The Backs

When I shared a recent quilt finish, I was gently scolded for not showing off the quilt's back. I suppose I only do that when I do something I consider especially creative. But that doesn't mean I don't like the back. In fact, sometimes I like it alot. At any rate, here's some 2014 quilt backs you haven't seen . . .

Radiancy got one of my very favorite prints - Newspaper Strips from Carrie Bloomston's Collage.

All the prints in the front of Still Swooning were from a fat-eighth pack of Anna Maria Horner's Dowry. So for the back, I pieced together strips of 3 pieces of the same print in different colorways.

With Aurora {aka Northern Lights} being all in solids, for the back I chose 2 stash prints - Cat Mint from Catnap by Lizzy House and Metro Living Ring Dots in Pewter. Simple, but I like. Seriously, I could back just about every quilt in Metro Living Rings.

Lastly, ástərisk got a single piece of Madrona Road by Violet Craft. I confess I was a little sad it took all I had, but it was a good fit. (Random: note how the faced binding shows off on the back more than a regular binding.)

So there! True confessions revealed. Nothing earth-shattering, but now you know. Sometimes I have the time, energy, and inspiration for something more unique, but usually my quilt backs are pretty basic. Just for fun, here's a link to a Quilt Backs Pinterest board where I add ideas as I come across them. If you have a favorite go-to quilt back, I'd love to hear about it!

From Whence Inspiration Comes

When I revealed my "Still Swooning" mini last week, there were many comments on the quilting.

The thing is, the quilting was easy-peasy, and as I mentioned then, it was all inspired by this little corner-post.

I find when I think about the quilting for any of my projects, I look first at the project itself to see if it can inspire me. And this one certainly did. Just for fun, I thought I'd share my process on this mini - just to show you how simple it can really be!

This 3x18" ruler and my hera marker were all the tools I needed. I laid my ruler down and marked a line around the ruler as shown.

Then I slid the ruler down to extend that one long line on the right side of the 'U'.

As you can see, I echo-quilted within the 'U', and along the left-hand sides of my original markings, which resulted in a fun zig-zag pattern that filled the left side of the quilt. I liked that so much, I reset my ruler to the right, off-setting it a bit from the original, and marked again.

I filled in the second "U" and then went for a third, this time sliding my ruler up a bit to offset this "U" from the other 2. From there, I just filled in the third "U" and then echo-stitched to the right, to fill in the rest of the quilt with more zig-zag.

See how easy that was? Not too taxing, but something fun and unique for this particular project.

I'm kind of fond of how your eye dances around the movement caused by the quilting. 

So tell me - what inspires you when it comes to quilting designs - ? Inquiring minds want to know.

Still Swooning

Back in 2011, I saw Camille Roskelley's Swoon block for the first time and fell in love. I took my time debating what fabric to use for a full-size quilt, so meanwhile I just had to jump in and give the block a go! I created my first one-block mini quilt for a giveaway in celebration of my 100th post! 

It wasn't long before I made another to swap!

Finally, in November of that same year, I had accomplished my original goal! This quilt is still a favorite and is in use often.

I don't know what got into me! Before that month was up, I'd also made a big ole 48" Scrappy Super Swoon. Whew! By now I figured I'd gotten it out of my system - at least for a while.

But then when I needed a project for a swap months later, I tweaked the pattern ever so slightly and created Pinky-Swoon. I still miss her.

All this to say what you've probably guessed by now . . . When I saw Camille was publishing her patterns in miniature, I jumped on it. Mini-Swoon to be exact. And finally, while retreating last weekend, I finally got started.

The 4 - 8" Swoon blocks are all made from Anna Maria Horner's Dowry on a KONA Ash background, and bound in Michael Miller Cotton Couture in Charcoal. The quilting was inspired by this little corner post right here. 

My favorite Aurifil 50 wt. #2600 (light gray) perfectly wove the bright prints together with the solid background.

And thus the infatuation is once again satisfied. Until next time.

Linking up with Fabric Tuesday.

W.i.P. Wednesday

The good news: I'm going on retreat tomorrow with my local quilting buddies, the Basket Case Quilters. The bad news: I probably won't accomplish as much as I pack. But here's what I've got going:

• FAITH Circle quilt - This quilt was my plan for the group in February, and I'm beyond thrilled with the blocks I got back. They are Vice Versa blocks by gen x quilters, January's blocks in the BOM she's hosting. What a clever concept for blocks, and I'm really enjoying seeing them around about. The layout I chose using just 1 pair of blocks is quite different from the quilt AnneMarie designed. But I think it's all going to be just fine. So my goal is to get this top pieced, and then get to quilting it after the retreat.

