Triangle Baby Quilt

Triangle Baby Quilt

sizing (forgot to measure it in my scramble to finish, made with 4" tall triangle ruler)

Top: "Better Than Yesterday" Blogger bundle from Pink Castle Fabrics

Back - Robert Kaufman Illustration Ink, Science Fair, Equations in Black

Binding - Kona in Ash (Gather Here)

Filled with 100% cotton batting. 

Machine sewn with 100% cotton thread.

Machine washable (cool wash, tumble dry low).

This quilt has a little bit of a backstory to it. After I "mastered" string quilts (sewing long strips of fabric together), I became bored with it and wanted to work on something more challenging. So I went with triangles. 

The first 120 triangles.

It wasn't so bad, mostly just time consuming. That may or may not be an artifact of my OCD ways. Some quilters will layer their fabrics and cut multiple triangles at a time (either by hand or with a fancy die cutter). I just can't do it. My ruler slides around and I end up with uneven cuts. I'd rather take the time and just cut each edge individually to ensure all my pieces are even. 

Had to cut 100 more because I mathed wrong.

The finished quilt top had a short stint as wall decoration in our old apartment. At one point, friends from out of town commented on it. I made a mental note that they liked it. The top has since sat in my UFO (unfinished object) pile. I knew it wasn't a project that I wanted to donate, but wasn't quite sure where it would end up.  

Fast forward to recent times; our aforementioned friends announced their pregnancy (hooray!!) and I instantly thought about this quilt top. The colors are fun and bright without being too babyish and also gender neutral. Kismet! 

And just about the same time, one of the many fabric shops I follow on Instagram posted a photo of quite possibly the most perfect print that I could have dreamed of to make this quilt complete. The print included math, physics, and chemistry equations/symbols/graphs. Call me a nerd all you want (I resemble one), but the parents to be are an engineer/scientist power house and I knew they'd appreciate it. A fun, functional, and educational quilt? Check, check, and check!

Ha,the binding is pretty much the same color as the paint on my walls.

Close up of the back. I had to stop myself from buy an entire bolt of this print.

Crossweave Baby Quilt

Crossweave Baby Quilt

sizing (see pattern, I've since forgotten the actual measurements)

Pattern is Crossweave by Amy Smart, as found in Modern Baby.

Top combination of 100% cottons purchased from Gather Here and Pink Castle Fabrics.

     Doohikey Designs Foxy Trails (Pick Your Plum)
     Zen Chic Comma
     Cotton+Steel Basics Dottie in Picnic and XOXO in Picnic and Gold
     Lizzy House Pearl Bracelet in Verbena and Grass
     Sun Prints Bike Path in Green
     Happy Go Lucky Jump and Penny in Lime
     Modern Meadow Herringbone in Grass
     Kona in Snow

Back - Mini Farm Scenic in Green.

Binding - Pieced using Pearl Bracelet in Grass and Sketch Basics in 2 shades of green.

Filled with 100% cotton batting. 

Machine sewn with 100% cotton thread.

Machine washable (cool wash, tumble dry low).

(I started and finished this piece in November 2014, I'm just super lazy about blogging.)

Like the last quilt, this was a surprise baby shower gift. However, unlike the last one, I didn't finish this one in time for the shower. When you rip out the same seam multiple times at 2am, you know it's time quit, get some rest, and come back to it later. 

Mommy-to-be loves green. I mean, LOVES green. And since we didn't know if it was going to be a girl or a boy, I decided to go with green. While I was able to pull most of the green fabric from my own stash which just so happened to all be in the same shade, woohoo! I still needed to add a few prints. I must be a sight at the fabric store. I showed up with my little container filled with green charm squares and fat quarters, spread them out on a work table and then ran around the store pulling bolts of fabric.

Funny story, after I finally decided on colors/prints after what seemed like an eternity at Gather Here, I ended up leaving an entire yard of fabric behind! Luckily, I was able to email the store and have them set it aside for me.

I love that this pattern is traditional, but the white sashing gives it enough negative space for a modern touch. I also love that it enabled me to do diagonal quilt lines! It's easy straight line quilting, but the added angle makes it interesting.

More Rainbow Quilts!

Remember this one? We'' I've got 2 more for you. Well not really for you, they're going to Quilts for Kids, but you know what I mean.

