Fabric-Inspired Quilting

Invariable, once I write and publish a post about my latest finish, I remember some little detail I really had wanted to share with you all. And with Yay or Nay, it was where I got the idea for the quilting.

I bet you can guess. Right there in the fabric itself! I loved that uneven grid in the borders as I was sewing with it, so it made perfect sense to mimic it in the quilting.

Now most of the time, I choose a quilting pattern that reflects the design of the quilt in some way, and sometimes I go with an 'overall' geometric design that just feels right, like organic or straight-line quilting or a grid. So it's a treat of sorts when I can pull a design from one of the fabrics.

Here's another example of that, in my mini Still Swooning.

See that black square in the center of the quilt? The quilting design all came from that, and I shared about it in more detail in this post, if you're interested.

So just a reminder that there's more than one element of a quilt that can influence the quilting you choose to do. What do you think influences you the most?

It's Time for the Crosscut Quilt-Along!

Well the  Crosscut Quilt-Along on Instagram has begun! I've posted the Day One prompt, and have my low-volume squares and 1" strips cut, so now on to the sewing!

It's not too late to join in! And if you're stopping by for the complete tutorial with more visuals, click here! This is going to be fun!

Seattle MQG Giving

A while back I mentioned that Louise/I'm Feelin' Crafty and I stepped in as Seattle MQG's Giving Committee co-chairs this year, and we finally have a few finished quilts! We inherited lots of black and white print fabric when we took over, all of which had been donated last year by guild members, so we definitely wanted to use it!

So to start, we chose an Improv Quarter Log Cabin tutorial, and asked for 12 1/2" square blocks made with the black and white prints alternated with a true white solid. We encouraged the makers to give their blocks a little wonk when they squared them up.



With all of the blocks received back, we were able to make two quilts! I sewed the larger top together, which Arlene DeBuck kindly quilted with a delightful variety of quilting motifs and bound it as well. Louise came up with the clever name Fade to Black, and it finished at 72" square.

Then there were enough blocks left to make a baby-sized quilt. I pieced this one also, quilted it up with a diagonal straight-line, and passed it on to Yeechi Chen to bind.

Yeechi even added a sweet aqua flange to this little 36″ x 48″ quilt, which we named Blue Trimmed Cabin.

In addition to all the black and white fabrics, we also inherited some star blocks that were made by guild members a few years ago. Louise pieced this 36" x 48" top, I quilted it with a simple serpentine, then Deborah Christensen bound it. Once complete, it was christened First Star I See.

photos of First Star I See by Louise Wackerman; used by permission

All three of these quilts will be donated to Nurse-Family Partnership, a community health program in Seattle that helps transform the lives of young, low-income mothers pregnant with their first child.

By the way, these epic (and giant!) quilt labels were also inherited - screen-printed by guild members Dionne Matthies-Buban and Kristen Ballou. Aren't they the most perfect finish?

2016 Finish-A-Long :: Q2 Winners!

It's time to announce the winners for the Second Quarter of the Finish-A-Long. Your global hosts have been so inspired by all the finishes of the second quarter - an amazing 677!!

Rhonda is going to email all the winners and will need to hear back from the winners by Sunday, July 24 so she can arrange to get your prize to you. If she doesn't hear from you by that date, she'll pick an alternate. So please email her at gap.rhonda@gmail.com if you see your name below so you don't miss out on your wonderful prize from our kindhearted sponsors, who we appreciate so much!

