Blogger's Quilt Festival :: Loosely Connected

Thanks to Amy Ellis of Amy’s Creative Side, the Blogger's Quilt Festival has been a lively online event for 10 years now!

Ridiculous or not, one of my favorite quilts from the last few months is the smallest, Loosely Connected. Just 11" square, I've hung it above my sewing machine, and honestly think several times a week that I really must make another version, except larger.

Making it was just that much fun.... the free and easy kind of creating that very nearly takes charge and makes itself. It had to be that, as I had no idea where I was going until well into the making. I remember beginning with striped strips and then cutting into them at angles. Connecting them with those skinny navy zigs and zags became my most-loved piecing details.

Once the arrangement of the triangles was set, even though I'll admit I wasn't sure at that point, echoing them with matchstick quilting was definitely a no-brainer. And it was in that process that I was totally won over.

Micro-binding cut at 1 3/4", with just a tiny accent of matched binding, was the obvious finish. And of course, a great reminder that creating doesn't have to be long, drawn-out, and overwhelming to be completely satisfying. Take the time to dabble now and then and see where it takes you!

Thanks for stopping by! You'll find me on Instagram at @aquilterstable. Leave your email in the sidebar if you'd like to subscribe to my newsletter, The Scrap Basket....  more from A Quilter's Table delivered straight to your email inbox. 

My previous entries in the Blogger's Quilt Festival:

EverGreenery, 9/19/17

StringSong, 9/23/16 ~ Yay or Nay, 9/21/16

Room Temp, 5/20/15 ~ Keychain, 5/19/15

Unlocked, 5/16/14 ~ Red Hots, 10/27/14

Absolutely Mod Pop, 5/19/13 ~ HST Love, 5/17/13 ~ Crazy Rainbow, 10/25/13

Hopscotch, 5/19/12 ~ The Stars of Summer, 10/26/12

Supernova, 5/13/11 ~ Mango Revisited, 10/28/11

Blogger's Quilt Festival :: EverGreenery

It's time for the Blogger's Quilt Festival, an opportunity for the online quilting community to share their quilts and admire the work of others. Hardest part about it is deciding what to share, right? Scrolling through the quilts I've made this year, I finally settled on EverGreenery, basically because it still makes me smile and I had so much fun making it!



Inspired by Greenery, the Pantone Color of the Year, I started with improv spikes, then filled in around them with improv hourglasses, diamonds, and stripes, basically made to order as the design came together.



Quilting was improvisational as well, with different designs in various areas of the quilt - all done with my walking foot.





Chunky binding (5/8" finished) seemed the perfect frame!



Creating quilts such as EverGreenery is my favorite.... going to the cutting board with rotary cutter and a stack of fabric or scraps - or both! - and just seeing where it takes you....

Quilt stats:

Finished size: 35" x 36"

Pattern: my own, improvisational

Fabric: Kona Parrot and green scraps + one lone scrap of Kona Pink Flamingo
Thread: Aurifil 50wt - 2021 [Natural White], with a touch of both 1114 [Grass Green] 

and 2435 [Peachy Pink]

Quilted by: myself, using a walking foot

My previous entries in the Blogger's Quilt Festival:

StringSong, 9/23/16 ~ Yay or Nay, 9/21/16

Room Temp, 5/20/15 ~ Keychain, 5/19/15

Red Hots, 10/27/14

Unlocked, 5/16/14

Crazy Rainbow, 10/25/13
Absolutely Mod Pop, 5/19/13 ~ HST Love, 5/17/13

The Stars of Summer, 10/26/12

Hopscotch, 5/19/12

Mango Revisited, 10/28/11

Supernova, 5/13/11

Blogger's Quilt Festival :: StringSong [Small Quilts]

Small quilts are my happy place. The opportunity to use a quickly chosen stack of fabrics, experiment with a technique, or just go to the cutting table with rotary in hand and start cutting to see where it leads me.... that's the very best kind of sewing to me, and when it's a small quilt, thus a quick finish, all the better. And it was in such an environment as this that StringSong was created.

My second entry in the Blogger's Quilt Festival was inspired by one little piece of an improv string slab I made for our guild's BOM.

I made big string slabs, and then cut them up to get the elements I needed, deciding what that was bit by bit. And yes, sewing slab scraps together to make more usable pieces totally fit the process.

Matchstick quilting was definitely called for, and it just seemed right that I gather as many coordinating threads as I had on hand. Plus it added to the fun. I switched between threads whenever the mood struck, and in this case, it seemed impossible to overdo it.

So this little quilt really does represent what I love most about quilting .... using fabric and thread to create just for the sake of creating. Using colors and designs only because they please you. Figuring it out as you go. Oh yeah.

