Christmas Sewing Wrap-Up

I made a LOT (for me, at least) of quilts for Christmas gifts this year, and didn't really shared them in the off-chance that it would ruin the great surprise... I'm going to write a couple posts to share them.

Here's the first (and maybe my favorite quilt I've made for someone else...)

It's from the #stlouis16patch tutorial that was floating around on IG for a while. Super simple, large graphic 16-patch blocks.

I made it for my favorite brother (and don't worry, he's my only brother).

 It's a large twin size quilt and I used a lot of Parson Grey Seven Wonders fabrics, with some Circa 1934 from Cosmo Cricket, and a few random other pieces that I liked. I LOVE this quilt. It's masculine and bold and simple. It's quilted in loops and has a great drape.

 The back is that fabulous Spot On wideback print in orange. I don't know his favorite colors really, but I like to think they are green and orange.

Details: 

Pattern: #stlouis16patch
35 blocks -- 13.5" finished (I think).
Fabrics: Parson Gray Seven Wonders Warm color way, Cosmo Cricket Circa 1934, and other random
Backing: Spot On Wide Back
Binding: Moda Bella Solids Black Jelly Roll (hand bound)
Quilted: Loops and more loops in a latte colored thread (I think).

Project Mania :: A WIP Wednesday Post

{Linking up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced}

So it seems I have a bit of start-iris or project mania or fabric petting ADD right now. There is so much fun to be had sewing when the weather is brisk, err freezing! (And below freezing).

I have a baby quilt going for a new niece using In Color Order's Warm Cool HST quilt.

I'm finally joining in the #swoonalong and making Swoon blocks!

I have fabric washed for several more of THESE quilts (including two matching for me and my mom... because we need matching quilts like BFFs need matching necklaces).

I mean, come ON... how fun is the idea of a buddy quilt? Here's the fabric for those.

I have this fun top almost completely together... And I think I'm sending it to the quilter, so that means it is practically a finish, right?

I'm still working on a couple blocks for the Civil War Sampler QAL BOW that she and I are making. (I got a week or two behind in January---good start to the year, huh?). Here's Block 2...

And lastly, I just finished my first bee block ever for the Instragram (IG) #moderninstabee #moderninstabeehive3  It's from the book Modern Bee and is the Trellis Crossroads block. #loveit

See what I mean about project mania? I guess if I'm going to be a little crazy, at least it's a colorful fun quilty type of crazy, right? 

Katie

"Try To Love the Questions Themselves." A quilt from a modern upcycle challenge

{NOTE: There is a LOT of writing in this post. It is mostly for my own reference, so feel free to just check out the photos if you want!}

To finish out 2013, the modern guild I belong to issued an "Up-cycle" challenge where we were charged with making something new from something old. The only guideline that we were given was that 50% of the top needed to be from that "old" item.

I KNEW (once I decided I would participate) that I wanted to use my favorite sheet set. There was a hole in the fitted sheet from almost a decade of constant use and washings.

I debated with myself for a while about what to make. I considered a "whole cloth" quilt so that I could practice my quilting, but when I picked up Yoshiko Jinzengi's book "Quilting Line and Color" I started thinking about her amazing code quilts and her use of tons of white negative space and I knew I had to do something else.

The sheets have a very "lived in" quality... (imagine that?!) which led me to think about one of the most inspiring "life" quotes I have ever heard and that meant a great deal to me when I was in the midst of the life questions that come in one's 20s.

It's from Rilke's "Letters to a Young Poet" written in the early 20th c. to encourage a young writer in his journey in life.

{My favorite translation} reads:

Be patient towards all that is unresolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves. The point is to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps someday, gradually without even realizing it, you will live along into the answers.

So I used the braille code to translate the letters that form the words "try to love the questions themselves."

Using Victoria Findlay Wolfe's 15 minute of play method, I pieced bits and bits of my favorite fabrics. Using those bits and a reverse appliqué method to I made the circles that when placed together form the letters of the braille code.

There are also twilling knots (almost like a french knot) that "write" out the other part of the quote.

I quilted in horizontal "organic" straight lines...partly because we read left to right and paper is lined horizontally,  but also because life has this linear quality to it. We keep moving forward, sometimes a little up or a little down, but always forward.  Sometimes we hit dead ends (and some of the lines stop). Sometimes new things and new life starts (so some of the lines just start in the middle), but we keep moving and living, amongst the questions.

Details:

Pattern and methods: My own using a braille code, reverse appliqué, 15 minutes of play, and negative space
Materials: Old white sheet for background and backing fabric. Circles made with tons of small bits including, Architextures, Glimma, Denyse Schmidt fabric, Oakshott cottons,
Inspirations: Rainer Maria Rilke, my Mamaw Lois who was blind, Yoshiko Jinzengi, Victoria Findlay Wolfe, and Luke Haynes.
Quilted: Organic straight lines with Mettler No. 002 cotton thread with a silk finish
Bound: with a modern facing technique and Moda Bella Solids White

Civil War Sampler Block of the Week : Week 1 : The White House

I spent a good bit of 2013 sewing, but I mostly sewed things that were FAST and sort of pattern-less. One of my (unspoken) goals for this year, is to spend some time making some more complex quilts. Things that require following a pattern and don't become a finished top in an afternoon or a week. It's because I want to expand my skills and grow as a quilter...

