Gossip Queen Texture and NTT

Happy Needle and Thread Thursday, friends!  I am so excited to share my finished Gossip Queen quilt today, and I am completely smitten with it.  You can read more about the origin of the fun name HERE.

Y'all, it's hard to tell in the photos, but this quilt has texture for daaaays.  I used six different 50 wt. Aurifil threads, blending the thread colors through the quilt.  It is quilted with a dense spiral design with four side swoops as I did on some of my color gradient minis (check out my yellow mini to get a really good look at the overall design on this quilt).  Getting the spiral centered and balanced on the quilt took some planning, but I love how it turned out.

On the back of the quilt, I used my leftover scraps in a mixed-color strip, along with a rich, berry purple tonal main fabric.  You can almost make out the distinct quilting lines in the photo of the backing.  

The whole goal of the photo shoot for this quilt was to show off the color and texture.  Getting the vibrant colors to show well was easy, but really capturing the texture was a little more difficult.  The improv piecing is so busy that although the texture shows up well in person, in a photo it just blends right in.  (ps- that is not a pucker in my backing, just a weird wrinkle where the quilt was folded)

To really show the texture, I had to take a photo indoors.  Those quilting lines are about 1/4" to 1/2" apart throughout the entire quilt.  Since I quilted this one with free-motion, the spacing and curve of the lines is organic, but I think the lack of perfect regularity really adds to the movement and charm of the quilt.

I set aside enough of my yellow scrap strips for a scrappy binding, and it blends right into the quilt without boxing the colors in.  I love that it just disappears!

If you're looking closely, you'll see that this binding is actually finished by hand (gasp!).  Unheard of for me, I know, but I love this quilt so much that I think I might enter it into shows, and I thought it deserved to be as perfect as possible. 

I really do hate hand sewing, so it's a good thing that I have a quilty BFF that doesn't mind it.  Barter is a beautiful thing, y'all.  Since I made the Louisiana and Tennessee home pillows, my friend has been wanting a Texas Home pillow, and she and I agreed to a little deal.  I made a Texas pillow for her in exchange for beautifully hand finishing the binding on my Gossip Queen quilt.  Win, win all around!

This color blending technique is SO much fun, and much easier than you might think.  It takes a little patience and planning, but the result is well worth it.

Since this technique uses the method from my book with just a little different execution, I've decided to add Using Scraps to Explore Color and Texture as a full-day class offering next year, in addition to the other classes from my book Stash Statement.  I've just started booking for 2020, so if your guild is looking for a fun, unique workshop, be sure to contact me soon for more info and reserve a date on my calendar!

Okie dokie!  Before we get our party on, let's check out some highlights from last week, shall we?  Look at this gorgeous plus quilt by Alison at Little Bunny Quilts.  Be sure you go check out all of the yummy quilting on this one.

I am all about scrappy texture (obviously), so I think this beauty by Katie Mae Quilts is just fantastic!

The transparency effect is so cool in this quilt by Anja Quilts-

And finally, this scrappy quilt by Sarah Goer Quilts is hot, hot, HOT!

Alright friends.  Let's link up!

1. You can link finished projects or WIP's , but just keep it about quilting and sewing!

2. Link to your specific post (not to your home page!) to make it easier for others.

3. Please remember to spread the word and post my button or a text link.  

4. Spread the comment love far and wide!

5. Following me is not a requirement to link, but is so very appreciated!

*If you're new to the party, here's a helpful tip for linking up- select "Auto Crop"  when selecting your thumbnail photo.  For some reason, trying to crop your own image results in the dreaded "white question mark box," and we definitely want to see your awesome work!  :)

Oh Happy Day!

Today is the day!  I worked hard yesterday to finish up the center piece for my color wheel wall just so that I could share the finish with you at today's party.  I love it SO much.

I know it's hard to tell in the photo, but these minis take up the entire wall (each one measures 24 inches square).  If you look back at the photo of the original wall, you will see that the thermostat is not centered.  It was only about five inches to the left of center, but that was enough to throw a wrench in this design.  I just didn't have enough wiggle room on the wall, and they wouldn't have fit unless I had an electrician center the thermostat on the wall (which of course, I did- totally worth it).

