Winter is Finished!

That title is true in more ways than one! Winter - the season - is finally done here in my part of the world. But more importantly, my first Bee Sewcial quilt, Winter, is also done!

This quilt is a collaboration quilt - all of my Bee Sewcial partners contributed one large or two smaller blocks to this quilt. If you look at this blog post, you'll see my original prompt, where I asked them to make minimalist winter landscape blocks using shades of grey with white. I took the blocks, puzzled them together and then fretted about the quilting.

I won't bore you with the long list of Finish Along quarters that this beauty showed up on my Goals list. Suffice it to say that the top has been assembled since late 2015, I believe.

For the quilting, I marked a couple of the lines, and then eyeballed some walking foot quilting in more or less equal intervals, keeping some parallel and others in wavy points. I used Aurifil 50 weight in a light grey colour (2600).

I actually bound the whole thing and then decided it needed more quilting so out came the 12 weight cotton thread in the same colour. My hands weren't happy with that thick thread but I love the effect! I might even add some more but I needed to call this one done after so long.

I have my sisters in creativity, the Bee Sewcial group, to thank for this amazing finish. Every month, I am in awe of their skill and creativity. How lucky am I to be inspired and challenged by these amazing women!

This is a Finish Along finish as well! Hooray! No more putting it on my list! Wheee!

Gee's Bend Mini

This mini quilt was begun in a workshop with the quilters of Gee's Bend at QuiltCon 2015. The supply list said to bring old clothes as material for the workshop so I took myself to the thrift shop and got some jeans and a plaid shirt. I also collected up some amazing red corduroy fabric my Mother-in-Law passed along to me. Plus leopard print because, well, the fact is that I have more than my fair share of Edith Prickley in me when it comes to the quantity of animal print I have in my wardrobe.

 

It took me so long to move it past the stage I got to in the workshop, because I planned to add to it and make it bigger, yet I never seemed to get around to it. Thus it sat for a long time.

Finally, I decided that I wanted it finished more than I wanted it bigger so I went ahead and got it quilted. By hand, of course, because the piece really is an homage to those amazing quilters.

I did exactly zero marking before diving in and simply stitching where it seemed there needed to be stitches. I quite like the wonky nature of my stitching.

It finished up to be not-square and rather than add to it to square it up, I just went with the shape.

I also tried a wide binding first introduced to me by Latifah Saafir in her Glam Clam workshop for VMQG. I *love* how it looks, and I'll definitely be using that size binding again.

This mini was on my 2016 Q4 goals list in the Finish A Long. Have you heard about FAL? Click on the link up top to find out how to join in. There are prizes! There are cheerleaders! Come and join the fun!

MQG Swap: A Tale of Three Quilts (photo heavy!)

Last year, the Modern Quilt Guild announced a mini quilt swap. I had sworn off swaps for a couple of years because of time constraints and the fact that I wanted to focus on sewing for me as opposed to others.

But with my new life and new schedule (i.e. not working for the time being), I figured I had a bit more time to invest. So I signed up.

Partner information got sent out, Instagram swap teams were set up, and all was going along swimmingly. I mulled for a while, then settled on a design and fabric. An in-progress shot:

Before long, I had a pieced top. Since it's just a mini, I was able to get it layered and quilted quite quickly. I decided to block it after quilting so that I could coax those curves into submission. Everything was great until I was binding and noticed something that made my heart sink:

The blue flowers on the fabric (which I hadn't prewashed because I was using pre-cut charm squares) had run quite a bit.

I tried to fix it but I was terrified I would make it worse. After several nice commenters on Instagram said that it was lovely and I should just send it anyway, I decided to do just that.

I think these rounded corners are a cool element:

 

But just in case my partner was unhappy with the blemish, I made a mini backup quilt using a gorgeous paper pieced pattern from Anne Play Crafts called Contour Feather.

I quilted both minis using Aurifil 40 weight thread in a warm pink (2425) that looks quite bold against the Kona Pepper background. I like it!

 

Finally, I added a label (identifying info blanked out of course):

So this post is titled a Tale of Three Quilts. We've covered two. Now for the third. When I filled out my swap registration, I indicated that I would be willing to be a swap angel: someone who makes an extra quilt for someone whose original partner had to drop out of the swap.

I'd wanted to try Debbie A Quilter's Table's Cross Cut blocks ever since she did her quilt along, and serendipitously, the design seemed to work with what my angel partner was looking for.

I do love a low volume scrappy background!

For the quilting, I eyeballed the first, smallest curve, then just followed the previous stitched line - also eyeballed - until the whole thing was done.

It is quirky, just like the quilt.

For binding, I used some of the low volume fabric and did a single fold binding to reduce bulk:

I'm glad that I could help out to ensure everyone who signed up for the swap and made a quilt gets one in return. I hope my partners like their quilts!

I Hate These Quilts

To be more specific, I hate that the reason these quilts had to be made: Cancer. There are a group of us who met in prenatal classes and the newborn support group that came with it when G was born. One mom called us the Supermoms and it stuck. One of the Superkids, a girl G's age, was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year. This one hit close to home, obviously. I cannot begin to imagine what Annabelle and her mom and dad and little sister are living through right now.

But I'm doing what I can to help: making stuff.

Annabelle likes purple these days so I emphasized that colour in her quilt:

I quilted some extra love into it and even named the quilt LOVE.

