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Class Auction Quilt

Finished up the class auction quilt the other day. As I mentioned before, we used the glue batik technique with the kids. I didn’t get the best photo of this quilt and probably should have done more top quilting in the sashing, but wanted to be done! It looks much better lying flat than hanging as it is here. I used a natural linen and cotton blend for the framing and as you can see, the kids painted the fabric squares with shades of green and blue. It’s backed with Lizzy House’s jewels fabric in aqua, a small-scale print that worked well with the colors, while keeping the front as the main focus. Finished is the key here.

I did give the kids some images of mandalas as inspiration as the project was loosely based on an Indian theme and they practiced their drawings on paper, then transferred them to fabric. You can find a tutorial on That Artist Woman. You should note that when you have the kids paint, you’ll need to make sure you are using felt or quilt batting under the fabric so the paint doesn’t bleed through from the back.

 

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Improvisational Quilting

Lucie Summers of Summersville made this amazing quilt. Not sure what’s going on with these English women, but they are making some beautiful quilts these days. Although I think she started out with a bit of a plan, Lucie used an improvisational, piece-as-you-go method for making this quilt. I am loving improvisational quilts these days. As I’m working on 1, 2, 3 Quilt, I realize that I hate making the same block over and over again. Whether it’s due to a short attention span or the need to make instinctual decisions, these quilts have a more emotional appeal to me. Lucie’s quilt reminds me of the abstract, often geometric paintings of Stuart Davis, who was strongly influenced by the free-form nature of jazz.

She started with this block below. You can see her progress as her quilt evolved on her blog here. I also love her choice of quilting random lines, and think it works really well with the top piecing. I love quilting that enhances the design of the patchwork, and I’m often distracted when there’s another layer of pattern that fights the quilt top layout.

Lucie has a new line of quilting cottons that will be available in April. I’ve always been a fan of her screenprinted fabrics, so I can’t wait to use these.

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Playing with Blocks

I’ve been playing around with the Quilt Blocks fabric and making some improvisational blocks. Making things without a pattern or set plan is so much fun and really takes the stress out of quilting. Here, I’ve used some Quilt Blocks fabric, a print from Rashida’s Washi collection, and some Denyse Schmidt fabric. I’m really enjoying dark backgrounds these days.

And speaking of improvisational quilting, have you seen this amazing quilt that Lucie Summers of Summersville is working on? Genius.

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Spring Carnival

Katy Jones of Monkey Do (and one of the editors of Fat Quarterly) has made the most spectacularly awesome quilt top using some of my Quilt Blocks collection. With only bits of fabric she had from quilt market, she has put together such an amazing design. I LOVE the falling pieces appliquéd at the bottom. I think one of the interesting things about this design is that these fabrics have a larger scale pattern that most quilters wouldn’t think of cutting into smaller pieces. I think what it does here is add randomness and abstraction to the design, giving it a very modern feel. She used the fabrics pictured below and added polka dots and some bright solids. This Spring Carnival, or ferris wheel design, works so well and you can see how it’s completely different depending on the fabrics you choose. I also love the version with Jenean Morrison’s fabrics. Katy is selling the acrylic templates that she used to simplify the process — what a great idea. And she’s also been working on this pillow with my flying geese fabric. Look at her amazing quilting here!

Over the past year, I’ve had the pleasure of seeing things people made from my book 1, 2, 3 Sew, but it is possibly even more exciting to see people take their own creativity and use my fabric designs to bring their ideas to reality. I’m looking forward to getting the all the fabrics from the Quilt Blocks collection soon and I can’t wait to make some things — and even better, see what you make!

The Quilt Blocks collection for Moda should hit shops in the next month. If you own a quilt shop and you’ve ordered the fabric, please do let me know so I can add you to my links. I’ll also be offering a free month of advertising for all shops who carry the collection!