Another quilt top…

In between working on my spirals , I’m working on a commission. Here’s the top, pre-quilting.

Commissions are always an interesting process, a mix of my decisions and the clients. This one is destined for a beach-y room – so there are sand dollars, scallop shells and sandpipers – in blue and yellow.

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Huh…

I’ve been sewing long enough that I don’t really think much about the actual mechanics of  line up the fabric – lower the pressure foot – back stitch etc. Until I look down and think “huh”

There’s something strange about discovering something that you yourself have been doing – like the fact that I never realized I line up my HST blocks on the opposite side of my presser foot from every other seam I sew.  Anyone else ever have these moments? Or is it just me?

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Spiral Love

I have a stack of other projects demanding my attention, but I’m busily sewing spiral blocks instead.  I’ve got a good stack now, and even though the (full size)  quilt will be far bigger than my design wall, I’ve stuck some of the the blocks up there, pretty much just so that I can admire them.

I just love this quilt.

 

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Spiral Process

I don’t usually go through quite this much “process” before I start sewing, but since I did, I thought I’d share the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat… or something less melodramatic.

I had an idea, the other day – you can make spirals more or less the same way as a log cabin block.  And, I think “spiral” is my favorite shape. So I started sketching, and then (unusual for me – but useful in this instance) moved to the drawing program on my computer, and I got this far (there ae a bunch of un-colored in spirals that are hard to see):

And I looked at it, and I loved it, and I wanted it, and I started imagining it on my bed. I even have a stack of fabric that’s been sitting, waiting for just the right project. Love!

And then I looked at it again, and cursed. Quilters, notice how nicely my curlicue’s fit together in a lovely organic, non-linear arrangement then, notice how my beloved design contains about a million and two inset seams, and no clear way to assemble the blocks. Drat!

*sigh* back to the drawing board, err, program. A snow-day later, and much adjusting of block placement and sewing line drawing , I’ve got a design that I can actually sew, if not the neatest mock-up:

Not sew in a neat grid, mind you, but I did figure out a way to split it into manageable sections with reasonable seams. (the blue boxes) Victory!

And started cutting:

 

(please ignore the somewhat strange lighting: winter light + red room = weird photos)

I’ll show you more once I have some actual blocks to share: I can’t wait to see them myself.

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Charming

 I don’t buy charm packs – or layercakes, jelly rolls, fat quarter bundles or whatever precut configuration they’ve come up with now. I know I’m the odd ball on this, but I like to put my money just into the fabrics that I really like from a line. But, I made an exception for Dream On and bought charm packs. They’ve been sitting on my shelf, cheery and bright, waiting.



1. Juicy quilt, 2. Nicey Jane Charm Quilt: Front, 3. Moda Hunky Dory charm pack quilt using disappearing 9 patch quilt blocks, 4. P1040581, 5. Doll Quilt Swap 5 ready to go!, 6. Game Day Quilt, 7. Mini Quilt!, 8. A sweet little quilt, 9. Chocolate Momo quilt

I’ve decided to use them to make a quilt for myself – something fun and bright. But, now I  need to decide what to do with them.  I want something simple, and easy: this is not the fabric for fussy, fidgetty piecing. I think HST’s are about as complicated as I’m interested in.  

1. Spring, 2. Quilt for Baby Elise, 3. Audrey’s Quilt, 4. For my sister-in-law, 5. 18th June, 2010, 6. or this one?, 7. Braylin’s quilt, 8. Larger DQS Inspired Quilt 1, 9. swell zig zag quilt

I’ve got two charm packs, a little bit of yardage, and probably lots of white kona. So, I went searching through flickr for charm square patterns: and found lots of inspiration. Now I’m deciding between so many options: a nice problem to have.  :)

But, I’m open to more: do you have a favorite charm-friendly pattern?

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Finally Finished

I started this mini quilt over the summer (apparently without a blog post)… finished the top in August…  mentioned it again in September… and that was as far as I got.

 

Armed with an (early) New Year’s resolution to sew more for myself and less out of obligation, I got back to it and finished it this week.

 

I’m not sure why I waited so long: I love this little quilt. It’s based on City Fair, for City Quilts by Cherry House, and the sun on the birch leaves outside my old office window. (I’ve moved offices since, but that’s another post for another time). By my count, it’s has ten different Kona solids.  I thought about hand quilting the whole thing with perl cotton (I found a pretty, variegated one in just the right mix of greens and yellows), but it was too much, visually. Instead, I did a few accent rows among the machine cross-hatching.

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In progress…

 

The state of my sewing table: lots in progress, nothing finished (yet!)

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Off the shelves

I made this quilt months ago, then liked it so much I couldn’t decide whether to put it in the shop, so it sat on a shelf in my studio, which is no place for a quilt.

I finally came back to it, and listed it. (Though, if it didn’t sell, I wouldn’t be too terribly upset to keep it)

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My first quilt …

Working on this quilt, got me thinking about where I started.  This is the first quilt I ever made.

If I remember right the only patchwork I’d done before this was a nine-patch pillow. Remember, I said I was  a  crazy ambitious beginner, so I skipped straight from simple, unquilted patchwork pillow to a bed quilt I planned to sleep under. This one is a twin size , and I did keep it simple in some ways, the piecing was a simple block pattern that I could strip piece, in three (meticulously matched) ivy-print fabrics.

It was the quilt on my bed all through high-school (I started sewing in 7th or 8th grade), college and my first apartment. Now it’s pretty worn, delicate and mostly retired, but if I ever were packing to evacuate before some disaster, it’d be coming with me.

So, what about you: What was your first quilt? Is it still in use?

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Square in Square

I’ve been pulling out piles of fabric, thinking about quilt tops I could make. But I don’t have a clear inspiration, so I’m looking through my flickr favorites and delicious bookmarks.

1. WIPs-2, 2. Colored Planet Baby quilt, 3. trenton’s quilt, 4. Rectangles & Gray Lap Quilt, 5. modern munki munki martian quilt, 6. orange and olive quilt top

 

I think I’ve settled on a square in square pattern, and, thought I’d share some of the  inspiration with all of you.

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