Project Quilting 10.2 - Red, White, and Blue

I made it!  I finished my quilt before the deadline. 
Albeit, it is super small this week at 8.5 inches.

The theme this week was Red, White, & Blue.  Not necessarily USA colors since many participants are from other countries, but it was based on the theme that most flags around the world have red, white, and blue in them, but we could create what ever we wanted.  It didn't have to be patriotic if we didn't want to.  

My original plan was to make a table topper I could put out for the 4th of July. It was going to measure 26 inches square. Not too big and doable in a week, but time time just wasn't my friend this week.  I was feeling a little under the weather halfway through the week. So instead of sewing I took a couple naps.  

Come Saturday night I only had the center done to my feathered star.  Instead of staying up all night I decided to trim the white triangles edges, add a mini border, and call it a mug rung.  Finished in plenty of time to get some sleep.  Maybe I can try the feathered star in another challenge.  It is a pattern I have yet to make and think they look really cool.

I have been checking out the other entries throughout the week as they have been posted and they are fabulous.  Go check out how everyone else interpreted the theme Red, White, & Blue.

Click here to see all the entries.

 You can start voting for your favorites at 12pm Central time.

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Project Quilting 10.1 - Hope Springs Eternal

It is that time of year again!  Project Quilting time! Where anyone who wants to join in the fun is challenged to make a quilt in a week based on that week's theme.  Check out all the details at  Kim Lapecek's website.

The first theme for season ten is "Hope Springs Eternal".  I will admit my first thought was Star Wars related.  I kept thinking of the line, "Rebellions are built on hope," from the movie Rogue One, but no ideas came on how to make that into a quilt.

My next thought was about how living water brings hope.  Out of the darkest darkness living water can spring forth and give hope and life to things around it.  I envisioned the colors of the quilt first, with the outer edges being black and fading into blue to represent the water and then bright colors to represent flowers.

Next was to come up with a pattern.  I was going to create my own swirling vortex of water, but I couldn't come up with a swirl pattern I liked.  Who knew it would be so hard to free hand draw a swirling whirlpool.  So I decided to go a with pattern I already knew that could still convey the colors I had in my head, The swirly triangle.

Not sure if that is the real name, but I got the pattern from an Irish Folding website a long time ago and made it bigger to fit my needs.

For each shade of color I used six different fabrics except for the blue, which has seven.  I thought about making a large quilt, but by the time I picked the pattern it was halfway through the week, so I opted for a table topper and actually got to bed on time every night this week.

It measures 30 x 27 inches.

If you haven't already, make sure you check out all the other entries this week HERE and vote for your favorites.  Voting starts at 12pm Central time.  To vote click the heart in the top right corner.

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Batik Strip N Flip Quilt

This quilt came about as I was trying to come up with an easy quilt pattern to use for the beginner quilt class I am teaching this January.  I ended up going with a single Irish Chain pattern for the quilt class so my students can learn basic block construction, but I was loving the colors in this one so I finished  it up.

It went together super fast.  I picked 32 different pre-cut 2.5 in strips from two different older Island Batik strip sets, Blue Heaven and Juicy Jewels, and sewed them all together.

After all the strips were sewn together I squared it all up and cut it into seven different smaller strips and flipped three of them.

I put sashing between each strip set and added a darker blue border.

I loved the colors so much in this one I decided to keep it for myself.

I did a pieced backing on this one.  When the quilts get so big that you have to sew two pieces together I always opt for different fabrics.  I pick one that goes the length of the quilt by the width of the fabric, then add some smaller pieces on the sides.  I have less leftovers this way.

It was mostly cloudy on the beach the during the photo shoot, but a cloudy day at the beach is still a good day in my opinion.

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Carolina Lily Lone Star - South Carolina Version

This project came about this fall when I was asked to make a small quilt that represented South Carolina.

I had a blank slate to work with and after some deliberation I decided to use my pattern Carolina Lily Lonestar. I shrunk the dimensions a bit, changed the coloring, and added the Palmetto Moon in the center.

I decided to go with all shades of blue and white so it could kind of match the South Carolina flag.  Before I started sewing the diamond blocks, I took a picture of the fabrics in the proper order so I wouldn't mess up the color placement while making the diamonds.

I kept the center all blue so the Palmetto Moon would pop.

