Neon Brights

Neon! What else is there to say? Just looking at it makes me want to find some jelly shoes (ouch) and big dangly earrings. I love this quilt so much, and I am so pleased that it will soon be on its way to brighten the nursery of a fresh new baby girl!

Details

• Pattern: Oklahoma, by Villa Rosa Designs
• Finished size: 45 x 57"
• Quilting: freehand free-motion posies in Superior Threads Rainbows, variegated Neons colorway, used on top and in the bobbin
• Eye-popping Factor: 11

Neon delight!

Stitching detail of neon quilt

Back of the neon quilt. I couldn't believe I found a fabric with neon polka dots on soft brown

A Pair of Finishes

Last fall I fell in love with the Forest Floor line of fabric, which eventually turned into a mid-scale Lotus quilt. I probably put some photos on my Facebook page, but it never showed up here and since I just finished quilting and binding it, this seems as good a time as any. This is done with the 6" jewel shape, so each triangle is 10" high.

Finished Lotus quilt. 46 x 60"

I was very happy with the loopy quilting, done with my always-favorite Sulky Blendables in some lovely variegated browns.

Forest Floor Lotus quilt, close up of loopy quilting.

I always save the scraps when I'm using the Hex N More ruler, and (as I posted about already) the scraps of this quilt turned into a wonderful little coordinating wallhanging.

Save those Hex N More scraps! 19 x 26"

I did a little Google-based research (pretty serious stuff) and adjusted the name of the quilt. Apparently "pareidolia" is a specific type of false pattern recognition in which a particular (often human, often facial) image is "recognized," like the man in the moon. It's a subtype of the more general "apophenia," which refers to the human tendency to seek patterns in random information. That works well for this project, which I think looks like it could be (but isn't!) a Microsoft Tag. Plus, with the simple addition of a few letters, I've got a terrific (OK, slightly hokey) quilt name!

Scrapophenia!

 I've been stitching up a storm, so I have a lot more on the way...

Sochi-inspired quilt

Was there a quilter anywhere who was not impressed by the patchwork-themed design work at the Sochi Olympics?

There is something especially beautiful about the irony of the rainbow spectrum of this gorgeous artwork, in light of the human-rights violations that are the reality in modern Russia. As soon as I saw the design, I started piling up fabrics that I wanted to use for my version. I even have all those nifty 60-degree diamond rulers all warmed up! And, lucky me, just before the closing ceremonies, as I was tracking down my isometric graph paper to get to design work, the Hoffman fabric company saved me the effort by publishing a free pattern called When Bali Met Sochi.

This is the batik version of the "When Bali Met Sochi" quilt shown with the Hoffman pattern.

They planned it out for their new line of batiks, which is terrific, but I didn't want to buy anything (much) when I already own a really nice collection of bright mostly-solid geometric prints. The pattern called for 29 (!) fabrics, but I added a few more to make the pattern a little bigger and because I couldn't decide which to omit. I hit the scrap stash pretty hard with this project, so there are a few prints that are only represented in one or two diamonds. I will confess to purchasing a few quarter-yard cuts to round out some blanks in the spectrum -- mostly in the blue range, because I just don't buy those. I could have used a little more color variety within the prints to better approximate the many varied Olympics motifs, but the mostly monotones or analogous prints work well too.

I started cutting the day after I printed the pattern. Cutting all the edge and half-diamond pieces with those skinny 30-degree angles required attention to detail, but it was worth the effort in the end. Interesting tidbit: I didn't even use the 60-degree rulers for the initial cutting (although they were useful for trimming up the pieced diamonds); the ruler I used most was the 2.5 x 18" Omni ruler with the angle lines printed on it -- this was a great opportunity to practice using those angle lines instead of just the straight edges!

The sewing itself was a snap, so the top is already finished and waiting to be quilted!

This is my version of "When Angelina Saw Sochi" - approx. 71 x 77

I have the perfect length of the perfect fabric for the back, which I just washed this morning. I'm planning to iron and piece it this evening, because this project has catapulted to the front of the To-Quilt-Next line!

