LSU Quilt

In honor of the big SEC football game coming up this weekend

and being a Louisiana girl, I was inspired to make an LSU quilt.

LSU vs. Alabama

Both teams are undefeated so far this season.

That  streak will end for one team this Saturday.

The quilt piecing was simple...

Two purple strips, one tiger print strip,

and two cheddar yellow pieces to finish it off.

The quilting was all done by machine with straight lines -

 diagonal on the cheddar, channels on the stripes.

The backing is one big piece of tiger print.

Finished size - 37 x 39 inches.

Sometimes simple is better :-)

Geaux tigers!

CMYK Quilt

One of my English professors once gave us an assignment to describe the room

 without using any verbs. Let's see if I can describe this quilt verblessly. 

Ink colors... cyan, magenta, yellow, and black (or key)... CMYK

  Four strips of bold color and two panels of gray.

Each the width of the fabric, approximately 42 inches.

Easy piecing. Straight line quilting - vertical and diagonal.

Black binding. 

 

Matching Thread

 

Lovely!

Fun and Easy!

For sale on Etsy....

http://www.etsy.com/listing/84737531/cmyk-modern-baby-quilt-or-table-topper

Ruby Quilt

This was my weekend project. Started on it Friday afternoon and finished putting the binding on it at 10pm on Sunday, right as the New Orleans Saints were winning big on Sunday Night Football. It could be used for a baby quilt or a table topper.

I didn't use a pattern... just made it up as I went.

Supplies needed

One Moda charm pack - I used Ruby, but any one will do

One yard - solid white cotton fabric for sashing

One yard - solid red cotton fabric for inside border and binding

3 yards - matching fabric for wide floral border and backing

Other items - cotton batting, sewing thread for piecing,

machine embroidery thread for quilting

I was worried about the thread since I was stuck at home and couldn't go to the store. My car is still in the shop being repaired after a little fender bender. I didn't have enough of any coordinating color thread like I usually use for the quilting so I used machine embroidery thread. It's finer and shinier and worked just fine. I even ran the quilt through the washer and drier after I finished it to make sure everything held up.... and it did. Now that I know about the embroidery thread, I have a whole other stash I can use and just about every color I will ever need. Lord knows I'm not doing much embroidery these days.

 

 

Same pattern, different colors

I've made a quilt with this pattern before and it turned out so beautiful that I just had to do it again. The first one was made with the most boring of all the colors in my batik stash.... brown, grey, gold, black, a little dark blue. Not that they were ugly, just not as bright as the others. It's for my son and I didn't want it to look girlie.

This time it's bright and cheery colors. Aqua, blue, green, magenta, purple.

First thing first..... cut fabric into 2.5 inch strips.

 

Celebrate the end of strip cutting by oohhing and ahhing, petting, fanning,

and maybe posting some pictures on facebook for your friends to see

what you're up to.

Next.... cutting strips into 2.5 x 6.5 inch pieces and 2.5 x 2.5 inch squares.

More oohhing and ahhing!

 

Now for the sewing! I started by sewing the little square pieces together first,

chain piecing to save on thread, then sewed the longer pieces to each side

to make the blocks. I pressed each seam as I went.

Q: What is chain piecing? A: Sewing two pieces together, then without lifting the

presser foot or cutting the thread, sew the next two pieces.

This take a little organization so as not to sew the wrong pieces together.

 

The blocks are all made. Ready for tomorrow's sewing session 

I need a break :-)

 

With scrappy quilts, some people prefer to just start sewing the blocks together

randomly, but I like to lay them all out and rearrange them until I don't see two of the

same color next to each other. I usually start with the boldest or darkest color and

spread them out in the design so the eye will jump around the quilt to each one.

 

Sew the blocks into rows.....

Then sew the rows together, matching up the seams so the corners all

meet perfectly. Well, okay, get them as perfect as possible. If they are off

by too much, your quilt edges will not be straight. I like mine perfect because

I am not friends with my seam ripper.

And it's done ! ! ! Ready for quilting.

Here's the link to the other one I made with this pattern.

