First of Infinity Pillows

Weekend stitching.

It was time to get creative with my my stash of First of Infinity by Kumiko Fujita.  I love the vibrant colors of this collection and together with inspiration from the previously mentioned Japanese Magazine (Patchwork Tsushin #174), these log cabin and log cabin variation style pillows came together relatively quickly.

I have included in my project a number of solid fabrics; most are Robert Kaufman Kona Cottons including Black, Mulberry, and Turquoise. Both the yellow and green solid fabrics are from the Pure Organic Solids range - Marigold and Chartreuse. 

I feel I may have been a little heavy handed with the machine quilting with the first pillow (with the Letter B) and also chose a thread for quilting which was heavier (thicker) than what I normally use.  These two factors combined seem to make the quilting more prominent, but the texture is luxurious. I changed quilting thread and style for the second pillow.  

For the back of the pillows I have used a home decorator weight Chevron Print.  The pillows both have a zippered side seam for easy insert removal and cleaning.  Zippers no longer cause anxiety and I have stopped needing to refer to instructions to insert a zipper in a pillow cover, but in case you do I have in the past found this tutorial by Design Sponge very useful.

The pillows are not for sale and have already made their way to the new owner where I am sure they will be much loved.  

I hope you found some time to sew on the weekend also.  Particularly those of you who have enjoyed a long weekend!  

Rita

RELEVANT LINKS:

Sunday Stash #185 - First of Infinity by Kumiko Fujita

Sunday Stash #186 - Folk Modern by Ellen Luckett Baker

Folk Modern by Ellen Luckett Baker

A brand new collection by Ellen Luckett Baker and just like Ellen's last collection (Stamped) it is printed on a  cotton/linen blend base - 85% cotton 15% linen.  Although heavier than standard quilting cotton it is soft, and thinner/lighter/less bulky than I had anticipated. 

There are a total of 18 prints that make up the Folk Modern collection - 6 different designs each in three colorways.  

The designs are inspired by American and European folk art and features motifs like tulips (first image above), sawtooth flowers (pictured directly above), horses and fruit trees all in a bright and color palette.

FOLK MODERN by Ellen Luckett Baker is only just starting to arrive in stores. Keep your eye out for this collection here:

Pink Castle Fabrics 

Enjoy Sunday!

Rita

A Modern I-Spy Quilt

My Stitches in Pictures and it is picture overload today.

I was supposed to be tidying the growing fabric mountain that was - and still is - threatening to avalanche, but instead was distracted by a number of fabrics that I'd set aside whilst making a previous quilt; a bundle of fabrics in the black/white, blue/green, red and yellow color palette.  

Out came the rotary cutter and soon I was editing my fabric choices, sewing, basting and quilting, and  finally binding.  The design is again a simple 'just squares' patchwork featuring the fabrics and the colors rather than an intricate pattern.  A timeless classic and still a favorite way to piece.

I have quilted this quilt with a 1 inch grid of lines, using a quilting guide attached to my walking foot rather than marking lines on the quilt.  I like to secure the quilting guide firmly in place with a little masking tape so that it cannot wriggle about, and my quilting lines stay straight.  

LET'S NAME THAT FABRICS:

Backing Fabric - Sweet Street in White - The Red Thread by Creative Thursday

Binding Fabric - Kings Road in Lemon - Carnaby Street by Pat Bravo

Sheep - Sheep Parade in Natural - Locally Grown by Creative Thursday 

Chickens - Yellow Chickens - Locally Grown by Creative Thursday

The Fish - Scandanavian Fish by Kajsa Wikman 

Glasses - Geekly Chic - Riley Blake

Let me know if you need the details of any of the other fabrics and I will add them to the list.  

I have listed this quilt my Etsy Store.  

The listing for this quilt is here:  Modern Patchwork Quilt.

Thank you for stopping by!  I hope you have, or have had, a wonderful Wednesday.

Rita

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Sunday Stash #185 - First of Infinity by Kumiko Fujita

First of Infinity - Block Letters

I am ending the week with a selection of text fabric from the First of Infinity collection by Kumiko Fujita.  And let's hope that it is indeed the first of many more fabric collections by Kumiko because these are so good!

First of Infinity - Vocabulary

Each print comes in a range of saturated colors with a strong contrast text color - not all shown here - as well as text on a perfectly white background.

First of Infinity - Letters and Symbols

FIRST OF INFINITY BY KUMIKO FUJITA is now available from:

Pink Castle Fabrics

First of Infinity - Vocabulary and Alphabet Song both in White

And just in case you need a little inspiration to get started with this fabric collection you'll want to browse through the latest issue of Patchwork Tsushin (text in Japanese).  Patchwork Tsushin #174 features the First of Infinity range as well as a number of pictures from QuiltCon.  This magazine can be a little tricky to track down, but I have found it available from Amazon JP as well as Ebay.

Enjoy Sunday!

Rita

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The Week In Stitches

I have been working on a custom order this week, an order for a quilt top only as my customer is going to be hand quilting the quilt herself.  This makes a nice change from my "normal".  Often whilst basting a quilt the thought I'd be quite happy making quilt tops for the rest of my life  runs through my mind, and this was my opportunity to sample what I have wished for.

It does however feel quite strange to be shipping off a project that is incomplete, and I'm not sure that this is the way to go forth.  But I have enjoyed the fabric play for this quilt and there are many I-Spy themes including fabrics with clothing, shoes, cups and saucers, food, bikes, bugs, and fish, and animals.  There are also numerous hard to find Heather Ross fabrics as well as other Japanese imports.

