Anyone have a good idea for the quilting on this?

Here is my practice doll quilt so far. It is 14" x 14" but I could trim the white border some still. (I might do the white border over as well, I messed up on it rather spectacularly and those corners are really bugging me.)

I would love some ideas on how to quilt it. I am thinking that straight lines will be so much easier than tiny free motion quilting. But lines how? From corner to corner in a lattice? Echoing the Churn Dash Blocks? A vertical and horizontal grid? I am not keen on stitching in the ditch but maybe that is worth considering here. Other ideas - any help is appreciated here.

Edited to add: Those white squares call out for quilting but they are 1" and 1.25" squares, do you think I could free motion something there or would it just look like a thread glob?



The blue border is a Kaffe Fassetts shot cotton. I am really please with how it adds to this piece. You can see there are many things I have learned and will do better with next time. However, overall I am pretty pleased with my progress so far.

I have to say I am still overwhelmed with how cute tiny quilts are.

Best,

Leanne

Where has the week gone - it's Wednesday again.

This is Railroad, Block #72 from the Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt. See how it has the three four patches down the diagonal and a couple on the sides.



This is block #70 Prairie Queen. Turned on pointe and with no white in it, it looks more like some kind of pinwheel block.

If you look carefully you will see that these two blocks are very similar, both have 4 hst units of the same size and both have four patches of the same size. This one has four four patches and a solid square in the middle, the other has five four patches. Changing the order of the units in the overall nine patch grid sure makes the blocks look different, as does the use of a solid or not.



Here are my 10 blocks so far. I made Prairie Queen with two prints in part because of how I made basket weave with no white. But I think I like the impact of the bright white with the bright and busy colours a lot. You may want to head over to flickr to see all there other amazing Farmer's Wife blocks.

I am not going to show you my modern cross blocks this week, but I am almost finished 50 blocks. Hopefully I can piece the quilt top this weekend and show it off then.



Here is my latest distraction, attempting a practice tiny doll quilt with several pieced blocks. I will be adding some borders to finish it off. It is not perfect, and I have learned a lot - but so far these 9 blocks are only a 10" square unfinished. The cuteness is a bit overwhelming.

Now I totally understand why the DSQ 11 people want to make these kind of doll quilts this round. I hope I make it in the lottery,  I am having a lot of fun practicing.

I am linking this up to WIP Wednesday. I do try to make sure I visit all the links there, and I recommend you do too as there is alway inspiring work there to see.



Best.

Leanne

Tiny blocks

I have been enjoying the small size of the Farmer's Wife blocks - they are 6.5" unfinished and will finish at 6" square. But I have recently been experiencing significant envy over all the small quilt swaps so I put my name into the lottery for the Doll Quilt Swap 11.



In this round of DQS the rule is that the quilts should be like bed quilts only miniature, as opposed to the many beautiful artistic quilts that are more like paintings. They are looking for 6 or more small blocks and the finished size of the whole quilt is really not big:  9 - 18 inches per side.

What do you think? Maybe a quilt with some half size FW blocks would work as a good practice quilt. This morning, first thing, I made this one. I have to tell you that this block is really cute this small. I so want to make a bunch more.

However, the tiny block is sitting beside me as I finish a huge work project that is due on Monday. No more sewing until I get it  done. I am finding that the work is going pretty fast with this for incentive.

Best,

Leanne

Farmer's Wife QAL - Week 4

Eight blocks done! The Farmer's Wife QAL continues to be a place of great fun and inspiration. I fall for every new block, and start imagining a quilt of made of just that block.  I am still doing the blocks that are easy to just calculate and cut with a rotary cutter. Soon I will wrangle the printer and do some of the paper piecing ones.



This is #9 - Box. It is also fun with a different centre but I thought that the crazy print made for a nice effect.



This is #20 - Churn Dash. I have a big crush on this block. I have been doodling shoofly blocks a lot lately, and this block has just a little more added to the basic shoofly. Also, this is the first one of the FW set that I think I like better not on pointe. I am going to see if I can make another block with the pattern bits rotated on the background so it sits the usual way on a diamond background. I'll let you know how it  goes.

Happily, the sewing machine is repaired and back. I hope the repair worked this time, the problem was that each line of sewing started out with a thread glob on the back. This is the second time in the shop for this issue. I am happy to have it back in time for some sewing this weekend.

It's Friday! Enjoy your day.

Best,

Leanne

Wednesday, Wednesday - la la, la la la la

Wednesday again! Time sure flies when you are busy. Here is my progress on the Modern Crosses Quilt, from Modern Log Cabin Quilting by Susan Beals. I am up to 37 blocks. I need somewhere around 60-75 for a proper twin size, I have to do some math - but I think I am over the half way point for sure.



There are almost too many blocks for a photo. I really enjoy working with these bright colours and fancy fabrics. I am using the same stack for the Farmer's Wife QAL. You can see that I added a few more greens and blues to the group of blocks to reduce the red dominance it had before.



