Diamond Flare Finish

Whew! It's always such a relief to have a year-long project done! Begun back in March of last year, another segment or two was made each month, until I had a finished quilt top by year's end 2023. The pattern, Diamond Flare, is by guild member Taylor Krz @toadandsew.

For a quilt back, I used pretty much every little left-over from my Diamond Flare quilt top. The green fabric on the right side and top corner was pulled from stash to bring it to size. But otherwise, those bits and lengths were all from the stack of fabric I started the year with.

I had originally intended to make the quilt back along with the MQG Quilt Back Challenge starting with gathering supplies - the inspiration print + leftover solids. As a reminder, below is a shot of my initial inspiration fabric for the quilt's palette, Annabel Wrigley's @littlepincushionstudio Color Wheel Confetti Green for Windham Fabrics. Though I got it back out to consider piecing into the quilt back, I decided to save it for another project. But I think I kept pretty true to the palette, no?

As for my approach plan back during the challenge - using off-cuts from the quilt front, with the combination of simple geometric elements and overall piecing the back improvisationally, I stuck with that too.

I had run out of my big roll of Warm & White batting, and was thinking of trying something different. First I was thinking Quilter's Dream Green, but it was difficult to find in the amount I needed, so I decided to go with Quilter's Dream Select, which I'd used and liked before. I'm not sure what happened, but I somehow mis-ordered and ended up with Quilter's Dream Request, which I love for hand-quilting, but that wasn't my plan here. I decided to try it anyway, lightweight as it was, and it quilted like a dream. 

It was hard to pick a thread color from my stash that went with the wide range of colors and values in the quilt, but finally chose Aurifil 50wt 2612 [Arctic Sky]. I marked a diagonal 3" grid with my hera marker, one quarter of the quilt at a time, and that worked wonderfully. 

Bound with more of the Kona Blueprint used in both sides of the quilt, it finished at 71" square.

Whew! This one feels big, and with the batting and quilting choices, it is super cuddly and cozy. I think that is the last of the quilt projects begun last year. I sure hope so! I'm ready to do something impromptu and much smaller. Curious what that may be!

Diamond Flare :: December

As fellow Seattle MQG members began to post their finished Diamond Flare Quilt tops, I got inspired to pull my blocks out and sew mine up! 

We've been working on our block-of-the-month (AKA BOM) all year, a pattern by guild member Taylor Krz @toadandsew, and the complete top measures 71" square. I still need to finish a quilt back, which I'm making from scraps left from yardage for the top. Hopefully I'll have this one quilted and done  early in the new year.

Diamond Flare :: October + November

It had been too long. Focusing on the big project, I had let making my blocks for the guild BOM #SeattleMQGBOM2023 go, and was behind a couple of months. I finally took some time to get caught up.

First the set of blocks for October....

and then the ones for November.

Since these were the last of the blocks, I tried to lay everything out on the floor to get an idea of the final design, but there just wasn't room. And of course, I now have three sets of blocks in addition to the big center section, but I'm not sure how they should be arranged. So I'll put them all away for now and wait for the big layout reveal next month. At least all the building blocks are done!

Diamond Flare :: September

Before the month comes to an end, I took some time to whip up the latest segments for my Seattle MQG Diamond Flare BOM quilt. This month's assignment - the stepping stone blocks on the sides of the pieced triangle blocks from last month - took a while and definitely demanded some concentration, but I love that they used all but one of the fabrics in my palette.

So this month's pieces were stitched together with last month's, but what comes next remains to be seen. One step at a time, right?

Diamond Flare :: August

It took me a while to sew up the latest installment of my Diamond Flare, the BOM quilt with Seattle MQG, but once I did, it was done in no time.

Of course I have no idea how those pieces will fit into the final round, but they're ready when the next step is revealed! We actually have three more installments before the quilt top is complete, so we've a ways to go. Until then, the mystery remains....

Diamond Flare :: July

Well my Diamond Flare BOM quilt with Seattle MQG is growing! Designed by guild member Taylor Krz @toadandsew, I was excited to see what this month's reveal held. My Diamond Flare went from this....

to this.

I felt like it was transformed with the addition of those corner piece, both in continuing the design, as well as the addition of those dark squares. It now measures 51" square! We're really only half-way along, as the final 'border' will take us several months to construct. But meanwhile, I like how it's looking, and am intrigued by the process. AND it's been Lego-inspected, so all is well.

Diamond Flare :: June

So here's where we left off in May with the Diamond Flare BOM with Seattle MQG. 

A mystery quilt BOM designed by guild member Taylor Krz @toadandsew, we're receiving just a little more info each month. For June, we added to the pieced triangles we made last month, and the resultant 'blocks' are the same width as the center medallion.

So they now are pieced, but not attached to the medallion.... just waiting for instructions for the four corner blocks in July!

Diamond Flare :: May

Those participating in the Diamond Flare BOM with Seattle MQG are really enjoying it from what I can see. (Take a quick peek!) The BOM is a mystery quilt designed by guild member Taylor Krz @toadandsew, and as the description implies, we are receiving just a bit more info each month. Here's where I left off last month, with a 31" square.

For May, we were given instructions to complete four sections and leave them untrimmed for now. 

Of course we don't know how things are going to fit together yet. So we'll all have to stay tuned to see what's next!

Diamond Flare :: April

Happily, the Diamond Flare BOM with Seattle MQG is proving to be very popular! (Take a quick peek!) And after completing March's blocks, I confess I was eager to see what was next.

A mystery quilt designed by guild member Taylor Krz @toadandsew, I was questioning my chosen palette just a bit after adding this month's blocks (the stripes). But Taylor assured me it would all turn out great, and I'm confident it will. This block will become the center of my quilt and currently measures 31" square. Now to pack it all away and wait patiently for May's block release. 

Diamond Flare :: March

Just popping in quickly to share the first block assignment for the Seattle MQG block-of-the-month, Diamond Flare. It's a mystery quilt designed by guild member Taylor Krz @toadandsew, and it started off easy with a bunch of HSTs.

It was hard to get a decent true-color photo of the blocks, but, as instructed, I used my lightest and darkest colors from my fabric pull - Kona Blue and Kona Forest.

So now we wait until April's meeting when the next assignment will be released. No worries... plenty of wips to work on here.

Seattle MQG 2023 BOM Diamond Flare

After barely finishing my quilt from last year's BOM, Seattle MQG presented this year's BOM quilt, Diamond Flare by Taylor Krz @toadandsew. Exciting, right?! 

So our assignment for February was to choose our fabrics. This was important for me to do, since the eight fabric amounts needed were larger than I generally keep in my stash. IE. I pulled from stash what I could, but then needed to order more to supplement. Here's what I ended up with:

My fabric pull is totally inspired by a piece of fabric! It's Annabel Wrigley's @littlepincushionstudio Color Wheel Confetti Green for Windham Fabrics. I wish I remembered where I first got a glimpse of this, but I knew right away that I loved the overall palette. Of course, it's more complex than what I'm going to be working with, but hopefully it'll give a similar feel.

I decided why not make myself a color panel? I find they really help with a months-long project like this BOM will be.

So hopefully tonight at our monthly meeting, we'll get instructions for March's assignment, because I'm anxious to get started!