TGIFF :: Rainbow Star Mini Quilt

Thank Goodness It's Finished Friday!!

Hello and welcome if you have popped over for the TGIFF linky party.  This is my first time hosting such a thing so be gentle!

Hello and welcome if you are a regular reader!!  Don't know what TGIFF is?  I have added a button to my side bar and if you click on it you will be taken through to the explanation.

Today I have a recent finish to share with you that I am so excited about ....

In February 2016 I took part in a Rainbow Mini Quilt swap, read more about that here, and it was the first time I really did not want to send my quilt to my partner!  From the day I sent it I wanted to make myself one.  When I got EQ7 in January I decided to design the quilt for practice and then make it ... .for MYSELF!

The squares were cut at 1 1/2" - I have to say I really like that size to work with ....

I love my little portable design wall - it makes me able to visualise how the finished quilt will look ....

When putting the stars together I really liked how these three looked as a block, and especially on point ....

And then onto the quilting part.  Usually this takes a lot of thought and more often than not I end up loading a quilt on the frame without really knowing what I am going to do.  Not this one - I knew exactly because I had done it before ....

I love it as much today as I did the one I made 15 months ago ....

It's a finish that adds another tick to my 2017 FAL Q2 list - hooray!

And because I knew a deadline would help me to get it finished I entered it into the Miniature/Doll quilt category at Quilts UK, Malvern in May.  I was delighted to come 2nd in this category!!!!

Quilt Stats

Finished dimensions:  15" x 15"

Fabric:  patterned prints from stash and Kona White

Wadding:  Warm and White

Threads:  Magnifico in white

Quilting:  handguided longarm quilting incorporating feathers and matchstick quilting along with straight line rulerwork on a Handi Quilter Avante

It's little but it sure packs a lot of texture in!!

I would love to see some of your recent finishes, so if you do have something you would like to share please do link up below.  Getting a finish is great but celebrating that finish with others is wonderful.  Thank you if you do link up and please try to get over to see some of the other peoples' finishes - we all love visitors and comments don't we?

A week of finishes (again!) :: Day 4 :: Cloud 9 Sample Block #2

It could seem like Groundhog Day here today - here's another sample block form the Cloud 9 New Block blog hop just like yesterday.  Obviously you can see the difference in the fabric and the quilting but pretty much everything else was said yesterday!!

This is another finish off my 2017 FAL Q1 list.  I offered this up as a prize for a giveaway I recently ran on instgram to celebrate the milsetone of 750 followers!!  I am blown away by that number and the encouragement and conversations that happen over there - if you're on IG let me know your name and I'll look you up!  So this little mini quilt is winging it's way over to Sydney, Australia.

Tomorrow I have another finish for you. I did say it was going to be a week of finishes, but the difference is it is not on item that is on my Finish-A-Long list - this is a started and finished project in less than a month!  Isn't it good when that happens? x

A week of finishes (again!) :: Day 3 :: Cloud 9 Sample Block #1

Up today is No 13 from my 2017 FAL Q1 list!  Back in September last year, I took part in the Cloud 9 New Block blog hop and, before making the block in the gorgeous Cirrus solids, I made a few sample blocks.  This was one of them.

This block is not actually the foundation paper pieced block that I finally did for the Blog Hop, but a rotary cut and pieced block.  I know that some people don't like paper piecing and so I was trying out an alternative to it.  Whilst it works OK, I wasn't happy with some of the sections and so plumped for the paper pieced version.

I had already quilted one of these to become a wall hanging for a swap at my local quilt club and so I knew how I wanted to quilt this one - just the same!  Even so it can be daunting when it's all loaded up and you haven't made that first stitch yet ....

I straight line quilted two quadrants with a gradual increase in the space between the lines and then free motioned quilted with a paisley motif in the other two quadrants.  I used Glide thread in light turquoise which I really like.

I decided against a traditional binding for this and went instead with a facing.  I followed Victoria's tutorial again, and it worked well.  This finishes at 14".  The fabrics used were Kona white, Bahama blue and cyan and then the reds were FQs I had picked up at a show so not sure what they are.

I like the abrupt change between the geometric straight lines and the swirls of the paisley design ....

and another, just because I can and I love this design!!

I am going to be linking up with Lorna over at Let's Bee Social. x

A FAL Q1 Finish :: Rainbow Mini No 2

Ever since I made and sent this quilt off last year I have wanted to make another for me.  I used the design as a learning lesson in EQ7 - it's much easier to design a quilt you have already made!

Then, just because the Kona White happened to be on my cutting table for another project I thought I may aswell cut some squares .... and whilst I was at it why don't I cut the coloured squares too?  And also why don't I make two Rainbow Minis at the same time?!!!  These squares are cut at 1 1/2".

