Vintage Sheets String Quilt

I finished my string quilt this week! It's made from vintage sheets and is an unbelievably soft and snuggly quilt. 

This quilt is for my nearly-seven-year old's room and is 60"x88" - a perfect fit for her daybed. 

Her favorite color recently changed from pink to blue, so I used a lot of my blue sheets for her. 

I don't know about you, but I can look at these fabrics for a long time... the colors and patterns are so lovely. The pastels of them all together look familiar and comforting and beautiful. 

After much deliberation, I decided to back the quilt in plain white. This way, I can use whatever fitted sheets and pillowcases I like without anything clashing. And if she changes her favorite color to something other than blue, we can compliment the quilt with a different sheet. For now, she has a soft blue and white fitted sheet and some of my most favorite vintage sheet pillowcases. 

 Tell me - am I the only one who wishes this was my bed to climb into?! So pretty. 

 I also used white fabric for binding the quilt. 

And made a pillow to match.  : )

 ...Now it's time to figure out what to do with the wall above her bed. I know what I'll be looking for on Pinterest! 

 Thank you to all the kind ladies who helped with these blocks in the Bee Vintage sewing bee! And... if you are a collector of vintage sheets, we are just about to begin another round and still have a few spaces left!

Mia's 3rd Birthday Quilt

Mia's birthday quilt is finally complete! It's another Bento Box pattern quilt and I love the vibrant colors. The fabrics very much remind me of my amazing little girl.

The fabric that inspired the entire quilt...

My favorite block...

This quilt came with a few surprises - fabric combinations that I didn't know I'd love so much.

The binding and the back is a solid fuchsia - actually made from a sheet set (with another set on my daughter's bed).

I quilted it with a basic grid. I was tempted to do something more creative, but the size of this quilt made me hesitate (and I am so glad I didn't attempt more - this is a big quilt to "experiment" on).

This finished quilt on Mia's new big girl bed. I'm working on a coordinating throw-pillow to finish the set.

Right at home...

This was a big challenge for me. I was literally sweating trying to hold the weight of this quilt while finishing it. Whew. I am so glad it is complete. There's just nothing like seeing my child sleeping sweetly under a quilt I made.

I so love this quilt and I believe it is my best work ever. That said, it was a big project that took a lot longer that I expected. It's about 6-weeks late for Mia's birthday gift. When I told her the quilt was completed, she looked at me with surprise and said "already?!" I couldn't love her more! She keeps saying how much she loves it. And melting my heart.

Quilt Top Complete

This weekend, I finished arranging the blocks and sewed together the quilt top for Mia's new big girl quilt. It's twin-sized and the largest I have ever made. And, besides the exhaustion, I do love it. I'm hoping my darling husband will help me sandwich it tonight so I can begin working on the quilting. We're supposed to pick up my daughter's new bed on Tuesday. I realize there's no way I will be able to have it quilted and bound by then, but I am excited to see it finally complete.

Slowly

I spent a good portion of yesterday evening arranging the blocks in the quilt for Mia. I'm not sure I've finished fiddling with it, but here's a preview.

It's b-i-g. Right now it measures 75" (6.5 feet) x 90" (7.5 feet), although it will shrink down a bit with the seam allowances. It will be a little bit larger than a standard twin.

What do you think? Do you see too much green or fuchsia in any one area of the quilt? Anything look out of place? Speak now or forever hold your peace... I'm hoping to start sewing it together this week. I'm already almost a month late for my daughter's birthday, good thing she's not too picky.

Three

My little girl turns three next month. I can hardly believe it, except for this talking, opinionated, clever, funny little person who is in my world. Ready or not, she's growing up before my eyes. Each day she picks up a new skill, a new piece of independence.

And, quilt-wise, it's pretty obviously she's outgrowing me there, too. Her baby quilts - once so spacious and snugly - are getting too short and she definitely needs an upgrade. And since a big girl bed is also on the horizon, I am making my first attempt at a twin-sized quilt. Yep, there's no denying that growth and change are coming my way.

This week, I've spend a lot of time cutting up somewhere around 10-12 yards of fabric into three-inch strips. Pretty perfect, if you ask me, given the number of birthday candles that will be on her cake.

I'm planning to use the Bento Box pattern I used on Anna's quilt. I loved that pattern and that quilt and I think it will be wonderful in some bright colors.

Here's to three! Now let's see if I can finish it in two weeks (I'm guessing "no." I'm also guessing that three year olds don't really care about punctuality too much).