Pisces

About a year and a half ago (has it been that long already?) I was signed up to take a class with Sharon McConnell of Color Girl Quilts. The pattern she was teaching was Pisces, a double curve quilt using her Classic Curves ruler. I had spent a few hours precutting fabric (Dot Crazy by Modern Quilt Studio) the night before and I was ready to go.

But I never made it to class. The weather that day was icy and slushy, and on the way there, my car got stuck going up a slight incline. It took me 20 minutes to extricate myself, and I knew that on the way to the quilt guild, it could very well happen again, so I headed home. I was bummed about missing out on the class, and knew the only way I would feel better is if I made this quilt anyway.

Well ... I did! Through Sharon's instructions in the pattern, I managed to make those double curves. I really liked the finished top with the black / white contrasting background, and the Dot Crazy fabric started to look more Asian the more I stared at it.

The most prominent design I used in this quilt is just straight lines, spaced half an inch apart. But I didn't just want to do straight lines, so I used a few other designs like plume feathers and continuous curves which I carried across each diagonal.

I quilted several different designs for the arches. This is my first time quilting in an arched space, which is sort of like a linear strip but a little more difficult. I think they came out okay, though!

After an intense quilt like Swoon and before the next intense quilt, I usually pick something simpler to work on. Occasionally my plan backfires and my simple turns into something hugely complicated (like Rafters) but Pisces didn't. It was the perfect relaxing quilt to work on.

I think I'm finally coming around to the idea that I don't have to quilt every quilt to death, and quilts that are not quilted to death can still be interesting and beautiful. Because I'm very happy with how Pisces turned out!

***

Linking up with: My Quilt Infatuation, Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Powered by Quilting, and Meadow Mist Designs.

Block Chain Quilt Along

When the Block Chain quilt along was announced by Christa Watson, I was hesitant about joining. I had just gotten home from QuiltCon and I had so many projects I wanted to work on, not to mention the mountain of quilt tops that need to be quilted. Do I really want to add another one to the list?

As it turns out, the answer is yes. A month ago I would never have imagined that we're in the situation we're in today. Schools are closed, events are cancelled, and life is uncertain from one day to the next. If sewing and quilting keeps us sane, then I'm so grateful for it.

The fabric I chose is a charm pack from Ruby Star Society, Crescent by Sarah Watts. It's a lovely line that contains unicorns and critters, but doesn't feel juvenile at all. Although the quilt along only started this week, I already plunged ahead working on mine. The piecing is very easy, and Christa's instructions as always are crystal clear.

The way this quilt is constructed is wonderful because I don't end up having any borders or sashings to add. (I hate those.) I'm in love with the way this top came out!

As usual with quilt tops I really, really love, I can't quilt on it quite yet. It needs to marinate for awhile so that I become less attached!

Swoon

When I'm about halfway done machine quilting a quilt, I start thinking about what quilt top to quilt next. While I was quilting Color Pop, a slew of candidates came to mind. So I was very surprised that when I went to my rather alarmingly large stash of quilt tops, I pulled out Swoon. It was not even on the candidate list!

But it was calling to me, asking to be quilted, while some of my other quilt tops seem rather reluctant to leave the shelf. Swoon is a pretty new quilt top for me, as it's only several months old, instead of several years old like some. But it was a quilt that I was incredibly unsure about due to my wild fabric choices, so I wanted to finish it to put that uncertainty to rest, one way or another.

I wrestled with two choices for quilting Swoon: treating the negative space as one backdrop and doing a lot of improv style quilting over it, or dividing up the negative space to create secondary spaces and filling them. I chose the latter because it is easier for my mind to process.

The Greek cross-like shapes in between the blocks provided a big backdrop for lots of fun fillers, and I used that space to showcase lots of nature motifs such as leaves and feather swirls.

For all of the other negative spaces, I filled it with feathers and wishbones. I wanted quick and easy designs in those areas that had a predictable flow.

The Swoon blocks themselves were quilted very simply with geometric designs. I almost always do this (Urban Mod was a rare exception), because I've found that straight line designs always look good with prints, while more complex designs can be a bit of a hit or miss. This also allows the fabric to pop forward and take center stage.

After so much uncertainty about this quilt, I'm happy to report that I really, really love the end result! It has such a Mediterranean vibe that goes so well with the nature motifs, and I'm not sure if I like the blocks themselves, or the quilting I did in the negative space more. Either way, I'm super happy with how it turned out!

***

Linking up with: My Quilt Infatuation, Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Powered by Quilting, and Meadow Mist Designs.