A Rainbow of Flying Geese

i've been so impatient to post this!


frankly, i'm surprised that i waited a week, but i'll explain that with the fact that the previous week disappeared - what? it's monday again? wtf?


i mentioned in last weekend's felicities post that i'd done a swap with Holly, and i LOVE what i made her - if i hadn't known that she'd love it as much as i do, i probably wouldn't have been able to give it up!


one of the things on my xmas list this year was a fq bundle of Lizzy House's fabric line Pearl Bracelets. Pearl Bracelets is a print that she's included in previous fabric lines, and they've been incredibly popular, so Andover released a line of 26 colours of the print.



don't they look yummy, all neatly folded up along with Lizzy House's other new line, Constellations? (i used a previous line, Outfoxed, for my Improv is Foxy quilt. i'm kind of a fan)


anyone who knows Holly knows that she loves rainbows, and i happen to know that she's a fan of Pearl Bracelets as well, so OF COURSE i had to use part of my Pearl Bracelet bundle to make her a rainbow!




for the patchwork, i decided to use a paperpiecing pattern that lends itself well to rainbows, A Circle of Geese by Piece By Number. (Christina, The Sometimes Crafter, has a great tutorial for this block, if you're interested) the VMQG actually used this as a challenge block way back in April 2011, but i never got around to making it then.




Holly particularly likes the combination of rainbows and natural linen, so choosing my main fabric was a no-brainer. i made the tote in one piece and quilted it with straight lines echoing around the geese (so obsessed with echo quilting!). I continued the quilting down the entire 36" piece, so when i sewed it together, the back had a neat geometric quilting design.




i really really wanted to wash this, just to see the linen crinkle up, but i didn't entirely trust the Pearl Bracelets fabric not to run - the dye quality isn't quite as fabulous with this line as it has been with other lines, and it made me nervous!




i just did a simple boxed corner to create some depth to the tote, and added natural cotton straps that are nice and wide, perfect for carrying Holly's notebooks at QuiltCon (because i know she'll be taking lots of notes!).




and i lined it with a cheerful print by Benartex that i picked up at Spool of Thread, including a zipper pocket and a little loop for her to hang her keys or a coin purse on. (it's best if we don't look too closely at the zipper, okay? i shouldn't have used a contrasting thread for topstitching...)


i didn't use any interfacing in the bag, but i did use quilt batting. that means it's easy to pack, but still sturdy! i'm super happy with how it turned out, and i think Holly is too.





i'm going to link up with a few linky parties this week, since i haven't done that in awhile.

Unscripted Bee Blocks

gosh, i'm awfully behind with posting!

the majority of these blocks were made or completed in august, after the map was finished. i'd gotten a bit behind for july blocks, but in addition to that, several folks from the Unscripted Bee sent out their fabric at the same time, so i had a nice little stack of projects waiting for me.



Cynthia's block was finished it earlier in the summer, but of course, i haven't blogged it yet.

Cynthia's a huge fan of Paris (she's even designed fabric inspired by it!), so she asked us to use Elizabeth Hartman's Mod Mosaic tutorial to make blocks that looked like a map of Paris, with the white strips standing in as "streets", jutting out in all directions. She'd been collecting Paris themed fabric for awhile, so she sent us all some scraps of it, along with coordinating prints.



aren't the fabrics she chose fun? i LOVE the buttons piece on the upper right! my block ended up fairly straight, without many angles in it - so i guess it doesn't look that much like a map of Paris, the streets there look like a nightmare! unsurprisingly, i was worried about running out of fabric, and i didn't want to waste fabric by cutting it wonky.

Cynthia also asked us to make a small improv block for the back of her quilt, so i used my last little pieces for the following -



see that eensy bit of white in the top right corner? that was ALL i had left!