So late in the fall, I started thinking about this and realized a good way to do this would be to do some type of quilt-a-long or block-of-the week. I got really excited about it and mentioned it to my mom and we did some investigating and have decided to quilt-a-long to Barbara Brackman's Civil War Sampler as a BOW.

She chose her fabrics and I chose mine.

I'm going to use Dowry, AMH True Colors, Florence and Botanics.  I love mixy scrappy things, and all of these lines, so I'm excited to see how they'll look all together.

We've set out to sew this really cool sampler quilt, in fabrics we love (even though they aren't "civil war" fabrics).

Here's my block #1 :: The White House

Moving Forward! Exciting 2014 Plans

So we're about a month into 2014 (crazy, right?), and I think it's high time that I talk about the rest of the coming year. I'm so excited about the months to come and what this year means for my quilting journey. I have a number of quilts in my brain that I want to work on and some tops in my closet that must be dealt with, ehem... finished. Yay for the possibility of finished quilts!

I'm pretty excited about all the quilts I made and finished this year...and the fact that in the last month I have become increasingly confident about quilting on my domestic machine. (Yes, only straightish-type lines, but I happen to love lines, so that's a good step forward). BUT, I'm even more excited about what's on the horizon.

So let's talk about what's to come::

Category 1: Ready for quilting

1. Etchings Pluses
2. Ruby Curves
3. Scrappy Trip Along
4. A couple Santas I made

Category 2: Tops to Finish

1. A low volume
2. A quilt made with Happy-Go-Lucky and Simply Color
3. The X and PLUS along. (I only made one block for this one, so I'm kind of on the fence about moving it forward).

Category 3: Brand New Projects

1. QuiltCon 2013 inspired
2. Giant Star x 2 or 3 (?)
3. A super Swoon
4. Civil War Sampler BOW with G

Category 4: Surprises

1. Something of a curious nature
2. Something simple and sweet

I'm going to update this list quarterly... To stay accountable. I'm hoping to get Category 1 finished by the end of March. And have some of Category 2 moved into Category 1 by that time!

I'm in no rush on Category 3 (they are just like somethings I want to prioritize before 2015!) , and Category 4 has a definite finish date, but I can't share that or I might be giving away the surprise.

I'm going to try and be better at posting pictures of some WIPs.... BUT we'll see. :-)

Perhaps in the next year I can also tackle some more free motion quilting at home and maybe even take a long-arm certification course, for those extra large quilts, but let's just wait it out and see.

Christmas Gifts Quilt

Today I'm back and I'm sharing a quilt that was a long time in the finishing....

I made the top as a shop sample last year. I didn't have it back until after Christmas, so there wasn't a big rush in finishing it.   I had it quilted over the summer and the it sat and sat. And sat and waited to be bound.

And finally, when the snow came an it was December and we still had no other Christmas decorations up, I decided it was time to just get it done. Now we can theoretically snuggle under it and watch all the Christmas movies. (Which we always say we will do, but never really do).

I'm not super into vintage anything, but for some reason I loooooved both the Cosmo Cricket line and the backing. And the Mr. at my house loooooooves anything Christmas, so it's already one of his favorites.

Details:

Fabric: The top is entirely from Cosmo Cricket's "Dear Mr. Claus" 2012 Christmas line. (Well, except the binding which is a Moda Bella Solids White).
            The backing is some awesome flannel that has the appearance of being pieced and has a bunch of gorgeous vintage images all meshed together. (Sorry, I don't know the manufacturer or designer of it).

Pattern:  It is from the free pattern Moda released with the line. I'm not a big pattern follower, so this doesn't really look like much of what I have done recently. But I love it anyway.

Size: 58" x 71"

Quilted: Snowflakes Motif (in cream on the top and a sage-y green on the back)

His and Hers. Quilts for my Grandad and Nana

So last spring when I was visiting my mom, we got into a sewing frenzy and had so much fun digging through her stash! She has a bit of everything. From girly to masculine, primitive to modern, bright to lower contrast (or volume for the trendy types). You could seriously make a quilt for just about anyone with her fabrics and I'm blessed to have access to it.

While stash diving, I was so inspired by two very different sets of fabric.

One looked like a life spent with horses. There were denim-y blues, tans and creams and was filled with designs that reminded me of barb wire fences, the American flag's stars, and good old pearl snap shirts with Wranglers or Levis (your choice).

One set was gorgeous light blues and buttery yellows and several shades of the prettiest pinks. It had flowers of many sizes and pin dots and stripes.

These fabrics, to me, represented two very important people: my Nana and my Grandad. Because they are married to each other (!) and have been for over 70 years (what an amazing legacy is that?), we used the same basic design to represent the sameness that comes from being a couple. But we wanted to acknowledge that they are still individuals with their own preferences and personalities, so the fabrics and the quilting are different.

His is quilted with cowboy motifs of horses and stars and guns.

Hers is quilted with gorgeous roses.  

I delivered these while I was home visiting a few weeks back, as early birthday presents, so hopefully they've both opened them already!