improvisational patchwork

Hearts

February 3, 2019 By Katie

All the Christmas stuff is down in the basement still waiting to be put away, but the upstairs is rocking its Valentine. I’m sure Jefe is fully enjoying the amount of quilted heart patchwork in the house right now;)

I thought it would be fun to post a few photos of this shape that might have recently surpassed the amount of stars I’ve made. Above is a stash busting quilt made with my Value Quilt tutorial, which is the studio’s featured February workshop.

These Splintered Hearts pillows were left overs from making my Have a Heart Quilt.

If you make enough pillows they all start working together;)

My Improv Crazy Piecing workshop called Crushed It has become one of my favorite to teach. You can make different shapes of course but I love the look in the heart shape. I’ve got a Saturday workshop this month going on with this fun block.

My love of Crazy Piecing started with a bunch of leftovers that became this quilt. Someday I’ll get a good photo of it. The background is amazing.

I’m sure I’m forgetting some finished projects with this shape and I’ll spare you knowing the ‘in process’ amount.

When I can manage to steal some time alone in the studio I’ve been getting some new workshops together. You’ll find a little improv mixed with foundation piecing and the precision traditional curve piecing gives you in Round and Round.

Have a good Valentines Peeps. May your heart be happy. xo

:: Two For One ::

October 22, 2018 By Katie

Seattle has had the most amazing autumn, but today the fog has got me in the mood to get into the studio and sew. I can procrastinate garden clean up and cooking that I had scheduled into the day a little longer.

I’m fresh off a fun trip from teaching and lecturing in Sisters and promised my students a post with all the Psychedelic Baby quilts I’ve ever made, from the original workshop and the follow up. Here goes.

sew katie did | seattle modern quilting and sewing studio

sew katie did | No Know Quilt/s

I finished up one quilt with the technique and since I had the cast off blocks they got a ‘matching’ one after I found out they’d had twins. Easy peasy done.

sew katie did seeing stars 1

Then I started playing with layouts and moving the colors and strata around. Color inspiration came from a dress in a catalog. Make this,

sew katie did| Seattle Modern Quilting & Sewing Studio | seeing stars

and then this with the cast off blocks.

One quilt,

sew katie did | Seattle Modern Quilting & Sewing Studio | Intersected Quilt Workshop

two quilt. Both block based but improv in technique. This one might be my favorite.

Did you say pillows? Those work too.

sew katie did | Seattle Modern Quilting and Sewing Studio | Alignment Optional Pillows

My cast off blocks from the pillows made their way into a more improvisational design.

sew katie did | Seattle Modern Quilting and Sewing Studio | Alignment Optional Pillows

This quilt’s been traveling around for a show and I’ll look forward to having it back as a class sample.

I’m still getting around to making some of the second quilts for a few of the finished first.

sew katie did | Seattle Modern Quilting and Sewing Studio | Improvisational Strip Piecing Quilt Workshop

sew katie did | Seattle Modern Quilting & Sewing Studio | Psychedelic Baby Strip Piecing Workshop

Maybe once the garden is done;)

I’ll be teaching the follow up workshop to Psychedelic Baby in studio or of course you can contact me to schedule;) If you live further north Quilting Mayhem in Snohomish has asked me to teach this workshop January 19th.

sewkatiedid | Seattle Modern Quilting & Sewing Studio | Modern Quilt 101| Coin Quilt

But first, this Saturday at Quilting Mayhem we’ll be playing with basic improv techniques while making a Coin Quilt. See their website for details on the Coin Quilt and look for Psychedelic Baby being listed in the next few days.

I’ve got my eye on holiday gifts in studio, I’m thinking box pouches, invisible zipper pillows or setting the table with some double sided or mitered napkins and dish towels. I’ll be adding those soon, but if you’ve had your eye on something go ahead and email me and we’ll make it happen in an open studio. Several students gifted open studio time to themselves and a few friends so they would all have an excuse to sew and be together.

Happy week Peeps!

:: Seeing Stars ::

September 21, 2018 By Katie Leave a Comment

I’m certainly feeling a new season coming on here in Seattle. Gardening and seasonal cooking seem like kindred spirits to quilting so I’m always torn between the studio, the yard and the kitchen. Luckily the weather has started cooperating by providing us inside time with a squall here and there, and peppering in some sunshine and those huge fluffy clouds I love so much. I want time to do it all, so the weather has been good at compromising.