Without further ado, the winners - each picked by the random number generator - of the Q2 FAL prizes are:

The winner of the €25 (25 Euro) Gift Certificate from Fluffy Sheep Quilting goes to QuiltGranny who blogs at GRANNYcanQUILT and made this gorgeous beautiful baby quilt:

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The winner of 3 patterns from Clover & Violet is @limeleaf74 on IG who made this french press cozy:

 

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The winner of the Oakshott Fabric £75 Gift Certificate goes to Sophie who blogs at Luna Lovequilts and made this adorable tote bag:

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The winner of 3 patterns from Tartankiwi goes to Jennifer (@crimsonconfection on IG) and also has an etsy shop by the same name and made this amazing cross stitch:

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The winner of the $50 Gift Certificate to The Intrepid Thread is Kirsty (@kqdesign on IG) who also has this great weebly site and made this great quilt:

 

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The winner of the choice of 3 patterns from Happy Quilting is Kat who blogs at Kat's Craft and made this bright and beautiful C&S coin quilt:

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A $25 gift certificate from Green Fairy Quilts goes to Heather who blogs at Quilting and Beyond who stitched this fold-it bag:

 

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A copy of the full Aurora BOM Pattern from Blossom Heart Quilts goes to bee who blogs at Buzzing Around and finished this great Warhol-inspired mini:

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The $40 gift certificate from Mad about Patchwork goes to Genevieve (@theorlaproject on IG) who made and gifted this beautiful dresden quilt:

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The winner of the signed copy of The Ultmimate Guide to Machine Quilting from Christa Quilts goes to Samantha (@zipperoonihere on IG) finished this beautiful quilt:

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A $50 Gift Certificate from 7 Acres Cleared Fabric Shop goes to Angela (@angela.bacon on IG) who made a gorgeous Disney mini swap but IG won't let me copy the pic - you can find it here. If Angela sends me a copy I will add later.

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A 6-month subscription to Make Modern goes to @asquaredquilter on IG who made this great paper-pieced pillow as a birthday gift for a friend:

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The first winner of 3 patterns from Porch Swing Quilts is Izzy who blogs at Dizzy Quilts and finished this super cute mini with some great quilting:

The second winner of 3 patterns from Porch Swing Quilts is Abigail who blogs at Cut & Alter and made this beautiful mini (love the quote from Romeo & Juliet):

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The $30 gift certificate from Sunny Day Supply goes to Gretchen who blogs at 120 Blocks and made this cute table runner:

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The winner of a copy of Windy City Bags from Sew Sweetness is Judy who blogs at Sew Some Sunshine and made this super cute quilt:

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The $25 gift certificate to Sew Sisters Quilt Shop goes to Christina who blogs at Christina's Handicrafts and made this eye-catching table runner:

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The $50 Gift Certificate from Mariner's Compass Quilt Shop goes to Jantine (@urbanstylejantine on IG) who knit this great shawl by testing a pattern:

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The winner of the Pattern Pack from On the Windy Side goes to Karen (@karenlovesepp on IG) who made this great orange peel quilt:

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The $50 gift certificate from Fat Quarter Shop goes to Jo who blogs at Create the Point and finished this sweater after almost 2 full years (THIS is what the finish-a-long is ALL ABOUT):

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The winner of 2 pin bowls from Laurel Bee Designs is Pippa (@pippaspatch on IG) who made this gorgeous Siblings Together Quilt:

 

 

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The winner of the $40 gift certificate to Imagine Gnats is Nicole who blogs at Quilting like a Maniac- Relaxing through Quilting and made this Stunner:

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The winner of the $20 gift certificate from Sew Me a Song is Cheryl (@moyersminions on IG) who finished my favorite kinda quilt, a Swoon:

 

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The winner of the $30 gift certificate to Knotted Thread is Ella who blogs at ThrowAWrenchintheWorks and finished this pouch and MANY other things (seriously, Ella is a finishing rock-star):

 

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The winner of the £40 (40 Pound) Gift Certificate from Simply Solids is Francine who blogs at MochaWildChild and practiced on EQ7 by making these great pouches:

 

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The $25 gift certificate from The Quilt Ranch goes to Vera who blogs at Negligent Style and made this spectacular pillow (you really should go read the story behind the blog title):

 

Congratulations to all the winners and thank you to our sponsors!! Now let's get on with Q3!