Sunshine for Days - A Bold Star Quilt

Bold, full of sunshine and memories.

This quilt top began its life as a leftover stack of fabric squares. On our big trip to Egypt and Turkey last year I travelled with a stack of 6.5” squares. I made a block each day to reflect our travels - a trip diary of sorts. That turned into this quilt. The scraps from making all those blocks then turned into this quilt. Of course, I cut far more fabric than I needed and carried it around with for the entire month. When I got home and finished those other quilts I was left with a stack of pre-cut squares.

You know me, nothing it going to waste! I pulled them out and played until I landed on making HSTs with the non-yellows plus yellows. That gave me nearly enough to make 4 stars. I did have to augment with a bit of stash for all colours, but not much. My goal was to use the leftovers and that’s it.

I made the HSTs and sorted out a layout early in the winter. Then the blocks got put aside (all numbered and ready for assembly). A few weeks ago I needed some no-brainer sewing. After consulting my big list of quilts under construction I decided to turn these into a quilt top. I did, then I realized it was too small for me. It came in, with only the leftover squares, at 44” square. A good little baby quilt. The problem, however, is that I have no need of another little baby quilt. So I debated my options.

1. Accept it’s size.

2. Make a border of some sort.

3. Make more blocks.

Truth be told, I am incapable of making small quilts with no reason. It is very, very difficult for me to stay small. When pressed or shockingly motivated I can stop at a small size, but it is not my norm. Option 1 was out.

Borders… oh borders. Any fabric I used on a conventional border was only going to take away from the stars. I did debate a yellow patchwork border, two rounds of squares all around. The yellow and feature fabrics, however, are pretty close in value. I felt that the stars would too get lost this way. Besides, when do you ever see me use a border? Option 2 is out.

That leaves me making more blocks. This is almost always the best option. You can see that it worked well too. With HSTs finishing at 6” this was easy and relatively quick sewing. I did have a lot of the fabrics from last year still so it was easy shopping. My yellow supply, however, was very slim so I did spend some cash to fill in the gaps (and fill up my yellow bin again). Luckily I was able to get some of the same fabrics so it really doesn’t look like I have two separate sections.

She is done for now. I am debating adding that patchwork border too. Maybe just one round of yellow squares all the way around? Yes, I am suggesting that despite what I said just two paragraphs above. We’ll see. For now, I have some sunshiny memories sewn into this quilt and that makes me happy.

Tree of Life Modern Quilt Interpretation

If you’ve been with me for a while you know about my wonderful list of Quilts Under Construction. I keep all projects that have progressed from an idea to a potential quilt to a nearly done project on that list. I update the list a few times a year, crossing off and moving things from different parts of the list. It isn’t fancy, just handwritten on a sheet of paper on a clipboard I keep in a drawer. It covers finished Quilt Tops, Quilts Being Quilted, and Blocks. It only enters the list when I’ve decided that some play or an experiment are actually going to be made into a quilt.

The reason I love my list so much is twofold. One, it gives me a direct appreciation for the time I’ve spent creating. It serves as a living memory of all the things I’ve done and can do. History and potential in one. Two, whenever I am blessed with some time, inclination, and less than normal motivation I can consult the list and get inspired. One day I might be in the mood for some easy piecing so I can consult the list and grab one of those projects. Maybe I actually, freakishly, have the desire to baste a quilt so I can see what is ready and has a backing made. Having it on paper means I am not storing it in already busy brain. In other words, I don’t have to open the already packed closet to see what might fall out!

So a few weeks ago I pulled out my list because I had an afternoon and felt like piecing. My tree of life blocks captured my attention. I had 4 blocks and vaguely remembered thinking 5 would be enough for a quilt. No problem! I could make one more block. So I did. This size (18”) is fiddly as you have to make a lot of 2.5” half square triangles but it’s not rocket science. One more block done with ease.

These blocks came in to being, firstly, as a sample for a class I did in conjunction with the Heritage Park Festival of Quilts. I took a quilt from their antique collection and created a modern version. This was one sample, then I made a few more, and now I’ve made 5.

