seattle quilting

:: Spilt Crumbs Quilt Top ::

June 12, 2017 By Katie

Anyone that knows me well, knows that I take organization to a serious level. So I was teased for showing up to retreat with two cart loads and no real project plan. Clothes are easy to pack for this type of vacation, but my time management for planning projects just didn’t exist.

SEW KATIE DID | Seattle Modern Quilting & Sewing Studio | No Foul Quilt

Along with a lot of other random stuff, into the car went some blocks a few of my lovely students and I created last month. They helped me test drive a crazy piecing technique I call Split Personality as a three hour workshop at Quiltcon. It’s an easy technique that creates multiple blocks with ‘crumbs’ of each fabric in all sorts of fun linear shapes.

I’ll be teaching this block as a full day workshop in the studio this month.

sew katie did | Seattle Modern Quilting Studio

I started with the blocks we had made in colors I honestly didn’t like much together. I figured I didn’t have anything to lose by cutting them up. If I didn’t like what was happening I’d trash them and move onto the next set.

SEW KATIE DID | Seattle Modern Quilting & Sewing Studio | Crumb Quilt

I loved what happened.

I aimed for an easy design. Nearly everyone with some quilting experience has trimmed many a half square triangle, so merging one with the crazy piecing seemed ideal as a sample. Some time with the design wall led to this layout.

I love to have loads of examples of how to use a technique and/or block and students appreciate the inspiration, so I played with one of my favorite shapes that utilizes half square triangles AND improv stitch and flip triangles with the Split Personality blocks with my leftovers.

SEW KATIE DID | Seattle Modern Quilting & Sewing Studio

I think these will be pillows, just have to decide whether they need sashing, piping or another colorful background. Stay tuned, I have 3 more sets of these blocks in a range of color ways left.

SEW KATIE DID | Weekend Retreat

sew katie did | Seattle Modern Quilting Studio

As far as sewing at retreat, here’s what I walked away with. I find with the studio I don’t have as much time to sew and even though I needed to stick with making samples, I was also much more relaxed and organized on my walk out;) It might have been the inspiration, awesome company, good sleep or the margaritas…really doesn’t matter.

I highly recommend retreats.

SEW KATIE DID | Seattle Modern Quilting & Sewing Studio

I’m pretty much smitten with this block. I love that you could fit it into just about any improv or traditional quilt design as a ‘made’ fabric. It just seems now that I find inspirational quilt designs I want to put it into everywhere.

I’ve got a weekend and weekday workshop on the studio schedule for this block.

sew katie did | Seattle Modern Quilting Studio

And Seattle’s got nothing but clouds in our future this week, so I’ve picked out a backing and am ready for some quality quilting time if I pay my time management cards right;)

SEW KATIE DID | Seattle Modern Quilting & Sewing Studio And of course there’s Quiltcon. I’ve never been to Pasadena, so if anyone has some hot tips they’re willing to share about eating & where the best margarita is I’m all ears.

Happy making Peeps;)

Check out other quilts made with the Split Personality block:

Improv Patchwork Pillows

June 16, 2016 By Katie

Since my trip to Georgia all the pillow forms in the house have been naked, just waiting for their clothes to be put back on. It seemed like a good opportunity to change them into something ‘new’ until I create the inspiration in my head to match my new rug.

The triangle pillow I made in 2011. Grey goes with everything.

When we were writing Quilting Modern I was always on the lookout for inspirational shapes not generally produced in quilting at the time. In a design magazine was a photo that had a pillow tucked oh so small in the background. I could barely make out what it looked like beyond the elongated triangles, but I stole what I could of the idea to make it my own.

The log cabin pillow was born improvisationally on the design wall. I like how it pairs with the triangle one so I often showcase them together.

I taped up the size of the pillow form’s perimeter (Euro size) and started filling it in, piecing the cabins together in columns mostly and connecting the columns with some gentle improvisational curves.

The color way was 100% driven by this fabric I put on the back and of course I finished it with my invisible zipper tutorial.

I’m normally driven mad by matchstick quilting, but it is perfect for pillows. Its density helps with giving the down pillow form some more structure. They never look this good after use, but fluff up nice.

I went with a light aqua thread on both.

I get all fired up about old unfinished projects when I see the techniques in use, so put this one briefly back up on the wall for a little work. It even matches the pillows.

Hope all is well in your corner.

Happy week!

Gifting Box Pouches

December 22, 2015 By Katie

Ok, ignore that last published post with just photos if you subscribe. Whoops;)

The winner of the Christmas fabric is Paddy Anne! Thank you to all who contributed by adding their favorite patchwork gift tutorial. I’ve created a ‘Gifts to Sew’ Pinterest board for you all to check out with my favorites of your suggestions.