Rainbow quilt #2:
Colored fabric - Sketch by Timeless Treasures
White sashing - Kona Cotton in white
Binding - Kona Cotton in medium gray (I think)
Backing - I have no idea

Rainbow quilt #3:
Colored fabric - Sketch by Timeless Treasures
White sashing - Kona Cotton in white
Binding - Kona Cotton in white
Backing - Michael Miller (I think)

Apparently I didn't square this one up. Woops!

Project Z: Baby Memory Quilt

Project Z: Baby Memory Quilt

approximately 65" x 88"

Top patches - combination of onsies, t-shirts, sweaters, pants, receiving blankets, burp cloths, hat and a sock.
Top border - Carolyn Friedlander Architextures Crosshatch in Grey (wide) purchased from Gather Here.

Back - Alexander Henry 2D Zoo in Multi.

Binding - Michael Miller Cotton Couture in Royal Hawthorne Threads.

Filled with 100% cotton batting. 
Pellon SF101 interfacing.

Machine sewn with 100% cotton thread.

Machine washable (cool wash, tumble dry low).

Let me introduce to you, Project Z. This was a quilt for my good friend's son, Z. My friend has been saving articles of clothing with meaning over the last 2 years. And I got to put them together into a quilt! I'm not going to lie, it was a lot of work, but it was worth it. 

Starting point.

I worked loosely off of Coconut Robots tutorial, I choose to use Pellon SF101 as my interfacing. SF101 is not only woven, but also 100% cotton. The woven texture would allow the quilt to fall and drape naturally. And anytime I can work with natural fibers, I do. 

The width of my blocks were mostly determined by the size of each clothing piece. Newborn sizes yielded smaller blocks, as one would expect. In other cases, the height of the graphic print dictated the height of the piece. I avoided cutting off images as much as I could. At the same time, I tried to maintain equal spacing on all sides of the image. Damn my OCD/Type A ways!!

Most of the pieces interfaced, cut out, and ready to be arranged.

There were a few tricky pieces that I had to get creative with. The yellow car shown below was just a tiny thing on the front of a zip-up hoodie (like a logo on the chest). I faked a larger block by cutting it out and appliqueing it onto the back of the sweatshirt. The "My First Christmas" block was actually cut from the backside of a footy pajama like piece. Seriously cute, right? To keep the flap from being accessed, it was sewn shut. 

Some of the more difficult pieces.

To add another layer of personalization, Z's mom wanted to incorporate his initial onto one of the quilt blocks. We chose to applique a "Z" to one of the receiving blankets cut into a large block.

Hand cut from interfaced Michael Miller Cotton Couture in Cherry. 

Chubbs the Penguin was called on to help with the basting process. He wasn't much help.

Lots of stitching in the ditch happened.

It took some finagling, but the blocks came together with minimal resizing. This was one of those times that I had a quilt design board so that I could move the blocks around upright. Instead, I kept rearranging them on my floor. Watch some Law&Order: SVU, move some blocks. Watch another epsisode, move blocks again. And so on until I realized that I had to stop or the quilt would never be finished. There was a method to the madness. I tried to alternate dark and light blocks, stripes with small prints, and break up like colors. In the end, the quilt utilized 80 of the 81 pieces I was given! 

Since I couldn't being myself to quilt over the all the super cute graphics, I quilted around each block. There were a lot of threads to bury. It was a conscious and totally worth it, but wowzas! It's hard to see in the photo below, diagonal quilt lines were added just in the grey borders. 

The backing fabric was not only chosen, but also supplied by my friend. You see, this was leftover fabric used in Z's nursery!

I LOVE how it all came together. Truth be told, I was sad to send it off to Z. I got a chance to experience it's coziness as I was sitting on the couch with the fireplace going... and tucking in the quilt tails. 

Thank you so much V (and M) for trusting me with Z's keepsakes. I'm so glad that I could bring your idea to life and create a completely one of a kind quilt for Z. I can't wait to see it on his big boy bed!

Hello Kitty Quilt

Hello Kitty Baby Quilt

approximately 35"x44"

Top - wall hanging panel purchased from Fat Quarter Shop (no longer available).

Back -  Free Spirit Voile in Rose Pink purchased from Hawthorne Threads.

Binding - unknown cotton from my own collection.

Filled with 100% cotton batting.

Machine sewn with 100% cotton thread.

Machine washable (cool wash, tumble dry low).

