Reunion Quilt #2

  On the weekend, while it was snowing AGAIN, I finished another Triangle quilt using my second Reunion fat quarter bundle.  This grouping was in a different color-way than the first quilt I made and I substituted one fabric.  They had added a solid grey to the mix but I swapped that one out for a bright red that I had in my stash…the only red I had in my stash that wasn’t a batik.  I was happy with how well it blended in.
I quilted this one with free hand swirls to be different from the first quilt.   I had a Kona grey in my stash that I had bought for another quilt but it didn’t use but it matched this quilt very well.  Here is a look at the two quilts together.
We received about 10cm of snow on Sunday. This is not uncommon here but I am starting to wonder if spring will ever arrive?

Perfect Ten Quilt

 

This is Maxine Perfect Ten quilt that she made for her mother who just moved into a nursing home.  What a lovely gift and I’m sure her mom will love the fabrics!  Maxine asked for the Hearts in Bloom panto and I suggested the Dream Puff batting to keep it nice and light for her mom.

Island Sunrise #7

 

This is Eileen’s Island Sunrise quilt which is another finish from the Judy Niemeyer workshop our guild held in the fall.  Eileen really liked how I quilted Alex’s a few weeks ago so I took a lot of the quilting elements from that one and change a few details.   I did a feather design in the outer border but did three different shapes….a plume, a leaf and a swirl.  I did loops in the inner border and a windy swirl in the background of the arcs.  Repeated the same design in the spike shapes as in Alex’s quilt.

I used #439 Amethyst So Fine thread on top and it blended so well into all the bright colors.  For the backing I used #648 Dark Brown Bottom Line thread and Dream Blend is the batting.

I dyed the backing a soft brown, it almost as a suede look to it!

Go Cutter – Isosceles Triangle

It’s been awhile since I used my GO Cutter so I dug it out along with a fat quarter collection I bought last year called Reunion by Sweetwater.    I thought it would make a cute little boys quilt as it has a nautical theme and I used the Isosceles Triangle GO die shape as it reminded me of nautical flags.   I was able to cut out 17 triangles out of each fat quarter and also cut triangles out for the background using Kona Snow fabric.   I quilted free hand wavy lines across the quilt to look like wind or waves.  I thought about adding the odd swirl but decided against it to keep the design simple.   Quilters Dream Blend batting and White So Fine thread on top and bottom.

My neighbours have a nautical themed yards so made for a handy backdrop for my pictures!  The backing and binding are a yellow fabric I had left over from the backing of my 5 Minute Quilt and it matched the yellow in the quilt perfectly.

I have a second bundle of this fabric but in a different color way so might make another one but save that for our guilds next UFO day.  This was intended to be for that day but I got carried away and finished it in one day, from cutting out the triangle to the finishing binding,  it’s a quick project to do!  I machine stitched down the binding which I rarely do but I am happy with how it looks .  The finished size is 35”x51” so would fit nicely in a crib.

Zig Zag Quilt #2

 This is another one of Lynn’s Zig Zag quilts that will go to one of her grandchildren.   I was so excited to see that she has used some of my hand dyed fabrics that she purchased from me at our quilt show last year.  She also won some of  Lori’s and my hand dyed fabrics when our guild did the last Mystery project.  We bribed our members with a prize if they were up to date on their piecing and Lynn won that draw! Doesn’t it look like colourful Rickrack?

This time she chose Daisies Galore for the panto design.   Light green Minkee for a backing and Dream Puff for the batting making it another cuddly quilt.

Things are SLOWLY  melting here, finally getting above freezing during the day and I think the quinzee is going to collapse soon!

Zig Zag Quilt

This is Lynn’s batik Zig Zag quilt that she made for one of her grandchildren.    This is a quick and easy pattern to make as she did not use HST blocks but two strips of fabric cut into blocks then arranged on point.  I found a great blog tutorial on the method here.

Lynn asked for Dream Puff batting to keep the quilt light and soft as it will be used a lot.  The backing is a chocolate brown Minkee and you can see the Dragonfly Pond panto well on the backing.

