Marilyn

Last January I took a course at Cotton&Color about Laura Heine‘s collage quilts. Although I was hoping to finish the resulted quilt back in February, I kept postponing it looking for the right quilting approach. And half a year later, here it is!

Collage quilts aren’t difficult -technically speaking- but getting the image you want, that’s a different story! I find it more like painting: playing with colour until something clicks in the right place.

With the coquettish look the cat was getting, someone in the course pointed out that it looked like Marilyn (it also has a speckle!!), and Marilyn it has been since then.

I just love all the detail in this technique. I used mostly Kaffe Fassett, Tula Pink and Amy Butler fabrics. I also swapped some flowers, so some fabrics I can’t even say where they are from.

The quilting needed to be pretty dense to keep everything in place, and finally I decided for a simple straight line quilting using a walking foot, following the cat’s gaze.

This particular squirrel is from a print by Tula Pink, and it seems made to be placed there. For the binding, and after some consideration, I went with a dark print to enhance the whole quilt. This particular one from Cotton + Steel, with the little mice (or are they cats?) peeping from behind the buildings, is just perfect.

Project: Marilyn (Wall hanging quilt)
Size: 96.5 x 52.5 cm / 38¼ x 20½”
Date: January 2017 – July 2017
Pattern: Purrfect…, Laura Heine
Fabrics for the collage (among others):
Asian Circles, by Kaffe Fassett, Westminster Fabrics
Sprays, by Kaffe Fassett, Westminster Fabrics
Farmers Market, by Shawn Jenkins, Spectrix
Chipper, by Tula Pink, Free Spirit Fabrics
Bright Heart, by Amy Butler, Westminster Fabrics
Birch Farm, by Joel Dewberry, Free Spirit Fabrics
Elizabeth, by Tula Pink, Free Spirit Fabrics
1000 Colors Collection (light green), Lecien
Quilter’s Basic, Lecien
Fancy Hill Farm, by Robin Randolph, RJR Fabrics
Background and backing: Black and White Collection 2015, Jennifer Sampou, Robert Kaufmann
Batting: Quilter’s Dream Cotton 100%
Quilting: machine-quilted, Guttermann 100% polyester c. 111
Binding: Tokyo Train Ride (lawn), by Sarah Watts, Cotton+Steel

EPP Party #7: Chrysanthemum

I stepped outside my comfort zone with the colour combination for the EPPparty’s block n.7. I played with some fussy-cutting for the central octagon, and built the rest of the block around it, taking into account the fabrics already used on the other blocks.

Total block pieces: 33

(The party is hosted by Mister Domestic and Pat Bravo and runs on Instagram under the hashtag #EPPparty).

Stars-quilt July’17 update

This month was mostly about knitting, finishing things and trying to keep up-to-date with the EppParty. However, having a set goal helped in keeping this project on track and six new completed stars were added to the pile.

Stars basted: 84/84 (504/504 templates)
Stars sewn: 84 /84
Background pieces basted: 504/504
Stars completed: 57/84 (+6 from the last stats)

EPP Party #6: Honeycomb candy (in progress)

This is the current state of block n.6 for the EPP Party. It lacks the border, but this requires lots of tiny pieces that will consume lots of fabric. As I haven’t decided on a fabric for them, and I’m using an old collection which I’m afraid would be out-of-print, I will wait to the end of the sew-along to finish it, so I don’t compromise future fabric choices on the up-coming blocks.

On this one I went back to use thick paper instead of light card stock. With so many pieces and folding involved, it is more comfortable to work with the paper.

(The party is hosted by Mister Domestic and Pat Bravo and runs on Instagram under the hashtag #EPPparty).

EPP Party #5: Radiant Star

A little bit late, but here is block n. 5 for the EPP Party! Although these big pieces aren’t difficult to stitch together, I struggled with the fabric selection – again-. I’m trying to make a coherent quilt following a theme, and for the moment I’ve decided that I’m going to highlight the bigger prints on the blocks with bigger pieces in them, but keeping in mind that the overall quilt is picturing a succulents garden.

Total block pieces: 20

(The party is hosted by Mister Domestic and Pat Bravo and runs on Instagram under the hashtag #EPPparty).

