Virginia - Maple Leaves for a Unexpected Fall Quilt

Virginia

60” x 60”

She is a crafty girl, taking her knitting with her everywhere. At this time of year she is buried in yarn and apple cider and cat cuddles. She wants to jump in a pile of leaves, take her girlfriend to a sunflower maze, and totally watch Gilmore Girls even though it is terribly problematic. She’s wearing layers at the first sign of a chill and refuses to take them off when the sun warms her on a walk. She may come across as basic, but she is anything but.

More than a year ago I made a single block. Just one maple leaf to show some folks in a Playdate that you can find use for the ugly fabric hiding around corners in your stash. Ugly, after all, is just like beauty - it’s all in the eye of the beholder.

Of course, of course, I put that first block dead centre in my finished quilt top. That so not me leaf fabric was paired, unexpectedly, with a ikat butterfly print from Tula Pink. From those two fabrics the rest of the quilt came to be. I shopped from my stash and had a blast putting together different combinations. The end result was a fall inspired quilt like no other.

The quilting is there merely to add texture. Each block was quilted with wavy lines crossing the block on the diagonal. Because the leaves themselves change direction across the quilt, I carried the direction of the waves with each leaf. For thread I chose a teal blue Superior at the long arm rental spot. (My preference is for 100% cotton, but this works well with their machines and there is absolutely nothing wrong with it.) I wanted the quilt to be extra squishy so an allover design versus outlining each leaf was preferred.

I broke my fabric shopping fast (I have sooooo much fabric) to pick up a binding choice from the clearance section at My Sewing Room. As I was taking the quilt off the long arm I realized that a rosy binding was going to be the perfect choice. Now, I know my stash, there is not a single rose coloured fabric in any value in there. I am a hot pink girl! Keeping with the theme of the quilt as a whole - starting with ugly fabric - I chose a print very much out of character for me. Turns out it was perfect. It binds the quilt so well and is a great complement to the colour scheme.

In the end, this quilt is another unconventional fall quilt. They don’t all have to be reds and oranges folks! And as I was stitching the binding I also realized that it goes perfectly in our living room with its chartreuse sofa on one side and the blue/brown one on the other. I guess it was just all meant to be!

Desktop Inspired Quilt Top

From this…

To this…

Back in 2018 I had the opportunity to go to Montreal to teach at Courtepointe Quebec, a lovely quilt show held in the suburbs of Montreal. I had to lean on my very shallow memory of high school French as my driver and many students didn’t speak English at all. We were in an old school with no air conditioning in a heat wave. Despite all that, we had a fabulous time! One day, on a break with some students, we discovered the art installation made from old desks. We were talking about being inspired by the world around us, including these desks. I remember coming home and experimenting just to see if I could make a block that referenced those desks. A little improv curve action made it happen. I made a few then folded them up and put them in the closet.

Now, as I am in the process of cleaning, sorting, and getting ready to move my sewing room, these old projects are seeing some light of day. That, and I updated my list of Quilts Under Construction after these recent finishes. I wanted to work on something “new” but not really start something new. A dive into the vaults served that purpose.

I didn’t like the blocks just plain. Right idea, ineffective design. Going back to the original inspiration I decided to try setting them so they popped off the background. Honestly, I have no idea why I chose the pinks/reds, but I think they work. I did not have enough of any one colour, so used 3 different ones. Their placement is random, but all being so close in value they read well together.

For me, this is a small quilt. It finishes a bit over 40” x 50”. So, really, just a baby quilt. But I didn’t have any more of that dominant alphabet print to make more blocks. Plus, this size keeps it as a quick finish. I have no idea when I will touch this quilt again, but for now the memories can live more strongly than my French skills!

Ulani - A Quilt Full of Sunshine

Ulani

66” x 66”

Ulani is full of sunshine. She’s a shining light in a stressful time. A reminder to look for light. She is a bright girl who brings joy to everyone she meets.

This sunny quilt comes from the leftovers of our family travels. I brought a stack of 6.5” squares with me to Egypt and Turkey. I made many into some improv blocks as a travel diary. When I got home and there were leftovers I made a quilty plan to use them. The scraps became this quilt, the rest are here (with a few extras to get to this size.)

After my long arming tension disaster I spent the entire 3rd season of Ted Lasso and then some ripping out all my quilting stitches. When I went back to the long arm I was prepared with extra fabric to test the tension. With the test done and all clear I proceeded with the exact same free motion quilting. There is absolutely no point to trying to follow the previous stitches. Really, that would just be a recipe for too much stress. Besides, any needle holes will disappear with the first wash. The whole quilting pattern is just a loopy stipple with stars interspersed here and there. Nothing fancy, but just the right texture for this quilt.

You can really see the quilting on the dark fabric on the back of the quilt. This blue print was purchased on our Egypt trip. The sightseeing guides (which is the best way to navigate the many sites in Egypt) conveniently build in shopping opportunities. Needless to say, I was looking forward to the trip to the Cotton Store! Buried in the basement were a few rolls of fabric on the bolt. There was my spot!!! (Did I get a pic? No.) I only bought 2 pieces of fabric. One, we would later see as a windbreak used by our Beduin guides on an overnight in the dessert. The other was just pretty. I did not have enough of either, however, to make a full back for this quilt without messing up the gorgeous pattern of the fabric. So I decided to simply frame out the one and use it here.

I absolutely love having this extra memory on the back.

If you know me, you know I love a contrast binding. Here I decided to use a blended binding, however, so that the stars stood out more. I almost went with a white print, but in the end, went with yellow because I had a lot of it.

Now this serves as another, cozy reminder of our trip. Not that we need cozy when we think of that trip because we will never forget that heat and that sun!

Braided Rug Quilt Coming Along

There are a lot of different reasons folks make scrap quilts. And many for why they don’t! I go over a lot of them in my presentations and classes. I can say that one of the key reasons to make a scrap quilt is to clean up/use up scraps. There comes a point where the pile/bin/basket is too much and to avoid throwing them out you have to find a way to use them up while making yourself happy with the process.

That’s exactly what happened with these blocks. I have 3 more to make to get the quilt to where I want it to be. Have I used all the fabric yet? Nope. Am I sick of making these blocks? Yup.

Now I could just stop, set everything aside, and come back in a year or so. I do that a lot and have no problem doing so. But that itch to clean up/use up those scraps was strong. Very strong. So I did the math on what was required to get where I want to go. That is, after changing my mind. I’m so close now that I am excited by the finish.

Besides, my new studio is so very nearly ready and it will be great to go in there just a little bit lighter on the scraps.