Rainbow Sawtooth Star and Greek Plus

I just finished reading the article from the MQG about derivative quilts and I'm perplexed and discouraged and I'm sure many others of you are too.  I just think this is too far.  --- but that's a whole other blog entry.

I really wanted to share with you this Lizzy House Rainbow quilt I finished early this year!

Started:  February 2016

Finished:  March 2016

Fabrics:  80 Lizzy House charms from our guild swap, plus a couple other prints to round out the rainbow, cotton couture soft white.
Batting: Pellon, Nature's Touch, 100% cotton with scrim, white

Backing: Lizzy House tonal Pearl bracelet
Binding: scrappy Lizzy house remnants

Thread: aurifil 50, 2021

FMQ meander pattern

I started this quilt making HST out of my 5" charms from a guild swap.  I wasn't really paying any attention to colors or values just started piecing them together so I could play with the HST shape.  I decided on sawtooth stars in color groupings.  While I was piecing these, I decided I didn't like the empty space between the stars so I added 4.5" sawtooth stars.

Then, I wanted it to be a little bigger, and the plus shape created by sawtooth star caught my eye... I wanted to repeat that shape.  So then I took the rest of my charms and made 4.5" pluses!

I pieces those as a border in rainbow order and also thinking about the values of the prints.  

There's a 2.5" strip between the stars and pluses and then, the pluses and binding.  This quilt is for sale in my etsy shop!

One more blogged another bazillion to go.  JK 

Transparency Quilt 1

I wish I could keep better records of my quilts, so I'm going to try and get some details down before I forget!  

Started: January 2016

Finished:  March 2016

Fabrics: Kona oyster (background), assorted solids from my stash, freespirit, Bella, modern solids from Alissa H. Carlton, moda crossweaves, cotton couture.  I don't discriminate. Wink wink.

Backing: Amy Butler, Meadow Bloom in Minty and Lizzy House Tonal Pearl Bracelet

Binding: Kona Oyster

Batting: Pellon natures touch, white, 100% cotton with scrim (my favorite, very low loft, love the drape)

Thread: Aurifil 50, 2000, light sand

Pieced and quilted by myself.

(Photo below by Alison McQuain Photography, quilt hanging in KMQG Show at Striped Light)

I made this quilt based on a design from my friend, Ashley Pace's Color Theory class.  She teaches classes at the University of Tennessee, College of Art and Design.  I love the designs that come from her classes.  She uses Color Aid papers to create color illusions.  (I hope to make more transparency quilts!-- but, I'm getting ahead of myself.)

I decided on four colors and used the shape from her class as my jump off point.

I also decided, I wanted it to be very organic and free, so I went ruler free for cutting.  This included trimming around the edge before binding.  For each color block, I started by drawing on paper the overlapping rectangles.  This helped me to visualize the end result.  After I made the four color blocks, I had thought I'd over lap those four again.  See below:

But I wasn't sold on it.  I struggled and just waited a bit.  During February, Season Evans, had a challenge with the Mighty Lucky Quilting Club.  She spoke about subtraction and minimalism.  I knew at that moment, the middle had to come out.  Stephanie Ruyle (spontaneousthreads) suggested I off center the colored blocks within the background, of course I listened!  So, I subtracted the middle and cut more Kona oyster and repieced the top.  I've never regretted it.

Then, it came down to the quilting...  I looked into other Josef Albers works (thanks Michelle Bolt!) to help with inspiration for the free motion quilting design.  I found several that led me to my final design:

I love this quilt.  I'm hoping to enter it in the 2017 QuiltCon show.  Fingers crossed.

Eli's January Quilt

I started this quilt early in 2015 using Liz Havartine's pattern for LAMQG block of the month, January.  I put in a lot of hours on this bad boy: starting with cutting the crazy templates to piecing LOTS of curves.  

I made 42 blocks and added a border to make sure it was a good FULL sized quilt to fit his bed.  I went with something super scrappy but with limited colors in orange, teal, lime, brown, black, navy.

I sent the quilt to Christina Lane, sometimescrafter for custom quilting.

