Adding: A "Plus" Quilt

Last Fall, a stack of plum, pink, aqua, orange, and red fabrics called out from the shelf.  I had been wanting to do one of these "plus" quilts for quite some time, and I based it off this tutorial, bumping the cut size of the squares up to 5.5 inches. 

A plus quilt is a fun alternative to the traditional patchwork, and comes together in much the same way:  lay it out, sew the rows together, and enjoy! (I had some some help.)

I decided that rounded corners would contrast nicely with the sharp geometric design of the quilt, and forged ahead with the necessary bias binding in Kona Aqua.

It's backed in an aqua and gray dot, and I quilted it in evenly spaced diagonal lines to form squat diamonds.

It measures about 60 x 70 inches and features so many of my favorite prints that I wish it was still around... 

but it warms my heart to imagine this one getting used all the time!!

It's also a who's who of the fabric design world: I threw some Dewberry, Schmidt, Wells, Butler, Whelan, Ross, Henderson, Paganelli,  Dena Designs and more all together and love how it turned out. The only one missing is some Anna Maria Horner (I have some of her most recent on the way, though...stay tuned)

Sharp Chevrons

Rainy days.

Perfect for watching old musicals, sitting on the couch with a cat or two, and some blog catch-up.

I've seen quite a few requests from you about how I made these very sharp, precise chevrons last year for the 4x5 Modern Quilt Bee:

Well, to make 'em, I sketched out quadrant templates on graph paper, and sewed together a bunch of 1.5" colored strips and .75" strips of white and trimmed (and trimmed), winging it a whole lot, holding the strips up to the sketch to check on positioning.

Halfway through, I wondered why I wasn't just using a paper foundation.  Too lazy and stubborn to go make copies,  I finished my blocks using the original method anyway.  Silly.

That's probably not your style, so I created a paper-piecing template, available for free via Google Doc! It's a little bit rough around the edges, but it's a pretty literal digital interpretation of my original sketch.  **If you access the templates via Google Doc, it will work best for you to download the pattern and access/print it via your pdf viewer.**

Notes on making your own: 

Print 2 copies (to make 4 units).

Printing Tips: Google docs isn't the best for printing templates, so I'd recommend downloading/saving the template to your computer, then opening it with your usual PDF viewer (Adobe has worked best for me) to print from there. Make sure that scaling is set to 100%, "Actual Size" or "none"' (so your comp doesn't try to "fit" it to a page), and measure the 1 inch scale line once printed to make sure it's EXACTLY one inch, no more, no less! Go the extra mile, and measure the short end of one of the templates, including the gray seam allowances.  It should be 2.5 inches.

I numbered the pieces so that seams will fall in opposite directions, making it easier to join the sections, and I'd also leave the paper on until the very end, but know that paper-piecing is quite personal ;) Join the sections into two A-B units, then join those two to make an 8"x8" finished block!  For the 4x5 Bee, I sashed them with 2.5" strips of white to bring the final size to 12.5".

(If you're not in to paper piecing, I also really love this tutorial for chevrons!)

I've written more about sampler bees I've been in here and here, and to refresh, each member of the group requests certain colors to receive, and then makes blocks in everyone else's colors.  So fun! 

As always, my favorite part is getting to test out all different color combinations! I think this block would also look great with a scrappy collection of fabrics (instead of making each row uniform), or with dark fabric in place of the white for the skinny rows.

Quilting Bee Spotlight: Neutral and Not

I love my quilting bees, as you can see here, here, and here.  After getting comfortable with their structure and rules, I wanted more, so I decided to start my own!  Neutral and Not was born out of my love of monochromatic quilts.  I'm so drawn to quilts that use limited colors and high contrast to create geometric impact, so I thought this would be a fun framework for a bee.  

(If you're interested, Rachel wrote a fantastic post about bee basics: what they are, how to find one, how to start one!)

