Tauri's Quilts

Holiday Quilt

2008-06-29T16:52:00.001-07:00

Here's another quilt I've been meaning to make for ages. I collected for this quilt a year or two ago and just never got around to it. I did end up adding several holidays to make it a bit bigger than I originally collected for.

The holidays represented, in order, are: New Years, MLK Day, Groundhog Day, Chinese New Year, Valentine's Day, President's Day, St. Patrick's Day, April Fools, Arbor Day, Easter, Earth Day, Teacher Appreciation Day, Cinco De Mayo, Birthday, Mother's Day, Armed Forces Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, Father's Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, September 11th Remembrance Day, International Peace Day, Columbus Day, Halloween, Veteran's Day, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas and Kwanza.

Baby Blanky

2008-06-29T16:15:00.000-07:00

Just a quick blanky for Barrett. He really loves little blankets he can chew on when he is tired. He will typically throw the blanket over his face when he's sleepy and be out within minutes. His favorite is a Blue's Clues one that came free in a box of diapers, of course. I made him this one to use when his other one is in the wash. He gave it his seal of approval by slobbering all over it.

My Mom's Birthday Quilt

2008-06-28T21:11:00.000-07:00

I made this quilt for my mom for her birthday. I used a bunch of different stitches around each flower. I had fun making this quilt, I almost kept it for myself!

50 State Tutorial

2008-06-15T17:10:00.000-07:00

After I posted pictures of the China Province wall hanging, I had a lot of people ask me how I did it. I figured since I was doing the same thing with my 50 State Swap, I would just put together a small tutorial so you can see...it's much easier to explain using pictures than words. So, without further ado...

First, I printed out a map the size I wanted America to be. I only have an 8.5 x 11 printer, so that's why it looks all frakenstein like. I had to blow it up in sections and tape it together to be big enough.

Next, I traced all the lines and state names on the map with a sharpie marker. This is an important step as you will see next.

Then, I flipped the map over. If I didn't use the sharpie, I wouldn't be able to see the lines on the back side of the map.

Next, I traced all the states on to 2 sided fusible web. The brand I use is Steam-A-Seam 2, which I buy at JoAnne's. Remember, you need to trace the mirror image of the states onto the fusible web.

This particular brand of fusible web peels off in two distinct layers. Make sure you are tracing on the side that remains with the fusible as you can see to the left. The other layer will be peeled off so it can be stuck to your fabric, you don't want to peel off your picture before you cut it out!

Next, cut out all of the states leaving a little wiggle room if you have it, if not don't worry since you will be sewing around all the sides of each state.

Next, stick the fusible to the WRONG side of your fabric for the state it is supposed to represent. Using a dry iron (no steam), quickly set each state by putting the hot iron on the fusible for a second or two. ***If you use a different brand of fusible, please follow their instructions. I only know how the kind I am used to works.***

Cut out each state directly on the lines. Keep the other piece of fusible cover paper on it, which also has the state initials, so you can remember which state it is.

Start peeling off the backing and applying the states to your background fabric. They won't be permanantly affixed until you iron them down, so you can move them around until you get them just right.

When you've got all your states where you want them, fuse them down by ironing over the whole thing with steam. It only takes a few seconds to fuse them down.

Then, you would make your quilt sandwich and sew around the states using an applique or decorative stitch. Just make sure whatever stitch you use sews onto both states that are touching each other. I used a pretty thick stitch for the province quilt.

I am not done with this one yet, but will post a picture when it's completed. Hopefully this makes sense. :)

Province Wall Hanging

2008-06-07T14:10:00.000-07:00

I participated in a China Province Swap in my OHGWQ Yahoo Group. I have a bunch of UFO's right now and wanted a quick project that I could complete so I could experience a little sense of accomplishment. So, I thought I would make a map of China using the province fabrics.

