Strings Attached

Back when I signed up for QuiltCon, I also decided to sign up for the Michael Miller Cotton Couture challenge.  I received the fabric a couple of months ago and had a general idea of what I wanted to make, but in the end I only started my quilt a couple of weeks ago.

I think it's amazing that Michael Miller provides free fabric for the challenge, and I thought the challenge conditions were kind of interesting (essentially, the quilt must primarily use solids from Michael Miller’s Spring Cotton Couture Pastels. Solid Michael Miller cotton couture fabrics are permitted. Michael Miller prints are permitted on the binding and the back).  I decided to embrace these limitations and add as little as possible to the fabrics provided to make my quilt.

This is my finished quilt (which I have entered in QuiltCon).  I used only the fabrics provided, plus some Cotton Couture in charcoal for the backing and a small section of the binding (I didn't have quite enough white).

I really like the extreme simplicity of the straight lines, the graduated colour changes, and how the raw edges and fraying threads make the colours blend together and add softness.  I think this is the most minimalist quilt I've made, and probably the most "modern" (in the way that the Modern Quilt Guild defines "modern quilting").  Part of me worries that this quilt is just too simple, and maybe a bit boring.

Anyway,  despite my slight reservations, I'm happy with this quilt, and I'm glad I made it.  I would love to see it (and/or another of my entries) hanging at QuiltCon.

Did you enter anything in QuiltCon?

Raspberry Lemonade (Show Off Irish Chain) - a quilt pattern review

I've written before about Penny and Fenella Jameson, a mother/daughter team who own Stitch Playroom in Christchurch. I met them when they visited Wellington to teach their quilted hexagon ottoman class and then saw them again in Christchurch when I attended Sarah Fielke's class (which was organised by Fenella).

Last year, Fenella asked if I would be interested in reviewing one of their quilt patterns. Since I had so much fun making the ottoman, I jumped right on board. The pattern is for a modern variation on the traditional irish chain pattern, which is designed to show off fabulous large scale designs (hence the name Show Off Irish Chain). Penny's original quilt is made with lots of different coloured Kaffe Fassett fabrics set against a neutral linen background and is a lot of fun. I decided to go down a slightly different route, choosing to keep my feature fabrics in the same colour family (red, pink, purple) and set them against a bright and completely contrasting background (for a great explanation on why those red prints seem to be jumping right off the aqua background, check out Anne's great post on complementary colours).

 

I found this aqua fence to hang my quilt on - wasn't someone daring with their paint colour! The quilt top was a cinch to put together, and super speedy because of the large pieces. I think it would be great for a beginner, and actually, the first quilt I ever made was nine patches alternated with large squares - exactly like this quilt in construction, if not design.

 

Fenella picked out the Kaffe Fassett Collective fabrics that I used, and she did a fantastic job with my extremely vague instructions of "red, pink, purple, maybe a bit of orange"! I swapped out a couple of her picks for fabrics from my stash - partly because I wanted to keep this quilt very bright and there were a couple of darker purples that weren't quite working for me, and partly because I love to show how fabrics from different designers can work together. I've snuck in a bit of Jay McCaroll, Amy Butler, and one older Michael Miller fabric.

 

One of the things I look for in a pattern is room to put my own spin on it and to make tweaks. I like the way that this pattern has guidance on how you might like to lay out your blocks, but isn't overly prescriptive. Having a clear construction diagram also meant it was easy to make the borders a bit narrower than the original quilt. Of course, I had to pull out my quilt math, but I enjoy that part! I do really like the chunky borders on the original quilt, but I'm trying to get out of the habit of making enormous quilts, and reducing the size of the borders meant it was easier to baste and quilt (hooray!).

I love my finished quilt, and I would heartily recommend the pattern, especially for beginners.  If you are interested in getting your hands on a copy, email Fenella (fenella at stitchplayroom dot co dot nz) for all the details.

I'd love to know - do you find it hard to resist tweaking patterns too, or are you a strictly by the book kind of quilter?

