Bowtie

Bowtie quilts just draw me in lately, basically since I learned that my maternal grandma, Vesta, used to make them years ago. So when Cheryl/Meadow Mist Designs asked if I'd like to participate in the blog hop for her new book, "Just One Charm Pack Quilts," I chose to make the bowtie variation.

When Cheryl first told me about her book, I thought it was a novel idea, as most of us have those random charm packs stashed away. But I didn't even think of the fact that using a charm pack, besides adding some real nice fabric variety to the quilt, would make it quick and easy to sew up.

As I rummaged around in my stash seeing what my charm pack options were, I came across one made of solids, which isn't the norm, at least from my experience. All the ones I had ever used were prints, and I thought using the solid one might be a nice option, showing off the versatility of Cheryl's quilt designs. The charm pack I ended up using was "Blues" by American Made Brand (SQ0118), with a really fun blue/green ombre among its squares.

For background, I started with Kona White, but in alternating sections also used Moon and Stars in white from Andover Fabrics. That was just a fun design choice since it went so well with the Kona Lighthouse I chose for the "Irish units," plus it also was a good fit for the quilt's eventual recipient. Then it was an obvious choice to use Moon and Stars in gray for both the quilt's backing and binding.

It's quilted with a simple diagonal grid which I think accents the design nicely, while keeping the quilt  comfy cozy.

"Bowtie" finished at 40.5" x 48", a generously-sized baby quilt. And I can honestly say that it was a really enjoyable one to sew. In addition to the bowtie-like blocks, I really liked that they were combined with Irish chain diagonal rows. The ombre added a really fun touch, but I'm confident the design would be equally charming no matter what charm pack was used. 

So I'm fortunate to be one of the first stops on Cheryl's book hop for her new book. Follow Cheryl on Instagram, and her blog, Meadow Mist Designs, to see more designs from the book. She'll be featuring them throughout the hop, which goes through July 29. 

Digging Deep

Not really sure why, but after my last two repurposed clothing quilts, I was really in the mood for a scrap quilt. And since I have an idea in mind for a quilt with my print scraps (here's looking at you, Erica/Kitchen Table Quilting's #plaidishquilt2), I thought why not just see what I could do with my solid scraps. And to be honest, though I use my solid scraps plenty, I'm not sure I've actually tried making an entire quilt from them.

SOoooo, I came up with a block idea that used the improv stripes I love so much. Basically, for each block I choose one stripe color that remains (pretty) consistent (in the case above, the gold); and another stripe color that is contrasting BUT might be in various shades of one color and/or a mix of colors (the green and blue), or at least is a combination of colors that I like together. Once I sew a bunch of stripes together, I add a strip along the left edge, and trim all sides, though this is random, and some edges I have left curvy. My 'rules' aren't hard and fast, and obviously, my blocks are turning out a variety of sizes, all depending on the scraps I pull for that particular block.

For now, I'm just filling up my design wall, having no idea at all how I'm going to pull everything together. Time will tell. But for now, I'm just enjoying this process, and when I don't anymore, I'll stop. Simple goals for complex times, right?

Take Away

It feels like it's been a while since I've participated in a Curated Quilts mini quilt challenge, but now definitely felt like the right time. For the upcoming Half-Square Triangle issue, the theme is "quilts that use subtraction as a design feature." To clarify "subtraction," CQ posted Less is More, and in addition to some clarification, it's a nice little quilt show.



I kind of struggled with a plan for a while, then a glimmer of an idea came to me, which led me to create a single block....



It only made sense to make more blocks (which I did). and then play with them till a firmer plan materialized (which it eventually did). 



I actually had the top all pieced when the thought of a ghost block came to me, and that was really kinda fun to execute. For the first time, I used Aurifil 28wt for machine-quilting, and loved the result. I'll be trying that again. 



The spool I had happened to be the same color as I was using on the mini [#2600. light gray], so that was handy. I did go ahead and use 50wt for the quilting, hoping that would help the ghost block stand out, and I think it did. Rather than do strictly matchstick quilting, as was my original plan, I did a dense organic straight-line, which is one of my favorites to execute.