The idea for this bee is that, each month, the queen bee can pick a one neutral tone, and one that is decidedly not. Red and white is such a classic, but what about red and bone? Gray and yellow? Aqua and sand? Coal and rose? Flame and stone? Before I got carried away, I also wanted bee members to be able to branch out to whatever colors/ideas they wanted, since I think getting what you want is an important part of a bee.

It can be a lot of work to lead a bee, wrangling 12 members all over the globe, tracking fabrics and blocks and missing members, but these lovely ladies have made it a breeze for me!  We're at a halfway point right now, so I thought I'd share what we've worked on so far.  

November 2011:

In November,  Esther assigned us Dresdens - any kind! - sent out a deep brown and some grassy prints, and changed my life.  I used this tutorial, modified to make the petals smaller.  No more Dresden fear!

January 2012:

After a holiday break, Stephanie asked for dark bird silhouettes on bright wonky tree branches.  I really loved seeing all the other members' blocks coming in for this one, since they were all so creative and different!

February 2012:

For February, Susan sent out some really lovely grays and aquas, requesting wonky log cabins.  This was actually the first time I'd ever made one!

March 2012:

Who doesn't love working with all solids??!  In March, Christina sent us some grays and a gorgeous array of purples, and requested star blocks.  I used this pattern for this little beauty. Christina's star inspiration mosaic is a terrific resource for star patterns, too!

April 2012: 

In April, Melisa took her inspiration from an improvised table runner made up of little strips.  I think this will make such a stunning quilt!

May 2012:

And, for May, Ella sent out grays and rosy tones to make these graphically bold wheel blocks.  Quick to sew up, with stunning results.

Can't wait for the fun to continue! To see the rest of our talented members' work, check out our Flickr photo pool!

Bright Windows Baby Quilt & Free Pattern (ish)

Right now, it seems like I have about 16 long-term, complicated projects going on.  The kind that I can only work on in little chunks at a time (telling myself, "ok, all you have to do for this one today is press open 50 HST's, and you can put it away").  

So it's very nice to take a moment and look back at a simple and sweet finish from last summer.  Its long quartered rectangles remind me of tall windows, so it's named Bright Windows, and it was very easy and fun to put together!

I sliced up a Valori Wells Del Hi charm pack, and just played around.  The fabrics are girly without being sticky-sweet, and I think the palette is really interesting.  This quilt, which finishes at around 36"x 48", really lets them shine.  

Want to make your own?  Here's a loose pattern. I don't have step-by-step photos, but the quilt is so simple that I hope a finished shot will be enough of a guide. Unlike my current endless projects, I completed this quilt top  in one weekend morning sewing session!

You'll need:

~(32) 5"x5" charm squares in assorted prints

~1 1/8 yards white (or other) sashing (I used Kona Snow)

~3/8 yard binding fabric

~40" x 52" backing of your choice

~40" x 52" batting (I like Warm and Natural cotton)

Get started!

1. Cutting: 

-Slice charm squares in half to make 64 2.5" x 5" rectangles

-Cut white fabric into 8 4.5" x Width of Fabric strips, trim selvages off.  (You could probably squeak by with just a yard of white, but since you need exactly 36 inches, I like to play it safe with the few extra inches an eighth provides)

-From 5 of the white WOF 4.5" strips, cut 20 9.5" x 4.5" units.  Save extra fabric for another project, or use it for a pieced backing.

(Use a 1/4-inch seam allowance in all sewing steps.)

2. Play around with your half-charm rectangles, pairing them up.  Chain piece them together into 32 4.5" x 5" units. Press seams to one side.

3.  Play around and pair up again, matching each new, double-rectangle 4.5" x 5" unit with another one, lining up along the shorter 4.5" sides.  Arrange so that the seams lay in opposite directions and can nestle together, and join to make 16 4.5" x 9.5" units. Press open, and your "windows" are done!

At this point, refer to the finished quilt for layout visuals.  I pieced this quilt in horizontal rows. To make the rows:

4. Pair up each "window" with a 4.5" x 9.5" white sashing unit and join along the long sides.

5. Arrange the resulting 8.5" x 9.5" window+sashing units into 4 rows of 4. For each row, join each window+sashing unit to the next, and add one additional white 4.5" x 9.5" unit to the end of the row. Press seams in one direction, ideally the same direction as the bottom half of the "window" unit.  

