All the Pretty Colours

    Name:  All the Pretty Colours

Design:  from Kaffe Fasset GLorious Patchwork: Pieced Stripes Quilt

Size:  76.5" by 82"

Fabric: Stash fabrics, backing Anna Maria Horner

Quilted: by me with Aurifil 40 and 50 wt straigh lines, 1/2" apart

So this was fun!  It is a glorious explosion of colours.  All the colours of fall wrapped up in one quilt.  This is a quilt from Kaffe Fassett's book Glorious Patchwork.  The design is called Pieced Stripes quilt.  But that is just a bit boring.  So, I am calling this All the Pretty Colours. The pattern just tells you how to make it but does not include templates so really it is all up to you once you select the fabric.  The design suggests a colour story and I loved it so much that I repeated it as much as possible in my fabric picks.  Lots of solids, near solids, and a dash of Alison Glass's End paper line really made this work.


I quilted it in straight lines, with 3 different shades of Aurifil but with Dove in the bobbin. I used 1243, a soft purple, 4020, a fuchsia,  and then a 40 wt fabulous golden yellow, 5015.  It was a slog to quilt as it is a big one but my Janome Horizon handled it, no problem.  It was just a bit heavy for me to wrangle.

So there it is a finish.  I am quite pleased with it.  Linking up with Finish it up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts.

It's A Girl: A quilt finish

    Name:  It's a Girl!

Design:  4" squares

Size:  36" by 44"

Fabric: Stash fabrics 

Quilted: by me with Aurifil 50 wt in white in cross hatch

I finished this wee baby girl quilt yesterday.  Just a whole lot of bright pink going on.  One of my teachers is having her third baby and this one is a girl.  Just a simple design of 4" squares with an assortment of fabrics from my stash.  I am totally crushing on cross hatch quilting for this type of quilt.  Just so effective!  I used my favourite Aurifil 50 wt in white.  Fabulous and ready for snuggles.

The binding is a Colorworks floral print that is also featured in the four inch squares.  The quilt added a spark of bright in the yard that is only just beginning the early spring wake up!

Read the fine print

This is the corner of my Steps to Modern Quilting mini quilt for the FVMQG challenge.  After I posted about it, one of the guild members mentioned that she could not see where I had used the required solid fabric for the challenge.  Drat.  Fiddlesticks.  Etc.  So... I replaced one corner of the binding with Kona Black to meet the rules of the challenge.  Must include at least one solid.  Note to self, read the fine print even if the cat keeps sitting on the paper.

12 Trees in Oakshotts: A Finish

  Name:  12 Trees In Oakshots

Design:  12 Trees by Helen Howes

Size:  36" by 64"

Fabric: Oakshotts, colour shot bundle

Quilted: by me with Aurifil  40 and 50 wt in many colours

I finished 12 Trees on the weekend.  On Monday after school, I rushed outside in between rain and before darkness hit.  I just made it.  The light was fading but the colours of the Oakshotts are so vibrant that the lower light levels didn't seem to matter.  So... what can I tell you?  I used so many colours of Aurifil in the quilting.  A mix of 40 and 50 wt.  I tried to match the thread colour to the background of each tree which meant switching threads a lot and I also had to bury a lot of ends.  I kept the bobbin thread an Aurifil light grey 50 wt and also used the light grey to stitch in the ditch around each block and around the sashing to give each tree some dimension.  The quilting is random free motion squiggles which in my mind are supposed to evoke wind.  Just saying.  I also had to stop and start in all those little bits between the branches.  That was a pain but I am so happy with it.

I chose this layout of long and narrow because I made 12 Trees to hang in the stairwell, on the way downstairs to my sewing room.  Before I finished the quilt it was just a big white wall.  The quilt is now visible from the kitchen and adds a wonderful bit of eye candy on the way downstairs.  What can I say about Oakshots.  Oh my goodness, what fabulous glowing fabric.  It was a dream to work with it.

The binding is scrappy leftover strips.  A finish.  Quite satisfying.  Linking up with Amanda Jean for Finish it Up Friday.

Blogger's Quilt Festival: Scrappy Crossroads

 Name: Scrappy Crossroads

Design: Trellis Crossroads from the book Modern Bee by Lindsay Conner

Size: 69" by 77"

Fabric:  Print scraps and Kona White scraps

Quilted: by me with Aurifil 50 wt in grey for three rows either side of the block seams

Binding and Backing:  Dark purple RJR fabric from the stash and backed with vintage sheet.