I printed the Palmetto Moon on some wonder under straight through my printer and then ironed it on the white fabric.  That made it easy to cut out.  It is raw edge applique and should be fine since this will be a wall hanging and will be seldom washed.

This quilt measures about 28 inches square.

  

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I love Kitties Swap

At the end of the summer I participated in one of my last swaps.  I haven't been swapping for a long time, but when I saw the I love Kitties swap hosted on Instagram I could not pass it up.  My partner was very vague on her likes and dislikes, she pretty much said make what every, so I did.

I love these Candy Cats  Just look at these eyes. The pattern is a free pattern from Schnitzel & Boo. There is even a mouse and a fish bones pattern to go with it.  Check out the #candycatqal on Instagram to see all the different fabric ways you can make these cats.

I opted to shrink the pattern a bit to keep this a mini version and made four colorful kitties for my mini.  It arrived save and sound to my partner and she loved it!  Yay!!  :)

I hated to send it off because I loved it so much, but I got something fabulous in return which always makes swapping worth it.

Check out this paper pieced kitty I got from Marie.  I told my partner I like lots of little pieces and bright colors.  Boy did she deliver.  I am down to one more swap and then after that I plan to to make time to work on some of my UFO's.  I really need to tackle those old loved projects and finally knock some stuff off my Finish-A-Long list.  

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Peak a Who? Blog Hop

Welcome to my day of the Peak a Who? blog hop.  Hosted by Marian of Seams to Be Sew.  I have a few items to show today that I have worked on over the past few months.

First up, I wanted to tackle an old Halloween UFO.  I created one just like it several years ago in 2010 as part of the "La Petite - A Year of Small Projects" challenge. This pattern is called Paganini from Ms. Rosie's Quilt company and is designed for Charm Packs. When I first cut out the project I used several 5 inch strips from my yardage instead of a charm pack.  This method left me with way too much left over fabric for one quilt.  So I decided I would cut enough for two quilts, which I did.  I made the first quilt right away.  The  second one... well....

I played with it again in 2015 hoping to finish it as part of the 2015 Finish-A-Long.  I made some good progress on it and got the top done and even got the backing and batting picked out but that was it.   

  The next several months it got moved around and put on hold while other projects moved to the top of the to do list. It has been sitting and waiting its turn for quilting, until now.

I finally finished it as part of the third quarter of the 2018 Finish-A-Long and today am excited to show it off  to you all as part of the Peek A Who? blog hop. 

And check out who is peeking around on the back.

Another one of my Spooky creations was a Halloween tote bag.

 Look Who is peeking out on the front!  He was made for a Spooky Tote Swap I joined.  I actually made two identical bats. One for each side of the bag.

The paper pieced bat pattern is called midnight Bite and is from Lillyella.com. The tote pattern also comes from Lillyella.com and is a free tutorial here. The fun part of this swap was knowing who my spooky partner was.  Most the swaps I have joined are blind swaps and you don't know who your partner is till the package lands on your doorstep.   I like this way better because it allows me to get to know a new quilty friend.

This is the fantastic tote I got I got from my partner.  It is amazing what a few fabric changes can do to a pattern. And check out the fantastic embroidered witch on the back.  She even glows in the dark!

My final project is till a flimsy, mainly because of this.

My ruler foot broke on my quilting machine, I wasn't even using my quilt rulers at the time or going over any seams, just doing and all over filler in a solid piece of fabric.  Next thing I know the machine jumps and I'm out one presser foot.  So quilting on this next project will be delayed.  But not for too long, a new presser foot is already in the mail heading my way.

Not too long ago I fell in love with One Block Wonder quilts.  I have already made two and have two more cut out and I have already purchased fabric for 3 more.  What can I say, I'm hooked.

This summer I discovered One Block Wonders using panels and I had to have one of my own.

This hop was the perfect reason to buy a fabulous Halloween panel.
Seven panels to be exact.
One for the center and one to cut up.

After several different layouts options I ended up with this one. I love how the hexagons carry the distorted image away to the edges.  I can see myself making many more of these!  I think I may try it without the inner border on my next one and see how that comes out.

Make sure to visit all the other Sites today and visit any of the others you may have missed throughout the week, they have some great projects!  Scroll even further for giveaways from Fat Quarter Shop and Timeless Treasures.

