Teeny Tiny Rainbow - A Finish

There have not been many finishes around these parts lately so I am very happy to have a ta da moment for you.  I give you Teeny Tiny Rainbow ....

and as you can it is a little more than a ta da moment - it is also a celebratory moment!

This little mini quilt started life as part of  Sugar Bowl Crafts Scrap Busting Sewalong.  The challenge that week was:

How many squares can you get into a 5" square?  

Well I was always going to go small and so managed 100!  I knew that there was method using gridded fusible interfacing but, of course, I didn't want to wait to get some so I used old dressmaking interfacing I had on my shelf and the squares from my cutting mat.  It worked OK but is a bit wonky in places but I absolutely loved the result.

I knew I didn't want this little block to sit languishing on a shelf so I decided to add the white border and then randomly added the second border.  The charcoal and white bits are as they are because they were leftovers from my Mini to Maxi - Churn Dash.  Nothing like using all scraps!

It was only as time marched on that I realised I could turn it into a quilt and enter it into the miniature category.  The quilting happened by chance and I am not sure if it is how I would quilt it if I did it again.  The rainbow squares finish at 1/2" and so I decided to just so some outline squares as stitch in the ditch.  This was actually a first for me on my longarm and I have to say I didn't dislike it as much as I thought.  However it was 5" square not a full size quilt!  

Then came a change in plan because I realised that you could see the charcoal fabric behind the white fabric as a dark strip down the middle of the skinny white borders.  Aaaaarrrgh I had planned to quilt the borders with 1 or 2 lines of white stitching extending into the charcoal area and to the edge.  Now I couldn't do that because, to hide that mistake, I needed to quilt a dark line in the middle.  This was done several times and included lots of unpicking but in the end I just had to go with it.  Because of that I decided to quilt straight lines in the resulting charcoal spaces.  I like the difference between lines and grid and the change in direction to the diagonal.  This is something I would use again.

Quilt Stats

Finished Size:  11" x 11"

Fabrics Used:  multicoloured scraps for the rainbow centre and Kona Charcoal and White for the borders

Quilting:  was done on my Handi Quilter Avante longarm machine and I used Glide 40wt thread in Shadow and 60wt thread in Sterling

Wadding:  The Warm Co Warm and White

So the ribbon?  Well it was entered into the Miniature Category at the British Quilt and Stitch Show whichwas held in Uttoxeter over the weekend.  I was delighted to hear it had won 3rd place and also pleased to see that both this and the 2nd placed quilt were modern quilts.  It is lovely to see the rise in the number of modern quilts in all categories now.  Long may it continue!!

What the Judges said ....... Pt 1

Last year I joined in with the wonderful Sewcial Bee Sampler SAL hosted by Maureen Cracknell and Sharon Holland.  

Whilst I was making this quilt, with a limited palette of Kona solids, I did quite a bit of unpicking! The solid fabrics were rather unforgiving when points didn't line up so I came up with a new practice - if required, I would unpick twice and the third time, whether perfect or not, the seam would stay.

 

I think limiting myself two only unpicking twice saved my sanity!

I entered Wasabi on the Side into the British Quilt and Stitch Village show last weekend and was pleased to read the Judges' comments. It was obviously worth the time to unpick when needed because both Judges gave me an EXCELLENT for 'Quality of Construction - Piecing' along with EXCELLENTS for 'Quality of Execution' and 'Borders, Edge Treatment, Finishing and Hanging'.

I love the texture the matchstick quilting gives this quilt and remember how I was surprised at how long it took to quilt!

British Quilt & Stitch Village :: A Review

Today I have a post published on the UKQU website.  I am reviewing the recent British Quilt and Stitch Village in Uttoxeter, click here if you weren't able to go and you would like to know more about it .... and of course to see lots of lovely quilts!

I had three quilts entered into the show and was really happy to come 3rd with Where To Next? in the traditional category.  It's not really a traditional quilt but it didn't fit the other categories either!

And some close ups of the quilting, just because ....

I do love quilting words - one day I would like to quilt a whole quilt with words, telling the story of the quilt perhaps ....

I still look at this quilt and wonder how I ever made it - that's what a deadline will help you achieve!!

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?

Art with Fabric Blog Hop :: A Study in Triangles

I was delighted to be accepted into this round of the Art with Fabric blog hop, especially as I had to pull out last time.  Thank you very much to Alida, at Tweety Loves Quilting, who hosts this event and has inspired me into making my first 'art quilt' ... although truth be told it does look remarkably like a modern quilt!!  The theme this round was 'Women'.

Back in March when perusing my IG feed I saw this image from Jenny at Papper, Sax, Sten and immediately needed to know more about the artist that had inspired her.  Enter Kels O'Sullivan, an Australian artitst whose work I was taken with immediately.

In her own words:

Kels O’Sullivan is an emerging artist with a background in design and illustration. Living and working at Encounter Bay, SA, her natural coastal surroundings of the Fleurieu Peninsula are a constant source of inspiration. Influenced by the discipline of modernism, pattern & textile design of the mid century, her work is a diverse and constant evolution. Symbolising relationships with everyday forms, expressing emotion, reflecting experiences and surroundings through the use geometry, colour, pattern, line and repetition. She is especially interested in the beauty of the abstracted form and enjoys deconstructing shapes to create beautiful, balanced and emotive compositions.