• Mom's quilt top - You may remember the pillows I made for my mom last fall. Well Mom saw and liked the Disappearing 9-patch pattern on Pinterest, and I assured her it would be a great use for the leftover pillow fabric. I'm adding in a few stash prints so I can make it a nice lap quilt size, and though what you see below is as far as I've gotten, I have all the necessary squares cut out, so I'm hoping I can easily get this top pieced too.

• Mini Swoon - If I can get the above two tops pieced, this will be my reward. I've had the pattern and fabric chosen for a couple of months. At least now the pieces are all cut. We'll see how far I can get on this mini. Finished size is 19" square. Who knows? Maybe this will even be ready to hang in my studio by next week. One can hope!

• Postage Stamp quilt - In an effort to obliterate the contents of my overflowing scrap basket, I have two scrap projects in the works. Small bits are being cut into 2 1/2" squares. I have about 400 cut, but need around 1200 for a lap quilt. I'll keep cutting till it's time to pack, plus probably take a bag of scraps with me. I'll be using the tutorial by my friend Louise/I'm Feelin' Crafty, and adhering my squares to featherweight interfacing before sewing the blocks together.

• Cross-Stitch Blocks - Here's my other scrap project - cross-stitch blocks using the tutorial by Alyssa/Pile O'Fabric. I'm using Kona Ash charm squares as my base. I've got about 40 more x-pieces cut out, but for the pattern I have in mind, I'll need over 100 total, so I've got a ways to go there too. 

So what do you think? Do I have enough to keep me busy for the next few days? I kinda think so.

Love a Feature

DS Doll Quilt Swap top, a photo by flickrdeb50 on Flickr.

Loved seeing my scrappy Pinky-Swoon along with a host of other beautiful quilty things in Camille's Summer post this morning! (A post on this mini, including pictures of the finish, can be found here.)

{maybe}

It's about time to pack up my swap project for the DS Quilts Doll Quilt Swap2. Things didn't start off well, as I was paired with a secret partner who loves pink. Now I confess to having a tall stack of DS fabrics, but very little pink!

Thankfully, Kirsten of gemini stitches was happy to swap DS fabrics, and before long I had plenty of pinkaliciousness for the scrappy project I was planning. (that was for you, Nicke!)

Apparently my Swoon phase had waned, but clearly wasn't over, because as you can plainly see, I made another.

Or as I like to think of her, "Pinky-Swoon".

Basically, I used Camille Roskelley's design, but snuck in even more squares and hsts, to make it scrappier yet. Kona Medium Gray served as the background, with Pinky-Swoon measuring in at 17" square. (I also down-sized the squares to 2" finished.)

Usually, the back of any project is a bit of a struggle, where I find myself asking, "Should I go easy and ho-hum, or harder (ie. longer) and more interesting?" In this case, it was an easy decision to go interesting. I mean, really, most of those pinks had traveled all the way from Australia to be a part of this project, so I might as well put them to good use. I admit, I really had fun with it.

When it came time to quilt, I was influenced by the criss-crossing straight-line I've done on recent projects {spiraled and the improv runner}. Adding to the feminine mood of the pink, I added some wavy quilting lines here and there. And to add even more interest (to me anyway), though quilted mostly with gray thread, I arbitrarily switched it out for pink. So when I mentioned wacko quilting and thread decisions last week, that's what I was referring to.

So now she's finished and it's time to say good-bye and safe travels. She's pretty much leaving me with a hankering to swoon again.

Linking up with little quilt monday, {sew} Modern Monday, Fabric Tuesday, Made By ME, and sew & tell friday.

W.i.P. Wednesday

W.i.P. Wednesday rolls around pretty quick, doesn't it? While Hopscotch is at the quilter, it's all about some small projects for me - a nice breather, actually.

Completed projects
Zakka Style Sew-Along project #4: Sewing Kit {full post here} - This was a very fun little project, and I loved incorporating the blue shot cotton, as well as the variegated Aurifil.

Hollywood Boulevard table runner - {full post here}

DS Quilts Doll Quilt Swap project - A 17" scrappy DS Swoon one-block quilt. I went a little wacko with the thread and quilting decisions. A full post will be coming soon. I can't mail it for another week, so I'll enjoy it while it hangs out here at home.

Ongoing projects
Hopscotch - Now just waiting to get it back from the quilter.

Upcoming projects
* Quilt using my 4x5 blocks from rounds 1, 2, & 3
* Tutorial for pieced binding
* FAITH Circle Pouch Swap
* more Zakka - next up is a patchwork pencil case
* Solstice Stars quilt
* a quilt to coordinate with my Christmas tree skirt - On a Whim ??
* scrappy Metrolink
* Ohio Star blocks for FAITH circle's May quilt NEW
* Japanese x and + blocks Round 2 NEW
* QWERTY variation NEW
* Plus quilt for my sister-in-law - now waiting to see her palette NEW

Linking up with W.i.P. Wednesday.

Improv Winner!

