15th Anniversary Whimzie Quiltz BOM ~ April

To celebrate 15 years in business, I’m making a quilt ~ and setting aside the 15th day of each month to work on the 15th Anniversary Whimzie Quiltz BOM commemorative project.

I know for most people today is Tax Day, but Whimzie Quiltz taxes are always due in January, so it’s just a normal day around here… EXCEPT IT’S NOT! Because it’s the 15th of April which means it’s time to work on my 15th Anniversary Block of the Month quilt.

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This month’s block design was a seam ripper. Now, personally, I have never had a reason to need a seam ripper (snort!) but it is a classic sewing implement, perfect for this quilt celebrating 15 years of custom quilting.

Getting to use such a busy pink and orange print was fun – it really pulls together all the individual pink and orange pieces I’ve sewn so far. Plus, I’ve now finished a second section of the Sewology quilt pattern and I’m liking how the different grey backgrounds in each section are working together, too. Sew exciting!

Although I’m only showing the current block here, on my design wall I have all 4 blocks-of-the-month I’ve finished to date, including today’s seam ripper. Can you believe the quilt is already ⅓ of the way done!?! 2019 is just flying by…

I really hope you’re enjoying taking the 15th Anniversary Whimzie Quilt journey with me. And remember, there’s still plenty of days each month when I can be working on a super special quilt for you, too! What do you want to celebrate in 2019?

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Orchestra T-Shirts + Quilting = Perfect Harmony

I love when an Etsy convo pops up because it usually means someone is interested in having a favorite t-shirt turned into a custom quilted t-shirt pillow (I have 2 of these Etsy listings, one for floor pillow shams and one for accent pillow shams.)

It’s always fun to see what t-shirts (and memories!) people want to preserve. In the past, I’ve had requests to make quilted pillow shams from sports team shirts, fandom shirts and summer camp shirts, but recently I got my first request to turn youth orchestra t-shirts into custom quilted pillow shams.  Cue the music!

After a few messages back and forth, Rose W. ordered a pillow sham quintet (that’s <5> if you are musically-challenged like me) and mailed her shirts off.

When I opened the package, two of her shirts had Rockford Music Academy graphics on the front. Those ended up as this cute duet ~orchestrapillows2

The other 3 shirts featured the Rockford Symphony Youth Orchestra logo on the front, and, yes, I can hear you saying, “Can this quilter not count? There’s 5 RYSO pillow shams in this picture!”

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When I turned over two of the shirts, there were logos on the back, too! And, well, I just couldn’t let them go to waste. Every t-shirt image deserves the chance to fulfill it’s destiny as a quilted pillow 😀 So, like going to a concert and having the orchestra decide to play two encores, Rose ended up getting 7 pillows for the price of 5!

 

 

 

 

Celebrating the Quilt Holidays ~ Pillow Fight Day

Did you know that all year long there are special days set aside on the calendar to commemorate  quilts, quilting, quilters and quilt-related activities? The are known as the Quilt Holidays and here at Whimzie Quiltz we celebrate each one… Let’s party!

 

Today, April 6th, is International Pillow Fight Day! Of all the quilt holidays, it’s the most fun (and funny) one to celebrate. Grab a pillow and join in!

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Need some ammunition? I’ve got you covered! Check out some of the pillow shams over in my Etsy store…

If You Audition Fabric for Quilted Placemats, Can You Call It Dinner Theater?

When you are trying out different fabrics for part of a quilt, looking for the perfect choice, quilters call that “auditioning” fabric. Sometimes a fabric walks into the spotlight, belts out a showstopper, and you just know it’s the one. Other times, fabric after fabric traipses across the stage and you despair of ever finding a new super star.

When Larry T. asked me to create a quilted Happy Who-lidays table runner and placemat set, he had already picked out a favorite Grinch-themed fabric. I added some green and red fabrics featuring Seussian drawings of Whos from my stash and everything was going together fine. Then it came time to audition fabrics for the binding…

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My original design called for a solid black fabric binding, but once I tried it, the dark color overwhelmed everything ~ it was all you saw. I tried a black and white stripe. I tried a red stripe. I tried a dark green.

Nothing was working.

I tried a solid green that matched the Who accent fabric and then I tried a solid red coordinate. Both were close and I agonized for quite a while about which one I should use. And that’s when it dawned on me ~ what this whimzical dining set needed was BOTH.

Yes, alternating red on half the placemats and green on half the placemats really made the whole thing sing!

