Friday, February 19, 2016

Photos of Quilt Finishes

Thought I would share a few photos from quilts I've finished in the past - thanks to Kim and Tuner for taking these photos!  All of the quilts were made by me and machine quilted by the talented Caroline Berch. I don't have photos of many of the quilts so thought I should get these photographed.

Obama Quilt
Here's one I made as a Christmas gift for Kim in 2009.  The front is nice with a diamond pattern using 3 Sisters (by Moda) but the back is pretty cool with 2008 Obama fabric.


Castle Peeps Mixtape
I saw this pattern by Elizabeth Hartman and had to make it with Castle Peeps - loved it when I saw it online.


Lush Mixtape
I loved the Castle Peeps quilt so much that I made the pattern again using Lush Uptown by Lizzy House.  Such an amazing line of fabric - I have a bit more of it so there will be another Lush Uptown quilt in the future.   It's hard to make out the details from the photo at this distance, but the quilt features a couple of paint by number fabrics, which I absolutely love.


Salt Water Chopsticks
This is a favourite.  I made it with coral fabrics from Tula Pink's Salt Water collection, using the Chopsticks pattern.  The back has a minky-like low-plush fabric, very cozy.


Modern Mix
Here's a quilt I started in 2009 or so and just finished up a year or so ago.  It's one of my favourites as well - love the optical illusion created by the batik colours.  It's from a pattern by Mabeth Oxenreider. 


Blue Quilt
This one was made using a bundle of Kona blues and teals, and using the Escapade pattern by Julie Griffith.  Apparently everyone likes this photo best from the series.  



  

Monday, February 15, 2016

February UFO Challenge - Finished!

Thanks to Klara, I was able to finish my February UFO challenge this weekend!  How awesome to have the one-block wonder class teacher available to help when I got stuck - and to expertly consult on the layout.  It's about 80" square so I will be backing it with the red minky - a super cuddly quilt when it's done.


Now I've got two Sundays left in the month to dedicate to another project, so I'm going to work on getting the borders on this quilt.  I started it a long time ago and it's not on my UFO list, so it will be good to get it out of the way before the new challenge starts in March.


Friday, February 12, 2016

One Block Wonder - Final Layout and Update

I've received so many comments from readers who want an update on progress on the One Block Wonder, which is February's UFO.  Okay, two requests for updates, but considering I have three readers, that's a lot.  :)

Thanks to Klara's magic, the final layout of the hexagons is complete and last night I started sewing the columns together.  Here's what it looks like as of last night:


The two left-most columns have been sewn and there are another 20 or so columns to do.  It's going to look great!  If the finished size is less than 85", I may use a red minky fabric that I bought for the back.  Minky has a soft plush feel and would make this quilt extra cuddly.  We'll have to see what the finished size is and then make a decision.

LATE BREAKING NEWS:
Tonight we got the columns sewn!  Here's how it's looking, next step is to join the columns together to make the complete top.  Klara, my mentor, nagged encouraged me to finish all the columns and they're done now, with help from her.   It's really coming together nicely.



Sunday, February 7, 2016

One Block Wonder - Progress

This has been a great weekend for progress, thanks to Klara!  I got a lot done on my February challenge project, as you can see below.

First up, here's the fabric that the project is made from.  Using a fancy ruler and special technique, the fabric is cut up and put back together as a One Block Wonder.


Once the blocks were partially constructed, they went onto the design wall to see how they look:


Then the real art begins, which is where Klara's experience and design skills come into play.  Here's a slightly revised version, still in progress.  Notice how the top left has blocks that are largely green, with red blocks bisecting the piece and darker green and black on the bottom right.


More work to do on this and I'll post an update next Sunday.  The plan is to start putting together the quilt based on the final design next weekend.

Monday, February 1, 2016

February UFO Challenge - Number 5


We have our UFO Challenge number for February - it's number 5.  For me, that means I have to work on my One-Block Wonder from Klara's class in 2012.


The One-Block Wonder is a popular quilt - here's a guy who makes them for a living - the quilt hanging behind him in the photo is a One-Block Wonder.  His quilts are beautiful.  I'm not expecting mine to be quite so fabulous.   It's very hard to tell how the quilt will look - it totally depends on the fabric that you start with.

As you can see, this project is in progress.  I opened up the case for this project and here's where it stands.  I got this far and then put it away to do something else and never got back to it!  Klara is the master One-Block Wonder maker, so I'll be happy to get some tips from her on the layout of the blocks.


When I took the class in 2012 I did a blog post about it and you can see some of the blocks in progress from that time.

Lots of piecing and pressing to do to get the blocks done, then the really hard work to get the overall quilt to look good when put together in a quilt.  Thankfully, Klara is fantastic at this part of the process.