February 20, 2018

Muted rainbow stripe quilt tutorial

Hello quilty friends. Today I'm sharing a rainbow quilt that I made for a loved one. In the end I decided to gift another quilt to that person for several reasons, so this is just a "for fun" quilt at our house now! I'm not complaining :) The colors make me so happy. At 68" x 86", it's a very good size for a twin sized bed, so maybe that will be its purpose one day, who knows.

If you're looking for the bright rainbow quilt post, go here!


The pattern is as simple as they come, I really wanted the colors and quilting to shine! Plus this is the first quilt top I sewed as I was coming out of a very sick first trimester and the world felt overwhelming. I needed something really easy!


I honestly think it took me longer to decide on colors than it did to make the quilt top. I kept reordering 1/4 yard cuts from Fabric Bubb and after about 4 tries I felt very happy with this muted rainbow of Kona solids.


Fabric Requirements:
(14) quarter yard cuts of colors. They will need to be cut very straight, so if you are buying from a store that isn't known for it's accurate and generous cutting, maybe get 1/3 yds. instead. Fabric Bubb won't do you wrong!
1 3/4 yds white fabric (more if you're using it for binding too)
5/8 yd binding fabric 
5 yds backing


Instructions:

Cut the colored quarter yards into (2) 4.5" x WOF strips each. Trim off and square up the selvege ends, sew end to end for length, press the seam, and cut each strip to 4.5" x 68". I cut them in stacks of 4 or so. You will have some nice sized scraps for another project. I made a pillow and still had some left.

Cut the white fabric into (24) 2.5" strips. Sew all of them end to end and press seams. It will be very long! Try to let it fall back and forth into a somewhat neatly folded pile as you make it, that way you won't have a tangled mess and it will come up easily as you sew it. 

With your colored strips, and your loooong white strip, you're ready to go! Here's how I did it.

Sew a white strip along every colored strip, chain piecing as you go. In other words, I didn't cut any white until the end, just kept adding a new color strip as I went. Then trim them all up and press towards the colors. Using this method, you must be very careful not to tug on the white or let it pull down as you sew, or your white stripes will be wavy and bunched.

If that way stresses you out, you can also just cut (15) 2.5" x 68" white strips and sew them in between every color.

Sew the white strips and colors strips together alternately in your desired rainbow order (mine is listed in order above). Press toward the colors and your top is ready! Baste, quilt, and bind as desired. I had mine quilted with rainbow hearts by CrinkleLove. I had a mostly green backing picked out for this one, but when I saw the text print Sarah had available, I knew that was the right choice! I love it on the back of the colors.


For binding I used the same white as the stripes. I've never used white binding before, but I really love it! Now to see how dirty it gets, ha.


I planned the quilt dimensions so that they'd fit a twin bed, but we' don't have that size of bed at our house right now. I did discover that when using it on a toddler bed, you can get "boy" quilt or "girl" quilt colors by folding down alternate sides :)



I hope you find this tutorial easy to understand. I didn't plan on making one originally, hence no progress pictures, but then I got a lot of questions about it. It's a great place for beginners to start, or a fast project for experienced quilters.



As always, thank you for stopping by! This is my 100th post on this blog since I started in March 2016. I can hardly believe that, it doesn't seem like nearly that many. Thank you to those of you who follow along in this space. I'm happy to share it with you!

February 14, 2018

Rainbow Baby Quilts

Happy Valentine's Day friends! I've recently posted about my heart quilt, so today I wanted to share about an auction going on at my Instagram account to raise money for IVF. Head over there if you'd like to bid! I would appreciate it so much.


I finished these 2 rainbow baby quilts and wanted to auction them off to help someone. I've been thinking a lot about a family I know of who recently had a failed IVF, and the feelings of devastation they are experiencing. While I don't think the financial burden is as much of an issue for them, I know it is for many couples struggling with infertility. The costs are high in so many ways. I knew these 2 quilts would be perfect!


I reached out on Instagram (always a great resource!) and asked if anyone knew of a family or organization who could benefit. Through helpful comments I found a couple in my town who, after losing their first child shortly after birth, found they were experiencing secondary infertility. They are currently raising funds to go through IVF, and I am so excited to help them in a small way.


You can check out the listings on my Instagram for more pictures and specific details about each quilt. There, you can bid by leaving your offer and tagging the person before you. If you have any questions about it, please ask.


The auction will close Friday at midnight PST. Thank you so much to those who have already bid! I love you for that!


Happy Valentine's Day!!!!