Project Quilting 10.6: Craving Chocolate

The final week of project quilting for 2019 and the challenge is Craving Chocolate.  It took a bit to figure it out and I decided on Easter candy. 

I love those malted milk eggs, the are so yummy and colorful.  And how can you go wrong with a chocolate bunny.  So my project is two new potholders for the kitchen. 

The back of the potholders have grass fabric, perfect for Easter candy.  I used batiks for both potholders ans insulbright for the center.

My Easter Candy potholders were made in Manchester, NJ

Project Quilting Season 8 - Brighter the Better

We are up to challenge 4 with Project Quilting this season and the challenge was "Brighter the Better".  Now, this was right up my alley.  I love bright colors. 

My mind went right to this great bundle of  batik fabrics that I was given from a friend.  I had no idea what I was going to use it in and this was the perfect challenge for it. 

I decided that a plus quilt would be perfect for this challenge, so I set to cutting out a ton of 2.5" squares from this bundle and my overflowing batik scrap stash.  As I worked I kept cutting more and more squares since I decided I was making this one to do double duty for PQ and the Scrap Quilt Challenge. 

I cut so many of my scraps, but it still looks like I didn't touch them! The quilt is free motion with a large meander all over the quilt.  The binding came from stash and has so many of the colors of the fabrics in the quilt in it. 

My On the Bright Side plus quilt measures 52" x 64" and is made up of 832 2.5" squares. 

I backed it with a mustard yellow print from my backing stash that was prefect for the quilt.  A little stained glass action in the sun, too. 

 

Photographed on a perfectly bright warm day this February. 

 

On the Bright Side
52" x 64"
95% scraps
All from stash
Made in Lanoka Harbor, NJ

Project Quilting Challenge 5 - My Favorite Fabric

This week was another week for Project Quilting.  I have managed to create something each and every challenge so far this year (I have to still blog about a couple) and I am trying to keep that trend going.

This week the challenge was My Favorite Fabric.  We had to figure out out favorite fabric and use it this week.  You have no idea how hard it is to choose my favorite fabric.  I love text prints and colors and novelty and well... every piece of fabric that I have.  I really have to love fabric to buy it.  My favorite changes daily or depending on what project I am working on.  I love text prints, but then again I love batiks.  Ya, a totally confusing time trying to choose, haha.  So I went to my sewing room and stood looking at my current favorite favorites, which live on a shelf next to my sewing machine until I decide to switch it up.

On the shelf was a bag with pieces of some of my favorite batiks.  These batiks are special, sold only here on the Jersey Shore.  This line has one printed every year and once it is gone, it is gone.  I love it and that is why I hoard each and every scrap of it.  You know if you get something with this batik fabric in it that I truly care, haha.  I used these fabrics in a quilt for my dad, All Framed Up on the Jersey Shore, in the past and I have used them in little bits along the way.  They were screaming to be used.

I knew they needed a new pattern so I sat down and drew out a new flying geese (Seagulls?) paper piecing pattern.  I pressed all the pieces and added a couple more that had the same shore vibe.  Once the pieces were together I decided they needed to be a small table runner.  I did super close quilting, following the curve of the geese.  I bound it in a blue batik, keeping it skinny to just frame the table runner.  It is backed in a pretty fern print batik.

I love this table runner and decided that it needs to be with someone else that I love.  My godmother, Aunt Carol, has a birthday next week.  She loves all things beach and shore related.  I think this is the perfect gift for her and I think that she will love it, too.  Maybe when the rebuilding is done it will live in their house in Lavalette.

Flying Seagulls Table Runner
Favorite fabrics: Assorted Jersey Shore batiks
12" x 23"

And just for fun, a photo of my "helper" as I took pictures of the table runner. She really loves the snow.

Sea Glass Under Water - An Improv Quilt

Last year I had the fantastic oppertunity to test out a score for an upcoming book by Sherri Lynn Wood.  Her book, the Improv Handbook for Modern Quilters (available for pre-order) uses scores to guide you through creating a unique amazing quilt.  I have to say that I was so nervous when I began the journey with this quilt.  It was a no ruler, no straight lines kind of quilt.  So outside of my normal quilting work.

To begin with I chose fabrics.  I broke into my much loved batik fabrics.  They have a great texture without a set pattern and I felt that it would enhance the quilt.  After a few fabric pulls I figured out the perfect balance and set to work.

Once I started I became more comfortable and my quilt began to grow and grow.  With each piece I began to love it more and more.

Once I had all my pieces sewn I laid them out and figured out the perfect way to join them together.  

With all the curves, I decided that no straight line belonged in the quilt so each block is joined with a curved seam, too.  (I didn't even square it up before binding it!)

I love the look from the wrong side of the quilt with the seams.  It looks like stained glass.

It was at this point that it made me think of sea glass, so the quilting had to be like ripples of water.  It took days to quilt it with there being just a half inch between each quilted line.  

If you look closely, the ripples come together at points in the quilt and move away, much like the waves in the bay do as they meet from different directions.

For the photos, I went to one of my favorite little spots where I tend to find sea glass on the bay.

The back of the quilt even has some curves in it.  I couldn't help myself.

I know, photo overload.

When I went to take some photos in my backyard Maggie felt she needed to join in, too.