Jody's block was a fairly simple improv block, perfect for getting back into the swing of things after the map quilt! Jody sent out a selection of solids in blues, greens, greys and white, and asked us to make a block using Bumble Beans Inc (Victoria Findlay Wolfe)'s "Waverunner Quilt" tutorial.



as usual, i ran out of fabric. i was supposed to make a block 10"x20", and i ALMOST made it! i think it ended up being 19" long or so. i really really love how the block turned out, and i think it's going to be a stunning quilt, but i totally didn't find it as easy as the tutorial led me to believe!

the tutorial tells you to cut your strips with wavy edges, then line them up to sew them regardless of matching curves. you're supposed to be able to press them flat if you use steam. i don't know if my curves weren't slight enough or what, but there were several spots where it didn't matter how much i steamed the block, it just wasn't going to flatten. i worked it out by going back in and sewing along the fold line, where the fabric wanted the seam to be, so it wasn't a big deal, but it was interesting. i also really love the little bits of scraps that i used to bring the block closer to size, similar to what the original quilt uses.



and finally, Nicole's blocks! i started these so long ago... i ran out of background fabric for these, and then i totally lost steam while waiting for more to arrive. i eventually finished up the words, but i was so stalled on the additional improv blocks to go along with them, it took me forever to get everything finished up and sent out.

Nicole asked everyone to make a block with their favourite word in it. she sent us all different bundles of fabric, but we all had the same background fabric, and a small piece of the Kaffe Fassett fabric that inspired her overall colour scheme for the quilt. she told us to make the blocks any size we wanted, but to please include the Kaffe Fassett fabric in our word somewhere.

i was super excited about her blocks, because i'd been doing a lot of pieced lettering at the time (no, of course i haven't blogged that yet...). i gave Nicole a list of favourite words, including some 20s slang that i adore, and she chose the word kerfuffle.

i started working on the block, but fairly early on i realized that a) i didn't like the K that i'd made, especially with the other letters, and b) the orange fabrics weren't melding with the pinks and creams very well, and since i was using one print per letter, it was VERY obvious!

so then that led to me making two word blocks....






(final size of the block - 38" x 10.5")


and then in the orange fabrics,


(final size of the block - 21" x 9")

it actually worked out perfectly, because we've been using the word "keen" a lot in the bee - some members of the bee are total keeners, getting their blocks done super quick!

and as for the improv blocks that messed me up - i made three, one of which i turned into a signature block. i love the fabric combination on the largest block, but i like the technique i used on the orange one, it was fun to do. i also had the improv block that Lysa made, because she didn't like how it turned out, but i wasn't inspired by it either. i ended up sending it to Nicole as-is, i'm sorry Lysa!




and that is the end of the Unscripted Bee blocks!


except, of course, my blocks.... which is a whole other post!

Cheerful Dresden Mini! - now with more pics!

i finished it! isn't it pretty?

this mini quilt measures 18.75" square and is my entry in the Modern Mini Challenge that Jennifer of Ellison Lane Quilts is organizing.



it's obviously a dresden plate quilt, and it includes a combination of hand embroidery and machine quilting. i used multiple threads for the embroidery, some of which were more fun than others (rayon is such a pain!). i used all of my favourite prints in this quilt, and it makes me happy to look at it. it's going up on my wall, so it can make me happy every day!

the dresden plate was made using the darlene zimmerman dresden ruler, which is easy-peasy. remember the skirt i made with it back in september?

while i was cutting the dresden blades, i cut a few extra little pieces of each print, and used them to create a border around the quilt. i sewed the pieces all in the same order in the border as they were in the dresden and then cut the long piece for the border pieces. at the last minute i decided to skew the border a bit, just for a bit of added interest.

it's bound with more kona, and i put 4 hanging sleeves on it - i couldn't decide which side was the top! i haven't hand stitched them all down yet, but they're there if i ever want them!


i have more pictures, and i'll post them later tonight, once they're edited. my computer is being very cranky, and i need a break from fighting with it!

wanna see more pics? here you go!



