SewKatieDid

Because thread is the best glue

Value Quilt

::Shattered Again::

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sewkatiedid/shattered

Pulling sample fabrics for my Shattered Quilt Starter Workshop tonight.  Wanna join us?  There are spots!

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(Photo by Rendy Tucker)

I loved playing with the recreation of this quilt in Carolina Chambray and Osnaburg.  The texture is fabulous with the velveteen on the back.

But now it’s time to try something new.

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I wanna stick with the textured fabric, so I’m going with the Essex Linen, but I have some ideas with all this Echino that I’ve collected over the years.

I won’t have time for this idea anytime soon, but it might jettison to the top of the list a little faster now that I have a fabric stack.

Maybe I will see you tonight.

Tomorrow I’ve got a quilt top to show you!

::Like A Mix Tape::

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This morning as I was pulling out samples for my Seeing Value Class on Saturday I was listening to KUOW.  They were covering the closing of Easy Street Records on lower Queen Anne.  At age 15 I got a work permit so I could work at my local record store, so their expose brought back a lot of memories.

I don’t remember my first 45, but in my rural Michigan town, taking our allowances and riding our bikes to the pharmacy to buy candy was slowly replaced with picking out something from the top 40.  Sadly, dancing to 65 Love Affair sticks in my head (but was better than Jolly Ranchers on my teeth) and that the purchase of my first album “Thriller” came much later.

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I figured out the last actual album I bought was Bebel Gilberto’s Tanto Tempo, maybe 9 years ago.  Since my marriage and move to Seattle, KEXP and my husband have become my music libraries and I don’t think I have to fill you all in on where my mad cash goes.

So what does this have to do with quilting?

Remember the mix-tape (some of you might not)?  The idea was to create a play-list of your favorite songs, and if you were good at it, you could fit all your favorites within the 45 minutes each side of the cassette allowed while creating a flow to the music at the same time.

sewkatiedid/Value QuiltReally not unlike a value quilt in many ways.

You have a certain amount of space you want to fill or a certain size to your finished quilt.  Luck would have it that unlike a cassette you can choose your length.

In the case of a value quilt you have many genres of fabric that you love and you need to create a flow to make all those personalities blend.

The common theme, instead of being music is fabric and when the value of the fabrics is precisely placed a flow is created, just like a good mix-tape.

sewkatiedid/zig zag value quilt

Sometimes, just like a mix-tape, you forget to hit pause in time or in the quilt’s case, you didn’t step back to check in on how values were blending and you lose the flow.  That’s what happened in the middle of this zig-zag and I just decided to leave it.

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Of course mix-tapes were made for different people and the design layout of Value quilts can reflect the receiver too.  Zig Zags aren’t for everyone, just like Pearl Jam.

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I won’t even get into low volume, that would be just too metaphoric.
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 sewkatiedid/Value quilt

::Seeing Value Workshop:: $85 Saturday, January 19th from 10am-4pm at the West Seattle Stitch and Sew Studio.

Learn how color value can transform your quilt making design process.  Create multiple designs with your newfound knowledge of value and simple half square triangles.  All levels of sewists welcome.

sewkatiedid/whole cloth class

::Whole Cloth Quilt Finishing Class:: $85/Tuesdays, January 22nd and 29th at Make*Do*Mend in Ballard.  Quilt top, batting, and a backing…baste, quilt, and bind!  Learn the essential basics of finishing a quilt without piecing a thing!  Create a simple crisp modern baby quilt while learning the process.  Quilting designs with a walking foot will be a covered.  Walking foot required.

::Different Perspectives::

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Wanted: Seattle Quickbooks for Mac expert willing to trade for fabric or instruction!

I feel like I’m spinning my wheels here.  I finally stepped up to getting Quickbooks.  This led to upgrading my operating system which caused Word and other programs to be incompatible.  It sadly doesn’t stop there…I seem to have something not quite right with my systems preferences, so my folders and documents won’t open and to boot, everything I created on Friday doesn’t exist.  Insert deep breath here and acknowledge that Rome wasn’t build in a day.  I wish I wasn’t such a neophyte when it comes to computers, but I’ve come a long way.

