Desert Vibes

A special person + a special occasion calls for one thing: a special quilt! 

My niece is moving to Arizona for college (she actually started her road trip there yesterday morning, so should be arriving in Phoenix in a few hours...depending on how many times her Dad and her cat wanted to stop for snacks!), and she asked me to make a quilt for her dorm room. And like most things in her life- Ali knew what she wanted! (I like that in a girl!) This is the first quilt I've done "by request"...she had seen the "Night Sky" quilts I made for my friend's babies, and asked if I could make a grown up version of those. That of course meant scaling it up for a "big girl bed" but she also wanted it have "out west" vibes, with neutrals, and her favorite color: coral. Kind of like a desert sunset. I caught her vision, and was up for the challenge. At the time, her departure was about a month away, so I figured I'd have plenty of time to knock it out...after all, I had just made two just like it...how hard could it be?

(and that, dear readers, is what they call foreshadowing...)

But we've got enough sadness with our beloved Ali leaving...let's focus on the happy parts of this project. Like- the finished product!

 Oooooh.

Ahhhh. 

(in blog land you have to be your own hype girl)

Now do a little twirl: 

No, not like that, I mean let's see the back!

 

 

What do you think? Desert chic, no? 

 

This quilt was a challenge (aren't they all?!) but I'm really proud of how it turned out. With each new project I learn new lessons (the hard way. always the hard way). So this is another "made with love not perfection" piece. Hopefully all of my "mistakes" can be considered part of the charm. (I try to tell myself- in quilting, and in life- that no one notices my flaws as much as I do...) It was a labor of love for sure, and I really hope having a piece of home/family with her keeps her body- and heart- warm. (But let's be real, she'll be in Phoenix, which is about 1 degree away from the surface of the sun, so warmth won't really be an issue. Maybe she'll just tack it up to her wall to remember us by).

So that's the short story with the big payoff...for those of you detail nerds...here's the full tale:

• Quilt Pattern: I based this off of the NightSky Quilt by SkyClad Quilts, but that pattern doesn't go up to a twin size, so I had to modify/improvise. Mostly that just meant buying WAY more fabric (which is still somehow never enough) and playing around with the layout to get the "mountains" to look right. This pattern is a little hard to without wasting a lot of fabric (last time I was able to use the leftover yardage from one set of mountains to make another similar set of mountains for the second quilt. No such option for this big singleton.) and I haaaaaate wasting fabric (call me cheap- but I prefer efficient) so I had to finagle things a bit to get it all to work. That's the problem solving component of quilting, which- when it isn't making my brain hurt- is actually part of the fun.
  
  
  

• Fabric: Like the baby quilts, this was all solids- a mix of JoAnn's basics and Kona Cotton. I really struggled to get the colors to work with each other...I must have tried every combo under the (desert) sun. To some degree, I was limited by what was available in stock. I got the bulk of my fabrics at JoAnn (I'm a sucker for a coupon), but eventually I hit up a specialty shop, Quilt Beginnings, for some harder to find shades. I played around with a ton of layouts, and eventually settled on a gradient I thought worked. (Maybe I finally called it done when I felt satisfied with the selections. Maybe I stopped when Piper and Little Miss ran out of patience comparing nearly identical shades of beige. Hard to say.) I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do for the back, and got a little nervous that nothing would be quite right (sophisticated prints can be a little hard to come by in a sea of classic country, seasonal and whimsical options) but when I found this Oasis Modern Geo I knew I had a winner. My kids were skeptical (I think they just don't really "get" brown) but I follow enough younger-than-me, cooler-than-me influencers to know the color combo and arched lines were going to be perfect. 
  

 

• Backing design: I had every intention of making this easy on myself, and just using the single fabric for the backer. But alas, my calculations fell a weeeee bit short, and I didn't quite have enough fabric to make the finished quilt the length I needed. So I improvised (an ongoing theme in my quilting adventures) and decided to add a little set of stripes to the back. This both made the quilt better (visual interest!) and harder (lining things up!) so I'm not sorry exactly...but it certainly was a choice with consequences. If I had it to do over again, I think I maybe would have still done something special on the back, even if it wasn't to bridge a math-gap (I just love flipping a quilt over to find a little surprise!) But I maybe would have thought through how the front and back were going to work together so the actual quilting part wouldn't have been so tricky. 

