Another entry for Bloggers Quilt Festival

For my second entry into the Bloggers Quilt Festival, I thought I'd like to enter my Ella Bubbles quilt. I love this quilt and am excited to be sending it (her) to Kiama for exhibition in Australia's only Modern Quilting Show.

This is the first YouPatch pixel quilt that I have made incorporating half-square triangles (HSTs). They allow me to create smoother, rounder lines which is perfect in a quilt about BUBBLES!!!

Quilts at long last

I think I misplaced my blogging mo-jo (is that called blo-jo?) so haven't posted in a couple of months. So much has happened since my last post that it's hard to know where to start.

I think for this blog post I'll show you some of the quilts that I have loved seeing of late. I'm sure you will have seen many of them in other people's posts .... people who actually post regularly and when the news is still current :P

First up .... Quiltcon: Feb 2015 (Yes, that long ago!!)

"Face #1"
I adore this quilt by Melissa Averinos. I wasn't the only one.  It was awarded a Judge's Choice award.

Audrey - finished at last!!

This has been by far my biggest and most ambitious quilting project ever!

I started with this pixelated image:

Using YouPatch, I generated a pattern with just over 2000 pieces and, over the course of about 50 hours, I made the quilt top.

Here she is half-finished at the Melbourne Stitches & Craft Show last year

Bubbles!!!!!

So as you may have seen in our recent post, we are introducing HSTs into the YouPatch quilt design suite! Here is the first pixel quilt I've made that incorporates triangles:

The original image was a pic I took about a year ago of my daughter Ella blowing bubbles.

Rather than go with my usual bright solid fabrics, I wanted to incorporate a palette that was a little different so I asked my dear friend Louise (who usually goes for a softer palette than I do) to select the fabrics for me. Not only did she select something gorgeous and a little different, she went with textured fabrics.... all purchased from Amitie.

From L-R: Robert Kaufman dot in pink, Quartet Collection by Faye Burgos for Marcus Fabrics, Zenith by P&B Textiles, Robert Kaufman quilters linen in silver, Robert Kaufman quilters linen in platinum.

Aussie Aussie Aussie

In preparation for our trip to Austin in February, I thought it would be good to make something very Australian to share at our YouPatch booth.

An Aussie map quilt hanging on the most Australian of icons, the hills hoist!

Autumn leaves?

Yep ... I created this abstract pixel pattern from a picture of autumn leaves.

Using YouPatch I chose the lowest level of detail and dropped the colors down to 5. Then I selected my own color palette and voila .... this was the result!!

For the quilting I went with an off-centre spiral, augmented with some fun squiggles and swirls.

And for the backing, I chose this stunning fabric that I bought at Amitie Textiles.

I'm hoping this quilt will be accepted for the exhibit at QuiltCon.

I'm a bit excited to have this one finished and I have another finish to show you in a few days. Much stitching excitement!!

Andi xx

I have been sewing ... pinky promise!!!

I just can't show you too much of this project until later in the year.

But in the meantime, here are some sneaky snippets ....

Have a gorgeous Sunday. Go stitch something pretty!!

Andi xx

On quilting, binding and backings - Part 2

Last week, I wrote about the quilting side of pixel quilt making. Moving right along, I thought it would be good to have a bit of a look at binding and backing choices.

As with most other quilts I've made, I make the quilt top first and then wait to see how the quilt top 'speaks' to me before I choose a backing and binding.

The great thing about these pixel quilts is that all the fabrics on the quilt top are solids. That means I get to go completely crazy with backing fabric choices. Of course, I do think about the thread colors I will use in the quilting to make sure the backing fabrics will happily play with those thread colors.

I had such fun raiding my stash of vintage sheets for the back of my bunny quilt. Even though the front of the quilt had no greens in it, I loved the idea of my bunny frolicking in a green field of 70's flowers. 

The lilac binding worked perfectly with the backing and framed the front of the quilt nicely. I usually opt for a much bolder binding but this quilt just seemed to cry out for softer, prettier choice. It really works!

I couldn't resist this lime and pink backing fabric for Marilyn. I thought she would have approved of the flowers and butterflies. I found it at Amitie and bought whatever was left on the bolt!! Loved it THAT much!!!

I'm not entirely delighted with the look of the black quilting on this fabric but I knew it was going to be a wall hanging and really, only I would know! ;-)

And given the black border that I added to this quilt after I'd quilted it (remember?) a black binding was really the only choice.

The backing for Groucho was also a wonderful Amitie find. I knew it would absorb the quilting beautifully ... and it did!!

But what I'm particularly excited by is the Groucho binding ...

I made a binding that would change color as the colors around the edge of the quilt changed. I think I did a pretty good job of matching up the seams.

I usually love a binding to create a frame for the quilt but in this case ... with the image moving out beyond the edges of the quilt ... I knew a frame such as a black binding would only serve to contain the image rather than allow it to breathe. Does that make any sense?

