Birds on a wire quilt

Have you checked out Le Challenge yet?  It is the brainchild of Lucy at Charm About You and Nat at Made in Home, and is a monthly challenge and link-up.  The challenge for May was "wings".

I had a lot of half-rectangle triangle scraps left over from making my Paper Petals quilt, and I used them to make up this little baby quilt top.  It was very simple - I sorted the triangles into warm/cold pairs, and then stitched them together before trimming the resulting rectangles to a uniform width (I think about 9").  I then laid the rectangles out in random order, stitched them into columns and sewed the columns together so that I had a quilt top about 27" by 30".

The picture about isn't great anyway, but I think you will be able to tell why I thought it needed something extra before I added the appliqué.  One of my favourite prints in the Noteworthy collection by Sweetwater for Moda features birds on a wire. Appliqué wasn't really part of the original plan, but when the idea of little appliqué birds on a wire popped into my head, I knew I had to do it (and, it happened to fit perfectly with the theme for Le Challenge!).

 

I couldn't get my sewing machine to co-operate when sewing on the birds (I was using polyester thread, and the tension needed to be different depending on how many layers I was sewing through), so I stitched the birds on by hand using blanket stitch.

 

Simple serpentine quilting and a crisp grey backing (DS Quilts from Spotlight) finish it off.

This quilt is about 27" square, and I donated it to the neonatal unit at Wellington Hospital.  I think it will be perfect for a little baby boy or girl.

Linking up with:

and finish it up friday at crazy mom quilts.

Paper Petals Quilt

I am so pleased to finally be able to share this quilt with you!

It is featured in Issue 13 of Fat Quarterly, out now!

I designed this quilt back in December 2012, and made it up over January and February this year.

I really enjoyed using the Noteworthy collection, by Sweetwater, for Moda, to make this quilt.  It was really hard not to share progress pictures and the finished quilt once I was done.

Apart from the back and the borders, this whole 90" square quilt was paper pieced.  No way could I have done this quilting - it was done by the talented Sue Burnett.



So, if you are interested in making your own version of this quilt, check out Issue 13 of Fat Quarterly - and do let me know, I'd love to see it made up in different fabrics!

Quilt Stats

Pattern: my Paper Petals pattern, available in Issue 13 of Fat Quarterly

Finished size: 90" square

Fabric: Noteworthy by Sweetwater for Moda, Moda Bella Snow

Backing: Text print and floral print from Noteworthy by Sweetwater for Moda, both in Cloudy

Binding: Assorted green prints from Noteworthy by Sweetwater for Moda

Pieced by: me

Quilted by: Sue Burnett on her long-arm machine.

Linking up with Finish it up Friday at crazy mom quilts.

An improv cushion for Gran

Do you know what you get from paper piecing?  Scraps.  Lots and lots of scraps.  Last weekend I decided to crack open my full to bursting box of Noteworthy scraps and have a play around.  Once I started pulling scraps out, I knew I wanted to make something for my grandmother Heather (Gran to me).

This is basically improv piecing - I just started with a piece of fabric and kept adding bits, trimming it down to a regular shape as necessary, until I had a decent sized block.  You might be able to see that there are a couple of more deliberately pieced areas (the pink at the top and the bottom of the pillow), where I wanted to include some pink but all my scraps were too small to be able to add a single piece. This 16" square pillow is made up of four improv pieced blocks, stitched together and then trimmed down to square.

 

I wanted the quilting to contrast with the crazy and wonky piecing, so I quilted a reasonably dense cross-hatch grid (I marked at 1" intervals down each side of the quilt top and used a hera marker to mark each diagonal line before quilting).  The 50 weight cream cotton thread I used just melts into the fabrics, so that the texture is the main feature.

Both the backing and the binding are from the same fabric collection - I was able to use a single fat quarter for the backing, with a simple envelope style pillow closure.  I think I might need to get more of this bird on a wire print - it makes a really great binding.

This pillow will be in the mail to Gran this week - she lives in Auckland, otherwise I would deliver it personally.  Hopefully she likes it!

Linking up with:

and finish it up friday with crazy mom quilts.

Momentum

Momentum might be my word for 2013.  I have realised that I really thrive on momentum - it's why I often like to make a quilt top in a big burst over a few days, and struggle with slow burning projects.  

It's something I plan to harness to my advantage this year, and also something I plan to work on, to make sure when I get stalled in a project, I don't give up on it altogether, and so I can take on some more complex projects that will I inevitably have to work on over a long period.

This week, work has picked up after a rather quiet period, which I am loving.  Behind the scenes, I have been working away on a quilt using this stack of the lovely Noteworth collection by Sweetwater for Moda (supplied by Moda - thanks!).

This is something of a slow burn project - I need to make 64 blocks, and I am working on making 16 blocks a week over 4 weeks.  I have made 12 of my 16 for this week - keeping up momentum.  I really like the Noteworthy collection - it is brighter in person than the online swatches may lead you to believe, and there are several really nice designs that I will be buying yardage of once it is available.

Do you have a word for 2013?

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?

Dappled sunlight - layout options

Since I got all my half-square triangles trimmed, I decided to try out some different layout options.  The photos are not the best, because the rainy weather meant I wasn't getting much light on my "design table" (a piece of batting laid on my dining room table - need to get onto making that design wall).  In reality, the colours are a bit softer and sweeter.

1. Sort of a barn raising pattern - pretty clean and classic.

2. Something a bit different - repeating diamonds.

3. Similar to the first option, but off-centered - I think it comes across as a bit more modern.

I have picked one, and have the rows all sewn together already - I should have a finished quilt top before I go to bed tonight.  Can you guess which one?

And to prove my point from the last post...

Oh, Ivy!

Dappled sunlight - all trimmed

So, I didn't finished trimming all those half-square triangles last night, but they are done now.  Its a very wet and rainy day outside, so the light is a bit tricky for taking photos.

Also, this is what typically happens when I try to take a photo of something other than a cat.

Really, you don't want me in this shot?

Now to work out what pattern to make with them.

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: