Chubby Churn Dash Mini

Aurifil is hosting a Designer of the Month program, featuring little quilts that are fast to make. I didn't get around to the January program, even though it was by one of my favorite designers, Gudrun Erla (from Iceland!). February's project by Joanne Figueroa was cute though, and it showed up just as I was pondering what to do with the small remaining length of my background-neutral architectures yardage:

I can't get enough of this as a background -- from Carolyn Friedlander's Architextures line.

I just pulled out some scraps from near the tops of various heaps, because this pattern didn't need much of any one fabric. It took an evening to make the top, then another couple of sessions to do the spiral quilting. I did nine separate spirals, starting in the center of each block with a thread that matched that block. I did a little echoing around the edges using grey, because I didn't want the floppy edges that sometimes happens when you don't quilt evenly the whole way to the binding. Cute cute cute! I'm looking forward to doing the rest of these over the coming year.

Chunky Churndash mini -- 23 x 23" 

Close-up of quilted spirals on Chunky Churndash mini

Honey Mini class (busy as a bee)

The monthly mini class that I've been teaching all year finally got to my favorite one in the book, the hexagon Honey pattern. In addition to the sample that I made last year, I also made both a full-size quilt and two more minis in preparing for yesterday's class.

This one will be a pillow in the newly painted family/sewing room.

Honeycomb!! 

I recently acquired the Urban Threads "Mini Menagerie" collection, and this seemed like the perfect setting for the bee. I LOVE LOVE LOVE how this turned out!

The five students in the class made some pretty spectacular projects. Sara C used a musical instrument novelty as her print with rich wood-colored fabrics, Sara F used a beautiful combination of batiks and Asian prints, Nancy worked in some (for her) muted colors and was on her way to a lovely little autumnal project, Tina used fiery brights and a gorgeous print for the insets, and Liz made this:

Awesome use of Beatles fabric!

I'm getting down to the last cherished scraps of the Beatles prints that I have had in my Strategic Fabric Reserves, but this might be a good way to make the most of what's left in there.

Rapid City class sample

One of the things I did while resting my fingers from the microhexies is to get ready for this month's Modern Mini class at Lisa's Clover Hill Quilts, so I whipped up another Rapid City sample, this time using the Ghastlies fabric that I am hoarding. I wanted a background that pulled out the accent pink in the print, but I didn't have enough of any one of my batik scraps. Exigency led me to use a slightly lighter pink in the upper left corner of the border and a slightly darker one in the lower right; I mitered the corners where the colors met to make the whole thing look like it's on a beveled surface. I think the full-size quilt would look good this way too. It's amazing what a difference such a little detail can make.

Beveled-edge Rapid City witches (17 x 22")

Sewin' Hexies Like a BOSS

Behold the sky!

Micro-hexie SKY (24" wide)

Definitely in the homestretch now...but for a few days, my fingers are taking a break for some larger-scale projects.

Mini Neighborhood Class

It's the first Sunday of the month = time for another monthly mini class! This month's project was Neighborhood, which is a super-fast log cabin technique. We talked in class about doing this as a stitch-and-flip project; it would be a fast way to make a big quilt-as-you-go project.

Teaching this class is making me feel like a quilting midwife -- here are today's projects!

Liz used a friend's photo of a flicker as her centerpiece. Love that dotty background!

Sue's chicken coop is awesome! We learned that a fat quarter is JUST enough to do the background when you use a directional print like these eggs. Don't you just want to hang this in your kitchen and tuck into a big fluffy omelet??

Sara made this adorable little bird project. She has really gotten into the spirit of the whole
"Modern Patchwork" thing !

Tina used a terrific retro print surrounded by some sewing-motif prints; she's going to add a thought-bubble applique that says "Will the glamour never end?" Ha!

This is my class sample. A little plain but I like the sun. I'm hoping that some quilting will jazz it up a bit...

