Friday, March 4, 2016

Playing With Highlights

There was a lot of flurry when Kona announced their Color of The Year.  The refreshing shade of Highlight can be as bold as you want, or toned down with coordinating colors.  I was intrigued with the color and immediately jumped on the 'gotta have' band wagon.

Robert Kaufman held a Highlight Block challenge on Instagram that produced some pretty amazing blocks.  Check out  #konacotychallenge and see for yourself!  I decided I may as well make a block too!  Who doesn't love a good challenge?  

18" x 16 1/2"
I've been wanting to make this design for well over a year, and the challenge seemed like the time to work up the design.  

I first had to make my templates, which I did in EQ7. Drunkards Path with a few modifications.  The hardest part was getting the proportions correct for the triangle.  I nearly got it perfect, but there are still a couple pattern wrinkles to iron out.
      

I should have ironed first, but I couldn't wait to get started!  With my pieces cut out, I was ready to tackle the curves.  

There are any number of ways to sew Drunkard Path blocks. Pin the hell out of them, take a chance and don't pin, or glue baste.  I had never tried glue basting before, so I decided to see what all the hoopla was about this technique.  

Now I get it.


     
I began by making a crease in the center of both pieces.  This will be the most important part of the block.  You want things to line up.

The glue is your everyday Elmer's School Glue.  Since I'm new to this, I don't have a fancy Applicator Tip and I didn't really need it.  You have to be careful applying it to the fabric, but it worked just fine.  Besides, I nearly always was my quilts when they are done which will take care of any glue splotches.

I put a fine line of glue from the center crease along the edge, lined up the top piece and placed the tip of my dry iron along the edge for a few seconds.  Working my way around the curve, I lined up the edge, iron, line up, iron.  


It wasn't long and I had a pile of pieces!  It was really fast.  The glue held in place perfectly! No pinning needed, and I love that!  

It made sewing the curves fast and easy.  All in all...I'm a glue basting fan!  Not on everything, but Drunkard Path block...absolutely!



With the three blocks completed, I still had to make a couple adjustments so that the center triangle was perfectly aligned.  And it worked.  



I should mention that I went a little crazy when piecing the individual blocks together.  I stitched the black with black thread and yellow with yellow thread.  I wanted to keep it clean, which is hilarious since I didn't think about how the black fabric would show when the curves were pressed!




I started quilting 1/4" lines in a simple triangle design and then echoed the outside of the circles.  At which point I was stuck.  It sat over night while I pondered over the next step.  



You can see the quilting better from the back.  It might look complicated, trust me...it wasn't!




I'll make a confession:  I used my regular foot attachment for all the quilting.  No dual feed here!  I wanted all the lines to be 1/4" (or close to it).  I moved my needle to the left until I had 1/4" from the left edge of the foot.  Then I just follow the previous line over and over using the edge of the foot. 



You say it looks like a Pac Man or The Legend of Zelda, I get that!  I think I'll call it 
Self-Deception.  



I tried another version of this pattern using Studio E Peppered Cottons today.  The first pattern was slightly off, the second pattern is slightly off...shall I go for #3?  I think so!  I have a plan!




LINKING:

24 comments :

  1. Looks great! I love the simple graphic nature, and your quilting really accentuates the design. I really like how you highlighted the highlight!

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    1. I like the 'Highlighting the Highlight' comment! I love when I can finally get an idea from my brain to paper to fabric…it's very satisfying!

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  2. I love the highlight mini quilt and your quilting of the it, Jayne. And I definitely trust you will keep going until you are satisfied with this. I'm curious what you will be tweaking...

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    1. I had fun getting this one finished. I love the quilting on the back just as much as the front! I'm trying to get the triangle lines to match up and become even on all three sides…it isn't as easy as it looks! I will be doing test #3 in the next few days!

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  3. You have done an amazing job with this, in all it's details! I especially look forward to seeing it in more colors, that last picture is too tantalizing :)

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    1. I've had fun with it. I've discovered I like glue basting…who would have thought?! I'm anxious to quilt the second one, the colors are too amazing to leave it undone!

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  4. Very cool design and your quilting just makes it!

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    1. The quilting made me smile…Still tweaking the pattern, but I think I like it!

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  5. I really like this design and the quilting was perfect for it!

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    1. The quilting on the back surprised me when I finished! The design is still getting some tweaks, but its getting there!

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  6. Amazing!! The quilting is spot on. Our LQS didn't get Highlight and don't know when it's arriving. So going to order some online.

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    1. I really needed to use some of my Highlight stash. This block was pretty fun to make and using glue for the curves worked so well! I hope you get to play with Highlight one day soon!

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  7. That design is super cool - I just love how graphic it is. And the quilting really shows off the design and looks especially fabulous on the back! I wasn't sure when I heard about the coty, but it looks so good in your design. You really did it justice Jayne!

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    1. I do love the graphic, bold design of this block. Highlight seemed like a good choice for a first try! I have to say, the back has me mesmerized!

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  8. I really love this Jayne - the quilting is fabulous!

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  9. Awesome quilt! Perfect for highlight. The quilting you chose to do is perfection. Good luck with try #3!

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  10. Oh, yes--go for #3 (although I don't see anything at all wrong with the photo you've posted above). The quilting--gorgeous! But "not complicated"? What do you call the very center with the lines converging--certainly not 1/4 inch lines!!

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    1. The pattern needed a couple adjustments, but I think I got it now! Try #3 was successful and plans for a bigger project is under way! The quilting really was easy! I marked 1/4" the bottom of the triangle as a guide, and went back and forth…a lot!

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  11. As someone who has done her fair share of glue basting (last year's Skill Builder), you totally need one of those applicator tips. If I hadn't already sent your wee package in the mail, I'd have popped one in. It makes it a lot easier. Love the quilting on this one, Jayne. So lovely and dense. But I covet your Highlight. My LQS isn't bringing any in (after they promised they were) and my guildmates and I are waiting on a shipment from Ottawa. Sold out in less than 24 hours at one of our fav on-line shops. Soon... soon it will be in my hot little hands.

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  12. Love your design. Nice to hear someone else uses a regular machine foot for quilting. I ruined one baby quilt this week using a walking foot -- lots of creep -- finally went back to the quarter-inch foot on a second baby quilt and it worked like a dream.

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  13. I was surprised at how good the glue method worked! The extra time it takes to glue the curves is worth it! I don't think I would quilt a big quilt with my regular foot, but small ones it seemed perfectly fine. Do you quilt your bigger quilts with a regular foot?

    It's always nice to hear someone is learning something from me!! Thank you for saying that! Now, when are you going to come back to the Guild??!! No Pressure ;)

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  14. Great design, and the quilting on the back is awesome!

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  15. Quilts made great with your creative mind.

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