This quilt has a scrapbook that goes with it that explains each province and shows the fabric used for that province. It will be a great learning quilt for Ani and the boys later on. I'm also planning on making a US map using the 50 state fabrics I received from the same Yahoo group.

Rhyme Time

2008-02-24T16:11:00.000-08:00

This is the new baby's second quilt. I made

the Rocket Man quilt while I was waiting to

receive all the blocks for this one in the mail.

This also marks the first fabric swap that I

organized. I really had fun with this swap

and making this quilt.

Rocket Man

2008-02-24T16:09:00.000-08:00

This is the first quilt I made for my new son.

I loved the outerspace novelty fabric, and have

been waiting for something to use it on. I had fun

making this quilt, it went together very quickly.

Driven By Music

2008-02-24T16:06:00.000-08:00

This is a quilt I made for my little sister.

She has "Driven By Music" tattooed across

her back, so I thought this was appropriate.

It was a present for her 26th birthday.

Alphabet Quilt

2008-02-24T16:03:00.000-08:00

I finally got around to finishing up some quilts. Here is the alphabet quilt I worked so long on. I'm pretty happy with it and the kids like to point out all the different things on the quilt.

Coming Soon...

2008-02-18T15:23:00.001-08:00

I have been busy making new quilts, just haven't had a chance to take pictures or blog in a while, for a good reason! We added a new blessing to the family over Christmas. Our son Barrett was born on December 20th. I haven't slept since ;)

As soon as I get a chance, I will be adding new pics to the blog. Hope everyone else out there is doing well.

Ani's 100 Good Wishes Quilt, Finally

2007-08-22T16:36:00.000-07:00

It took a while, but I finally got Ani's OHQWQ done. I think it turned out pretty nice. I especially appreciate all the love and time that friends and family put into selecting all the fabrics and sending us good wishes. I'm sure it is something that Ani will cherish forever. Thanks again everyone!

Getting all the fabrics organized

Starting to sew squares

The Finished Product

Baby Quilt

2007-08-22T16:30:00.000-07:00

Our friend's just had a baby boy, their first. To celebrate the occassion, I made the little fella a baby quilt. I hope he enjoys it. Happy Birthday little guy! Welcome to the world.

Panda Quilt

2007-04-11T09:07:00.000-07:00

This is the first quilt I have had a chance to work on since returning from China. I had bought a really cute, really cheap panda quilt in China and promptly destroyed it in the washing machine when I got home...so, I decided to make a new one. I would have taken about a day to finish, but it is really hard to find quilting time with three little monkeys running around here ;) I also decided to try out my first real binding on this quilt. I usually just get the pre-packaged binding and straight stitch it on. This time, I actually cut my own binding and sewed it on the right way, hand stitching it to the back. That part took nearly as long as the rest of the quilt. I have to figure out how to use the blind stitch option on my sewing machine! Anyway, enjoy.

My First Article of Clothing

2007-02-26T18:40:00.000-08:00

So, I ventured away from quilting to make Ani Mei a dress for St. Patrick's Day. We will be spending St. Paddy's Day travelling from Nanchang to Guangzhou, but I'm sure there will be some down time at the infamous White Swan Hotel to give the dress a whirl. Tell me what you think. Oh, be nice, a seamstress I am not. ;)

By the way, I tried the dress on Strummer to make sure it would fit around a little baby belly (don't tell him I told you, lol). I resisted the urge to snap a picture of him in it, but I think Scott may have snapped one on his camera phone.

More ABC Squares

2007-02-21T21:25:00.000-08:00

Just a few more squares. Keep in mind, these are shown with seam allowances still present, so some of the stuff around the edges will be gone.

Alphabet Quilt

2007-02-21T21:11:00.000-08:00

My new project (that I'm actually making some progress on) is an alphabet quilt. I participated in an alphabet swap in my OHGWQ group (I had H). The fabrics I received during that swap serve as my base for each square. I am gathering other fabrics to represent each letter now. I am trying to get 4-5 things for each letter, though some are much harder than others. Please, if anyone has some xylophone fabric, hook me up! I can't find that anywhere. Anyway, this is what I have so far.

