::Splintered Quilt Starts::

I only have an Iphone photo, but after days of contemplating and practicing various designs the quilting has begun.

Simple and all over in design.  I like it, a lot.  Might be stiff as a board when I’m done however.

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::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!

 

 

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::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.

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::Constellations::

I can’t get enough of this Lizzy House Constellations, so when I walked into The West Seattle Fabric Company and saw it, I knew it was coming home with me.

I truly think Lizzy’s designs are some of my favorite currently on the market.

Her hit of whimsy is just the right amount and her colorways are always dead on in my book.

Behold, purple!  I love purple.

Genies, hedgehogs, cats…it’s all there.  Plus, I certainly can not have enough Pearl Bracelet in my stash.  This active solid makes blending other prints in a dream.

I’ve been itching to make a Supernova Quilt from the book with this line and with a class next week on it I’ve finally stepped into action.

Here’s the starts of my Night Owl quilt.  I’m fond of this owl fabric, especially this little guy.  Thought I would try my hand at some woodgrain quilting when I’ve logged some practice in.

It took great restraint to not add purple.

Quick, make a trip over before I go buy it all up!

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::Finally, a Finish::

It may be small, but it’s grand to finish something.

A little sample for my Psychedelic Baby Block Class at Make*Do*Mend.  I’ve got two other samples up on the design wall surrounded by a million other things that I hope to get to.  This list includes a Supernova quilt for next weeks class that will later be gifted to a new neighbor baby.

My next post should really be a compilation of all the UFOs around here.

Half way through the week!

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::Gifting Boys::

Upon the arrival of the bus, Roan and I use to have this routine.  It started with a hug and a kiss, a high five and then a bump. and ended with waving until the bus turned the corner and we could no longer see one another.  All upon the request of a sweet little boy.

With the blink of an eye he changed his tune and I had to adapt to his next growing-up stage.  Now I get a kiss blown to me before anyone sees and a hug before we leave the backyard.  I miss those moments when he would just reach up to hold my hand.  Life’s bitter sweet like that and I’ll take what I can get.

If you catch them at the right age it’s not all about Legos and Star Wars or hiding affection bestowed upon your mother.  You can still make them (or their mom really) something sweet and homemade to be loved for a bit.

Brother’s with birthdays very close together and just revolving around the sun for their sixth and fourth year are still of that age.

I made these two a little bit larger than normal to have a soft cosy feel.

Fourth’s closure is from my invisible zipper tutorial (Class Scheduled).  I wanted the back to have as much surface design as the front.

I finished off Six with an envelope closure since I decided to apply the age detail to the front.

 

There are some other details added in if you look close.

I’ve had this corduroy for ages and finally pulled it into a project.  In fact I’ve had all those fabrics for ages.  It’s fun to dig around in the stash.

As usual I lined these with muslin and serged all the edges, perfect for the wash.

 

 

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::Scattered::

Thanks for all the quilt names!  We did some rearranging yesterday and I lost a major storage spot.  The spot held a large tote full to the brim with unfinished projects.  As I was trying to reorganize I finally came up with the quilt’s name, Scattered.

The name seems to fit where I am with projects too.

This loss of space created a fire under my ass to reorganize further and work through those projects.  I’ve had a few small projects on my sewing table that were becoming clutter, beautiful clutter, but still clutter.  So I made a list and am striking some off instantly.  Clutter keeps me at a stand-still and I’m re-energize for sure upon checking off a few.

These small projects are created from fabrics that I’ve picked up locally.

This fabulous Anna Maria Horner velveteen that I got at  The West Seattle Fabric Company is finally an infinity scarf.  I’ve been matching the voiles with flannel or velveteen to make as gifts and was happy to see some of this type of fabric available in town.

I could procrastinate no longer on my delivery of my quilt to Quiltcon.  This required making a drawstring bag for its containment.  My boots will need something to travel in to Austin too and this Alexander Henry zebra print I got from Island Quilter is just so sassy.  I want to replenish its supply even though I have no project planned.

Island Quilter had this Alexander Henry fabric in a variety of colors.  I wanted to go with the black, but as an ironing board cover I thought it would fade.  I totally white-trashed the construction by tracing around the shape plus an inch or so, zig-zagging an inch down to the wrong side and pulling some elastic through the hem.  The elastic is pulled taunt and held tight by a toggle.  If I could do it with duct tape I would.  You just don’t see it so perfection doesn’t matter.