"Clover Sunshine Favorites" by Alison Glass for Andover Fabrics

And, happy bonus, I am now left with a gorgeous pile of well-pressed, nicely angled, coordinating scraps, all ready for the playing! I cut a bunch of 1" diamond pieces with my Sidekick ruler and whipped up this little beauty:

A mini version of Jaybird's Rock Candy pattern; it's only 10" across the short distance of this hex!

And I'm also working on some freeform piecing with nothing particular in mind...placemats? A table runner? Who knows what will result! Tune in later to find out!

Petticoats and Polio

This pattern goes together so quickly...maybe two evenings to cut the pieces, a few more to piece the blocks...Voilà! Gotta love those lucky ladies with all their fancy modern conveniences!!

"Petticoats and Polio" (60 x 72, Avalon pattern by Elizabeth Hartman)

Another new one!?!

Despite my best intentions of quilting the tops that are waiting upstairs (and a marathon basting session in which I got 5 projects ready to quilt), I still managed to get another new one cut and half pieced this week. The pattern is Avalon by Elizabeth Hartman. I'm going to call this one "Petticoats and Polio" because I don't have a lot of sympathy for false nostalgia.

Two of the four blocks are already finished. I might do a little retro-motif stamping on the solid background, but a variegated quilting thread would fill in the space too. I'll let the possibilities brew for awhile.

This will finish at 60 x 72". (A nice view of the Cloud Nine quilt that I basted yesterday too. I'll post about that one later this week.)

With Halloween eerily looming on the horizon, my sewing machine time will be costume focused for the remainder of the week.

Sexy Pixels: The Mark Harmon Quilt (Season 3, Episode 1)

After an exciting cliffhanger in which the top was completed and the layers basted, Mark Harmon returns in an exciting new season in which the project is quilted.

I sweated over exactly what to do for the quilting. After drawing some quilting lines on a bunch of printouts of the finished top, I quickly realized that I am not skilled enough as a portraitist to attempt facial realism (like eye lines, brow crinkles, etc.). Instead, I decided on just a fairly tight stipple using semi-matching thread colors. I have plain white for the background, black for the dark areas of the eyes, nose, mouth, and jawline, and two shades of grey, the darker for the hair and the lighter for his skin.

Stippling that luxuriant hair!

After a couple hours of quilting, I have finished the hair and most of the shadow areas. I particularly like the way the dark grey thread appears on the darkest fabrics; it's kind of a cool salt-and-pepper effect for His Handsomeness.

A peek behind the scenes

Tune in again for the next installment as Our Hero nears his exciting finale!

Bye-bye baby quilt

The puppy dog baby quilt is en route to its new home in Pennsylvania! I think it's just the sweetest little thing. Here are a few detail shots showing the finished meander quilting, the curved corners, and the custom label.

Finished size 42 x 54". 

The meander quilting was very soft and wiggly (like a baby). This should give a very nice quilty effect once it's washed.

The quilt was a scant hair too wide to use a single fabric, so I pieced these two prints. I love the polka dots at the top -- they look like they were made specifically to go with the doggy fabric.

Daddy is apparently a huge MJ fan, so the Air Jordan had to be on the quilt somewhere by special request. (Baby's name redacted -- sorry, NSA!)

Star of David finished!

I still have to stitch on the little label, but the Star of David quilt is finished! I really love how the flower of life quilting came out.

For Sherri's dad, 64 x 84"

For those of you that are interested in the process, I did all of this quilting with my walking foot. I made a plastic template of just the edge of one-sixth of a 6-inch-radius circle, which I used with a regular chalk marker to mark the gentle S-shapes on every seam line, two times per seam line (S, then backwards S). I did this in all three directions, from the center out. It wasn't the speediest technique -- lots of back and forth from the machine to the marking table -- but I ended up with pretty circular-looking circles so it was worth the effort! A great way to get an allover effect on a pretty big quilt using just a domestic machine and a walking foot!

 

The back coordinates nicely without being too floral or feminine...

Star of David backing fabric!

...and to finish it off, I found the perfect stripe with just a hint of sparkle to use as the binding.

Olive and teal striped binding!

I don't have a photo of the label, but it's a lovely poem, written in both Hebrew and English:

May it be Your will O LORD my God, and the God of my fathers,
To let me lie down in peace, and to let me rise up again in peace.

A coordinating pillowcase too...thank you, Sherri!

