Granny's Medallion Quilt

A few years back, I came across a quilt that my friend Amy of Diary of a Quilter had taken a photo of at a quilting retreat and posted it on her blog. The moment I saw it, I was obsessed. It was one of the most beautiful quilts I had ever seen. I reached out to Amy to get more info on who the maker of the quilt was.

Once I had the makers information, I reached out and asked about a pattern for the quilt. It wasn't until I took at look at her Instagram that I realized that it was actually someone that I knew and had met a couple years prior at the Spring Quilt Market in 2016. I had been sitting in a room waiting for the Tula Pink schoolhouse to begin when the woman sitting next to me struck up a conversation. She was very friendly and we got to know each other a little in the 15 minutes we chatted before the class began.  Little did I realize at the time, just how talented the woman I was sitting next to was! Her name is Paula McKinlay and she teaches classes to make her quilt designs at quilting retreats.

When I contacted Paula, she graciously offered to send me the pattern so that I could make the quilt since I live out of state and wouldn't be able to attend one of her classes. I was so excited!

Then, I found out I was going to have a baby girl, and this quilt couldn't have been more perfect! 

It took me some time to pick out my fabrics. I knew that I wanted to make mine in colors very similar to Paula's original quilt, but I wanted to put my flair into it with fussy cutting the center of the star. All while making the quilt I had this idea of doing a hand appliquéd scallop border for the final border. The original pattern calls for plus blocks- which are just as cute as can be, but I took a leap and started making half circles to hand appliqué. It took a while to complete that final border, but when I finished that last stitch I was so happy that I had done it. I love the way it turned out. 

I used various fabrics from my stash to make the quilt, Paint Brush Studios Shell Pink solid for the sashing and backing, and hand quilted it with Aurifil 12wt thread. 

I finished just in the nick of time before our sweet baby girl arrived this summer. She is just as cute as can be and we are so in love with her. I've been taking time away from sewing to soak in all of the snuggles, and I have been moving every moment of it, so I'll be back sometime...

as you know, "Babies don't keep."

xoxo, Ashley

P.S. For those interested in making the Granny Medallion quilt, you can email Paula at pauladmckinlay@gmail.com and she can sell you the pattern.

Vintage Inspired Baby Quilt

This week is an exciting week for our family... It's finally time for our baby to arrive!! I am due this Friday and scheduled to be induced that morning I haven't already gone into labor. Hallelujah! I am beyond ready to have this little guy. My pregnancy has been fairly easy, but I've definitely reached the "get this baby outta me" stage!! If you've ever been pregnant, I am sure you know the feeling well! We pretty much have the house in order and everything set for him to arrive, so it's just time to hurry up and wait for Friday to get here. 

I started sewing about 5 1/2 years ago, which was means that I've never sewn anything for any of my babies since my current youngest is 6. I thought when I found out that I was pregnant that I would want to be sewing up a storm and making all kinds of things for this little guy... but.... are y'all ready for a shocker? I haven't made a single thing for my baby yet. Can you believe that?? I don't know if it's just that he's a boy and I've never made boy things, or if it's because I just haven't had the desire to sew as much since I've been pregnant, but my time before baby comes is officially running out and there is not a single handmade item (from me) in the nursery yet. It seriously shocks me when I think about it, but to be honest, my "nesting phase" seems to be lost and I'm simply in survival mode and have been for the entire summer. I've done a bit of hand stitching here and there since coming home from Quilt Market, but most of my time has just been spent enjoying my family and simply in "survival mode". ha ha Maybe with these last couple of days, I will have a burst of energy and make him a quilt... or I might just lay on the couch and watch Netflix. ;)

I did manage to sew a little baby quilt for my best friend Rach (of Family Ever After), who is due exactly a week after me. She's having a girl and I think I've decided that we should probably begin the proceedings for our babies arranged marriage since they are going to be so close in age. Then we can really be family! ;)

She and her family recently moved back "home" to South Dakota and bought the coolest property in the Black Hills with a darling log cabin home. She calls it their "little house on the prairie". I always love seeing pictures of the fun adventures that their family has in on their land and their new slower more relaxed way of life seems so appealing. It totally suits their family so well. 

I knew that I wanted to make something for her sweet baby, and I decided to go a little out of my normal design esthetic and make something with a vintage/old fashioned feel to go along with their new home and way of living. 

I started digging through my stash and found a Chloe's Closet 30's Playtime mini charm pack. It was exactly the feel I was going for, but since it was a mini charm pack, it definitely wasn't enough fabric to make a quilt with. I decided to make little four square patches and alternate with solid white blocks in a checker pattern. Once I got that put together, I realized that the quilt was still feeling a bit small- even for a baby quilt, so I added the yellow and white square border. The yellow and white remind me of a vintage quilt I used to snuggle up with as a young girl at my grandma's house. 

I did really simple quilting but added a bit of detail by quilting a sweet scallop on the yellow and white border. I really love how it came out. I feel like it is definitely a quilt that could be found on a "little house on the prairie"- which is what I was going for. 

Well friends, wish me luck!! The next time I blog, I will have a little bundle of blue in my home! 

I hope that you all have a wonderful week!

Happy Sewing!

xoxo, Ashley

P.S.- Today is the last day of the Christmas in July sale going on over at Lady Belle Fabrics... RUN, do not walk, and snatch up some of the amazing deals going on over there!