A faced binding became the way to go when I realized I didn't have enough of the light gray solid left, which would have been my choice for a regular binding. I tried Cotton & Bourbon's method for a change, as I'd noticed it was single-fold, and I thought that might be a good option for a mini. And I think it was!



Oh, and for the backing, I used a favorite print from the deep stash with some bits left on my cutting board. Maybe not the most profound use of fabric ever, but it gave me alot of pleasure.



So, this little quilt finished at 16" square, the maximum size for the challenge. I really debated on whether to crop close to the HSTs or give them room to float, and I obviously settled on the latter.

So I'll get this baby submitted, but no matter what, that was just what I needed. This is exactly why sometimes, it's really fun and freeing to work small.

Sidestep

Whew! Finished my Courthouse Colourplay quilt just in the nick of time to link up with Q2 of the Finish-A-Long! Begun in a workshop with Krista Hennebury and Seattle MQG back in April, it took me just a few weeks to finish the top. And then it sat.

There's always something else to do when it comes to a quilt top needing basting. I let the weeks roll by, occupying myself with other projects, then suddenly, it was nearly July, and time was of the essence.

I rummaged through my stash for backing fabrics, and didn't find any prints that worked. Then it suddenly dawned on me that I should use the leftover solids from the quilt top. oh yeah! That's what really set the finishing of this quilt in motion. A simple color-blocked backing was perfect.

I really loved seeing Krista's samples at our workshop, and the quilting she had done on hers was perfect for the quilt design. I'd planned to follow her lead, but the thought of free-motion quilting just plain stymied me, so I opted for another route. But seriously, isn't Krista's quilting a wonderful match for the quilt design?

Used by permission 

So anyway, drawing from Jacquie Gering's Walk, I chose her Tower of Triangles design. What's really unique about this one (at least to me) was that back-stitching was an integral part of the quilting design. That part was fun! I had hera-marked vertical lines every 3" across the quilt, then went back to fill in the columns with the triangles. There was still quite a bit of adjusting the quilt under the needle to get the angles needed, so that was a little tiring, but that said, I'm really very pleased with the overall look and the texture is beyond amazing.

For thread, I used Aurifil 50wt #1231 [Spring Green] which felt very brave on my part, but totally worked. It nestled right in on the brighter green fabrics, and added subtle interest to the other colors. I especially liked it on the light blue, above.

After my first photoshoot with the finished quilt, I realized it was too sunny to get the photos I wanted, but they still show off the quilted texture really well!

Binding was made with two blue/teal solids, also left over from block construction, and just for fun, I included a pieced bit over on the right edge, mirroring the pieced sections throughout the quilt. It finished at 52" x 54", and I am so so pleased with it! I'd been wanting to try Krista's technique for ages, so it's good to have now done that.

Even though my hopes for a fancier photo shoot didn't work out, I kinda like this final shot, taken in our backyard garden. Rain spout, dryer vent, hose and all, it's all very real, isn't it? For today, that feels just about right.

This project was on my 2019 Finish-A-Long Q2 List and I'm linking up my finish!
Linking up with Meadow Mist Designs' Favorite Finish Monthly link-up!

Rework

There were a couple of things that inspired this project - the first being the palette on my desk calendar, and the second, a previous project, the mini quilt Loosely Connected. Basically I wanted to play with the triangle shapes from Loosely Connected on a larger scale, and chose Kona Denim, Red, and Camellia to explore with.

Of course I started by making several striped slabs, and then cut them into long rectangles. After rearranging the triangles on the design wall again and again, I settled on a layout.

Problem is, once I started sewing them together, I lost interest completely. Like I didn't even like it completely. So after staring at it for a couple of months, I confessed that my original vision was gone, and that was ok. I very nearly took the pieces down and put them in the closet, but luckily, it came to me that I should cut them up and see what that did for me. Obviously!!

And I immediately was interested again!

I was totally happy with the initial random layout of my newly cut blocks. But I decided to see if the piece was helped at all by offsetting the blocks a bit and filling in with the background blue. Deciding to go that route, I thought a little more contrast might be good too, so I added in some Kona Cardinal here and there. And yeah, I liked that even better.

Add a simple frame, and I was done.