Many thanks to Amy/Amy's Creative Side for hosting the festival. I've been enjoying reading through many of the entries! If you are visiting A Quilter's Table for the first time, welcome! You can also find me on Instagram @aquilterstable, and if you'd like to subscribe to my bi-monthly newsletter, The Scrap Basket, just leave your email in the pop-up box, or in the comments. Thanks so much for stopping by!

Quilt stats:

Finished size: 25" x 25"

Pattern: my own

Fabric: randomly pulled cotton solid stack
Thread: Aurifil 50wt - #2021 (Natural White), #2140 (Mustard), #2230 (Medium Peony) 
#2600 (Dove), #2610 (Light Blue Grey), #2975 (Brass), and #4020 (Fuchsia). 

Quilted by: myself, using a walking foot
Category: Small Quilts

My previous entries in the Blogger's Quilt Festival:
Yay or Nay, 9/21/16

Room Temp, 5/20/15

Keychain, 5/19/15

Red Hots, 10/27/14

Unlocked, 5/16/14

Crazy Rainbow, 10/25/13
Absolutely Mod Pop, 5/19/13

HST Love, 5/17/13

The Stars of Summer, 10/26/12

Hopscotch, 5/19/12

Mango Revisited, 10/28/11

Supernova, 5/13/11

Blogger's Quilt Festival :: Yay or Nay [Modern Quilts]

The name for my first entry in this year's Blogger's Quilt Festival came about after I posted on Instagram, asking what folks though of a design decision. Thus .... "Yay or Nay."



It was a bit of a rocky road with this one. I questioned myself at every turn, all the while knowing exactly where I wanted to go with it. It's crazy, really, how much the fear of not creating something good enough (good enough for what?) trips us up sometimes and complicates the process. Thankfully, Karen Lewis' words in a guild podcast came at just the right moment. "Don't be afraid of getting it wrong." Of course. How could I have forgotten?



So I forged ahead, took risks, and ended up with an improvisational design that spoke to me, quite possibly more in what it represented than what it actually became.



Creating right from the design wall is often a mixed bag of freedom and frustration, and it certainly was in this case, but I find it the most fun. When it came time for quilting, I used Aurifil 50wt #2600 (light gray) and quilted a very dense organic grid, dense meaning 1/4" to 1/2" between lines. Eight bobbins for a 48" square dense. Yeah, great texture.



Thanks to Amy/Amy's Creative Side for hosting the festival once again. It's always inspiring to peruse all the entries! And to those visiting A Quilter's Table for the first time, welcome! You can also find me on Instagram @aquilterstable, and if you'd like to subscribe to my newsletter, The Scrap Basket, just leave your email in the pop-up box, or in the comments. Thanks everyone for stopping by!

Quilt stats:

Finished size: 48" x 48"

Pattern: my own

Fabric: The Denim Studio by Art GalleryFabrics paired with Kaufman Kona Cotton Solid in Silver
Thread: Aurifil 50wt - #2600 (light gray)

Quilted by: myself, using a walking foot 
Category: Modern Quilts

My previous entries in the Blogger's Quilt Festival:

Room Temp, 5/20/15

Keychain, 5/19/15

Red Hots, 10/27/14

Unlocked, 5/16/14

Crazy Rainbow, 10/25/13
Absolutely Mod Pop, 5/19/13

HST Love, 5/17/13

The Stars of Summer, 10/26/12

Hopscotch, 5/19/12

Mango Revisited, 10/28/11

Supernova, 5/13/11

A Nominee

If you follow me anywhere other than this blog, you already know that my Mod Mood has been nominated in the Viewer's Choice category of the Blogger's Quilt Festival hosted by Amy's Creative Side. This is the 6th year I've participated in the festival, and I believe my first nomination. So even though I've plastered it all over social media, for the record I wanted to share here too. Because the fact remains, this is Mod Mood's home, here is where I've shared the most comprehensively about her, and she's participating in a blogger's quilt festival after all.

I'm gonna be mushy. But real. Knowing someone(s) out there nominated Mod Mood for this particular category is deeply satisfying. I thank you. She is in mighty fine company - with quilts made by many of my friends even - and the basic truth that I actually have a quilt that qualifies to be in a group of modern quilts .... well, it all makes my heart full. Again, I thank the women of Bee Sewcial for welcoming me in, for challenging me and affirming my work, for making such terrific blocks for this quilt. And to all of you, I appreciate you being there and cheering me on. Every day, it's my pleasure to live and create alongside you.

