Another Memory Quilt

After my Dad passed away a couple of years ago, I made a quilt for my sister from a number of his shirts; I wrote about that quilt here.  I've now completed a quilt for myself using four of his pajamas, three shirts, and two commercial fabrics.

The pajamas and shirts were all woven plaids.  I cut 4.5" strips then fussy cut 60-degree triangles to form into hexagons.  Most of the plaids are not symmetrical, but since they are yarn dyes I was able to flip the triangles over to get mirror images of each other.

For each set of six triangles, I chose different reference points for the center of the fussy cut; this makes each hexagon somewhat unique.

The one print is by Tim Holtz; I used this because it reminds me of my Dad's folding wooden rulers.  This print makes up the binding as well.  (I think the background chambray fabric might have been a better choice for binding -- the darker fabric seems to constrain the negative space too much.)

I used leftover clothing for the back, but did not have enough for a complete backing.  A print featuring house plans seemed appropriate for my Dad, since he was a home builder.

If I'd thought of it early enough, I might have over-dyed this fabric, perhaps with indigo.  Here's the full back:

The label is from Spoonflower; I had this printed before I started the quilt, and had to correct the finishing date.

There is one hexagon that is a little different.  For this one, I used alternating triangles from a strip, so it is not quite as symmetrical.  This fabric is from a shirt that I also used in my sister's quilt, and I wanted to make the most of what little was left.

I constructed the hexagons with a different layout in mind, but once they were on the "design floor," I was not happy with my original plan.  I had also considered deconstructing some of the hexagons; you can see some of this on the back.

The final layout was inspired by Millefiori quilts,.

This quilt holds some special memories of my Dad.  Some tough ones too, as the pajamas in the quilt were worn in his final weeks in the hospital.

I'm linking up with crazy mom quilts for Finish It Up Friday.

Edited to add:  I didn't realize it at the time, but I posted this on what would have been my Dad's 96th birthday.

Two small quilts

I recently finished another baby quilt using the Lullaby Lane pattern by Sassafras Lane Designs.  This is the fourth quilt I've made from this pattern; I like the way it features a large-scale print, and it lends itself well to making two quilts from mostly half-yard cuts.

This quilt is similar to the one I made for my grand-niece a few years ago; I only used different solids.  For this quilt I used Michael Miller Cotton Couture in Limeade and Malibu.  I had actually chosen these fabrics several years ago, and ended up using the same two solids in my Masquerade quilt.  I think the Limeade in particular is a great lightning-bug green to pair with the Wee Wander fabric.

The lightning bugs also inspired me to try quilting with glow-in-the-dark thread.  I had a lot of trouble with the thread shredding; I don't know how much to blame the thread or my machine.  I was disappointed in the glow results at first, until I charged it up by leaving the quilt in the sun for an hour or so.

(In the above photo you can see where a new spool of thread begins, but it is not so noticeable in person.)

Here's a view of the back:

The unfinished top has been a work in progress for several years, waiting for a recipient to be identified.  I'm glad the quilt has finally found a good home.

I finished another small quilt earlier this year, but I could not share it before now.  This quilt was made for a challenge put on by our local guild, Heritage Quilters of Huntsville.  The theme of the challenge was "Stitchin' the Blues," and the primary rule was that the quilt should use only blue and white fabrics.

I named my quilt "Blues in the Night," and the design was inspired by a photo I saw of a painted wall in a designer's home.  My first impulse was to keep the repeated pattern across the quilt, then applique something orange on it -- but that would not have qualified for the challenge.  So I played around with jumbling just one corner.

Here's the quilt on display for the challenge.  The awards were based on popular vote, and mine did not win anything.  But that's ok; I did get some excellent compliments from some quilters I admire.

This was a fun challenge, and I had a couple more ideas that I didn't pursue.  I might have to complete one of them later.

Place mats for... winter?

My wife requested place mats to go with our Christmas dishes; I had hoped to have them ready by this past Christmas, but I did not quite make it.

I was really attracted to Minick and Simpson's Snowfall fabric, and their Lake Effect quilt pattern, with its holly and mistletoe, reminded me of our dishes.  I decided to come up with my own design for place mats and a table runner, using their applique and the dishes as inspiration.

I used a couple of charm packs of the Snowfall wovens for the place mats.  I trimmed the charm squares to 4.5" since the original cuts were not quite square.

I used a charm pack of the Snowfall prints for the applique shapes, and yardage for the table runner.

For the applique, I tried Lara Buccella's Crafted Applique technique for the first time.  This allowed me to cut small pieces, such as the berries, without concern for fraying.

