Inspired by Improvising Tradition

I'm so pleased to be able to share with you today some of the many beautiful projects from Improvising Traditionthat are popping on social media. I was privileged to get to watch the creation of Nicole Ivey's Shattered Chevrons quilt each step of the way via Instagram (check out @purlverde for more of her gorgeous work), from fabric choice to quilting. I think her colors and fabrics are lovely; they are feminine with enough edge to suit the design. The herringbone quilting reinforces the design perfectly. I've already told her that I like her version better than my own!  It is such a lovely quilt.

Laurelle made this lovely table runner, based on the the Falling Leaves pattern. She even tackled the challenge of making her own template, which made me very proud. The technique explained in the book enables you to draft your own leaf template, a skill that can be adapted to a variety of curved piecing applications. Check out Laurelle's instagram account to see the fabric she was working to match, which makes the runner even more impressive.

Nurdan Kulluk-Rennert of Hug a Bit Quilts made the prettiest Scattered Colors runner, and she cleverly created matching place mats. The gray solid really makes her bold colors stand out.

 

Frequent commenter, constant encourager, and all around talented quilter, Debbie Jeske of A Quilter's Table took the inspiration of the En Pointe quilt and made her own version with the Pantone color of the year, Marsala. There was some amusement on Instagram over the bacon-like effect of the blocks, and she cleverly named the quilt Sizzling. My favorite elements of the quilt are all Debbie's: the asymmetrical layout, how one block engages the edge of the quilt including the binding, and the ghost block she created with quilting. It's just so good!

Lisa from Garden Gate Quilting also made a striking En Pointe wall hanging, and she shared one made by her friend Susie too. I love use of a print background for this design. It be really tricky to use larger scale prints as backgrounds because they tend to make seams really obvious, but this print is perfect.

I found Sara Kidd's gorgeous Nesting Square quilt on flickr, and she kindly agreed to let me share it here. She varied the values in her strata a bit more than I did in mine, and I like how it makes the piecing more noticeable.

I've linked to this on facebook before, but if you haven't read Kristi McDonough's review of Improvising Tradition, on her blog Schnitzel and Boo, you really should. It's honest and funny, and I love her mini quilt based on the XOXO baby quilt. Red and black are not colors I would have chosen, and aren't they cute? The fabrics fit the "love" theme so well.

Pam Lincoln of MamaSpark  blogged about her collaborative version of the Waterfall quilt. She and two friends, Judith and Robin, each made a strata strip in a different color and joined them to make this improv beauty. Making a large quilt with friends is such a good idea, and a quilt like this is the perfect way to do that.

Thank you so much to these talented quilters for allowing me to share their work here on the blog! As a designer and writer, there is nothing more fulfilling and flattering than begin able to see what someone has made, based on what I created. The solitary activity of making and writing creates a social connection and a shared endeavor in some small way. It's the best! I'd love to see what you make, and I will save your photos and links for another post. Contact me via any of the social media platforms (links on the right sidebar), or send me an email.

Improv Wonky Cross Quilt

This 40 x 50 baby quilt is the product of my blocks from guild friends in the Whatever Bee.  I made a practice wonky cross version (a maquette, if you will) a few months ago which helped me to identify the features I liked in this sort of a slice and insert block.  Like the practice quilt, I kept the blocks the same height but varied the widths.  I also added a few half blocks and stacked them in pairs, just for fun (hint: this is a great fix for a block that may end up being slightly too small).  Improv quilting is awesome like that. Here a fun tutorial by a guild member Carla on how to make this type of block, two at a time.

This type of improv block is perfect for a bee.  It gives the quilters specific instructions while allowing them some flexibility to experiment.  My friends were all kind enough to make me two blocks, so I had some extra to use on the back of the quilt.

I am donating this quilt to one of our guild's community service projects, Birthday Blessings, a local charity.  I am also submitting it to 100 Quilts For Kids.  This annual quilt drive is great because it allows you to donate locally to a children's charity of your choosing.  Just add a link to an online photo of your quilt, and you can participate.  There are prizes!  The link is open through the end of the month, so you still have time.  The post even includes ideas for simple quilts to make.

Thanks so all my friends who contributed blocks!  I know this is going to be well used by some little guy in our community.

Scrappy Improv Strip Quilt

If you've been reading my blog for a while, or know me at all as a quilter, you know I love scraps.  I also love improv quilting.  Put them together, and I am in my favorite sewing place.  This scrappy, improv strip quilt was sewn up just for fun.  I had the idea to play with value and strips again, but in a different way from Partly Cloudy.  Instead of short strips used in strip sets, I sewed the strips end to end to create long, narrow columns.  And instead of concentrating the darkest values in the center, I put them at the top and the bottom of the quilt.  The lighter strips in the middle become the focus of the quilt. The varying lengths of the lighter strips makes the design dynamic.

