Friday 19 February 2016

Simply Woven

Simply Woven is a Moda Bake Shop pattern by Jessica Kelly 

The pattern calls for two jelly rolls, which makes a very huge quilt (72x96).  I split my 48 squares into 2 lots, one of 35 and one of 12, and made two quilts.  You could very easily make 24 blocks with one jelly roll, and have a nicely sized quilt of 48x72 without adding any borders.


 I first saw this pattern when one of the ladies at the Longarm Group brought hers for show and tell.  I really liked the woven effect and thought it could be really fun to make. 
 The jelly rolls I used were called Varsity--and were very sports themed. 
I quilted the first one with large open hooks.  This quilt measured 60x84.

These photos are after washing, so show the 'crinkle' from the slight shrinkage.

The second, smaller quilt, I added a border of the red plaid.  This quilt measures about 50x62.
The quilting pattern was similar but different, the smaller quilt got E's and 3's.  
and then I gave the quilts to our nephew and his fiancee--and you'll understand why one was big and one was small, and why they are the same, but different.




Thursday 18 February 2016

Varsity

This is my Varsity quilt--pattern by Jaybird Quilts

Sometimes, when I see a quilt, I know how I want to quilt it, and thus I have to make it.  This is one of those.

 It was the Angela Walters shape I wanted to put into the diamonds that I could see immediately.
 This fabric line is called Social Club.  I bought it in Lethbridge last June, while shopping at the local stores during Quilt Canada.
The chevrons had 3 alternating designs:   U-turns

 Ribbon Candy

and below is the third design I put into the chevrons--it's an Angela Walters design too....it doesn't show on the top too well, but that's OK, because I was just trying it out, and a chevron shape was maybe a difficult choice for just learning the shape.
This was my favourite fabric.
and a pre-quilted photo

This quilt went together easily and quickly.  I"m already planning to make another :)

Wednesday 17 February 2016

City Slicker

This is my City Slicker quilt--a Highway 10 Designs

It's a Jelly roll quilt, and it came together really easily.  Lori and Kathy write really nice patterns.  I sometimes modify the pressing instructions, but that's about the only changes I make. 

I used a dark background, the pattern quilt shows a light background.  The Jelly roll was called River Rock I think.    To me, the dark rectangles looked like sidewalks around 4 lots, with the streets between.  Probably the imagery from the pattern name working on my subconscious.  So, that made me think of the Family Circus kids running all over the neighbourhood leaving a black dotted trail behind to show where they had been....and thus the quilt needed meander stitching.  Sometimes simple is best.

Hobbs 80/20 and a flannel backing.  

and an unquilted photo

Thanks for another great pattern Lori and Kathy.


Monday 15 February 2016

Odd Fellows March

This quilt was pieced by my Aunt Linda, and I quilted it for her, last July.   It was a lot of fun quilting this scrappy quilt, because some of the fabrics are scraps from quilts my Aunt made for my kids.


Here's a pre-quilting photo.  I had such fun planning the quilting.  This is the perfect quilt for a continuous design, and I wanted to use Kim Stotsenbergs Heavy Metal technique. 
 This is why this quilt is so much fun....here is the actual block. 
It's how the block goes together with its neighbours to create stars (small and large) and square in squares (depending on where your eye focuses), and I wanted both to be able to stand out.  Having those lines be doubled is what made the stitching path continuous.  Plus, I liked how it looked. 



 As I tell my students, take a photo of the top borders, so you remember what you did when you get to the bottom.  Also, see how the design doesn't go right to the edge?  Thats so the points don't get lost in the binding. 


I love how it looks on the back too
 And here are the quality control checkers--some of my Aunts Grandchildren.  I think they approved.
I love how this quilt turned out.  Thanks for letting me quilt it for you Linda.

Thursday 11 February 2016

Simplicity 5 - Jenn's

I think this is the 5th Simplicity quilt I've quilted.  It's certainly the largest one.  I forget exactly, but I think it was 105x128.  



I actually have some unquilted photos (I so often forget to take those) for comparison, to see what the texture adds to the quilt.

 As you may have noticed, the large brown border is only on 3 sides of the quilt--the 'overhangs' and not at the top of the quilt.  This is so the body of the quilt, the pieced blocks, all lay on top of the bed.

And, it is important to note, that Colleen did all this precise piecing.    I think there are 28 fabrics in the blocks, and Colleen said she used a whole cone of thread in the piecing.
 That's a 12' frame, to give you an idea of scale. 
 And our king size bed.  I think Jenn must have a much deeper mattress that she wanted to cover.  We also wanted to make sure there was room for the takeup in quilt length and width from the quilting--which was about 2" if I recall correctly.
The client chose this E2E design for her quilt, which was a great choice, adding a nice texture and movement to the quilt, without detracting from the piecing.  

I really like how the block below stands out, because of the light corners.

 I hope you get many years of enjoyment from this quilt Jenn. ( Jenn sent a photo of it on their bed, and it looks great in their space)
Batting is Hobbs 80/20, thread is Omni.

Monday 8 February 2016

Dovetail

This is Noreen's Dovetail quilt, pattern by Atkinson Designs


If you clicked the link and looked at the pattern, you'll see that Noreen laid hers out differently, and made hexagons!  I really like how you changed the pattern Noreen.

I pulled this quilt out of the bag, and instantly saw that I could quilt it like this.....so I contacted the client and asked if the budget was flexible enough to allow this type of light custom quilting instead of E2E, and I sent a little diagram of what I envisioned.  Luckily, she said yes.  (although an E2E would have looked wonderful too).  If she had wanted an E2E, I probably would have had to buy the pattern and make the quilt myself.

 I used varied designs in the straight line quilted blocks, and the echoed arcs in the curved blocks.   All designs inspired by Angela Walters quilting.

And I love the design from the back too  There's some neat secondary designs to see when the piecing isn't influencing the brain.

The backing was flannel, warm and white batting.  I forget what thread I used.  Looks like Glide.

Thank you Noreen, for letting me quilt for you. I had so much fun.

Thursday 4 February 2016

100 Modern Quilt Blocks - Tula Pink

I finished this quilt in November, just slightly late for youngest's birthday.  And, then got busy with life and forgot to blog it. 


If you're a regular reader of my blog, you would have seen the blocks as I pieced them.  I joined a block of the month at Along Came Quilting and they sent me the fabric for 10 blocks each month.  It was a great way to do this quilt, as I don't have a large stash, and wouldn't have had any sort of fabric variety on my own.

 I used the layout on the cover of the book.  Youngest likes rainbows, and I wanted to use all of the blocks.  We chose a pale teal shot cotton for the sashing and border fabrics. 

Prepare for a lot of photos :)

I had the book, with closeups of Angela Walters amazing quilting, however, once I started quilting, I tried really hard not to refer to the book unless I was completely stumped, because I didn't want my quilting to be a copy of Angela Walters.  It is definitely inspired by her, I've taken a lot of classes, both in person and on Craftsy, taugtht by Angela, and if any block is identical to her quilting, it is happy coincidence. 

I used a wide variety of threads


I've photographed the blocks 4 at a time, but it's still a lot of photos.

Batting is QD wool.  Backing is a wide-flannel.   Quilt is 90x90.










It was fun, as youngest would come along and pick out her favorite blocks as I quilted.  (turned out it was most of them).












 I was really pleased with how well the quilting shows on the back too.  Lovely texture.
And this is what youngest did, as soon as I gave it to her
She likes it!!