Stars-quilt June’17 update

A trip on early June helped me not only to achieve the monthly six-stars goal, but to add some more to the count. So far so good! I really might be able to have all the stars finished by the end of the year…

Stars basted: 84/84 (504/504 templates)
Stars sewn: 84 /84
Background pieces basted: 504/504
Stars completed: 51/84 (+9 from the last stats)

Pack your bag n.5 (May): Weekender bag

May’s pattern for the Cotton & Color Project of the Month program was a really complex one, with lots of pieces (zippers included) and a terrific result: a huge handbag with different sets of interior and exterior pockets (and even a strap to hang it in the retractable handles of a small suitcase), really useful for going a weekend out or, in my case, for carrying the knitting projects around.

With so many components, it took me a long week to finish it. While putting the back together, I noticed that with some care I could pattern–match the back strap with the underneath fabric, so there isn’t a break on the overall image. It took some patience, but it was absolutely worth it! (and yes, I just love that print from Cotton+Steel!!).

Project: Handbag
Size: 13 3/4″ x 15 3/4″ x 4 3/4″ / 35 x 40 x 12 cm (aprox.)
Date: June 2017
Pattern: Weekender, Cotton & Color
Exterior fabric: Les Fleurs (canvas), by Rifle Paper Co., Cotton+Steel
Lining fabric: Grunge (Vert), by Basic Grey, Moda Fabrics
Batting: Flex Foam Stabilizer (Freundenberg), Thermolam TP971

“Northward” baby hat

After finishing the “Adorable Ewe” baby sweater, I felt the urge to do something to complement it and, by the way, put the remaining yarn into use. As I needed to practice cables for my big project to come (someday soon, I hope), I found that the “Northward” pattern by Tin Can Knits checked all the boxes.

I slightly adapted the pattern to work with two colours – I added an extra knitted row using the new colour between the ribbing and the cables, so there’s a smoother transition between them-. For the rest, it’s a great pattern for beginners and I had no problems at all to complete it in a reasonable amount of time (that meaning less than a week!).

The only concern I have is, taking into account the sweater is thought for a six-month baby, this hat looks more for a year old one. But anyway, sooner or later, the baby will be able to wear it, won’t she?

Project: Northward -baby hat–
Date: May 2017
Pattern: Northward, by Tin Can Knits
Yarn: Lana Grossa Bingo, colour 23, 33
Needles: 5.50 mm

EPP Party #4: Plus and plus

Well, another block that was more difficult than expected. This one required lots of cutting -not only fabric, but the templates as well-, and it was a trial and error process searching for fabric combinations, placement and correct size of the templates to achieve a 12″sq block.

Total block pieces: 45

(The party is hosted by Mister Domestic and Pat Bravo and runs on Instagram under the hashtag #EPPparty).

A pillow envelope

Last month I attended a course about foundation paper-piecing at Cotton & Color. Although FPP is not new to me, there are always new tricks and tips to be learnt, and I really profited from that class.

So, in order to put the new techniques into practice, I tackled a pattern that had been on my to-do list for some time now, and that turned to be the perfect birthday gift for my brother. On this one I used a non-woven interfacing as a foundation, which tore away rather easily afterwards (I know I could’ve left that, but the idea was to try new things). Also, I used glue to keep the first piece into place, instead of pining it… I must admit that these past weeks I’m using glue more than I have done before, and with great results, so I should revisit my own opinions about that…

For the quilting, I decided to play with the diagonals of the succulent plant and quilt a 45º grid following them, but excluding the border. It just seemed the right choice and I really like the contrast the quilting gives between the block and the border.

I reinforced the backing of the pillow envelope with heavy stabiliser, which helps to give some structure to the pillow.

Project: Pillow envelope
Size: 40 x 40.5 cm / 15 1/2″ x 16″
Date: May 2017
Pattern: Fröliche Kakten, by Amanda Castor, published on Simply Kreativ Patchwork + Quilting nº 8 (German edition).
Top fabric: L’s modern basics, Lecien
Mod Basics 3, Birch Fabrics
Cookie Book, by Kim Knight, Cotton+Steel
Grunge, by Basic Grey, Moda Fabrics
Modern Background Ink, by Zen Chic, Moda Fabrics
Bluebird, by A. Marcelle Abegg, Cotton+Steel
Background fabric: Bella Solids White 98, Moda Fabrics
Border: Hey Dot!, by Zen Chic, Moda Fabrics
Batting: Thermolam TP971 Fusible, Pellon
Quilting: machine-quilted, Isacord Thread 40, col. 0010