Quite a few of you linked to box pouch tutorials, so I thought I’d share what I’ve been up to as a little end of the year post.

At our Birch Bay retreat we started making pouches. The time spent building out the panels made me think about all the quilted stuff I had packed away just waiting to be recreated.

Some long forgotten pillows and bags have been reimagined into zip pouches that turned out amazingly.

I think the improvisational curves one is my favorite.

I never liked these panels as a bag, but I’m loving their reincarnation. I had used duck cloth to line these when they were a bag and their structure turned out to be the best of all of them, but a little more fussy when it came to boxing the corners.

This one just has so many great fabrics.

I love all the color and details. I used a mix of techniques I found in a load of online tutorials.

And guess what? I created a Pinboard for those too:)

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So I guess that’s it for the year Peeps. We’ve had a good one. With the challenges of ALS in our family, my brother in law’s smile at seeing us and the positive attitude he exhibits encourages us to take advantage of our happy places and ditch the rest. While ALS has entered our lives so have his amazing group of friends, enlarging our family circle with impeccable timing.

In honor of Jeremy, I encourage you to “reach for your best feeling thought” each and everyday.

See you in the New Year:)

Christmas Flurry Pillows

December 17, 2015 By Katie

It pretty much started with this VANHAKAUPUNKI fabric Jefe bought me last year for Christmas.

I stretched it over the frame covering the other Marimekko for the season.

So what do you do with the leftovers?

Well duh.

And of course you need coordinates.

And as it happens the coordinates match the ones from last year:)

But with the endless rain here all I want to do is sew or sit on my pillows,

so I made some more for the family room too.

I finished up some more dopp kits and napkins that I’ll share next week, but I think that’s it for my #handmadechristmas this year. Here’s the link to my invisible zipper tutorial if you feel in the mood to make some holiday pillows yourself.

::GIVEAWAY::

Oh, and the fabric giveaway as promised are these lovely Christmas fabrics. No annoying follow me here and there stuff, just copy and paste a link to your favorite PATCHWORK or QUILTING handmade gift tutorial in your comment and you could win…

(2) large scraps Heather Ross Flannel
(1) FQ+ out of print Alexander Henry Merry Moderns large print
1/4 yard out of print Alexander Henry Merry Moderns small
(2) large scraps Cotton and Steel Candles
(1) FQ out of print Alexander Henry Birds
(1) FQ Folk lore print in grey

Good Luck!

::Progression::

May 18, 2015 By Katie

This quilt, Pantone Pop and its color way set off some sort of quilt making chain reaction that has been ongoing for years.

Pantone Pop was suppose to be a wedding quilt and as I was in the final stages of binding it I visited my friends. In the year it took me to work on it they had 360’ed their bedroom colors and this quilt would be the clown in the room. I learned after that from my friend Sandie that’s it’s better to categorize this type of quilt under ‘marriage quilt’ rather than ‘wedding quilt’ because that buys you quilt making the time in the best case senarios. Regardless, I made another and kept Pantone Pop for myself:)

I started crazing piecing with Pantone Pop’s leftovers and pretty soon I was forming up the lovely middle squares of the quilt above. I really was in love with this log cabin layout that we had in Quilting Modern and decided that the crazy pieced blocks where perfect for the block’s centers. Seam Ripper IPA remains to the day one of my favorite quilts in design, color, softness and process.

Leftovers from Pantone Pop were far from done , so those half square triangles that didn’t make it in ended up transformed into Psychedelic Baby. I sold this one at the first Quiltcon and missed it, but guess what? I had left overs;)

So I ran with them, did some slight modifications and made On Target. This quilt was a pain in the ass to quilt, but I love it’s design.

Done yet? Not quite. Boxed-In happened next and I’m keeping this one as my new couch quilt and workshop sample for my now favorite block to teach.

But I’m done with this color way now.

There’s a few pillows around that I’ll spare you;)

I’m off on retreat with the girlfriends. So good. I’m sure Jefe has made some behind the scenes studio work in my absence that I’ll be excited about and will share soon.

Hope your week includes a big holiday vacation at the end of it. I might not see you next Monday if I can help myself. Hope you make the most of it too;)

On-Target Quilt

March 2, 2015 By Katie

Remember this quilt?

I showed and sold Psychedelic Baby at Quiltcon 2013. It is still one of my favorite quilts and block workshops to teach. I love blocks that provide so much design potential.

I instantly wanted to recreate Psychedelic Baby a little differently, so I upcycled the leftover bits into a new quilt with a little different take.