• Quilting design: Ok...I can never quite decide what my favorite part of quilting is (it's a tie between planning a pattern, fabric selection, piecing things together, and sewing the binding) but I'm pretty sure I know what my least favorite part is: quilting. The actual process of sandwiching the layers, basting them together, and then sewing for 1 jillion hours, wrestling yards of puffed up fabric, jamming it all through a much too small machine, adjusting the tension, endlessly switching colors and re-threading bobbins. Yes, the quilting part. Not always a fan. This falls squarely in the "wrong tool for the job" category of problems. Pretty much anything larger than a crib sized quilt calls for a long arm. My machine (ok...and my talent) has its limits- from a size and intricacy perspective, so I can technically do my own quilting but it's definitely not my strongest skill. I have hired a professional quilter before, made use of a friend's set up, and tried renting time on the long arm at Joann, but for the most part I've just been making it work on my own (it's certainly the most economical option...and despite how lonnnnnnnng it takes me, it's still faster than sending it out for someone else to do it). I knew this one would be a little tricky, but ended up being putting it a bit mildly. I  followed the same design that I did for the baby versions of this quilt- straight lines on the stripes, diagonals to match the mountain angles, and a sunburst in the middle, so I at least had a little experience with my plan of attack. But I had some trouble with my spray basting (I tried a new product and did not have success...plus it's really hard to find an open clean spot to spray a quilt of this size) so I had to pin it together instead. I've never done that before, and it ended up having areas that weren't quite smooth. Whiiiiiiiich I didn't realize until I was deep into quilting. There were a few areas that puckered and folded up wonky, so I had to seam rip and start over on a few spots. In the end, there are still some spots that I'm less than proud of, but again, I try to focus on the intention and know that it's less about perfect results and more about the thought and effort behind it all.  

 

 

• Timeline: Will I never learn? Apparently I thrive under pressure (or am a glutton for punishment) because while I had about a month to work on this project, I dragged my feet and didn't really get going until a week before her departure. All told it was about 22 hours of work split over 10 days. I don't love the feeling of my back being against a wall, but it is an effective motivator!
  
  
  
  

• Media of choice while I worked: Ugh. Nothing great. After the high of watching the Olympics every night (one of the major reasons I delayed putting serious time in on the quilt), I couldn't quite get into anything. I hopped around a bunch of nothing-noteworthy on Netflix, and listened to most of The People You Meet on Vacation. But didn't find anything that kept me entertained and motivated.
  
• New thing I tried/learned: This was a pretty improvisational project...partly because it was designed to follow more of a loose plan, and partly because I kept making mistakes that required some pivoting. Noteably- running out of binding when I had literally one inch left. WHYYYYYYYYYY? I refused to admit defeat on the eve of final completion, so I turned that issue into an opportunity for a little extra design detail. I decided to do a little section of pop colors pieced together to bridge the gap in the binding (apparently the unofficial theme of this quilt is: "stripes to the rescue"). I was really nervous that it wasn't going to turn out how I imagined (I didn't want it to look like a patch covering up a mistake...even if that is pretty much what it was) but in the end it's one of my favorite parts of the quilt. It's another unexpected little twist, and a reminder that for better or worse, this is a one of a kind piece.
  

• Final thoughts: I didn't adore every step of the process with this one...but despite the struggles, there's still nothing quite like the feeling of wrapping yourself up in the fruit of your labor. Or in this case, wrapping someone else up in it. I love all my quilty babies (even if some of them give me more trouble than others!) and I am thankful for the chance to learn and grow (and have something beautiful to show for all the mind-bending work of it all). We're going to miss Ali, but I'm excited for her Arizona Adventures, and happy to be able to provide a little piece of home to bridge the gap into her next phase. Sleep well, sunshine!
  