The drag is, I haven’t had an ounce of time to sew.  The good news is classes are going well.  I’m in catch-up mode to show you all what we’ve been doing since I myself have nothing.

sewkatiedid/double trouble

Last weekend at Make*Do*Mend Studio we covered what you can do with the Double Trouble Block.  It was fun to have the class filled with students from other classes plus a newbie.

sewkatiedid/double trouble workshop

A full class in itself is the best teaching tool because you have multiple fabric combinations that you didn’t pick out that create different looks.

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Lights, darks, prints and solids all look different when laid out.  The design layout that the students are drawn to give you more examples of what the block can do.

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Petrina had completely revamped her design once she got home.

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Allison changed up her fabrics last minute so she could include them all.

Noelle went all solids and for some reason I’m lacking a photo.

drygoods design

It was convenient to have Drygoods Designs right next door when the design needed something added.

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And what’s a trip to a fabric shop without a purchase?  Check out these beauties.  I’m in love with this Cloud 9 and that Lizzy House Pearl Bracelet, well I want it in every color.  On the bottom there, flannel!  Already have a quilt that this will back.

Wish me luck with Quickbooks!

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sewkatiedid/value quilt

::Seeing Value Workshop:: $85 Saturday, January 19th from 10am-4pm at the West Seattle Stitch and Sew Studio.

Learn how color value can transform your quilt making design process.  Create multiple designs with your newfound knowledge of value and simple half square triangles.  All levels of sewists welcome.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

sewkatiedid/whole cloth class

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

::Whole Cloth Quilt Finishing Class:: $85/Tuesdays, January 22nd and 29th at Make*Do*Mend in Ballard.  Quilt top, batting, and a backing…baste, quilt, and bind!  Learn the essential basics of finishing a quilt without piecing a thing!  Create a simple crisp modern baby quilt while learning the process.  Quilting designs with a walking foot will be a covered.  Walking foot required.

::Sunspots Quilt::

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I miss the sun.  Today I could use some for sure.

So this is as close as it gets to a sunny day in these parts.  The yard needs a mow, there’s morning glory everywhere and now the leaves are coming down, but truthfully, I don’t care.  I’m content to ignore it all and stay inside to sew.

I picked Sunspots up from Krista’s and threw it in the wash this morning along with some other quilts I’ll be showing off here soon.  Krista’s quilting just shrunk in so nicely!

We had fun deciding together what quilt designs should go where as we swilled beer.  I can’t tell you how fun it is to work with a long-arm quilter that you adore.

I’m not sure what quilting element I like most, the swirls within the sun, the way the quilting in the background forms triangles, rectangles and squares,

or that little moon Krista quilted in.

Three awesome quilting elements make this quilt so fun.  Krista’s amazing!

It looks rockin’ from the back too!  So happy, don’t know what I’ll do with it.

Sunspots was inspired by Denyse Schmidt’s Crazy Star from her amazing book Modern Quilts Traditional Inspiration.  I avoided the piecing on muslin and strip pieced instead.   The final star is finished like a wonky star nine-patch block.  I just didn’t want fussy or the same size points so this worked nicely for me.

I just dumped out my scrap bin that I use exclusively for strips for this one.  Pulling oranges, reds, yellows and some browns.  I never would have put brown in had it not been for DS’s inspiration.  It makes so much sense to have that dark value of course.

Any one going to the Block Party Quilter’s show this weekend?  I’m thinking of heading over on Friday.

::Stitch and Flipped Value Quilt::

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Value (the relative lightness or darkness of a color) is used in EVERY quilt, though not always successfully.  You can play around all you want with color schemes (analogous, complementary…), and color temperature (warm and cool),  but value is still going to be what you need to create design.

I wanted to play with value in a scrappy way that was different from my half-square-triangle Value Quilt Tutorial and thought of stitch and flip triangles as an easy place to start.  The technique is one of my favorite in Quilting Modern.

Overall this quilt’s values ended up being very medium to light.  The contrast created by the values was in no way extreme.  The values created a softer, mellower look.

