Tested and Mother Approved :: Half Circle Runner

Much like the old commercial for Kix the cereal...this design has been tested and approved!  Approved by me, but I don't think that matters in this case!

Half circles have been intriguing to me and when I finally made the time to play with them, I was hooked and inspired!  There are so many options and I was determined to make my mark in the world of circles.  

When I was testing I made several blocks in order to be sure I could line up the seams and get a feel for circles.  Half Circles :: The Test is the result of my efforts.  Efforts I was all to happy to make, happy with the results and happy to use said 'test' blocks and make a runner out of them!

CIRCUS
15" x 42"

In my mind, that was the easy part.  The hardest part, and the part I struggle with the most is quilting.  I remember when I first started quilting and blogging I asked once if quilting really mattered that much.  Naive.  Newbie.  In my mind I thought back then that the design is what spoke, not quilting.  Perhaps that gives you a glimpse into my mind and why quilting scares me!  Quilting does matter.  It's the make or break of any design.    



So we stress about it.  We set projects aside until an idea feels right.  Or maybe we even send it off to a professional who can make the determination of the right design for us.  Granted, this is just a runner.  A small piece that is inconsequential in the long run, but one I want to be killer good!  Which leads me to continually trying to make quilting a part of the design.



I decided to just do...and not think too much about it.  My first decision was thread.  I used Aurifil #5022 in Mustard.  I felt like it would be a good choice to blend into all the colors and not standout too much. 



The first thing I did was stitch in the ditch around the circles.  Then it was diagonal lines around the outside.   I first had my lines marked at 1", and then decided to make them 1/2".  It seemed so simple.  I struggled with making the lines line up, spaced evenly and at the right angle!



Struggle, yes!  I made it through and then had the circles to focus on.  I've never been one to see the big picture...so to say this was easy is a stretch!  It seemed appropriate to add some circles and that's just what I attempted to do!  



I will never say I nailed a pebble!  But...at some point it doesn't matter!  I will always and forever factor in the fact that pebbles are not perfectly round and after washing and the crinkle effect...it matters very little!

After pebbles, was a little swag action and a geometric star of sorts.  



I'm comfortable with how it turned out, enough so that it was time to bind it with a dark purple!  Which made for a very happy night of hand stitching Which I love to do so much.  No sarcasm...I really do!



I'm going to call this little adventure a test that panned out!!  It gave me the confidence to make an actual quilt using larger blocks. The troubling part for me is...lets revisit the quilting...how to quilt it!

 

I don't want to quilt this.  I do not want to quilt this one!!  I do not want to do sub par quilting on this quilt....HELP!

That's where I'm at right now!  My mind says that there is so many options for this design, my common sense says 'you ain't gonna do it justice'!  I believe this is going to hang on my design wall for many months to come!

Normally I don't bring personal into my quilting blog.  However the past few days have been so devastating and heartbreaking that I'd like to make mention and request that you pray for a couple of families.

One of my daughters best friends husband just passed on Thursday of brain cancer.  He first had tumors four years ago and had a clean bill of health until a year ago when the tumors returned. His family grew since then to include Julian (8 months old) as the little brother to Elvie (9).  Aaron and Jessica were one of those couples who you knew were destined to be together as one.  Aaron passed on Thursday at the very young age of 33.  His brain cancer brought everyone to their knees.  Unexpected to say the least.

Also, my ex-sister-in-law succumbed to brain cancer just this morning.  She fought for ten years with colon cancer and in the past month she received the devastating news that she had brain cancer.  She fought valiantly for so long only to have another death sentence handed down to her. 

If you can send a prayer, I know that these families would receive it with open arms.  It's such a devastating diagnosis for anyone.  One, but two...Prayers...that's all that matters.

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What's The Point?

Isn't that a good question?!  I asked myself that several times while making this latest quilt, so it only seemed fitting it should be named 'What's The Point?'

When the idea first came to me I wondered if I could pull it off.  I had a very clear vision in the beginning, yet with each added element that vision changed and I wondered what's the point of that?  What sense does that make?  And the fact of the matter is...there isn't or wasn't a point at all.  I got to try an idea, use some creativity, and have a little bit of fun.  