Rows done!

6. Lay out your (now complete) rows, and sew one of the remaining 4.5" sashing strips to the bottom of each of the first 3 rows.  Press seams towards the sashing and trim excess. 

7. Join the top two units (both composed of a window row+sashing strip). Press seams towards the sashing.

8. Join the bottom two units (window row+sashing strip and just window row).  Press seams towards sashing, creating two halves of the quilt top.

9.  Join the two halves together, press seam towards sashing, and your quilt top is complete! Square up your corners (using a 12.5"x12.5" ruler is my favorite way).

10.  Finish your quilt with the backing, batting, quilting, and binding of your choice!  I used an extra "window", some leftover sashing, and some fun orange butterfly yardage from the line to make a pieced backing.

For binding, I chose a fiery red pindot fabric, which echoed the bright red in some of the prints, and there's a tiny piece of white inserted, too.

I machine-quilted this one in simple straight lines along the windows to make a grid. I also added some nice red hand-stitched details.  

This little one has yet to find a good home! (quick, someone, have a kid...), so it's in the shop for now! (SOLD)

XL Improv Quilt

This super-sized improv block quilt, finished last summer, remains one my my favorites, both for its simplicity and for the little extra details that make me smile.

I made this for a friend who told me she liked solids and Gees Bend quilts a lot (who doesn't?), and more subdued colors than I usually work with. I went ahead and created an XL improvised patchwork strip with navy, cream, and a hint of violet.  It was so fun to make, and I couldn't resist adding some quirky elements.

I hid some little vintage-y print scraps with tape measures, as well as some hand-stitched details.

It's a relief, sometimes, to work with a constrained palette, and I think solids swing the quilt's focus to shapes and patchworked textures.

It's backed and bound in medium gray, with the exception of  tiny bits of bright green and violet that I couldn't resist!

It's quilted in double organic horizontal lines-- close enough to give it some structure, but far enough apart to keep it very soft.

I'm  really interested in continuing to make quilts with this blown-up quality: taking a quilt block concept and making it extra-large.  Like this one, too.  Hm.

Sometimes, even if you're feeling a little bit too grown-up, you can still just wrap yourself in a quilt.

This quilt was also featured on Modern Day Quilts, an amazing eye candy collection that never fails to inspire!

XL Ikat: A "Modern" Red and White Quilt

Just over a year ago, I was lucky enough to visit Infinite Variety: Three Centuries of Red and White Quilts, an exhibition put together by the American Folk Art Museum. (Follow the link to check it out!)

Basically, this one lady's 3 zillion red and white quilts were on display in a huge, hangar-like armory.  I was just... overcome.  Not just by all the amaaazzzzing quilts, but also because of the sheer quantity of human creativity hours put into making them all.

At one point, I almost started crying when I saw this quilting:

(sorry for the cell phone picture)

It's totally not perfect.  Not at all.  Not even close. Which is what makes it so perfect.
I was empowered:  orange peels and curves (and hand-quilting) are hard.  Whoever this lady was, she just went for it.

I was also struck with how very "modern" these pieces were, despite being quite old, in many cases.

To me, these quilts were also standing in for all the women behind their creation.  Maybe they were sewing for fun, maybe by necessity, but each quilt shows serious craftsmanship and love.  And, through this effort, we're connected, those ladies and me.

Later that year, a friend of mine requested a custom quilt, inspired by her own visit to the exhibit. Win-win!  She drafted up a cool idea, with a sort-of Native-American, XL ikat spot center, and I translated that into a quilt.

I used just two fabrics: Kona Snow and Kona Tomato solids.  It's a generous lap quilt, measuring about 60x70 inches.  I quilted it in randomly spaced horizontal and vertical lines to make an irregular grid.

I realized that I had made twice as many flying geese as I needed (using the second method here makes a lot, pretty easily), so I put 'em in the back.