I am also so happy to share that Sea Glass Under Water will be at The Quiltfest of NJ March 5-8 in Somerset, NJ.  (Along with my Garden Maze Quilt).

I can't wait to see the rest of the scores in Sherri Lynn's new book.  I stepped outside my normal quilting lines and really loved the process (once I let go) and the outcome!

Batik Strip Quilt

So it has been a while since I updated my blog and I have been crazy busy sewing away.  So over the next couple of weeks I plan on posting my projects and sharing the number of finishes.  Also talking about my grand plan for my quilting.  

To start my project sharing I think I will start with a quilt that I began in the beginning of the summer.  I started to become overwhelmed with my ridiculous amount of scrap stash so I figured this supper to join in the Purge quilting that was going along.  I began with my batik scraps.  I pulled out a bunch of 2.5" strips that were left over from projects, collected from my LQS scrap bin, and from scraps from the AQS show.  I am an equal opportunity scrap saver, anything over 2.5" square was used in this quilt.

I randomly started piecing the strips together into a long strip as if I were creating a jelly roll quilt.  I sewed the strips together with straight seams, but you will notice there are angle joins, too.  Those were already pieced and just added in as scraps.  It was an anything goes quilt.

As it was coming together, I was not so sure about the mix of colors since it ranged so much, but figured why not give it a chance. I am so glad that I kept going with it.  I kept sewing the pieces together then adding those together, and so on until I had a really long piece sewn together.  I have no idea how long it was, I just figured long enough.  I then used the jelly roll race technique and sewed the strip to itself.  That continued until I had a squarish quilt top.

For the back I chose a light purple batik I had gotten from an estate sale and added in a strip of dark purple batik I had sitting around that was a gift from a friend, Jane.

Once I had it all sewn and basted, I decided on a loopy figure eight for the quilting.  This was the last quilt I was completly able to quilt on my Simplicity machine.  The next quilt I worked on it broke, so this quilt has a special place in my heart.

The quilt is hand bound with a scrappy batik binding.  So many colors are in this quilt.  I can probably make at least another 2 tops like this and not put a dent in the batik scrap stash.

Batik Strip Quilt
Cotton fabrics
Pellon 100% cotton batting
48" x 48"

Little zipper pouch.

One of my recent scrap bag fills from my LQS included a good pile of pretty pastel batik "strings" ranging from about .75" to 2" by 45".  I couldn't help it, the colors were so great together so I sat and sewed them on to some sew in interfacing, making them in to one piece of fabric. And there my fabric sheet sat until I heard it calling that it wanted to be a zipper pouch.

I used the little pieces I had left from trimming the front to make a strip on the back.  The back is a purple batik from my stash.  

I lined it with a neutral also from the scrap bag and made a little pocket on the inside with two sections.  

This little pouch is perfect for my hexies!  I carry it everywhere :)  The pockets hold my finished ones until I have a chance to put them in my super organized hexagon box.  

I am linking up to Ellison Lane's Summer Sewing Contest! 

Wohoo for summer sewing.  I will be doing more hand sewing over the next couple weeks so lets see how far I can get with my hexies.  

Project Quilting

I have been doing a lot of reading lately (because I have a lot of time) and came across a really fun blog, Kim's Crafty Apple. On her blog she does a fun friendly competition called Project Quilting.  I have decided to join in.  This week is Challenge 2 - Making Music.  You have to pick a song and use that as your inspiration for your quilt.  It can be any size or shape.  Well as I read this the first songs that popped into my head were Caroline and Wagon Wheel by Old Crow Medicine Show.  I decided to go with Caroline.  


...Oh Caroline
(Round) Caroline
Heartbroken hard times, they never got us down
Walkin' the same line through every single southern town
Hand in hand your arm 'round mine
Oh Caroline

Oh Caroline
(Round) Caroline
I seen it all change, watch it change some more
Seen hard times standin' right outside your door
Tell me gal what's on your mind
Oh Caroline


... You'l do just fine, Caroline


So this song has special meaning... it is a song that always takes me to the river when I hear it.  Every time we paddle we play this song at the put it so clearly my quilt would be based on the river in some fashion.  And the phrase in the chorus "heartbroken hard times... never got us down" really has a strong meaning right now since I am currently unable to paddle.  (a knee injury and then surgery has taken a toll on me and has kept me off the water since September).

I dug through my stash and came across some amazing batiks. Perfect colors for my modern abstract mini quilt.  

I am calling this quilt Caroline.  It is an abstract of the river, the mountain and the sky (setting sun).  To get more specific, that "mountain" is dimple rock on the Lower Yough which I have had a love/hate relationship with for the last few years.  

The back is just the purple batik that I used for the "mountain" and it is bound with the same material.  Lots of quilting.

Each section is pieced with sections of the batik.  It really shows off all the different colors that are in the fabrics.  

The river section really shows all of the colors.  I love the water color effect in the fabric.  I zig-zaged over all of the edges of the pieces.  

I love the join of the sky, mountain, and river.  This mini quilt takes me to the river and to where I really wish I was as I am typing this.  

I really hope that sometime in the next couple months I can get back onto the river.  

And I thank a close friend, Jared, for playing this song EVERY time we boat.  I actually love it... even it it makes everyone we boat with call me Caroline. :)