This was my first try at whole cloth quilting. I'm not going to lie, I'm a big fan. Not having to piece the top together made the job go a whole lot faster. Although, really, I just ended up using the time to draw in the diagonal quilt lines. And even then I screwed it up. Luckily, I caught it before I started quilting. 

Technically, the quilt top is not considered quilt shop quality material (read: not soft). To balance it, I chose a voile which is  silky and soft. I love this stuff. Hey Free Spirit, please re-release the voile in Sky. Thank you! For the binding, I was able to pull a print directly from my stash (woohoo for making more room). I think it was a Riley Blake print I purchased from Pick Your Plum eyons ago. It was a subtle teal with green dots, a perfect complement to the green already in the quilt top.

Custom Chevron Quilt

My friend V, contacted me about a custom quilt for her daughter. We combined forces and created a one of kind masterpiece. Her meticulous tastes and my handy work is a match made in heaven. V picked out the pattern (both top and bottom) and hand selected all the fabrics. I'm not going to lie, it took a lot of work, but the finished product is jaw-dropping-gorgeous. I'm in love with it. If it was just a little longer, I'd have a harder time parting with it.

What I love even more than the finished product, is being able to bring V's vision to life. Her joy and excitement totally made my week. I'm sure going to miss our fabric shopping sessions complete with donut breaks. OK, there was just one donut break and it was delicious.

Custom Chevron Toddler Quilt

45" x 53.5"(pre-wash size)

Made with a mix of cotton, cotton twill, and cotton voile designer fabrics (listed below) purchased from Gather Here and Hawthorn Threads.

Filled with 100% cotton batting.

Machine sewn with 100% cotton thread (Aurifil and vintage Coats and Clark mercerized).

Machine washable (delicate cold wash, air dry preferred).

These photos do not do the quilt justice. But it'll give you a pretty good idea. (Sorry for the muddy images, the lighting in my house was funky.)

Front: Modified Zig Zag Frenzy pattern; 2 rows and 2 columns were added to make the quilt bigger.
Top (background): Tomotake for Kokka, Daisy Chain in Ash.

Back: My interpretation of this quilt. 
The diagonal lines were sewn on top of the background due to the difference in material type (cotton voile vs cotton). 
Backing (main):  Free Spirit, Voile Solid in Sky. If only you could feel this fabric. It's silky smooth, like buttah.
Backing (stripes): Moda, Half Moon Modern Big Dots in Aqua. 

Check out the sparkly flowers in this print. I didn't even see it until after I had started cutting the fabric!
Nani Iro, Little Letter in Soft Grey.

Meow. Kokka, Double Gauze Little Black Kitties.

Amy Butler, Alchemy Voile Fairy Tale in Vanilla.

Patty Sloniger for Michael Miller, Bitty Buds in Aqua.

BAMBI!! Lecien Old New 30's, Little Deer (name is questionable).

Aneela Hoey for Moda, Ditsy in Geranium.

Diagonal stripes: Moda, Half Moon Modern Big Dots in Aqua.

Check out that perfectly mitered corner! I hand sewed them shut to avoid any potential points of snagging. 
Binding: Amy Butler, Soul Blossoms Voile Buttercup in Spearmint. Just like the backing fabric, this stuff feels like buttah.

Pretty proud of this machined on binding. I may or may not have ripped out the seams a few times.

Gah, love that binding!

New skills I learned from this project:
 - Applique.
 - Hand sewig mitered corners shut.
 - Quilting chevron lines and how I only have the attention span to do 1-2 lines per sitting. 

A day in pictures: 5.15.2013

Union Square Donuts in Somerville, MA - Go there, it's totally worth the hype.

• Maple. Bacon. Donut.

Gather Here in Somerville, MA - fabric shopping for a custom quilt I'm making for a little girl. It's been a blast working with the mom on the design and picking out fabrics.

Lunch at Flour Bakery + Cafe in Cambridge, MA

• Roasted chicken, mashed avocado, and jicama sandwich (not pictured)
• Chocolate chip macaroon (not pictured)

I couldn't resist from immediately cuttin into the fabrics as soon as I got home.

How sweet is this print (Kokka, double gauze in Red Ribbon Kitty)? You should feel it, it SUPER soft.

Celebrations - Ended the night by celebrating with friends and delicious port wine they had brought back with them from their recent trip to Portugal.