Holiday trimmings

I had meetings every single night this week. That caught up with me on Saturday, when I slept in and couldn't face the idea of leaving the house again. I actually forewent (is that a word?) a trip to the SAQA meeting in Guilford, which was the first time I could have gone all year. But wow, it was great to spend the weekend holed up in my creativity nook. My spouse mentioned that we didn't really have any Christmas wall hanging quilts, which surprised me because I feel like I have made a lot of them. Turns out I never finish them; they have all just been hanging out in the UFO bin. That defined my Saturday.

Back in June when we went to the Vermont Quilt Festival, I found a teensy weensy twister ruler that I couldn't resist. When I got back to Connecticut, I got right down to the business of sewing 2.5" squares together, then cutting them up again. My cute little tree has been all wrapped up in batting since then, wanting only a border. I did some scrounging in the closet and found a piece that was perfect, nice holiday jewel tones on a background that makes the whole thing look like brownish wood from a distance, with just a hint of gold for holiday glitz. I bordered, quilted, and bound this little sparkler in the early part of the day. I still need to attach a few teensy weensy jingle bells, which I'll just tie randomly over the tree; that will be a good task for Tuesday morning's piano lesson. After that, DONE: ready to hang!

I left the cutting mat visible for scale. These little pieces are only a quarter of a square inch.

Detail of background meander quilting, done with rayon thread.

After that, I pulled out my Baby it's Cold Outside embroidery piece and got brave with a new motif I saw in Angela Walters' most excellent book. I filled a few pages in my practice journal with this one before putting thread in the machine. It was tricky, and I could probably have benefited from a little more patience, but this was a little job so I got to it. Not too bad, although working around the embroidery in the center was a little challenging. You can see where the shapes got a little off scale, but overall I'm pleased with the look. I still need to slap a binding on this one, but that will be quick. I'm also planning to tie a few rhinestones onto the snowflakes in the embroidery (can you tell that holidays are very sparkly around here?). I would like to use this motif to quilt my autumn Rapid City, which has been pinned and waiting for two weeks, but I don't know if I'm confident enough in the motif to commit to a whole job.

Brrrrrrrrrrrr (from the "Waffletime" pattern, Atkinson Designs)

Here's another fun little holiday job that I threw together on Friday night at the midnight sewing extravaganza at Lisa's. I left it on the wall overnight, and my older son (who doesn't usually comment) noticed it and complimented it first thing on Saturday. I'll take it. My plan is to use a few decorative stitches to add some "icing" details to give the houses a gingerbread look, then some simple quilting to get it on the wall.

From the "Neighborhood" pattern (Modern Patchwork, Elizabeth Hartman). Love that Bumble!

This table runner has also been hiding in the batting bin waiting for my attention. I'll try to get to it this weekend; I'm planning simple straight line quilting like I did on the Pink Rink one (hey! I just noticed I never posted a "finished" photo for it!), but that is a more time-consuming process than I originally thought it would be!

From the "Roller Rink" pattern (Modern Patchwork, Elizabeth Hartman)

For those of you who wonder if I sleep, Yes! I slept until after 8:30 this morning...then got up and enjoyed the maple oatmeal scones that my ten-year-old had baked the night before! We had to talk him down from his plans to ALSO make a blueberry cobbler with custard sauce AND a German apple pancake. What a kid, huh?

Numbers 10 and 11 finished

Although these still need labels and hanging sleeves, two more of the Modern Patchwork minis are bound and finished! I stitched the binding down in front of a friend's fireplace on a chilly New England evening...a wonderful, hygge-filled evening if ever there was one.

"Looptastic" miniature

"Happy Hour" miniature

I just finished (!) the quilting on the last one; I'll make some binding later this afternoon and finish it (and maybe some sleeves) during today's football games.

And now my attention turns to some hush-hush secret projects that I can't yet blog about...but I can't wait to!

Happy Hour mini

Here it is..."Happy Hour," the twelfth and final miniature from Elizabeth Hartman's book:

And that's the LAST ONE! I made EVERY SINGLE THING in that book!

This is only partially quilted right now; I did some nice feathers in the rounded parts, but I can't decide what to do in the background sections. I think a meander would be lost in the busy fabric and would compete with the feathers. I might just pop the walking foot on and do some shape echoing. This picture doesn't really do the piece justice - it's very dark and the fabrics all have different very small-scale optical illusion prints.