It turned out so perfect!  It's bound and washed an was on his bed by the end of December. -- More of a Christmas present to myself than my 4 year old. 

Secret Garden Posy Patrol Quilt

Finished October 2015

I started this quilt at a workshop with the pattern writer, Dana Bolyard.  KMQG had her in to teach us more about curves.  I was pregnant with Cole and not planning on going to the workshop bc I had been so sick and tired.  But I'm so glad I jones in the fun.  Dana was a lot of fun and even brought home baked goods for us to snack on!  (Perfect for the pregnant lady!) 

I used lots of greens from my stash and then used lots of leftover greens for the backing.

I'm glad I was able to use up some pieces of extra I had... No need to purchase backing fabric for this one!  Yay!

I quilted with a FMQ swirl that turned out really nice.  I love the quilting on this one. I was making this to sell at an upcoming event at The Hive but I think I've decided to sell the Vertebrae quilt.  Always a difficult decision.  But I think this one fits into our home a little better!  And I love it.

I used pellon cotton batting and aurifil thread, and bound with some leftover raindrops and flowers from the lighter prints I used.

My Whimsical, Vertebrae Quilt

I love following Nancy Purvis, owensolivia's work on Instagram.  When she announced she wanted ppl to make projects from her book, I was really excited!  She asked me to make the Vertebrae quilt.  (I love her version!  She makes solids so exciting!)

I started with a fabric pull, and I'm really enjoying Lizzy House right now, so the choice was obvious.  

I also love adding in solids to help highlight the colors in the prints or to make a more distinct color palette.  PS these butterflies are so perfect... And I don't usually like butterflies. 

I wanted to make my version scrappy, with very few repeats.  I used up some of my favorite Lizzy House prints/scraps.  I had just enough of those favorites to make it happen.  I had to use the design wall to make the placement and piecing easier.  

Little by little it came together pretty quickly.  I loved putting the strips together --the colors just popped!  

The quilting, well, I tried to do two designs (I also used two color threads) and wish I would have just stuck with one quilting design and one color thread.  I'm definitely not comfortable mixing up FMQ designs, and the dark gray thread bugs me.  But every quilt I learn something.  So, I'll take this as a lesson, and remember for the next one.  Maybe another note for myself, SLOW DOWN!

I'll see if I can figure out how to get my final photos on here!  I went to my best friend's inlaws and took pictures in their gardens, with a camera, not my phone!  (their 'Southern Living' gardens)

Oh and see that scrappy binding!!?  Crazy heart eyes about the scrappy binding.  

I can't wait to get my hands on. Copy of the book, Quilting From Every Angle!  I have loved what I've seen so far.  Congrats and thanks, Nancy!

Tinsel + Score No. 7

Is it too early for a Christmas quilt on my couch?!  Cause I'm in love with this guy.  I purchased Sherry Lynn Wood's new book, the improv handbook for modern quilters and have been dying to jump in!  (I really, really enjoyed hearing her speak at QuiltCon and would love to take a class with her!  Anyone else in Knoxville wanna have her here for a class?!  Maybe 2016!). But anyway-- my Tinsel by cotton and steel was begging to be cut into.  I wanted to pair it with some solids I had on hand so that I could make a lap quilt and get the curves to pop out.

Unfortunately, like Score 7 calls for 'getting lost', I played it safe and used the same cuts and layout as a quilt in the book.  My life with a newborn is crazy, lost enough so I just wanted to SEW!  And the quilt in the book is SO good!

I started by cutting 17" squares of 20 fabrics, 9 prints, 11 solids.  I wanted one more solid but ran out of solid navy so grabbed a FQ from another C&S line, matched perfectly!  Then, I paired up the 20 squares into five piles of 4 fabrics each, mixing and matching values and no more than two prints in each stack then started cutting! I'd say my favorite blocks turned out to be the two that were all solids.  Go figure.  (Keep buying prints Melissa, keep buying prints!). 

