Brass & Baubles ~ A Graffiti Quilt

This quilt is an older but I haven't had the chance to share it. 

I fell in love with a style of quilting called "Graffiti Quilting" quite a while ago. It was developed by a quilter from the United States named Karlee Porter. It is basically the use of several different quilting motifs and patterns in a random layout across the quilt giving it the look of graffiti. There is no rhyme or reason or planning to this style of quilting.... and the end result is incredible. 

I knew I wanted to give it a try but working on my small machine would be difficult. This type of quilting is usually done on a long arm machine where you have so much more control. I pieced together a very simple quilt with a lot of negative space to work with.... and off I went! I really do think that the end result is beautiful and I can't wait to do another one.

Mrs. E

Transitioning from Two to Three

There is something to be said about the power of nesting during pregnancy.

I have been on an absolute mission over the last month or so to have the entire house ready to go for our newest arrival. I have cleaned, purged, organized and painted like crazy and I could not be more excited to get more done. I feel like I don't have enough hours in the day to get things done. Luckily, I still have a little bit of time.

We have made serious progress on this baby's room. Walls are decorated, art is up, clothes have been organized and the crib has been built. There is still a lot more to work through, but at least he will have somewhere to sleep when he arrives. 

The kids transitioned into a shared room together when I was about 20 weeks along. I knew that we would have to start the process early to ensure that they were comfortably bunking up by the time our little man arrives. Thankfully we have huge rooms upstairs in this house. We were able to fit both of their double beds, a full sized dresser and a bookshelf in their room with room to spare. Dave also repainted the walls from a soft lavender to a light grey. Much more gender neutral. It turned out pretty good!

I created labels to a new organizational unit we added to the kids closet top help keep them organized. Even though Henry recognizes his own name, the little graphics help him distinguish between the drawers.

In the early days of the transition into the same room we ran into a few issues with Henry keeping his sister up. We learned quickly that Henry was able to reach the light switch and would turn the lights on and off. With a quick trip to Buy Buy Baby and the re-jig of a plug cover, our problem was solved. For any other parents out there fighting with the same issue.... this works!

We still have so much to do.... but we are getting there!

Mrs. E

Henry Turns 3

Honestly, where has the time gone? Henry is 3!

He is so much fun and a complete challenge at the same time. I am always so surprised how much I can be so in love and so frustrated with the same tiny human at the same time. Henry is our sensitive little guy. He wears his emotions on his sleeve and will let you know exactly how he is feeling. He loves Hockey and Lego and has more energy in his little finger than I have had in my entire life. He looks up to his big sister so much and will mimic almost anything she does. He can't wait to be an older brother and he keeps telling us that he will change the baby's diaper.... we will see about that one. 

When it came to Henry's birthday party we wanted to do something low key and fun. We let him pick the theme and asked him for his input in everything. We had a great couple of hours celebrating his big day and he could not believe that all of the attention was for him. Let's just say that he was one excited birthday boy. 

 

Mrs. E

Brass & Baubles ~ Smooth Sailing Quilt

When an old friend comes to you to commission a very special custom quilt, it is exciting and nerve racking all at the same time. 

There is something about making something for an individual you are close with that just makes you want to strive for perfection. Any time I make something for a friend I stress about the details just a little bit more than usual. Kevin is one of Dave's oldest friends. He was a groomsman in our wedding and Dave was his best man, so the pressure was on. Kev wanted to put something together as a surprise for his wife Kate. Kate is an avid sailor and had fallen in love with the fabrics I had used in one of my other quilts. After a few conversations and a hunt for the full line of Carolyn Friedlander's Doe fabric line, I was ready to go. 

This fabric line inspires me sooo much. There is something about the colours, the simple modern patterns and the way that everything goes together but doesn't "match". We decided on using the "Smooth Sailing" pattern from Bonnie Cotton Way and I was off...

This quilt involved some pretty serious piecing. All of it was straight line so it seemed like it would be easy... but there were so many pieces and it was so easy to get them mixed up! See if you can spot the difference in one of the boats below....

After all of my blocks were complete I had so come up with the best layout for the colours and patterns. It took a lot of playing around on the floor, but I feel like the final result was worth it. 

Once the top was done I was on the hunt for the perfect backing fabric. Kevin wanted me to use a flannel which I love for softness and weight but it does limit colour and pattern options a bit. I happened to stumble across this super cute anchor pattern that was just enough nautical without being too much of a novelty. 

We basted.....

And quilted....

And ripped a few stitches out....

I pieced together a super cute scrappy binding with some of my binding scraps. It was just enough of a punch to bring the whole thing together. 

I think that the final result speaks for itself. Needless to say Kevin and Kate are so happy with their new quilt! It will have a prominent spot on their master bed in their new home when they move to Edmonton in a few months! They will be a short 10 minute drive from us.... yay!

And this post wouldn't be complete without a few photos of me showing the quilt during our Edmonton Modern Quilt Guild show and tell night. Check out my belly! I only have one more meeting left until this little one comes.

Mrs. E