It could use some ironing.  This will surely happen.

I’m itchin’ to piece this Star-Bright Star-Light Quilt as a sample before the HST LOVE class on Saturday at Island Quilter and those diamond blocks are killing me.  I pulled it down to work on step outs for Jacquie’s and my Quiltcon Demo though.  Stick to the list.

Ok, ignoring the list for a second and dreaming of Valentine’s Day I couldn’t help but pile.  I’m always collecting fabrics for gift making.

This one from Drygood’s is my favorite this year!  I’m back to add this one too.

Here’s to a productive Monday!  We’ll see how long I can stick to the list.

————————————————–OPEN QUILTING STUDIOS THIS WEEK—————————————

This Wednesday we have Open Quilting Studio at Make*Do*Mend in Ballard from 11-3pm and at Island Quilter on Saturday from 4-9pm following the HST Love class below.  This is a great opportunity to take a class and then stick around to finish the quilt!

::Half-Square Triangle LOVE Class::

$85/Saturday February 16th from 10am to 4pm at Island Quilter on Vashon Island.

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.

::Improvisational Coin Quilt Workshop::

$85/Tuesdays, February 19th and 26th from 6-9pm at Make*Do*Mend in Ballard.

No two will be the same. Learn improvisational techniques like angle piecing and strip piecing while creating a modern coin quilt loosely based on a tradition Chinese Coin Quilt Design. A great quilt to feature your favorite prints. All levels of sewists welcome/machines and tools provided.

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::No Name::

If you are on my Instagram you are fully aware of the layouts this quilt went through and in a previous post I was about to throw in the towel.  I can honestly say that in all the time my seam ripper and I have spent together, this quilt collected some togetherness miles for us.

But if the book and Jacquie have taught me anything, it was to be persistent and an idea would come.  Something different that would make you step back and say to yourself, “That’s it.”  I can’t emphasize enough what a design wall can do for you in developing your quilt AND your design process.

Matches my boots too doesn’t it?  I couldn’t help but move them into the photo when I caught the color in the background.

Jefe in the foreground here watching soccer in his pjs.  Have you worked with the Essex Linen yet?  This is the yarn dyed denim.  Unlike regular linen (Essex has some cotton in it) it stays the shape you cut it.

The original block design is from Joelle Hoverson’s book Last-Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts.  I would categorize it under the technique of Slice and Insert (which Jacquie and I will be demonstrating at Quiltcon btw).  I was a little late to have it complete for my class, but will certainly have it quilt and bound before my next Slice and Insert Workshop.

Navy, it’s suppose to be the new black you know?  New territory color-wise for me, but most of these bits have been in the stash for a while.  I’m crazy for the Anna Maria Horner flower with the burgandy/red and the other deep purple is likely one of the first Amy Butler additions ever to make it into my stash.

It feels so good to stick with something and figure it out with a new twist.

Now it needs a backing, quilting and binding.

It also needs a name and I’m a bit stumped, any ideas?

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::Shattered Again::

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

(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.

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!

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::Block Head::

Sometimes cast-off blocks discover their destiny all on their own.

I made a row of these stepping stone blocks when creating quilt backs for Roan’s Unknown Direction quilt.

I have a whole tote under our bed and two more picnic baskets full of these sorts of blocks, the unfinished, the ‘I don’t know what to do with you,’ and the ‘cut, but I’ve lost interest’.

They all rest in their own little bags conveniently provided by fabric shops with more flair than others with creative packaging.  I’ve found that these unfinished cast-offs make the best step outs and samples for classes.

I’d pulled the strip of blocks out from hiding and was contemplating a baby quilt until this pillow shape/size and the strip of blocks stuck in my head as a match for tomorrow night’s Stepping Stone Workshop at Make*Mend*Do studio.

I set to work this afternoon on quilting and as usual, my thoughts were that I would have this done by the time Roan walked off the school bus.  Why is it that I sew so much faster in my head?

I haven’t quilted anything with a stitch in the ditch in awhile, but the strip piecing that log cabins the blocks needed some.

Tomorrow I’ll change out thread to stitch the ditch down on the outside of the stones and fill in the blue with the same quilting design.

Hoping to have a pillow by Wednesday, but like I said, I sew faster in my head…regardless, I have something other than the quilt to show in the workshop.

Happy Monday to ya.

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