(not so) Totally Turquoise Quilt, Part 4

I managed to get a LOT of work done on this quilt…. I pieced the strips together, then cut new strips on the diagonal. It was a bit finicky to join the shorter lengths, but I managed to get it all done.

Of course, I needed a border. Here’s what I settled on… mostly because I had sufficient fabric. But then I changed my mind and reserved the middle turquoise strips off the border instead.


I have put the last of my sunflower fabric into the quilt back, and added blue and turquoise strips to complete it. Most of this fabric is leftover from the Bright and Bubbly quilt… that’s a happy quilt, so this will be also 🙂

And yes, I added *another* border to the quilt top! This time, I used the orange version of the sunflower fabric. Love it!

I’m still too chicken to try free motion, but I love the effect of wavy lines. I found a softly undulating wave stitch on my machine that gave a great effect. I quilted horizontal and vertical wavy lines, fairly close together. The next few shots show the stitching, and the quilted back and front, so hopefully you can see the quilting!

Adding the border was a quick affair using a darker turquoise.. I had a tonne of leftover 2.5″ strips in this colour. I must be getting better at binding, it all got done in a couple of hours. I think that stitching along the edge before binding really helps to make the quilt edges easier to handle.

So now to wash and de fuzz, and it’s ready for delivery!

Totally Turquoise Quilt, Part 3

sigh. not enough turquoise for my totally turquoise quilt.

I sorted out some stacks for the quilt. Along with the turquoise stack, I decided to mix some blue, green, pink and orange into the quilt… so maybe this quilt will be not *totally* turquoise (sheepish grin). And I broke into a jelly roll of Kona pastels, I’ve been dying to use this precut. After some debate, I made my choices… including a fresh and sweet birdie print, which reminds me of candy crush striped candies.

I’m cutting strips zealously, and piecing quickly with my trusty Husqvarna Viking Sapphire 875… not much time left before the baby’s arrival!

Totally Turquoise Quilt, Part 2

Coming up with an idea for a new quilt is sometimes harder than sewing the quilt. Sometimes I comb through magazines and quilt books for inspiration, browse Pinterest for colour combinations or just doodle in my notebook.

For Christmas, I got an Adonit Jot Script stylus for my iPad. This one is Bluetooth ready, and can be used with a multitude of apps, including PenUltimate. I love it. This app allows me to create idea books, write or draw with the stylus, and import pictures or saved drawings from other apps. No more printing of images, or photocopying, or tearing pages out of catalogues!! And I can take snapshots (with my iPad) of any drawings I make, and import them into my e-book immediately – instant gratification. Finally, a way to merge my paper world with my paperless world, without lugging a binder of materials and my iPad around.

I created my notebook in Penultimate, and started brainstorming. I love mind maps, so I started drawing one around “things my cousin loves”. It’s so cool how quickly this tool helps you visualize your thoughts. I started researching the different branches, adding images, notes and pictures. My sister suggested including birds (no surprise here). My aunt reminded me of my cousin’s addiction to candy crush. I checked out dozens of home decor magazines from the library, and chevrons kept popping out of me… a chevron/candy crush/love bird inspired quilt in turquoise? Yikes. Sounds scary.

I decided to draw for a bit, nesting squares within squares. Maybe a log cabin quilt? I chopped the first batch of squares-in-squares, and rotated the pieces until I had a couple of designs.

I really liked both of these, but I kept thinking of deconstructed chevrons. I pasted both samples into my drawing book for another project…. another time.

I was flipping through a sewing magazine a few days later, and came across a black and white pillow, patch worked from diagonal strips… the diagonal pieces were sewn together to mimic a zig zag motif, but rather haphazardly… a deconstructed chevron of sorts. I liked it!

So I started doodling. I covered a section of paper with long strips of colour. then I cut the whole thing on the diagonal, creating uneven lengths and widths. Within a few minutes I had glued the strips and cut blocks that I could play with….

Et voila! A deconstructed chevron quilt is born. Now, where’s that stash of fabric I was collecting for this project?

Totally Turquoise Quilt, part 1

When my cousin got married, she wore an exquisite sari in turquoise. Unusual, since most brides wear red saris, but it suited her perfectly. She looked radiant. The pictures above show close-ups of her sari (the difference in colour is due to lighting indoors vs outdoors).

Turquoise stones are full of interesting colour – shades ranging from almost green to almost blue.

I love the pattern in these stones – makes me think of rippling water, tropical shores, views from glass bottomed boats on Caribbean reefs.

I decided to google turquoise – tonnes of inspiring photos. According to Wikipedia, turquoise stones range from white to blue to green, depending on the chemical composition. The most desired stones tend towards robin’s egg blue. Turquoise (the color) is often synonymous with aqua or teal, although teal is greener and darker.