Sources/Details:

Pattern: Based on the NightSky Quilt, with custom adjustments to make it a twin
Finished size: Twin- Roughly 72" x 90"
Total Time spent: 22 hours 
Cost: Maybe it's a little tacky to talk about this (it was a gift after all) but I think it's interesting to know what goes into projects like this, so I'll share. I didn't keep track super accurately, but all in, it's roughly $120. (For reference, the baby quilts were approx $65 for both, which I attribute to a combination of less expensive fabric, better coupons/deals, smaller size, and more effeciency with making two of the same thing).
Fabric: JoAnn's brand solids & Kona Cotton solids (some purchased at Quilt Beginnings) Backing fabric: Quilter's Showcase: Oasis Modern Geo 
Custom name tags: Mission Market Co. I ran out of the first batch she made, so she whipped up a new design for my next round (here's the listing for the tags...but I dare you to browse her shop and NOT find something you NEED.)
Binding: Cluck Cluck Sew machine binding tutorial, using three 3yd packs of double fold bias tape.
Batting: Pellon Nature's Touch Cotton Batting Twin Size 72"x90"

P.S. See more quilty goodness: here on the blog, or on IG via #bowdenismsews

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Twin Peaks

It seems hard to believe that I made my last quilt over a year ago...and yet, the blog archives don't lie. I do tend to pursue my hobby in seasons though. Sometimes literally matching activities to the weather (feels good to hunker down with a craft in the winter), but more often, I just get totally obsessed with something for a while, and then utterly neglect it for months (or forever) thereafter. So I suppose it's not shocking that I went through a dry quilting spell after last Spring's big boom. 

I am what I'm unofficially dubbing an "occasion" quilter- calling myself out of semi (and accidental) retirement when there's something special to make. And WHAT, I ask you, is more special than a dear friend having TWIN BABIES?! Well, pretty much nothing. That's what. When our friends shared that they were expecting a boy and a girl this Summer, I knew I wanted to make something just the special-ist for these two impending bundles of joy. If I had been as smart as I am thoughtful (jokkkkke)- I would have started them a long time ago...but as per always, my ambition out paces my capacity, so that's how I found myself with exactly 10 days to work with from pattern purchase to baby shower unwrapping. It was...aggressive. But there's just about nothing I adore than more creating something for someone I love, so this was a double dose of YES for me. 

But before we dive into the behind-the-seams details, let's just bask in the sunshine-y reveal for a moment:

Aren't they the sweetest?! (The quilts and the nearly invisible but audibly whiny quilt models).

"My arms are tired! It's hottttt...."
"Hold them up higher and just keep running, ladies, I have a VISION!"

The quilts fraternal twins- just like the future recipients. I wanted to do two of the same pattern with some subtle differences to make it fun. The pattern is designed to be a bit improv-based, so it made it easy and fun to play around with the piecing and proportions to give them both their own style.

So that's the cliff's notes (crib sheet?) version of these babies...but for those of you hungry for the play by play, here's the full story:

• Quilt Pattern: NightSky Quilt by SkyClad Quilts. I had it saved on my IG favs forever, and thought this would be a fun pattern to try for these babies. (it helps that it's really only sized for crib quilts...but I'm sure it could be adjusted if you wanted to make it happen for a larger size). I knew almost nothing about the nursery decor etc. but I knew the mom wasn't overly traditional or tied to typical gender colors etc, so I thought something inspired by nature (if it's not obvious, the pattern is supposed to represent a sunset over the mountains) with bright colors would be perfect. The official version includes a moon and some embroidered stars which are lovely- but seemed a bit out of my skillset (I've never done embroidery or applique) and a stretch for my timeline. Plus- not to cop-out here, but I honestly looked at my quilts in the end stages and preferred a slightly more abstract version, so I nixed the extra details. Practicality and aesthetic win.
  
• Fabric: All solids- mostly JoAnn's basics with a Kona Cotton thrown in there to be fancy. This is my first quilt made with all solids, so that was a fun little challenge. Even though in a way it's much easier than print mixing, I still wanted to nail the color range, so I pulled out allllllll the bolts to find my favs. A scant hour later, we had the winners. (I'm not exaggerating or complaining about spending the better part of an afternoon agonizing over nearly identical swatch shades, because choosing fabric might be my favorite stage of quilting. Although...I kind of say that about every stage. Except the fighting-with-my-machine's-tension stage. THAT- to use a parenting parallel- is like the "toddlerhood" of quilting, i.e. a necessary evil on your way to much more enjoyable times.)
  

lovvvvve a good ombre.

• Backing design: Kept this sooooo simple, by choosing to go with a single fabric on the back. (I tend to get a little wild with my quilts sometimes, making the back just as intricate as the front). I had some really adorable options for the back, but eventually landed on two colorways (pink and blue, naturally) ofTriangles Keepsake Calico Cotton Fabric. I love how they pulled out different colors from the front, made the quilts unique from each other and mimicked the angles on the front. The print was busy enough to not need any other piecing detail, and it hid my quilting stitches well. So basically...exactly what I needed.
  