Stockings

2007-02-18T06:06:00.000-08:00

Ian has a really great quilted stocking we bought at Pottery Barn Kids a few years ago. I couldn't find any I liked for Ani or Strummer, so I just decided to make them new ones. Strummer's is the electric guitar because he loves playing dad's guitars....we truly named him appropriately. Ani's has fabrics from her Good Wishes Quilt and butterflies appliqued on top. Butterflies symbolize rebirth and they are beautiful, just like Ani Mei.

Ian's Train Quilt

2007-02-18T06:01:00.000-08:00

In case you don't know, Ian is obsessed with trains and has been since he could talk. He would come up to me and tell me the train's name, color and number before he was 3. So, I've been collecting various train fabrics for him to make him an all train quilt. He really loves this quilt and sleeps with it every night. Strummer loves it to and has definately inherited Ian's passion for trains. I will have to make him his own train quilt someday. Since I did have so much train fabric, I made one of my fabric swap buddies the exact same quilt for her son. She is still waiting for her Travel Approval to pick up her little angel.

Cuddle Quilts

2007-02-18T05:55:00.000-08:00

I decided it was finally time to make Ani Mei something, but still didn't have all 100 of her fabric squares and wishes. So, I opted to make her and Strummer taggy, cuddle quilts. They are small and fun. I loved making these. I used some of the fabrics in Ani's cuddle quilt that will also appear in her Good Wishes quilt. I also used some flannels and another, super soft fabric for some of the squares. I have been sleeping with Ani's since I made it....just a little piece of her I can hold on to until we go pick her up. Strummer's has the blue border, Ani's is pink.

Scott's Quilt

2007-02-18T05:52:00.000-08:00

Next, it was Scott's turn for a quilt. I had the idea to make him a black and white quilt. I gathered all the fabric and started laying out the pattern. Then, I decided it could use a few pops of color here and there. I dragged Scott to the fabric store and he picked out all of the colored fabrics for his quilt. This is a picture of him holding it up outside. It's pretty big, but not quite big enough to cover our king size bed.

Strummer's Quilt

2007-02-18T05:45:00.000-08:00

Along the road to collecting fabric for Ani's Quilt, I stumbled across a great yahoo group called OHGWQ, which stands for "One Hundred Good Wishes Quilt". It is full of people who are also collecting fabric for their children's good wishes quilts. I joined several, ok, way too many fabric swaps through this group and have been having a blast making quilts with all of the squares. One of the swaps I participated in was a boys fabric swap. I joined this with the intent of making Ian and Strummer both quilts with the material. So far, I have only made Strummer's. I have used some of the fabrics in other fun projects too. Here is Strummer's first quilt.

My Very First Quilt

2007-02-18T05:38:00.000-08:00

The whole reason I took an interest in quilting in the first place was I heard about a tradition in the Chinese Adoption Community about making a quilt for your adopted child. The quilt is to me made out of various patches of material sent to you from friends and family along with a good wish for your child's future. I fell in love with the idea and decided I had to learn how to quilt. Now I hadn't sewn more than a few curtains (very poorly I might add), before I took on this project, so I figured I needed some practice.

I went out and bought "Quilting For Dummies" and got started. I figured I would make some practice quilts for my boys while I was collecting the patches from friends and family for Ani's Good Wishes Quilt. The result of my very first quilting attempt is this Thomas the Train quilt for Ian. It is still my most detailed and difficult quilt to date.

Gotta Start Somewhere

2007-02-18T05:36:00.000-08:00

I've already posted most of these things on my other blog, but wanted to clear that one up for the adoption. Since most of the stuff I have been making has been for people other than Ani, I thought I would start a new blog just for quilting. So, I will start off by posting the quilts I have already completed, then move onto the stuff I am working on now. Without further ado.....