My cousin announced she’s pregnant…. hmm, is there a turquoise quilt idea milling around in my head, waiting to be made? I’ve combed my stash, and settled on 3 gorgeous turquoise shades – a robin’s egg blue, a deeper french blue, a bright aqua. I also pulled out some sunflower prints leftover from the bright and bubbly quilt – blues and greens on sky blue and orange backgrounds… now to find a theme, and figure out some contrasting colours – turquoise works well with orange, deep purple, and pink. Orange, check. Maybe one other colour?

Ticklish Baby Quilt

I am a sucker for precuts. in my stash cleanup a few weeks ago, I came across several packages of precuts…. too many packages! I put any precut batiks aside for an upcoming project, and I decided to take the 5″ squares and just sew the whole sets together to make simple scrap baby quilt tops. Good Plan, right? Quick Project, right? Stash Busting Is A Good Thing.

Halfway through I had an idea. A really good idea. So now I have sets of 4 and 6 squares sewn together. And I’m stuck, because to realize this idea, I need some solids. Sew Sisters, here I come!

Update: Sweet Sawtooth Basket Weave quilt is done!

After the seam ripping was done, I finally managed to get the binding on correctly. The quilting work by Jeannie is fabulous, I really love how this quilt turned out. Here are some terrible pictures 😉

The quilt back was done in leftover bits from the front, and a large candy stripe that I also used on the back of the Bright and Bubbly quilt.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was the only photo that really shows the true colours of the quilt. again, lots of leftover yardage from the bright and Bubbly quilt was used here. What amazes me is the amount of yardage from the B&B quilt is *still* in my stash! But, I guess a girl can never have too much Michael Miller ;-p

 

 

 

 

 

 

 And finally, the finished quilt front. I really like this pattern, perhaps I will remake it again in solids. Now to wrap it and give it to my friend H for his daughter 😉

Update: Sweet Sawtooth Basket Weave Quilt is back!

Jeannie did an *amazing* job with the long arm quilting, I’m thrilled with the results. I’m struggling today for some reason to attach the binding (I’m currently ripping out a long row of stitches). Sigh. Sometimes, even though I know how to do things, I still mess it up.

 Check out that quilting… so beautifully done, thanks Jeannie!

  

Back to seam ripping….

Sawtooth Basket Baby Quilt Update

So for Nawal’s quilt, I decided on a deep purple border, 3″ finished. I have also completed the back, entirely from my stash with pink, green and bits of yellow and white. Although the back does not match the front, it has a similar feel, all bright and cheery. I did have to piece the back using strips from my stash. I’m quite happy with the decision NOT to buy additional fabric, the quilt now has incorporated fabric from previous projects, and it all works well. I’ve opted to hand over the quilt to Jeannie, who will long arm quilt it for me. This was a tough decision, but I simply do not have the time  to quilt this myself. As well, the quilt is so linear, and I wanted to do non-linear quilting – and, er, uhm… I’m not very good at that yet 🙂 Sorry, no pictures of the finished top and back, I was in a hurry to get this out the door and into Jeannie’s hands…

Sweet Sawtooth Basket Baby Quilt

Nawal was born on July 1st to a very happy colleague of mine, and she is the absolute sweetest thing! With her in mind, I found a cute baby pink print with the sweetest birds and flowers, and decided to mix it with Kona natural and some other fabrics. From my stash I’ve found quite a few prints that were leftovers from the Bright and Bubbly quilt that work nicely.

Here’s a list of what I’ve used so far:

• Kona Natural
• Sole by Valori Wells for Free Spirit (bright orange)
• Sole by Valori Wells for Free Spirit (blue/green)
• Hot Blossom by Josephine Kimberling for Robert Kaufman
• Fanciful Flight by Hoffman Fabrics
• Freebird by Momo for Moda

I’m starting to get the hang of EQ7. Its a really great tool for realizing ideas, and for documenting the design process. Its also quite practical, especially for fabric calculation, and printing templates and fabric shopping lists. No more guesswork when I get to the quilt store, and fewer leftover bits to squirrel away. My stash does not love this; my wallet does 😉

I’ve been so inspired by Denise Schmidt’s latest book Modern Quilts, Traditional Inspiration. She really got me thinking of modernizing the traditional block, so I came up with my own version of a sawtooth block quilt. The first draft below is my favourite, but I felt it would be too busy with the prints I had in mind, so I modified it a bit to a simpler design and palette. The design is a combination of a basket weave pattern and sawtooth block. However, I will keep the first draft for a future quilt with solids…

Here is a sneak peak of the quilt front in progress. Pardon the photos, it’s been dismally cloudy these last few days – great for the plants outside, but not for my photos! But the rain has been welcomed, it’s quite dry this summer, and with the last 4 days of rain, the neighborhood is looking lush and green again.

I’m debating whether to add a border, maybe in a purple? I’m also playing with the following fabrics for a pieced quilt backing:

• Hopscotch for Red Rooster Fabrics
• Fanciful Flight by Hoffman Fabrics
• Freebird by Momo for Moda
• Cat’s Secret Garden by Susan Brack for P & B Textiles

Decisions, decisions, decisions….