I used Soft and Stable for the batting, hoping the place mats would hold their shape through washing better than cotton.  We've not washed them yet, but I like the feel of the place mats.  On the other hand, the table runner doesn't want to lie flat.  I believe that is because I used an inconsistent quilting density.  Here's a photo before the quilting was complete; you can see how the quilting density affects the shape:

After quilting the white background and trimming the edges, it is better, but still not entirely flat.  Would blocking work with Soft and Stable?  It seems unlikely to me.  Any other suggestions?

I also used some of the wovens to make a set of napkins, using this tutorial.

One of my favorite prints from this line is the pale blue and white stripe with scattered berries, but I couldn't find a place for this print in these designs.  So I used it for backing, as you can see in the top of this photo:

The wavy quilting played some funny tricks with the smaller plaids.  Here's a straight-on view of one of the squares:

And here's the same square as viewed from an angle:

Here's another view of the applique on the table runner.  The leaf shapes were all cut free-hand, while the berries were marked with a circle template.

And here is the complete set of place mats:

I'm linking up with crazy mom quilts for Finish It Up Friday.

Modern Quilts: Designs of a New Century

The Modern Quilt Guild has produced a beautiful hardcover book, Modern Quilts: Designs of the New Century, featuring color photos of over 200 modern quilts.  Thirty-two contributors to the book -- including myself -- are celebrating with a blog tour, and today is my day on the tour.

I am honored to have my "New Star Rising II" quilt featured in this collection.  You can find my quilt on page 25 of the book.  My quilt will also be featured in a touring exhibit associated with the book; this tour opens April 1 at the Dairy Barn Arts Center in Athens, Ohio.  A full schedule for the touring exhibit will be updated here.

My quilt design is an exploration into transparency effects.  The original New Star Rising quilt was featured at Quiltcon 2013, where it won an award, quite unexpectedly.  That quilt was also purchased at the show, so I no longer have access to it.  The version of the quilt which is featured in the book is the second incarnation of the design; I made this version to keep for myself, and I was thrilled when it was accepted into this book in place of the quilt which was at Quiltcon.

It is an honor to be among such great company within this book.  I received my copy just the other day, and I am impressed with the quality of the book itself, along with the wonderful quilts on display.

The book was curated by Riane Manardi, Alissa Haight Carlton, and Heather Grant of the Modern Quilt Guild.  In addition to so many beautifully inspiring quilts, the book also gives a brief history of the modern quilting movement.  The quilts themselves are organized into categories which highlight various aspects of modern quilting.

In honor of the book release, my newly-released New Star Rising quilt pattern is available at a reduced price in my Craftsy shop, through the end of the blog tour.

Be sure to visit the other stops along the tour:

12/13/2017	Amber Corcoran	Fancy Tiger Crafts
12/14/2017	Heidi Parkes	Heidi Parkes Art
12/15/2017	Melissa Cory	Happy Quilting
12/16/2017	Penny Gold	Studio Notes
12/18/2017	Shruti Dandekar	13 Woodhouse Road
12/19/2017	Amy Friend	During Quiet Time
12/20/2017	Paige Alexander	Quilted Blooms
12/21/2017	Angela Bowman	Angela Bowman Design
12/22/2017	Lysa Flower	Lysa Flower
12/27/2017	Sheri Cifaldi-Morrill	Whole Circle Studio
12/28/2017	Jacquie Gering	Tallgrass Prairie Studio
12/29/2017	Christa Watson	Christa Quilts
12/30/2017	Heather Black	Quilt-achusetts
1/2/2018	Kristin Shields	Kristin Shield Art
1/3/2018	Krista Hennebury	Poppy Print Creates
1/4/2018	Cinzia Allocca	deux petites souris
1/5/2018	Suzanne Paquette	Atelier Six Design
1/6/2018	Yvonne Fuchs	Quilting Jetgirl
1/9/2018	Ben Darby	Huntspatch Quilts
1/10/2018	Nicole Daksiewicz	Modern Handcraft
1/11/2018	Kristi Schroeder	Initial K Studio
1/12/2018	Kathy York	Art Quilts by Kathy York
1/13/2018	Marla Varner	Penny Lane Quilts
1/15/2018	Brigette Heitland	Zen Chic
1/16/2018	Stacey Sharman	Hello Stitch Studio
1/17/2018	Stacey O'Malley	SLO Studio
1/18/2018	Kim Soper	Leland Ave Studios
1/19/2018	Steph Skardal	Steph Skardal Quilts
1/20/2018	Cheryl Brickey	Meadow Mist Designs
1/22/2018	Shea Henderson	Empty Bobbin Sewing Studio
1/23/2018	Katie Larson	Katie Larson Studio
1/24/2018	Katie Pedersen	Sew Katie Did