I’ll call it On Target.

Just as with any quilting I learned some things.

The amount of linen and shot cotton meant some stretching would occur and my choice of quilting didn’t help. As I reached the smaller outer edge with my “V” things started puckering. If I was to do it all over again I would stitch in the ditch between the blocks that create the “V” shape and then go back in between with the fill lines on the blocks. This likely would have stabilized it a bit more. I was also lazy on switching directions when quilting the same side and this certainly didn’t help.

But let’s not take things too seriously, it’s just a quilt.

On the back I showcased an Alexander Henry print that I love. This was all I had of it and I’m continuing on my path of using what I have to create quilt backs.

The binding I made twice. I wanted to reproduce the feel of the original quilt and selected the light blue with out auditioning it. Poor choice. This quilt needed the drama of the dark purple.

(Thanks Rachel of Wooden Spoon for the photo;)

I finished it up just in time for Anja and Paul of Island Quilter to take it with them to Quiltcon for their booth.

This year was Quiltnon for me, but three of my quilts made it;)

AND I have another layout in process to add to my Psychedelic Baby Quilt Block workshop samples.

I’d think it might never end, but I’m officially D-O-N-E with this color way.

Happy Week Peeps!

(p.s. thanks to my friend Krista for being my quilt holder;)

Starry Owl Quilt

February 23, 2015 By Katie

Happy Monday Peeps and greetings from Palm Springs:)

It so turns out that I managed with some help to have a finished quilt to show you along with my obligatory palm tree photo. I’m happy I did because I haven’t been able to talk quilt all week with anyone;)

I can’t even tell you when I made it. I guess it’s what you would call an ‘Oldie but Goodie’ in the UFO pile.

It’s been folded, refolded and moved.

It must have come about around the time I made HST LOVE and Pantone Pop. Both very traditional quilts in block style, but I had fun mixing up the fabrics, picking the color way and giving them some random placement. It all breaths some fresh air into those simple half-square triangle blocks that you can do so much with.

I’ve got a huge bucket list of ideas built off knowing this block and how you can twist it or add to it.

Well anyway, babies need quilts and this quilt needed a baby.

It also needed a star center, because of course I wasn’t thrilled with what I originally picked AFTER I had sewn the whole thing together. With my friend Sandie’s help we decided to fill it in with a corduroy print.

Sandie quilted it up with the maze pattern and finished it with this lovely binding. The binding and the star points in the Alexander Henry Heath add some texture without too much print distraction.

I never alone would have thought to go with the maze she picked and we both were so happy with how it turned out. Collaborating on quilts for babies is so fun.

The color way was inspired by my suitcase.

The back turned out amazing. I’m still up for my challenge to myself of using fabric from my stash and left overs from the front.

It’s made up almost entirely of a fine wale corduroy and a few left over half square triangles. I’ve now made four backs with this goal and have loved them all.

Quilt is now with happy baby. So fun to gift.

The pile of finished quilt tops is getting smaller! I believe I have three complete quilt tops left to quilt and certainly a lot in pieces;)

Have a fun week.

::Working the Pile/2::

February 23, 2015 By Katie

Happy Monday Peeps and greetings from Palm Springs:)

I can’t even tell you when I made it. I guess it’s what you would call an ‘Oldie but Goodie’ in the UFO pile.

It’s been folded, refolded and moved.

I’ve got a huge bucket list of ideas built off knowing this block and how you can twist it or add to it.

Well anyway, babies need quilts and this quilt needed a baby.

Sandie quilted it up with the maze pattern and finished it with this lovely binding. The binding and the star points in the Alexander Henry Heath add some texture without too much print distraction.

I never alone would have thought to go with the maze she picked and we both were so happy with how it turned out. Collaborating on quilts for babies is so fun.

The color way was inspired by my suitcase.

The back turned out amazing. I’m still up for my challenge to myself of using fabric from my stash and left overs from the front.

It’s made up almost entirely of a fine wale corduroy and a few left over half square triangles. I’ve now made four backs with this goal and have loved them all.

Quilt is now with happy baby. So fun to gift.

The pile of finished quilt tops is getting smaller! I believe I have three complete quilt tops left to quilt and certainly a lot in pieces;)

Have a fun week.

New York Beauty Pillow

February 16, 2015 By Katie

Paper piecing workshop development and sample made, CHECK! And totally drool worthy if I don’t say so myself.

The Foundations of Paper Piecing Workshop is listed if you find yourself with some spare time on March 14th.

A New York Beauty block has been on the bucket list F-O-R-E-V-E-R.

