Make It Right Challenge – Follow Up

A while ago I submitted this quilt for the Make It Right Challenge.  The idea was to use Angela Walter’s Textures panel and Art Gallery solids to create an original design.  The winners were announced here.  You should visit if only to see the first place winner.  It was pretty darn awesome!

My quilt shown here was chosen for Best Use of Color!  I was seriously excited.  There were some wonderful projects submitted so it was an honor to place in this group.

Last week I came home to a box by the front door.  There were some seriously wonderful goodies inside. Take a look.

Included is Quilter’s Dream batting which is what I have been using lately.  It truly is a dream to quilt with.  I have a piece of their wool batting that I will be trying in the near future.

The ‘pink’ fabrics are Art Gallery Nature Elements and there are fat quarters of Angela Walter’s Textures.  I’m actually working on a medallion quilt using Textures, cranberry tones, and other coordinating fabrics.  These are going to come in handy.

There’s a signed copy of In The Studio by Angela Walters.  Sweet!  I have both of her books already.  They are my go-to when trying to decide on quilting designs or just to play.  I highly recommend them to anyone wanting to play with free motion quilting.  My copy, which isn’t signed, is going to my niece who is just learning FMQ.  The signed copy I’m keeping!  I got to meet Angela at Quilt Con when I took two of her workshops and she is not only extremely talented, but a total sweetheart.

Then there is a Bari J Splendor Aurifil set.  Love it!  I’ve been wanting to try both the 28 weight and the new embroidery floss Aurifil just came out with.  This set is the 28 weight thread in some gorgeous colors.  I started doodling with it and they are great to work with.

 

 

Lighter than DMC embroidery floss, but it shows up really well in embroidery designs.  I can definitely see how this would be fun to hand quilt when you want the thread to show.   There was no tangling and it laid on the fabric beautifully.

Craftsy.com 

Not shown above is the coupon included for a free Craftsy class.  I’m a huge Craftsy fan.  I have taken loads of quilting and sewing classes from them and have found them to be a fantastic value.  I’ve been wanting to take the Tilton’s t-shirt class for a while and took advantage with this coupon I received.

So that was my early Christmas present.  😀

So much fun!

 

 

Life since QuiltCon…

I can’t believe it’s been a month since the last post.  Since then, I’ve attended QuiltCon and had a blast.  I came back to a sewing room that needed to be put back together after installing my new Juki 8700H .. :-D!  Then it was buying a new table and creating a false top to create a sewing table.  It was a couple weeks before I could even get to the sewing machine.  Withdrawal, anyone?!

So here are a few photos from the last few weeks:

 

with Angela Walters in her Free Motion Quilting workshop.

Lotta Jansdotter teaching a block printing worksop

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I took two free motion quilting workshops with Angela Walters and sewed on a long arm for the first time.  It would take me a while to get used to the way they move.  Angela is a fun teacher and I love her attitude that allows mistakes and encourages, in her words, “just go for it.”

Lotta Jansdotter‘s block printing workshop was a lot of fun.  She talked about her design process and the tools she uses when creating designs.  It was so interesting.  She was such a sweet person.

When I got home I started working on my sewing table.  I had been sewing on folding tables topped with foam insulation to bring it flush with machine bed.  My 820 is a little heavy for that setup.  Picked up a $100 table at Ivan Smith Furniture and built a false table.  Like it, but I already have some adjustments if I were to do it over.  You can see below the table has a cut out where the machine sits.  The machine had to be lifted 1/4″ to bring it flush.  I also needed an extension off the table for my machine which is pretty long, so I used a 1/4″ piece of plywood and some 2×2’s to create that extension.

3/4″ plywood lifted on 2×4’s. Slot at rear of table goes full width. Slot at front of table goes halfway back. Plastic drawer divider fits at front and holds machine feet and accessories.

Front view. Drawer divider fits in front left slot between 2×4’s. Required an extension for the length on my Bernina 820

Back side view behind machine. Acrylic Sew Fine extension table fits flush to the false table top. Can see rolled vinyl at rear of table. These rolls can be stored in that slot the width of the table.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think that’s enough for today.  I actually have a photo of my haul from the QuiltCon vendors which include an awesome book called the Adventures of the Amazing Alphabet by Pam Holland.  I ordered that one from Sewing Party and received two by accident.   Sewing Party is allowing me to give the spare to a lucky reader.  Stay tuned.  That is coming next week.

 

 

Productive weekend…yet still so much to do!

I feel I have done quite a bit this weekend.

For My Precious QAL hosted by KelbySews, I am finishing projects.  I’m still quilting my Dick and Jane, but have finished the baby quilt in Bliss!  Yay!  One down.

Dick and Jane … FMQ in progress

I’m free motion quilting (FMQ) the Dick and Jane and it isn’t going quite as well as I would like.   Seems like the tension is off, the machine is being persnickety or the fabric is bunching!   I finally took it out of the machine and will go back to it when I’m in a more patient mood.

I finished the baby quilt below for a grand niece.  Angela Walter’s new book came in so handy during the quilting phase.  Most of the patterns I tried in this quilt were from her book.  She does a great job of showing how to execute the patterns.  I’m already waiting for her next book!

Quilt for my great niece. Fabric is Bliss by Bonnie and Camille for Moda Fabric

I worked on the block below for Kim Brackett’s Over and Under quilt using a William Morris jelly roll by Moda.  My husband and daughter both tried to claim this quilt.  My hubby won.  (I actually won this William Morris jelly roll months ago.  I believe I won this from FatQuarterShop.  The fabric is beautiful!)

1. William Morris fabrics from Moda, 2. Nightshade center block needs to take the place of pieced center block, 3. Side corners had to be pieced because of fabric design, 4. Fussy cutting these corners took more ‘fussing’ than you would imagine.

I actually wanted to make this quilt in Tula Pink’s Nightshade and needed to make a center block to verify dimensions since I will not be piecing this center square.  I had to cut the Nightshade as a diamond to get the sisters in the block and I also had to add small pieces to the side points.  I have all of this fabric line, but I can already tell I’m going to need some coordinates to create this quilt.  I’m on a serious fabric freeze.  I may have to window shop for now…and dream.  I’m really excited about this quilt.

I also worked on Liberty of London and linen squares for a quilt.  It took some nerve for me to use the Liberty charm pack I purchased from VeryBerryFabrics.  I was inspired by Ali at VeryBerryHandmade.  See the baby quilt she made using Liberty and linen here.  I just love it!

I worked on a muslin of Vogue 8689:

All in all a good weekend.  I’m looking forward to this weekend.  I have an

extra day since Monday is a holiday.  My “to do” list is long!

Happy sewing!

Dick and Jane Quilt Back

Quilt back for my Dick and Jane quilt

 

I finally got back to my Dick and Jane quilt!  I’ve pieced the back as shown to the left.  Not a great photo.  This is a pretty big quilt for me.  The front measures 80 x 80 and the back is 85 x 85.

The quilt front was blogged here.    Now it’s time to decide how I want to quilt it.  Hmmm.  😦

I’ve posted on Angela Walters’ forum here hoping for some tips.  She has an awesome blog, QuiltingIsMyTherapy.  If I were to say one person turned me on to modern quilting, it would be Angela.  I just love the way she quilts.

Dick and Jane Quilt Top