Quilt Stats
Pattern: Show Off Irish Chain by Stitch Playroom
Finished Size: approx 66" by 75"

Fabric: assorted Kaffe Fassett collective prints, also prints from Amy Butler, Jay McCarroll and Michael Miller, Freespirit Designer Solid in Caribbean Sea.

Backing: Blockprint Blossom in Blush from Joel Dewberry's Heirloom collection

Binding: Michael Miller Ta Dot in Berry

Pieced and quilted by: me

Linking up with finish it up friday at crazy mom quilts.



Full disclosure - Fenella provided me with the prints I used on the front of the quilt in exchange for this review.  The rest of the fabric came from my stash.  The review is an honest reflection of my thoughts on the pattern.

Planes, Bikes and Cars Quilt

A friend and colleague of mine is expecting his first child soon.  When asked if he and his wife had any requests for the baby's quilt, he told me, quite seriously, that he likes planes and his wife likes trains.  Um, right. Anyway, the plane idea stuck, but I wasn't quite sure how to go about it since the aeroplane themed quilt patterns I'd found weren't really doing it for me.  Then I dropped into a local quilt store to buy thread, and lo and behold they had just gotten the perfect aeroplane print Echino fabric in.  I picked up the car print at the same time and I already had the bike print (also Echino), so after that all I needed to do was add lots of different blues and greens from my stash.

I fussy cut the centres and then pieced each log cabin block with logs of slightly different widths, dispensing with the usual light/dark convention to get a really scrappy look.  These were really speedy to make up - I had all the blocks together in about half a day (and happily I have a lot of the strips I used to make the log cabins left over so I think I'll make some more soon).

 

The back is very simply strip pieced, mostly using fabrics from the quilt top.  I deliberately chose slightly softer colours to give the back a more peaceful vibe than the front.

 

I quilted this quilt in an all over square spiral pattern.  It looks kind of complicated to do but it really is not.  I used my mother's Bernina Aurora 440QE with the Bernina Stitch Regulator for the quilting. It was a bit strange since I am used to free motion quilting without a stitch regulator, but the back is much neater than I can usually get it and I don't have the little thread bobbles I tend to get when I stop.  I think it also helped me keep control of my quilting so it didn't get ridiculously dense.

The parents-to-be have a totally adorable (and very naughty) miniature dachshund.  I think this little fabric dachshund makes just the cutest quilt label ever! It was also much easier to write neatly on the upholstery weight fabric I used - it didn't move around under my pen as much as quilting cotton.

I'm so pleased with how this quilt has come out and I can't wait to give it to this little family.  I think the discovery that making quilt labels can be a lot of fun will encourage me to label more of my quilts (because I always think I should and then don't get around to it!). Do you label your quilts?

Quilt Stats

Pattern: Make it up as you go along scrappy log cabins

Finished Size: Approximately 36" by 42"

Fabric: Assorted designer quilting fabrics including Echino, Tula Pink, Kaffe Fassett, Lizzy House, Michael Miller and Carolyn Friedlander

Backing: Various

Binding: Kaffe Fassett Shot Cotton (makes incredibly soft binding)

Pieced by: Me, on my domestic sewing machine
Quilted by: Me, on my mother's domestic sewing machine, using a stitch regulator.

Linking up with:

    

 

and with Finish it up Friday at crazy mom quilts.

Laptop Sleeves

I bought the 13" laptop sleeve pattern from Michelle Patterns ages ago on a whim.  I think I saw a version on someone else's blog, but it's so long ago I totally cannot remember where!

Exterior: Lovesme Lovesmenot in Leaf, from Anna Maria Horner's Innocent Crush Home Dec Collection

Anyway, the weekend before last, I decided to finally make up a laptop sleeve using the pattern.  I would consider myself a confident quilter, but somewhat nervous when it comes to 3D items, so I approached this with some trepidation.  In the end, with this very clearly written and illustrated pattern, there was no real reason to worry!  

Lining: Paper Clips in Grey, from Julia Rothman's Type Collection

I'm not going to lie - this is not a 5 minute project.  I made two at the same time, and probably spent about 6 or 7 hours in total from start to finish.  That said, I'm by no means complaining about the time it took, because I didn't think there were any unnecessary steps included, and the finish is very nice (no raw edges on this baby).