If you’re living in Seattle during the winter it’s crucial to have indoor hobbies. My Seattle peeps must be feeling the same desire to shift back to the indoor sort and are coming out of the woodwork to cultivate new ideas in Open Studios and request workshop dates.

I’m picking up the bug myself. I’ve been traveling around for months to lectures with the binding half done on my Seeing Stars Quilt and finally caught some couch time to finish it up.

If you’ve taken my improv strip piecing workshop Psychedelic Baby the triangles in this quilt might look familiar. I made the large star from my triangle cast off blocks we create in Psychedelic Baby and now have enough samples for running the Part II workshop.

This in studio workshop will focus on improvisational or traditional layout and design using the blocks from the workshop’s first session.

Here’s the original quilt called Full Tilt that I made with the blocks from the first workshop.

Other quilt examples for this Part II workshop are,

the Intersected Quilt,

Skewed Symmetry Quilt,

and my No Know Quilt.

Some are more improvisational in design and some are simply triangles sewn into rows. Easy to choose a design that works at a skill level you’re comfortable with.

Somewhere along the way stumbled upon a large star layout and decided it was a perfect design for my triangles’ placement.

Keeping with my tradition at this point I pulled from stash for the back. I have a love affair with this Alexander Henry fabric and have some pillows around with it that are in the household rotation.

The binding is a double binding so that the quilt would have a little framing and the quilting is a grid of straight lines.

I really like how it turned out and there’s a bit of star twinkle in some of the fabrics that have silver threads running through them.

A new quilt is always a welcome addition to lectures and for feeding interest in workshops and I’ve got a few of those coming up. October has some opportunities to visit me outside the studio and even the state. I’ll be at Quilting Mayhem teaching my Improv 101 | Coin Quilt.

If you live in Oregon I’ll be at the Stitchin’ Post teaching Psychedelic Baby October 18th and Double-Trouble Triangles October 19th. My Thread Talk is at 6:30pm October 17th; classes are 9AM-4PM. I’d love to see you!

With October being pretty full I’ve stuck mostly to Open Studios, but as always if you see a workshop you’re interested in email me and we’ll find a date that works:) Happy Weekend Peeps!

Intersected Quilt

August 8, 2018 By Katie Leave a Comment

I’ve had my sights set on running a Part II Psychedelic Baby workshop. We create secondary or cast off blocks in the Psychedelic Baby workshop that can be simply used on the back, but why not make another quilt?

I’ve been focusing my studio time on finishing up a variety of samples for this new workshop and now have enough to start rolling them out here. I’ve popped some sessions of Part II on the calendar for those of you that have already taken the first session or are signed up.

Here’s the quilt I made using the secondary blocks. I’ll call Intersected.

Here’s the Cross-Roads Quilt I shared last week with blocks from the first session workshop. You can read more about it here. I’ve added one more session since the two I had up filled last week.

My past samples using the secondary blocks have been more improvisational in design, so I was aiming for a ‘traditional’ layout with Intersected. We’ll cover how to size our blocks into geometric shapes, study the construction of several more traditional designs and learn how to build out improvisational designs like I did here and here.

I’d like students to also bring with them several inspirational quilt designs from books, patterns or photos so we can talk about their potential construction using the blocks as a group.

A few details about this quilt… I’ve straight line quilted vertical random lines at different widths in white thread. The binding could really have been any of the fabrics in the quilt, but I went with the neutral Essex to have more flexibility in picking the backing fabric from stash.

The backing is a fabric that you’ve seen before if you follow the blog. I have a 70s love for this Smitten Kitten.

As always, if you’re looking for a specific workshop to fit your schedule let me know;)

Back in the 90s here in Seattle, but looking at a cooler weekend for our workshop. Enjoy Peeps!

P.S. Big thanks to Curated Quilts for featuring my quilt in their triangle issue.

Cross Roads Quilt

August 1, 2018 By Katie Leave a Comment

Well happy summer. Finishing quilts doesn’t seem to be an issue, but getting them photographed and up here to share is another story.

Cross Roads quilt is yet another sample for my Psychedelic Baby workshop. The versatility of this block in creating different designs is part of the fun in the class. Perfect timing as I’ve got a Sunday class in the studio coming up on ~~August 12th~~ (Full) and another requested for ~~Sunday September 16th~~ (Full). This month’s ~~Sunday open studio~~ (Full) is up as well if anyone wants to come socialize and finish up some projects.