Blogger's Quilt Festival :: Room Temp {Small Quilt Category}

If we're lucky, every once in a while we find ourselves working on a project that's so darn enjoyable, you know, every step of the way, that we think to ourselves, "this is why I sew." Room Temp did that to me. It's my own version of Krista/Poppyprint's Improv Under the Influence quilt, begun with Krista herself at a recent class here in Seattle. I've worked steadily on it this past week, hoping I could finish it in time to enter it in the Blogger's Quilt Festival hosted by Amy/Amy's Creative Side. Well I made it, and am happily entering it in the Small Quilts category.

This quilt's process was unique in that I was using Krista's technique, with a relatively good idea of what my finished quilt would look like, yet most of the sewing and all of the cutting was improv, so there was definitely room for flexibility and personalization.

When it came time to quilt, I did some improv straight line, basically stitching wherever I felt like in the moment. Echo-quilting here, a spiral there, boy this is a fun way to quilt! I used three thread colors, all Aurifil 50wt - #2805 (Light Turquoise), variegated #4658 (Limoni Di Monterosso), #2975 (Brass). As usual, the threads chosen just added to the overall enjoyment of the process. I especially enjoyed sneaking a little turquoise into the gold sections, some limoni into the turquoise, and just two sections of brass for extra interest.

Some of my favorite parts of this quilt are the little "mismatched" bits placed in the contrasting colorways, and spots like the one below where I quilted something unique in one little section.

A faced binding seemed a perfect fit for this quilt. In the past, I've always used a miter when I've wanted to face a quilt, but this time I tried the quilt facing tutorial by Terry Aske Art Quilt Studio. Honestly, it seemed a tad less stressful that a miter, and allowed me to keep the quilt corners squared up nicely.

With solids not too warm nor too cool, I found Room Temp a very comfortable place to be.

Quilt stats:

Finished size: 29"x31"

Pattern: Improv Under the Influence by Krista Hennebury

Fabric: Kona Cotton Solids - Turquoise, Mediterranean, Lagoon, Bahama Blue, Aqua, Curry, Grellow, Corn Yellow, Sunflower, & Banana
Thread: Aurifil 50wt - #2805 (Light Turquoise), #4658 (Limoni Di Monterosso), 
#2975 (Brass)

Quilted by: myself, using a walking foot 
Helpful tutorials: "Chess on the Steps" by Krista Hennebury,

available to members on The Modern Quilt Guild website

Category: Small Quilts

My previous entries in the Blogger's Quilt Festival:

Keychain, 5/19/15

Red Hots, 10/27/14

Unlocked, 5/16/14

Crazy Rainbow, 10/25/13
Absolutely Mod Pop, 5/19/13

HST Love, 5/17/13

The Stars of Summer, 10/26/12

Hopscotch, 5/19/12

Mango Revisited, 10/28/11

Supernova, 5/13/11

Also linking up with Finish It Up Friday.

Blogger's Quilt Festival :: Keychain {Scrappy Quilts Category}

Meet "Keychain," my entry into the Scrappy Quilts category of the Blogger's Quilt Festival hosted by Amy/Amy's Creative Side. Even though scrappy quilts are often a riot of color, Keychain is indeed a scrappy quilt and the fun twist is that they weren't even my scraps!! A while back I admired the Oakshott Italy that Cindy/Live a Colorful Life was using, and was thrilled when she offered to send me her scraps. I opted for a controlled scrappy look for my small quilt, and used every last inch of what she sent.



My inspiration came from a chair at my local coffee shop. I often take random photos like this, but on this occasion, I actually went home and tried sewing it up and eventually created a tutorial for the "Greek Key" block.

 

The scraps I had to work with consisted of 7 colors and I used 6 to make the larger improv blocks, incorporating Essex linen in natural as a background. It was after I'd sewn those 6 blocks together than I came up with the idea for the small unraveling 'key' in the bottom corner. Though kind of random, I thought it added some unexpected fun.



For the quilting, I used Aurifil 50wt #5021, which was a lovely match for the Essex natural, yet subtle enough not to be distracting on the colored spirals. I did very little marking, so lines are a little wobbly here and there - just the look I was after as I stitched a wonky, uneven square spiral around the quilt.



To keep the focus on the spirals, I used more Essex for the binding, while using the last little piece of the reddish Oakshott Italy to make a short bit of matched binding, one of my favorite little details.

This quilt just begged to be washed up when done, and boy did that Oakshott and Essex soften and crinkle up nicely together. All in all, this was an enjoyable exercise for me - a bit of a stretch, but with satisfying results.

