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

Red Hots Review

This week and next, Sew Mama Sew is showing off all the Oakshott Ruby Mini Quilt Challenge finishes. You'll be seeing lovely Oakshott minis from these talented folks:

• Jen of bettycrockerass
• Malka of A Stitch in Dye
• Deborah of Whipstitch
• Kristy of St. Louis Folk Victorian
• Beth of Plum and June posted here

And today is my turn! 

Check out my Red Hots reveal post if you missed that. And see the others at Sew, Mama, Sew. You can also get some sneak peeks using hashtag #oakshottrubymini on Instagram. 

And last but not least at all . . . you can purchase Oakshott Fabrics at quilt shops, directly from the manufacturer in the UK, or online from Contemporary Cloth in the U.S. Sew, Mama, Sew also has a fat eighth bundle of Oakshott Ruby to give away! Comment on any of the Mini Quilt Challenge posts for a chance to win. How hot is that?!