Believe it or not, I am not tired of these patterns. I could just keep making them over and over. I have several plans for making larger versions of some of them, and I'm sure they will remain favorite "go-tos" for a long time.

So, what's next...? Maybe this; I think I'm going to buy the three-year International Quilt Festival download (which, incidentally, also has a pattern by Elizabeth Hartman that I've had my eye on):

Marbles Table Runner, pattern by Brigitte Heitland. 

Odds 'n' ends

In case you're looking for something to read besides political coverage, here are a few things I have been working on over the last few busy weeks. (We're coming up on the holiday season, of course, so I won't be posting about some of my projects until the new year.) I finished another of the Modern Patchwork miniatures, this time the Owl Eyes:

"Owl Eyes" pattern from Modern Patchwork (Elizabeth Hartman)

I am really happy with how the quilting on the Owl Eyes came out. I was trying the Paisley motif from Leah Day's excellent website (if you need ideas for free-motion quilting, it's THE site to visit) using Sulky Blendables (30 wt), which has become my go-to quilting thread. If you want to try it, make sure you use a needle with a really big eye -- I use a 100/16 topstitch needle. I do a lot of pencil-and-paper practice before I try a new motif on the machine. I find that when my hand can draw the design while relaxed, instead of holding onto the pencil for dear life, it's time to give it a try with thread.

I have two more tops from the same book hanging on my design wall, shivering in the chilly air while waiting  for some quilting of their own:

"Looptastic" miniature in autumn scraps

"Escape Artist" miniature in citrusy brights

That makes eleven minis from this book; there's only one more pattern left! Seven of these little minis are hanging at Lisa's Clover Hill Quilts, where I'll be teaching one pattern a month all next year. Last Friday night, I finally got a chance to go there for some sewing, and it was so exciting to see them all together...a feast for my eyes! The semester is wrapping up quickly for CCSU, so I am anticipating lots of nice wintery stitching time in my very near future. I'll get to the Happy Hour (love the name!) in the next few weeks, along with some more UFO quilting, lots of holiday gifts, and who knows what other new projects that may present themselves to me. Hmm, I did pick up a new Rita Hutchens pattern at the Newington Schoolhouse Quilters meeting last night...

Political distraction

To survive the interminable debate, I did a boring job that has been hanging around for several weeks: edge-stitching a zillion little appliqued pieces down. This is the top for the miniature version of the Owl Eyes quilt from Modern Patchwork:

"Owl Eyes" pattern by Elizabeth Hartman

I really love this effect, but I'll never make a full-size quilt with this pattern. The unstitched ovals would sit in a pile for a hundred years. I'll get this quilted up in no time, probably with an allover chevron or something that contrasts with the roundness. My favorite part of the process was putting away my bin of embroidery threads; they had been sitting directly under my desk lamp while I sewed, so the glow-in-the-dark collection was fully charged and is still glowing a half-hour later. Fun!

Toodle-oo September!

Even by my standards, I had an incredibly productive weekend. (This was helped by the fact that I have a head cold and am just congested enough that sitting down for a long time results in compromised respiratory functioning.) Brace yourself for this...here's what I accomplished:

I completed all of the quilting -- wavy border lines and 30 (!) embroideries -- on the Beatles quilt. However, I did have to remove one of the embroideries due to tension problems. I'll restitch this one and bind it up later this week, after I replenish my black Aurifil. That stuff lasts forever -- I use it for all my piecing, and it worked great in embroidering these quilt motifs -- but I burn through it!

Quilting the Beatles!

I made and attached binding to my cute little Pink Rink quilt, which by tomorrow night will be in the "Finished in 2012" list. I'll post finished photos when the binding is stitched down.

I quilted and bound the mini "Fire Drill" from Modern Patchwork. I'm not terribly in love with this one; I was experimenting with softer colors than the ones I prefer. Lesson learned.

