Kite Tails

How many of you are TIRED of winter and ready for spring? Me too!!!

The warmer, brighter days are definitely stirring feelings of spring and summer so I thought it was about time I shared a summery fresh project with you. This quilt was part of the January/February issue of Generation Q magazine. Since it's now March and their new issue is coming out it's about time I catch up and share.

This kid's quilt came about when I sent some designs to Generation Q for their block builder series way last spring. For this challenge they provide a square with a few lines . . . you design a quilt block based on the starter. If you haven't tried this, I definitely urge you to give it a go. They'd love it if you did. Plus it's a great prompt to get the creative juices flowing. Learn more about it here.

Below you can see the starter block they provided on the top left and the block I designed next to it on the right. When I send in my block builder ideas I always include a layout of how it would look in a quilt. The folks at GenQ liked it so much they asked me to make it into a quilt for the magazine!

We went with a different color scheme of scrappy black and white prints with bright color accents in shades of orange, pink, blue and green. I think it would look great in lots of different color schemes. Some of my early sketches included the all blue one above and also a scrappy one with loads of color. You could use just about anything. It's a basic string quilt with a twist. A perfect place for all those leftover strips.

Kite Tails was made way last summer when the grass was green and there were leaves on the trees. It was a breezy day when we took the picutres so we tried hard to get her to fly but no such luck. Perhaps if my hubbie had gotten on the roof?

Karen Dovala of The Quilted Moose did the quilting using a swirly cloud design that was just perfect. It added wonderful texture and movement plus a hint of color as the thread was a very light blue.

As a bonus, I made a little kite complete with a tail from a leftover block. I think this would be so cute hanging on the wall in a nursery or kid's room. Alas, my kids are way way too big for this but someday I'll find just the right reason to make another one for someone special.

I used a cloud print and solid scraps for the back.

When I went to Quilt Market last fall, GenQ had my quilt hanging in their booth. A wonderful unexpected surprise! It added to the pleasure of getting to meet them in person. Thanks guys.

For anyone who hasn't seen Generation Q magazine, please take a look. They are so nice to work with. I seriously suggest you give their Block Builder a try. It's fun and you never know what might come of your ideas. It could lead to being published.    : )

Shortly after GenQ came out, so did the spring issue of Stitch which I also have a small project in. I'll share that little project later this week.

These things happen so far in advance that they always seems so out of season at the time you're making them. Now they seem just right. Spring is on the way . . .  wahoo !!!

Giveaway Reminder and My Winnings

Just a reminder that the giveaway for an issue of Generaton Q Magazine will close on Monday, July 29. Go to this post to leave a comment and enter to win. Don't forget to tell me what your favorite quilt magazine is and why.

Isn't it exciting when you do win an online giveaway? I've actually won 2 myself in the last couple of months. First off, I won this wonderful assortment of books from the Fat Quarter Shop during their book giveaway related to Spring Quilt Market. And they are all autographed copies too.

All three of them are great books and I can tell you I love a good quilting book. I may not make too many quilts exactly following someone else's pattern since the design part is what I love to do myself, but there are some great quilts in these books that I could easily be persuaded to make. My favorite is probably Dessert Roll Quilts by Pam and Nicky Lintott.

Most recently, I also won this colorful charm pack of Laura Gunn's Edge fabric line from Michael Miller Fabrics.  I'm pondering what to use it for and have a couple of ideas percolating. I might see what I can make from just the charms or possibly get more and make something larger? Can't decide at the moment but I do know I LOVE these fabrics. Great textures and colors.

Aren't these all just gorgeous? I love the colors, the neutrals, the prints. Just writing this post makes me realize I most likely will buy more and make something bigger. They are just too good to pass up. I think my favorites are the canvas looking texture and the circles . . . well the stripes too.  : )

Have a nice weekend.

Generation Q Magazine, Me, a Giveaway

I'm excited to share my first ever published quilt with you. It's called Flash Card and it's in the June/July issue of Generation Q Magazine.

Flash Card came about when I designed a block as part of Generation Q's Block Builder series. Each issue features a block starter which consists of a few lines. The idea is to take it from there and design a quilt block. The designer in me just can't resist playing along with these challenges. Below left is the starter block that gave birth to the Flash Card block and quilt.

The Block Builder challenge usually gets me thinking outside the normal quilt block approach and as a result, I end up with some pretty interesting ideas. Through the process,  I've also discovered that it's often the simple looking blocks that have the potential to turn into very dynamic quilts. I've had 3 of my blocks make the cut in previous issues so you can see I love to play along. When submitting for this round of Block Builder, the folks at GenQ asked me to make up my block into a quilt for their Spring Market issue. Needless to say, I jumped at the chance. I highly recommend giving the Block Builder challenge a try. Maybe your block will become a quilt in one of their upcoming issues too.

Flash Card is an easy quilt to sew and great for using scraps. I used Kaffe Fassett scraps for the block centers. Karen Dovala of the Quilted Moose did the quilting and I just love how the overall floral pattern turned out echoing the floral prints. A light gray thread was just right to show up equally well on both the black and white solids and yet not distract from all the color centers.

As I worked on the quilt, I pondered what to do with the little left over HST. Couldn't let cute little scraps go to waste so I turned them into bean bags and sewed up a pouch to hold them all. Now you can use the quilt as a throw and a game too! The bean bags and pouch became a bonus project that was featured on Generation Q's blog. You can see that project here. My new kittens seemed to love the bag the most. I think it was the drawstrings.

Don't you think those scrap HST made cute little bean bags? I backed them up with 4 different fabrics from the quilt so 4 people could play at a time. 

There are so many different ways this quilt could be made and used. Here's just a few other ideas.

• Use novelty prints in pairs and turn the quilt into a matching/tossing game.
• Use different solid colors in place of the prints and have each player try to land their bean bags on a given color.
• Make the matching even more challenging by changing up both the block center colors and the triangle colors for multiple color combinations.
• Come up with your very own game plan.

If you don't know about GenQ or haven't seen an issue yet you don't know what you're missing. It's a great small format magazine loaded with quilty information. Here's a sample of what you'll find in this issue:

• Victoria Findlay Wolfe talks vintage poly quilts.
• At home profile with Melody Miller, designer of Ruby Star.
• Test drive basting sprays.
• Paper piecing basics.
• The next Block Builder . . . why not give it a try.
• Plus lots more including Flash Card by yours truly.

Starting with the June/July issue they are now publishing bi-monthly. Head over to their website to find out more and order your own copy. I think you'll like what you see. They are just the nicest people and have been most encouraging to me.

To celebrate my first ever quilt being published I'm giving away a copy. All you need to do is leave a comment and tell me what quilting magazine is your favorite and why. Become a blog follower for a second chance.

Comments are closed. The winner is Rachel at The Life of Riley. Congrats Rachel.