There doesn't always have to be a meaning or a compelling story behind what we make, while it might be interesting, sometimes we make things because we want to make things!  Maybe our creativity is flowing, we have a stack of fabric that needs attention, you may want to try a technique or a color combination.  The point is:  Do it!  You don't need a point!

WHAT'S THE POINT
29" X 18 1/2"

I wrote a blog post when I had finished piecing the top together if you want to read more about it (SPIKES).  I was just happy to have it finished and thankful I had enough fabric to do just that!



One thing I wanted to make sure I added into each 'phase' was black and burgundy.  



Almost like the phases of a moon, I wanted the black to gradually phase into burgundy.  



The circles are 2 1/2", the lines above are 1/2" wide and the spikes ended up being about 9 1/2" high.  I trimmed several inches from the bottom after the top was finished because I cut off the right and left sides of the spikes.  



There was a quilting idea forming throughout the piecing process, yet nothing was set in stone until I actually sat down and started!

I used Aurifil 50wt thread in Black, Burgundy and Chalk.  It's quite hard to see the quilting on black fabric, and because of that I made sure to use a neutral backing that would showcase the quilting.



The circles are free motion quilting and as you can see I wasn't being precise with my circles!  Three are all black, three are all burgundy and one is a combination of both.  Around the outside I use organic circles using Chalk. 



For the spikes I kept the black and burgundy separated using match stick quilting.  Some spikes had straight lines, while a few had a slight curve.  The dense quilting accentuates some of the areas I left more open.  

I choose not to quilt the vertical black and red lines, instead relying on 1/2" horizontal lines to complete the picture.  

 

It's hard not to almost like the back more than the front!  I love the way the quilting came together.  Almost as if I meant for that to happen!  



The matchstick and organic circle quilting along with the straight lines are a match made in heaven.  Chaos meets calm.



The circles were my favorite part to quilt.  I had area constraints around each one which meant I had to not color outside the lines!  Which is what I really wanted to do.  I may make a circle quilt just so I can go wild with circular quilt one day.  



And the last piece of this puzzle was the binding.  After QuiltCon, where I saw so many faced quilts, I decided I should bind more quilts like that.  Faced binding, knife edge binding, whatever you want to call it, is so easy!  I followed this tutorial: Knife Edge Binding, by Bloomin' Workshop.  Had I not used this type of binding I would have felt the need to match the binding on the bottom and sometimes I just don't want to!  With a faced binding you don't have to!  

My playtime is with this quilt is done, but the ideas are not!  You see, there is a point to everything!  



Have you tried a faced or knife edge binding before?  If not, click on the tutorial and see what it's all about!

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Pink Power :: Baby Geo

I'm going through a pink phase as this new version of Baby Geo will show.  Pink was always an okay color throughout my life, but it wasn't until recently that it has become my favorite color.  I'm not sure why that is.  Maybe I'm reliving my childhood or finally getting in tough with my girlie side!  Whatever the case I couldn't resist the urge to make a very, very pink quilt.

PINK POWER :: BABY GEO
34" x 46"

This is my third version of the design.  The first was Geometry Lesson, a lap quilt that got me started on the concept.  I liked where it took me and decided to redesign it into a baby size version.  In that design, I reduced and reconfigured the pieces for the same, yet different Baby Geo version. 

 

It is a lot of pink! A lot!  The background is Kona Haze, although I'm not 100% certain, and it does a good job to neutralize the pink to some extent.  At the time I wanted pink, pink and more pink.  If I had taken the time and not jumped in so fast, I think I would have added more coral or peach shades.  Next time?!

The truth is, it didn't look so electric when I had all the pieces on my design wall!  What takes the most time is the cutting.  It would be one thing if I could mass cut the shapes, but each piece is a different color and the majority of pieces are different sizes.  I'll cut a few blocks, stick them on the wall, cut a few more and repeat the process until I'm happy with the color placement.  After which I'll cut the background pieces.



Once the cutting is finished, the piecing goes pretty quick.  Which is very welcome at that point.