Perhaps you noticed the silverware holders? Decorative holders for silverware are all over Pinterest these days! I’ve seen a number of different designs that are quilted, but thought these simply sewn pouches looked best with Larry’s placemats. Luckily, there was enough of the Who accent fabrics to make 3 green and 3 red pouches; when tied, each holds a knife, fork and spoon.

TribuzioPicXtraI also had some Cindy Lou Who fabric in my stash, so I made a couple of coordinating mug rugs for Larry and his wife. My thinking was, the dining set is for company, the mug rugs are just for them to enjoy after their guests leave 🙂

And look ~ I got to use a black and white stripe binding somewhere after all!

 

New Zealand’s Newest Fern

In the back of every quilter’s mind is a secret ambition to cover the entire world in quilts. Well, at least it’s in the back of my mind ~ I’d ❤️ the opportunity make every single person on Earth a custom Whimzie quilt! With this adorable baby quilt, which went to a little girl in New Zealand, I’m just a little closer to that goal…

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0436034At first, I wasn’t sure when Cynthia H. said she wanted an all black baby quilt because her friend is a fan of the All Blacks Rugby team (8 World Cup appearances!) But look how cute the quilt turned out! The team logo just pops while the black tones of the zig zags make the quilt look toasty and inviting.

Cynthia couldn’t have picked a better backing fabric for this quilt either ~ how much do you love this sheep fabric? It’s the perfect addition to the New Zealand theme. (Speaking of which, did you notice that baby’s name is Fern?!? She’s literally New Zealand’s newest Fern!)

Building on the sheep idea, I chose to make a lamb-themed tooth fairy pillow as Cynthia’s gift with purchase. The Tooth Fairy is a thing in New Zealand too, right? If not, it’s going to be after they see this…

 

This was such a fun project! I make a lot of quilts, but knowing this one was traveling so far to find a forever home made it extra special.  From now on, I’m going to imagine all my quilts as little fabric ambassadors traveling the globe encouraging everyone to enjoy the warmth and “whimzie” of quilts!

Quilt Bucket List 6 (Feet Under a Pile of Fabric)

Happy Worldwide Quilting Day! As is my annual tradition here at Whimzie Quiltz, today I look back on the quilts I’ve finished in the last year and look forward to the quilts I’m going to make before I “kick the bucket”. Business-related quilts don’t count; these are just quilts for me!

2019 marks the sixth time I’ve celebrated Worldwide Quilting Day by making a list of quilts to finish before I pass on. I have to tell you, I really love this tradition. I love reminiscing about the quilts I created in the last 12 months and getting excited for the quilts I’m going to create over the next 12 (and coming up with an annual bucket-related pun is a blast, too 😀 )

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Anyway, last year, there were over 20 quilts on my list. Naturally, I knew I wouldn’t get them all done in 2018 (my estimate was 2031, but, hey, who’s counting?) so I focused on the top 5. Of those top five, I completely finished two ~ my The Good Place Quilt, Holy Motherforking Quilt Balls, and my Grinch quilt, Cuddly as a Cactus.

Plus, I finished the top of my Sew Geeky quilt, but it’s not quilted, so it doesn’t count for 2018. Moves it to the top of the list for 2019, though!

Which brings us to…

Quilt Bucket List 2019

Sew Geeky Quilt ~ pulling together my love for sci-fi television and my love for quilting, this one features a LOT of appliquéd pop culture /slash/ sewing puns (like Captain Picard’s classic, “Make it sew”)

15th Anniversary Quilt ~ making it’s debut on this year’s list, my 15th year in business, is a block of the month (BOM) quilt I’m making to celebrate. Each month, I’m taking the 15th off to work only on this project, so it will be finished before next year’s update for sure.

Make Epic Shit Quilt ~ I’ve become really intrigued with improv quilting and want to give it a try. Hopefully, this year, I’ll get to pursue a “word play” version I have in mind that’s tentatively going by this title.

Steven Tyler Quilt – a memorial quilt for my rock star kitty cat (not the actual rock star). This one has been on my bucket list every year since the beginning and I really, really hope to finally get it finished this time. Fingers crossed.

There’s more, of course, but I think I’ll stop there for now. If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the last 6 years, it’s that I’ll never get to them all. And that’s good! For one thing, it means you all are keeping me busy creating quilts that you’ve always wanted. For another, I will NEVER be bored.

What is on your quilt bucket list this year? Let me know in the comments. And if I can help create it, give me a shout out over at Whimzie Quiltz and More.