Wedding Quilt Update #1

Things are chugging right along on the wedding quilt.  I can't believe that I am lucky enough to have friends willing to do such a special thing for and with me.  Check out all the stars hanging on Kristal's design wall!  

I must admit that most of those stars are from Kristal, but a few of them are mine!  If you roll over the above photo in flickr, I've made a note about which blocks are mine.

It seems like a lot, but it's not really much, or at least that's what everyone else is saying.  This is supposed to end up a queen sized quilt-- as of right now Kristal maintains that we've only got enough for a crib sized quilt.

No big deal, though, because I am really enjoying making these blocks.  I've dug into my stash for grays-- I hoarded a million a couple years ago during Fat Quarter Frenzy at Quilting  Adventures--  and am trying not to mooch too many beautiful batiks from Kristal.  I've had to buy a few blues, and have swapped a few, too.

The wonky star is much easier to make than I thought it would be.  Now that I've done several I hardly have to think about the process anymore.  Of course, that's how I've always felt about "improv"-- it's not as improvisational as everyone would have you think.  There's actually a fair bit of planning and consideration that goes into it.  Or maybe that's just my brain.  Thoughts?

Modify Tradition

Finally!  I have completed my sampler quilt top from Modify Tradition Round 1.  This top sat in a drawer for quite a long time, ignored and forgotten, and-- dare I say-- unloved!

I like it much more having seen it sewn together.  I didn't love my blocks from the first round-- I blame that one some of the fabric choices I made.  But, the money was spent, and starting over would be costly, so I continued with the original plan.

The quilt top is quite large-- 90"x90".  That is why the picture is so terrible; even Josh couldn't hold it up so I could see the whole thing.

I set my blocks in four rows of three, with wide horizontal sashing.  The rows alternate justification to the left and right and overlap just a bit in the middle.  Fabrics include some Robert Kaufman Carolina Chambrays; the background fabric, in particular, comes from this fabric line.

Thankfully, I have several 50% coupons from Joann's, and so I will be purchasing several yards of fabric and batting for this quilt.  I have decided to undertake the perilous task of quilting this myself.  It will be my largest self-quilted project to date.  We will see how that goes...

Sea Glass

Today I hand-stitched 252 inches of binding.  My hands are feeling a bit gnarled.  But, I finished the Sea Glass quilt, just in time for the heat wave coming next week.  I slaved myself over the binding for hours today just so that Lesly could see it before she hops a plane to Berlin.

The finished quilt measures 60"x66" and is made entirely of half-square triangles.  I used my tried and true method to get gorgeous half-square triangles.  All you have to do is cut squares 7/8" larger than your finished size, draw a diagonal line from corner to corner, stack, and sew 1/4" from either side of the line.  When you cut it in half, you'll have two perfect half-square triangles!

My inspiration for this project comes from this quilt.  I loved the purple-brown solid she used and the collection of vibrant blues and turquoise prints.  When I saw it I knew immediately that I had to work with that color palette!  I must admit-- I pretty much copied her quilt but I don't feel terribly bad about it.

This quilt is stuffed with bamboo batting, which is soft and silky and easy to sew.  Of course, bamboo fibers also attach to everything, so this quilt is covered in fuzz.  I didn't have any single pieces large enough for this quilt, so I stitched to large scraps together.  You can't even notice in the quilting!

I quilted this in a grid pattern following the seam lines.  The quilting lines are 1/4" from the vertical and horizontal seams, but there is only one line for each seam.  After I quilted the vertical grid, I started having problems with fabric pushing and puckering, so I decided to stop after one set each of horizontal and vertical lines.

I used a green variegated thread (King Tut #923) on top and a yellow 50 wt thread in the bobbin (Wonderfil KT403).  The top thread looks gorgeous and the bobbin thread blends beautifully with the background.  The only problem is that I can see the knots from the top thread on the back.  Anyone know how to solve this problem?

Fabrics used include a bunch of random prints I found at my LQS, some Alexander Henry, some Kaffe Fassett, and two Lantern Bloom prints (Tile Mosaic in turquoise and citron), as well as a beautiful brown Kona cotton.  The quilt is backed with citron Tile Mosaic from the Lantern Bloom collection and bound with the same Kona brown from the front.

Overall, I'd say it's gorgeous.  It definitely has some flaws-- my quilting hasn't reached the quality level that I desire, but that can only change with practice.  As the ladies at the LQS say, "better finished than perfect."  Except my binding is perfect.  For the record.

Bow Tie Quilt

This has been finished for a while.  Sorry it's taken so long for me to blog it!

The Bow Tie Quilt was originally supposed to be my sister's birthday present.  However, I fell in absolute love with the fabrics and the quilt during the construction process and decided to keep it for myself.   Good thing, because Katie says it's a little too shabby-chic for her.

She's a bit right; I didn't realize that until after she'd said so.  It's not normally my taste either, but I just can't help myself this time.  The whole thing is very sweet.  I love it!

Fabrics are mostly from Hope Valley by Denyse Schmidt, but there are some favorites from Freshcut by Heather Bailey as well as a brown print that is recent (but I can't remember where it comes from).  Bound with the Prairie Rose print in the Piney Woods color way.  Backed with a pink damask from the Promises line.

It measures 70"x70" and is perfect for napping on the couch.  I quilted it in mostly evenly-spaced mostly-straight lines.  Try not to notice those incorrectly placed blocks in the corner... I didn't notice them until after the whole thing was basted, quilted, and bound. Too late to fix, otherwise I would have done so.

Lucky!

I received my swap quilt yesterday! My mystery partner was Jill. I felt so lucky when I opened the package to see the beautiful quilt that she had made me (plus all the goodies!).





This quilt is one that I had marked as a favorite in the group pool and truly hoped that it would be coming my way.



The strip of patchwork is so random and wonderful, and in fabrics from one of my favorite designers! She used that gray color that I have been secretly trying to work into every project, which makes me think that not only was she reading my blog but she was also reading my mind.

Not to mention the wonderful strip of embroidery...



Thank you, Jill! I appreciate all the work that you must have spent on this gorgeous quilt.