Work In Progress Finished... well... almost!

Remember the WIP {work in progress} that I shared with you guys FOREVER ago?? I finally finished it. Well kinda- I have just a tiny bit more hand quilting to do on two blocks, but it has been bound and in use for the past month on my littlest's toddler bed (which is why it is so narrow and long). I am not sure why I can't make myself sit down and finish it. It would take all of 30 minutes or so, but you know how things go... other projects take priority and things get put on the back burner. So alas, this little gem has been a bit abandoned but perhaps an afternoon during nap time will be enough to get her finished...

But until that happens, I thought I would show her off to you guys. 

What do you think? It was my very first time paper piecing and my first time making dresdens and I kinda loved it. It was definitely the most time consuming and labor intensive quilt I have ever made, but I still really enjoyed it. I was inspired by Kerri's vintage nursery quilt and decided to add in the dresdens to make my quilt a little different.

Almost all of the fabrics I used were japanese import goodies (most from Lecien's Old new 30's line) that I found in Kerri's shop. She has the cutest fabric and I loved picking and choosing out fabrics in soft pinks, aquas, and a tiny bits of yellow for this quilt. It almost a bit monochromatic to my eyes since I stuck with just a few shades of colors, which isn't normally my style, but I love the way it is totally matchy matchy and shabby chic looking. 

For the center of my paper pieced blocks, I used prints from the Sweet Life fabric I picked out. Since it is a Japanese import, some of the sayings on the fabric is so funny and isn't always grammatically correct- for instance, there is a block that says "I'm now cleaning a living" and "Let me give you hand".

I think the saying on this block had to be my very favorite- "You look spruce. Are you going on a date today?" ha ha My family says it all the time now and it makes me laugh every time!

I started machine quilting the quilt initially and had machine quilted around the edged of each block, but I decided to hand quilt the rest of the quilt instead of finishing it on the machine... which added to the time and labor intensiveness, but I love the look of it and think it adds to the vintage look and feel of the quilt. I used a pale pink DMC pearl cotton 8 thread for the hand quilted part.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Hope you are all having a fabulous week! 

Happy Sewing! 

xoxo, Ashley

Chenille Blanket

I am pretty much obsessed with Chenille blankets at the moment. I love making them, I love the way they look, and I absolutely love the way they feel after the first wash. 

A chenille blanket is created by layering three pieces of flannel and backing it with a coordinating cotton print. You quilt the blanket with diagonal lines and then you cut through the three layers of flannel in between each line. After you are all done, you throw the blanket in the washer and dryer and it comes out as soft, frayed goodness!

I first came across Chenille blankets when I saw this one on the Aesthetic Nest. And recently Anneliese from Aesthetic Nest caught my eye again with her chevron chenille blanket! Holy Toledo- that is one cute blanket!!

So then when I came across Dana from Made's version I knew that it was time. The universe was screaming- "Make a chenille blanket!"

A few months ago I was shopping and found this lovely fabric... 

It is called Peacock Lane Menagerie Yellow by Violet Craft for Michael Miller

The only problem was that it was just a lightweight quilting cotton and for the back of my blanket I needed something heavier, like twill or home dec weight fabric. 
So I got to brainstorming and figured that I could just get an extra layer of flannel and use spray adhesive to tack it to the fabric and then added my other 3 layers of flannel, sewed, and then when it was time to cut the fabric to create the chenille effect, I didn't cut through that flannel that was attached to the yellow fabric. Worded like a charm! Made my main fabric feel more heavy duty and I still got to use the fabric I loved!


I didn't come up with a tutorial for this project like I normally do- just because between the Aesthetic Nest tutorial and the Made tutorial these ladies pretty much had it covered...


Here is my two cents for making chenille blankets. 


-I have made two so far and with the first one I cut through the layers by hand with scissors and it literally took an hour plus a lot of hand cramping. So I knew that I would be making more of these little blankets so I ordered the chenille cutting tool by olfa- LIFE SAVER! It took minutes to cut through the layers and my hand was cramp free! Love this tool! But really- only buy this tool if you have plans for making lots of these little lovelies- not just a one time deal. Buck up and use your scissors if it's only one blanket. 


-Tack your fabric down with washable spray adhesive. These layers like to shift and move around so adhesive helps keep things in place for ya while sewing. Just make sure it is the washable kind!


-If you haven't made one of these- try it! It is time consuming, but the end result is so worth it. It is the perfect baby gift! Anyone who receives one will think you slaved over this thing for weeks. :)