"Fire Drill" mini (binding is still loose in this photo)

I quilted my orange squares for the Rainbow Scrap challenge. (I was thinking this was the only orange project I finished this month, but I guess the autumnal Rapid City started as an orange buster too.) I have eight of these finished now:

Simple spiral quilting on the orange squares.

Finally, sometime mid-week I realized that September was nearly over but I hadn't made anything for the Color Palette challenge. I really love this month's photo:

September photo for Judy Laquidara's Color Palette Challenge

I pulled my bins of appropriately colored scraps and got to work. The boys noticed that the colors are very similar to the colors in April's challenge (remember mine?); I agree -- I actually thought the moldy pie reminded me of the springs and pools at Yellowstone. Inspired by Elizabeth Hartman's new version of her Glam Garlands quilt that she's been working on this month, I decided to use my Wing Clipper ruler to make a version with a bunch of flying geese. Here's what I came up with:

Garlands of Geese (42 x 52"). Completed for September Color Palette Challenge.

A new habit that I'm trying to develop is to prepare the back at the same time that I complete a top; I'm thinking they're less likely to languish in the UFO bin if both pieces are ready to go when I'm ready to baste something. Here's the back for the September geese:

Pieced back for the Garlands of Geese quilt.

And it's only 7:50 on Sunday. What to do, what to do...

Honey Mini

Still loving the Modern Patchwork projects! My menfolk were out of town for two days last week, so I enjoyed nearly 48 continuous hours of stitchery related time. I spent one very fun day shop hopping with a friend, and the rest of the time watching a Law & Order: SVU marathon (Why would I do such a thing?, one might wonder...because I love bad television and Diagnosis Murder isn't on Netflix) and sewing. And petting dogs.

Largely because of my personal stitch-a-thon, I managed to finish two projects -- one big, one small -- today. (Technically, the hanging sleeves and labels aren't complete, but to my mind, once that binding is stitched down, it's a Finish.) The first one I'll share is the miniature version of the Elizabeth Hartman's Honey quilt, the hexagons on the cover of the book. I do love my hexagons.

I chose my colors for August's color palette challenge:

I dropped the red from my project and focused on the feather itself. I pulled out a few chunks of  taupe-y grayish browns and some scraps of blue left from my mom's Sudoku table runner (the one shown in my banner at the top of the blog). Here's the top all marked up for some isometric grid quilting:

I did a variation on the theme of the orange-peel motif that I've been using for my big taupe quilt, but on a triangular grid rather than square...I made a flower of life!! I do believe I have decided how I'll be quilting the scrappy hex top that's waiting so patiently in my overflowing UFO bin.

Although marking the lines took a little time, this quilting uses such a gentle curve that it could even be done with a walking foot rather than free motion. I'm including both photos because, whatever I did with that camera, they came out great for showing the quilting!

The last photo didn't come out as well because it's dark and I was excited to get this post up, but here it is all bound and done!

Xylophone miniature

This is the Xylophone pattern from Modern Patchwork.

I love this scallop print fabric so much -- I acquired it for my tropical hexagon sampler a few years back, and this is the last little scrap of it. I couldn't be happier with the look of this little gem, but I probably won't make the full-size quilt since it's a technique that wastes quite a bit of fabric. That's too sad for me. :(

Unnamed miniature, based on Xylophone pattern by Elizabeth Hartman (8.5 x 23")

If you're one of my thousands of readers who are following along and have the book too, you might notice that I skipped the Fire Drill pattern. Not exactly...I have the top done, but I haven't quilted it yet and it certainly won't photograph well at night.

Rapid City mini

Last night I quilted the Rapid City miniature (from the Elizabeth Hartman's Modern Patchwork book, of course). I did an Asian-inspired motif, which was harder than I thought it should be. It did get easier as I went though...practice, practice, practice! Plain black binding, which I spent time this spring preparing many, many yards of. I'm not even editing that last sentence.

Unnamed (17.25 x 22.25"), based on Rapid City pattern by Elizabeth Hartman.

Rapid City miniature

Between storms last night, I put together a miniature Rapid City from Modern Patchwork. I really like how this came out; the taupey grays are very warm and rich, and I think they give this a very elegant flair. It's not quilted yet. I'll probably end up using plain black thread, but if I can some dark variegated thread with a hint of this plummy red, I'll use that instead.

