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.

Scrappy Triangle Quilt Top

I've finished assembling my scrappy triangle quilt top. I mentioned earlier how I started this quilt to use up some of my favorite Anna Maria Horner scraps, but I thought the triangles were so lovely I broke into my stash make the quilt larger. I'm so glad I did. It is 55 x 73, which makes a nice lap quilt. For those who have asked, I used a Tri Recs ruler to cut the triangles to just over 6" high (affiliate link).

My kitchen floor got a good cleaning, so I could baste the quilt layers. Never bad thing. The backing you can't see here is a white flannel. This is going to be such a bright, cozy quilt. I'm going to give it to someone who needs comfort this winter.

Aerial Grove Quilt, Modern Improv Applique

I've been smitten with the Aerial Grove Quilt from Savor Each Stitch by Carolyn Friedlander since I first saw it in person when she spoke to my guild. The quilt is just beautiful. So, when Pat Sloan asked me what quilt I most wanted to make in 2015, I had an easy answer. There's nothing like committing on live radio for motivation.

I knew I loved the quilt, but I didn't expect to love making the quilt as much as I have. I don't make quilts from a pattern very often because I don't enjoy prescriptive sewing as much as improv. This project is the perfect marriage of the two.

Each "squircle" is cut freehand, from a folded piece of fabric, making each shape unique. I love that the applique shapes are improvised rather than cut from a template.  Because the shapes are irregular, there is no need to stress about making them identical as you sew them to the background strips using a needle turn applique method. The shapes are organic, coming from the inspiration of a grove of trees, as seen from above in an airplane.

Creating columns of shapes encourages color and value play. You can create color gradations or rhythms with the value of the fabrics you choose. The more fabrics, the more play; scraps welcome. There's a lot of room for adding your own voice to the quilt. Search the hashtag #aerialgrovequilt to see lots of version on Instagram (Not on Instagram? Get on! There is a treasure trove of quilting inspiration to be found.).

The project is also great because it is very portable. I worked on the applique panels during my sons' practices, and it was finished inside of a month! I was surprised how quickly it came together.
I'm working on the improv background this week. I chose to make the quilt throw size, but the book has options for several sizes, from table runner to queen size.

I'm a huge fan of Carolyn Friedlander's patterns and aesthetic. I think it takes a unique mind and sense of style to create applique that modern, fresh, and compatible with an improv approach. Frankly, she's a genius. I've loved the process of this quilt every step of the way.

English Paper Piecing Revisited

I last wrote about this (very long term) English paper piecing project three years ago.  I can't believe it's been that long since I worked on it, but that's what the blog record  says.  I'd forgotten how fun it is to fussy cut scraps for the shapes.  I played around with the various effects you can get from fussy cutting stripes, dots, and other motifs on your fabric. You can see lots of individual pictures of the stars in my instagram feed.

I am still using the paper shapes from Paperpieces and the Sewline glue pen.  Making the jewel stars is relatively quick (I mean, this is hand sewing after all). I can make one, start to finish, including the fussy cutting, while waiting through one gymnastics class (about 45 minutes).  It's nice to have a portable sewing project, especially with so many sports practices these days.

Now that I have about ten stars made, I'm working on joining them to the low volume background fabrics and sewing them onto the group I made a few years ago.  This step is slow going and a bit of a puzzle.

Hopefully it won't be another three years before I have more to show you on this project.

It's Still Fall, Right?

I finished up my quilt for Fall over the holiday weekend. Technically, it is still autumn until December 20th, so I'm calling it a win.  I'm sure it won't be the last quilt that doesn't get done as quickly as I'd hoped.

The weather is about to turn really cold here, so I snapped some quick pictures while the sun was out today.

I quilted straight lines on either side of the main diagonal seams to prevent shifting during the simple free motion, dot to dot design I quilted in each diamond.

It creates an interesting texture on the back of the quilt. The flannel back is going to be so cozy.  I found this Timeless Treasures crosshatch flannel on a super sale, and I've heard great things about how it washes.

The binding is an orange hounds tooth by Denyse Schmidt.

 

Now that it has been documented, this 60" x 60" quilt is ready for use on the couch...next to the Christmas tree.  Oh well.  Maybe I'd better start, now, on a Christmas quilt for next year.

A Quilt for Fall

The fall colors have been beautiful here in the Midwest the past week or two.  They inspired me to make a quilt in orange, red, yellow and brown, so I pulled a bunch of fabrics from my scrap bins.  I cut them to 7 1/2 inches square.

Inspired by this gorgeous value quilt by Krista, I paired each square with a warm, low volume print cut to the same size and made half square triangles (HSTs).

As an aside, if you are going to make a HST quilt, I really recommend a bloc loc ruler (it has a groove on the underside which butts up against your center seam, keeping it perfectly in place as you trim) and rotating cutting mat.  You do need to press your seams to one side to use this type of ruler, but boy is useful.  They come in a variety of sizes too (I bought mine from the Fat Quarter Shop and am, sadly, getting no kick backs from anyone for this plug).  Trimming HSTs makes each block perfect and easy to sew into a quilt top.  The ruler I used was 6 1/2" and my HST squares finished at 6".



I finished piecing the top this afternoon, which happens to be a perfect, windy autumn day.

I have some soft flannel for a cozy backing fabric.  I just hope I get a chance to finish this quilt before fall flies by. 

More Therapy from Scraps

I have been working on one of my long term scrap projects (I posted about it earlier here).  I call this kind of project "scrap therapy" because it is what I sew when I need something mindless, cheerful, and soothing.  I love playing with scraps anyway, but there is something so therapeutic about chain piecing scrap strips into monochromatic strip sets.  Maybe it's just me.  Anyhow, I trimmed them to 5 1/2" x 10 1/2" and kept a running total of how many I had of each color.  Initially I had no plan in mind.  The enjoyment was mostly in the making, rather than in an end product.

As they stacked up, I started to think about various arrangements.  There are so many possibilities for rectangles of this size and of course a rainbow of colors to work with.  I think I have settled on a plan now, so I've rounded out my stack to just the number I'll need, including a bunch on neutral, low volume rectangles.

I hope to get these 96 blocks sewn into a top soon.
Now can someone tell me how it is possible my scrap bin is still full of strips?

Low Volume Quilted Pillow

I finished my quilted, lumbar pillow, which is based on a pattern in Malka Dubrawski's Fresh Quilting.  There's an affiliate link, if you click the photo below.

I used strips from my scrap bin, slightly larger than the pattern indicates, so the pillow ended up being 16 x 35.5 inches.

I quilted the top with simple straight lines to emphasize the zigzag pattern created by alternating the direction of the print and solid rectangles.

I backed it in cream linen with a lapped zipper, using this favorite tutorial again. The edges are bound in Kona Glacier for a pop of color to help the pillow stand out on my friend's cream couch. I stuffed the homemade pillow form firmly, so this lumbar pillow should be very functional. I hope it fits into the elegant, understated decor of its new home.

And Now For Something Completely Different

Low volume scraps, precise cutting, and following a pattern.  It's good to change things up sometimes.  I pulled some light prints from my 2 1/2" strips bin to make a project from Fresh Quilting by Malka Dubrawsky that I earmarked "long ago" as my boys would say.  This project may have started the current low volume trend, or maybe she was ahead of her time.  Either way, there is something very restful about working with these fabrics.

The project pairs solids with low volume prints to create a simple zigzag, but the slight variations in values of the fabrics give it a subtle interest I love.

I'm doing some straight line quilting, and then I'll need to buy a bunch of filler for a home made pillow form.  My strips are bigger than those in the pattern, so this is going to be giant.