221 fabric squares

and approximately 200 different fabrics,

all of which take much longer to cut than to sew back together again, 

and has created a fabric mountain of gigantic proportions.  

Now planning my next project,

Rita

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Edges by Laura Gunn and a Flying Geese Pillow Cover

This bundle of goodies arrived in the mail late last week courtesy of Michael Miller Fabrics.  Edges is a new collection by designer Laura Gunn.   Edges is a unique range of basic designs all of which have been hand painted by Laura.  The careful brushstrokes and subtle color changes are evidence of Laura's love for hand painting and color.

I was immediately taken by the range of colors in varying shades, especially the softer colors (so pretty!).  Out came the rotary cutter and together with a wide selection of black/white (predominantly white) fabric for contrast I got busy making flying geese in a similar style to those made as part of the Marcelle Medallion Quilt.

50 Flying Geese each measuring 2 inches x 4 inches and made into a pillow cover.

As usual there was the battle of the bulky seam when quilting, but I pushed on and have quilted with a grid of lines just 1 inch apart.  

For the back of the pillow cover I have used a home decorator weight fabric - Artemis in Black by Alexander Henry.

The pillow cover is ready for shipping! I have updated my Etsy Store.  You can find the listing here:  Modern Patchwork Pillow Cover.

EDGES BY LAURA GUN IS NOW AVAILABLE FROM:

Fabric Worm

The Fat Quarter Shop

My thanks goes to Michael Miller and Laura Gunn for the sampling of the Edges collection.  I have enjoyed the fabric play and plan on adding a few of these prints to my stash - in particular the light greys, soft pinks and the neutrals.  

Rita

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Hand Quilted With Love by Sarah Fielke

Hand Quilted With Love by Sarah Fielke

Welcome to my stop on the Hand Quilted With Love book tour!  I am a huge fan of Sarah's work and love Sarah's unique design style and use of scrap fabric. Rather than lead you through the chapters of the book I have taken snippets of the quilts, the color and the detail; a feast for the eyes, and a little temptation...

There's something there for everyone including designs ranging in difficulty, useful tips for successful completion, and oodles of inspiration!

Sarah's quilts are beautifully hand quilted. For newbie quilters Sarah has a very helpful free video over at Craftsy where she shows some of the secrets of hand quilting, as well as an Online Quilting Class featuring techniques such as step-down piecing, needleturn applique and hand quilting with perle cotton:

Congratulations Sarah on another great publication!  

GIVEAWAY

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Happy Mother's Day!  I am giving my copy of Hand Quilted With Love away to one lucky reader.  Please leave a comment to enter, and everyone is welcome to enter.  Please be sure your email address is available on your profile page or leave it with your comment.

The winning entry will be drawn at 10am Tuesday morning (Australia EST) 14 May 2013 and will be announced by edit to this blog post.  The winner will also be notified by email.

ENTRY HAS NOW CLOSED.

Thank you for all of your entries!
The winner of the book Hand Quilted with Love by Sarah Fielke is:

  Maggie has been contacted by email.

Happy Mother's Day.

Rita


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Giant Dresden Plate Quilt - A Finished Quilt

I have finished my Giant Dresden Plate quilt.  Thank you for all of your suggestions with regard to appliqueing the Giant Dresden Plate Block onto a background fabric.  For a while there I thought perhaps that this giant block may remain a work in progress, and I spent quite some time agonizing contemplating the most suitable applique process for me - the no hand stitching route.

I started by tucking under the 1/4 inch seam allowance of the center circle by first pressing with a hot iron and then using fabric glue to ensure the seam stayed firmly in place.  I taped the white background fabric to the floor (in much the same way as when basting a quilt) and centered the circle on top.  

I then used basting spray to adhere the circle to the background fabric.  Now basting spray and I aren't the best of friends so I also basted the two layers by hand stitching long running stitches from the center out as well as right around the edge of the circle.

Once basted I top stitched the two layers (the white background fabric and the Dresden Plate Block) together by machine, stitching lines in concentric circles at regular intervals.  Happy that the two layers would  now not shift I basted the quilt top like you would a normal quilt - with batting and backing fabric.

I also made the decision to leave the outer tips of the Dresden Plates unsecured.  They add another dimension to the quilt as well as texture.

The quilting involved a lot of turning the quilt, stitching up to the edge of the circle - underneath the loose tips - turning the quilt around and stitching back to the quilt edge again.  Most of the quilting lines were marked onto the background fabric with a Clover Hera Marker as there were no existing lines on the quilt for me to use as a stitching guide.  More concentric circles were also quilted on the Dresden Plate Block.  I have used a walking foot for all of the quilting.

Dresden Plate Quilt - pre-binding.  

Drying on a delightful Melbourne Autumn day.

For binding fabric I have chosen a sunny yellow fabric from the Carnaby Street Collection by Pat Bravo.

And for backing fabric I have used a floral print from the Posy collection by Aneela Hoey; this one is a favorite!

Finished Quilt size:  41 inches x 51 inches

I have updated my Etsy Store and you will find this quilt listed here:  Giant Dresden Plate Quilt.

If you have any questions, please let me know and if appropriate I will answer them in reply to your comment.

The tutorial for the Giant Dresden Plate Block can be found here:  http://www.redpepperquilts.com/2013/04/giant-scrappy-dresden-plate-block-and.html

Thank you for stopping by,

Rita