Aside from her fine art pursuits, Kels is an award-winning illustrator and graphic designer and is co-partner, at Influx Creative.

I had been having ideas and looking into women artists, although the inspiration piece could have been about women and not necessarily by them, but I was drawn to the beautiful clean, geometric lines of Kels' work and even had the right colour fabric on my shelf to get to work.

I stayed true to Kels' pattern on the top four rows but decided to make it bigger and added on an extra 2 rows.

I pressed all my seams open on the quilt for the first time and it gives a lovely flat finish, although I did notice when quilting that I could catch a glimpse of the stitches.

Now my initial idea for quilting was to replicate the printing Kels had done and change the colour of certain triangles with dense matchstick quilting in a different colour.  However the best laid plans and all that .... my machine is in need of a new part form the States which was not going to arrive in time.  I did some test pieces and realised that I wouldn't be happy with the results at the moment so I had to think of a another plan ....

I wanted to continue the lovely clean lines and decided on straight line ruler work ....

but I also wanted to incorporate some circles in the piece like there are in the original ....

 I had thought I would use a facing for the edges but once it was quilted I realised I may lose some of the triangle points by using that method, so a straight forward double edge binding was attached.

Quilt Stats

Finished dimensions: 36" x 12"

Fabric: Kona cotton in cerise, gum drop, parchment and snow

Wadding: Warm and White

Threads: Glide Cream (20001), Coffee (27504), Mulberry (40528) and Iris (40249)

Quilting: longarm quilted with straight line and circle ruler work and circular freehand feathers on a Handi Quilter Avante

This quilt will be hanging at Quilts UK in Malvern from tomorrow until Sunday, where I entered it in the Small Wallhanging category.

Do go and check out some of the other participants this week:

Monday 15 May2017
Andrée: http://quiltinglearningcombo.blogspot.com 
LeeAnna: http://lapaylor.blogspot.com/
Luke: http://www.lukehaynes.com/
Joan: http://www.moosestashquilting.blogspot.com

Tuesday 16 May 2017
Marian: http://www.seamstobesew.com
Sharon: http://www.yellowcatquiltdesigns.com
Adele: http://adelemogavero.com/
Judy: http://judywarner.com/

Wednesday 17 May 2017 
Abigail: http://www.cutandalter.blogspot.co.uk - YOU ARE HERE!!

Bea: http://www.beaquilter.com/
Janeen: http://quiltartdesigns.blogspot.com/
Alida: http://tweloquilting.blogspot.com/  

Thursday 18 May 2017
Renee: http://www.quiltsofafeather.com/
Kat: http://www.katknapcrafts.blogspot.com
Jennifer: http://www.inquiringquilter.com/
Carol: http://www.quiltedfabricart.com

Friday 19 May 2017
 Alida: http://tweloquilting.blogspot.com/
Shannon: http://imworkingonaproject.blogspot.com/
Chris: http://chrissquiltinguniverse.blogspot.com/
Anita: http://quiltlovefordomesticfelicity.blogspot.com 

This is also a finish on my 2017FAL List.

I am also linking up today to Let's Bee Social hosted by Lorna at Sew Fresh 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!!

Finish It Up Friday

The finish for Finish It Up Friday over at Crazy Mom Quilts this week is also a finish from my 2016FAL.  It was started in June as a QAL over at Modern Quilters Ireland and was the first QAL I have taken part in.  The progress posts can be found here, here and here.

It was at this stage for many weeks months because I didn't really like the grey background fabric I had used and I didn't really know what to do with it ..... is it bad to admit that?!!

I then thought that I would enter it into a Quilt Show as a cot quilt so the parameters of size were set to maximum 36" on either side, which meant the border was easy to add.

Then I got it into my head that I wanted to match the thread with the colours ...... why did I do that?!  At the end I do not think it was worth all the colour changes for this quilt and wish I had just gone for the grey all over (although it is nice to have some more colours in my stash!).

Time was running out by now and I just had to come up with a plan ....... nothing came so I thought that I had better load it onto my frame and just get started!

Straight lines in the coloured sections first.  I did actually try feathers aswell but I really didn't like them so I unpicked (after doing two sections just to make sure I didn't like it!)

My favourite quilting motif was used in the background, paisley AKA swirly pearls.  I love this and I can now do it quite quickly which is a bonus. 

I thought I may do something different in the middle of the quilt but, after the unpicking of the feathers, I decided to just stick with more straight lines.  My ruler work has certainly improved and I quite enjoyed the dexterity of using the rulers and for them feeling more comfortable for me.

I love this stage when it's all trimmed and ready to bind.

I am not sure what the backing is - it was picked up at a show earlier in the year.

And the final result hanging at the West Country Quilt Show.  Do I like it?  No not really!!  I like the pattern and really like other people's interpretation from the QAL but I have to say this isn't a favourite of mine.  But it is done and it's a tick off my list.  I also learnt that I do not like marbled fabric and so will never be tempted to buy any again!

Whilst I am not enamoured with this quilt I am still very much in love with Should I Stay or Should I Go?  I decided, at the last minute, to enter it into the same show and was delighted when I arrived at the show on Sunday morning to see it had a rosette by it - Best Piecing.

I have enjoyed entering quilts into shows this year and have quite a few in my head for next year! x