When I received the news a special friend was expecting I couldn’t get to the quilt store fast enough. My inspiration came from my friend’s vision for her nursery - classic Winnie the Pooh colors.

For this quilt, I finished with silk edges for snug-able, chewable binding. I attempted for the first time a diagonal orientation for the squares. To me, this is an extra wow factor and something I haven’t tried before. It does mean losing some fabric on the edges.

I did have to pace around the house a few times before I made this cut. Creative risks pay off. It certainly adds a bit of interest on an otherwise classic design

When I make a baby quilt, one of my goals is to create a heirloom quality blanket so it can be loved for a long time or passed down. Because of this, I choose fabrics that have a timeless quality. (Can’t go wrong with gingham.)

The meandering stitching is abstract and one of my favorite things to do on a quilt. I don’t use a long arm, just my standard juke machine, patience, and a bit of arm strength.

I have this habit of making a quilt for someone I love and then deciding it’s not good enough to give. Perfectionism gets the best of us! This plus quilt below is the first one I made, its color is a little brighter.

I love the plus design, which I find both classic and modern. Unfortunately, I don’t have a full picture of it completely finished. (Some baby’s timeline do not line up with mine ;) I ended up adding straight stitching in stripes with the meandering in stripes running in another direction. The look came out almost plaid-inspired and worthy of snuggles. Will use this idea again.

Both quilts are being loved on now by friends I love so much. Until next time.

Happy Fall!

I don’t know about where you are but here in Michigan we’ve had a stunning fall so far. Sometimes There’s snow… there’s always rain but this year has been sunny and bright. As many of you know, when I’m not drawing and painting I’m sewing. For the first time, I’d like to sell one of my baby/toddler quilts.

It’s hard to let some of my works of art go and this one is no different. My hope in selling this is that it lands in the hands of someone who can love on it and that the funds can allow me to continue to make these special, one-of-a-kind creations.

The fall-inspired quilt has a hint of horses! The design is a star, that my sister and I teamed up to design. Stars in quilts historically have a special significance. When a woman would leave her town to travel west, her friends would each make a star block that they would put together into a larger quilt. Consider this big star my well wish to its new owner!

This quilt is 100% cotton, oversized baby/toddler quilt about 40 x 40 inches. I use the highest quality cotton. (I’ve already washed it so you don’t have to worry about shrinking!)

The back of the quilt is chocolate brown and the star pattern is visible on the back as well. I used a free motion technique to create the meandering lines as well as loop-de-loops to accent some of the squares.

This quilt is a heavier style quilt, with 4 layers of fabric total. One the edges is a satin cream edging - just like my childhood blanket.

The price of this handmade quilt is $95. Free shipping (US only.) To purchase this quilt please reach out to me via Facebook or email kirbifagan@gmail.com

Hello!

I’m writing you comfortably in my PJs from my home studio surrounded by a mess of projects. When my sister told me she was pregnant, I pictured myself sitting quietly, sewing things for my nephew-to-be, dreaming of all the wonderful things to look forward through. In reality, I’ve been stress buying fabric in bulk and have wracked up quite a to-be-sewn pile. I’ll have to sew my way out of it and of course leave enough time for drawing and painting! Did I mention I’m taking up the harmonica? We recently received a free set of harmonicas, if our neighbors don’t kill us, I think we found another fun thing to do in the evenings.

Fall is here in Michigan and I thought today would be a perfect day to share this new quilt I made for my cousin’s new babe! How about this for some fall color!?

To create this one I used “The Waterhole” collection by Riley Blake Designs. I paired it with a Kona solid on the back for a bold vintage looking color. I regret that I do not remember the name of this color.

I pieced this quilt in a spontaneous fashion building around the center block in the usual “log cabin quilt as you go way.” I maintained the upright position of all the fabric’s artwork as I went. I added some thinner strips for variety as well.

Working as I go gave me the opportunity to highlight some parts of the fabric with a little bit of a fussy cutting. But not too fussy!

My Juki continues to be a workhorse. I had some issues recently but I took her to the shop and a quick clean and rebalancing of the machine got her throwing good stitches again. That’s one of the reasons my piles got so out of control, my machine was out of commission for a while. I didn’t know what to do with myself in the evenings without my machine.

This baby quilt is a little oversized, I liked the idea of a more “portrait” style shape. This sweet new babe is Iowa so I doubled up 100% cotton batting and it gives this quilt big fluff.

I thought I’d wrap up and share this photo of my aunt finding SUMMER OF THE TREE ARMY at a Michigan book shop! Thanks for everyone’s support of my work - I do not share my appreciation nearly enough as my heart feels it.

I hope the fall breeze comes through your windows today and refreshes your soul as it is doing for me.

Kirbi

Hello from Stag Studios!

BIG news today, we have adopted a new backyard friend who likes to kick it on the spa. Yep, we are in love.

Today, I’d like to share more details about my puff quilt that I shared on my June 23rd studio update. I was really inspired to do this project, everywhere I looked I was seeing puff quilts and they all look like pillows of heaven! I know what it’s like to sew a large quilt but adding more weight to an already tough task was intimidating!

