One-Block Wonder #2 - Top is Pieced

I finished assembling the quilt top of OBW #2 today.

My original plan for the border was just to use the ombre all the way around, but I really wanted the light part to be in the middle of each border and the dark in the corners.  The fabric gradation wouldn't allow that, so I had to "stretch" the ombre to get the effect I wanted, so I used four of the remaining bird panels from the original fabric that I used for the center of the quilt, and inserted one into the middle of each border.

But I still needed to "stretch" the dark ends of the ombre into the corners.  I finally had a brain-storm and decided to try making ombre nine-patch corner blocks and it worked perfectly!

The fabric has a very subtle linear design in it, so I alternated the direction of the lines, horizontal and vertical, so the nine-patch effect shows up, but it's very subtle, almost looking like the corners are woven.  It's exactly the look I was going for. (Ignore those little yellow dots - I pinned the quilt to my design wall to take these pics.)

Once I finish quilting it, I will bind it with solid black, matching the narrow inner border.

I decided to share the pieced quilt top with you now, because it will likely be a few months before I'm able to start quilting it.  But when I do, I'll posts more pics then.

In the meantime, I have two customer quilts to make, and a Quilty-Trip coming up.  I'm going to Quilting on the Bayfront in Erie PA next week!  Can't wait!  I'll tell you all about it in my next post.

One-Block Wonder #2

I haven't made any more progress on the quilt I shared on my last post (4 months ago - yikes!) but I had a very busy summer packed with friends, sewing, grandkids, retreats, etc. and I'm afraid that this blog fell by the wayside.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to sharing my current project with you now, still a work-in-progress.

Earlier this month, I presented a little talk/demo about One-Block Wonder Quilts at my local Quilt Guild's Semi-Annual Quilt Exhibit, and this is the quilt I started specifically for that demo.

The fabric I chose is a panel called North American Wildlife by Jody Bergsma for Robert Kaufman Fabrics.

I love all the colors in this panel, especially the pops of blue and white.

All the half-hexagons are sewn into vertical rows now and once I get all the rows sewn together I'll make a final decision on borders.  I have some fun ideas planned, but I won't commit or share until I have the center done, so check back soon.

In the meantime, here are some pictures I took while working on the blocks.  I've never had eyes in my quilt before, so this is a first!

Artisan Batiks & Grunge

I bought an Artisan Batik Charm Roll a couple of months ago, and found them to be a perfect match for a charm square pack of Grunge fabrics that I already had.  So, with no particular plan in mind, I sewed them all into blocks.

I have 4 of each of the 22 you see here, for a total of 88 blocks.  I have been playing with several layout options on EQ, but haven't made a final decision yet.

• One large quilt, or two smaller ones...
• With or without alternate blocks...
• With or without sashing...
• Straight set or on-point with setting triangles...

Hmmm...  decisions, decisions...

Urban Oasis Companion Quilt

Wow, it's been a busy month since I last posted about my Urban Oasis quilt.  I have since completed two T-Shirt quilts for a client, but can't share them yet because they are a surprise gift for the recipient.  Don't want to spoil the surprise!

Then I put some leftover pieces from my One-Block Wonder quilt, Urban Oasis to good use.  I had just enough scraps left over to make seven additional hexagon blocks, and once I made them, I realized how perfectly they went with this hand-dyed background fabric.

I picked up a bundle of these hand dyed fabrics in various colors at MQX in Manchester NH a few years ago, and had been saving them for just the right project.  This was the one!

I see a dark, stormy sky in this quilt, so I named it "Midnight Storm at the Oasis", since it was made as a companion quilt to the original One-Block Wonder quilt called "Urban Oasis".  It is a small wall quilt and I chose to use a facing instead of a binding.

I mulled over several different quilting options (at least a dozen!) before I settled on this one.  And I'm so glad I did!  I love how the variegated King Tut thread (from Superior Threads) gives the illusion of rain over the entire quilt.  The lines are about 1/4" apart, and I stitched it on my Juki TL2010Q using a walking foot.

I am in love with the texture on this quilt!  This is the first time I've used King Tut thread, and I love the short color transition, compared to other variegated threads.  It changes color about every 1 1/2 inches or so.

So that's the end of my Oasis story.  I'm already moving forward on to more colorful quilts so stay tuned!

Urban Oasis - OBW is Done!

It's finally finished!

I started this One-Block-Wonder nine months ago, but other projects kept taking priority, so it kept getting set aside.  (Click here to see my previous posts about this quilt.)

The quilting took a LONG time, but I am so happy with how it turned out.  I quilted the center spiral on my Juki TL-2010 using the walking foot and Glide thread in white.

Then I switched over to my APQS George sit-down longarm machine and quilted continuous curves in the remaining hexagons and straight-line piano keys in the border, using So Fine #50 thread in gray - all ruler work, so it took many many hours.  Now I wish I had kept track of my time...

After auditioning about a dozen different binding fabric options, I finally decided on this aqua ombre.  I love how it repeats the light aqua colors in the center of the quilt and adds an extra little zing.

I used Quilter's Dream Green batting in this quilt for the first time.  I LOVE LOVE this batting!  It quilts like butter, lays flat and smooth, has just the right amount of loft, and does not crease or shrink.