Here's a better view of the overall freemotion quilting I did (on my Juki 98Q, Aurifil thread all the way):

For a quick and durable binding, I attach to the back and stitch to the front by machine.

The blocks are Amy/Badskirt's, upsized to 20" finished.

This will be packaged in a matching pillowcase:

The second quilt I made is for Annabelle's sister, Cassidy. Cancer affects the whole family and I wanted Cassidy to know she was thought of too. Blue Hugs:

 

I constructed Blue Hugs using the Quilt as You Go method, in which I pieced and quilted the large blocks at the same time, then connected them using a thin sashing:

 

 The back of a QAYG quilt can be pretty fun, too:

 

Here's its pillowcase:

 

Get well soon, Annabelle!

New Placemats

Finally! The placemats I made back in 2011 were so old and worn out, I decided it was time to make some new ones.

I used two charm packs of Mochi by Rashida Coleman-Hale for Cotton + Steel. Such fun, bright, funky fabrics! The pattern is just a quick Disappearing 9-Patch.

I backed them with some fun Moda grunge, which I also used for the bindings. And the quilting is different on each placemat. 

What have you sewn lately?

Bloggers' Quilt Festival: Modern Scraps

Welcome to my second entry in the Bloggers' Quilt Festival hosted by Amy Ellis of Amy's Creative Side.

Modern Scraps is a cute and quick project I made using some strips I'd cut for a different project, but didn't end up using. I really, really love how the combination of brights with dark grey makes the colours pop.

Measuring just 16" x 22", this wee quilt was one of two I entered in the Vancouver Modern Quilt Guild's Modern Mini Showcase. VMQG was the "featured artist" at a local traditional guild's (Vancouver Quilters' Guild) quilt show this past weekend.

I pieced strips of solids randomly then cross cut and rearranged to complete the centre panel. The two strips top and bottom were added because they were left over and needed a home. Quilting is simple wavy lines, echoing at random widths. 

BQF Category: Mini quilts
Quilt Dimensions: 16" x 22"
Designed by: Me
Quilted by: Me, with 50 weight Aurifil thread in dark grey

Thanks for stopping by!

Strips and Squares Everywhere

Strips and Squares Everywhere

This is a finish that was 4 years in the making! It got its start during an online bee on Flickr, and (EDITED) continued to a second bee that I was in that year. Everything began with The Maple Leaf Bee and continued with Sew Buzzy. Both bees were the kind where the Queen Bee sends out fabric to the other members of the group with instructions for what we'd like. I loved the look of Kaffe Fassett's Jewel Squares quilt, with squares of differing sizes all working together so that's what I asked everyone to make with my fabrics (Spa by Rosemarie Lavin plus one print from Hope Valley by Denise Schmidt and Kona solid in White).

I got my blocks back but the project stalled because I needed to make a lot more blocks to get a decent sized quilt.

Fast forward about 3 years and I started putting this project on my Finish Along goal lists. Finally, I got to work on it in the past few weeks. The design changed a bit in the time since I conceived of the idea and I'm really happy with how it ended up - it's an ode to Jen Kingwell's Gypsy Wife layout with the strips in between blocks.

I quilted it on a longarm in a simple, organic loopy loop pattern that I like for its simplicity of execution, not to mention how quickly it gets done. I used a lime green thread and I love how it looks!

Final size - pre washing - is 60" x 72", a double-ish size that covers the top of our queen size mattress with a small amount of overhang.

Bound with scrap strips and backed with some groovy IKEA fabric and some leftover fabrics from the front. I'm so happy that this is done - I feel a lot lighter for having it off my Finish Along list!

Selfie: My Black To White Challenge Quilt

I really wasn't intending to enter the Black to White Challenge for the Quilt! Knit! Stitch! Show.

Then Stacey (@hushrules on Instagram) did a wonderful presentation on Youpatch at the May VMQG meeting and I became intrigued. I came home and fiddled around with a few stock images, seeing if I could develop a pixelated quilt that appealed to me, but I wasn't successful.

A night or so later, I happened to take a selfie:

I assure you that the outcome - which I really like, not going to lie - was purely accidental. The angle of the afternoon sun coming onto my face and hitting my glasses frames is what created the shadow on my eyelid that looks like makeup. I happened to be looking down at just the right angle.

Anyway, an idea began to germinate. I applied a black and white filter in instagram and uploaded the filtered photo to Youpatch. A little playing with colours and I had my pattern. Less than a week later, thanks to a full day Quilt By The Bay retreat, the top was done and the quilt was basted and I had (EDITED) less than a two weeks until the Black to White challenge deadline.

I had this done even before they announced the deadline extension - conduct definitely not befitting the president of the Last Minute Club, but what can I say? I quilted like a woman possessed.

All of the quilting is free motion, and I used Aurifil 50 wt in black, grey and white. I tested some ideas on my trusty mylar overlay but ended up winging it when it came to actually quilting. 

The quilt is about 35" square and the smallest piece finishes at 3/4" square. I am thrilled to report that my piecing accuracy is spot on - all of the blocks fit together really nicely. Yay me!

Colours in the quilt are Robert Kaufman Kona solids in Black, Coal, Medium Grey and Snow.

This one really shows the different thread colours:

I expect to hear soon whether it's been accepted to the challenge but nevertheless, I absolutely adore this finish. 

Linking up to TGIFF with Quilter in the Closet!