Cascade

Cascade by Initial K Studio was one of the first quilts to catch my attention. I first saw it several years ago and it was one of the first modern quilts I saw that attracted me to quilting. Then I forgot about it as quilt after quilt inundated my mind. But several months ago I remembered it and decided it was time!

I was initially tempted to buy Cascade as a kit because it was hard to see it in any other colors. But then I found this magnificent jelly roll in my stash: Grunge by Moda. When I unwrapped it, I almost thought I had to bag the project. I was hoping to get a gradient across with one strip of each color, but instead I found that the jelly roll came with 20 colors of 2 strips each. But you know how a jelly roll is, once you unwrap it, you can't quite get it back. That motivated me to find a way to use it by arranging the colors in a gradient by intersplicing each color.

This is probably the simplest quilting I've ever done, with just some straight lines and a few simple linear designs peeking out. I didn't think it really needed more than that.

I took a shot of the quilt vertically, and I think it looks kind of interesting!

This simple and modern quilt reminds me of why I got into quilting in the first place. And although I usually like to pile on the drama, sticking with the simple quilting was the right choice in this case. I'm glad I finally made this quilt that helped send me on this crazy, wonderful rabbit hole of quilting!

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

Skyline ~ A Sampler Quilt in Progress

I grew up in Shanghai, (now) the most populous city in the world, so I've always been a city girl at heart. Even though I live in the suburbs right now, my heart always beats a little faster whenever I see pictures of a skyline. It's been on my mind to make a skyline quilt, but I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do until I saw pictures of the Art Gallery Fabrics booth at QuiltCon 2017. AGF built a cardboard backdrop inspired by the Miami skyline, and when I saw it, I knew then that I wanted to do something like that in quilt form.

I wanted to make my quilt in the style of a sampler quilt, with each building being built with different types of blocks. I'm not into anything too complicated, so all of the buildings are made of basic blocks.

First I designed a rough version in EQ7:

Using EQ7 helps me visualize proportions and also play with color a bit, so that I have a general idea of how my color scheme will work out.

Well, I think my finished buildings look pretty close to the version I envisioned:

I can tell already that this quilt will be a blast to quilt!

Modern Plus Sign Quilts Blog Hop: Postage Plus

Today is day 4 of the Modern Plus Sign blog hop, and I'm super excited to show off the Postage Plus quilt from Cheryl Brickey and Paige Alexander's fabulous new book, Modern Plus Sign Quilts!

Image credit: C & T Publishing

How much do I love this book? A lot. I even bought my own physical copy, because I just love to sit on my favorite chair and flip through the beautiful book, enjoying the writing and styling, and dreaming of the quilts I'll make in the future. The Plus Sign is a very traditional block, but it has been interpreted in a completely new way in this book. There are so many different variations, as well as different techniques, that there is really something for everyone!

When I was deciding which quilt to make for the hop, I was immediately attracted to Postage Plus for one simple reason: I had envisioned the perfect color palette. I knew I wanted something that was dark hot pink and hot pink offset against a white / gray scrappy center, so that's exactly what I ended up doing.

I used cerise and berry for the background, which are such great colors. For the center plus sign, I pulled together some white and gray fabrics from my stash.

One reason I was so excited to use the berry and cerise color is because I wanted to use hot pink thread to quilt this. I created a wavy design that flows behind the plus.

I've been needing a hot pink quilt in my house, and now I have one! It was so much fun and so easy to make.

Modern Plus Sign has many other fabulous quilts, and they'll all be featured throughout the blog hop. You can get an autographed copy from Cheryl, Paige, or you can get a non autographed copy from Amazon.

Thanks for stopping by, and be sure to check out the other stops on today's blog hop:

Linda @ Flourishing Palms
Bernie @ Needle & Foot
Michelle @ From Bolt to Beauty
Patty @ Elm Street Quilts
Stacey @ Stacey in Stitches
Melanie @ A Bit of Scrap Stuff Blog

Here is the full schedule. There are lots of beautiful quilts (and non-quilts) so be sure to follow along, see them all, and win some prizes! I am always amazed to see people come up with their own variations of the quilts, so this blog hop has been a blast to follow along!

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

Urban Cabin

It doesn't look like I'm going to be sick of making log cabin inspired quilts anytime soon, especially not with beautiful and easy patterns like Brigitte Heitland's Zen Cabin!