I thought piecing the odd shaped wonky blocks together would be really challenging.  I decided to piece 4 together at a time (like I did with my meadow blocks which lizzy house showed us at QuiltCon!) in a large square, two up, two down and it worked pretty well!  I wanted it to be off, just as the blocks are off, so I didn't trim, I laid the two blocks on top of each other, right sides together, making sure there was good overlap everywhere, pinned, maybe even draw a pencil line to help you with your seam line... Perfect!  Then, lined up the seam line on my mat and trimmed after two were together, so I had a straight top and bottom.  It worked well for me!  

I love the results!!  And deciding on quilting came pretty quickly -- overlapping arches!  A little late I decided to add in some other quilting patterns, which I adore, but wish I had done a couple more near the top.  I can't wait to make another improv quilt.  It was a very rewarding quilt and I started and finished in a week. I'd reccommend this book to anyone interested in improv!

Backing: 4 left over FQs from my bundle with 2 yards green star print from Juliana Horner's collection at Joann.

Batting: Pellon Nature's Choice, Cotton Batting with Scrim, Natural Color
Thread: Aurifil 2830 50 weight

Finished Size (before washing): 62 in x 73 in

Learning the Hard Way

As part of the Modern Quilt Guild, there is a Riley Blake Challenge going on right now.  Our guild, Knoxville, just finished our challenge and I wanted to share my experience with fusible web.  

We had to use curves on a piece no larger than 24x24.  So I decided on pillow and sunset.

Then, I went crazy and decided on an appliqué sun.  But after I had applied fusible web once I changed my mind... And changed my mind again... And maybe a third time... So when I finally decided to leave it alone I had this left:

I did a little research and decide to test alcohol on scrap pieces of my kona solids.  They didn't seem to be affected so I dove in and started scrubbing.  I used a towel and my fingers to get as much off as possible.  I was worried but it came off!  And you couldn't tell unless you saw me scrubbing the hell out of it.

This project took wayyyy longer than expected.  But I really love the appliqué with black thread, free motioned on.  Inspired by Amber @ oneshabbychickhawaii! 

Grandpa's Crown of Thorns Quilt

So, a friend from my quilt guild inspired me to make a quilt for my grandfather, after I saw the amazing quilt she was making for her grandmother for Christmas.  I decided to start this project after Thanksgiving dinner---giving me a little less than a month to get it ready for Grandpa. 

I enlisted help from my whole family.  I thought it would be better if we could say that we all worked on it.  I started brainstorming colors and wanted it to be masculine.  And found this one from my color combo board on pinterest.  And started pulling fabrics.  It was actually really nice to have a stash built so that I could pull fabrics and not have to purchase any... or so I tried. 

 

 

I ended up with a few other Denyse Schmidt prints and some gold, amber and cinnamon Cotton Couture solids (my favorite!!)

 

Then, my friend Emily reminded me about a pattern for a crown of thorns quilt that was in Quilty mar/april 2013.  Cause I had my heart set on crown of thorns.  

We cut everything one night and the next day finished a quilt top!  Mostly just the women of the family helped but my brother enjoyed picking out color combos for the blocks, he even added the backwards one with the dark fabrics on the opposite side of the light ones.

(Don't tell my brother and sister I posted these photos!  In her pjs and he didn't want it ever to be known that he was playing with fabrics.)

Crabtastic Quilt

I was able to finish up a couple projects before I went to the beach... Last year after the beach, I decided we needed a beach quilt.  I saw Faith's crabtastic patchwork quilt and wanted something like that.  I snatched up some Maude Asbury's, Crabtastic from Hawthorne Threads last year and it took until this May to finish it.

I adore this quilt.  Its so happy!  Luckily I finished it before the beach because I'm weird about comforters in hotels and rental properties... So, we used it every night to sleep under and woke up to cheerful beach prints!

The design came from a picture I saw on pinterest.  Unfortunately, I can't seem to get a great photo of it.  I'll keep trying!  Excuse my husband's feet.

I backed it in Joel Dewberry's, Floral Drop!  I love that print.  Bound in Amy Butler's, Full Moon.  The quilting took Forever!  I did 4 straight lines with my walking foot every 6" and then went back and added a triangular zigzag on both sides of the lines.  Probably the most quilting I've done on a quilt.  I'm really happy with this quilt even though it took a year to complete!