Here is one of the two border pieces I am working on for my Kiss in Time quilt. These little squares finish at about 3/4". Below is a shot of the Kiss in Time top so far, which you have already seen.  I hope to finish the borders on the weekend and attach them. Then I can start quilting it.



I am also hoping to get a bunch of batting so I can baste and start quilting on the quilt for my bed. I have decided I will go for very simple backs on both of these, likely a nice sheet from IKEA will do the trick.

But it all has to wait, the sewing machine is in the shop. Cross your fingers that they will fix it before the weekend.

I am linking to WIP Wednesday, last week the work linked there was amazing. I hope you will try to visit those folks too.

Best,

Leanne

A Starry Mystery Quilt

A quick post to show off the next two blocks in the Mystery QAL hosted by Sheila at the Bluepatch Quilter. This is called an Ohio Star. I bet a lot of quilters know that, but it is the first time I made one.



This is the other one.  I am so liking these traditional blocks made with contemporary fabrics.



I know you have seen some of these before, but the group just gets better as more are done.

You can see that I am using a whole bunch of Amy Butler fabrics called Midwest Modern with Essex Linen/Cotton. I really like these, they are more geometric than her current lines. And they look so pretty and understated. I am really excited to see how this quilt ends up looking.

I hope you enjoy Father's Day.

Best,

Leanne

Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt - totally enchanted!

These are my first 6 blocks from the Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt. I have happily joined the Quilt Along over on flickr and you may want to go there to see all the amazing blocks. There is also a yahoo group which I have joined, my first time in a yahoo group.



This is #21, Contrary Wife. Each block is 6.5" unfinished and they are set on pointe in the quilt so that is how I photographed them.



This one is #62, Old Windmill. The idea of the quilt along is that people will do about 2 blocks a week. I am now caught up to the schedule and I really do not plan to rush ahead.



This block is #48, Homeward Bound. You will have noticed that I am not doing them in order. The quilt has 111 blocks, I seem to be doing the easier ones first. Easier in that I can just do the math and piece them my favourite way. Some of the blocks are going to have to be paper pieced or maybe I will used the template method that the book describes.



This is #34, Flock. To me it looks more like a fish or a bunch of fish. The one in the book had different colours for the larger triangles but I like it like this.

I am a bit concerned that this could turn into a  never-ending quilt project, so I have resolved to put whatever is done by next June (or maybe sooner, who knows) into a quilt and finish it off.

I have some other blocks to make this weekend for one of my quilting bees and for the Mystery QAL. I'll post them tomorrow if I get them done. It is cold and raining today, a perfect day for more sewing!

Best,

Leanne

Loads of colour!

I am working on the Modern Crosses Quilt from Modern Log Cabin Quilting by Susan Beal. You can see how each 9.5" block is made up of 4 log cabin blocks. I think this design is a very clever log cabin pattern, but the blocks are not fast to make.



I have 25 blocks done. I am going for twin size, so this is about 1/3 of what I need. I am not sure how I will arrange them in the end, I am using all my very colourful fabrics. I think I need to look for some more blues, greens and purples, there are a lot of warm colours in there.



I have also joined the Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt craze. This is block is Basket Weave, #4. I used the same fabric stack.



This one is Friendship Star, #41. I love this block generally and it sure is cute at 6.5" unfinished. There are amazing blocks over at the QAL flickr site.

These small blocks are very enchanting, I expect I will make some more this week. I need to have 6 done to be caught up, but I can now understand why many people are way ahead, they are very satisfying to make. If you have missed hearing about this new QAL, the quilt has 111 blocks and the QAL was started by Angela at Fussy Cut and Amanda at msmcporkchopquilts.

I am linking to WIP Wednesday, as I finally have some progress to show off again. You should go over there for a look at everyone's work.

Best,

Leanne

Presents for me - Pay it Forward Gifts!

Look what was waiting for me when I finally got home today! I have been out of town since Tuesday, and really tired of being away.

Judith, my friend from Rags to Bags, sent me such a wonderful surprise to come home to. Look at that flower, it so cheerful! It is a pin that I can wear or pin on a wall quilt to see all the time.



This is the cutest bag, I love it! There are pockets inside too!



And Judith even sent me some Party Rings, the real kind! She named the Party Rings quilt, and you can see that the name is prefect.

This present was my Pay it Forward gift! The concept of passing on an unexpected kindness is really nice. It sure is fun when it is your turn to get the gift, I can assure you. If you have not yet done so, I encourage you to sign on when you next see an invitation.

So, having been away, I have not been quilting. Here is my newest project, I did four blocks before I left, and four tonight.

It is the Modern Crosses Quilt from Modern Log Cabin Quilting by Susan Beal. I have wanted to make this quilt since I saw it on the cover of the book. And I have wanted to play with these fabrics, the Not Afraid of Colour Bundle from Sew Fresh Fabrics since they arrived a few weeks ago.