It always amazes me how much smaller the blocks get when they are sewn together.  Yep, still working on two minis at the same time here!

At this stage I was considering what colour to make the star in the bottom left hand corner ....

and by this stage I had decided not to put one in at all because my idea for quilting it had changed!  Even though I can now do more formal design with EQ7 it's not going to stop my normal method of making things up and changing things as I go.

Choosing the rainbow coloured threads ....

The final choice were all Glide threads and the colours were: cardinal, mars, mango, turf, light turquoise, cobalt, amethyst and white (not pictured).

Initial straight line quilting from the coloured stars in coloured thread.  I was going to add feathers like I did on my original but in the end I forced myself to just go for straight lines having never quilted a quilt with just straight lines.  It did take a lot of will power but I managed it!

 I love the texture that the straight lines give the quilt but in a way I wish I had put some curves on it aswell.  Oh well I can do that on Rainbow Mini No 3 when that's finished!

It finishes at 21" square and I used Warm and Natural White wadding and Kona White for the background and backing.

A gratuitous shot at an angle - which I love!!

It has been interesting remaking a quilt, although it is slightly different in design.  I certainly don't love this one as much as my original but it has been a good learning curve and I am sure I will find a good home for it somewhere!

This is my first blogged finish of the Quarter from my FAL list which feels great!

I will be linking up to Finish It Up Friday over at Crazy Mom Quilts.

My Best of 2016

Having read other people's posts for My Best of 2016 hosted by Cheryl at Meadow Mist Designs, I thought I would take a few minutes and look back at my year (I also took the opportunity of getting some pages up to date at the same time).  One thing I started this year was a monthly review and I have really enjoyed looking back at the months. Sadly I stopped this from August but having just browsed through my posts this is something I would like reinstate for 2017.

However, now we are looking back .... in no particular order and with no particular scientific way of picking them I give you My Best of 2016 ....

PICK A LETTER, ANY LETTER!

I love this little quilt that I made for my Mum's 80th birthday.

I tried lots of new things on it and they all worked.

Best of all she loves it and has it hanging in her lounge!

ANZAC HEARTS

This gets on the list because it was my oldest WIP - over 6 years to finish but it has stood the test of time because I still love it.

Also it won a rosette at a show in May which made me rather happy!!

NEW QUILT BLOGGERS

This was such a wonderful group to be part of and I learnt so much about so many things!

I am hoping I fit the criteria to be able to join again in 2017 because I still have so much to learn.

CLOUD 9 NEW BLOCK BLOG HOP

My first ever block design for this Blog Hop.

I really enjoyed the process and would love to design more in 2017.

SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I GO?

This is definitely my favourite make of 2016, in fact it might be my favourite make to date!

I love that the design in my head came out into the real world just as I imagined it.

I was also really excited to find that I won a Best Piecing rosette at a show in November.

Today we are starting to take down the decorations and I will then be able to look to next year.  I would love to join Yvonne's #2017PlanningParty but I need some quiet time to get my head into gear and really think about what I want to do in 2017.  We have big changes coming up on our family front which I have still to get my head around!!

A week of finishes - Day 1 :: My Favourite Colour

Earlier this year, Popular Patchwork announced a fun challenge for a mini quilt entitled My Favourite Colour, which were going to be on show at their stall at the Festival of Quilts in August.  I ummmed and aaahhhed about what was my favourite colour and then, as is my wont, I was very close to the deadline and I just had to make something ... anything ... any colour!! 

My solution was to make a rainbow mini because truly at different times all the colours are my favourites.  It started with some graduated colour strips ....

and then a bit of handstitching ....

Surely it needed a rainbow?  I had recently just used my Quick Curve Ruler for the first time and thought why not give it a go ....

  and it actually worked OK ....

But to use it ....

or not?

As you can see I decided not!  It needed to be the width of the piece and looked a little funny the size it was.  Being really new to curves I didn't have time to practise how to get it like I wanted.  I decided on straight line stitching first ....

but then decided to fill the top portion with gorgeous little swirly pearls (don't quote me on that - I've no idea what this quilting motif is really called!) ....

and just because I like this shot ....

Ta da!  I was going to have a rainbow effect on the binding so that each colour lined up under the columns of colour however, time was against me  Instead I brightened it up with a rainbow of prairie points.  This was a new technique for me but was really simple to do and I would definitely do it again.

This finished at 15" x 10.5".  The white is Kona cotton and the colours are all scraps.  I quilted it with Superior Magnifico in White.

I will look forward to getting this back and hanging it up in my studio ... which reminds me I better find out when it is coming back to me!

This is also a finish on my 2016 Finish Along Quarter 3 list - the first one I have linked up (Number 22 on the list)  .... I'd better get busy this last week!!