I like how the quilt moves from pink to orange to yellow as well.  These bright, warm colors just scream summer to me. 

 

While I was playing with my scrappy strips, I sewed up a few improv log cabin blocks.  They never get old!  I used three of my favorite on the back of the quilt.

 

The quilt finishes at 58" x 71" and it just the right size for napping or picnicking or napping at a picnic.  I think it would be sweet in a girl's room at the end of a bed too.  The quilt is listed in my etsy shop. SOLD

Waves Baby Quilt, PDF Pattern

Thank you for your patience waiting for the pattern for the Waves Baby Quilt.  It is now available as a PDF for instant download in my etsy shop or in my new Craftsy shop.

The 10 page pattern has full color diagrams, detailed instructions, helpful tips, and full sized templates.  The quilt pairs quarter circle blocks with easy to cut rectangles and squares.  It goes together very quickly, especially once you've cut the curved blocks. 

 

The quilt works perfectly for a boy or a girl, depending on the color you choose. The design is bold and graphic, but simple enough to work well with a variety of nursery decors.  I can't wait to see your Waves quilts.  You can tag them #wavesbabyquilt on Instagram or upload them to my flickr group.

Pink Cross Quilt

After a stretch of making exclusively improv quilts, sometimes I crave a simple, traditional project.  My pink and neutral scraps bins have also been getting rather full, so I started searching for a single block I could make, using just two fabrics in each block, featuring the pinks as the primary shape.

 

I settled on this cross block, a simple variation of the nine patch. My blocks finish at 9 inches.  The pieces are quite small, making them perfect for using scraps! If you are looking for a pattern, you can find a similar block in issue one of Love Patchwork and Quilting designed and made by Holly DeGroot of Bijou Lovely.

I had a lot of fun pairing each pink scrap with the neutrals, and the blocks are very quick to piece.  I chain-pieced about four at a time.

 

I quilted figure eights across each row.  Three inches was a very easy size to create, and the rows make for a clear horizontal guideline.  I definitely recommend this free motion quilting design, particularly if you have seams to guide you.  Very speedy!

The backing is a very popular print from Ikea which is particularly useful because it is about 60 inches wide.  Sadly, I believe it has been discontinued.

 

The binding is one of my favorite prints from the Botanics line by Carolyn Friedlander. I really want a bolt of it.  I think it would be fantastic as a background, in the place of a white solid.  

 

 

This 36 x 45 baby quilt is destined for my etsy shop.

 

 

2013 Recap

Wow, 2013 has been quite a year for me with quilting: so many exciting opportunities and so much hard work.  Here is a recap of projects I have shared with you over the past year.  Thanks to everyone who has stopped by my blog to read or look at pictures.  A huge thank you to those of you who regularly read and leave encouraging comments.  I appreciate it so much!

 



1. scrappy trip along quilt, 2. Horizon, 3. Fractions Mini Quilt, 4. Spring Quarter Quilt, 5. voile color wheel quilt, 6. On the Line, 7. The Therapist, 8. Partly Cloudy, 9. Rugby Stripe Quilt, 10. Busy City Wall Hanging, 11. Tiny Log Cabin Quilt, 12. Busy City baby quilt, 13. A Quilt for Fall, 14. paper boat baby quilt, 15. Icecream Truck Pillow, quilted cover, 16. patchwork pillow

Most of what I made in 2013 will have to remain under wraps until next year.  I am excited to share it as soon as I can.  I hope you will stop back by in 2014 to see.  Happy New Year!

Busy City Pattern

Well before he was even 18 months old, my first son would point and hoot at every truck or digger he spotted through the window from his car seat.  By three, he could distinguish backhoes from front end loaders and correct me on the finer points of cranes and forklifts.  When he was ready to move to a big boy bed, I knew I had to make a construction themed quilt for him.  I found there to be so little on the market for boys and definitely nothing that would appeal both to his interests and my own modern aesthetic.   I'm pleased to say that Busy City, a pattern I created as a licensed designer for Empty Bobbin Sewing Studio, does just that. It is inspired by the quilt I designed and made for my construction crazy four year old.  It includes so many of the things little people notice all around them in the busy city.