The colors for this one came right out of a Garnet Hill catalog, but walking through IKEA yesterday they seem a staple there as well. The dark grey leaning towards black in my photos.

Pulling from stash to match the colors to my inspiration there’s a mix of Kona, Essex linen for the neutral and some Michael Miller Cotton Coutures.

Simple straight line quilting of course on this one. Let the patchwork shine. The quilting on this one done in a grid about 1″ apart on the long arm. White thread. I think it finishes up about 54″ x 54″. A good size baby quilt.

I added the white flange before putting on the natural Essex for binding. I really wanted the square blocks to stand out and not have the binding be a distraction.

I’ve long loved this Alexander Henry hills print and it finally found its home on the back. A few left overs popped in to bring it to width.

We’ve finally dropped back to normal temps in Seattle and I’m missing the hot already, but my garden is ready for the rain we’re suppose to get the next two days.

We spent nearly three weeks out of the country with the majority of time in Croatia. We had an amazing time. I’m back in the studio tomorrow now that I’m caught up on life back home. New projects and workshops are ready to be sampled up for fall.

Hope you’re all having some down time and a relaxing summer peeps!

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Side-Lined Quilt

February 8, 2017 By Katie 5 Comments

I told you I still quilt:)

I completed this lovely ages ago and have just needed a brighter Seattle day to photograph it.

I thought it time to share it with you.

| Inspiration |

The Land of Nod spring catalog supplied an inspirational color way and it just so happens I didn’t have to buy any fabric to create it. Truly unbelievable.

There are a mix of Konas, Cotton Couture, some of my go-to shot cotton orange, and a flannel. The whites are quite a cocktail including some flannel. Amazing how different whites can be.

One thing about teaching workshops is you always need blocks in all stages to demo a technique. Before I know it I have enough blocks to finish them up into a baby/lap quilt which is a more manageable size to travel with, and yes, I do pack one King for lectures.

Can you guess the other thing not so easy to travel with? Books😉

I’d go mad if I have to remake the same quilt, so my inspiration was another variation of what I call the Psychedelic Baby Block for my improvisational strip piecing workshop. Teaching a technique over a pattern has its benefits for the short attention spanned like me. It gives me the flexibility to design something new.

At 15″ square, using the technique I teach, these blocks come together fast.

| Quilting |

Straight lined and Grid Grid Grid went the quilting. I started with light blue thread, but ripped it out after a few lines and replaced it with white. I have to say I was not liking the line quilting design at all, but kept adding and adding until it came together. Enough quilting to please the eye and little enough to still have a soft drape. It has a great texture.

| Binding and Backing |

I really wanted to purchase some flannel that I’d fallen’ in love with, but I poked around my stash and as usual was glad I did. These older Heather Ross prints and flannel came together into a lovely minimal back. My leftovers from the top were grey or white. White as a binding sounds like it would become a Swifter, so I went with the grey and it frames it nicely.

I love the controlled chaos happening in it. I’m going to make a larger one for our bed once I finalize the color way. Decisions decisions. I am slow moving, but am working on a pattern for this quilt.

Thanks for stopping by, hope you get in some crafty time Peeps;)

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P.S. If you’re in the mood to hear about my quilts I’ll be doing a lecture tonight at the Seattle MQG and this Friday with the Frasier Valley Modern Quilt Guild (workshop sold out).

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I guess my call to finish up those quilt tops was needed and the classes filled! I’ve added two new sessions (evening and next Wednesday) to the straight line quilting workshop if anyone wants to come learn the tips and tricks that work for me. We’ll be making our practice pieces into useful nesting baskets.

Alignment Optional Pillows

November 6, 2016 By Katie 5 Comments

I’m still rolling with concept inspiration from my psychedelic baby block workshop and ended up with these fabulous pillows made with a block I’m calling Alignment Optional.

Back in September I thought I’d revisit a color way we used in Quilting Modern for the Shattered Quilt, replacing the Carolina Chambray with yarn dyed Essex as my light and Michael Miller Cotton Couture for the black.

I made some blocks, and well…they just didn’t look good. I packed them into a zip-lock and added them to the bureau in the basement where I collect marinating ideas. This approach is making the drawers a bit harder to open, but we all know the importance of play when it comes to creativity, which sometimes just means yielding your rotary cutter and making the cut. So that’s exactly what I did.