As a very tangible connection to all those red and white quilts of the past, I was so excited to make this one!

Quilting Bee Spotlight: New Bee on the Block

 

With a nice long holiday weekend in the fresh air behind me, I'm quite happy.  But my sewing machine had to stay behind!  So I decided to work a bit more on chronicling my past work, specifically, for New Bee on the Block, a quilting bee started and hosted by the wonderful Shanna to help people get into the quilting bee world.

Um, it worked for me!  Last July, I was a total Newbie.

If you're interested in joining a quilting bee, I'd say: 1) sign up for Flickr and post some photos of your work 2) visit the Quilting Bee Blocks group's discussion thread where people post about new bees they're organizing to see what's going on!

I really appreciate the collective effort and group atmosphere of virtual bees.  I don't have a community of quilters in "real life", and it's so fun to have these deluxe virtual penpals.  They are so supportive and cheerful, and I love the updated version of a historical pastime!  We gather around glowing screens instead of glowing fires in a barn (yes, that's how I imagine back-in-the-day quilting bees), but the sentiment and outcomes are the same.

I've been so lucky to work with this group of very talented quilters!  New Bee on the Block is a 12-month, non-themed bee, where each month, one member sends out fabric and instructions (for whatever they want!) to each of the 11 other members, they sew them up, and send them back.  As you'll see, this bee has exposed me to ALL KINDS of blocks, and has really expanded my skills and sensibilities.

Here's what we've worked on:

July 2011: 

To kick off our bee, Holly sent out fun, bright fabrics to make a perfect pinwheel Merry Go-Round block (without paper-piecing!)

August 2011: 

Ella sent out gray heath and raindrops fabrics and asked for a version of Quiltjane's teardrop block.  It's paper-pieced, and was my first experience with a really non-traditional paper-pieced shape.

September 2011: 

For our first taste of free-form quilt bee blocks, Lina gave us very simple guidelines:  rectangular blocks in the theme of books or reading.  What could be better than a stack of books and a cup of tea? I had a lot of fun with this block!  I sketched out a teacup on some graph paper and paper-pieced it,  adding some hand-stitched steam, and swiped a bit of Anna Maria Horner selvage for one of those books :)  

October 2011:

More freedom!  Ellie assigned us any kind of wonky stars we liked!  So, I decided to put a tiny star inside a big one. I just love those elephants.  

November 2011:

Natasha asked for sharp, graphic, Piet Mondrian-inspired blocks.  I got to slice away and piece improvisationally, and I almost stole the honeycomb and herringbone prints she sent!

January 2012:
After a customary December break, Diane got us back into the swing of things with scrappy Japanese x and + blocks from Badskirt.  These fun blocks are all over the place these days, and this was a great opportunity for me to try making them!  Di has been working away at these blocks, and has even started mocking up her quilt.

February 2012: 

In February, Tonya asked us for a paper-pieced Friendship Circle (how appropriate for this bee!) This is one of those blocks that also makes a secondary pattern when you put them all together, and I think this is going to be a really lovely quilt!

March 2012:

For my month, I asked for help making blocks that are all about texture, using Elizabeth Hartman's Mod Mosiac tutorial. I had made a pillow like this before, and I decided I wanted a whole quilt! I switched up the typical scenario, choosing a solid color to frame mostly white scraps, instead of using white for sashing colorful scraps.  The blocks are still coming in, and I can't wait to start putting them together!

April 2012: 

For once, I'm a little ahead of the game!  I finished up this Kansas Dust Storm for Lia, who picked out a bunch of different stars for us to make.  I loved using the springy, fresh colors she sent out for what will be a picnic quilt.  I hope it gets a lot of use!

I'm a little sad that we're approaching our last few months, and excited to see what else is in store!

On a side note, I just learned about what it means to be a no-reply blogger-- basically, people can't easily find you to write back if you leave a comment!  I was one, but fixed it, thanks to Shanna (kind of like your nice friend telling you when you have something on your face...) and this post I found at Pleasant Home. (Are you a no-reply blogger? Do you know how to check?)