 

• Quilting design: This was another first for me- varying the quilting pattern within each fabric piece. Normally I just do some version of straight lines throughout the quilt- either at a set distance or a varying widths (without a longarm I can't get too fancy). But for this one I wanted to try mimicking the shape/direction of each shape, so I did horizonal lines for the sky, diagonal lines matching the angles of the "mountains" and a simple sunburst design in the middle. I graduated the straight lines spacing from wide to narrow depending on the size/placement of the piece, to give a sense of depth. The quilting part might be the hardest part for me (it's definitely the most time consuming) but there is nothing better than seeing a project transform from pile of fabric to "real" quilt as it gets those puffy, crinkly shapes. 
  

• Timeline: As I mentioned, I set myself up with a bit of a hard deadline on this one. I bought the fabric on Tuesday May 25, and had to have them wrapped up in the car by noon on Friday June 4. I kept track of my time, just because I think it's interesting to know what really goes into making a quilt (it always feels like a lot. And guess what! It is!) All told, I estimate I spent about 20 hours on these. Some parts are more efficient when you're doing two of the same thing (I was always faster on the second one because I had my process figured out better) but some parts just take what they take. I split the work up over 6 days, which translates to around 3 hours per day (or more accurate: 3 hours per late night). Not a sustainable hobby for the long term (I think with those kind of hours it's really more of a part time job) but fun to immerse myself in it for a short burst.
  
• Media of choice while I worked: Real Housewives (NYC and Beverly Hills). I accept no judgement on this. These quilts will be infused with the wisdom and class of generations of women, poured in through my ear bud osmosis. (I also made it thorugh the full season of The Queen's Gambit, so my brain iddn't totally atrophy).

 

• Final thoughts: I don't know if it's arrogant to be this proud of something I made...but, dang I sure am proud. I think quilts are a little bit like kids in that way- it's not really about all the awesome stuff I did to make them turn out well...it's more of a gratefulness and appreciation for beauty and learning (ok- with a little dash of acknowledgement for all the awesome stuff I did to make them turn out well). I don't know if I adore the process or the end result more...but I do know I want to start on another quilt pretty much immediately, so if any of my friends want to have a baby (or two), call me!

 

All Sources/Details:

Pattern: NightSky Quilt
Finshed size: Roughly 44" x 48
Total Time spent: 20 hours (for both)
Fabric: JoAnn's & Kona Cotton solids, Triangles Keepsake Calico Cotton Fabric
Custom name tags: Mission Market Co. (I used my last two, so it's time to reorder!)
Binding: Cluck Cluck Sew machine binding tutorial, using two 3yd packs of double fold bias tape.
Batting: Warm Company Warm & White Cotton Batting, pre-cut crib size: 45"x60".

 

P.S. See more quilty goodness: here on the blog, or on IG via #bowdenismsews

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Sew, baby!

Well, I haven't been doing a lot of blogging lately, but that doesn't mean things haven't been busy around here. I've actually got a pretty big update to share, and it's all about making babies... 

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BABY QUILTS!

yaaaaaaaaaaay!

The last quilt I made was a BIG endeavor, so after that one I took a BIG break. But then my sister got pregnant, and I knew I had to come out of semi-retirement to wrap that little bundle up properly. 

With every quilt I do (you can see them all on the blog, or via #bowdenismsews) I aim to try something new. And this time I tried.... KEEPING IT SO SIMPLE. That is basically the opposite of all of my instincts, so it was ironically, pretty hard. I am much more adept at being overly ambitious, complicating every detail, going about it all the most difficult way imaginable, and getting myself in WAY over my head with visions that don't match my skill level. 

But not this time! I had an adorable pin as inspiration...and that was it! I was off to the races. 

Yes, I spent at least an hour at JOANN torturing my mom/shopping assistant with endless hemming and hawing over fabric selection, but that's to be expected, right? She found the adorable backing fabric, and I settled on the two purple florals to serve as my "gingham" squares. 

But before I blather on too much (more) about the details of it all....let's just look at her for a minute: 

:overenthusiastic singing: 

Isn't she lovvvvvvely....made from love.

I started this quilt about a week before my sister's baby shower, so time was of the essence. The good news is...simple means fast (well...fast-ish...I'm still no speed demon with these things). I followed SuzyQuilt's chain piecing tutorial, which made sewing the squares together quick and easy. 