For my fabric choice, I'm using what I considered a very lucky find. Urban Artifacts by Leslie Tucker Jenison for RJR Fabrics is one of those collections that really captured me when I saw it. It certainly wasn't one I had heard of or was anticipating the launch of, and in fact I saw it by chance while looking for something else. But ... I'm so glad I did, because this is probably one of my top 3 favorite collections of 2017!

I actually started this project the day before National Sew a Jelly Roll Day (9/16) but, of course, it takes me months from piecing to completion. I can't help that I like to have many projects going at once. I actually found this a bit difficult to piece because the jelly roll strips were cut a bit under 2.5" (one of the major pitfalls of precuts!) and I didn't necessarily compensate well. It resulted in a not-quite-flat quilt but luckily, that problem pretty much quilted out!

Between the graffiti inspired prints and the dark gray background, the quilt really has a harder edge to it. And what could soften that more than a wild wraparound feather? I've never done feathers quite like this before, but it's easily my favorite part of the quilt. To add further interest, I used the jagged tiles design to fill in the rest of the space. These are some of my favorite designs because there's zero marking and they look a lot harder than they actually are.

In the foreground space, I used a variety of linear designs. Some of the fabric is pretty busy and it doesn't show the quilting at all, so it doesn't really matter what I do as long as it's filled in. I think there's about 5 or 6 linear designs that I like to use so they pretty much show up everywhere.

Since I used a solid back, the quilting shows up well there! And phew, my tension was alright.

I really love this quilt, because it is just so me in every single way!

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

Tangerine Dreams ~ Ready to Quilt

When I caught my first glance of Kona's color of the year, Tiger Lily, I was ecstatic. Orange is unquestionably one of my absolute favorite colors, and the reddish-orange of Tiger Lily hits all the right notes with me.

I knew I was long overdue for an orange and gray quilt! I rarely make quilts in all solids, but it seemed like a good idea for this quilt. While hunting for patterns, I realized I wanted to make another quilt from my Haphazard pattern.

After a lot of clicks and iterations, I finally decided on a layout that spoke to me the most.

The quilt top got completed pretty quickly since it was all half-square triangles, which is one block I can say I mastered. (It's because I can trim it to size ...)

In all honesty, because it's all solids, this quilt top really lacks life at this moment. But that's what the quilting is going to do ... give it life! The last time I quilted this quilt, I was happy with my quilting decision, but I'll probably do something a little different this time. Probably.

QuiltCon 2018

I got back from QuiltCon last night, and I was greeted by 2 sick kids and a husband who is exhausted taking care of them. I wasn't feeling too hot myself so all I wanted to do was to lie down and go to sleep. I used to love flying when I was younger, but then I grew up. How I wish teleportation was available!

QuiltCon was as wonderful as I imagined, but it was much more exhausting than I was expecting. I was warned against scheduling too heavily, but I didn't listen. When registration day opened, I saw that everything I wanted was open so I went wild. I ended up doing 7 classes in 3 days, and it was ... well, let's just say I've learned my lesson!

Normally when I go to a show, I take pictures of my favorite quilts and post them. But for QuiltCon, it's hard to choose because there are so many favorite quilts! In fact, I daresay I love about 95% of the quilts in the show. Instead, I'll talk about my classes and show off all the goodies I got!

Quilt Photography Basics with Kitty Wilkin & Michelle Bartholomew

I think my photos have improved a lot since the day I started blogging. That being said, I still struggle with them. I learned a lot in this class. The class had a practical session where we actually took photographs, and I think I took some of the best product photos I've ever shot in my life here:

I learned some low-cost tricks for high impact photography, and while they're not all applicable to me, I do hope that my photos will continue to improve.

Radiating Designs Skill Builder with Pamela Wiley

This class was a longarm class, so it consisted of some lecture time and lots of practice time. I learned some interesting ways to look at shaping and perspective, and developed a new appreciation for straight line designs on quilts. While I don't think quilting at the density of Pamela is my style (plus I don't have a computerized machine) I can definitely take some inspiration from this class for my own quilting. Here is my quilting sample:

Shape by Shape 2 with Angela Walters

This is the first of my three classes with Angela. As soon as I walked in the room I gushed to Angela how much I adore her. She was very sweet, and this class was every bit as entertaining as I expected. This was a drawing class so we doodled a lot of designs on paper. Most of the designs that she taught is in her book and I've already read the book, but there's nothing like being in the room with her, enjoying her humor, her energy, and actually seeing the quilted samples live. Talk about wow factors! It's easy to see why she's a superstar. Plus, being able to ask her questions is invaluable.