Just like the last time I drank with these peeps, I went to the gym hungover the next day. 

I am quilter

A year ago, on this day, I bought my sewing machine, Bessy. It's crazy to look back and see how much I've learned and expanded. The number of quilting tutorials available online is ridiculous. I have never taken a class in person. Everything I have done has been through reading/following tutorials and trial and error.

My first quilt: After seeing a Downy commercial, I was inspired to help Quilts for Kids. This was made using a quilt kit (pre-selected and pre-cut fabric). It was a lot of fun, but I wouldn't suggest using the using the quilt kit as your first project.

My second quilt: Quilt top made from a baby quilt kit from Bijou Lovely and quilted following Holly's awesome tutorial. The binding is completely machine bound!

A photo posted by Celia Hung (@_celiamhung) on Nov 11, 2012 at 6:26am PST

A photo posted by Celia Hung (@_celiamhung) on Nov 11, 2012 at 6:36am PST

This was technically #3, but it took me forever to finish it. This is the first quilt in which I selected the fabric. The colors are much more vivid in person (yay winter phone photography). Truthfully, I'm not a fan of the colors, but a friend saw it and loved it. Quilted in a circular pattern after seeing Munchkin Quilts do it. I made the mistake of pulling at the fabric too much in the corners so the quilt doesn't lay flat, oops!

A photo posted by Celia Hung (@_celiamhung) on Mar 9, 2013 at 2:59pm PST

Quilt for Kids #4! I went with a simple design that I made up and pulled the colors from the backing.

A photo posted by Celia Hung (@_celiamhung) on Jan 26, 2013 at 1:09pm PST

#5! I discovered fabric bundles. Someone else picks coordinating fabrics and I just buy them as a set. The mitered corners on this on were nearly perfect.

A photo posted by Celia Hung (@_celiamhung) on Jun 2, 2013 at 10:11am PDT

In between the quilts I tried my hand at various things:

Baby blocks.

A photo posted by Celia Hung (@_celiamhung) on Aug 18, 2012 at 4:25pm PDT

A jewelry roll in which I completely made up (no pattern)!

A photo posted by Celia Hung (@_celiamhung) on Sep 8, 2012 at 6:03am PDT

Then I sold a quilt!

I tackled a pile of old skirts from college and upcycled them into toddler skirts for my friend's little girl. Which then led me to open up an Etsy shop.

I'm still too intimidated to tackle the large pile of clothes that need alterations, but hopefully that'll change in the near future. 

Like a real quilter, I can now say that I have a fabric stash (that I keeps growing, I may have a slight fabric problem) and a pile of WIPs (works-in-progress). I think there are like 4 finished quilt tops and a shower curtain in the pile.

Next on the horizon is Fabric Fest! I can't wait to see my friends from The Makerie 2012 (some photos posted here.) and learn new skills.

Riley Blake Fabric Fest 2013

*photos taken either with dSLR or Instagram.

Rainbow Baby Quilt, my first quilt sale!

EEP! My first quilt sale!!

Rainbow Baby Quilt
40.75" x 46"
Made with 100% cotton designer fabrics.
Filled with 100% cotton batting.
Machine sewn with 100% cotton thread.

Machine washable (cool wash, tumble dry low).

The front: Alternating rainbow stripes.
White fabric is Robert Kaufman Kona in  white. Rainbow fabric is Sketch by Timeless Treasures.

Close up of the Sketch. Surprise, it's not solid! I love how the tone on tone print gives it a faux texture.

The back, aka, La Pièce de résistance: Oregon State University print!
The parents to be are both alumns of my alma marter, so I wanted to surprise them with some special.

A close up of the quilt back. Go Beavs!!

I was patting myself on the back for my near perfectly mitered corners.
The binding is Kona in Grey.

The other side of my binding job (all machine sewn).
You can ignore the not so straight horizontal quilting  line.

Obligatory photo of the quilt rolled up. I don't get it, but I see it done on every quilting blog.

Handwritten note from me.

What I learned from this:
 - I'm interested in making more quilts for my friends
 - I will never get rich selling quilts (turning a profit on quilts is not a thing)
 - Using a cheater print (OSU fabric) is not as easy as one would think. I had a hell of a time trying to line up the horizontal stripes on the front with those on the back.


Contact me if you are interested in commissioning a quilt from me. I'd love to work with you.