I used Aurifil 50wt thread in Baby Pink (2423), Bright Pink (2425) and Light Strand (2000) for the quilting.  I didn't need more bright pink at this point, but the shades are subtle and worked well with the background.  You can tell it's pink if you are up close.



Just as with the previous two quilts, I wanted to add a curved element.  I used a marker and drew the first curve,  and thereafter the side of the my foot gave me the 1/2" width between each line.  



After finishing the initial curve sections, I filled in with more 1/2" as well as 1/4" and 3/4" lines.  I also added a couple grid areas for a bit more interest and texture.  



You can barely tell that the thread color is pink in this shot.  It is just has I hoped it would look though!  

The binding and backing is Kona Honeysuckle, a beautiful bright pink that put the final finishing touch on this quilt.  

Sometimes at the end of a quilt I find that there are changes I wish I had made along the way.  Small details usually, such as color, quilting or placement of blocks.  I think we all feel that at some point.  I remind myself there is always next time!  

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Block Printing :: Sweet Surprise!

It's been a weeks worth of projects that scream 'gotta get it done', which has left me with no time to blog at all!  Happily I've completed the ones that were a top priority on my list.

Months ago I designed a paper pieced block using EQ8 and recently revisited the design to see if it was something that was worth pursuing.  I tweaked the design a few times, played with layouts and the real fun part is always the color!  It's one thing to design and entirely another thing to execute!  I am never quite sure my ideas will work until I dig in and give it a try...so I did!

BLOCK PRINT
24" x 24"

When I plugged in the grey and red in EQ8, I knew immediately those were the colors I had to use.  I was struck how vibrant they came across on the computer screen and could only hope it would translate in real life.



I didn't realize I had so many different shades of red!  In the end I settled on Kona Rich Red and Kona Steel.  After printing the 6" templates I marked the sections that were going to be the red fabric.  It helps to avoid confusion and frustration while piecing!  

Another thing I like to do when paper piecing, and especially if I'm doing a lot of the same block, is to calculate the size of fabric pieces needed for each section.  That way I can cut what I need and basically 'grab and go' knowing I won't have to worry if the piece is the right size every time.  

 

It wasn't until all my blocks were finished, trimmed and laid out that I discovered the design looked like a block print.  At least to me it does.  I find it funny how you can look at a design all day long and not see the obvious!  




I didn't have to worry about how I would quilt this one!  It was as obvious as the nose on my face!  However, with being a non planner when quilting there are always moments when you paint yourself into a corner and have to figure out how to make it work!  



The majority of the quilting is with Aurifil 50wt Light Blue Grey #2610 and hints of Lobster Red #2265 accents.  Because it was a small quilt I had very little trouble maneuvering the quilt while quilting.  It was actually fun and I don't say that too often about machine quilting!



You most likely notice the red sections on the back!  I couldn't call it complete without a pieced binding.  It seemed like the perfect way to cap off the design!



And with that, this design is a wrap!  Or is it?!  Maybe there is a 'Block Print' series in the works, or maybe not!  Ideas are endless, time is not!  Sometimes I want to lock myself in my room and spend the entire day working on ideas!

It's been a productive couple of weeks!  I finished this quilt, I finished my Secret Santa gift (soon to be revealed), I put up my Christmas tree (three weeks earlier than usual), I made two mini Rubber Duckies which I hope to quilt today and I'm ready to make another quilt which is not too surprising!

Around this time every year it seems like I'm in a rush to finish projects.  Old or new, holiday themed, gifts or scraps to assemble.  In a way it's refreshing and rewarding because I know exactly what I have to do and I can check it off my list.  By the New Year I'm ready with fresh ideas and a clean slate!

I CANNOT BELIEVE ITS DECEMBER...just sayin'!

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'Serendipity'

I've got a stack of quilts that are waiting to be quilted, but I put this one at the very top so it would be the first to be finished!  I was a little excited to see this one to the end, even though I really didn't know how I was going to quilt it!  On the fly quilting.  Figure it out as I go designing.  It'll all come together mindset.

