Purple Majesty :: Graphic Log Cabin Quilt

I'm in love with this design!  From the design to colors to quilting, it hits all the high notes for me.  I've been itching to use purple in a quilt for quite awhile and it feels good to finally get that off my plate!

PURPLE MAJESTY
46 1/2" X 61"

It took two weeks to receive the background fabric after I ordered it.  Far too long when you just want to finish a quilt!  

I ended up washing the fabric three times until it was free of dye on my color catchers.  I had an issue years ago with purple fabric bleeding and I didn't want it to happen again.  Once the quilt was completely finished I washed it again and the color catcher was free of purple, so it worked!

Once the background fabric was washed and pressed it took very little time to assemble the quilt top.  I wanted a quick finish when I first started this quilt and then had to sit on my hands for two weeks!

I used matching thread to quilt lines in four (4) of the blocks.  Each one was identical, so at least I didn't have to come up with a new idea each time!  For the last two (2) I quilted 1/2" diagonal lines to break it up a bit and give a little unexpected twist.

For a better visual of the different thread color and quilting design the back always reveals the truth!

All in all I couldn't be more pleased with this quilt or the design.  Plus, I've knocked purple off my list!  Not that my list ever gets smaller...it just changes on occasion!

It was a fun quilt to make and I will make it again.  Perhaps using different shades of gray!

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It's a Quilt Finish!

 As promised, I have an actual Lap Quilt finish!  I had high hopes for this quilt and in the end I'm not totally thrilled with the end results.

45 1/2" x 70"

By end results I mean the quilting.  I took the easy route and did horizontal straight lines in varying widths.  It's a nice quilt, but a cop out on the quilting!  Oh well, it's a finish and I'm happy for that!

I have quilts where this kind of quilting is perfect, and then quilts that seem like I'm fighting it.  We fought a good battle and I'm afraid...the quilt kicked my butt!

I might be too hard on myself, as many of us can be.  Trust me when I say I'm not beating myself up over it.

Especially when I have a pieced backing like this!  I took all the color elements from the Log Cabin blocks and threw them into the back.  I do love a good scrappy, yet not, pieced quilt back.

I'm happy with the 'pretty' of this quilt and know that I have one more in the wings waiting to show itself!  My 'purple majesty' (which for now is what I'll call it!) is still waiting on it's debut.  The fabric for that one finally shipped today! 

I don't want to come off as negative about this quilt, because I'm really quite happy with it.  Back in the day I wondered if a quilting design could really make or break a quilt, now I know it can.  I was looking for a finish, a quick finish and I ended up with just that!  

We put so much into each and every quilt we make and always want it perfect in the end.  But...sometimes we fall short of our expectations.  I'm 100% fine with what I did and always chalk it up to lesson learned!  I'm going for the 'glass half full' optimistic view this year! 

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Log Cabin :: Continuation

As I mentioned in my last post as soon as I finished my purple log cabin blocks I immediately started in on another log cabin quilt.  I was having so much fun that I couldn't let that be the end of it.  

I decided right away that this new design would use three (3) block sizes and end up being filled up so I didn't have to worry about background fabric.  Which I might add...I'm still waiting for my fabric to arrive so I can finish the purple quilt!

It looks like a crazy mess in a good way I think!  The colors I choose were dictated by what was in my stash.  Teal and aqua colors were in full stock, so I ran with it.

I used EQ8 for this design.  I choose block sizes that would puzzle together in one way or another. This block is an 18" block.  I started with that size first knowing that there would be plenty of strips left for the remaining block sizes.  With the size and only having three blocks to make, it went pretty quick.

In fact all the blocks went together quickly and I found it hard to stop!  These are the 12" log cabin blocks.

I decided to paper piece my 6" blocks so they would be perfect (or near perfect)!  A decision that may or may not have made a difference.

In the end I ended up with (3) 18", (8) 12" and (22) 6" log cabin blocks, plus (8) 6" solid blocks for filler.  

Once all the blocks were finished I put my design to the test!  I placed the blocks on my design wall and after a few adjustments I was ready to piece the top!  This step took a little brain power as I needed to piece sections together and in the end have them all come together as one!

Now I'm cleaning up the back because we all know there are always 'thread' pieces to contend with.  Then I can pin and get it quilted.  

I have to say I'm a bit enamored with this quilt.  It was a great stash buster, a fun block to make and it has a funky mod vibe that I like!

Hopefully I can share my log cabin quilt finishes soon!  That's the best part, right?!

