Friday, August 29, 2014

Braid Quilt Progress

Two braids done - Eight more to go... 

The scrappy colors in this quilt are so fun and cheery!  I'm glad I took the extra time to cut each piece precisely first, because my strips are coming out nice and straight with no trimming needed.  Instead of placing each strip going the same direction, as in a traditional friendship braid layout, I think I'll reverse every other strip like this.  I like the look of the extended zig zag, especially in a quilt as large as this queen-sized one will be.
Cheers!

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Tasting Table Tuesday, Friendship Braid

I have a new project on my Tasting Table today.  A customer has asked me to make a Queen-Sized Friendship Braid quilt.  As you can see, I've been busy cutting, and cutting, and cutting some more...
Many of the fabrics were supplied by my customer, and I've supplemented them with many from my own stash as well.  There are 720 pieces in all - 360 lefts and 360 rights.  That's a lot of cutting!
I prefer to cut all my pieces to the exact size needed, including nipping off the little dog ear points, as opposed to trimming the strips down after each braided row is sewn.
That keeps my work more precise and hopefully my braids will be straight, not wonky.  It's my first Friendship Braid quilt, so we'll see how my theory works once I start sewing.

Cheers!


Monday, August 18, 2014

Fabric Stretching

No, I'm not literally "stretching" cotton quilting fabric, but I am certainly stretching the number of projects I can get out of it!  I finally broke down and bought the "Color Collection" fabrics that I've been dreaming about for weeks.  I didn't have a plan yet, but had several ideas rolling around for things I could do with this group.  So I bought a quarter yard of each of the thirty fabrics.

The ideas followed quickly thereafter, but which to make first?  So I cut for them all!  First, I cut a 2 1/2" strip from each piece, so right off the bat I have a jelly roll!  Not sure what I'm going to do with them yet, but I'm sure I'll come up with something...

Next, I cut everything I needed to make the quilt shown in this EQ7 drawing in the background of this picture (and made all the half-square triangles it requires).

The next quilt on the list was a pinwheel quilt from a pattern by Karen Montgomery called Milky Way, using her new Creative Grids ruler.  I know I should have finished my first quilt, but I'm easily distracted... :)
 I made it smaller than the pattern called for, to accomodate the 30 fabrics I had to work with.  I chose to use two fabrics in each pinwheel.  I like the effect it gives.  The background fabric is an ecru-colored fabric  by Timeless Treasures.  I just love the movement the subtle swirls and spirals give to the quilt!

(This quilt will be living at Needles Quilt Shop for a while, as a shop sample.)

And wait - there's more!  I still had fabric left, so I cut the smaller pieces into more 2 1/2" strips and 1 1/2" strips of various lengths.  These will go into the little baskets of strips I use for my mosaic quilts and log cabin blocks.

That still left me with a good-sized rectangle of each fabric, probably about 6" x 8", that will get added to my scrap bin.  I'm sure I'll find a use for them too!
Did I mention that I LOVE COLOR!

Cheers!


Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Tasting Table Tuesday - Cancer Quilts

Our local quilt guild is having their bi-annual Quilt Show next month, and one of the quilt categories this year is "Colors of Cancer".  These are little quilts, no bigger than 9"x12", and they will be offered for sale during the show, with the proceeds going to the American Cancer Society.  Here are the two quilts that I am donating.  Pink for Breast Cancer, and Blue for Colon Cancer.



These are made up of 1" squares (no duplicates, except the white around the edges), and I quilted it with a 1/2" grid, going both directions.  These little quilts are so fun and quick to make!

This is a great opportunity to make a donation to cancer research, either by making a quilt to sell, or purchasing one of them at the exhibit.  If you want to check out the show, here are the details...  Mark your calendars!


Mountain Laurel Quilt Guild Exhibit 2014

The MLQG Exhibit 2014 will be on display at the Gmeiner Art and Cultural Center in Wellsboro, PA -- September 6-28, 2014 (open 2:00-5:00PM daily, free admission).
Gala opening reception, Friday September 5, 2014 7:00-9:00PM.

Cheers!