I've never made a quilt with a one-piece back before, but I thought it was a good fit for this quilt top (keep it classic, and classy). Plus my new niece's room has a woodland animal theme so featuring this little forest scene felt perfect. 

I had so much fun making this little piece. It was nice to do a simple pattern. Usually I love the planning part of the process, but it was honestly relaxing to just sew. I didn't have to agonize over measurements,or double check everything was working out how I imagined. There was no troubleshooting or forced improvising. I just sat down each night at my machine, popped my ear buds in, and stitched and podcast-binged my heart out. And of course it didn't all turn out perfectly (don't zoom in too closely where all of the corners meet up..or don't, quite...) and I still had my fair share of stitching re-do's and tension issues (mechanical, not emotional) but when all was said and done...I was proud of my hard work and in love with what I made. (Hey...it IS just like having a baby!)

So you know what had to happen next, right? Yep, Violet needed a little quilted sister. Meet Rose.

Practically twins! 

This one was for a friend of mine...I used the same adorable backing fabric but paired it with a pink/red liberty floral top. After finishing up the first one (and learning a thing or two), this version went even a little bit faster. That wasn't necessarily my goal, but is such a satisfying feeling to whip these up from scratch in just a few days. (If that's how pregnancy worked I'd have a lot fewer baby quilts, and a lot more babies). 

I did my own quilting on all of these (baby quits are small enough to be easily managed on my home machine), and I kept that simple too- just doing straight lines on either side of all of the seams. (I use the word "straight" loosely, of course). 

I love how simple they are..but so snuggly, soft, and pretty. (You know...just like babies!)

And now that I had two little lady quilts....you know what I had to do next...

Yep, give them a little brother. 

Isn't he the handsomest?!

This one was a birthday gift for my best friend's one year old. I coulda, woulda, shoulda made him a baby quilt for his actual birth, but sometimes sewing + life just doesn't work out like that. So I poured my love into it now, and tried to make my fabric choices extra-manly to please the sweet little guy he's becoming. I don't think he'll mind the delay...especially when he's all cozied up and sleeping.

(that stuffed globe is a project I did before Piper was born- or around that time at least, my brain is a little foggy that far back. Would you believe I've had the pieces for 2 more of these cut out and ready all these years, and I just haven't gotten to it? That someday pile just keeps growing...)

I tried something different for this one, still using the gingham pattern, but mixing in different fabrics. I chose about 3 fabrics for the dark blue (using the backer fabric for some of it, to bring it all together), 2 fabrics for the white (one plain, one with tiny white dots) and a big mix of things for the grey. It was extra special to me that I got to use some scraps I had from previous quilts, so his has pieces in common with my kids' quilts.

I chose a pop color for the binding (coordinated with the detail on the backer fabric) to keep it from being too serious.  (I always use Cluck Cluck Sew's machine binding tutorial) I was a little nervous about that choice, but when it all came together I was smitten.

And did you see that little sneak detail in the corner...

Aw, yeah...I'm legit now, baby. Real deal personalized tags!! My girl Carrie from Mission Market Co. answered my late night "Can we make these?!" texts with some professional level beauty!
They are better than I even dreamed, and now I want to make 10,000 more quilts just to be able to add these little labels. (Seriously, Carrie is next level with all things lettering/craft related...and she does custom orders for just about anything you can imagine.)

So there is the story of The Bowden Triplets. I crafted them with my whole heart, and now my beloved babies are off to their forever homes...The good news is I think making someone a quilt translates to a lifetime right to free snuggles, so I think my efforts are going to be well rewarded.

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(Psst: If you're into the details, each quilt is 8 squares wide and 11 squares long, and uses 24 squares of the dark color, 44 squares of the medium color and 20 squares of the white. My squares were cut to 4.5", and I used .25" seam allowances, so they were all finished at 4". It ends up around 32" x 44". This works perfectly with precut batting (around 34" x 45"). I wasn't too strict on my math when I was buying fabric, so I ended up with more than I needed, so I don't have a yardage guide to share...if you think it through just a little you should end up in a better spot than I did. The backer piece can just be cut to around 48" though, which gives you a tiny bit to play with, and very little waste. You'll need about 4.5 yds of binding- I used two 3yd packs of double fold bias tape. All supplies are from JOANN). 

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