I finished this quilt a few weeks ago but decided to hang on and wait for the Blogger's Quilt Festival.  I thought it might be fun to have a post with a quilt that has not made an appearance on my blog.  So here it is!  This is another scrap quilt and is yet another attempt to bring my overflowing scrap boxes under control.  It is also a big quilt and I was just able to get it hung on the barn wall without it dragging on the ground.  Just!  And thanks for stopping by!

I used the block Trellis Crossroads from the book Modern Bee:  13 Quilts to Make With Friends by Lindsay Conner.  It is a great block to use with scraps and I was also able to use up a giant pile of Kona white scraps.  In fact, I ran out of big enough pieces of white about 70% of the way through and had to actually cut into some Kona white yardage.  Oh well.  I would say this quilt is controlled scrappy because I really did have a plan.  I used one particular scrap as a bouncing off point.  It had a sky blue background with orange, purple, green, dark pink and yellow bits and that became the scrap formula.  Controlling the scrappy-ness in this way added a cohesiveness to the quilt.  Don't get me wrong, I love scrappy scrappy but for this project, I played by some rules.  Don't you just love how that skinny white strip makes everything pop?

I quilted it with my favourite straight line quilting in Aurifil 50 wt in grey.  I did 6 rows with a break and then another 6 rows across the quilt.  The break in the quilting adds some interest.  

The quilt is backed with a vintage sheet with scattered bright pink flowers on a white background and bound in a favourite binding dark purple print from RJR fabrics. I think I have less than a metre of this purple left.  I started with about 9 metres which I purchased at a thrift store.  It was a total find and I am going to be very sad when it is all used up.  It has bound a lot of bright and colourful quilts.

I am entering this quilt in the scrap quilt category.  Thanks so much to Amy for hosting the Blogger's Quilt Festival and if you stop by tomorrow, I am going to enter a small quilt too.  And I am off to look and be inspired!  

Nested Curves: Michael Miller MQG Challenge

   Name: Nested Curves (Ode to the N.F.B.)

Design: My own, nested Drunkard's Path on point

Size: 41" by 41"

Fabric: Michael Miller Petal Pinwheels, Kona white and Kona Medium Grey

Quilted: by me with Aurifil 50 wt in white diagonally on the corners and following the blocks in the centre

I had an idea.  I really wanted to do something with curves.  Probably something with the Drunkard's Path block but I wanted something a little different.  I looked on Pinterest and all over the place at Drunkard's Path variations but I was not seeing what I was thinking.  Then on Saturday morning, Husband was looking at National Film Board of Canada films after downloading the NFB app on his iPad.  Somehow we started looking at the NFB film called Quilts, which I have watched before but... There it was!  Just what I was thinking.  I took my iPad down to the sewing room and played the film again until I could freeze the film right at the point where the Drunkard's Patch block starts dancing away into all sorts of animated variations.  And then I got busy with the MQG Petal Pinwheels.  These are 6.5" Drunkard's Path blocks put together on point (nested together) and then framed up in some Kona medium grey and setting triangles of Kona white.

I didn't use pins.  I used Leanne's method of curves without pins.  Genius!  I am so pleased with how this came together.

The quilting was fun.  I started with outlining the blocks in the centre on either side.  Then I stitched in the ditch around the framing to add definition and then I did the diagonal quilting in the corners.  Then I thought I should try outlining the curves so I did that too.  I had a lot of ends to bury but the quilting in Aurifil 50 wt in white just makes everything pop!  What do you think?  Baby quilt, wall hanging, play mat.  Whatever it is, it made me feel very happy!  I am quite tickled with the curves.  It is was a breeze, people, a breeze!

Rabbits Oh My... a finish

   Name: Rabbits Oh My!

Design: Plus quilt, 4" squares

Size: 35" by 44"

Fabric: Critter Patch by Alysa Thomas for Clothworks, and stash fabrics including Pearl Bracelets by Lizzy House

Quilted: by me with Aurifil 50 wt in grey, #2600, diagonally in each direction

I finished this baby quilt on the weekend.  The fabric is just so lovely and with such a lovely hand to it.  It is an organic cotton with a fabulous sheen to it.  I paired it with some stash fabrics including a Pearl Bracelets print and then on the back I used a fat quarter which I think is also from the same collection along with a great basic white on grey dot.  The binding is a grey with orange stripe from the Critter Patch line but I was short just a wee bit so added in a bit of the bunnies in orange to get enough binding.  I think it looks just perfect with the touch of the bunnies on the binding.  

