cotton butterfly quilt.

11. Quilt my Tree Skirt

Modern Double Cross {a finished quilt}

Best of Never Just Jennifer {five posts from 2015}

#1 Round Trip Quilts:

#2 Two Birds, One Stone:

#3 Oakshott Scandinavia Challenge:

This quilt was made a part of a challenge with Sew Mama Sew and Oakshott Fabrics, using their Scandinavia collection. I loved the opportunity to make something that honors my family heritage and reminds me of the memories I made when I visited Finland as a girl. #4 Twice as Nice Superhero Quilts

#5 In Memory of, #1

Carpenter's Star {a finished quilt}

Open Wide Zipper Pouches, take two

Schnitzel & Boo Mini Quilt Swap - Sent

Jen Goes to Retreat

Nearly Wordless WIP Wednesday

Modern Hexies Wall Hanging

Bloggers Quilt Festival : Oakshott Scandinavia Challenge Quilt

Simply Mini Swap

Twice as Nice Super-Hero Twin Quilts {two finished quilts}

Baby Love

Oakshott Scandinavia Challenge Quilt {a finished quilt}

Baby F Quilt {a finished quilt}

Round #6 - Mary at See Mary Quilt {Round Trip Quilts}

200 Followers Winner {a giveaway!}

Cotton + Steel Strip Swap

Sign up here or use the form below!

Choosing Fabrics {Midnight Mystery QAL}

Thank you! Thank you! {a giveaway!}

Quilt Love

Quilted Living Summer Blog Tour {Chelsea at Patch the Giraffe}

Quilted Living Summer Blog Tour

Monday 07/13/15

Jennifer of Never Just Jennifer

Wednesday 07/15/15

Chelsea of Patch the Giraffe

Thursday 07/16/15

Melissa of Happy Quilting

Friday 07/17/15

Jane of Quilt Jane

Paula of The Sassy Quilter

2015 Finish-Along {Q3 Goals}

2015 Finish-Along {Q2 Recap}

This quilt was made a part of a challenge with Sew Mama Sew and Oakshott Fabrics, using their Scandinavia collection. I loved the opportunity to make something that honors my family heritage and reminds me of the memories I made when I visited Finland as a girl.

#4 Twice as Nice Superhero Quilts