Monday, October 22, 2018

Just Let Me Quilt | Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats
Words & Stitches
Melva Loves Scraps | Seams To Be Sew 

Tuesday, October 23, 2018

Songbird Designs | Quilt Doodle Doodles
Made By Marney | SewGoldenAChance
Ms. P Designs USA | Seams To Be Sew 

Wednesday, October 24, 2018

MooseStashQuilting | Hand Stitched Treasure
DesertSky Quilting | Adventurous Applique and Quilting
Seams To Be Sew 

Thursday, October 25, 2018

Just Because Quilts | Elizabeth Coughlin Designs
Patchwork Breeze | Life in the Scrapatch
Seams To Be Sew

Friday, October 26, 2018

Kathys Kwilts and More | Quilted Delights (Me)
Seams To Be Sew | Bumbleberry Style

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What Shade Are You, Mr. Peacock

Say Hello to Mr. Peacock. He was made for the What Shade Are You Blog Hop hosted by RJR fabrics. You can see the original post at quiltwithlove.com.

For those of you who don't know, I quilt in a small town - Lake City, SC - and we just got our lake last month! It is a small lake, but then again Lake City is a small town, but what it lacks in size and population it makes up in charm. Especially every April when it is host to one of the biggest art competitions in the southeast, Artfields, which awards a total $120,000 to artists across 12 states. The art submitted ranges from prints and paintings to 3D artwork and sculptures. There have even been a few quilts entered over the years. I have yet to enter a quilt myself, but after working on the What Shade Are You Blog Hop, I have been inspired to give it a try next year.

I’ll admit I was a little nervous about what I was going to make. I wanted to make sure I could make something beautiful enough to showcase the lovely solids from RJR fabrics and I wanted it to be original.

I decided to start by answering the question, “What shade are you?” I love red, it is my favorite color and if you ask anyone around my house they would tell you red is definitely my shade, so my first thought was to make a quilt with different shades of reds, but as long as my mind stayed fixed on a red themed quilt no inspiration would come.

As I was mulling things over trying to come up with an idea the question, “Can you make a peacock quilt?”  kept popping into my head. A co-worker had asked me that question a couple years ago when she noticed all the quilts I’d been making for the weekly challenges of Project Quilting. Why that question from so long ago kept popping into my thoughts I didn’t know, but it would not leave my brain. So I decided to go ahead and draw something up.

I used the notepad on my cell phone and made my first rough sketches.

I drew a couple renditions and then added color. I started with blues and greens and a few purples but no red.  I really didn’t want to let go of having red in my project, but peacocks didn't have red in their feathers. I was about to totally give up on the idea of having my favorite color in the quilt when a phrase from the movie Toy Story 2 popped into my head, “You’ll like Amy, she’s an artist!”  Right then and there I decided to put red in my peacock quilt. I put it right at the tip of the feathers. After all, I told myself, I am an artist and artists can make their peacock feathers be any color they want.

From there I added several other colors.  I ended up using the following:

Pickup Truck 415  (The Red)

Orange Crush 412

Persimmon 413

Cantaloupe 209

Citron 337

Sour Apple 346

Turks & Caicos 292

Bora Bora 328

Proud as a peacock 289  (Couldn’t pass this one up)

Lake 427

Violet 423

Hydrangea 214

Schooner 392

Robin's Egg 391

Lucky Green 406

Spring 405

Royal Blue 126  

Optical White White 33

Black 34

As I was drawing the feathers loaded with triangles I decided to construct the quilt using foundation paper piecing.  That way I could be sure to get all my points nice and sharp.

To make the pattern, I taped several large pieces of paper together to get an idea of the finished size.  Then I made master copies of the feathered sections, duplicated them 9 times, and got busy sewing.

Once I knew the final paper piecing layout of all the feathers I drew the bird’s body.   Following the lines of the inside part of the feathers helped make the process easier.

 The cotton supreme fabrics are so vibrant and smooth to the touch. They were lovely to work with and created such a fun quilt.  It even looked lovely from the back side.

I'm still loving my new quilting machine. It makes quilting so much more fun. Especially my large quilts. No more laying on the floor basting and no more struggling with large quilts under a small sewing machine.

Make sure you follow Quiltwithlove.com they will have a new quilt a new quilt every Friday showcasing what you can do with solid color fabrics.

I am so grateful I was able to be part of this hop. It has inspired me to keep on creating and made me excited to submit a quilted entry in the Artfields competition next year.

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