The pattern shows you how to create paper pieced vehicles, buildings, trees, and more arranged in various ways to create unique, customized quilts and pillows.  It includes 35 block patterns which are the same size, so they can be used interchangeably, allowing you to personalize every project in the book.  The pattern includes instructions for a twin sized quilt, a baby quilt, and two pillows. (Thanks to Shea for letting me use her photos.)

Each project is designed to be customizable in a number of ways.  Not only can they be made with just the blocks you choose, the blocks are grouped by level of difficulty.  Quilters who are less experienced with paper piecing, have no fear!  Detailed paper piecing instructions are included, and you can begin with the simplest blocks or choose to use only those blocks in your project.  Those more comfortable with paper piecing can tackle the more detailed blocks, although all the blocks are suitable for intermediate quilters.  The baby quilt and pillows are quick projects that use just a block or a few blocks, and of course the heirloom twin quilt uses 35 blocks.   All the block patterns are included on a CD, so you can print out just the ones you want to use in two size options.  There is no need to photo copy or trace patterns.  Yay!

The projects are so easy to tailor to your child’s specific interests.  If your little one is into farming, you can use the tractor, pickup truck, and barn blocks.  The house becomes a farm house and the trees an orchard.  If he is interested in race cars, you can make a pack of cars in different colors and include the tow truck and ambulance on the sidelines.  You can make a charming little neighborhood of houses and trees with a school bus.  The possibilities are as numerous as the children for whom you sew, both boys and girls!  I made this 12 inch pillow cover for my new niece.

Each block pattern is paper pieced, with additional templates to create wheels and treads which are appliquéd onto the completed block.  By using black fabric with white polka dots, you can mimic the look of tires while using a single piece of fabric for each wheel.  I used fusible web and machine appliqué, although you can pick the appliqué method of your choice.

I'm so excited to partner with Empty Bobbin Sewing Studio to publish this pattern.   It is especially fitting because Shea was the one who first encouraged me to create a pattern for this quilt.  My response was, "No way."  Ha!  But that seed of an idea stayed with me, and once I had the pattern writing experience and the appropriate software, this pattern grew. Here is a list of places you can purchase Empty Bobbin Sewing Studio patterns.  Busy City is shipping to stores now and is already available at Pink Chalk, Superbuzzy, I Don't Do Dishes on etsy, Hyggeligt in Canada, and locally at the Bernina store on Metcalf and Sarah's Fabrics in Lawrence, KS.

Update: Busy City is now available for purchase as a digital download from Empty Bobbin. Download the pdf here.

As always, I would absolutely love to see what you make with my pattern.  You can email me or upload a picture directly to the flickr group.

Those of you who are still reading definitely deserve a shot at a free pattern.  Leave a comment, and I will choose a winner, at random, Saturday morning.  Does someone come to mind when you look at this pattern?  What blocks do you think he or she would like best?  For a second chance to win, hop over to Shea's blog where she is also offering a giveaway.  Giveaway now closed.

Snapshots Quilt

The title and inspiration for this quilt came from a beautiful scrapbook page I saw somewhere.  The asymmetrical arrangement of the snapshots caught my eye, and I love way they engage the edge of the quilt.  I framed each improvised panel or snapshot in white, and Angela Walters worked her magic to create a cool secondary design in the negative space.

The quilt pattern appears in the premier issue of Modern Quilts Unlimited.  I'm very excited to be a part of  a publication aimed at our community of quilters and those interested in what we're all about.  The magazine looks great.  I am especially interested in Jacquie's atomic quilt.  The design is so smart; she's made a complex looking quilt out of just three blocks.  Look for it!  Maybe she'll offer a preview on her blog.  In any case, I hear the magazine should be on shelves in early November.

I was a little disappointed to see that my quilt was photographed sideways, but then I had to laugh.  That must be a risk of modern, asymmetric design.  I'm just glad the editors thought it looked just as good that way.  If you try out the quilt, note that the diagrams are oriented with the shapes along the right edge of the quilt, as I have photographed it here for the blog.

I would love to see some of your own versions of the quilt.  The improvised panels are super fun and easy to make.  AmandaJean's book, Sunday Morning Quilts, has a wonderful description of how to make what she calls "slabs" like this. Jacquie's book, Quilting Modern, illustrates a similar technique nicely.

If improv isn't your thing or you want to make the quilt a little more quickly, you could always let the fabric do the work for you.  Here is a rough digital sketch of how the quilt would look made from Kona Modern Quilts' cheater prints.  Fun, right?

Or the panels can be a wonderful place to showcase your favorite large scale prints like Anna Maria Horner's Field Study.

Your fabric choices change the feel of the quilt so much!  Okay, now I kind of want to make that Field Study version.