Your Own Two Feet: FMQ + Straight Lines with Christina Cameli

I signed up for this class before Christina's Craftsy class on the same subject came out. It covered a lot of the same materials, but I was still happy to learn from Christina. Although it was a sit-down machine class, a lot of the designs I can see being quilted on a longarm as well. One in particular I'm already planning to use on a future quilt, and I think it's brilliant.

To be honest, I haven't quilted on a domestic machine for a long, long time. But I thought it'd be okay. It's like riding a bike, right? Well, it wasn't! I had forgotten just how challenging it was to manage even a little bit of bulk and drag, and how challenging it is to get consistent stitch length and achieve good tension on a sit-down. But even though my quilting is ugly (and I won't be showing it here) it was still a great class!

Small Changes, Big Variety with Angela Walters

The second of my classes with Angela is another drawing class, and this time we went over the designs she had in her Craftsy class of the same name. However, I have no regrets about purchasing this class. There's something about seeing it live that makes it click in new ways, and I for one finally figured out one of her fancier ribbon candy designs after seeing her draw it live. Plus ... I seriously get inspiration just being in the same room as her!

Tackling Curves With the Happy As A Clam Project with Latifah Saafir

If I felt pretty good about myself after a quilting class, I just needed to try to sew a curve to feel completely humbled again. Not long ago I sort of figured out the Drunkard's Path (and I needed to do a lot of trimming down!) but clamshells are a different thing altogether. At least I brought fabric I didn't much like, because my curves were terrible. When I was at the trimming station, I looked to my left ... and to my right ... and my neighbors' curves were fine. Things lined up at the right spot. Mine was very, very off and as it turns out, I didn't need to learn how to piece a curve ... I needed to learn how to press them!

I will say this though, that this was way too short of a class to cover all the materials. I think it needed to be at least twice as long! I did leave the class intrigued about clamshells and admiring the beautiful patterns Latifah designed, but I still don't feel very confident about curves.

Swirling Beyond Feathers with Angela Walters

At last, we've come to the class I've looked forward to the most at QuiltCon. How fitting that it is the last class to close the show for me! This was an actual stand-up longarm class where we watch Angela draw, and then try to quilt it on the machine. I got used to the HQ Amara after awhile, but I still think that my APQS Lenni is a fabulously smooth machine. I was actually decently happy with my class sample, so here it is:

I learned a lot in this class, including how to do scrolls, do proper swirl chains, and of course, paisley feathers. I think I can manage them now, maybe!

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There's no question that one of the major attractions of a show like QuiltCon for me is the vendor hall. Sure, QuiltCon isn't a huge show and it was fairly fast to walk the vendor booths, but this is an instance where almost all of the booths appeal to me. There are a lot of vendors here that don't go to any of the more traditional shows I normally go to, so meeting them and seeing their products in person is a great attraction. My favorite booths were probably ME + YOU for Indah Batik and beyond the reef.

And of course, I shopped. A lot. I actually considered buying more, but I'm glad I didn't, because when I packed up my suitcase on Saturday night, I found that I had to do some creative maneuvering just to be able to fit the stuff I did buy. It was really, really full!

I know that I could have bought a lot of this stuff online. However, seeing the products live make me feel giddy. I kind of feel like I'm drunk on convention fumes, and that I would buy things that I normally might think about more. Since this is my first QuiltCon, I decided not to hold back, but carrying that stuff home at the end of a day? I wish I had booked a hotel closer to the convention center.

Of course, QuiltCon isn't complete without some meet-ups and selfies!

From top left, going clockwise: Cheryl Brickey, Natalie Barnes, Angela Walters, Sherry Shish, and Christina Cameli.

I plan to go to QuiltCon Nashville next year, but I'll definitely take it easier. Well, that's what I say now. Who knows what I might do when the class list comes out!

Off to QuiltCon!

Oh, how I've waited. A whole year, in fact.

Last year, after missing out on the Savannah show, I was determined to attend the next show in Pasadena. I was checking QuiltCon's website for information about the 2018 show on a weekly basis, and when the long-awaited class list was first announced, I dove into it like a kid in a candy store. I made schedules, debated options, and on registration day, I was ready!

There were some snafus at registration but I managed to get into every class I wanted. I'll be taking classes with Angela Walters, Christina Cameli, Pamela Wiley, Kitty Wilkin, and Latifah Saafir. These are people I've only ever seen on a screen before, so that's wildly exciting that I'll be in the same room with them, learning from them!

So, my bags are packed, my workshop supplies are prepared, and my credit cards are ready.

... I do hope I haven't built it up too much in my head. After all, it was a whole year of anticipation!