A New Project

I recently agreed to make a quilt on commission (!!) for a woman who wants to give it to her father, who is a messianic rabbi. It just so happens that I am super into patterns with 60-degree angles (anyone else have a favorite angle?), so I sketched out a pattern for a large Star of David quilt, with some smaller stars in the center and on the corners:

I'm using 6" triangles to construct the whole thing, because we're aiming to have it finished by mid-March, and big pieces = quick turnaround. She asked for colors that would coordinate in a room that's largely seafoam green, so I pulled out some teals and olives, and all the rest of my light neutral stash, which was already depleted from the Easy Street quilt, and is now completely gone.

Triangles under the setting sun.

After our trip to Old Sturbridge Village (where they were cutting ice off the mill pond and serving warm mulled cider) this morning, we stopped in at That 1.99 Fabric Store (aptly named) and I found some spot-on perfect fabric to use as a binding -- I love striped bindings -- for this quilt:

Couldn't be more perfect for the colors I'm using...also a good checkpoint to keep the olive green accents in line.

I also picked up five yards of this gorgeous print to use as the back. I love that it's the perfect teal/neutral colors, but it's not too feminine.

"Tokyo Rococo" by Andover (which has consistently been my favorite fabric company!)

I spent a few hours cutting triangles, which went a lot more quickly than I had anticipated, then a quick wall arrangement, and this is where I am:

My design wall is seasonally abbreviated by the couch, which we have temporarily moved away from our sliding doors because it's just Too Darn Cold to sit so close to a wall of glass right now. Talk about your first-world problems, huh?

Borders on Easy Street

The borders are ON my Easy Street quilt! Lisa found me the perfect purple batik to use as the inner border, and I had a lovely print of ginkgo leaves that worked perfectly, even to the slight hint of purple that coordinates with the scraps I used:

Ginkgo Leaf Woodland Mist, from Northcott's Stonehenge line

Voila! Now, to get this monster quilted...I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for any "Finished" photos anytime soon, Faithful Readers...

A big finish!!

Easy Street: DONE. I owe it all to our viral contamination and subsequent quarantine. My goal for yesterday was to assemble the nine setting blocks, but once those were done, I decided to start stitching the rows together so I would have less to do today...and when that was done, I decided to sew just two of the rows together to get that out of the way...and then two more...and before I knew it, the whole quilt was in two big chunks. I left it like that overnight (my eyes gave out), then this morning -- after an insane fit of kitchen scrubbery that left me exhausted but with sparkling clean cabinetry -- I pulled those two chunks down and stitched them together.

Main block.

Setting block.

The whole shebang!

Despite its immense size, I think this still needs a simple border. I am really impressed with how Bonnie managed to break this huge project into manageable chunks. If I had seen it completed, I would NEVER have chosen to make this. There is a slight possibility that someday I may even make this again, using the vibrant colors that she suggested in the first place.

And tomorrow, I am re-entering the world!!!!!!!!!!

Cruisin' down Easy Street

Another day of quarantine, another day of nonstop stitchery. I spoke to a nurse at our pediatrician's office, and she confirmed that there is just a brutally long-lasting cough virus wreaking havoc on the state, so we will just continue dosing the boys with OTC meds, herbal teas, honey, and rest. At least there's nothing serious to worry about, and I can feel less guilt about spending so much time in front of my sewing machine.

I have now finished assembling all of the corner and setting triangles for the Easy Street quilt, and I have finished a few of the blocks. I did one of each type just to make sure I was doing them right, then two more of the main block so I could assemble one full corner. At this point, I'm tired of working with these fussy little pieces. I'm putting it away for a while so I can do something brighter and with bigger pieces: instant gratification. When I get it out again, I'll work in true chain-piecing mode, so it will all go together at once.

Primary block (close-up)

I don't think I have ever assembled a quilt on point like this before. Bonnie's directions have made it very easy.

Corner and setting triangles: 84 inches is a really big quilt!

The contrast in these fabrics is subtle, which is not my normal style, but the quilt is turning out to be very pretty; it looks like natural colored marble tiling.

One finished corner!

