Monday, January 21, 2013

Two New Quilts

 

Last September, us cowgirls went to the Utah State Fair for some fun! We went to the Lonestar Concert, ate cinnamon roasted pecans (Yum!), and drooled over the quilts. These two new matching quilts were inspired by an Alternating Chevron quilt we saw there. Four months later, we made two twin-sized quilts of our own.


We figured out how to make the pattern all by ourselves. Despite how devilish it looks to make, it is actually quite simple. If you ever want to know a quilting shortcut, you know who to ask ;)


 

 The machine quilting is simple, just a few zig-zags here and there.  When making bed quilts, loose machine quilting is always the best so that the quilt is cuddly.


Here's our twinner quilts all rolled up! They are such a cute pair.


 Now all we need is some matching pillows. That is our next thing on our to-do-list.


 Happy Monday!

Saturday, January 12, 2013

How to Wash Quilts

Quilts get washed alot. alot. They get dragged through the dirt, spit-up on, snuggled, and sometimes they just need to be washed to be even more crinkly :) For any of you that have questions about how to wash a quilt, you've come to the right place.

When washing a quilt, don't be worried that it will fall apart or that the fabric dyes will bleed together. We've never had any problems with that. One common concern is the shrinkage of the quilt after washing it. Although the quilt will shrink after the first wash ( about 2-3 inches per side), you won't have to worry about any shrinking after that. We never pre-wash our fabrics, although you could do that if you wanted.

Note: If for any reason you get sewing machine grease on your quilt, use dish-soap to scrub it off, and then run it through the wash. It should come out easily.

For a first-time-wash to crinkle your quilt, follow these steps:


1.  Wash the quilt without anything else in the washing machine. This assures that the fabrics dyes won't bleed on anything else.



2.  Add a little bit of laundry soap (not too much). The brand doesn't matter, just use whatever laundry soap you have on hand.


3. Set your washing machine to rapid wash, about 35 minutes. Your quilt isn't trying to get clean, so it doesn't need very much time in the washer.


4. Move your quilt from the washer to the dryer. Use a dryer sheet. Dry for 20 minutes. ( you might need longer for a bigger quilt.)


5. Take out your quilt. And hog it for snuggling :)

***When washing dirty quilts: wash longer, use more soap, and dry longer. Also, after the first wash feel free to mix your quilt in with other laundry. ***

Saturday, January 5, 2013

Seville Love


This was yet another quick quilt. We quickly gathered together some fabric and started cutting. We're not very brave when it comes to matching random fabrics together, but we decided to put on our big girl pants and go for it. Luckily for us, the quilt looks modern and fun thanks to the bright color scheme. The colors actually turned out similar to the ones on the pattern Seville



This pattern is so easy to put together and afterwards it looks like you spent hours making it. Those are the best kind of patterns.

Hooray! The new machine quilting on this quilt turned out fabulous! We experimented with new machine quilting and ended up doing a petal (?) patterns. We're still not sure what to call it. We should just call it cute :)


 Not that it is any surprise, this quilt is  for sale on Etsy.