Max's Quilt(s)

So how often have you gotten to the end of your piecing your quilt top and you realize that a) you have 8 blocks left over or b) you have so many perfect scraps left over? I swear that happens to me every time, and I cannot resist making a baby quilt or a wall hanging from the leftovers. And funny enough, I usually like my second quilt better than the planned one. I feel more free to be creative or to try new things when I am making the second version, because if I screw up, its ok...cause it's a bonus quilt.

Here are some pictures of the quilt I made for my son and a bonus over one too. I used mostly Kona solids with a few subtle prints thrown in. I LOVE the bright solid blue border and how it stands out against the white sashing. It makes me think of summer.

Coloring Outside the Lines (hand quilted with lots of love for Max)

Here is the back, where I randomly pieced this key board effect. I was inspired by this Denyse Schmidt quilt and figured I would try it on the back. Aren't quilt backs the best place to try new things?

High Tide (my solo first machine quilting)Here is the second one, which I used slightly brighter prints (I love the numbers and wavy green lines) and decided to try my hand at machine quilting. I love the movement that the wavy quilted lines give to this quilt.


I have this quilt and a matching pillo for sale here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/gr8kates

HI, I'm Katie

It all started five months ago. I was I was about 4 months prego with my son Max (who is now an adorable 6 weeks old) when the old nesting instinct set in. They say that pregnancy inspires the urge to clean, decorate and "feather your nest." Funny thing is, for the most part I wasn't that interested in cleaning. My nesting instinct found a totally unexpected outlet...quilting!

Yep, my mom gave me her old stretch-297 PAFF sewing machine last November and suggested I make a christmas quilt. If you don't recongize the name, don't be surprised, she got it in 1971, before i was even born. Surprisingly it is a great machine with nice straight stitches and no fancy and confusing computer stuff to intimidate a novice quilter. So I began to sew...and sew...and sew. My husband started using words like 'manic' and 'obsessed' when he saw me head to the dining room to sew.


I had some fabric left over from my quilt so I made a holiday table runner (instructions on the moda website) and my mom showed me how to do machine applique and i finished just in time to host 16 people for Christmas dinner.

I loved working with these modern Christmas prints that are so different than the traditional fabrics I am used to seeing in quilts. It got me thinking...maybe there are more modern quilts out there...

A few google searches later and I was hooked on Denyse Schmidt and all of those yummy quilts posted on Fresh Modern Quilts. Its wonderful to find that there is a whole generatin of quilters out there working with bright inspiring fabrics and modern designs. I heart modern quilting!

Though I learned to sew as a kid, I never did more than a small project here and there. But with the help of youtube tutorials and other helpful blogs out there (and a lot of tips from my quilting mom) I've been busy. I've made 5 quilts in the last 5 months and I'm sewing the rows together for my 6th quilt today. Stay tuned and I'll show you the baby quilts I made for Max, inspired by Denyse Schmidt of course!

It is great to meet you all. My hope for this blog is to share the fun of making modern quilts with you and to show a newbie quilter growing in this great craft!