I've always used cotton batting, but disliked the crease left when the quilt had been folded for any length of time.  Bye Bye fold-lines!  I think this will become my new go-to batting in the future.

Of course, there will still be occasions to use cotton, but it's nice to have a choice, based on the project.  OH!  And the other great thing about this batting is that it's made from recycled plastic bottles!  I know, plastic doesn't sound appealing, but it really feels wonderful!  Trust me!

 Instead of using a piece of the original Skyline fabric on the back or a border, as many quilters do, I decided to print an image of the fabric panel on my quilt label instead.

I named this quilt Urban Oasis because the original busy city skyline fabric magically morphs into a tranquil gazing pool in the finished quilt.  It still amazes me that the entire center section of the quilt is created from just one fabric.  It's a "Wonder"alright!

OBW - progress update

It's taking me some time, but I'm slowly getting there.  The quilting on my One Block Wonder is progressing nicely, and I'm really happy with how this is looking.

Here's a shot of a small portion of the front...

and here's the back.

For batting in this quilt, I'm using Quilters Dream Green for the first time.  So far, I'm really impressed!  It feels wonderful and quilts great!  I'm a cotton lover, and typically use Quilters Dream Cotton in all my quilts, but since I quilt on a sit-down machine, I wrestle the quilt around ALOT and the cotton tends to shed on the quilt top, leaving fuzzies all over.  That's not really a problem, because I can clean them up with a lint-roller, but this Green batting doesn't seem to shed at all.  I really think I'm going to like this stuff!  And the fact that it's made from recycled plastic bottles is wonderful too - less trash in our landfills and oceans!  Win Win!

If you'd like to learn more about Quilters Dream Batting, click here.

Now I have to set this quilt aside for a bit while we go visit our grandson and soak up some southern sunshine for a week.  I'll post lots of pictures when it's done, probably mid-April, so be sure to check back.

One Block Wonder - update

I pin-basted this last night so I can finally start quilting this baby!  I finished piecing this one months ago, but set it aside until I finished some other quilts on my list, so it's been patiently waiting for some attention.  I have a plan, and am so excited to work on this one!

Click here to read more about this quilt.

I found this backing fabric at Back Yard Quilter in Addison NY.  They have a great selection of Wide-Back fabrics.  This teal colored one is a perfect match to my border fabric!

A Finished Quilt

This week I finished the Hexagon Quilt.  This is for my Daughter-in-law, and she picked out the fabric and pattern.  For details about both, click here for my previous post.

I quilted it with straight lines, roughly 1/2" apart, using my walking foot on my Juki domestic machine, using SoFine #50 thread in white.  The batting is Quilters Dream Orient.

I love the texture the closely spaced lines create, and just have to touch it every time I walk past.

Batik Love

As I look back on my previous blog posts, I noticed how many of my recent projects have involved batik fabrics.

The more I use them, the more I love them.

Some of the reasons are practical - because of the higher thread-count base fabric, they are crisp and flat and stable, so they finger-press very nicely.  I can get nice accurate results in my finished quilts.

The other reasons are more aesthetic.  The colors are just glorious, and the shading and prints are beautiful.  I feel like an artist when I'm creating with batiks and the batiks are my paints.

But it's more than that...

While I was pressing the fabrics for this latest set of batik placemats to list on Etsy, it hit me...

It's the smell!

Have you ever noticed the odor of hot pressed batiks?  When heated with an iron, the residual wax left in the fabric from the manufacturing process smells exactly like a new box of

CRAYOLA  CRAYONS!

It takes me back to my childhood and the thrill of opening a brand-new box of crayons.

One of my favorite things...

A Stitch In Color - a new quilt!

I have a new quilt project to share with you today.  I spent a snowy afternoon yesterday arranging all the units on my design wall.  Looks like my design wall is just the right size for this one!

My DIL sent me a jelly roll that she bought, and asked me to make her something with it.  Together, we picked out the pattern, and after auditioning several background fabrics, finally decided on Kona White.  It keeps the quilt very fresh and modern-looking.

The fabric collection is A Stitch In Color by Malka Dubrawsky for Moda.

The pattern is Hexie Framed by Quilty Love.

I sewed all the white strips on to the half hexies at a quilting retreat a couple of weeks ago.  Each piece had to be sewn, pressed, then trimmed.  It's very repetitious - perfect for working on at a retreat while talking and laughing with friends.  Yes, I whined a little, but it was so satisfying to know that I got them all done!

Now they are all stacked in rows and ready to sew together.  Guess I know what I'll be doing for the next few days.  (I write numbers on flower head pins with a sharpie to keep track of my rows.)

And as an add-on, for those of you following my placemat progress, I shared pics of upcoming fabric collections in a previous post (here) and I have finished both sets and have listed them in my Etsy Shop, Cotton Cellar.  You can click here to view the listings.

Baby Quilt Finished

The Batik Baby Quilt is labeled, bound, and on it's way to the new baby boy.  I've done many baby quilts for this client, and she always asks for quilts that will grow with the baby into adult-hood, not too "baby-ish".  This batik quilt fits the bill.

I quilted the center with straight lines, forming an 8-pointed star in each block, and used the same curved line design in the border that I used on the last baby quilt.  All ruler work, done on my APQS George.