Oh I love it when the win on one of my giveaways makes me laugh out loud! And the winner of Quilting Modern, chosen by random.org is:

#47 ~ Amy of Amy Made That! who I just 'met' last week when we did a little swap - my stamped linen for her key fobs, one of which I wore around my wrist half the day at work today, thank you very much! Well congrats to Amy! (Of course, I seem to have already deleted your address, so email me & I'll get the book out to you!)

Thank you all for playing along - there's so much y'all want to learn and do - truly inspiring! And do consider picking up a copy of Katie and Jacquie's book. I have no doubt you'll be inspired by it!

And for those of you who are now saying to yourselves, "darn, I didn't win," may I at least leave you with the mini quilt top I whipped up yesterday.

A super scrappy Swoon-ish sort of block, using every last DS pink I had (thanks, Kirsten!). I made a half-hearted promise way back when that I was done with my Swoon phase. Good thing I added {maybe}!

Linking up with Fabric Tuesday.

W.i.P. Wednesday

Alot's been going on since last W.i.P. Wednesday - a couple of features, entering my Mini 'X' in a tutorial contest, joining a new Modern Blocks bee, starting a new flickr group and a giveaway! {see here to enter} Yikes! I did manage one finish, and made starts on several new projects.

Completed projects

Scrappy Autumn Lap quilt - I've posted twice since last Wednesday about my Scrappy Super Swoon, but if you missed them, see here and here. I'm really pleased with this finish!

Ongoing projects
4x5 Quilt Bee blocks - Made two more "Missing Your Kiss" blocks. {see here} Three down, two to go.

Flannel Christmas star quilt - I cut out and managed to start piecing a Snow-Kissed Star with Riley Blake's Colorful Christmas. I have the center star done. Add two borders, and I'll be done with the top. I'm mulling over a plan for a pieced back - kind of excited about trying something new.

Wonderland Christmas tree skirt NEW - This is a pattern by Empty Bobbin. You may remember that I told you a while back that when I first started quilting, I never went fabric shopping without my quilting buddy along. Over the years I got more confident about choosing fabric myself. Well this weekend, my buddy and I had the opportunity to fabric shop together, just like old times. It was great fun, and I purchased (most of) the fabric needed for a tree skirt. I admit, my palette is somewhat unusual - definitely not the traditional red and green. But red just doesn't go well in my living room, and I always struggle with that. So brace yourself!

teal, green, gray, espresso

Red and black table runner NEW - Began cutting fabric. Will be using "Hollywood Boulevard" pattern by Atkinson Designs.

Wrenly HST quilt - no progress here. Maybe when I baste up the Snow-Kissed Star, I can baste this one up too. That would be good.

Upcoming projects  
* Placemats for Christmas gift NEW - My coworker wants some placemats, so I hope to make her some Color Blocks Placemats from Sew, Mama, Sew! Should be fun!
* A light box NEW - daughter dear and I both want to make one!
* Hometown "Wild Thing" - will wait till January

* Pattern for Mango
* Quilts for siblings #2 and #3

Ok, now it's time to go over and check out what's new at Freshly Pieced! 

More on Super Scrappiness

When I first posted about my Scrappy Super Swoon {here} it was dark outside. I knew I should wait to take some outside pics, but I was impatient, and you know, the weather and all. But today we had a bit of sun, and I got to take a new shot.

 I was hoping for a little breeze to flip one of those corners up a bit, but none of that. I did get to take a pic of the back though, for you who are into such. Pretty much a KONA medium gray, with a few color blocks of my favorite solids from the front - Glacier, Yarrow, Paprika, and a tad of Brown.

I used a bit of three solids in the binding, too, though I was disappointed I used too little to be noticable.

But all in all, I am really happy with my scrappy Swoon, and it seems to be enjoying its new home on our living room couch. It's super.

Linking up with {Sew} Modern Monday and Fabric Tuesday!

Oh, and if you missed details on A Table Giveaway, see here!

Scrappy and Super

I hope you aren't getting tired of all the Swoon - I know I'm not. After doing two one-block "mini" Swoons, a Swoon block for do.Good Stitches, and a full-size Swoon quilt, there was still one more Swoon I wanted to do before I put my pattern away.

Inspired first by Erin of two more seconds

1. My first Katie Jump Rope Swoon block! Loving it!

then by Adrianne of Little Bluebell

1. Pillow Talk Swap 6, Finished

and finally by Kate of Katie Mae Quilts who is stitching up Swoon blocks in all sorts of sizes(!).

see original post here

I just had to do it. My scrappy Autumn lap quilt, otherwise known as . . .

Scrappy Super Swoon

Made double-size, one big scrappy 48" block. Quilted with organic line quilting, first inspired by Jacquie of Tallgrass Prairie Studio (who has a great tutorial here).

I promise this will be it. {maybe}

Linking up with Celebrate Color and Finish it Up Friday.