I’m pleased to present my version of the Boomerang quilt: Kinniken’s Dragon. This one is headed out to my brother on the east coast. The minute I saw the Boomerang pattern by Jaybird Quilts, I knew I wanted to make it. I also loved the way Angela Walters quilted the one on the cover of…
Tag: piecing
Quilt Finish: The Color of Time
I’m pleased to present the largest quilt I’ve completed to date: The Color of Time. It finished at 90″ x 108″ and I pieced and quilted it on my sit-down machines. The pattern is adapted from Dimensions by Amy Ellis of Amy’s Creative Side, which includes instructions for twin and king quilts but not a…
Finishing the Interwoven Quilt-Along
My Instagram feed is almost entirely filled with quilters, which I love, so I see a lot of invitations to quilt-alongs. I usually don’t pick up on those, but when I saw this one I was drawn in immediately. I love the geometry of the quilt pattern, I loved that the quilt-along was only 8…
Sun and Shadow, Earth and Sky
Presenting my latest finish, 21 years in the making: Sun and Shadow, Earth and Sky. Years ago, I started this quilt for friends of mine who were about to have their first baby. The “baby” is now almost old enough to drink, but I finally finished his quilt. The fatal combination of not owning a…
Starting the Interwoven Quilt Along
Today marks the beginning of the eight-week quilt along to make the beautiful Interwoven quilt designed by Brittany of Lo and Behold Stitchery. I’m excited to be joining in (and excited that this one is a little more manageable than my last quilt along — the 100 Days 100 Blocks Tula Pink City Sampler marathon)….
Quilt Finish: Sea Diamonds
I’ve just managed to squeeze one more completed quilt into 2018: Sea Diamonds! I finished turning the binding about two hours ago. It’s a lovely sunny day so I found some evenly lit spots for the photo shoot, and here it is! The pattern is called Diamonds in the Deep and is by Kirsty of…
Bright Sisters: Ready to Sandwich
It’s been a while since I’ve posted about this work in progress, what with the move and everything else — but here’s the update: the top is pieced (and in need of a good pressing, after being folded and boxed up) and I’ve got the quilting design sketched out! Here’s the finished top, wrinkles and…
Wrapping Up the City Sampler
It’s over! Yesterday we posted the last block — #100 — and now everyone is finishing their quilt tops or showing pictures of their completed quilts. It’s wonderful to see how many variations of quilts are being created from the same set of blocks. But I’m getting ahead of myself — first, here are the…
This (Almost Final) Week in the City Sampler
Just two more blocks to go after this batch and the sew-along will be done. At the moment I’m sewing the blocks and sashing into rows and I love how it’s coming together! For now, here are blocks 92-98: Only two more! I’m hoping to have the top pieced by the end of next week,…
This Week in the City Sampler
This week goes all the way to block 91 — almost there! I actually just finished sewing all the blocks today, and finally have them up on my new design wall so I can decide what order to put them in for the finished quilt top. My quilt is called Hello, Seattle because I moved…
This Week in the City Sampler
It’s so exciting to see all the blocks coming together as we get closer to the end of this project. Other quilters have been posting collages of their blocks together and I’m impatient to see everyone’s completed quilt tops. We still have a few blocks to go, though. This week is all about squares, or…
This week in the City Sampler
We’re getting close! This week we passed #75, three-fourths of the way through the project. I’m more or less settled in the new place — at least, both my sewing machine and my computer are set up and operational. That counts, right? — and so far I’m still keeping up with the daily block schedule….
