QuiltCon Compilation Quilt 2015

This past February I had the pleasure of attending QuiltCon. It was an amazing experience, and I walked away with an overabundance of inspiration. This quilt combines aspects of all four workshops that I took at QuiltCon 2015: Japanese Sashiko Stitching with Maura Ambrose, Emphasis with Carolyn Friedlander, Basic Improv Quiltmaking with Quilters of Gee's Bend and Off the Grid: Creating Alternate Layouts with Lee Heinrich.

I started the improv blocks in the Basic Improv Quiltmaking with Quilters of Gee's Bend workshop. The supply list called for old clothes, so I brought a couple of my husband’s old dress shirts and some coordinating quilting cotton scraps. There wasn’t a lot of structure in the class, so I left with a stack of improv blocks and no idea what to do with them.

While the improv blocks sat untouched in my WIP pile, I pondered what to make to enter in the QuiltCon 2016 show. I really enjoyed the 2015 show, and wanted to contribute something special to the next one. One day, it hit me: why not make a quilt that showcased what I had learned at the last QuiltCon?

First, a made a scrappy version of Carolyn Friedlander’s Emphasis block. You can find the pattern in her book, Savor Each Stitch. Paper piecing still isn’t my favorite technique, but I enjoyed taking a more improv approach to this one, in order to make sure that it played well with the Gee’s Bend blocks.

Using the dimensions of the Emphasis block as a guide, I trimmed down and built up my improv blocks into rectangles. I laid them out in an alternate grid, with the Emphasis block offset as an asymmetrical focus point, inspired by Lee Heinrich’s Off the Grid class. I made sure to make enough blocks so that the end result measured 37” square, just big enough to be too big for the Small Quilts category of the show.

After the top was pieced, the fun began. Using the circular motif that Maura Ambrose had taught in her Sashiko class, I hand quilted concentric circles one inch apart, using the middle of the Emphasis block as the starting point. I used a Sashiko needle and thread, and no hoop, just like in the class. At first, it was challenging to hand quilt a larger piece without a hoop. Once I got the hang of it, I loved it. Stacking stiches on the large needle made for quick stitching and the thread glided through the fabric in the loveliest way. Since I really wanted to finish this quilt in time to submit it to the 2016 show, I worked on it whenever I could, but I was a little bit sad when it was finished because I enjoyed quilting it so much. I already have plans for my next quilt using this technique.

In the end, I am extremely satisfied with my QuiltCon compilation quilt. I feel that it expresses the spirit of each of the classes I took. Even if it isn’t accepted into the show, it’s a wonderful souvenir of my trip and all that I learned. 



Update: Linking up with Scraptastic Tuesday at she can quilt and Finish It Up Friday at crazy mom quilts.

Improv Composition Book Cover

Tonight at the #Epicmeetup2015* there will be a composition book cover swap. Normally, I’m not one for swaps, but since I intend to experience as much of the event as possible, I decided to give it a try. While it didn’t turn out quite like my vision, it’s my first ever composition book cover, so I’m cutting myself some slack.

I used the suggested tutorial by Amy Dame. It worked well enough, but if I make one again, I would use a much smaller patchwork piece to start. The tutorial recommends making the piece 27”x17”, while I think 27”x12” would be sufficient. I lost a bunch of my focus fabric when I cut down my patchwork piece, which is the main reason I’m not thrilled with what I made.

For the patchwork panel, I knew early on that I wanted to use the improv strip piecing technique. I found a cursive print in my stash for my focus fabric, added some black, white and blue fabrics and went to town. My initial fabric pull wasn’t varied enough, so I raided my mom’s never ending scrap basket for more pieces in my colorway. (Thanks, mom!)

I enjoyed the improv process and liked the fabrics I picked, especially the black and white stripe. If I ever make a composition cover again, I’ll be more mindful of the finished size and maybe sketch out a more detailed plan for the patchwork. Sometimes going with the flow is good, and sometimes a project could benefit from more forethought.

*Formerly known as the Pacific Northwest Modern Quilt Guild Meet-Up

Bittersweet Shards Wall Quilt

This May, I had the opportunity to take Krista Hennebury’s Improv Under the Influence class at Drygoods Design. I would have taken the class alone, but was thrilled when I learned that my mom and three other members of the Seattle Modern Quilt Guild would be taking the class with me. It was a fantastic day, full of learning and laughter, sun and sewing. I loved the technique Krista taught, which uses chain piecing to make improv accessible to quilters who are more familiar with traditional quilting methods. I do love me some chain piecing! Since Krista had us come with our fabric precut, the project started coming along quickly and I left with a quilt top that was approximately a third complete, which was very satisfying.