With YouPatch still in it's very early days, we have yet to see any pixel quilt finishes from our lovely customers. So I am extremely excited to see what wonderful choices people make with their pixel quilt bindings, backings and quilting designs.

Can't wait to see what everyone is stitching!!

Andi xx

A YouPatch pixel quilt finish!

I have finally finished up the Marilyn quilt.

I'm so pleased with how she has worked out.

The quilting is quite dense with matching color thread for each color in the quilt top.

As you can see in the photo above, I initially quilted this quilt without a border. Once it was all quilted and trimmed, I decided that a black frame (thicker than just a black binding) would frame it up nicely in the space we have to hang it.

I had the dilemma of adding borders to an already quilted top. But then I found this tutorial which is a brilliant way of adding quilted borders in a QAYG style. It was very easy to do and a brilliantly written tutorial!! Thanks Marianne :-)

Now I have a question for all of you ...

What would be your approach to quilting one of these pixel quilts? Would you hand quilt? Machine quilt? Straight line? Free motion? What quilting designs would you consider?

Andi xx

PS Don't forget you can get your own free Marilyn pixel quilt pattern over at youpatch.com :-)

Test pattern quilt

And now, here is my final contribution to The Beehive.
A finished quilt made by me and 11 fabulous women.

 

Specifically: Sheridan, Amy, Karlyn, Belinda, Kat, Megan, Julie, Jo, Annabel, Tanya and Megs.

 

To appease my husband (who says "its too busy and bright to have in a bedroom ... or any other room for that matter") I have made the back of the quilt much simpler with just a strip of busy patchwork through the centre.

 

The incredible quilting has been done by Karen Terrens. She is a genius with a long-arm quilting machine!! (And she comes from such a creative family. Her mother is an incredible craftswoman and you just may have heard of her sister).

 

So, now all that's left is to snuggle up with her and enjoy my memories of this wonderful quilting bee.

 

Thanks girls! I'll miss you!!

Andi xxx

PS Why "The Test Pattern Quilt"?  

 

That's why!!

Some fabrics are just too pretty to cut up

So I'm making a whole cloth quilt out of Anna Maria's Loulouthi Totem print.

 

I had to piece two lengths together which was a challenge but I'm fairly pleased with my joinery skills....

Can you see the join running across the center of the image?

And for the back, another fabric from the same range.

  

 

I plan to hand quilt this one with Perle 8 thread because I've been needing a new portable hand stitched project. (I can only handle so many hexies at a time).

The question is do I stitch around the fabric design in coordinating colours like Anna Maria did?

Or do I go for a simple cross hatch in cream thread? Or maybe pink?

Your thoughts?

Andi xx

My new favourite quilt

Nuff said.
I'm off to snuggle.
Have a great weekend.
Andi xx

Tidy!

Once my sewing room gets tidied, I get seriously productive.

This week, a dear friend told us he was getting married in January.
Plenty of lead in time I know but I had an idea that needed to 'get out'.

So I raided my red scraps bin and some beautiful linen, and made them some cushions for their couch.

Patch-worked fronts and backs.

And quilted on both sides.

I inserted invisible zips using this excellent tutorial.
I wonder if I'll be able to wait until January before I give them!!

Also sewn in the last 24 hours:

• Patches on a small friend's jeans where he had worn through the knees
• Beehive blocks for Belinda
• Completed the last 6 blocks on this quilt
• A little more hand stitching on this quilt
• Binding on a baby quilt that I haven't shown you yet.

 Tomorrow I have no 'proper' work to do and no kids in the house. I'll be stitchin' up a storm.
What's your plan?

Andi xx

And back to the quilting!!

A new commission for a new baby boy.

Echino and coordinating fabrics on the front.

And simple Kona solids on the back.

The baby's name in Hebrew and English.

And some lime green binding.

Phew. It feels good to get back to 'normal' blogging.

Andi x

A quilty finish

Aaaaaaaahhhhh .... back to my usual bright warm colours!

I finally finished this quilt started way back last year.

It has been sitting in my UFO pile for way too long, basted, just waiting to be quilted and bound.

Of course, once I got going, it was a pretty quick finish. Just a day or 2.

It ended up pretty big .... 78 inches square.

I went for the fancy shmancy binding again after using it on this quilt.
I really like the effect of this technique!

For the backing, I have used a gorgeous Kaffe Fassett floral print.

It sits very happily in the quilt stack in our lounge room, waiting to be snuggled under on a cold wintry day.
I fear these are coming all too quickly. Where did you go Summer?

Andi xx

Not my usual pallette

2 matching cushions for my niece and her husband (who each had birthdays in recent weeks).

Their house is decorated mostly in neutrals.
I used a newspaper print for the backs.

And I couldn't resist a touch of red!!!!

Happy birthday Kim and Stu!!

Andi xx