::Modern Crazy Piecing Play::

I’ve had two quilts in process for Jacquie’s and my crazy piecing class on May 22nd at Island Quilter.

I almost scratched this one, thinking it didn’t have enough dark values, but you know what?  No dark values=softer mellow feel and for a baby quilt that’s just perfect.  Everyone loves a mellow baby.

I had to confine myself with some masking tape on my wall to keep my size down.  My tendency is to get larger and larger.

With the floor freshly mopped I basted it this morning and didn’t even have to move the table out because of its wee size.

I have a HUGE tote full of neutral scraps and I crazy pieced a load of those into the background as well.  It just needed something in those zones.

I’m thinking sky blue vertical lines for quilting.  I want it to retain it’s soft drape and I only have cotton batting, so I’ll have to refrain from getting them too close together.

Then I couldn’t resist putting this up on the blank design wall.  All of it except the four rows that won’t fit.  Triangles are Saturdays class.  Large it will be.  My original plan was a lap quilt, but dreamt of it on our bed…then I thought, what the hell, what man wouldn’t want to sleep under mermaids with sea stars as pasties?

It needs some rearranging and those extra four rows, but I like it, all scrappy and such.

Roan’s been on the couch for three days with a virus, so my sewing time and catching up with him on Dr. Who has been steady.  If you’re an Instagrammer then I have also been destashing.  I’m here.

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The Flip Triangle is a day-long workshop where we’ll get you off to a great start in creating a modern quilt with sharp points and design.  Choosing fabrics for high impact, proper technique for cutting and successful piecing of triangle blocks will be covered.  Great class for beginners, but all levels of sewists welcome.

Experience: all levels welcome; great for beginners

Date: Saturday, May 4th 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Drygoods Designs in Ballard

 

::Opposing Triangles Remake::

This is the second Opposing Triangles that I’ve pieced and my long arm quilter friend Krista Withers has quilted.  The first has been traveling with the modern quilts in the International Quilt Market and Festival Exhibit for about a year.  When Krista’s exhibit at Island Quilter came up she asked me if I would make another top for her to quilt and have as her own.

Because I just plain L-O-V-E this quilt I’ve been itching to get some photos before the quilt went back to Krista.  We’ve never managed to find the time until yesterday’s gorgeous Seattle day.

There’s quite a mix of fabrics for the triangles.  Echino, Kona, Alexander Henry Heath and Mirror Ball all surrounded by white Kona and placed into an Osnaburgh background.  I aligned them so that they travel one into another for a zig zagged effect.

Krista’s quilting on it is stellar of course and sinks into the Osnaburgh and wool batting nicely.  My favorite of the quilting are the subtle moons quilted in here and there.  There’s a balanced of straight line quilting with the outlined triangles and more whimsical quilting in the background.

Fremont was hopping and we made use of the park area under the Aurora Bridge by the lake.

It makes me itch to get mine back, though I must admit I think I like it better the second time around!

It’s not looking like the weekend weather will be as nice.  I’m off for a run before the rain comes and then a day of sewing.  Tomorrow I’m a spoiled brat and will be hanging out and teaching a Psychedelic Baby Block workshop with some of my favorite students.

Have a great weekend!

 

 

::More Napkins::

Have you seen these fun fabrics?!  I’ve been on a fabric binge for napkins lately, especially with the spring weather I want something new and fresh.  I think these could certainly be plugged into just about every project, but I really thought napkins were in line.

The West Seattle Fabric Company has the Urban Chiks Boho collection in all the colors.  The mix of brown in these speaks to me.  It seems like brown got left behind for a few years with the whole gray and navy are the new black thing, and this collection really mixes it well with its fun flowers.

I got each color way.  I like to add some larger prints to my kitchen to set off the bold colors of my Fiesta collection.

The low volume Urban Chiks flower has made it into my stash in every color now.  I’ve got a load of low volume ideas in my head in need of some crafty time for execution.  The flower reminds me so much of the Orla Kiely that I love and I’m sure was their inspiration.

Stitch Floral on the right is just a plain good active solid and is available in a load of colors.

And these pin dot flowers I want in every color way!

Be sure to check out The West Seattle Fabric Company’s fresh new website.  Happy sewing on this gorgeous Seattle spring day!  I predict the most awesome weather this summer.

::Wordless Wednesday::

(Quilting by Krista Withers)

::Flash Back::

In what seems like a lifetime ago I spent my winters in a not-so-little-now fishing village called Troncones in Guerrero Mexico.  My friend and I would load up the truck with our bikes, my dog Fe and our bikinis to make the three day drive from Flagstaff.

I feel fortunate to have done this, I love the people of Mexico, admire their love of family and of course L-O-V-E their food.  I have loads of the funny kinds of stories one would have when language isn’t always clear.  I however can not top Jefe telling some senoritas that he was pregnant, nor will I forget them bursting into laughter.

The mercados would be full of kitchy folklore influenced goods that I thought of when I spotted this fab Alexander Henry at Quiltsandwich.  I instantly ordered two yards ( Cartas Marcadas).  This morning I made some napkins to replace the tattered.  I’ve been eating up a few of my choice Alexander Henry novelty fabrics  by making napkins, so I’ll likely have some more to show you soon.

I added a few ‘active solids’ I’ve been eyeing.  I’ve had a thing for gray lately because I fell in love with this simple quilt.  The woodgrain is so subtle on the Michael Miller Les Amis Faux Bois and I wanted to nab it before it disappeared.  Never enough of the Pearl Bracelet, only one of the best fabric lines ever produced.

Carolyn Friedlander’s Architextures is another one of those great blender lines.  The hit of navy wavy lines is a perfect addition to the few navy fabrics I have in my collection.  Navy can keep on trending in my opinion.  It’s great to add another dark color to the value mix.

I love the grid on the background of this one here.  The more graphic designs that continue to be pumped out the better.

Thanks Quiltsandwich for the great additions!

Happy Sunday and Happy shopping!

::Quilted::

The Stash Archive Value quilt just needs binding.  TGIF!

::Scattered Quilt::

Scattered has been finished for a bit, but the Seattle spring weather is rather temperamental, so photos haven’t really been an option.  The times between the hail, rain and sunshine I’ve snapped some photos, but they’ve provided this quilt no justice when it comes to showcasing its true colors.  The yarn dyed denim in person makes the crimson bits appear extremely saturated.

Nice of them to build that blue building in front of my view of downtown Seattle eh?

Yarn dyed Essex linen eats thread, and by that I mean you really can’t see it, but creates the best quilted texture!  I started with an off-centered rectangle in lavender thread and went round and round.

As I got further from the center the rectangle naturally became more curved.  I love the effect.  I got the idea from this amazing quilt by Karen.  I gravitate towards any quilting design that is continuous or runs off the edge, I’m not a stay-stitch or burying threads kinda quilter.

I’ve certainly dug through the stash on this one.  Really old Amy Butler, Anna Maria Horner, Erin McMorris Park Slope (one of my favorite lines ever), Echino, and Denyse Schmidt.

I self bound it in the same linen.  I thought an addition of bits into the binding would have been a great effect, but got lazy. Backing by Echino polishes off this quilt nicely.  The drape is amazing combined with the linen.

And it matches my lilacs.

Scattered is a remake of my Split Decision quilt that I use as a class sample for teaching Slice and Insert.  I wanted to create another layout using the slice and insert technique to showcase the design potential of this technique.  Jacquie and I will be teaching Slice and Insert on Monday, May 20th at Island Quilter and I will hold another workshop on Saturday, June 29th at the Quilting Loft under the name Split Decision.

Happy Monday and first day of Spring Break for use public school people in Seattle.