Exterior: I think this is a Kokka fabric - it's home dec weight also

I've also had this very pretty floral home dec weight fabric in my stash for a long time, waiting for the right project.  I'm glad I get to see it every day now, as well as this fun pottery themed print I used for the lining.  I have this Michael Miller print in quite a few different colours because I love it so much.

Lining: Put a Lid On It in Coral from Michael Miller's Mod Prints Collection

Now that I've made this pattern, I would thoroughly recommend it if you are looking to make a laptop sleeve.  The construction is fairly simple, the instructions are good and the end result  looks great and functions beautifully.  It's meant to fit most 13" laptops, and you can see that my 13" macbook pro sits nicely inside.

The green and grey version above is a slightly belated birthday present for my friend Anne.  She LOVES grey fabric (I think all her quilts have some grey somewhere) and has recently become the secretary of our guild, which means bringing her laptop to a lot of meetings, so this is both a pretty and practical gift for her.

Since I enjoyed making these laptop cases so much, I've joined the Michelle Patterns affiliate program - you can see the button up in my sidebar.  I can't wait to try some more!

Linking up with finish it up friday at crazy mom quilts.

P.S. On Sunday the 21st of July I will have been blogging for one year, and I'm definitely celebrating!  Check back then for at least one giveaway.

Dappled sunlight - nearly done

I found a suitable variegated thread, and quilted my dappled sunlight quilt today.  It is quilted about an eighth of an inch on either side of each diagonal seam line - I really like the effect this gives.

You can see the colours in the thread better in real life (green, yellow and orange).

I have my binding fabric all picked out so all I need to do is take out the basting pins and bind it.

Also, I am rather fond of the backing fabric (a cotton poplin from Spotlight), but no-one else seems to like the horses.  Please tell me - am I cracked?

WIP Wednesday

From last week's list:

Granny squares quilt - I have now quilted around 9 of the granny squares (up from 6 last week).

Giant star quilt - no progress. I am still thinking about how to quilt this one.

Equilateral triangle quilt - I have pieced three rows of a total of 14.  Piecing and pressing each row wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but it is pretty slow going.

New project:

Dappled sunlight - another baby quilt.  This time, half square triangles, using a charm pack of Sunkissed by Sweetwater for Moda, and this grey fabric (I am not entirely sure, but I think it is Michael Miller Cotton Couture in Fog, available at Hawthorne Threads).  I am still working on the layout - I think I will decide once all the half square triangle blocks are made.  I have pieced and pressed all of the half square triangle blocks, and am in the process of trimming them.

Incidentally, I read on someone's blog that she had asked an online fabric shop to label solid fabrics so she would know what they were when they arrived.  I think this is a brilliant idea.  The alternative is to order a swatch card, but honestly, they are expensive, especially when you want to order solid fabrics produced by several manufacturers (I like Free Spirit Designer Solids, Michael Miller Cotton Coutures and Art Gallery Fabrics Pure Elements, and could see myself ordering Moda Bella Solids as well).

Has anyone asked for fabrics to be labelled before?  Do you think the colour swatch cards are a worthwhile investment?

Linking up at Freshly Pieced:

  

Giant star quilt top

I have been working on a few slower projects lately, and this weekend I was overcome by a surge of impatience and a desire to do a project I could complete in a weekend.  I had seen Jeni's Giant Vintage Star Tutorial over at In Color Order, and I had a few of the prints from Laura Gunn's Garden Wall collection in my stash which I wanted to make use of.

Some of these prints are really large in scale, and I wanted to use them in a quilt that would really show off the lovely designs.  The background fabric is Timeless Treasures Crosshatch Sketch in black and white, also from my stash.  I am very happy with how this quilt has turned out so far.

However, I am not sure how to quilt it.  I would like to do straight lines echoing the star shape in the background.  For the star, I would like something that works with all of the fabrics - not too busy, and won't break up the semi-solid painter's canvas fabrics.  Any thoughts?