i originally sewed the dresden down, did the rows of echo machine quilting, and then started on the hand embroidery. part way through the hand embroidery, i realized that folding it up and carting it around with me was not working well for keeping the dresden and the batting smooth! i ended up ripping out my initial stitches, pressing the dresden plate well, and resewing it down after i'd finished all of the hand embroidery. this time i stitched along the sides of each wedge as well, and i'm soooo glad that i did! i think it looks so much better, and it'll shrink up much more evenly when i wash it.



it was so nice to have an excuse to play with the embroidery. i've sorely neglected my handwork since quilting has taken over my life! i used a variety of threads, and mixed up the stitches as well. i repeated a few stitches, but with varying threads, so none of the rows look exactly the same. i wanted to stick with narrow stitches, to maintain the thin rows of embroidery, so i avoided fun but wide stitches like an open chain or chevron stitch.


the first row of embroidery is a very very tight chain stitch. it was kind of hellish! ha! i used a rayon/viscose thread much like this dmc thread, but made by a german company, i think. i picked it up when my local stitchery store closed. i used very short lengths of the floss, which required a lot of ends to be lost inside the quilt, but i LOVE the pop of the satin thread.

the second row of embroidery, lime, was backstitch, using a standard 6 strand cotton floss. i lost the wrapper of this colour, so i don't know if it was dmc or anchor.. and i want to buy more, i love this colour! i'm guessing dmc because it's a bit duller than other brands.

the third row, pink, used a standard 6 strand cotton floss, anchor #57. apparently i used two different stitches for this row, though i just learned that! i didn't know that stem stitch and outline stitch are actually two different stitches, with the thread kept below the needle for stem stitch and above the needle for outline stitch. i think i usually do stem stitch, but for this row, i had alternated at each corner, switching back and forth. you learn something new every day!

for the fourth row, dark teal, i got smarter! i used the german viscose satin thread again, but this time i chose a stitch that wouldn't require me to sew the rayon thread through the quilt. i did an interlaced running stitch, and used cotton floss (anchor #189) for the running stitch, and wove the rayon thread through it. much easier!

the fifth row, pale blue, used cotton floss (dmc #3846) and a neat stitch called a scroll stitch.



the sixth row, purple, used two threads again, the rayon thread and a cotton floss, and the couching stitch. couching is such an easy stitch, and such a great way to use difficult threads!

the seventh row, light pink, uses thread common to modern quilters, pearl cotton. this was actually the first time that i'd used it, and i just did the simple running stitch. i think i need to pick up a pack of chenille needles, as the largest embroidery needles were a bit of a tight fit!

the eighth row, light blue, was stitched using a "cotton lace yarn" sold for crochet. it says that it's an egyptian cotton, but it also says "made in turkey". ha! i did a stem stitch for this row - stem stitch only, not alternating with the outline stitch! these stitches are bigger than they were in row three, but it's also a thicker thread, and i quite like the details created in the corners by the stitch formation.

the nineth row, bright blue, is cotton floss (anchor #1089), and i did a split stitch. i rarely use this stitch, and i'm not sure why... it lends itself well to sewing-style embroidery, which i prefer, so you would think that i'd use it often! maybe because i really like stem stitch, and they're used for similar effects. hm.

the tenth row, lime green, uses pearl cotton again, but you don't really see much of it, because i did a whipped running stitch, combining it with the rayon satin thread.



because the dresden is offset, some corners of the mini-quilt have more rows than others. the eleventh and twelfth rows are only in two corners, and the thirteenth row is just in one.

the eleventh row is pink (dmc #3804) cotton embroidery floss, and i've done a chain stitch again, cause i like it.

the twelfth row, light teal, is cotton embroidery floss (dmc #3812) as well, and i was loosing my creativity by this point, i suppose, so it's just basic backstitch again.

and the thirteenth row, the final row! this row was stitched in cotton embroidery floss (dmc #3809), and is one of my favourite stitches - french knots! as much as i love the look of them, i knew that i'd get bored doing very many of them, so i saved this stitch for one of the outer rows, that only showed at one or two corners!



and that's my modern mini dresden! that was a lot more detail than you were expecting, wasn't it?





