Modern Fans

Modern Fans is a pattern by Suzy Quilts, who masterfully combines modern improv elements and more traditional piecing in her designs.

I was immediately attracted to the quilt due to its graphic quality. I've never been able to resist a black and white quilt, and though I am really stressed by the fabric picking process in general, at least for this quilt I just had to pick one fabric to go with the black / white. I ended up choosing this icy blue fabric I got from a trip to Hawaii.

I knew I wanted to fill the background with a wavy design, but I wanted to add just a few visual elements in the background to break it up. This is a rare time that I actually marked the points and connected them with rulers, because I wanted them to look perfectly symmetrical.

The fan blocks are quilted very simply with just some straight lines and a simple geometric design. It doesn't really show, but then again, it's not supposed to.

This is one of those quilts where I could have just done horizontal lines across the quilt and it would have looked great too. But I also saw it as an opportunity to practice the wavy design over a large background space, something I've always wanted to do and haven't tried yet.

I'm really happy with how this quilt turned out. I used to be terrified of doing the wavy design, but it seems after More Fishies and now Modern Fans, I've finally gotten comfortable with it!

Sublime Bag

When I first saw the video workshop trailer for Sublime, I wanted to make it because of how fun it looked. What I didn't expect was how useful this bag would be, too!

For the focal fabric, I decided on this black / gold fabric I got from one of my fabric pilgrimages to Missouri Star. I had to do some fussy cutting but it was worth it. This color palette also gives me a chance to use up my leftover zipper tape / zipper pull from the Sky Harbor Tote I made last year.

My favorite feature of this bag is the little zipper pocket in the front. I thought it was purely aesthetical, but it's incredibly handy for holding my cell phone.

I actually made Sublime last year but I wanted to carry it for a few months before posting anout it. But there is no doubt now, that this is a super practical handbag as well, especially when I pair it with the Mustang Purse Organizer inside. I'm so proud of it and feel a rush of pride everytime I see it, which is not something I can say for my store bought bags.