Nae Shawl

I love knitting, but it takes me a long time to finish a project. I wish a was faster at it, but I just can't. And it doesn't help that I go through periods of not knitting at all because of tendonitis in my hands. So when I get to finish a knitting project I have to confess I feel immensely proud of myself. I finished this lovely shawl a few months ago and it was long overdue. I'm so happy I finally got to photograph it and share it with you.  The pattern is so simple yet so elegant and a very easy project.  Pattern is free and available on Raverly.

I can't not say enough how happy I am with  how this shawl turned out. I love the color and the softness of the yarn.  And I'm even happier that I got to gift it to a dear friend. 

I hope you have a happy week.

XO

Martha.  

Windows Baby Quilt

Happy Sunday friends! I hope you had a lovely weekend. Around here I have been very busy, working really hard in my sewing room. But totally enjoying every minute of it. Last week I finished this baby quilt and it was quickly delivered to my sister-in-law who is expecting a baby next month. This was a hard quilt to photograph because of the soft colors but in person is so soft and fresh looking. I adore the way it turned out. I designed this windows pattern to highlight the pieces of Aneela Hoey's Posy fabric. I just thought the sweet fabric with bunnies and chicks was just too precious to cut up. For the back of the quilt I used a larger panel of the same Posy fabric mirroring the windows from the front. And to finish it off I quilted with simple straight lines about one and a half inches apart. Such a sweet finish I hope it gets used and loved for years to come.

XO

Martha. 

Modern Plus Quilt II

Plus quilts are so fun to make and they come together very quickly. This is the second one that I make and I don't this would be my last one. Specially because I didn't get to keep any of them. The first one I made I gave it to my sister (you can see it here) for her birthday a while a ago. And this happy quilt I sent it to a dear friend. She likes fresh and happy colors so I thought this color combo would be particularly fitting for her personality. I really love the way it turned out and she tells me she was very happy with her new quilt, which traveled over 2,000 miles to get to her. 

Now I think I should get busy and make another one of this happy quilts to keep for myself.

Wishing you a happy week.

XO

Martha

Picking Up The Pieces

Hello friends, it has been a while since I've been to this space or visited your blogs. It was not my intention to go missing for so long. But sometimes one just needs to take a break. I think blogging and crafting requires passion and I had lost my passion. I still love and cherish this space and the friendships that has brought to my life, but I was just too sad. In November I lost my beloved pet Chihuahua Mini Lou. She had been with us for almost 15 years and loosing her just unraveled a chain of emotions that were too difficult to bare. She was my child... my baby. My husband and I had battled infertility for many years and after all of our failed procedures we became extremely attached to this sweet little soul. She filled the void in our lives and gave purpose to my life when I needed it the most. Thanks to having her in my life I've became a mommy for the first time.

Things a a bit better now. We still have our pug Mona, she is the kindest and most cuddly pug you'll ever meet and love her to pieces. And most recently a new puppy joined our little family. She is a pug named Zoey. The puppy is keeping me busy and between Mona's and Zoey's little antics I've been able to smile again.  I'm trying to pick up the pieces and get back to crafting... I started a quilt and it feels really good to be back in my sewing room playing with fabric again. 

Thank you for visiting and I hope you have a lovely week

XO

Martha.

Modern Maples

At long last my Modern Maples quilt is finished! It took a while, but totally worth the wait. I just love this quilt so much. The warm colors and the sort of rustic feel of the linen. I just love it The pattern is by Amanda Jennings from the book Pretty in Patchwork: Holidays; a lovely book filled with amazing designs. 

For the maple leaves I used various prints by Juliana Horner and DS Quilts and for the background I used Robert Kauffman Essex linen. I love how the linen complements all the prints so well and allows them to shine. For the backing I had chosen one of the green prints that I had used for the leaves. I had few yards in my stash. But a few days before I basted the quilt, I wondered into my local fabric shop and found the flannel that I ended up using for the backing. It is shirting flannel but it works perfectly for this quilt. And I think it makes it even cozier. Definitely one of my favorite quilts so far.

Wishing you a lovely week!

XO 

Martha

WIP: Modern Maples

Last year around August I started this Modern Maples Quilt hoping I would have it finished by autumn... Well, that never happened. Then winter arrived and I just felt uninspired; so I packed it away. I thought maybe the inspiration to finish it will strike at some point. A few weeks ago it felt like it was time to finish this lovely quilt. I've made a lot of progress and I just have to hand sew the binding. I'm super excited to see it finished. I can already see myself enjoying it sitting on the porch on the crisp evenings and seeing the foliage fall from the trees.

Wishing you a lovely week!

XO

Martha.

Improv Quilting: Always an Experiment

I love improv quilting, but I find it difficult. It shouldn't be that way, I mean it is supposed to be free and make it up as you go. But my brain has a hard time adjusting to the process. So I decided to create a small throw quilt as a way to use up some scraps and to practice my improv piecing skills. The result was quite pleasing and very liberating. I think next time I'd like to try smaller piecing but, I still really like the way it turned out. I quilted this little quilt by hand. So far this has been the largest project that I've ever quilted by hand. It was very daunting at first... handling a bigger piece of cloth to quilt takes a bit of an adjustment. I tried using a frame and it worked just fine; however, it was bulky and for me hard to maneuver. I ended up removing the frame and and to me it was easier to quilt that way. I guess it is all about finding what works for us.

Hoping you have a beautiful week!

XO 

Martha

Neapolitan Windows Quilt

Looking through my quilts I noticed that I haven't made that many small throw quilts. And the few that I've made get lots of use. I find them super handy to carry in the car or just throw on the couch for my puppies for when I let them come up and sit next to me. So I decided to solve that "problem" and make a few more. As you might remember, last week I finished a whole cloth quilt made out of a yard of fabric for the front. This one required a bit more piecing but still it came together super fast. The colors remind me of neapolitan ice cream... perfect for a summer quilt I think. I quilted with straight lines about 1 1/2 inches apart and I think it complements the quilt perfectly. For the binding I used the same color of the background except for a little piece of brown that I added for a pop of color and a little whimsy. 

Wishing you a lovely week!

XO 

Martha