Three Quarter Log Cabin Scrap Quilt

It is a relief to finish this quilt. Making the improv blocks from scraps was so relaxing last fall, but they sat another year on a shelf as I tried to figure out how to use them all together. The solution of sashing to separate the crazy prints and colors has worked fairly well.

The quilt is big by my standards (73 x 95), since I quilted it on my tiny home machine. I find small scale free motion designs well suited for a large quilt because the small shapes, like these loops, allow you to stop and adjust the quilt frequently without interrupting or marring a larger, flowing design. 

I used an extra wide yellow backing from my stash and an old Erin McMorris Summersault print that I love for the binding. I think largescale prints are so interesting as binding because you get quite a variation along the edge or the quilt.

Patting myself on the back for using these blocks rather than letting them languish, and I hope the quilt will be useful and a blessing to a local child in foster care. 

Prisms and Fireworks

Ronnie Thompson from British Columbia was kind enough to send me this photo of a Floating Prisms quilt she longarm quilted. It was pieced by Marven Ecker. He asked her to create fireworks with the quilting, and I think the bursts are a stunning design in the negative space.

You can find my post about the Floating Prisms pattern here, as well as the whole pattern as a free download on the Robert Kaufman site. The design is foundation pieced.

Improv Appliqué

In the interest of creating a hand sewing project for a recent road trip, I put together a small improv appliqué experiment. I cut the appliqué fabric by eye into rough atomic shapes, and pinned them in place. After basting them down, it was just a matter of some leisurely needle turn appliqué in matching 50 weight Aurifil thread. I didn't have 80 weight in the right color, but if you have time to source it, 80 weight is a dream for appliqué.

I wanted to keep the impact of the appliqué shapes, so I chose not to quilt on top of them, echo quilting instead about an 1/8th of an inch from the edge. Then I filled in the background with a free motion figure eight shape to make the appliqué really pop.

I interfaced the back of the pillow and finished it with a lapped zipper, which is my favorite type of closure. The pillow finishes at 18 x 18. It truly one of a kind, although I may be inspired to do a series with slightly different shapes.  What a fun way to make appliqué improv. I encourage you to try it, and if you are interested, the pillow is in my etsy shop.

Flying Geese Pillow

I drafted the elongated flying geese in this pillow as a foundation pieced pattern to create really crisp points. The high contrast of the black and white makes the simple design quite bold, which I like.

I quilted the flying geese minimally with an outline in black thread, while I filled in the white with a free motion swirl in white thread to keep the emphasis on the triangles.

I finished this 16 x 24 pillow with a lapped zipper back, and I think this quilted pillow cover will be an even better fit once it's washed.

Nancy's Shattered Quilt

I was delighted to see Nancy's version of Shattered Chevrons Quilt from Improvising Tradition, and I'm so pleased she agreed to let me share it with you. I love the combination of green fabrics she chose. The lime stands out so nicely against the Peppered Cotton background. The quilt is a wedding gift for a couple who met as dancers on the set of the musical Wicked, so the color scheme takes its inspiration from the show, which such a neat way to personalize it.

If you looks closely you can see Tia Curtis' custom quilting which are lyrics from the couple's favorite songs. Don't you love the lime thread she used? It really is such a special quilt. 

Check out Nancy's Instagram page for more shots of her quilts and cute twins.

Re-purposing Prototypes

These placemats started out as prototypes for the By the Fireside Pillow from Improvising Tradition. I don't know about you, but I'm just about at capacity for throw pillows around here (not that I'm promising to abstain from making more, mind you). Consequently, I was happy to re-purpose the tops into placemats. A simple trim down to 14 x 18, and they fit the bill beautifully.

I've quilted each placemat differently. Look how effective a simple all over square meander can be, even on a geometric design.

On the other I played up the geometric design by quilting the sections differently to make each stand out.

This pair of placemats brings my total number of placemats for Meals on Wheels to 10 which  is halfway to my goal of 20 by December. If you want to join me, add #placemats4mow to your social media posts to share.

Free Motion Quilting on Essex

 

There are few things as therapeutic and fun as free motion quilting on whole cloth. I've played with fmq on Essex linen before to create this set of placemats. The recipient requested another four, so I got to try out four new designs and pick out another four lovely Kona solids to bind the placemats.

I used 40 weight Aurifil for the quilting, and I'm really happy with the results. The texture of this fabric combined with quilting is irresistible. I only wish I had time to make more.

Improv Quilted Placemats

These modern, quilted placemats made good use of some leftover improv panels and scraps of grey solids. They are placemats numbers five and six for my year long project to make placemats for Meals on Wheels.

Placemats are a great way to try out new quilting designs. They are so quick to make too. I went a little crazy with free motion designs on one, and on the other I stuck to my walking foot to create dense waves.

I'd love to have you join me in putting your random quilt blocks of scraps to use to make something beautiful and useful for a homebound senior. Tag your photos online #placemats4mow to share your work. You can donate your placemats to your local chapter or any other charity of your choice. I put a little extra love in each placemat by hand stitching the binding.