I found a really fun and colorful backing in my stash, and though I felt a little guilty using it as the  back, it also seemed perfect. Once that was settled, I was so ready to get quilting! At 36" x 38" I knew it wouldn't take long, nor be too stressful. I had decided while I was still piecing that I wanted to quilt a diamond grid, and went the adventuresome road by choosing a variegated thread - Aurifil 50wt #4647 [Berrylicious]. It added a spirited element of charm, don't you think?

SO. Not that I need a message here, but this project was SUCH a good reminder that if a project isn't speaking to you, consider reworking your vision for it.

 There's no guarantee it'll take you to a happy place, so be sure and celebrate if it does!

Loosely Connected

You know that feeling after you finish a big quilt, the kind that takes hours and hours of piecing? The one that you fuss over deciding how to quilt and then causes that ache in your shoulders as you accomplish it.... and then a few nights sitting in front of the t.v. stitching the binding? So this quilt ain't that, but amazingly, the feeling isn't all that different.



So why IS there a very similar sense of accomplishment and relief at a quilt that measures just 11" x 11" square and was sewn up in a week's time? It's a mystery for sure, definitely without the shoulder ache, but nonetheless true this time for this quilt.

This mini was created for Curated Quilts' Improv Mini-Quilt Challenge, where the theme was "Connections" and called for the use of any or all of the following: cream, yellow, mustard yellow, navy, moss green, grey. I chose to include them all.



It was totally one of those where I didn't know where I was going at the outset, but just started cutting and sewing. In fact, I had no clear view where it was headed until I was well into the process, and even then I wasn't sure of its success.



But a little time and rearranging was all it took, and once I committed to it, I was excited to jump in on the quilting, and it didn't disappoint. I knew right off I wanted to accent those triangles, and I did so somewhat organically (my favorite!) in Aurifil 50wt #2140 (Mustard). It was a little more trepidatious as I started in quilting the gray with #2784 (Dark Navy). But the farther I went, the more I loved the movement it added.

When it came to finishing it off, I chose micro-binding cut at 1 3/4", with just a tiny accent of matched binding.

So seriously, this is my favorite kind of creating. I love the big quilt-on-every-bed thing, I really do. But the impulsiveness of this kind of small project just really gets my creative juices flowing. There's an eagerness that other projects don't necessarily provide. It's hard to explain, but it's palpable.

So there you go. I'm calling it "Loosely Connected" because of the slim bonds of navy holding the piece together. What I didn't really intend to be the main focus became just that. 

Linking up with Curated Quilts Improv Mini Quilt Challenge.

All In

As I was planning for the Everyday Improv workshop I'll be teaching with McKinney MQG in a couple of weeks, I was listing all the improv techniques I wanted to share with them, and decided it might be fun to have a sample quilt using all of them. Crazy, no? Probably. Most definitely. But that's how All In came to be.



I chose some solids that I thought would be fun to work with, and they definitely were - Kona Bright Peri, Tiger Lily, Pickle, and Lipstick. I cut and pieced, adding segments to the design wall as I finished them, not really knowing where I was headed. Gotta say I love designing that way.



Of course things get rearranged as more is added, and eventually some trimming and make-to-fit is in order.



And as some point, you just start sewing parts together and figuring it out as you go. When playing with these techniques, I find I usually just squish things together - ie. go very maximalist and dense. One of these days I might think about giving these shapes some room to breathe. Another time!



For quilting I used Aurifil 50wt #2250 [Red], at first because that was the only coordinating thread I had, but the more I quilted, the more I loved the choice, and eventually that red component ended up following into the binding. About the quilting though.... I used the section of dots as a guide to start an organic grid - straight lines, though angled as needed to avoid quilting over a dot - and then just carried it out from there in both directions, approximately 1 1/2" apart. That's less compact than my usual, but I think it really suits this quilt. Maybe that's where I let it breathe a little.



Just for fun, I added in a little pieced scrap into the binding.



And then I chose just one more technique of sorts for the backing - drawing from a traditional block, the Improv Quarter Log Cabin.



Sooo.... there are 15 improvisational techniques pieced into this smallish 32.5" x 34" quilt. Hopefully my students will have as much fun playing with them as I did.