I checked out the tutorial from Lo & Behold Stitchery and started collecting fabrics in Ally's favorite shades of pink. Many months, including 2 weekend retreats later, the puff quilt was finished.
Saturday, September 16, 2023
Puff Quilt
Friday, August 4, 2023
Panel challenge
A couple of months ago our guild issued a quilt panel challenge. You could choose a panel from the guild's community service stash or use one you already had...... and do something modern with it. I'm not a huge quilt panel person to be honest. So I grabbed this one from the community service fabric and set to work.
The panel is called The Dress, by Laura Heine. I looked at it for a long time and finally came up with a plan.
I sliced both pictures into 2 inch columns, identically. Turned one set upside down, then alternated the slices creating a funky reversible version of the original photo. Added some more of the panel as borders and some fabric from my stash, and this is where it landed...
once quilted and bound, this is the perfect size for either a wheelchair/lap quilt for the nursing home or a baby in the foster care program. I kind of love it!
Saturday, July 29, 2023
Quilts unscripted 2023
It's been a minute since I shared the blocks I've been making for my improv bee, Quilts Unscripted.
January blocks were inspired by architecture in gray tones for Isabelle. I loved making these and used photos from recent visits to New York City as inspiration.
My first block was inspired by the Oculus....
and my second block was inspired by One World Trade Center
March block for Emily was actually one large slab, inspired by a photo of pottery she provided in her designated color palette. Just like every month, this prompt stretched me!
Thursday, May 18, 2023
Triangles everywhere, all at once
I just realized I left you hanging. I never shared my completed Improv Triangle Sewalong quilt.... although I did share some of my process here. Well it's finished! Introducing, Triangles everywhere, all at once...
The improv triangle units were made using the process Nicholas Ball spells out in his book, Inspiring Improv. I used fabric I had painted with my gel plate and acrylic paints for the triangles and assorted teal, aqua and orange solids from my stash.
When it came time to quilt, I went a little bananas! It is all walking foot quilted on my domestic machine (a Janome 6600). I stitched giant triangles and then echo stitched them, using several shades of aqua thread. There are also some hand stitched triangles in there which are hard to see here. It was loads of fun!
Monday, May 8, 2023
Pantone Quilt Challenge 2023
My friends on retreat encouraged (ok, they were pretty forceful about it! HA!) me to cut it up. Why not? I fearlessly sliced it in 30 degree angle strips, scrambled them up and sewed together, but it wasn't enough. So I sliced again and inserted a new color to the mix! Although the crowd was chanting for lime green, I stuck with my trusty aqua and was happy with my choice.
Friday, April 28, 2023
Word of the year quilt
Well, it's almost May and yes, I am just now getting around to sharing my word of the year quilt. That's because I JUST finished it this past week. Yikes! I chose a word before 2023 even started.... my word is Stretch! But I had no idea how to reflect it in a quilt.
When I was at Quiltcon in February, I took a design class, Inspired by Architecture, from David Owen Hastings. Let me tell you, David's design process is soooooo different from mine! I learned so much from him and was determined to apply some of his design strategies to my own quilts. This was a stretch for me! So what better time to apply it than with my word of the year quilt?
First up was to take an architecture photo that spoke to me. I took this photo in downtown Atlanta during Quiltcon and thought it was the perfect inspiration...
After printing my photo, cutting it up and drawing with colored pencils on graph paper, I came up with the improv piece used in my quilt.
I paper pieced my letters and quilted this mini (18"x20") with my walking foot on my Janome. I'm really happy with the results!
I'm excited to continue to stretch myself in the coming months.Tuesday, March 7, 2023
Quiltcon Collaborations
I'm still processing Quiltcon 2023 over here! I had a wonderful time in Atlanta. One of the highlights for me was spending a good bit of time with my Quilts Unscripted bee mates. We had three beautiful quilts representing our bee in the show.
This is Time by Carole Lyles Shaw