I bought just enough new make me happy fabrics and combined them with some old to create a new to me color way. It seemed to just come together on the design wall so effortlessly. As usual it matches nothing in my house.

The white/creams I pulled from the scrap bins. There’s even some flannel in there.

It ended up that neither the shot cotton and the flannel on the front, nor the voile on the back created the headaches I imagined.

I crosshatched it in a lightly variegated lilac thread. This easy off the edge quilting design has the kind of impact makes me happy. Off course all quilting minds of Seattle that I saw last week were consulted;)

I almost put the voile back into the stash.

It’s one of those fabrics I have to force myself to cut into if I had curtains in mind five years ago. There’s still that hope of getting to that alive;) The decision was a good one, it pairs perfectly with the front.

If you’re headed to Quiltcon please go say hi to my quilts. There are two on exhibit and I just finished up this one here for display there in Island Quilter’s booth.

It will look a little bit more lively than it does it this taken at midnight photo.

This quilt thoroughly falls under the “it doesn’t have to be perfect to love it” category and I considered not sending it due to some obvious struggles I had quilting it, but then I reminded myself that perfection isn’t what it’s all about.

Happy week peeps. I hope it’s a good one;)

:: Somewhat Circular Hex Quilt ::

February 9, 2015 By Katie

You’re probably thinking,

“When will she ever finish that quilt already?”

And I’m with ya.

I’ve had a very genuine desire since the beginning of the year to clean up and clear out projects. A noticeable dent has been made in the pile and though there is still plenty of the unfinished, the process has been a good steady pace. Having quilts at each stage of the making process allows my attention to wander to what ever is in the rotation because it ALL needs to get done.

And bloody hell, Somewhat Circular Hex is D-O-N-E!

All inspired by the Alexander Henry Kokeshi doll fabric, then onto the color way this little Kokeshi doll/bank sported and certainly the Japanese art that I grew up with.

I love how the Essex background forms another Hexagon. Let’s pretend I planned that;)

Extreme binding auditions happened and this Denyse Schmidt standby won.

It just popped the other black prints.

I’m sticking with the use what you have stashed when it comes to backings program. Simple Simon on this one.

It held the diamond grid quilting texture well, as did the Essex on the front.

My seam widths annoyed me enough that I finally took action and had my Juki walking foot replaced. Juki is sitting on a quilting goldmine if they would step up and add all the measurement markers and width to their walking foot that Bernina has in my opinion.

Well and crap, then this happened;) But starting new projects is part of the process. You can see the other hexagons by machine I’ve done here and here.

Happy Monday Peeps!

———————————————————

::Working The Pile::

February 9, 2015 By Katie

You’re probably thinking,

“When will she ever finish that quilt already?”

And I’m with ya.

And bloody hell, Somewhat Circular Hex is D-O-N-E!

All inspired by the Alexander Henry Kokeshi doll fabric, then onto the color way this little Kokeshi doll/bank sported and certainly the Japanese art that I grew up with.

I love how the Essex background forms another Hexagon. Let’s pretend I planned that;)

Extreme binding auditions happened and this Denyse Schmidt standby won.

It just popped the other black prints.

I’m sticking with the use what you have stashed when it comes to backings program. Simple Simon on this one.

It held the diamond grid quilting texture well, as did the Essex on the front.

Well and crap, then this happened;) But starting new projects is part of the process. You can see the other hexagons by machine I’ve done here and here.

Happy Monday Peeps!

———————————————————

::Throwing Star Pillow::

February 2, 2015 By Katie

That leftovers thing happened again. Hexes turned into triangles, and now I have another shape to show as an example in my triangle workshop with a hexagon shape center to boot!

The stars turned out pretty wee by the time I cut them from the left over hexes.

The precision I’m pretty happy with, no paper piecing involved for those of you that asked, just 60 degree triangle piecing.

I floated them in Essex Linen.

These prints are favorites and deserved some limelight.

The diamond shape the quilting forms was simple enough to execute.

And it matches the pillows on my couch;)

Finished off with my Invisible Zipper Tutorial.

The weather couldn’t be any more perfect for quilting and if my child’s mood this morning is any indication of how most of Seattle is feeling today I think I’ll make the best of it and stay home to sew.

Chin up Seattle.

Happy Monday;)

:: Spilt Crumbs Quilt Top ::

Improv Patchwork Pillows

Gifting Box Pouches

Christmas Flurry Pillows

::Progression::

On-Target Quilt

Starry Owl Quilt

::Working the Pile/2::

New York Beauty Pillow

:: Somewhat Circular Hex Quilt ::

::Working The Pile::

::Throwing Star Pillow::

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