I hope you are inspired ! !

http://charmpacksplus.blogspot.com/2011/04/batik-quilt-square-in-square.html

Grandmother's Flower Garden Table Runner

Everywhere I look, these hexagon quilts keep popping up and I am fascinated by them. They remind me of the olden days. I did some research and spent days online looking at all the gorgeous quilts made by others. This pattern is traditionally known as Grandmother’s Flower Garden (GFG) and the hand-piecing technique is called English Paper Piecing (EPP). The flowers generally have a yellow center surrounded by one or two rounds of other colors. However, the hexes are not always arranged as flowers and can take on a more contemporary look when used with bold pattern prints and sewn in various other arrangements. Some quilts are made up entirely of hexagons while other have the flowers appliquéd onto a solid background block.

So I decided to try a small table runner project.....

 

Step 1: On a hexagon coloring sheet (available freeonline) choose your pattern arrangement and color it in.  I couldn't find just the right shade of red for my outside border so I later changed it to dark green.

Step 2: You will need about a hundred or so hexagons for a project this size, more if you want to make a full size quilt. They can be removed as you work away from the center and reused, but will need to remain in the outermost rows until the project is finished. You can buy these pre-cut, but I printed out my own on cardstock paper. Cutting them out while watching TV was quite enjoyable. Just be sure to cut exactly on the line because they all need to be exactly the same size.

Step 3: Cut your fabric into squares and pin a fabric square to a paper hexagon. I used 3.5-inch squares on 1-inch hexes. Each edge is 1-inch, not the diameter.

Step 4: This step is optional, but if you want to remove some of the bulk, trim the fabric to about ¼ inch around the paper hexagon after you pin it.

Step 5: Fold the edges of the fabric over the hexagon and baste in place going through the paper hex and the fabric. These stitches will be removed later in the project so if you don't knot your thread they will be easier to remove. This is a good place to use up old thread or that last little bit on the spool or bobbin. Make enough of these in each color to complete your design.

Step 6:  Place two basted hexagons with right sides together and whip stitch along one edge. (Sorry, there is no photo of this step.) If you are making flowers like I did, start with the center hex and whip stitch the six petals around it, then whip stitch the petals to each other. Eventually, all the sides will be stitched so it doesn't really matter which sides you stitch first, just be sure to follow the pattern so you don't have to un-sew. 

 

 Step 7: Add the next row around the flower.

Step 8: At this point you can remove the basting stitches and paper from any hexes that are not on the outside edge.  

 

Can you see how tiny these whip stitches are? I usually get 14-15 stitches per edge.

Step 9: Add in the filler colors and borders.
  

Step 10: Press front and back.

I haven't exactly figured out how to do the backing or binding on this. I've asked around and some say to cut it off so the edges are straight. I would prefer not to do that. If you have any ideas, please let me know. I can use it like this for a while but I can't wash it until I get it completely finished.

 Here are some pictures of assorted Grandmother’s Flower Garden quilts I Googled….. PHOTOS

Be sure to check out my website for new charm packs, layer cakes, and fat quarter bundles. I have lots of new collections from MODA.

Joe Cunningham Workshop

Joe Cunningham was in town this week and I had the pleasure of taking his hand quilting workshop. I am a beginner at hand quilting so I didn't have to forget what I already knew. He taught us how to do the rocking stitch with a teeny tiny needle.  Roxanne #11 Betweens. He also showed us what to do with the ends of the thread so there is not a knot, and how to quilt so that when you're at a quilting frame you can  quilt in any direction, not just right to left (if you're right handed).

 

We got a close up look at some of his quilts. He does not mark them. He just free hand stitches and adds his signature into the stitches (can you see his name in the stitching?) and sometime a few other words that pertain to the overall quilt. So what if the leaves aren't all the same size and the lines aren't all the same distance apart. He also does machine quilting.

 

Last night at the guild meeting he entertained us with his guitar playing and singing. And of course, he showed his quilts and gave us the scoop on how and why he did what he did. Afterall, they are art quilts and not everybody would "get it."

The quilt below is called "Snakes in the Garden" and is on the cover of his new book Men and the Art of Quiltmaking.

The quilt below is called "Every Day is a Good Day".