One of the reasons I wanted to create this quilt was for our salvaged/repurposed outdoor sofa needed more padding! I thought a big puff quilt will be perfect. If you didn’t see my post about our dumpster couch you can check it out here:

There are great tutuorials out there for puff quilts but I rarely like to follow directions. Instead, I read patterns and watched tutorials online, and dove into making some of my own prototypes. My great-grandmother’s quilts were “puff” quilts but used triangles, so for my prototype, I experimented with using triangles. See a picture of my grandma’s quilt here.

I loved the look but knowing I was going for more cush on the outdoor sofa, I went with a square for more puff and I made my squares much larger than any pattern I’ve seen out there. To keep a nice shape, I lined the top layer of the quilt in warm and white batting before forming the full square and stuffing!

Evan helping me with the stuffing (below.) There’s an art to not stuffing too much so you can sew the puffs together but not under stuffing them either!

This was the most exciting part for me, seeing all the puffs stack up! As I made more and more, yes I did take the opportunity to throw them in the air with glee. Why not. :)

This quilt laid on the floor for about a week as I moved around the color. I know, most quilters know how their quilt will lay out from the start but that’s just not how I work. I like to play with my colors and see what I can come up with.

I ended up arranging the poofs in an ombre of sorts. The next step was to sew them all together. Holding the poofs together was nearly impossible. Really, there were several nights I told Evan I was going to give up on the puff quilt!

After a lot of frustration I had an idea, I dug into some of my painting supplies to find these heavy duty clips I use to hold and stretch canvas. The “little clip that could” and “big daddy clamp” worked wonderfully. Along with some extra hands (thanks Evan) every puff got secured.

Next time, I will likely sew them in triangles as my great-grandmother did. I will also consider including more hand sewing. For this job, the big puffs help the comfort of our seating but I don’t see it as an easy blanket to wrap and use. Lining the top layer of the puff was a good idea but it does add extra weight, something to consider for my next one.

The puff quilt is a favorite of our dog Maisey and saved our backs on a recent vacation. Our AirBnB had bad mattress, we slept soundly on the puff quilt we brought with us “just in case.”

Have a great rest of your week! I’m busy working on some sketches this week and doing a bit of knitting. Will share more soon.

xx

Kirbi

LINKS TO YOUTUBE VIDEOS:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Bonus Variations

In Part 5, we pull this quilt together with a binding and FINISH!

Sewing on the binding…. It’s my favorite part of the quilting process. It may seem like a big task (and it is) but it does go quickly. I like to sit on the couch using the quilt as a blanket.

To begin, you're going to have to square off your quilt again.

It’s called the Organic Quilt so rounded corners are a must! Plus, I love rounded corners, I find them easier to work with and look more modern. Everybody in the year 2022 has a tube of Clorox wipes and it makes a great template for a rounded corner using a water-soluble pen or disappearing ink. I draw around the curve and cut along the line. Don’t overthink this!

To create a binding we need to create strips of fabric that we can sew together that will fit all the way around the circumference of the quilt with some extra (I do about 2 feet extra but I’m an anxious sewer.) The strips need to be cut at two and a half inches.

You may want to cut your strips to the longest part of the fabric that you have. Now if you have a short ruler you might find it easier to do the other way and certainly, I've made quilts and seen quilts that have strips of all different sizes that come together to make the binding and it's very unnoticeable - no stress!

Once you’ve cut your strips. Sew all your strips together to create one long strip. Then, using your iron fold your strips in half and press. Not so bad right?

Now, to attach the binding in the middle of our quilt so pick any side and go in the middle (It doesn't have to be exact!) You won’t be putting attaching your binding at the top of your strip, give yourself some room to attach it later. This is where that extra two feet come in handy.

You’ll line the strip up from raw edge to raw edge. In the illustration below you can see how I left about a foot of overhang and I will begin sewing at the arrow on the dotted line. Use clips to help you secure the fabric while you sew. (Recommendations in my store)

Don’t be intimidated by going around a corner. Use clips and go slow. If you need to turn your wheel by hand that works!

Attaching your two ends of binding can be a little tricky. I have a loose approach to it that has always worked for me and it’s easier to show via my video.

The last step to finishing the quilt is to fold the binding around to the other side and sew by hand. Yes, by hand! This is my favorite part of the quilting process! While you're working on this you can sit on your couch using your quilt as a blanket sewing one stitch at a time. To start the stitch I cut a length of thread, thread my needle, and tie a knot at the end.

I put the needle right into the stitch line and through the edge of the binding. Next, I insert the needle directly below where the thread just came out at the stitch line. Sit back and repeat! If this feels weird to you try changing the direction you are stitching. I stitch right to left.

Treat the rounded corners just as you have on the straight edges. Use your clips to secure and take it a little bit at a time. You'll do this around your quilt until your unique organic quilt is finished!

If you've made the organic quilt or are having any troubles reach out to me on Twitter Instagram or Facebook! I’d love to see your creation! Tag me! @kirbifagan

If you enjoyed making the Organic Quilt and want to try more improv quilting watch my BONUS video with ideas for variations on the Organic Quilt!