This would be a terrific scrap pattern, either controlled for a specific color way (I'm thinking autumn fabrics, with cream background & brown borders) or just random willy-nilly scraps. I think I'm going to make this my next scrap buster; it uses fabrics a variety of sizes, including some pretty small bits, and she gives very specific directions about how many of each to cut.

Glam Garlands miniature

While we were watching the Olympics today, I found a quilting design that I really liked for the third miniature from Elizabeth Hartman's Modern Patchwork book. Click here and take a look at the purple wall -- I liked the random-angled lines and I thought it would complement these bell-like shapes.

I used a FriXion heat-erase pen to mark a bunch of lines across the quilt. You kind of have to steel yourself to draw across your quilt with black ink! I stitched right across the lines with the walking foot (no free-motion on this one), took it to the ironing board and with one quick pass, the black lines disappeared. Those pens are AWESOME for marking!

I didn't want heavy quilting on this one -- I like the airy effect of these shapes on the white background; it reminds me of a tropical windchime (...hey, maybe that's a good name...) -- so the quilting only took a few minutes. I stitched the binding and the hanging sleeve on while we watched Casino Royale. I don't really get the whole 007 thing. Every single scene, all I could think of was Austin Powers. ("I'm Richie Cunningham, and this is my wife Oprah.") Perhaps THAT would be an even better name for this mini.

Unnamed (12 x 24"). From "Glam Garlands" pattern by Elizabeth Hartman.

I put a bird on it

The fourth (although I haven't yet quilted the third) of my Modern Patchwork miniatures is done! I actually had some perfect bird fabric with just the right scale for this pattern. A simple meander for quilting took no time at all. The name is inspired by a Portlandia sketch (love that show!).

"I put a bird on it" (15" x 15") from  Elizabeth Hartman's "Neighborhood" pattern 

Great day at the FLQS today stitching with friends!

Color planning

Giving some preliminary thoughts to the third Modern Patchwork miniature (Glam Garlands). I want to do this one in a "tertiary triadic" color scheme...

...so I started pulling some possible fabric choices:

Maybe the yellow-greens are more chartreuse (according to my color tool, anyway), but I like the way these colors aren't quite primary. Just a peek into the process phase...

Modern Miniature

I spent the day making the second miniature quilt, Roller Rink, from the Modern Patchwork book that I am so loving. I had some scraps of the four-value gray fabric that I bought several years ago when I took Anna Faustino's weaving class; this went together in a snap (it's only 16"). I quilted it in straight lines with nice long stitches using 12-wt white Sulky, in half-inch increments on the diagonal.

Roller Rink Miniature (16 x 16"), July 2012

Just for fun, I switched to yellow thread for one quilting line.

Although I typically steer clear of black and gold in the same quilt (sorry, Pittsburgh!), this is really a series of greys and I do like grey with yellow. This pattern is a terrific use for the brown and pink pieces of four-value fabrics that I have been hoarding until the right project comes along. I have enough of each to make either a cute little 36 x 48" baby quilt or a pair of table runners using this pattern.

Next up: a lengthy three-part basting session tomorrow afternoon. Time to get those pins back to work!

Nailed it

July's Color Palette Challenge is based on a Picasso painting:

I'm not the world's biggest fan of blue, but this deep cobalt is appealing. I decided to make a mini-quilt based on the Metropolis Quilt from Elizabeth Hartman's book Modern Patchwork. This is made from nine strips, which only took a few minutes to cut:

"Woven Tic Tac Toe" (19.5 x 19.5), from "Metropolis" pattern by Elizabeth Hartman.

Sew, slash, sew, repeat...fast, easy, and a great woven effect! Both of my boys saw this and said, "Wow, I love that pattern!" (but then hedged their enthusiasm with "of course I hate the colors"). They did agree, however, that the colors matched the printed photo of the painting. I did a nice tight square meander, a scrappy binding, and voilà! Done in one evening, and with two full weeks left in July!