Though it was fun to try two different straight-line quilting styles, when it comes to a pair so similar in design I’d like the quilting to be identical. Problem is I’m not sure which design I like best.

These are only the second project I’ve personally quilted with a lot of solid black fabric. When I did my first quilt with black I didn’t know about black batting and small fibers of the white batting became visible on the quilt top. The term in quilting for this is ‘bearding’ and I won’t go into all the reasons it can happen, but the right color batting and a new sharp needle can generally prevent this issue. Too bad I didn’t remember black batting for these pillows;)

Here’s an Instagram photo showing my starts of the Alignment Optional pillows at the top. Sharing this hopefully gives you an idea of the secondary design multiple blocks would create, very similar to the Psychedelic Baby Block. Though I was planning on making a coordinating pillow with the blocks at the bottom, they actually became a quilt. I’m hoping to get some photos of it today. And this time I used black batting;)

All finished off with my invisible zipper tutorial and this awesome Alexander Henry Ghastlies Clover.

Interested in creating some pillow tops yourself? I have three dates listed for the Alignment Optional Pillows AND since I taught myself how to create coupon codes let’s celebrate with $10 off classes (sorry, not open studios) until the 24th with the code ‘meagain.’

I’m already envisioning my next pillows being fabulous in red and white for the season.

Happy Week Peeps;)

New Tricked Additions In Pillow Form

October 15, 2016 By Katie 6 Comments

Seattle’s got Halloween kind of weather going on. We’re currently enjoying the light things up and warmth that electricity provides, but I have definitely put some thought into a list of backup chores for if it goes. My fabric shelves and scrap bins are due a serious clear out and that alone could easily eat a few days.

I’ve been joyfully moving stuff around all week. Decorations are up, and in their true place. Each year I love the hunt of a few well sought out additions, like these awesome lit pumpkins from Target for the top of my fridge.

And just like Christmas I allow myself a few new Halloween prints. Novelty print generally means pillows. You already know I’m seriously not lacking in pillows and nothing stops me from making more. I believe I’ve added five to the rotation this year for Halloween alone;). Last year my splurge was this zombie fabric by Riley Blake. A huge spiderweb pillow (more here) has become Roan’s perch when waiting for his morning carpool. Playing with this block ignited some new ideas.

Since it needed something matchie-matchie and I had left over test blocks I made a couple more.

These pillows I made last year are still my favorites. So in the Ghastlies print I made a couple long lumbars which are my favorite shape for comfortable couch lounging.

I generally buy the forms from Garnet Hill, though IKEA does carry a nice rectangle shape. They’re down-filled and puff out to the corners nicely. You don’t need tons of forms. Under Halloween lives the Christmas ones, and quite possibly another layer under that.

All have invisible zippers following my tutorial of course.

My favorite made addition of the year is the hanging candy bucket I created using this paper pieced pattern. I’ve collected a few new patterns for next year. There are so many more projects I’d like to do, but I think I might be considered borderline something at this point. I’ve been collecting them all on a Pinboard.

It’s probably time to think of a costume.

Happy week Peeps;)

Double-Trouble Restitch Quilt

October 4, 2016 By Katie 20 Comments

So I kind of reincarnated this quilt. It really is the original Scrappalicious Double-Trouble quilt I finished up in 2013. I provided a blog post around the same time featuring only a few of the wonderful design layouts you can create with this improvisational quilt block. I am always amazed when I look around at the design walls in this workshop and see the amazing designs people create with such a simple block.

To remake this quilt I took out all the quilting, removed three seams, switched around some rows, and sewed it back together. I know, a little crazy. Some things take more then one try to deliver favorable results. It’s a little wonky around the edges and one row too long, but better in my opinion.

It just kept telling me it needed simple straight lines, but I guess almost all my quilts do now a days.

The thing about quilting or practicing any art is sometimes the finish is so satisfying, and sometimes…well, it’s just kind of ‘meh.’ But all these finishes lead to the next great idea. Besides discovering that I should never remove quilting ever ever ever again, I learned a couple of new things. One, I don’t think the imprint from the long arm quilting will ever really dissipate, and two, any quilting that has sharp points to it creates really tiny stitches at the turn that are strong and difficult to remove, even with my Quick Seam Ripper.

