Closet Stuffer II

It's usually the time of year to think about Stocking Stuffers, I on the other hand have been focusing on my Closet Stuffers!  This could possibly be that last one, the last one for this year seems more like it!

'X-MARKS THE SPOT'
52" X 61"

This one was held back with the intention of writing a pattern for it.  Big surprise!  That didn't happen.  If there's one resolution I'll make this year it will be never talk about or promise to make a pattern for one of my designs!  I'm not saying I won't, I'm just saying mums the word until it's finished!

I designed and made a small version of this paper pieced design way, way back in January.  You can check it out here:  Black & Orange.  I tried the design with a small quilt first just to work out all the details and to see if it would come together.  And it did.  That motivated me to give the design another chance and go bigger!

It also gave the the opportunity to use a stack of hand dyed fabric my daughter Britt made me long ago.  Gotta wait for just the right project to come along before cutting into our favorite fabrics sometimes!

There was a variety of gorgeous color in that stack from aqua to lime green!  I choose Kona Nightfall because I thought it would be a good background to highlight the colors of the hand dyed fabric.  My last blog post I used Nautical, this time Nightfall!  It seems I went through a dark blue phase!  

For reference, Kona Nautical is the darker of the two shades.  

When I began designing this quilt, I wanted stacked triangles in some form or another.  I ended up with a block that was rectangle and then the fun began!  There is a lot of maneuvering and color play that happens when designing.  I couldn't imagine doing with out my EQ program!  

I was happy with the layout, the way the big X landed squarely in the center, how the triangles seem to float around the edges and the millions of color possibilities! 

 

Once you settle on a design you have to go with it.  At least for the first version!  I haven't yet, but I look forward to the day when I can revisit this quilt and scramble the design to see what other options are possible!

I wonder why that aqua strip is on the side?!  My usual "I'm just this much short" seems to always make an appearance!  Don't get me wrong, it bothers me not at all!

You can't make out the quilting design on dark blue, but on the aqua you get a sense of the geometric design I did.  It's effective and did it's job of unifying the entire quilt.

  

The color in this photo is not even close to what Nightfall is in real life!  But you can get a better sense of the quilting that was done.

Paper piecing is so satisfying!  Right now I'm working on another paper pieced project I designed and hope to make it my first finish of 2019!  Planning ahead!  It'll be a color palette that I rarely visit, but one that is kind of pretty!  Stay tuned!

Do you make New Year Resolutions...that you keep?!  

LINKING:

OH SCRAP! ● MAIN CRUSH MONDAY ●  MONDAY MAKING ●  LINKY TUESDAY 
LETS BEE SOCIAL ● MIDWEEK MAKERS ● NEEDLE & THREAD  ● TGIFF 

BRAG ABOUT YOUR BEAUTIES ● FINISHED OR NOT FRIDAY

Hiding in Plain Sight

There was a time not too long ago when every quilt I made was photographed and blogged about the second it was finished.  It was a stead fast goal of mine to finish a quilt before I would start a new project.  That doesn't mean I wasn't thinking about the next project, it meant I had to wait and that was pretty exciting to me.  There were never WIP's, never a pile of quilts to quilt, and I was proud of that.

Somewhere along the way my rules changed.  I became a rebel!  Okay, not so much a rebel maybe I loosened up a little bit!  I'm certainly not complaining!  With my new found freedom I've discovered a quilt or three that was stowed in my closet waiting for...what?  I don't even know!  I probably shoved it in there so I could make room for another project to get underway!  I know it's not abnormal to have half a dozen things happening all at once, every one does, and I shall not dwell on the good old days, instead I'll embrace it and move on!

54" x 72"

I'm intrigued by geometric shapes and half-square triangles are a fantastic way to experiment and play.  I could spend hours if not days turning, flipping and moving the blocks to create different patterns.  I've fallen in the rabbit hole far too many times!

This time I stuck with a plan and besides moving a few background pieces, it was written in stone!  The squares and rectangles are Kona Nautical, which in this picture look black, but in reality it's a very dark blue.  I arranged them semi haphazardly and filled in with a lot of blue and green HST's in many different shades.  

When I start a quilt like this, I grab every fabric in the color scheme I'm going for and cut all my squares.  Generally I'll cut 2-5 squares in each color, but it depends on big my chunk of fabric is.  Then I'll grab my stack and randomly pair up sets.  That way I'll have a bunch of different combinations of colors after the HST's are made.  Random is better for me.  

They say variety is the spice of life and that holds true for me...but only when it comes to quilting and fabric!  

Sometimes when I'm pulling fabrics for a 'theme' color quilt, there are shades I'm not in love with.  I have to force myself to use them anyway.  I may only cut 1 or 2 blocks, but I throw them in the mix for variety sake.  

What would a geometric quilt be without geometric quilting?  I printed a coloring sheet via EQ8 and began the intense quilting process.  I started with the squares and rectangles first.  Stitching in the ditch and then quilting a 2" grid inside each shape.  After that it was a puzzle of lines.  I tried to keep a flow with the lines so it didn't look too haphazard in the end.  It worked and every inch was covered!

As always there were blocks left over and as almost always I didn't have a large enough piece of fabric for the entire back!  By adding the extra blocks to the back I was able to stretch my backing to fit and give the back a little visual interest as well.

The backing is Kona Pickle, which I love!  It's a rather bold and different kind of color that not everyone is attracted to.  