I had this idea that the quilt could be made quite reversible if I used the fat quarter of the woodland animals as the central panel and then framed it out with prints that were leftovers.  But the dilemma then was how to quilt it so it looked like it was meant to be on either side.  I actually started quilting straight lines.  Did one line and then unpicked it because I was not happy about where the lines were falling on the back. And this is despite very careful pinning and matching of back to front.  I then thought that diagonal lines would work and lo and behold, happy dance... it did.  I used my hera marker to mark the lines.  I actually love the quilting in the most perfect #2600 grey 50 wt Aurifil thread.  Perfect.  Just perfect.  

A finish... Pinkness and Mint

  Name: Pinkness and Mint

Design: Mine, Wonky Stars, 8.5" blocks

Size: 40" by 48"

Fabric: Warp and Weft assorted pink fat quarters with a touch of mint

Quilted: by me with Aurifil 50 wt in white on either side of each blocks

I finished this one on the weekend.  I used a lovely bundle of fat quarters from Warp and Weft and so have another finished project for the Warp and Weft Sewing Society.  I decided to make the star blocks smaller than I usually do and have the stars be the negative space, allowing the prints to really be the focus.  It worked out just the way I hoped.  It seemed like a whole bunch of pink so I added just a touch of mint with a few other fat quarters also from Warp and Weft.  The stripe from the Petite Street line brought everything together.  Who would have thought? I quilted on either side of the blocks in Aurifil 50 wt in white and used a ribbon stripe print from my stash for the binding.  So there you have it.  A finish.  Linking up with Amanda Jean for Finish it Up Friday.

It's a Puzzle: Blogger's Quilt Festival

  Name: It's a Puzzle

Design: Twists and Turns, Quilty Magazine, Jan/Feb 2014  designed by Krista Robbins

Size: 64" by 80"

Fabric: Warp and Weft Challenge Bundle, including

Dots Blue Moon from Up, Up and Away by Skinny LaMinx for Cloud 9 Fabrics
Specimen Struck from Field Study by Anna Maria Horner for Westminster/Free Spirit Fabrics
King's Road  from Carnaby Street by Pat Bravo for Art Gallery Fabrics
Ladylike from Carnaby Street by Pat Bravo  for Art Gallery Fabrics

and stash fabrics

Quilted: by me with Aurifil 50 wt in white in an allover grid pattern

Binding:  Dots Blue Moon from Up, Up and Away by Skinny La Minx for Cloud 9 Fabrics

I finished this quilt just a little bit ago and saved it for the Blogger's Quilt Festival.  It was a fabulously fun quilt to make because it really was a puzzle.  I used the block design and the basic idea from the pattern Quilty Jan/Feb 2014 but I did not use the same fabric as suggested in the pattern.  Instead, I built the quilt on my design wall and used our guild's Warp and Weft Challenge bundle as a focus.  I kept the colour palette soft, mellow and beachy and that meant setting aside a couple intensely coloured fat quarters for another project.

Once it was together, I stared at it for quite a few days and then decided to quilt it in an grid... just over an inch in fact.  That took a lot of bobbins, let me tell ya!  I used my favourite Aurifil 50wt in white and even though it took forever!  I love the look and I stayed more or less straight-ish... across the whole quilt.  

The binding is more of the Skinny LaMinx Dots Blue Moon.  I added a bunch of fabrics from the stash, including some grays to round out the fat quarter bundle. It looks pretty nice in the breeze, don't you think?

And I will be entering this one in the large quilt category.  Enjoy the Blogger's Quilt Festival!  Thank you Amy for hosting!

This Way and That

 Name:  This Way and That

Block:  Paper Pieced block from Amy's Creative side

Design:  Layout and setting triangles, mine

Size:  approx  26" by 26"

Fabric:  Kona Slate, Print from Comma and Sugar Pop, Kona Pomegranate, Anna Maria Horner and Art Gallery scraps

Binding: Kona Slate and Print from Sugar Pop line for Moda

Quilted: by me with Aurifil 40 wt in 5015, Aurifil 40 wt in 2605 and 2309

I had a lot of fun with this one.  It a mini and I will submit it for the Creative Stitches Modern Mini Challenge at Tradex in Abbotsford this month  I used the paper pieced block from Amy Ellis at Amy's Creative side and then placed the blocks on point.  What really made it for me was using the setting triangles in Kona Slate and in the Sugar Pop print in that lovely bright chartreuse. The binding echoed the setting triangles.

