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!

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 New Year, A New Quilt

I rang in the New Year in my Cotton Cellar, working on a custom quilt order.  My client asked for a Winter palette of dark blue, green, and gray batiks, so this is what I selected.  I think it's just what she requested.

I'm using a Tube Strip Set technique I learned from this Missouri Star Quilt Company video.  It's a duplicate of this quilt that my daughter pieced, and I finished for this same client, other than the color scheme.

And while I was waiting for those batiks to arrive in the mail, I put the borders on my One Block Wonder quilt.  I hope to quilt it soon...

One-Block Wonder Update

I put the pedal to the metal this week and got all my rows sewn together on my One-Block Wonder quilt.  I have to admit, I'm in love with this quilt.

It was tedious sewing, with pressing all the seams open and lining up all those intersections, but worth every minute (hour).

I still plan on adding borders, but will mull the options over while I'm busy getting my Christmas quilts finished.  Priorities... 

A close-up shot.  My favorite hexagon in the entire quilt is the aqua one just to the right of center with the skinny orange spikes.

I think the back looks almost as pretty as the front, with all those seams pressed open.

And in case you missed an earlier post, this is the fabric I used.  Skyline by Hoffman Fabrics.  I cut my 60 degree triangles simultaneously from 6 identical stacked panels, cut from the 7+ yards I bought.  One quilt from just one fabric.  It still amazes me how the finished quilt looks compared to the original fabric.  Mind blowing...

Retreat Projects

I just got back from a wonderful Quilt Retreat.  It's so nice to have a few uninterrupted days of sewing with friends.  The time flies by and we get so much accomplished, in between our laughter and conversation, of course...

I made two quilt tops while I was there.  First is an improvisational tree quilt (Christmas Quilt #3), using this tutorial I found from the Diary of a Quilter blog.  (colors look better in person - aqua, red, gray and white)

Second is a Batik Square-in-a-Square quilt that I threw in as a last minute project.  I've been in the mood to do a simple quilt with batiks for a few weeks now, and this seemed perfect.  And it uses every bit of a 40 strip jelly roll.  No waste!  Not sure if I will add a border...  Should I?

Once those were finished, I started sewing my half-hexagons together into strips for my One Block Wonder quilt and got 12 out of 20 made.  I'm really liking how this is going and can't wait to see it finished!

The weather was gorgeous while we were there and I enjoyed going out for walks every day.  I was so excited to stumble across this perfect bobcat print!!!  That's a first for me!

This week I plan to finish the binding on Christmas Quilt #2 that I finished quilting before retreat.  Hope to post pictures next week if I get it done, so stay tuned!

Christmas Quilt Finish and OBW Started

I found some spare time this holiday weekend to put my One Block Wonder blocks up on my design wall.  After many hours of rearranging them, I finally forced myself to stop and say DONE!

Every time I thought I was finished, I would find just one more block to change.  Then that move would lead to another, and another, and I realized this could go on forever.

So now I'm really finished, because I took them down in organized piles and I'm ready to sew them together.  No turning back now.  

  

There will probably be some borders added at some point, but for now I'm going to focus on sewing this section, hopefully at the quilt retreat I'm going to later this month.

While I was laying out the design, I asked myself what I'm going to do with this quilt.  I have to honestly say, I don't know.

Do I need it?  No...

Do I have a place for it?  No...

I make quilts because they make me happy.

I also finished the Christmas Star quilt this weekend.  I really love how this one turned out.  I quilted fairly tight swirls on my George sit-down machine, using pink SoFine #50 thread, which gave just the right amount of contrast against the red fabric.

One Block Wonder Progress Report

I didn't get a chance to write a blog post last week because I was away at a fun-filled Quilting Retreat with a great group of close friends, but I'm happy to report that I finished making ALL the hexagons for my One Block Wonder quilt!  These were so much fun to make, with three different options for each block, depending on how the triangles are arranged.

The last morning of the retreat, I quickly threw some blocks up on my design wall just to get an idea of what they might look like.  This isn't my final arrangement, by any means, but it's fun to see how they all go together.  I would like to try a circular or spiral arrangement by color.

Another highlight of our retreat was our block exchange.  The 11 people in our group spent the last 1 1/2 years making 4 sets of 11 paper-pieced basket blocks, so each person got to take home 44 different blocks to make their quilt.  Here we are going through our basket block buffet, picking up our blocks.  Can't wait to see how all 11 quilts turn out when they are done!