If I had so much fun at the class, why is this quilt named “Bittersweet Shards”? Well, the fat quarters used in this top were from when I belonged to the Pink Chalk Fabric solids club. I’m still sad that they are no longer in business. However, I really like Circa 15, a new brick-and-mortar quilt shop in Kirkland, where I bought the backing and binding. Losing a favorite quilting store is bitter, but finding a new one close by is sweet! The “Shards” part is because while I was working on this quilt, I discovered The Stormlight Archive series by Brandon Sanderson, and it was all Shardplate this and Shardblade that, and I thought the improv pieces looked rather shard-like.

For the quilting, I used blue and purple Aurifil thread to go back and forth in each section, outlining and bisecting each shard. My favorite parts of the quilt are the “chessboard” in the middle and the contrasting strip pieced sections. I really should do some strip pieced improv soon.

If you’re a Modern Quilt Guild member, you can find Krista’s original “Chess on the Steps” quilt as the September 2014 pattern of the month. I highly recommend taking the class if you get the chance. Krista has a very friendly and helpful teaching style, and the technique is pretty great too!

Loony Improv Mini Quilt

As you know, I was fortunate enough to participate in an Improv Round Robin during the recent Seattle Modern Quilt Guild retreat. The night before the retreat, I was packing with “help” from my 3-year-old daughter. I needed to pull four fat quarters and a bag of scraps for the round robin, but wasn’t feeling very inspired, so I let my daughter help guide my fabric selection. I ended up with a palette that was outside of my comfort zone, and a bag of very random scraps. Before the retreat, I thought that the bag of scraps would be used on other people’s pieces. Once we sat down at the retreat to listen to the instructions, I learned that it was intended for use on my piece. I hastily pulled a handful of scraps that I thought might coordinate with my fat quarters, and stowed the rest away. This is what I ended up with:
 

When we were given the go-ahead to start, I hardly knew what to do, so I fell back on one of my favorite speedy techniques: strip piecing. After 15 minutes, I had a block that was improvisational and included all four of my main fabrics. This is what I passed on to the next quilter in the round robin:
 

By the time we were done, three other guild members had worked on my mini quilt. I loved it in and of itself, and as a momento of an awesome weekend. A couple weeks after the retreat, I pulled it out, grabbed some coordinating Pearl Bracelets for the backing and basted it up. I decided to use my initial strip pieced portions as the focal points, and used ½” echo quilting to fill in the rest. The quilting was very satisfying because I really enjoy echo quilting, but due to the small size of the piece, it didn’t take very long at all! Binding was over in a flash, and was made out of the same fabric as the backing.
 

I was stumped for a name, so I again consulted my three-year-old. When I held the mini quilt up before her, she declared that she loved it and that it was named “Loony.” I’ll make a quilter out of her yet.

Crazy for Blue

My take on Fun Quilts’ Call Me Crazy quilt has been over two years in the making. I don’t remember exactly when I made the first block, but I restarted this quilt in April 2011. It was my first introduction to improv piecing, and I loved every minute I spent working on it. I found the colors and fabrics soothing to work with, and the technique invigorating.

 

Sadly, progress on this quilt stalled after I pieced the rows together. I looked upon its incompleteness daily until I realized what the hold-up was: I hate borders! Yes, they look lovely on some quilts, but I thoroughly dislike actually sewing them on. Since I intended for this quilt to be a lap quilt from the beginning, in the end I simply left the quilt without borders and moved forward.

 

I quilted Crazy for Blue with straight line quilting, and used blue Aurifil thread on the crazy pieced blocks and white on the sashing. The binding is 2” binding left over from my first ever quilt. (I inadvertently made double the binding needed for that quilt.) Part of me is sad that this quilt is finished, but the rest of me is pleased as punch to be using it.

Scattered Seaglass

Oh, improv. So soothing, so meditative. Give me a stack of scraps and I could make crazy blocks all day long. I started these blocks in Katie’s class last July, and I took full advantage of access to her scrap bin.

 

Back home, I just kept adding more and more of my own scraps, with no particular plan in mind. When I evaluated my WIP list at the end of 2012, I found that I had enough blocks to make a decent wallhanging to complement Seaside Cabin, also from Katie’s class.

 

Ruthlessly, I chopped up any incomplete blocks and incorporated them into the backing. For the quilting, I had a blast with straight line echo quilting. I’m sure I’ll come back to crazy blocks again sometime, but for now I’ll continue to whittle down my WIP list.