I am making this quilt to send to Quilts Recover.

I was in northern Alberta for part of last week - the smoke from the forest fires that are still burning is thick all over, although I was not very close to Slave Lake. I am glad to be able to help out this initiative, started by Cheryl from the Naptime Quilter. The first plan is to send quilts to those families who lost their homes so suddenly to the Slave Lake forest fires.

I hope you have enjoyed the weekend. I am glad to be back home.

Best,

Leanne

Quilt alongs - a little help from my friends.

So I wanted to tell you all about my other quilt alongs, you can read the Ta Da! post about my Party Rings quilt from the Lily's Quilts QAL in yesterday's post for the conclusion of that QAL.

These blocks are the first three from the Mystery QAL. I highly recommend this QAL, the patterns are wonderful, Sheila from the Bluepatch Quilter is hugely knowledgeable and supportive, detentions are rare, and the group of quilters is a lot of fun.



I did this one today. I have done a lot of HSTs and I love them, so many different patterns can emerge, depending on the colours. Sheila had us make the HST blocks slightly larger than we needed (about 1/8 of an inch) and instructed us to trim them. Well, see the nice joins, that is what trimming will do. Totally worth it!



This quilt top is done. It is my entry into the Naked Bed challenge that Sarah Fielke at The Last Piece initiated. It measures 100" wide by 98" long and fits with some extra on my king size bed. You might want to check out the other quilts in the flickr group, there are some very talented people there.

When I first started quilting, I saw these Laura Gunn fabrics. The lines are called Poppy and Lantern Bloom and I started buying them. I quickly learned that I needed a special pattern that would show off the large scale prints well and when I saw the Wedding Quilt pattern at The Purl Bee, my plan was made. Then I made a bunch of other quilts instead and the fabrics sat in my cupboard. I am so glad that this challenge pushed me to get this made for my bed. The white is Essex linen/cotton which is a dream to work with.

My current question is should I back this with a large king size sheet, add batting and get it quilted so it can be on the bed. Or should I make the pieced back that the left over pieces has inspired? I could make that pieced back into a second quilt instead and have this one to use far sooner - this is how I am leaning.



These cut fabrics represent my late start on the Ogee QAL, which Lesly at Pickle Dish is hosting.

This beautiful Curlicue Crush pattern is by Rebecca from Chasing Cottons. It took me a long time to pick the fabrics to use, and now I have a lot of curves to cut, but I am in the game. Here are the fabris I picked, all spread out:



And I am so excited to be starting the Kaleidoscope QAL that Elizabeth from Don't call me Betsy is running! This is a quilt pattern I have wanted to do for some time. Here are my fabrics:



This one is just starting, I hope you will join in too, follow this button to get there:

I am also going to take part in the Skill Builder Sampler that Leila at Sewn is going to provide, it starts real soon too. I mean, really, with a button like that, one must participate!

It seems that I like quilt alongs - I learn things, I try different ideas and I meet fun and interesting people!

Enjoy your Sunday!

Best,

Leanne

Ta Da! Party Rings - All Done!

I can't pick which picture I like the best, so I am giving you all of them. If you want view bigger individual pictures, click the mosaic and you will go to the picture on my flickr page and it has links to all the individual pictures.

I love this quilt! It turned out pretty much exactly as I imagined - sort of retro looking like LP Records. It is soft and bumpy. It does not lay that flat in all spots but then again, beds and people are not that flat.



It is a full twin size, about 60" x 90". It is the product of Lily's Quilts QAL which was great fun. I learned a lot in this QAL and made some friends too.



It is hard to get a really good photo of the whole quilt, especially since it is grey and raining today, but I could not wait to show you.



The back is even harder to photograph. It is a black and brown flower print called Oh My by Saneae for Moda. The quilt front is a combination of Kona solids and prints Giselle by Jessica Gonacha Swift.  I bound it with one of the prints used in the giant dresen circles.

The quilt-as-you-go quilting was done in two different variegated threads,  called Strawberry Creme and Chocolate Brownies. These are hand dyed threads from Romania which I ordered from Valdani (I had no idea that thread could be so wonderful, go take a look).



I joined the blocks after quilting using the method that I worked out with Marci from Marci Girl Designs and blogged here at Lily's Quilts. This method for joining worked out very nicely, there was no impact on the original design and I was able to quilt the blocks with the backs in place so you can see all the quilting on the back too.



Next week, this quilt is off to my niece, so I am going to ooh and aah over it until then.

This was a major part of May's quilting, so I am linking to to Lynne's Fresh Sewing Day. I am hoping to visit all the sites linked there over this week, I hope you will check them out too.

Tomorrow I hope to tell you about my now finished new quilt top for my own bed, a product of the Naked Bed Challenge, which I just have to iron and photograph - it is king sized so even harder to get a good picture. I expect I will also tell you about some new quilt alongs I have not been able to resist.

Best,

Leanne