The background red fabric is actually a wide backing. Now it's a fronting!

 

And my favorite.... "Winter Twister". Maybe it's my favorite because it's black and white.

He will be teaching another workshop today and then heading over to Gee's Bend, AL

to quilt with his friends there. He loves the traditions of the Gee's Bend Quilters... learning from their mothers, grandmothers, and great grandmother, and even gathering in the same building for over a hundred years.

Click here to visit Joe's website: Joe the Quilter

Black and White Quilt #1 - Part 1

I can't believe I actually numbered this post #1. That must mean there will be more black and white quilts in my collection. I hope so. After seeing all the pictures of the red and white quilts on exhibit at the Park Avenue Armory in NYC ( http://www.folkartmuseum.org/infinitevariety ) I decided to start my own collection.... in black and white.

Might as well start simple and since I love the nine patch block, I'll start there. I was working on getting my seams lined up perfectly. And I did... most of the time. This is a quilt design in progress and I tend to design as I go. So far, the nine patch blocks are made and I've started on the fleur de lis blocks. They are machine embroidery appliqued. I used Moda Bella Solids in Black, and Ivory, which is a warm off white, however the ivory looks a bit gray in the photos. Check out my website (http://www.charmpacksplus.com/) to purchase Bella Solids from Moda.

 

There will be 13 of the nine patch blocks and 12 of the fleur de lis blocks alternating in a setting of 5 x 5 blocks. Each block will be 9 x 9 inch finished. They are 9.5 x 9.5 now. I will add borders and corner blocks to this, but the exact design has not yet been decided. I need to do a little research on borders before I tackle that job. When I see it, whether it's in another quilt or in my imagination, I'll know it's the right one.

Here's a Photoshop rendering of the design so far......

Binding Clips

I think I've found my new BFF! Binding Clips. Snap! Unsnap! No more "ouchies" from the pin sticks. These binding clips make holding down the binding fast and painless. And you can clip your hair back out of your face with them as well. How cool is that!! The clips can be found at your local quilt shops, fabric stores, craft stores, or on the hair accessories aisle at the supermarket.

You only need a few, maybe 10 or 12, for any size quilt because they have to be removed as you get close with your stitches anyway, and at that point you can just move them to the next available spot. Unsnap! Snap!

Batik Quilt - Square in a Square

What is the correct name for this block.? I've seen it called "square peg" and "square in a square" but they could both be wrong. If you know of another name for it please let me know.

Anyway, I saw other quilts like this online and thought they were gorgeous. So contemporary looking! Perfect for a 30-something son of mine. Using lighter and brighter colors would make it more feminine.

The block is very simple to make and the size can easily be changed to make a larger or smaller quilt, or change the number of blocks. I used 108  blocks in 12 rows of 9. The blocks finished at 6-inches (6.5 inches before sewing together). The fabric is cotton batik. 

Here's the cutting diagram.

Pieces A and B are cut from the same fabric, and C is cut from a contrasting fabric.

Sew with 1/4 inch seams.

This is the finished quilt. Approximate size - 72 x 54 inches



A few tablerunners

In an effort to showcase some of the new Moda charm packs, I've made a few tablerunners. They are easy as pie! Just assemble the pre-cut squares as you want and sew.

The first runner was made using Grand Finale by Sandy Gervais. The second is Nature's Gift by Deb Strain.  The third was made with an assortment of batiks from my stash.  The charm packs for the first two are available on my website http://www.charmpacksplus.com/ for a limited time only, but there are lots of others to chose from should those be sold out.

Enjoy!

Dryer Lint Art

This is what the lint looked like from the little rag quilt in the previous post.

Reminds me of Jackson Pollock's Autumn Rhythm.

Bow Tucks Totes

Happy Valentine's Day!

A while back I got into making these darling totebags. I made about ten of them. When I showed them at our guild meeting during "Show and Tell" and said they were Bow Tucks Totes, some women in the audience popped out laughing. They misunderstood what I said... they heard BOTOX Totes.

The pattern is called Bow Tucks Tote by Peggy Sturges for Quilts Illustrated.

These are some of the ones I made. They are for sale in my Etsy Shop.