Kitchen Window Quilt

One of my goals for 2011 is to finally make a quilt that will stay in the Ritter household, specifically one for our master bedroom. We have a nice enough bed set at the moment, but my husband and I are both major cover hogs and we have two fur babies who think sleeping in between us is the most comfortable spot. Imagine 30 lbs of dog holding down the center of the covers and two adults fighting over the sides. It's not pretty. What I need to do is make a king size quilt so all can be happy and warm at night. My husband is all for it, and for Christmas even set aside some money for me to make it with. He also gave me Elizabeth Hartman's book that has a beautiful quilt that she calls the Kitchen Window quilt that I'm just in love with and want to make. Sounds like all systems are go, right?

The problem: I can't decide on fabric. Maybe I'm just putting too much pressure on myself, but I've never made a quilt this big and I want it to last us a long, long time. There are so many great fabric lines out there and I just can't pick! I've got it narrowed down to these 5. Your thoughts are welcome. :)

#1: Sunkissed by Sweetwater


Pros: I'm a fanatic about the color green and this green is one of my favorite shades
Cons: Hubs doesn't love the pink/purple color. The patterned fabric might be too small for the pattern

#2 and 3: Charcoal and Kiwi Impressions by Ty Pennington




Pros: LOVE these fabrics! Both the green and the deep coral are beautiful colors and I love them paired with grey. Big, bold patterns. Having a bit of Ty Pennington in my bed.... Who said that?
Cons: Too few fabrics in the collection? I guess it's harder to come up with cons for this one. Maybe that's telling me something

#4: Central Park by Kate Spain

Pros: I'm a big Kate Spain fan. I love the bright, modern colors and the patterns on this line are great. It doesn't force me into a single color palate either, which is nice since I know hubby gets a little tired of green
Cons: Is it too bright and young? Am I going to be 40 and not be in love with it anymore? These colors seem so young and cool to me, will they not match me when I am older and undoubtedly uncool? (Note: not all older people are uncool, I'm just sure I will be :) )

Decisions, decisions. I want to make up my mind soon, so if you have any thoughts please let me know!

Fabric Tuesday!

I'm back for another Fabric Tuesday over at Quiltstory!

I haven't put in much time at my sewing machine the last week or two. I don't know about you, but after the big push to get the holiday quilts and projects done, I just kind of needed a little break from it. Inspiration struck this week, though when I ran across pictures of a spiderweb quilt. I've been seeing people working on these quilts for a while and I just love them, but never felt confident enough to give it a go myself. I found a stack of fat quarters and ran across this tutorial over at Sew, Mama, Sew on the same day, so I figured it was fate telling me to give it a go!

I'm thrilled to say it's not nearly as hard as it looks! This went together pretty quickly after I got the hang of it and I now have three blocks done (but forgot to take a new picture this morning... Shame on me!). I'm totally in love with the crisp white and the fun red. I have no idea what I'm going to do with this quilt, but sometimes it doesn't matter. Making it is just so much fun! :)

Happy Fabric Tuesday! I'll see you all next week, hopefully with lots more done!

Fabric Tuesday - Christmas project photos!

Drum roll please! It's finally time to show you the final two Christmas projects I was working on!

First up is a mug rug for my mom. She loves leaves and red is her favorite color, so it's no surprise what this little mug rug looks like!

I quilted it in a curly-q motion on the side (kind of like wind if you want to go with the theme) and around the big leaf are little tiny leaves courtesy of my sewing machine.

I had a lot of fun making this little guy! Maybe this is the year to try one of those mug rug swaps!

Finally, here is the biggest project I worked on - a quilt for my sister. This quilt is sort of inspired my Elizabeth Hartmann's Mix Tape quilt. I used Kate Spain's Fandango line because it so perfectly captured the hip, young, modern, fresh vibe that is totally my sister. :)

I'm so proud of this quilt! It is a pattern I would definitely make again, and maybe even do a quilt along or tutorial if anyone is interested!

Happy Fabric Tuesday all! I can't wait to see everyone else's Christmas projects!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone!

I was looking at all the other blogs today and really loved seeing everyone's collections of completed projects. For me at least, it feels like I never got as much done as I wanted to, but to see all the quilts and projects in one place really shows how much was done in just 365 days. This year was a big year for me as a quilter: it was the year that I decided to get serious about quilting and learn all I could to make myself a better quilter. I've gone from barely being able to follow old patterns, to creating my own and there is no turning back! I am hopeful that 2011 will bring more things to learn and more great quilts to show for it. 

I wish you all a safe, happy and healthy 2011 filled with all the things and people you love!

Brittany

Nice list

I must have done something REALLY good this year because boy was I on Santa's nice list! Unknowingly, my whole family get together and got me everything you could possibly need to be a quilter!

My sweet husband got me a sewing machine! It's not quite a big girl sewing machine yet, but, hey, it's new, it's mine, and it has some decorative stitches on it, so I'm a happy girl! He also got me Elizabeth Hartman's new book that I've been drooling over and some good old fashioned cash for fabric! What a guy! :)

My parents got me a huge 6'x6' design board! I've always had to lay my quilts out on the floor and it's hard to make color choices when the color of the carpet is acting as a second background. I'm really excited to have my own design board! And, it even folds up into it's own cute little carrying case so I can take it with me places or store it when I'm not needing it. Thanks Mom and Dad!!

My husband was the best man in a wedding in Houston this November. My in-laws came to the wedding, too, and it just so happened that we were in Houston over the International Quilt Festival! I told my mother in-law about it and she agreed to go with me one morning while my husband was doing best man duties. We had so much fun wandering around the show and just did a lot of taking it all in and looking at all the beautiful quilts and fabrics. One of the few booths we did stop at, though, was the Easy Quilter booth. The gentleman at the booth was very sweet and let me sit and try out their long arm machine. It was fun to sit and play with, and my mother in-law and I each took a little handout and continued on our merry way. I honestly thought nothing more of it. Care to guess what made an appearance under the tree this year?

My very own long arm set up! I still can't believe it! It's like a quilters dream every time I walk into the basement. Sigh. This little table and I are going to have many good years together...

The only complaint I can make is that nobody took our "quaint" little 1300 square foot house into account with all these gifts. Right now the long arm is in the "man room", as is evident by the neon Minnesota Twins sign in the background. :) Honey, I think we better get a contractor over here to start looking at adding on. And I suppose he'll want to be paid, so better stop and pick up some lottery tickets on your way home. I'm sure who ever would look at buying our house down the line would love a big, custom sewing room!

Merry Christmas!!

Fabric Tuesday!

It's that time again over at Quilt Story and I actually have something I can share this week!

I'm still all Christmas presents all the time, and am almost done with my second of three (or maybe four if I can) Christmas quilts. This one is for my in-laws. My husband is a third generation Eagle Scout on his Dad's side, so scouting has been a big part of their lives. My husband's grandpa was an Eagle Scout and also a vet, so in my in-laws basement they have a flag from when he passed away, as well as all the Eagle Scout certificates and patches and the like of all of them in the family. When Robert Kaufman came out with the scout line, I quickly snatched some up and have now turned it into a quilt that will (hopefully) make a nice addition to the wall of scouting! :)

I'm really happy with it and can't wait to get it basted and binded! I love this quilt pattern because it allows more of the pretty fabric pattern to show, and it's really easy and went together super quickly!

Happy Fabric Tuesday!

Sneak Peak

My first Christmas project FINISHED! Yahoo! Now I just have to keep the momentum going and do three more in less than three weeks... :)

Enjoy this sneak peak. I'm really looking forward to showing you the whole thing. I'm really happy with how it turned out!!