I used three different Aurifil threads in the quilting, a yellow-green 40 weight, 5015, a grey 50 wt, 2605 and a cream 50 wt, 2309.  The quilting was fun.  It is a combination of free motion and straight line quilting. This way and that.  I like it!

So what modern theme does this mini reflect?

Modern Mini... Are we there yet?

 Name:  Are we there yet?

Design: Mine

Size:  approx  26" by 30"

Fabric:  Anna Maria Horner Innocent Crush, Kona solids... Curry and Cerise,

 Robert Kaufman linen cotton blend, Stof basics text print in ivory

Backing:  stash fabrics

Binding:  Anna Maria Horner Innocent Crush

Quilted: by me with Aurifil 40 wt ivory

I have spoken before about my lovely Fraser Valley Modern Quilt Guild and how we are playing a big role in the Creative Stitches Show in Abbotsford in March.  We are hosting a Modern Mini Challenge for the guild as part of the show as a way of demonstrating what modern quilting looks like.  Guild members have been selecting modern quilting themes out of a basket and then getting busy.  Since I am the guild challenge coordinator, I got busy fast so I could have a sample.  I selected alternate grid work as a modern quilting theme but when I started working, I also had expansive negative space, use of solids, bright, colourful prints as well.  I quilted it heavily with straight lines in an ivory Aurifil 40 wt and increased the length of the stitches a bit.  The stitches pop on the linen.  We decided to go a little bigger than a typical mini to showcase the modern quilting themes.  So here it is.  A modern mini.  I called it Are We There Yet? because I am really excited about the Creative Stitches show!

A Friday Finish on a Thursday...

 Quilt stats

Name:  Vintage Pinkness 

Design:  Mine, Economy blocks, 5.5"

Size:  38" by 48"

Fabric:  assorted stash fabric and scraps, Kona Baby Pink, pink stripe flannelette backing

Quilted: by me with Aurifil 50 wt in white

This is a baby quilt for a gift for one of our son's fiance's friends.  The baby is not yet born but the family knows she is a girl and her name will be Scarlet.  I was asked to make the quilt and was given free rein but the thought was that it should include some red.  Okay.  So this is what happened.  I started making Red Pepper Quilt's Economy blocks even before the big craze happened.  I am just so on it with trends!  Giggle.  But I alternated the blocks with solids in the palest of pinks.  Each block has a little whimsical square and I added a really sweet small scale pink print from Lecien for the border.  I just don't remember what it is called.  I have had it for quite awhile.  The binding is from Kate Spain's Christmas line.

And I quilted on either side of the blocks in Aurifil 50 wt in white and then added diagonals in each direction.  The diagonals really finished it perfectly.  The quilting has transformed this little quilt.  It went from being okay to being OKAY!  after the quilting.

First finish of the new year.  Linking up with Amanda Jean for Finish it up Friday.  And now I am off to guild.  De-stash night and I have a lot of stuff to get rid of!  So exciting!!!!

Road to Fortune!

  Name:  Road to Fortune

Design: a traditional paper pieced block, inspiration That Stash Bee February

Size:  approx  70" by 70"

Fabric:  Scraps and stash fabrics for binding, borders and backing

Quilted: by me with Aurifil 50 wt in white on the diagonal

It's finished!  I have been working on this one since last spring.  I first made several blocks for That Stash Bee and thought, "hey, these are fun!"  So I made more of them.  25 of them to be exact.  I made one a week for awhile until I decided I was tired of them.  Then I decided that I really need to just get this finished!  Totally made from scraps, the Road to Fortune block is a paper pieced traditional block.  I even used white scraps so the white in each block is also scrappy.   The quilt is bound in one of my favourite binding fabrics, a purple tone on tone from RJR fabrics from forever ago.
I quilted it on the diagonal in aurifil 50 wt in white.  Erg.  Quilting on the diagonal.  It is just awkward!  But I love the look!  The quilt is backed with some brightly coloured dragonfly print and a print from Ikea that I have had forever.  I know I made our daughter a sun dress with it when she was about 6 or 7 and she is now 24!  I added a bit of scrappy-ness in the borders too.
Isn't it fun to finish a quilt!  Linking up with Amanda Jean for finish it up Friday.