**random note - everytime i think "modern mini" it turns into "thoroughly modern millie", which is a terribly wonderful julie andrews musical. i wonder if i could find it online, i haven't seen it in years.....**



EDIT! since i finished this quilt in 2012 and it's made using SCRAPS of my favourite fabrics, i'm entering it in Stitched in Color's Festival of Scrappiness. there are currently 300 entries!

need a new project? or ten?

can you believe that we're almost to february? we're 3 weeks into january! how did that happen?!!?


there are SO MANY THINGS going on in blog-land these days. i'm a little disturbed by it, to tell you the truth. how do all of these people have time? why aren't they spending their januarys finishing late christmas presents? did they all just throw up their hands in defeat on december 31st? that must be it. and really, good for them. if the presents are late, they're late, an extra month or two won't make a difference. or maybe they said screw the handmade gifts for 2011... i applaud that as well.

i was wishing that i had the time to do a quilt-a-long or two, but that's just not gonna happen at the moment. then i decided to keep track of the interesting quilt-a-longs so that i could go back to them when i DID have time, and there were so many of them that my list turned into this post. if you know of others, leave a comment with a link, please.




there are multiple scrappy quilt-alongs at the moment, and it seems to be good timing - enough people have been quilting long enough to have ridiculous scrap piles!

Jodi from Pleasant Home is running a Sew Scraps Along with tons of inspirational posts, links to tutorials, prizes and so much more.

Rachel over at Stitched in Color is doing a Scrap Attack Quilt-a-long, with weekly tutorials and/or interviews with other bloggers. and if you finish a scrap quilt by the end of March, you can win prizes!

justabitfrayed is doing a scrappy quilt-a-long with a specific pattern, and it's so pretty!

however, the most popular Quilt-Alongs by far are star or sparkle themed. HUGE trend for 2012, obviously! (and isn't my little group quilt cutting edge then?)

Chelsea from Pins and Bobbins is running a quilt-a-long for the Made In Cherry star quilt designed by Sarah Fielke

Faith from Fresh Lemons is doing a sampler style quilt-a-long that's all different star blocks, called Solstice Stars.

Jeni from In Color Order and Megan from Canoe Ridge Creations are coordinating a Sparkle Quilt Along that's super cute.

Elizabeth Hartman of Oh Fransson is running a quilt-a-long for her pattern Sparkle Punch.
here's a pillow top made up by flickr user GoingSewCrazy. isn't it gorgeous!?

Hannah from Heartbreak Homestead has posted the first block of her Starry Skies Sampler Quilt project, and it's very lovely.


and vintage sheet stars!!! Holly told me about this yesterday, and i'm so in love! Sheila at Thought and Found is creating a stunning star quilt, with blocks that she's designed as well as blocks designed by various guests. i know i totally don't have time for such an ambitious project, but oh my goodness!

if you're not into stars, you still have a few other options...

Jeni from In Color Order has started an HST block of the month for 2012, so you could do that instead!

or how about the Swoon-a-long that Katy from Monkey Do is organizing, using the
Swoon pattern by Camille Roskelley?

or the monthly mini-quilt sew-along that Randi at I Have To Say is doing for 2012? each quilt will start on the 2nd tuesday of every month, and the supply list will go up about a week before that. january was courthouse steps, don't they look lovely?

Sarah from Narcoleptic in a Cupboard is in the process of designing a really lovely quilt as well, called the Stained QAL because of the quilt's stained glass look. you can see the original quilt here.

Jenna at Sew Happy Geek is doing a modern/traditional mixed sampler style quilt-along that looks awfully cute. 3 blocks have been posted so far, and the flickr group is so pretty!