What I do know is that I still love myself a scrap quilt. Every little bitty one;) You can see more of this block if you want, I’ve collected some of those images here.

Happy week Peeps!

:: Blogger’s Quilt Festival 2016 ::

September 23, 2016 By Katie 12 Comments

Popping in for a minute in support of The Blogger’s Quilt Festival. This visual gallery of quilts is the brainchild of Amy Ellis. Amy and I both started blogging around the same time and like other quilters that have continued to share their work online, our blogs have served as a wonderful journal documenting our artistic growth and evolution.

This virtual festival celebrates and spreads our love of ALL quilting. You chose which category to place your quilt submission into. ‘Modern,’ ‘traditional,’ and everything in between are defined by the artists themselves.

It was a tie for me this year between BIG Tossed Hearts and my No/Know Twin Quilts. I couldn’t single down the No/Know Quilts to one, so I went with BIG Tossed Hearts.

I’ll place this quilt under original design, though I certainly think it could go under modern or scrappy quilts.

I have a whole write up about this lovely quilt here if you want to know more about its improvisational conception.

If this crazy piecing technique appeals to you then I’ve got another quilt created using it here. As you can see some other layouts I’ve managed to get somewhat out of my head and into fabric. It really never ends.

I hope that you take part in the festival either voting or entering. Regardless let’s spread the love of this art. I always find some new blogs to follow and hope you do too:)

Happy day Peeps.

:: Psychedelic Baby Quilt Top | Improv Strip Piecing ::

September 13, 2016 By Katie 8 Comments

Regardless of the pile of quilts in need of quilting, I’ve got a finished quilt top to show you! Another using what I call the Psychedelic Baby Quilt Block. It has just the right amount of improvisational technique mixed with a traditional on-point layout. I can’t seem to get enough of this string block, so after teaching this workshop for a bit now I’m trying to wrap my head around fabric amounts to make a quilt pattern.

Where I get my color way inspiration for my quilts is a common question. Since I’ve had a languishing half-written post about the various avenues I take for gathering it, I’ll just share a bit here and there as quilts come together. Like my last quilts of this nature, this color way was out of my comfort zone (step away from the purple Katie;).

For this version I found inspiration in a Land of Nod catalog. I often go this route because it gives me an opportunity to work with color combos that are trending or not on my radar. I’d recommend subscribing to catalogs that lean towards modern design (or traditional for that matter) and just like the endless bucket list of quilt ideas, you’ll never lack for a mixology of color. I generally rip out what catches my eye and pin it to either my quilt design wall or my Color Way Pinboard stocked with art, quilts and randomness, all inspiring.

Once I’ve got a color way solidified I try to shop from my fabric stash as much as possible and fill in the holes from there. I try to think of it as a good challenge when I run out of fabric and mix something I have in (even a shade or tint lighter or darker). Though not as drastic as some, this quilt had that going on when it came to the white. I supplemented some white flannel and off-white adding some texture and depth.

These blocks are BIG (15″ x 15″), and come together so quickly. The fun really is in seeing this block represented in each student’s fabrics and how excited they get about what’s happening on the design wall as the blocks are created.

This month I’ve got out of town students coming to take the workshop while on vacation in Seattle. Because I needed new step-outs to teach, them coming provided me with the perfect excuse to play with another color way. This time around the colors actually work with something in my home. I tease I get my color out when it comes to making things. You’ll be seeing this block here soon with a little twist and a binary scheme.

Because of the method in the workshop we actually can create two quilts (like my No/Know Quilts) at once. These blocks are great for teaching paneling and free-piecing. I hope to show you them soon as a finished quilt.

You can see more of the Psychedelic Baby block in use here, here, here and here😉 and I’ve added one more Saturday workshop to the website.

Happy week peeps!

Improv Patchwork Pillows

June 16, 2016 By Katie 1 Comment

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!

improvisational patchwork

Hearts

:: Two For One ::

:: Seeing Stars ::

Intersected Quilt

Cross Roads Quilt

Side-Lined Quilt

Alignment Optional Pillows

New Tricked Additions In Pillow Form

Double-Trouble Restitch Quilt

:: Blogger’s Quilt Festival 2016 ::

:: Psychedelic Baby Quilt Top | Improv Strip Piecing ::

Improv Patchwork Pillows

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