SERENDIPITY
21" x 21"

Besides having difficulty coming up with quilting ideas, I also have a very hard time naming my quilts.  I don't think all quilts need to be named.  Do you name your quilts?  I think there are quilts that deserve a proper name.  Which is not my strong suit.  So I was thrilled when Rebecca Grace @Cheeky Cognoscenti  suggested the perfect name for this quilt.  

'SERENDIPITY'

noun

The occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way.

'a fortunate stroke of serendipity'.

synonyms: happy chance, happy accident, fluke

In a previous post (HERE), I talked about how this quilt came about.  How it started, how it kept growing and how it took on a life of its own.  I followed the 'quilts' lead and when it was time to stop, this quilt told me that too!  It was a happy accident this quilt!

You might think that's crazy talk!  Maybe it is.  Haven't your quilts talked to you?!  Please say yes so I don't sound crazy!

Quilting began with some of my favorite thread colors:  Aurifil #1231 Spring Green, #1148 Light Jade and #2730 Delft Blue.  I started in the middle section with dense straight lines and before I knew it I saw a beautiful plaid design emerging.  Another happy accident!

I was enjoying the process and figured if it wants to be plaid, than so be it...lets keep going.  The Light Jade and Spring Green stand out just the right amount and fit so well with the colors of this quilt.  

The back is Kona Celestial and is fast becoming one of my favorite colors.  It won't replace my all time favorite grey shades, but it's a good diversion!

This was the perfect opportunity to add some spice to the binding!  By adding a small pieced section, I was able to tie it together with the piano key border in the middle.  Its a nice touch and a nice change for a binding idea.  Something different.

Now to get back to that pile of quilts!  I think I have the two biggest ones left!  

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It's Happening Again :: I can't Leave Well Enough Alone

I tell ya!  I get tunnel vision when it comes to quilting and scraps!  This isn't the first time, nor will it be the last...that I'm sure of!

Here's the deal.  I was working on a quilt made of Half Square Triangles.  I pieced that top together, but had a good stack of extra blocks left over.  Of course those were going to be used.  I went from a big quilt to a baby quilt in one seamless transition.  For the smaller one I had to trim the HST's an inch smaller, which left me with a pile of scraps.  At first I threw them in the trash...and then I didn't.  Yes, I did go through the trash and pull them out.  So much for vowing not to hold on to tiny pieces!  It's a sickness!

  

I saw these corner pieces while I was trimming and for some reason I thought why not stitch them together and make a mini mini quilt.  It was a bit stupid and I wanted to do it for no other reason than...they were there.



And so I did.  Cute, scrappy and oh so not perfect!  But I did it and had to finish it...because that's what we do as quilters.  I opted for just over 1/8" seams because it isn't like this is going to be draped over someones lap!  The HST's finished at about 1/2" in the end.



I grabbed the trimmed strips from the baby quilt and figured if I just 'log cabin' it around the center for a few rows it could be done.  My addiction would be fed, my scrap happy heart would be satisfied.  

...or so I thought...



The more rows I added, the more excited I became.  Where a few rounds was my goal, it eventually changed to 'once it's big enough where my scrap strips can't make it around the sides' ... I'll stop.  

It continued to grow by adding seven rounds of 1/4" (finished) strips.  So, let's add a border and call it good!! 



Which led to the tiny piano border...



...which led to 1/2" Logs, which led to another border...which led to 3/4" logs.  You get the idea!



It just got away from me!  I did not intend for this to happen.  And secretly...I was loving it though!

As much as I wanted to keep going round and round, I had to put an end to the madness.  If I took it further what would be the point of the center?  It would be lost and mean nothing.  

I stopped.  My 'crazy' was fed and I was full.   




It ended up being a just over 22" x 22".  Much bigger than that little center square and way bigger than I ever intended it to be!



Next up is quilting.  I grabbed a few thread options and decided I'll use all three!  Aurifil #1231 Spring Green, #1148 Light Jade and #2730 Delft Blue.  How I'll quilt it is up for debate, but I've fit it in with my stack of 'to be quilted' quilts and hope to share it soon!

Scraps.  I was so sure I could resist...

LINKING:

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