Curve It Up – Block #12 - Spools

Here is the last block in the Curve It Up Quilt Along!!  You can find the instructions for Block #12 – Spools Block here.   I approached this block differently and wanted the 4 batiks that I used in the quilt to be the focus.  One spool in each pair highlights one of the fabrics and the second spool has all 4 fabrics pieced together.  I’m very happy with how it turned out.   I now have to patiently wait for Jenny and Helen to post some layout ideas as I think these blocks need some sashing to make it bigger and frame each block.

I was hoping this project would put a dent into my hand dyed fabrics but it didn’t!   It was fun to try though :)

Mod Pop Quilted

 
My Mod Pop quilt is almost finished, I have the binding to still put on.  I decided to quilt it very traditionally with feathers and echo lines.I wanted the background quilted heavier than the darker curved designs so they stand out.   I really enjoy piecing these modern quilt patterns but prefer how they look with traditional quilting.

I recently came across a quote by Pablo Picasso that I think is brilliant.

“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.”

I think this is so true of quilting.  It is important to learn the foundation for good piecing and quilting before you start experimenting.  I just wanted to share that thought as it is stuck in my head!

The fabrics are all batiks that I collected over a few months, they are not a particular collection. I enjoy the challenge of picking my own fabrics to create the look that I’m hoping to achieve.    I hand dyed the backing a light blue-gray, used Quilters Dream Deluxe Cotton for the batting and So Fine thread.

 

The feathers are all free hand and I made them quite large.  The only marking I had to do was a circle for the wreath so I had a guide to follow.

Terrain Hugs and Kisses

 

I was thinking the other day that I haven’t quilted ANY quilts for myself yet this year, so I have to fix that.   Yesterday our guild had a UFO day and I brought the blocks above, they are to make a Hugs and Kisses quilt by Jaybird.   I used one of the fabric fat quarter collections I won at our guild’s xmas party last year, Terrain.  Very modern colors, not my normal taste but I really enjoy working with different fabrics and colors, it’s good to get out of your box once in awhile.

I was able to put the top together at the UFO day and when I got home and started to search for a backing I remembered I had the perfect fabric. 

Can you believe this bright orange flannel was in my small stash and I had the right amount!  It was going to be a backing for a  Wheel of Mystery quilt that I did in bright colors but I changed on my mind and didn’t use it on that quilt.  I knew it would come in handy one day and 5 years later it did!  Good thing fabric doesn’t go bad :)

No time to quilt this one now BUT I do have my Mod Pop quilt in my machine so I will get one of my own quilts quilted this month.   I have the background quilted just not sure how to handled the darker curved designs…hope to figure it out later today so I can share that one with you.

Urban Nine Patch

 

This is Sandra’s Urban Nine Patch quilt and you can find the pattern designed by Jenny Pedigo here.   It is made using the Quick Curve Ruler and if you have followed my blog for awhile you know I love this ruler and have made quite a few quilts with it including this pattern.   Sandra asked that I quilt it exactly like Jenny did on her pattern as that is what drew her to this pattern and to purchasing the ruler.   So here is a link to Jenny’s post where she shows how she quilted it as that is exactly what I did.   The only difference is that Sandra added a 3” outer border so I just extended and recreated the designs with the quilting to pretended it didn’t have a border. 

When I started quilting this one I was a bit overwhelmed by all the ruler work as I don’t usually quilt this heavily and was thinking Jenny was a bit crazy!  ;)   But as I kept going and saw the results it made me want to work on it more and more as I loved how it was turning out!  I always had an appreciation for quilters that can do such detailed work but now I have an every better appreciation for the work they do as this took me three full days to complete.

Sandra asked me to dye her a backing and we decided on yellow.   I used Aqua So Fine thread on top and a light Aqua Bottom Line on the back.  The batting is Quilter’s Dream Blend.

 

Love how the quilting looks on the back!

Those little petals in the nine patch were a lot of fun to do!  Thanks for the inspiration Jenny!