There are some places in this quilt where there isn’t enough value contrast. Giving myself some distance from the quilt would have been helpful to see that.

In the end though, I can embrace those learning mistakes and see that this quilt is perfect for a baby.  And that little yellow rosebud fabric in there…I had those sheets as a kid.

This quilt also made me take a look at my overall stash building.  Lights, I am deficient on lights.  We all know how to take care of that little problem don’t we?

This little Value Quilt was thrown on the long-arm when I visited Sandie last week to quilt my Modern Charm Squared Quilts.  The spiraling pattern was challenging to trace smoothly from the paper pattern I followed.

Sandie told me something she had heard that stuck in my head.  “It doesn’t have to be a perfect line, just a pretty line.”  All washed and crinkled, be it so.

The backing is from the stash.  An older Alexander Henry that is just like sunshine.

The binding, a Cloud 9 flannel that I got from Drygoods here in Seattle.

This Value Quilt has already found a great home.  Those babies keep coming.

I’ve now made about a million of these hst with stitch and flip triangles which I call double trouble.  I’m not very enthusiastic about them up on the design wall, so I have some create thinking to do this week.

Happy Sunday!

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::Half-Square Triangle Class:: $85/Saturday October 27th from 10am to 4pm at the West Seattle Stitch and Sew Studio.

This versatile quilt block lends itself to endless designs. We’ll cover quilting basics such as picking fabrics, matching seams and create perfect points.  We’ll play with a layout that suites your style and you’ll walk away with ideas for a multitude of quilts. All level of sewists welcome.

::Adding Stitch and Flip Triangles to Half Square Triangles::

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I had to take these off the design wall to focus on what really needed to be done.

I started fiddling with the idea of using scraps for half-square triangles with stitch and flip triangles during my Swirling Medallion class.  This simple technique from the book lends itself to so many designs.

I went with a small sized square so I could use up even the smallest of favorite scrap fabrics.

They are ideal for chain piecing.  Think of it as an ongoing project in between all those others.  I simply have added a stack of white squares to my sewing table and as I produce scraps from other projects I add hsts to the mix.

I think on-point might be what I go with and I’ll mess with them more before I teach the Stitch and Flip Triangle class and the Psychedelic Baby Block Class that will cover this technique and more.

It would be fun to play with value a bit more, but the process itself is so gratifying as you watch it grow.  Rather addictive I would say and always fun to see those out of print fabrics that you have miniscule amounts of on display in a quilt.

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::Improvisational Strip Piecing Workshop::  $85 Saturday, September 8th, 10am-4pm at Island Quilter on Vashon Island.

An all day workshop to explore the creation of your own quilt designs utilizing improvisational strip piecing.  We’ll cover this improvisational patchwork technique while constructing blocks for your own quilt design. All level of sewists welcome.   Quilting Modern Book required.

::Good Stuff::

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Besides time with my family, I can’t think of time better spent than being with friends, eating good food, quilting, buying fabric and doing good.  For the Pacific Northwest Modern Quilt Guild Meet-up we did all that.  The Seattle, Portland and Vancouver Modern Quilt Guilds all meet for a weekend here in Seattle.  My Saturday was packed full of fun at Island Quilter who graciously hosted our charity sew-in with style.  Thanks Anja and Paul!

For more photos or to add your own we’ve created a PNW MQG Flickr group here.

(Photo by Holly)

The idea behind the sew-in was conceived in a car.  Yes, it’s true.  Sandie and I were driving along trying to figure out how the travelers could leave their machines at home and how we could all mingle with ease while doing what we love.

Bernina NW came through with machines, I collected supplies via the sponsors below and we created stations for the production of the quilts.  We all switched places as we wished and created some great quilts using Susan Beal’s modern log cabin cross quilt pattern from her book and the stitch and flip triangle technique from Quilting Modern.

I love all the color.

You’ll be seeing these quilts again finished.  We each took home some finished tops to quilt and donate where we saw fit as individual guilds.

I finished up two quilt tops on Monday that others had worked away at.

I should say the sew-in would not be possible with out donations from our gracious sponsors.  Please support these fabulous companies as they supported us.