 Quilt stats:

Finished size:  23" x 27"

Pattern: my original design

Fabric: Oakshott Italy, Essex linen in natural
Thread: Aurifil 50wt #5021 (light grey)

Quilted by: myself, using a walking foot 
Helpful tutorials: Greek Key Block, Straight Matched Binding

Category: Scrappy Quilts

My previous entries in the Blogger's Quilt Festival:

Red Hots, 10/27/14

Unlocked, 5/16/14

Crazy Rainbow, 10/25/13
Absolutely Mod Pop, 5/19/13

HST Love, 5/17/13

The Stars of Summer, 10/26/12

Hopscotch, 5/19/12

Mango Revisited, 10/28/11

Supernova, 5/13/11

Blogger's Quilt Festival :: Red Hots {Mini Quilt Category}

Scrolling back through the quilts I've finished over the last few several months, it was Red Hots that beckoned to be shared again. Small as it is, it's one I savored from the moment the fabric landed on my doorstep to the very last stitch of its matched binding. An original design, it was created for the Oakshott Ruby Mini Quilt Challenge hosted by Sew Mama Sew. 

It was my first time working with Oakshotts, and boy was I dazzled. I didn't have a clear design when I started, but I knew 2 things: 1) I hoped to incorporate some curves, and 2) I wanted to use every one of the colors in the bundle.

So I 'made' some striped fabric from random widths, and beginning with a curved striped column, began creating a design as I went, left to right. When I was happy with what I'd created, I added borders 

And this is where the real fun began. Using nearly every "hot" thread I had, I matchstick quilted in the solid strips and did some parallel diagonals in the striped sections, all with my walking foot.

Luckily, I had enough of my made fabric left to use it as binding, which pleased me to no end. 

So matched binding it was. What a perfect finish to a most enjoyable sew.

Quilt stats:

Finished size: 19" x 20"

Pattern: my original design

Fabric: Oakshott Ruby Red shot cottons
Thread: a variety of types and colors

Quilted by: myself, using a walking foot 
Helpful tutorials: Cutting and Sewing Free Hand Curves by Red Pepper Quilts;

Striped Binding; Straight Matched Binding

Category: Mini Quilt Category

My previous entries in the Blogger's Quilt Festival:

Unlocked, 5/16/14

Crazy Rainbow, 10/25/13
Absolutely Mod Pop, 5/19/13

HST Love, 5/17/13

The Stars of Summer, 10/26/12

Hopscotch, 5/19/12

Mango Revisited, 10/28/11

Supernova, 5/13/11

Blogger's Quilt Festival :: Unlocked {Small Quilt Category}

It's always a bit of a dilemma choosing what quilt to share in the Blogger's Quilt Festival. After glancing through my most recent quilt finishes, I decided on the one that felt like the biggest accomplishment, Unlocked.

You may recognize the quilt's blocks from Tula Pink's City Sampler book. I had the pleasure of sewing them along with the City Sampler Quilt Along, 3 blocks a week. Each just 6" finished, I stored the blocks between my book's pages, and every few weeks, plopped them into a grid to see how I was coming along. {Here's a tutorial to make a similar grid.}

So basically, this quilt was alot of "make and wait" - no pressure to put it all together for over 9 months! When it was finally time, I opted for a 'no sashing' version of Tula's "Gridlock".

Much of the fabric used in this quilt was from Tula's lines, though there are plenty of stash solids and a few other coordinating prints. For the back, I recreated  Block No. 16 as a backing, with Parisville Eye Drops as the focus fabric. I tried quilting one huge spiral for the first time, using Aurifil's Tula Pink Premium Collection, #2843 (palm leaf). A very pale green, it blended perfectly throughout the quilt.

I finished with a faced binding, which I thought added to the artsy look of the quilt. And once complete, Unlocked was whisked downtown to meet up with an appropriate city skyscape. 

Besides being colorful and striking, this quilt is one of my favorites because of its journey. I love quilts like this - sewn in community, a fun and unexpected layout, and new techniques tried, if not mastered. That all makes for a very happy finish in my book.

Quilt stats:

Finished size: 60" square

Pattern: all blocks from Tula Pink's City Sampler: 100 Modern Quilt Blocks

Fabric: majority of fabric by Tula Pink, with several coordinating prints & solids
Thread: Auriful 50wt #2000 (light sand) for piecing; #2843 (palm leaf) for quilting

Quilted by: myself, using a walking foot 
Helpful tutorials: tutorial by The Quilting Edge for the spiral quilting;
OPQuilt's tutorial for the faced binding; 
creating a block grid

Category: Small Quilt Category

My previous entries in the Blogger's Quilt Festival:

Crazy Rainbow, 10/25/13
Absolutely Mod Pop, 5/19/13

HST Love, 5/17/13

The Stars of Summer, 10/26/12

Hopscotch, 5/19/12

Mango Revisited, 10/28/11

Supernova, 5/13/11