Rubix Quilt

Fresh off the sewing machine is my Rubix Quilt, a pattern by Stacey Day. I love the interplay of colors of this quilt, and piecing this was pretty fun.

Since this is a very geometric quilt, I debated doing some angular designs and square chains and such. But ... I wanted to practice my feathers, so I ended up putting a feather in every square ring. That gave me a lot of practice, especially with turning corners. (Plus I just love to quilt them.) I lined the sashing and borders with a swirly design that Lori Kennedy called the paper clip, which is really a tall and skinny swirl with no sharp points. I tied it together with the continuous curve I love so much at all the sashing intersections.

Feathers are some of my favorite things to quilt, and they're also the hardest to look just right. But the point is to have fun, and improve along the way, since there's no perfection in free-motion quilting anyway. I have to keep reminding myself when I encounter the moments of doubt that I have felt this way about every quilt I've done previously, but when I finished them, the mistakes really don't bother me anymore, if I even notice them. Well, with this quilt, there are some okay feathers ... and some pretty bad ones. I'm slowly trying to figure out what the magic formula for a feather is that takes it from ugly to dreamy.

There's also always a part of me that wonders whether I should have quilted it the other way (emphasize the square-ness with straight lines and geometric quilting designs), but if I had, I'd probably always wonder if I should have done it this way. There are just too many ways to quilt a quilt, but I can only choose one, and at the end, it's a finished quilt, so that's a win.

Quilting Is My Therapy Too

I'm not bashful to admit that I have a hero in the quilting world. Angela Walters takes my breath away with her stunning machine quilting. I have taken all her Craftsy classes, and own at least 5 of her books. In addition to being incredibly talented, she's also really funny.

Well, of course I had to pick up a copy of her new book, Quilting Is My Therapy, which is part story, part machine quilting showcase, and fully inspirational.

I read the book cover-to-cover, and I was both awed and in tears. In tears because of the stories of how she became a machine quilter, in particular involving her Grandpa sweetly encouraging her. And in awe because her work is stunning. I always knew this, but I've never seen it in this detail before. The book doesn't have a single pattern or instruction on how to make any of it, but that doesn't matter. It's a machine quilting book, and because there are so many really close shots of the designs, I can work out how she did them.

Angela herself says that she doesn't like hard quilting ... she likes fun quilting. It's true that most of the designs she uses are not hard, and completely approachable for even me. But the way she arranges them into a composition ... the way she just knows what to do on a quilt top to bring out its maximum beauty ... that is where her true artistry lies.

I completely agree with Angela that machine quilting is the best part of making a quilt. Quilting is my therapy too!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! Whew, it's hard to believe it's Thanksgiving already. But this is definitely one of the exciting times of the year, between tons of food, cold weather, snuggling under quilts, and anticipating Christmas.

I made Alvin the Turkey awhile ago, when I was still making lots of amigurumis, but he's never really been out for a photo shoot. The pattern is from FreshStitches.

Aviatrix Medallion ~ Part Zero

I've been in love with Elizabeth Hartman's Aviatrix Medallion quilt pattern since the first second I laid eyes on it. It is amazing. Stunning. So out of my reach ...

But I've finally decided to try it, because Craftsy had the kit on sale. I don't usually buy kits, preferring to pick my own fabrics, but the colors she picked were so perfect that I couldn't have topped it.

It's intimidating for sure, for this will be by far the most complicated piecing I've ever done, not to mention a huge organization ordeal, if I try to precut everything and then chain piece them for maximum efficiency. But I'm not working on a deadline, so it will be a fun challenge to take on slowly. I'll be blogging about the progress of this project as I go through it, hopefully it'll turn out well.

Stash Builder Box ~ November 2016

My November Stash Builder Box has arrived! I just love getting this little monthly bundle of happiness in the mail. To say I'm pleased with this month's selection is an understatement.

It's stunning! If I was 66% happy with last month's fabrics, I'm 100% happy with this month's. It was designed (curated?) by Katarina Roccella, who I just love. I won't forget that her Avant Garde collection remains one of the most prized bundles in my fabric collection.

This one's called Blythe, and it's just so lovely. The accompanying pattern is called Triangles and Arrows, and it's by Cynthia Muir. It's also very beautiful and very my style. I don't know when I'll get around to it, but it's a lovely addition to my pattern collection.

Phases of the Moon

Phases of the Moon is my newest lap quilt, and I just love it. The fabric is really special, and the chain links highlighted them beautifully. This quilt was such a joy to piece and quilt. I drafted the pattern here, though the quilt I based it off of is by Amy Smart. My pieces are differently sized, but her quilt is the original inspiration.

I suffered a serious bout of Quilter's Paralysis with this one. I think I stared at the top for hours, wrestling with different design ideas. There are so many ways to do this, and different areas to highlight. I really liked the quilting done in Amy Smart's quilt, because when I first saw the quilt months ago, I didn't even know it was quilting, I thought her frame strips was sewn with a patterned fabric. Then when I realized it was quilting, for the first time I really saw the power of quilting. This was months ago, when I was really new, but it stuck with me.

So I really wanted to try quilting in a light colored thread on dark fabric, but it's a scary thing as everything will show, or in my case, every mistake will show. But when done right, it will also showcase beautifully, giving the effect that mesmerized me when I saw it on her quilt. In the end, of course, I decided to do it. I had a lot of doubts, and was even tempted to rip at first, but I'm glad I didn't. I didn't quilt nearly as densely as hers (that would have taken too long) but I think I did manage to pull off some of the effect.

I used a combination of swirls and paisleys on the background fabric, and did a different design for the focal squares to make them stand out. There are a lot of whimsical designs out there, but I can't get enough of the basic swirls and paisleys.

I adore this quilt, and I'm so glad I finally used the Spoonflower fabric. When I step back, I think it does look at first like the black fabric is patterned, which is exactly what I wanted to achieve.

Rubix Quilt

I first saw the pattern for the Rubix quilt by Stacey Day in the show booklet for the American Quilt Society's show in Paducah, KY, and I immediately added it to my queue. I really liked the fresh geometric look of the quilt.

It's another lap quilt, of course. I'm just addicted to making these, but it's the most versatile size. A lap quilt can function as a throw, a picnic blanket, a toy tent covering, a wraparound, a superhero cape, and my 4-year-old likes to be wrapped, burrito style, inside one.

I picked some coordinating strips from a jelly roll for this quilt, and combined it with precut white strips. The entire quilt is made of just these, so I didn't have to do any cutting from yardage which is a bonus. I found one of the most challenging aspect of this quilt is that the jelly roll strips had pinked edges, and they're not 2.5" wide, they're just a smidge more. That makes it harder to sew a quarter-inch seam, not to mention the blocks ended up a little bigger, yet trimming down is difficult as there's no "centering" point. There are a few intersections that are a little bit off, but I doubt it'd be all that noticeable once I've quilted it.

I really like this quilt top, and how bright and cheerful it is. I'm having fun coming up with some custom quilting designs. I realized the best way to come up with quilting designs is not to stare at the top and trace lines on it with my finger (as I used to do), but to draw the quilt on a notebook and then doodle potential designs on it. Once I started actually doodling, the ideas came flowing, and I very quickly decided on what I wanted to do, which is unusual for me! I might change it still, but it's a lot better than being stuck in quilter's paralysis for hours, days, weeks, or worse.