Circles

I ended up deciding on option #2 with #6 being a close second.

The background is Kona Coal.  I used 12 different shades of pink for the circles.  The largest circle is 10" and the smallest is 2".  There's 2 6" circles and 2 4" circles.  The quilt is 36" x 48".

The shades of pink came from the Kona Pretty in Pink colorstory (shades were the far left to the lighest pink at the "B" in Robert).

On the back I used a Remix print in Peony by Ann Kelle.   The binding is made up of scraps that were leftover.  The circles are raw-edged and soft and crinkly.

This was super simple to make!  I cut the backing into a section about 1.5 yards long and cut the top to size at 36" by 48".  I layed out the backing, batting and solid coal top.  I placed the circles into position and then basted the whole thing using pins.  I quilted the circles first (technically topstitching them at the same time) and then went back and drew circles in the negative spaces using an air soluble pen.  I quilted those circles, added the binding by machine and then put the quilt in the wash.

You can see the quilting a little better here.  Baby girl was born on Valentines day!

Decisions

When I read Julies post the other day about showing her process I was reminded about how I dont really show any of the processes that I go through when making a quilt.  I like seeing how people get from point A to point B.  It helps to see that there are other quilters out there that may struggle with the same indecisiveness that I do.  


Case and point:  I started a baby blanket friday night and was stuck with layout.  I emailed pics to a few quilty friends and asked for their opinions.  I guess because it was super time sensitive (the baby was due the next day) I had no intention of showing any of it until it was completed.

So here were my layout options. 

These are down 'n dirty pics - no editing.  Heck, the floor isnt even vaccuumed.

There was a lot of crawling around on the floor and moving circles around.

My intent had been to have dark pink gradient down to light pink along with large circles down to small circles.

Solar system anyone?

Kinda cool although my husband said it looked like a footprint with toes.  The quilt is now done and is in the dryer.  I'll be able to take good pictures tomorrow and show you the layout that was chosen and how I did some different (for me) quilting.

More of those x & + blocks

I managed to crank out 5 more of these blocks mainly because I didn't want to send a measly 5 in to be swapped.  So now I've got a total of 10 and the deadline is coming up for them to be mailed.  I'm going to try and squeeze out another 5 this week.

My favorite of this batch.  Totally digging the black and white print.

Eh - this one really doesn't have any pizzaz.  

Again Eh.  Its missing something.  Like variety in color.

Kind of subtle but I really like this one.

Another miss.  Not sure what I was thinking when I was putting these together.  This whole batch came directly from the scrap bin.  Maybe I need better scraps!  

Sewing with friends

Yesterday the PMQG held a mini "sewing-summit."  There were 2 classes, one in the morning and the other after lunch and sewing all day long.  I've missed the past few sewing nights and guild meetings due to sickness and wrestling matches and it was really really nice to be back with sewing with my quilty friends.

The first class was on color theory and was taught by Jessica Levitt.  She talked about the color wheel, value, saturation and hue along with a whole lot of other things relating to color.  She had us do some hands-on activities such as sorting paint chips by value.  It was a great class and I learned that I need to use the color wheel a bit more when choosing fabrics!

After Jessicas' class I started to work on my Single Girl quilt.  I'm almost finished with my block quarters!!!  I was on a roll sewing these up so I didn't take part of the second class which was Organic Piecing taught by Sujata Shah.  I listened while she taught and took a few notes but am waiting to try her technique sometime later.  


Have you taken a class on color theory or tried organic piecing?

Challenge: Cathedral Windows

Cathedral Windows is a block that both fascinates and intimidates me.  I've been wanting to try it for years.  Over on flickr you can find hundreds of beautiful examples of this block just by doing a search.  

This one is by Lynz

Recently I've seen just a single window made into a pin cushion, an ornament, sewn by machine and hand, and lots of pillows.  I've scoured the internet to find several different tutorials for us to try (remember, I'm doing these challenges at the same time you are).

Moda Bakeshop - really cute pillows

Sew Happy to sew - hand finished top stitching

House of Al a Mode - machine finished top stitching

Angies Bits & Pieces - includes a chart for different size blocks

If you've done a cathedral windows tutorial post send me an email and I'll add it to this list!

Ok - its time to bit the bullet and try this block out.  You can start small with a pincushion or pillow or be bold and go for something larger (I will bow down to you if you do a twin size or larger!!).  At the end of the month we'll link up with what we've accomplished.  Good luck!

Distant Pickles: Julie

Here's my version of the block Julie made.  I like hers a lot more than mine!  Julie's instructions are very clear and she has great how-to photos of this block.

I think the aqua pin dot is too light and the brown is just way too dark.  I'll put this on my list to remake with much better fabric choices!


So this is the last of the blocks that everyone created and I really enjoyed making all of these.  Come back on the February 1st for the next challenge.  


*edited to add*  I accidentally put the outside corners wrong!  The aqua and orange squares should be on the outside edges of the block.  Whoopsie doodle!

Distant Pickles: Bree

Here's the cute block I made using Bree's tutorial.  Bree and her friend Julie both blog at Distant Pickles.  They have a great tutorials page and have hosted some Quilt Alongs.

I dont believe this block has a name but it is pretty cool looking.  I didnt have thread to match the blue fabric and my sewing machine is a thread snob and only likes Aurifil (seriously - its spits up Gutermann) so you can see how uneven my sewing.  I couldnt get it to curve as much as I wanted. I think I should have pinned when I did that part.


Next post will be the block that Julie came up with!