Seaside Cabin

Log cabin blocks make me happy. The first quilt I ever made was a log cabin quilt, but I’ve more or less avoided the pattern since then, as there are so many blocks and techniques that I haven’t tried yet. A few weeks ago, I took Katie’s Improvisational Patchwork class, and one of the techniques was making an improv log cabin. We started with a strip pieced center, and then added scrappy logs to the design wall until we were happy with the results. I liked mine so much that I made a mini quilt out of it. (I also used a couple other blocks from the class in the backing.) Finishing at 8” by 12”, it was the perfect size for one of the walls in our house. This mini is named Seaside Cabin because the colors and relaxed piecing technique remind me of vacationing by the sea.

Improvisational Patchwork Class

Last Saturday was awesome! My mom and I headed down to the Quilting Loft to take an Improvisational Patchwork class from Katie Pedersen. Six hours of creativity, companionship, and learning new (to us) techniques went by in a flash. The class was loosely based on Katie and Jacquie’s book, Quilting Modern:Techniques and Projects for Improvisational Quilts, as Katie taught each of the techniques in turn: Free-Piecing, Strip-Piecing, Stitch and Flip Triangles, Slice and Insert, Improvisational Log Cabin, Improvisational Curves and Crazy-Piecing. Strip-piecing and crazy-piecing were my favorites, although I am very pleased with my wonky log cabin block.

The night before the class, I gathered a good selection of turquoise and green scraps to use in a small wall quilt. Since the quilt I started last time I took a class from Katie is still unfinished, I wanted to make something small that I could complete quickly and enjoy using. Katie generously put her scrap bins at our disposal, so I ended up returning home with more scraps than I had brought with me!

I also ended up with eight blocks in three different styles that I liked. I think I’ll turn the log cabin block into a mini quilt, but I’m not sure what to do with the rest. I’m inclined to keep sewing until I tire of the techniques or deplete my pile of turquoise and green scraps. Either of those options might take a while.

All in all, we had great time! I’m already itching to take another class soon!

Photo by Debbie

Scattered Chevron Table Runner

“La inspiración existe, pero tiene que encontrarte trabajando.”

Pablo Picasso

One of my favorite artists is Pablo Picasso. Whenever I feel uninspired in my sewing, I remember his advice that inspiration must find you working, and I find it in me to carry on. Most of the time, my quilts are made from someone else’s patterns, or are inspired by someone else’s quilt. Once in a blue moon, I find inspiration in an unlikely place, and the resulting quilt is just that much more satisfying. Even more rewarding is when the quilt is made with someone special in mind. My Scattered Chevron Table Runner is doubly dear to my heart as it was inspired by a piece of wood art and by a person who has inspired me these past few years.

It is no secret that I love Pinterest. For me, it is another way to connect online with people I like, as well as a place to find inspiration and entertainment. A while ago, a colleague pinned this piece of art, and I repinned it as possible inspiration for a future quilt. A short time later, my colleague announced that she was leaving for another company. I have always admired her work ethic, style, and ability to be well-respected in a field dominated by the opposite gender, while still being true to herself as a person and as a woman. I knew that I had to make her something quilted as a farewell gift, as she is a sewist herself. I remembered the art that I had repinned and with very little time at my disposal, pulled a few fabrics from my stash and just started sewing. I began this piece at the first Seattle Modern Quilt Guild sew-in I attended. As I sewed, this small quilt developed deeper meaning.

The front of this piece symbolizes my colleague’s ability to create meaningful insight from black and white data. The back symbolizes her creative and colorful personal style, as well as her vibrant personality. Finally, the binding is symbolic of her strong individuality.

The improv piecing on this quilt was very challenging, but I am very happy with how it turned out. It was difficult to part with this table runner, just as it was difficult to part with my esteemed colleague. However, instead of focusing on what is lost, I choose to focus on what was gained. I am glad I had the opportunity to work on this quilt, and more importantly, I am glad I had the opportunity to work with this fantastic woman.

Linking up with Sew Modern Monday, as this is the most modern quilt that I have made to date.

Blueberry Muffin

Name: Blueberry Muffin

Pattern: Improv

Fabrics: Scraps from Blueberry Pie

Dimensions: 18” by 18”

Started: February 2012

Finished: March 2012

Favorite Blueberry Muffin Recipe: Page 53 of The Cupcake Café Cookbook by Ann Warren & Joan Lilly.

Linking to: Tuesday at the Table at A Quilter's Table, Scrap Attack at Stitched In Color and Finish It Up Friday at crazy mom quilts.