This Week in the City Sampler
The Move happened this week, so some of these blocks were made right before I left and the rest were made right after I got there. Naturally, the sewing machine was the last thing I packed, and I carried it in the car along with all the basics I would need to keep going on…
This Week in the City Sampler
It’s moving day and the truck will be here any moment… so this is short and sweet! This week’s lineup: (At this point the movers arrived, so I showed them around and am now hastily finishing the post so I can pack up my computer… always the last thing to go!) That’s it for this…
This Week in the City Sampler
Here’s this week’s roundup, which thankfully includes the last of the Triangles section. See that first block? I had to pull it apart and redo it because the first time my 1/4″ seam gauge was in the wrong place. Just a tiny bit, ever so slightly, wrong. But it adds up when you put that…
This Week in the City Sampler
The end of the triangles is in sight, but not this week. More adventures in diagonal piecing! And let’s just lightly gloss over the top edge of block #43. I’ll make it work, but… it wasn’t my proudest moment. Next week: More triangles, including a block I had to pull apart and completely redo, and…
This Week in the City Sampler
We’re hip-deep in triangles now and I’m having mixed results. For the life of me I can’t put two pieces together and get a correctly-sized half-square triangle the first time. When I use the oversized method to make multiple half-square triangles and trim them down, they are perfect. (I mean, naturally! They’re oversized and then…
This Week in the City Sampler
I have a confession to make. I am not posting this from my desk at home. I am at this very moment cruising along the lovely Douro River in Portugal, enjoying some delicious wine and a relaxing break from the madness of packing. But that will not stop the blocks from coming, oh, no! Here…
This Week in the City Sampler
I’m still keeping up with the daily block for the Tula Pink City Sampler, despite packing up to move. My quilt room will be the last place I pack, of course 😉 Here are this week’s blocks — still in the “rectangles” section: I’m mostly pleased with them, especially the last one. I was very…
Block 10 Iowa
This block came together very quickly, but it took me a long time to decide how to quilt it. I didn’t want to lose the ring, so I knew I wanted to treat all the green patches (center and corners) as background. I decided to do a small-scale meander there to make them recede. I…
Block 8 Friends Around the Square
I was practicing dot-to-dot free motion quilting when this block came up in the rotation, so I used that technique to quilt it. For the dark red triangles, I drew a line with a chalk pencil from each corner of the block to the middle of the base of each triangle, then marked 2 points…
This Week in the City Sampler
We finished the first section, crosses, and have moved into rectangles — easy to cut, easy to piece! Here is this week’s lineup of Tula Pink City Sampler blocks: I’ve started keeping track of the number of blocks I need in each color combination to achieve the rainbow effect in the Gridlock layout. I’m trying…
Block 6 Focal Point
This block, designed by one of my quilting idols (Natalia Bonner), reminds me of opening or unfolding an origami box. I loved the way it came together when I was piecing it and I enjoyed planning how to quilt it, too. First, I echoed outside the center square to pop it up a little. Then…
Block 3 Lots of Love
I remember making this block, waaaay back at the start of the Splendid Sampler in early 2016. The heart in the lower right corner came out very uneven because I didn’t pay attention to my seam allowance. As a result, the block was the wrong size and was noticeably crooked. I left it on my…
This Week in the City Sampler
Week two is done — seven more blocks! I’ve decided to name this quilt “Hello, Seattle” in honor of my upcoming move to that city, which will happen in the middle of this sew-along. This week’s roundup: This week’s lineup features several prints from Tula Pink (blocks 9, 10, 11, 12, and 14) along with…
Extra Block: The Magic of Christmas
Quilting on reverse of The Magic of Christmas This block was fun to make. I used three different white-on-white prints for the background and a leftover bit of a favorite dark red for the star. I wanted the quilting to make the star look like it was shining, so I added straight lines that radiate…
This week in the City Sampler
I am having so much fun doing the City Sampler sew-along! One block per day for 100 days, started on July 7, 2018. Here are my first seven blocks: I love them all but I think Block #3 is my favorite of this set. Which do you like best? These blocks are from Tula Pink’s…
Block 69 Full Circle
I really like how the quilting came out on this block! It was a little tricky to piece, but definitely worth it. When I quilted it, I wanted to emphasize the stripes in the top half of the circle, so I quilted straight lines about 1/4″ or so apart. In the bottom half, I used…
Tula Pink’s City Sampler Sew-Along by Gnome Angel