::New Homes::

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I’ve got quilts in closets, quilts under beds, quilts on beds, quilts hanging in stores as class samples and two bowls full of quilts that are used daily in the living room.  Most made by me, some created by my Mom and a few tied quilts by Jeffrey’s Grandmother that he used as a kid.

I’m a true believer in quilts being used, so some of mine needed to find loving homes.

The baby cross quilt stayed somewhat local.  Safely delivered to a new baby in Spokane.  The new mother, a dear friend of mine is a true lover of fabric.

The free-motion orange peel quilting on this is so fun and the same that I used on the Leftovers Quilt below.

I don’t think I’ve ever meet a charm square quilt I didn’t like and all the extra 4.5″ squares from my Scrappy Sunshine magic number quilt needed a home.  Leftovers will travel back home to Northern Ireland with my niece Ella this month.

My sister-in-law Allison scored HST LOVE for her living room.  I’ve still got the similar Pantone Pop for myself.

The first Unknown Direction traveled to LA to live with Alissa’s new baby.

Roan’s remake of it now lives on his bed, so this quilt still is with me in a way.

I’m sure more will find homes as the pile increases again, but I do have a few that will live with me forever.  What do you do with most of your quilts?

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Flip Triangle Quilt Class

::Seattle Star Quilt Top::

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I’ve been obsessing a bit over star quilts lately.  My Star Pinterest board is overflowing and I was having problems deciding which design to start with.  I’ve also set myself a little goal of clearing out some unfinished projects.  I had a pile of stitch and flip triangles left over from designing Blind Copilot for Quilting Modern and thought I could kill two birds with one stone.

These little Stitch and Flip Triangles are addictive and a great scrap buster.  You can just sit down and chain piece a bunch if you have a pile of squares at hand.  I’d recommend going with the triangles on the larger side for this design if you were to give it a go.

So Seattle Star came to be.  It is not unusual in this city to see just one or two stars in the sky so I thought the name appropriate.  Traditionally the design is made with half-square triangles and charm squares into a 16-patch block.

Anyone know its name?  I’d like to remake it with solids someday.

It turned out a good size for a little boy and came together lickity-split.  You can get a better idea of the size in this photo below.

I contemplated a pieced boarder, but I think it would be too distracting.

Yesterday I picked up the backing.  Now onto the hard part, how the hell to quilt it?  I’m up for suggestions.

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::Flip Triangle Quilt:: $45 Thursday, August 9th from 6-9pm at the Quilting Loftin Ballard.

A quilt with sharp points and design.  Pick your favorite fabrics and come learn the ins and outs of this block.  All level of sewists welcome.

::Seeing Value Class::

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I was pulling quilts for my Saturday Seeing Value class and thought I could show the easiest example I have of how value works.  Value is loosely defined as the lightness or darkness of a color.  Manipulating value makes designs appear and is more essential to design than color.

There is a lifetime of learning about how value works, but I’ll focus here on how value defines space and creates design by visually comparing two simple charm quilts.

My Leftovers quilt is just that, a mix of leftover charm squares.  There are a load of medium and light valued fabrics in this quilt and a few darks.  Their placement is random, so in this case you just have a lovely quilt with enough value difference between the squares for some contrast, but no design is created.

So what happens if we take those same squares and intentionally place light, medium and dark valued fabrics in certain areas?

Designs emerge, in this case crosses.  In class we study value with half-square triangle blocks which are far more versatile for design than charm squares.

I’ll save for another time how value manipulation affects the degree of contrast, mood, movement…

I put the class information below with a link to the shop if you want to come on Saturday.

If you are long distance you can still make your own Value Quilt here.

Thanks everyone for putting the book onto the top 100 list on Amazon’s craft and sewing category!

I’m off to sew! Yeah!!!

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::Seeing Value::  $65 Saturday, March 10th from 10-2pm at the Quilting Loft.

Learn how value (the lightness or darkness of a color) can transform your quilt making process.  Create multiple designs with your newfound knowledge of value and simple half square triangles.  We’ll cover proper technique of this block and perfect points!

All levels of sewists welcome.