Kim's Crafty Apple is coordinating a House and Tree Quilt-Along that could be super fun! there will be 16 blocks total, all designed by different people, and each block will contain either a house or a tree, or both. Two blocks have been posted so far, and more are coming! i saw a sneak peak of the block that will be released on January 31st and it's GORGEOUS! seriously, i think i'd be happy making 16 of that same block.... as everyone in the VMQG knows, Terry's pretty amazing.

or maybe you'd rather focus on colour for your theme? Pantone released their official colour of the year, and it's "Tangerine Tango" Ali from a²(w) and Erin from Two More Seconds are hosting a Tangerine Tango Quilt Challenge, complete with two categories and awesome prizes! the flickr group is already starting to look pretty fabulous... and i'm not even an orange fan!

and if you're thinking that your freemotion could use some help,
Leah from the Free Motion Quilting Project has started a new project for 2012

and Sew Cal Gal is also doing a year-long Free Motion Quilt Challenge, with monthly prizes!

or how about something completely superfluous? QuiltJane is hosting a "Dress up your Roll" contest. Yes, THAT roll! it is possible to make toilet paper covers that don't involve ruffled dresses and half barbies - just think of them as mug rugs in tube form! you can enter as many times as you like, and the international prize is pretty damn fine. my toilet paper roll might be needing an outfit...



so. feeling motivated? you've got lots to start with!




apparently Fat Quarterly blogged about some of these the other day.... i'd say that this will be a lesson to me on getting my ass in gear and not leaving drafts in blogger for weeks at a time while i add to them - and on keeping up with other blogs - but frankly, i haven't learned anything! it just means that great minds think alike, that's all. right? ;)

Wonky Rainbow Stars - WIP

hey, remember last week's WIP Wednesday?

thanks for all your feedback everyone! i decided to go with the layout on the right, though i switched the order of the colours around a bit to provide more contrast.




what i didn't mention last week is that this design is actually for a bee-style quilt, with multiple people making the blocks. since it's not just me, going with the flow, i've spent some time this past week drawing them out and writing up instructions, and then testing them to make sure that my math was correct!

this is an example of one of the blocks -

i've pasted that image into a word document, and then added written instructions below, and hopefully it's understandable...

the background fabric for the blocks is Kona Medium Grey, and i picked up all that Spool of Thread had left last week (they should have more now). it’s a pretty common colour in modern quilting, which is why i've never used it (on a similar note, i still haven't seen the titanic, and i refused to watch friends until years after it ended. i'm perverse, i know.), but the rainbow colours really pop nicely against it.

the blocks will be scrappy, made up of tone-on-tone prints. i hauled all of my tone-on-tones to the VMQG sew-in last weekend, and spent a bunch of time piling up fabric and deciding what colours should go where. it was fun to be surrounded by such cheerful fabrics!

since then, i've stitched up some blocks to test my instructions, and i've gotta say, i'm loving how they're coming together.


orange. since this is the only orange block in the quilt, i could use more shades in the block. for the greens, blues and purples, there can't be as much variety or the blocks won't have enough contrast compared to the other blocks of the same colour. however, my oranges are not really that yellow in real life, i did keep a bit of contrast!


yellow. there are three of these big stars in the quilt, and they're a super quick block to whip together!


aqua/turquoise. for this block, i really tried to stay away from the true blues and the light, sky or baby blues that the other two blocks will be, but i also switched the colours around a bit in the quilt itself so that the darker block will seperate the two lighter blocks.


plummy purple. going through my stash, i found two very seperate shades of purple - one with a blue base, like a rich royal purple, and one with a red base, plummy tones like i used in this block.


and pink. since there's only one pink block, like the red, orange and yellow, i was able to use more shades of pink. this block has some of my favourite prints in it, like the pink woodgrain.


don't they look yummy together?



i think i'm obsessed with rainbow quilts right now... i keep thinking of more to make!