Round and Round

I'm finding Instagram quite addictive. It's just so simple to connect with other quilters, see what they're working on and share ideas. The problem is that it makes you want to make every beautiful quilt that you see! The Round and Round quilt-along was a perfect example.

I was intrigued by this pattern and wanted to try it when it was first released. One of those sitting in the back of your mind {along with many others}. When Camille announced she was hosting a quilt-along, I was in. I chose a background other than my usual white - a minty, aqua-y, blue/green solid from Moda Bella called Breeze. I really love this color...

For the quilting, I tried concentric circles for the first time. I've done swirls before, but wanted to try this look where the swirls look like they're sitting on top of one another. Armed with Angela Walter's book by my side, I gave it a go. Definitely time-consuming, but very doable!

The backing is that nice blue/green dot from Scrumptious and I love how the Metro Circles in navy set off the quilt as binding.

I thought this would be my final finish for 2013, but I should get one more binding on. So hopefully one more before heading into the list for 2014. {And maybe a little wrap-up post of all my quilts from 2013?}...

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Superstar

My second to last quilt finish for the year! This quilt is Superstar, pattern in The Practical Guide to Patchwork by Elizabeth Hartman.

I can't even remember when I started this one. I've been working on it here and there for the past year I'm sure. Then it sat as a top for months. I really couldn't come up with a way to quilt it.

And some things just need to evolve. The one block with the gray background... that was a spur of the moment addition. Oh, and the green too. Added that in when I made the last 3 blocks.

As it turned out the quilting couldn't have been easier! I used my walking foot and sewed organic {not straight} lines. Man, did that go quick! And finally the perfect diagonal stripe binding.

One more coming for sure... and I may eek in one more binding. We'll see!

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A new WIP for WIP Wednesday

How about a sneak peek of what I've been up to? There's been some new fabric sitting in the sewing studio - taunting me as I work to compete my to-do list for 2013. And I couldn't resist any longer...

I was a lucky girl and picked up the only bundle of "Color Me Happy" by Vanessa Christenson that my local quilt shop owners brought home from Market. The prints are beautiful and I've combined some of them with some stash fabric in a blue/green color combo...

The block is from a pattern by Fig Tree & Co. called Nutmeg Stars...

I enlarged it a bit and mine is a little over 13"...

They've been super fun to make...

Linking up today with WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced!

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On A Whim

As I mentioned in my WIP Wednesday post, I'm trying to start 2014 with a clean quilting slate. Three tops to quilt - one down.

On A Whim is a great pattern from Thimbleblossoms. And it was the perfect quilt to make when I bought a FQ bundle of Denyse Schmidt's Florence line on a whim {you know, one of those impulse buys!}. There are some beautiful versions of On A Whim out there in cyberspace! And here's mine...

The solid is a Moda Bella - Dusty Jade - and seems to blend perfectly with Florence.

This is a big quilt for me... 72" x 87". Since there was such contrast in the fabrics, going from white to that dark charcoal gray, I really wanted custom quilting with plenty of thread color changes.

So despite the size, I decided to quilt it myself, all free-motion and I'm super pleased at the way it turned out! I started with the white areas, just going back and forth to fill in the space. I came up with this design for the colored portions of the block that I was able to quilt in one continuous line. I thought of doing feathers in the on-point solid square, but thought it may look too traditional, and ended up with squiggly lines giving it tons of texture.

The back is a pretty Florence print that echoes the jade green solid.

My husband has claimed this quilt because of the size. His napping quilt is probably 15 years old, so I think he's due!

Mmmm... maybe I should start more quilts on a whim!

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WIP Wednesday

Today I'm guest hosting at Freshly Pieced! I've been a busy sewer, between holiday projects and finishing up some 2013 projects! Visit Freshly Pieced WIP Wednesday to see what I've been up to!

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Amy Butler Weekender Bag!

On this day before Thanksgiving - there are many things that I'm thankful for. One of them is that I finished my Weekender Bag, the popular pattern by Amy Butler.

I've had the pattern for over a year and the fabric for many, many months. I'm not normally a procrastinator, except when it comes to bags. They're not my favorite things to make - but I've loved this bag for so long. And it almost seems a rite of passage in the modern sewing world to make a Weekender Bag. So armed with tons of advice from those who have gone before me, I made a plan several weeks ago to tackle a few steps per week. Breaking it down into chunks seems less overwhelming and time consuming.

And here you go!

And you know what? It wasn't so bad after all. Between my friend, Bonnie {with lots of experience I kept her on speed dial} and some cheerleaders on Instagram I muddled through one step at a time.

Per Bonnie's suggestion, I used Soft and Stable which seems to be much easier to sew than Peltex. And I'm 100% happy with how nicely it feels and stands up. There is one piece of Peltex in the bottom along with the Soft and Stable. I also used several of the suggestions from Mary Claire, who was nice enough to compile many of the recommendations found on the internet.

Now I just need a weekend trip, so I can go in style!

I also wanted to share with you the Snowball Games quilt from my book Simply Modern Christmas that my sister-in-law made. It's her first quilt! She used Scrumptious to make a nice feminine quilt for her niece who is having some health challenges. As another of 5 young boys, I'm sure she appreciates this pretty feminine quilt. It's filled with love and healing wishes!

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On Point Pieces

See the square in the center of this block? It's sitting on it's point. In the past, to rotary cut this square I would have taken the diagonal measurement {which is 3"}, divided it by 1.414 to find the length of the square's side and added 1/2" for seam allowance. My answer would be 2.6216407. Try to find that number on your ruler!

But now I have a brand new ruler -{ingenious it is} - to cut on point shapes.

Don't mix this up with your regular rulers, because the 1" mark is not 1", but will cut a square that is 1" on the diagonal {seam allowance included}. Super easy! The ruler comes with a sheet of instructions for many uses and you can even catch a Youtube video here, where it's designer walks you through the process. Here's a little example:

With a sketch on paper, I can see that I need a center square that measures 3" finished across the diagonal.

Using the 3" line on the On Point ruler, I cut my square. The seam allowance is built in - see the clear area around the edge of the ruler? - that's the seam allowance.

You'll notice in my block drawing that the rectangles are on point also. I knew that the diagonal measurement of the short side was 1 1/2", so I cut a strip using the 1 1/2" mark on the On Point ruler. The instructions suggest laying the ruler on top of a drafted rectangle to determine your markings. Then use the indicated marks for cutting.

I did a bit of thinking and realized my long edge of the smaller rectangle had to be the same size as the square. I trimmed it using the 3" marking.

The long side of my larger rectangle was the same as the side of a square with a 6" diagonal measurement {my finished block size}. I used the 6" marking and voila!

They fit perfectly! 

The instructions also explain how to cut half square triangles that sit diagonally in a block. Haven't tried that one yet!

Here's my finished block...

Part of a series of 6" blocks. More to come on that project!

For more information about the ruler visit Donna Lynn Thompson's website!

All in all, I'm super excited about this ruler. I think it will improve accuracy tremendously for on point shapes. I just hope I don't forget how to cut 2.6216407" squares!

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