Baby Cross Quilt

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When I stumbled upon Drygoods Design Online  my jaw dropped, what a mix of modern fabrics put together so skillfully!  TRUELY I had landed in fabric heaven.  Keli had somehow sourced fabrics that I had never laid eyes on and that’s saying a lot considering looking at fabric online is one of my favorite time sucks past times.

Keli, the brainchild behind Drygoods Design Online runs her shop out of Seattle, so I skipped right over to go shop in person.  I had my mind set on a simple cross quilt and had to continually refocus due to all the fabric I wanted to play with.

I picked a cross quilt because the design is simple for beginners, they are fun for showcasing favorite fabrics and I’d seen a few that have inspired me in our guild.

They go together quick, making them ideal for a unique baby gift.   Simply add more rows or columns if you desire a larger size.  Any size square will do, but  I went with 4” squares.

I give basic directions for making the quilt, but if you need more detail check out I Heart Patchwork by Rashida Coleman-Hale, she has a similar quilt constructed with squares and rectangles or my friend Meaghan’s online tutorial.

Most important mantra when designing a quilt and choosing fabrics, pay attention to value.  Everyone say it together, “Value is important.”

Value, defined as the relative lightness or darkness of a color is what creates contrast, allowing the design to emerge.

The diagram above roughly shows what the values in this quilt are broken down to.  When we see a quilt we would like to duplicate it is likely that we won’t find all the fabrics used, so removing color and focusing on value can make choosing replacement fabrics easier.

Pick a mix of light, medium and dark fabrics.  Try not to place lights next to lights or darks next to darks, fabrics too close in value or a high percentage of one value will create a less defined or softer design, mucking the definition of each cross.

Large-scale prints often contain more than one value, such as the View Finder fabric I picked as my starter/focus fabric.  To maintain contrast try to stick to one, maybe two of these larger scale fabrics with mixed value for a few crosses and surround those crosses with smaller scale prints or solid fabrics of a different value.

To produce a similar quilt with 4” squares you will need about 8 different fabrics.

There are 143 squares total if you wish to use scraps.  Each cross uses 5 squares.  I bought enough of each fabric to play around with the layout.   You can use leftover squares on the backing, but the 4″ square size allows you to use a single selvedge to selvedge piece of fabric for the backing, no piecing required.

Finished size 38.5” x 45.5”

MATERIALS:

Here are the fabrics I used rounding up to the nearest 1/3 or 1/4 yard:

*1/2 yard or 24 squares of Nettie Dot Purple by Hoodie

*1/3 yard or 20 squares of View Finder in Cool by Melody Miller

*1/4 yard or 15 squares of Kona mustard

*1/2 yard or 24 squares of Geometric Mikaela Golden by Jennifer Paganelli

*1/4 yard or 18 squares of Toomuchery Damask Steel

*1/4 yard or 16 squares of Alexander Henry Heath in lavender

*1/4 yard or 11 squares of Heather Ross Far Far Away

*1/4 yard or 14 squares of Smirk Grey Grid by Kayla May

*12” of fabric for 2 1/4” cut binding

*1 2/3 yards of fabric for backing

To cut the squares, align the selvedges of each fabric and cut a four-inch strip, then sub cut the strips into 4” squares.

Follow the diagram or quilt photo to layout your squares.

I worked by piecing in rows, but you could work by piecing a 9-patch block as well.

I free-motion quilted it with the same orange peel design I used on my Mom’s Birthday Quilt last May.

It was a very simple design to execute free-motion because of the built in grid pattern of the squares.  I used a hera marker to mark a line through the middle of each row and a vanishing marker to mark the middle of each square.

I took into account the extra 1/4″ not yet taken up by binding at the raw edge of each square when marking the middles of the outer squares.  I attempted when quilting to kept the stitches in a 1/4″ from the perimeter so it wouldn’t  be covered by binding.  It sorted itself out well enough.

I sewed the binding down on our drive to Vancouver last weekend.  I love having a binding project on a drive.

Yeah, finished!

Thanks Keli for the fabric inspiration and my friend Rendy at rendytuckerphotography.com for the photos!