I added a binding of Nautical and this guy was done!  Well, this guy was stuffed in a closet!  When I finally released it from purgatory, I washed and dried it for the a true finish!  To me, a quilt isn't truly finished until it's been washed! 

I do want to get back on track a little bit with project finishing.  Maybe that should be my New Year Resolution?!  Probably not!  I've never ever ever followed through on a resolution...why start now!

Being the end of the year, do you scramble to finish WIP's and UFO's?  I know I do!  I want the old gone and make room for the new!

LINKING:

OH SCRAP! ● MAIN CRUSH MONDAY ●  MONDAY MAKING ●  LINKY TUESDAY 
LETS BEE SOCIAL ● MIDWEEK MAKERS ● NEEDLE & THREAD  ● TGIFF 

BRAG ABOUT YOUR BEAUTIES ● FINISHED OR NOT FRIDAY

Are You Feeling Lucky?!

Are you lucky, feeling lucky or hope to get lucky?!  I've got a Mega Giveaway to tell you about!

Bernie @needleandfoot is hosting a super exciting huge giveaway!  Many of you already know about Bernie and her blog, you may also know about her Etsy fabric shop Needle & Foot, but did you know she has been hosting a monthly Blogger Bundle in her shop too?  

Over the past year Bernie asked eleven blogging people to curate a bundle of 5-6 fat quarters which she then sells the in her Etsy shop.  Unbeknownst us, she made extra bundles...eleven to be exact, that she saved for a huge giveaway!  Winner takes all!  All!  Can you imagine what you would do if you won something like this?!  Me too...cartwheels for sure!  I'll post the link at the end of my post.

All you have to do is go to Needle & Foot blog and enter by picking your favorite collection!  Who's will it be?  Mine?!  Perhaps!  Wanna see the bundles?  Of course you do!  You may drool a little bit and that's okay, but just remember...you can't win if you don't enter!  Tell your family, tell your friends!  

January through June

I'll just point out that my bundle was May.  You know...in case you wanna vote for it!  A little friendly competition never hurt anyone!

July through November

I've known Bernie for a couple few years now, and have come to admire and respect her.  She is a kind and generous sole who loves fabric and is more than happy to share her passion with all of us.  This giveaway shows her generosity and her giving spirit.  Take a look at her shop, read her blog and by all means go enter this giveaway!

Click on the link below to enter:

NEEDLE & FOOT 2018 Blogger Bundle Giveaway 

Voting starts Tuesday December 11 🔺Giveaway ends Saturday December 15 

Winner will be drawn Sunday December 16 🔺 Open to US only 

Secret Santa :: Pillow Reveal

It took a while for me to figure out what design I would choose for my Secret Santa Swap pillows, but once I did there was no holding me back!  I was excited when my partner requested pillow covers, and that one of their fabric loves was saturated solids.  That I knew I could work with!

'GEESE CROSSING' PILLOW COVERS
18" x 18"

I searched for the right design, that perfect 18" block that would make a big impression and wow the recipient.  When I came across this paper pieced pattern:  'Geese Crossing' designed by Three Owls Handmade on Craftsy, I knew it was the one!  



That was the easy part!  We all know that choosing the right fabric can sometimes be the real challenge!  

When I saw my stack of peppered cottons...I knew they would be perfect for the design.  If you aren't familiar with shot cottons, the big draw is the depth of the colors.  They are woven with two thread colors:  the warp & weft.  

Debating on background choices proved to be difficult.  In the end I went with a warm gray of Kona Haze.  I had plenty yardage on hand for the front and back panels.  I wasn't going to take a chance on being short of fabric!



After deciding color placement, I started with the arguably easiest pieces, flying geese and a square-in-a-square.  At this point I was reminded why I love paper piecing!  I'm not sure I would have been able to get those points so perfect any other way!  



Next up were the corner blocks.  I began by making one square, measuring and writing down the width and length of each piece needed for the sections.  Then when it's time to sew, I can grab the piece I need for the sections and not have to worry each time if I cut the right size.  It makes the process much more pleasant, easier and faster!



Once the front panels were pieced, I contemplated how I should quilt them.  It didn't take long before I came to the conclusion that simple was better in this case.  So I grabbed some coordinating thread and mapped out my moves!

Delightful big blocks!

I'm shocked that I was able to stick to my guns and keep it simple!  After I finished quilting to this point, I wanted to do more!  



I thought about quilting something in the Haze background fabric, but restrained myself!  It was just as it should be and anymore would be too much. 



The back of the panels show the design much better than the front can.  



And this close up shows the thread colors.  I'm very pleased and happy with how they turned out. 

I made hidden zipper backs for each pillow, gave a good pressing and wrapped them up with a couple days to spare before our guild's holiday party!  I knew I'd get my secret gift finished in time, it just took longer to come up with a plan than I would have liked.  



The party was yesterday and was a fun and rousing event!  Plenty of food, chit chatting, and as always fun!  My partner loved her pillows and 'oh what a relief it was'!  Stress melts away afterwards and you realize it was all worth it!  

Now to focus on the next part of the holiday season...shopping!  ARGH!  Who else doesn't like to shop?!  

LINKING:

OH SCRAP! ● MAIN CRUSH MONDAY ●  MONDAY MAKING ●  LINKY TUESDAY 
LETS BEE SOCIAL ● MIDWEEK MAKERS ● NEEDLE & THREAD  ● TGIFF 

BRAG ABOUT YOUR BEAUTIES ● FINISHED OR NOT FRIDAY