Friday, September 30, 2016

Kitty in the Window!

Kitty in the Window!

Thanks to the kind comments on Step Out Of The Box!  I worked intensely for over a month on that quilt and I was "dog" tired!  So I decided to chase a cat!  :)  

Seriously, this quilt was brought to me by a customer during the process of the auction quilt.  She said she could wait until the end of September so I told her I would fit it in between Step Out Of The Box and other customer quilts I still need to get done.  It was a magnificent break; love this little quilt (even if I'm not a cat person)!

So Kitty in the Window measures approximately 20" x 26" and is a wedding gift for a friend of the owner.  I used Aurifil 50 weight thread throughout this quilt in a few different colors.  

Here's how I broke it down:  first, stitch in the ditch around the designs and then around the inner section and the outer border.  Next, background quilting in the blue window and a few way lines across the vase for security.

Then some swirls in the top of the cat to give a little texture and straight lines with ruler on the window sill to add depth.

And finally, I LOVE FEATHERS!  So yes, feathers around the top and two sides in a light rose shade and then on the bottom in a light blue.


Absolutely love this little quilt!



So have a great weekend.  Link up with some of the spots on my sidebar and as always, Crazy Mom Quilts here:http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com






Wednesday, September 21, 2016

Step Out Of The Box!

Auction Quilt now titled:
Step Out Of The Box!


This Friday is the night of the Recover Wyoming fund raiser to help addiction recovery. It's taken more than a month and steady hard work but the quilt for the live auction is complete! I am sooooo excited! This quilt was so named by friend Debbie Bacon; because just as this quilt and the quilting was totally out of my comfort zone, so we all must step out of our own little box to experience freedom from the addictions that may have us trapped.

This quilt was not planned; the material was purchased because I love the fabric by designer, Edyta Sitar of Laundry Basket Quilts, and it was a great time to use it in a local quilt along at Blakeman Vacuum & Sewing where I also teach free motion quilting and host a monthly quilt club.  Prior to this quilt the fabric had sat in my stash pile for over a year.  As you can tell by posts on my personal quilts, my fabric and quilting tastes are more classic and romantic with feathers and flowers and all the pretty stuff. This quilt is anything but and I never anticipated it would be completed almost exclusively with rulers and templates. 

You can read more about the process in my previous post but here are photos of each major section.  Special credit is given to my quilty friend, Debbie Bacon, who gave a whole lot of support, encouragement and design ideas along the way from long distance.  Thank you, Lord, for Facebook Messenger!

The inside of the stars:

Background quilting around the stars from the center medallion area:

The background was quilted in contrast around each star with either a purple, fuchsia, green or electric blue Floriani tri-lobal polyester thread.  Prior to stitching the background OR star, the entire block was stitched in the ditch with Superior Threads Bottom Line thread.

Here is the background in the outside star blocks:

The 2" squares in the Irish Square blocks were done with a template using the pumpkin seed stitch(aka orange peel).  Normally I would eyeball this design but for an auction I decided to be a little more accurate.



The inner border, which was the same background fabric, was the only part of this quilt done with free motion quilting.  The top portion was done using purple thread, which was then echoed with the electric blue thread.  The goal was to tie in the points from the background quilting and then pull the whole border together in the corners.




The outer border was done with the Arc C ruler from Handiquilter following a technique taught by Kimmy Brunner.  The straight lines at the top of each blue thread arc were added to create a texture.  This design was completed with Electric Blue and Fuchsia Floriani thread.  I made a pass around the quilt with the blue thread and then went inside each arc to creat another arc with the fuchsia thread.



This photo was taken at the center of the quilt so you can see how I tied the design together to make it work in the center.


Three sleeves were added to the top of the quilt because it seems this quilt may be used as a wall hanging more than for snuggling with all the design work that was done.  So although I have no idea how the owner may choose to have it hung, I figured adding sleeves might help the bids.

And finally, a label:

Quite honestly, as is often the case, the back of this quilt is almost as lovely as the front!

I am excited to see the amount of the high bid for this quilt.  I definitely stepped outside of my box but it is sooooo fun to push and refine all kinds of techniques.  Hope you step out of YOUR box this week!!

Join me over at one of the sites on my side bar and don't forget Crazy Mom Quilts here:  http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com







Thursday, September 1, 2016

Auction Quilt Finish

I love this quilt!  I am usually more classic and this stretches me beyond limits but I love the fabric by Edyta Sitar and got a super deal on Craftsy so it was a good time to try it.  It worked great in the Breezy Batiks pattern used for a quilt along at the quilt club I host at our local vacuum and sewing dealer in town.

Little did I know my husband would ask me to do something as a fundraiser for Recover Wyoming (he sits on the Board), a program that assists recovering addicts of all types transition into society as functioning citizens as well as help them stay in recovery.  They will be having their annual fundraiser September 23rd and this quilt was perfect.  It is complete; all I have to do is quilt it.

So I've been doing a chronicle of the quilting process on my Facebook page starting with the sandwiching:







to thread and designs.


I've done the orange peel stitch with this lavender Floriani thread in the 2" squares and am ready to start the star blocks with this compass design:


using these rulers/templates:

I've actually already completed several of the stars and background but haven't gotten to that point on Facebook yet.  I am just getting to the point of talking about the thread choice or choices.  So that will be a good post for next week!  Or you can look me up on Facebook using my name:  Penny Olive.   

Have a great Labor Day weekend!  Check out the quilty spots on my side bar and don't forget Crazy Mom Quilts (if she's back from her break) at:  http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com