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Log Cabin :: Kick Off!

Again this year I plan on using my stash.  Last year was a stash busting year where my focus was on prints.  I still have plenty of prints left and they will make it into a few stash busting quilts throughout the year.  Now it's time to hit the solids!

I mainly buy solids when I buy fabric and I've been steadily building my color stash so I have all the options to draw from.  From light to dark and everything in between.  I never really 'got' there and found that I either buy certain colors too often and rarely buy the colors I need to fill out the rainbow!  So, I've given up and given in!

Amazingly I don't blow through my fabric very fast.  With all the quilts and things I make my stash stays plump.  I chalk that up to my preference of using scraps or as many colors as I can in one quilt.  A piece here, a piece there.

This year will be different...I'm going to change my thought process and quit skipping over certain colors because I love them too much!

With all that bluster here's my first attempt!

Purple.  Log Cabin.  Negative space.  Modern.  The design is a remake from my 'Quarter Turn' quilt that was featured in Quilts & More magazine.  The magazine quilt used 18" blocks, but for the remake I'm using 12" blocks.  Same concept, different layout.  

With my purple stash screaming out to me, I carefully choose a handful of colors that I thought would make a statement.  I'm not one to buy just one brand of solids.  I tend to buy colors that I'm feeling at the time!  Although Kona cotton tends to be my first choice only because they are readily available.  That was true once.  Nowadays there are several manufacturers to choose from that have every color imaginable. 

What do we have?!  Kona Regal, Free Spirit Orchid, Kona Heliotrope, Cotton Supreme Lilac, Kona Velvet, Moda Aubergine, Moda Amelia Purple and Cotton Supreme Verbena.  All the purples!  

One time I made a quilt with purple that had an off-white background and after washing it I discovered some of the darker purples had bled.  This time I took the darkest shades and washed them twice.  I'll do the same thing with the background fabric when it arrives.  Hopefully I won't have any issues with bleeding fabrics!

With this design there are five (5) log cabin blocks that are identical and one that is the oddball.  After cutting out each log the piecing went together quick and was pretty painless!  

When I started I knew I wouldn't have enough yardage for the background.  One of the pitfalls to buying 1/4 to 1 yard cuts!  I have plenty of yardage in grey, off white and white...just not purple!

Now I wait...patiently?  Not really!  I'm working on another log cabin quilt.  I couldn't help myself!  This one will be with solids in three (3) different block sizes and it'll fill up the entire quilt.  I won't have to worry about not having enough background fabric!  

I'm pretty sure I'll have the second one finished before the first one.  Which is pretty ironic since the first one about as simple as it gets!

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Quilts & More :: Scrap Lab & Cover Girl!

Quilts and More Winter 2019 hits the newsstands today!  What makes that newsworthy?  I happen to have a project inside those glossy pages and it's on the cover!!

Used with permission from Quilts and More™ magazine. ©2019 Meredith Corporation. All rights reserved.

I was contacted earlier this year to see if I'd like to be a part of 'Scrap Lab' design challenge.  The challenge is for three designers to create a project using one bundle of fat quarters.  The other two designers are Jeni Baker and Sherri McConnell who nailed it with their designs!  

Do those colors look familiar?  Not only was I asked to participate in the challenge, but the bundle they picked was my March Madness bundle of "Prosecco & Cream by the Sea'!  How about that?!  

Paintbrush Studio Painters Palette Solids

I designed 'Quarter Turn' using 18" half log cabin blocks.   The asymmetrical design takes a traditional block and turns it on it's head!  My main goal was to show off the beautiful colors and I think I accomplished that.

Used with permission from Quilts and More™ magazine. ©2019 Meredith Corporation. All rights reserved.

The quilting is simply done using straight lines around three off the blocks and 1/2" diagonal lines in the corner.  Simplicity is the best way to go when your on a tight schedule!  

I would have liked to play a little more with the quilting, but I'll save that for the next one!

Earlier this summer I had a beautiful Coral Hibiscus blooming and couldn't resist placing the quilt next to it for a photo.  

If being asked to participate in Scrap Lab and being on the cover wasn't enough to put me over the moon with excitement...this quilt is also going to be displayed at Quilt Market in Houston!  If you happen to be attending look for my quilt!  I'd love to see how it's displayed!

I'm hoping to get my hands on a copy of the magazine!  It doesn't happen often that I'm in print, but when it does I get a little excited about it!

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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:

Oh Scrap

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