I’m starting a new quilt! What, is that weird? Just because I already have 7 quilts in progress? Oh, wait, 8, counting my hand quilting project. Where was I? I’ve had the City Sampler book by Tula Pink for a while, and I’ve become a bit of a Tula fangirl. I’ve been meaning to make…
Block 64 Rising Star
This one was fun to make. I really like the secondary pattern made by the orange corners, even if mine don’t quite line up perfectly 😉 For the quilting, I wanted to practice dot-to-dot free motion quilting in the outer squares. I used a chalk pencil to draw a diagonal line across each square connecting…
Block 34 Lemonade
This was another easy and fun block to make. Since there were only two small curved patches, I did them by hand. I chose simple quilting, just a wishbone inside the lemon, echoing outside, and some light outlining to set off the white square and the corners. I used a thread that would show up…
Block 21 Sweet Candy
When I chose the quilting for this block, I decided to echo the candy theme with some ribbon candy in the center square and then use loops in the orange triangles to suggest the crinkly edges of a candy wrapper. I practiced continuous curves in the lighter background squares (clearly, more practice is needed) and…
Block 16 Pieces of Friendship
I love how this block comes together. It looks complicated, but Lindsay’s design is deceptively simple. When this block came up in my to-quilt pile, I had just learned the fern design (Angela Walters again, I love her Craftsy classes) and I wanted to practice it, so I decided to use it in the dark…
Bright Sisters: Making the first block
I’m excited! All the little units are cut and pieced, and I’m ready to assemble the first block of this beautiful quilt! Just as a reminder, this is where I’m headed: And this is where I am now: Okay, so I have a ways to go. Time to dive in! Here’s what I did… Laying…
Block 5 Simple Simon
Simple Simon was easy and fun to make. I wanted the quilting to emphasize the gold stripes, so I didn’t quilt over them. I also wanted to enhance the contrast between the light green and dark green background squares. I did a simple back and forth line in the lighter squares, and I practiced the…
Sometimes You’re Sewing, Sometimes You’re Picking Out Stitches
“Experience: that most brutal of all teachers. But you learn, my God, do you learn.” — C.S. Lewis Uh oh. I just sewed 12 pairs of blue & purple 8″ squares together with the Magic 8 method — four seams per square — and then I cut them apart as directed — and then I…
Bright Sisters: Half-Square Triangle Units
It all starts with two 8″ squares. Bright Sisters has 320 half-square triangle (HST) units (3.5″ unfinished size) — not my favorite unit to cut and piece. Luckily for me, I discovered the Magic 8 Method (thank you, Karen Walker!) before I even bought the fabric for this quilt and I was able to plan…
Block 24 Inspector Sidekick
My flying geese are improving! I still cut the points off where they meet the borders, but the inside ones came out pretty well, and the seams match up (mostly) inside the block. I’m making progress! I chose continuous curve and echoing for the quilting. I did the center square first, and had to break…
Bonus Block: Earth Day
This bonus block was released in honor of Earth Day, April 22, 2016. To make it, I broke my rule of not using blue in my blocks (I set up that constraint to challenge myself to explore other colors, because I love blue) because the earth in the center is supposed to be blue and…
Block 40 Flights of Friendship
I love this block design, and I don’t love how I quilted it. Definitely a live-and-learn moment. The block features four happy little dancing stars. In the original pattern, the stars are colorful and the background is plain, but I saw another quilter’s variation (she is Rat Ferré from Barcelona, but I can’t find her…
Block 18 Lina’s Gift
This is my first basket block ever! The basket is a traditional quilting design with lots of variations. I’m pleased with the colors I chose even though it didn’t come out looking basket-like. It looks more like the bear’s paw block because I chose a dark green instead of a lighter background color for the triangle…
Bright Sisters: Drunkard’s Path Units
I made 160 curved units without using a single pin. Here’s how: The Long Version Bright Sisters, the colorblock quilt I’m making for my sister, contains 160 curved patches (drunkard’s path units). On these units, the edge of the circle comes within 1/4″ of the edge of the block, meaning that the circle should be…
Block 17 Family Stars
I like the hidden star in the center of this block. It was a little fiddly to do all the tiny flying geese units (which just means I need more practice), and I definitely stunted some of the points on the stars, but I love the way it sparkles on the block. I wanted the…
Bright Sisters: Nine-Patch Units
There are 80 nine-patch units (3.5″ unfinished size) in the Bright Sisters quilt. I used a traditional strip-piecing method to create them: The strips (and most of the units and pieces photographed here) are lying on my beloved Magic Pressing Mat. It’s a compressed felt mat that sits on my ironing board and gives me…