At this point, I could have set the blocks aside but I loved where things were going so I went to the stash (and then the store) for some greens to border the blocks when set on point. My math was off so it is a bit wonky but it works well enough and will be fine with quilting.

Now I can move this set of blocks to the other side of the list for quilt tops. All the satisfaction.

Tula - Using a Single Fabric to Make a Quilt

Tula

78” x 78”

Years back I worked with Lucky Spool, the quilt book publisher, on some challenges. Called Mighty Lucky, a group of designers came together for some fun challenges for participants. This particular year my challenge was to play with a single fabric. (The year was 2016!)

I finished this quilt top in 2018 and then it sat. It sat for no great reason, just hung out in the quilt top pile until motivation hit. Motivation came in the form of wanting to complete a long overdue wedding present and this top seemed right for the couple.

In the end, I quilted it with a unique response to each round of the quilt top. Using a deep rose pink from Aurifil to match the tiny pink strip in the Tula Pink fabric. Honestly, you don’t really see the quilting much. It doesn’t add much to the overall design, but it does help define each round a little. And, of course, it makes the quilt cozy!

While making the quilt I returned to the store on 4 separate occasions to buy more fabric. I would have been better off buying a bolt! Somehow, I had the foresight to buy an extra meter for binding. Considering how long ago I made the quilt that is some serious foresight! I’d always had it in my mind to make a bias binding for this. As I was stitching it down, however, I realized that a plain stripe would have complemented the last round of the quilt a bit better. The bias doesn’t look bad, not at all, just that the plain stripe might have been a better choice. Oh well!

If I had bought the bolt I might have had enough fabric to use it on the back too. Alas, I had to make do with another Tula Pink fabric, this time in pink. It’s quite a nice contrast to the stripe, but still coordinates in colour. Geez, have I ever been this matchy matchy?

Turns out you can still access the 2016 Mighty Lucky Challenges as a PDF. Check it out!

Radha - An Exploration in Scale in Quilt Design

Radha

80” X 80”

Just 16 large blocks. They literally took me an hour to sew. And then hours contemplating their layout, but that is beside the point. When you want to play with scale, going big is the easiest way to do it!

To make this quilt I took roughly 2 meters of a black on black fabric and 2 meters of a white on white. I split it all into even squares. Depending on the width of your fabric that ends up about 21” on each side. (A meter is about 40” so I used a bit more than that to get them to be squares.) After making pairs of black and white I sliced through each pair on the curve, freehand. This improv curve technique is a comfort and a classic to me. After sewing each set back together I was left with 16 blocks.

Then they sat. And sat. I thought I was going to use them for one thing, then another. Then, this spring, I was hunting my stash for ideas. Our oldest nephew was getting married and of course I was going to make him a quilt! In conference with my mother in law and niece it was determined that black would be a favourite colour in a quilt. Not my norm, but I could do it. Then I remembered these blocks!

Once uncovered, pressed, and measured it was clear they weren’t all the same size. rather than trim everything down to a smaller size I decided to add some strips to make those few blocks bigger. And what better option than neon solids? I added them randomly based off of what I had available.

Then I spent hours over days trying to come up with a layout that worked. You can see some of the ideas here. In the end I went with something that felt more black. Perception is everything, right?

Continuing with the neon theme I quilted the whole thing with a bright peach thread. A few episodes of Revisionist History while on the long arm rental at My Sewing Room and it was finished. Then the mad scramble to get binding on before I left on our big summer trip. The wedding was the first weekend we were away.

Normally, I don’t get too fussed about finishing wedding presents on time. Maybe I should? That’s another story though. But I was feeling a bit guilty that my daughter and I were missing the wedding so I really wanted to have the gift available on time.

The backing is a combination of Tula Pink neons and that great green whose name I cannot remember. The Tula was perfect not only because the colour but both my nephew and his bride are big animal lovers. Now it has the black side and the bright side.

If you’ve been at a trunk show with me over the years you’ve heard me tell the story of how my first quilt was made after I found out my future sister in law was pregnant. It gave me permission to try quilting. My first quilt ever was made for this same nephew. Well, when I was binding the quilt I realized I still had 1 scrap from that very first quilt! It fit perfectly on the binding. I adore this full circle moment in both family and quilting.