Sick Days

Somehow my husband has escaped this terrible virus that has decimated the kids and settled in my throat. Blerg. At least I'm not too wiped out for sewing. I started today by diving into the autumn colors Rapid City quilt that I have had basted for several weeks. I decided on swirly cloud quilting, using the humongous cone of thread that my healthy husband got me for Christmas. We got nine or ten inches of snow yesterday, but the sun was out this morning, so my sewing space was bright and warm. The pearly fabric that I used for the block borders was really glowing in the winter light.

When I'm quilting something this big, I appropriate the gateleg table that we normally use as a sofa table, and I set up a TV tray on my right to support the weight of the quilt. The boys were not happy to give up their ginger ale and kleenex stand today.

I got about half of the quilt finished; the swirly motif is looking very nice against the straight lines of the patchwork.

I guess I should start thinking about making some binding for this one!

"Clearing the Decks": Part II

Despite my best intentions, the process of making this quilt got in the way of documentation, so I don't have a lot of in-progress pictures (sorry, Lynn!). Also, my left brain wouldn't cede control, so I ended up with a thoroughly unintelligible sheet of graph paper to make sure everything would fit together in the end. I so much prefer working like a jigsaw puzzle to make the available pieces fit into a final known shape, rather than creating a shape that is undetermined. Anyway, here's the top, minus the borders that are already cut and ready to assemble. I'm going to put a 2" strip of white around this, then a split rail arrangement of 2.5 x 5" bricks to border the whole thing (and use up the precut bricks).

I cleared out two plastic bins AND a bag in making this. This quilt incorporates:

• the scrappy rectangles made from 3" pink, green, and red squares (leftmost column)
• seven unassembled 12" blocks (top and right)
• all the 2" squares that I had (second column), including a leftover block from a Modern Patchwork Roller Rink table runner
• 22 6" blocks (third column and bottom row), some made for the rainbow scrap challenge, 2 from a previous Newington Schoolhouse Quilters mystery quilt, and 2 practice paper pieced palm blocks
• Some leftover 1" squares, already sewed into strips during my Sol Lewitt phase (located along the left edge of the vertical column of six" blocks in the center portion)
• a five" block (incorporated into the border of bricks, because that's where it fit)
• the tumblers and half-rectangle triangles that I cut on the Accucut last January
• the leftover strip of selvedges combined with a few pre-cut bricks

Hurray for cleaning house!

Basting session

Basting Day:

This is my autumn version of Rapid City. Not sure yet how I'm going to quilt it, but I have the perfect shade of Blendables ready to go!

Metropolis blocks assembled

Back in August I whipped up a batch of super bright Metropolis blocks using a rather unusual color combination.

I made a few fabric changes after this point in the block assembly; replaced the batik with a chestnut, and finished with a shimmery light turquoise.

I started with the neat mosaic print that runs vertically between the dark brown bars in the photo above. I have had a yard of this sitting calling to me for years. I think I might have actually bought the fabric before I even started quilting. Weird. I love the combo of orange, purple, and turquoise, and this fabric combines those with chestnut and gold accents. I am always drawn to oranges, especially oranges that don't specifically scream "Halloween!!" (Not that I don't love Halloween - I do! - but I appreciate orange in a much broader context.)

Anyway, these blocks have been in a bin for almost three months largely because I haven't been able to decide what I wanted to do for the sashing. Although the blocks are predominately orange (with purple accents, even!), I didn't really want to end up with a Halloween quilt. I tried dark purple, ivory, chocolate, peach, navy, black...but a bright solid turquoise won the day. I picked some up on my trip to Salem last week and finally have a complete top:

Metropolis quilt (top), 75 x 75". Pattern by Elizabeth Hartman.

This pattern is a great one for working in a tricky multi-color print that you have sitting around. You can combine several different vaguely coordinating prints with a few solids (or near-solids) to pull them all together. And, at this size, you don't really need too much of any one fabric. In the book, she gives yardage requirements for the blocks AND the back, which is a terrific effect for a reversible quilt, but if you ignore the back requirements, it's a great way to use small pieces of a group of lovelies. I don't have the math right in front of me, but I think 6 of the 9 block fabrics use less than a fat quarter.

Congratulations to Melissa and Brian!

A little gift for my neighbor's super-adorable new son.

"Once Upon a Time" story quilt pattern by Fun Quilts (Weeks & Ringle).

Still loving that orange peel motif, which works out easily on a pattern like with a regular grid structure.