Fragmental

Fragmental is the easiest quilt top I've ever pieced. That's because it's cheatercloth! I was browsing on Quilting Is My Therapy one day when I saw a quilt kit that consisted of a few panels of this really pretty geometric design, and I knew it would be fun to quilt.

Piecing of this took about 20 minutes, and most of the time was spent on pressing the fabric. But the real purpose of making this quilt top, of course, is to quilt it.

When I loaded this quilt top, it was actually a piggyback. I use wide backing, so frequently after finishing a medium-sized quilt there's still room for a small top. This one just barely fits after I finished Lakeshore, so that's why I quilted it next. Unlike most of the quilt tops where I have some idea what I was going to do before I started, this one I really just winged it and made it up as I went along.

I did continuous curves in the colored shapes, and then went to town on the negative space filling it with all kinds of fun filler designs. Whatever I did once ... I just had to repeat it across the quilt so it looks somewhat symmetrical. But I vary the motifs across the quilt so it doesn't look too symmetrical.

I don't think every design I did was necessarily successful, but I didn't rip. Whatever I did, I just made sure to repeat it somewhere. As Angela Walters always says, 'Once is a mistake, but twice is a design choice.'

But my favorite part is the triangles on the side. Instead of quilting just a filler, I divided up the space with different quilting. I think it looks much more impactful than if I just filled it with a swirl or such.

I originally intended this to be a practice piece, and since I didn't sink a lot of money or time into the quilt top, I figured it'd be low pressure. But it turned out much better than I expected, so winging it wasn't a bad idea after all. It'll end up being a wallhanging when I get my quilting room finished ... one day. I just have to pick up the phone and call a contractor. Sigh

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Well, this is going to be my last quilt this year! I'm going to take a break from blogging and social media for the rest of the year. It's been a great year for quilting for me, and I'm so encouraged by the visits, the comments, and the follows from you all. Thank you so much for making my blogging and quilting journey so much fun and so enriching. I'll see you all in the new year!

Link parties joined: Busy Hands Quilts, Powered By Quilting, Confessions of a Fabric Addict, My Quilt Infatuation, Crazy Mom Quilts, and Sew Can She.

Lakeshore

I saw the Matchsticks Lakeshore quilt kit on Craftsy one day, and I was immediately intrigued by the simple pattern and the way the solid colors went together. But I didn't buy it at the time. For the next few weeks, everywhere I went to on the internet, there it was on a side ad, winking at me! That tactic finally worked, and I decided I must have it.

Once upon a time, I felt guilty about using quilt kits. But after time and time again realizing the most stressful part of quiltmaking (and the part I tend to mess up the most) is fabric selection, I've come to terms with the fact that it's totally okay to let other people take care of this for me! Where I'll make it uniquely mine is in the quilting.

This quilt was fairly straightforward to piece, using 2 charm packs and some background fabric. As much as I love prints, it was really the solid fabrics used in this quilt that initially drew me to it. And solid fabrics are such a blast to quilt, because it really shows off the quilting! I did some piano keys in the borders and some alternating linear designs in the body of the quilt.

But my main goal in quilting this was to practice the ferny design, which is something I learned in Angela Walters's classes but haven't been brave enough to do until now. But I think it turned out well! It took some time for me to "get" this design (I did a lot of sketching) but once I did, it is surprisingly fast and forgiving. It's got a lot of movement, and I'm so happy to finally add this to my quilting toolbox!

Between the rows with the ferny design, I quilted a variety of linear designs. My favorite is definitely ribbon candies. I really struggled with that design when I first tried it, which explains why it's one of my favorites now that I've figured it out.

And of course, I love to show the back of the quilt. I used a solid blue for the backing, which fits the Lakeshore theme pretty well! I always match thread on the front whenever possible, but I love how the design shows on the back of the quilt so vividly.

This quilt is going to my 2 year old son. Good thing I quilted it so heavily!

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Linking up with: Crazy Mom Quilts, Powered by Quilting, My Quilt Infatuation, Busy Hands Quilts, Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Sew Can She, and Cooking Up Quilts.

Curves, Oh My!

I would never have believed it, but lately I've been really, really hankering to sew ... of all things ... curves!

I tried curved piecing for the first time (a little Drunkard's Path block) about a year and a half ago. I was on the verge of tears, and gave up right then. I tried it again about a year ago, and although I had more success, I still didn't like it very much, and I haven't made a single quilt with curves in it.

But strangely enough, lately I've really been wanting to do it. I feel like it's the one piece (no pun intended) missing from my piecing skill set. Being able to sew a basic curve seems to be an important skill, and there are so many gorgeous patterns that use curves. Even though I have resorted to raw edged applique in the past, it's really not the same!

So ... one day I sat down, took out my circle ruler and some scrap charms, and just cut several pieces for a few Drunkard's Path blocks. Then, I sat down at the machine, used no pins, and sewed up a few blocks.

These are actually pretty good for me! And most importantly, it was actually fun. The best part is that I used no pins or glue or anything like that. I'm not sure where I got the nerve to do that, but I suspect it's from watching Suzy Williams's video on no pins curved sewing. Seeing how easily she did it somehow gave me the confidence to try mine that way!

So, now that I finally think curved piecing is doable and even fun, I think there'll be a curved quilt coming up in my future!

Becca Pouch

Even though I just finished the Sweet Pea Pods last week, I was so excited to work on the next project in the class: Zip-It Bag With a Twist by Joan Hawley. The second project is the Becca bag, an adorable little pouch with faux piping, boxed corners, and flange. My favorite part of the bag is actually the gold zipper pull which is a different color from the purple zipper, thanks to the one-zip technique!

This bag was so quick and easy to make, that I finished it in one sewing session. That's pretty rare for me, but I just wanted to keep going! One limitation with this type of construction is the length of the zipper tape. Since I only had 16" zippers, and due to the way it's folded in half, at the end I could only make a bag that was about 7" x 5" x 3/4".

But even though it's small, it holds all my essentials, so that's good enough! I've also understood the technique enough that I think I can make another one from memory. Now that's good instruction.

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Link parties joined: Crazy Mom Quilts.