Madrona Road Challenge Quilt

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I know, I know.... I've been a poor blogger for the last couple of months. I haven't posted since November! I did a lot of Christmas gift sewing and projects, so there is a lot that I haven't posted. In all honesty, I'd rather spend my limited time sewing than blogging about it! I'll try to do better, I promise! I've got a lot of catching up to do!

 

This is the quilt I made for the Madrona Road Challenge. Prior to the challenge, I had been looking at this fabric as a possibility for a quilt I was planning to be included in a bedroom makeover. I absolutely loved the line! Once the challenge was announced, I decided to just go for it!

 

I used the pattern "Petal Pod" from the book Modern Quilts from the Blogging Universe. I love the way that it looks like a bed runner! I think I need to wash and dry it again in a larger machine to get the desired look and to get those wrinkles out! I also still need to make some pillow shams and throw pillows to go with it. The rest of the room needs re-done. Of all the rooms in our house, it's the only one that, after 10 years of marriage, still has only my hubby's bachelor furniture! This quilt is just the first step in that direction.

The solid on the front of the quilt is Moda Bella Gray. I made the quilt "reversible" so I could change up the look if I tire of it, not that I plan on it! The back is a similar design with the solid in Kona Coal and the same bed runner look using 5-inch charm squares of the Madrona Road prints with some of the solid Kona Coal mixed in.

 
The blocks were really quite easy to put together, and it came together quickly because of the majority of the quilt was solid. I quilted it in straight vertical lines from top to bottom, 1.5 inches apart. Getting the lines straight was the most difficult part of making this quilt! I had to mark and re-mark lines so many times. I'm in love with the finished quilt and because it was so difficult to get those lines straight, I think I love it all the more!

kindle cover

 

I made this Kindle cover last week. I thought I needed a cute cover to take on the airplane on our vacation last weekend. Oh, yeah. I was on vacation last weekend! The hubs and I went to the Oregon Coast to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary and I almost decided not to come back home to Missouri! Anyway, enough about that. I may decide to show you all some pics of that later.

I cut into my Melody Miller Ruby Star Shining Cameo for the outer cover. I have to admit- it made me a little nervous! I also used some of my Madrona Road text print some of an Art Gallery fabric that I'm not sure how I acquired some time ago.

The pattern is Kwik Sew K3924. I picked it up at Hobby Lobby half price. At $19.98 it was way over-priced. I would have never paid full price for it and honestly, probably shouldn't have paid half price. The pattern was super easy to follow. I think that's why I felt it was over-priced. I tend to think that the more complex the pattern, the more expensive it should be. At least for me, I'd be more likely to pay more for something I couldn't figure out on my own. I'm off on a tangent now...

There are some pockets on the inside cover. I think I'd add a pen holder if I ever made this again. I might insert something like plastic template inside the front cover to make it more sturdy as well. I don't know.... I might decide to whip up a couple of these for Christmas gifts this year.

 

 

This last photo is of the center "spine" of the cover. I decided to use some of the text print, so I sat down to read it to decide if it had something I could use. When I came to this line, I about fell out of my chair. "And so she travelled across the land with her trusty sidekick Buster." It was perfect. You see, "Buster" is my little boy's alter ego. Buster the Dog, to be exact. Buster used to show up and stay around for days. These days, Buster doesn't make an appearance very often and if he does, he's only here for and hour or sometimes less. I will always have a soft spot for Buster, even after all the trouble I had trying to get a toddler pretending to be a dog for days on end to do anything human-like, including speaking.