Scrappy Triangle Quilt

It seems fitting to finish this quilt in time for spring. (Well, technically it is spring, although we're expecting a bit of snow tomorrow.) The bright colors of the Anna Maria Horner fabrics are undeniably cheerful and full of life, just like the season, and the low volume prints set them off nicely.

I used 50 weight white, Aurifil thread to quilt the top in a free motion figure eight design, which I  recommend if you are new to free motion quilting or have a largish quilt to handle on a home machine. The design offers lots of places to stop and adjust your quilt without interrupting the flow of the shapes. It can also be modified to fill pieced shapes, like these triangles.

The binding is another Anna Maria Horner favorite, and the backing is a soft, white flannel.

I'm sending the quilt to my grandmother. It will drape over the back of her couch where she will see it everyday. At 54 x 71 it is also a good size to fold over her lap on chilly days. She may not remember that I made it for her, but I'll feel better knowing it's there with her although I can't be.

Quilted Logo Pillow

I created this quilted pillow cover as a gift for my taekwondo instructor. I drafted a foundation pattern to replicate the studio logo, and I'm really pleased with the accuracy I was able to achieve. And even though it looks really good with my Candy Coated quilt, I'm still going to part with it.

The quilting on this 20" pillow took longer than I thought it would, but I'm happy with the results. I used my walking foot and red thread to quilt the logo and filled the negative space with a simple square meander using a free motion foot.

My favorite finish for quilted pillows is an interfaced backing with a lapped zipper and hand finished binding. The pillow feels appropriately substantial and sturdy. I love the peek of red from the zipper.

Quick Fall Table Runner

There's no denying that fall is my favorite season, especially since becoming a Midwesterner. There is just so much to do outside as the air turns cooler, and every weekend hosts a slew of possibilities for family activities. Trips to the apple orchard as well as the pumpkin patch are on my must do list every year. September is quite possibly the best month of fall too, so today is the perfect time to share my latest fall make. The inspiration for this piece is a runner I pinned years ago. (I've been made aware that the maker, Emily, has since created a pattern for the runner which you can find here.) This table runner came together very quickly; I didn't use a pattern. I pulled out my 2 1/2" scrap strips and a lovely grey woven solid and created mirrored chevrons using the same method for creating the improv angles I describe in my book Improvising Tradition for the Shattered Chevrons quilt. 

I paired simple straight line quilting to accentuate the chevrons with a bit of free motion quilting in the center of the runner. The same Aurifil thread worked beautifully for both. I like to use 50 weight for quilting because of how it sinks into the fabric while still creating a lovely texture.

For the back I used an Anna Maria Horner print that I really love. I think runners should be reversible whenever possible, so this side will work well for table decoration when I need something a bit simpler.

Jewel Stars Quilt

This quilt proves that it's never too late to finish a long term project. I first blogged about these jewel stars as a new English paper piecing shape back in 2011! It seems I started  joining the stars to diamonds and wrote about assembling thee quilt top in 2014. Ironically I ended the post with a joke that surely it wouldn't be another three years before I finished the quilt. Ha! Guess what time it is, folks? Yup, three years later, but it is finally done.

My favorite part of the process by far was making each little star. Finding just the right fabric combinations and fussy cutting the jewel and hexagon shapes was a delight. I spent many a gymnastics and taekwondo lesson happily cutting, gluing, and sewing those gems. What bogged me down was the assembly of the stars into the background and to each other. That was not quite as fun, and the larger it got, the more awkward it was to hand piece. I'm happy I soldiered through it though, as the final 44 x 50 quilt is a fun I-spy game and snugly cover in one. Can you spot the annoyed owl? Cute frog? Cotton candy stand? Terrified terrier in a teacup?

I backed the quilt in scraps of flannel, making it extra cozy, and continued the scrap theme with several different leftover yellow binding strips.

Hopefully I've made everyone feel between about the WIPs or UFOs languishing in your sewing areas. They may get finished one day!

Scrappy Triangles Quilt

My first finished quilt of 2017 is this Scrappy Triangles Quilt. I took my time on this one and probably enjoyed the fabric layout the most of all the steps in the process. I limited myself to triangles I had cut from my scrap bins. Creating color gradations and a pleasing overall look was quite a challenge under that limitation. 

At the same time I always love using scraps. Revisiting favorite fabrics and seeing them play with new and unexpected friends in a layout like this is energizing and enjoyable. I definitely recommend making scrap quilts. Very therapeutic.

I quilted this with a variation on a paisley but with a rounded shape rather than teardrop. I like the bubble effect it gives and the softeness of the circles against the sharp edges of the triangles.

The backing was a gift from a friend, and I like how the circles echo the quilting design. The binding is a mix from my scrap binding bin, including a piece I trimmed from the backing after basting. Use it all.

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The quilt finished at 47 x 58, a generous baby size, and I think it will be a gift for a baby coming soon to a treasured teacher and grandmother.