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.
I still quilt, I swear.
I’d certainly like to share all the know-how of straight line quilting I’ve accumulated and I happen to have a closet, a very clean closet 😉 full of quilts to show you as examples. Each of them have their own straight line quilting story.
Well the half-square-triangle left-overs from the 
Years ago they started out in this lovely layout (
Finished off with invisible zippers. Tutorial for invisible zippers 
I just love the mix of colors and textures. To finish it didn’t need anything beyond a grid of straight line quilting. I had a problem with skipped stitches that was so frustrating and something I haven’t dealt with before. I tried everything to eliminate the issue, but it remained unresolved. Considering the use these would get on the couch I spent a lot of time with my seam ripper.
There is no lack of soft couch lounging happening lately, so the addition is welcomed.
I think I’ll say that this is the last post of the 2016 year:) Our family has a daily practice communicating what we are thankful for and of course this time of year it takes on even more meaning.
So I kind of reincarnated this quilt. It really is the original 
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.
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 
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 
Happy week Peeps!
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 
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 
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.
This month I’ve got out of town students coming to take 
Two quilts for welcoming babies.
The binding is the small scale print in the Merry Moderns line. It worked out that some faces landed on the front and back of the quilt’s edge.
