Friday 15 January 2016

Vintage Vacation is Complete!



I pondered on how to stitch this quilt for some time.  The top was made in July of 2013.  I feel certain and hopeful that many of you can relate to this conundrum (I wish I was talking about the wine)!

A couple of months ago I set the top, backing fabric, and batting on my sewing table to ponder on how to stitch it.  It sat there, staring me down, while I worked around it on a couple more projects including the San Tan Valley Sunset and the Denim Triangle Bag.

The fabric for this quilt was a gift from a very good friend.  Her mother had it in the cupboard since the 1970s.  It was clean and still smelled like Downy!  During a trip to Japan I was inspired to create this pattern after a fantastic ride on the Bullet Train past some incredible scenery. 

Waking up one morning last week I knew how to quilt it!  A fancy double zig-zag would resemble ric-rac from the 1970s and it would also mimic the angular, mountainous design of the quilt. 

 I used up the extra 1970s fabric in the backing... 
 ...and added a lime green binding to pull the colors from one of the floral fabrics.  
I also used the fancy zig-zag to stitch down the binding and used 
my  3-Pin Binding technique to make the join. 

Here is a link to the


Now I have a craving for A & W Rootbeer...cheers!



Tuesday 5 January 2016

San Tan Valley Sunset


An Improvised Quilt Tutorial: 

 


A few years ago I was teaching a quilting color theory workshop to a fantastic group in Laporte, Saskatchewan, Canada.  As a sample for the workshop I sewed together this panel (photo below) from scrap pieces of  warm colored fabrics.  Going through fabrics in my studio last week I found it, as tacky as ever!   A blog post in the making,  this is a good sample to demonstrate how to incorporate bright colors with neutrals to make a fabulous quilt top. I know, I know, this is not a good looking color combination at this point, but please read on...the end result is amazing!  I even surprised myself :)
 




 Step 1: Toning Things Down
Find a multitude of warm neutrals to combine with your bright warm colors.  
The warm neutrals refer to those which are related to browns. 
 


 Step 2:  Making the Blocks
Cut the tacky warm colored panel into 8" squares. 
I now have a total of 8 blocks.  
As this is an improvising method, this number can vary depending on what you have.   
This method also works very well for left over odd blocks. 



Step 3:  Outlining The Blocks
Referring to the following 4 photos, select a warm neutral 
in a light shade as a border for your blocks.  
Cut one WOF 3" strip for each of your blocks.  
Strip piece the 3" borders onto your 8" blocks. 
 Press. 
 Trim the resulting block to 12 1/2".
Tape the block size on your ruler for easy reference.

Step 4:  The Neutral Setting Strips
Cut your remaining warm colored neutrals into 2 1/2" strips.  
You will need an equivalent of 40 width-of-fabric strips.  
 
Tip: Cut striped fabric perpendicular to avoid crooked stripes. 

Cut approximately 24 - 2 1/2" short red blocks to use as an accent.
These can be 3" or 4" long. 
I also had a wavy border left from a previous project
that I trimmed to 4 1/2" wide to also use as an accent. 
 



Cut 5 - 4 1/2" red (or any warm color) blocks to add as an accent.  




Using this 2 1/2" Strip Quilting Method, your warm colored neutrals, 
and your red blocks, make your setting background strips.  
It took about 40 WOF (width of fabric) strips 
to have enough for my background.  


As you join your strips end to end, alternate a long strip with a 2 1/2" red block.  Setting in these small red blocks will bring color continuity to your quilt.  It is perfectly fine if you do not have enough red blocks to go in between every strip.
 

Once you have 2 long lengths of strips sewn together side-by-side (now 4 1/2" wide), 
cut this into 6 equal lengths.   Sew in your 4 1/2" red blocks as in this photo.  
This is also the point in which I inserted my left over wavy border.  
 
Now divide this long length into 3 equal sections.  
 Sew these together side-by-side, resulting in 6 strips sewn together to 12 1/2" wide. 


Step 5: The Design
Your strip sets and blocks are now ready for the design board (or floor in my case). 

Lay out your odd blocks in a pleasing pattern, imagining your strips in between.  
Keep in mind the finished quilt size that you desire when you do this.  
This quilt top is 60" W x 66" L.

Measure the length in between your blocks. 
Cut the 6-strip sets to this desired length,
adding 1/2" for your seam allowance. 

Sew the 6-strip sets in between your blocks and
continue with this process until you have enough for your quilt top. 


Lay your strips out, rearranging if you desire. 
It helps to look vertically and horizontally. 
I am liking this horizontal layout. 

As this quilt developed the beautiful colors reminded me 
of the desert and gorgeous sunsets in the San Tan Valley of Arizona. 


Remember the tacky panel from the beginning?  
I absolutely love the transformation using this neutral color method.


I hope you do too!