At first, I was a little stumped about how to finish the center of the wall.  I originally thought that I wanted to create a black/gray/white color gradient piece, but when I realized that it would have to be so long and skinny, I decided against it.  A long and skinny shape is perfect for text though!  Ultimately, I decided that a little uplifting message on crisp white would be perfect.  The space above the chair rail is only a couple inches shy of six feet, so this is a LOT of color in one place.  The text actually gives the eye a place to rest, and I think it ties the whole thing together without being overwhelming.

The center mini is created with solids and raw edge appliqué using Heat n Bond Lite.  It was lots of fun to use a rainbow of Aurifil 50 wt. thread to stitch down each letter.

I went back and forth with myself on how to quilt it.   I really wanted a filler that would allow the white background to recede with the solid letters popping out.  So, I quilted with a very dense stipple around the letters, and then finished it off with a solid black binding.  The center mini measures 9.5" x 40", and I promise it's straight and square (as are all of the minis).  Since I've only pinned the top of each quilt to the wall, you can see that there are places where the bottom of the quilts aren't completely flush against the wall.  That's all good in person, but gives the impression that they aren't straight and square in the pic.

Remember my happy accident with the quilting?  Well, I was able to work it into my design very easily.  Once I realized my mistake, it just took a little planning.  The quilts with only two swoops in the quilting design are on top and bottom, and the ones with four swoops in the design are on the sides.

Since these are up on a wall, it's not easy to get close-up views, and of course these are indoor photos. So, if you missed a color or two and want to take a look at outdoor detail shots of each mini, here are the links to the original posts-  blue, red, orange and pink, teal and yellow, purple and green.

This wall has been lacking inspiration for a long time, but not anymore.  Just walking into my studio brightens my mood and puts a huge smile on my face.  With all of that color, how could a day in my studio be anything but a happy day?

I actually had a friend ask me for photos of the steps in my process for putting these together in order to get the color gradient effect just right.  Since I already have the step photos, if there is enough interest, I would be happy to write up a tutorial for it.  Just let me know in the comments.

Last week's party was amazing, as usual!  Paula at The Sassy Quilter is ready for the 2019 holiday season with this awesome Modern Christmas Trees quilt  (you're not behind, Paula, you're just WAY ahead).

Kris at Sew Sunshine shared this gorgeous Sunset Strip quilt.

Nicole at Handwrought Quilts linked up this beautiful rainbow quilt.  This is the back, and you definitely don't want to miss the front of this beauty.

And finally, Pi Day is upon us, and this Pi to Infinity mini by Slice of Pi Quilts is the perfect way to mark the occasion.

Okay y'all!  It's time to show me the latest projects from your sewing space.  Let's party!

1. You can link finished projects or WIP's , but just keep it about quilting and sewing!

2. Link to your specific post (not to your home page!) to make it easier for others.

3. Please remember to spread the word and post my button or a text link.  

4. Spread the comment love far and wide!

5. Following me is not a requirement to link, but is so very appreciated!

*If you're new to the party, here's a helpful tip for linking up- select "Auto Crop"  when selecting your thumbnail photo.  For some reason, trying to crop your own image results in the dreaded "white question mark box," and we definitely want to see your awesome work!  :)

Moving Right Along and NTT

Oh, this color wheel project is so much fun!  In the past week, I've finished two more minis, and pulled scraps for the next color. I have some secret sewing with deadlines fast approaching, so I've had to take a little break from these, but I can't wait to get back to them.

This orange quilt is called Ember.  The colors dance like glimmering fire, or more specifically, like the glowing wood below the flames, and even though it moves from light to dark like the others, it is slightly different.  Since I almost never use the darkest burnt orange or lightest peachy orange tones in my quilts, the color gradient is not quite as pronounced in this one.  That's okay though, because I definitely want the predominant colors on the wall to be the shades/scraps I love most.  Clearly my orange zone is more narrow, ranging from vibrant tangerine orange to softer creamsicle.

I quilted this one with the same swooping spiral.  This design is really fun to quilt and it creates so much movement.  Though I don't know that I would want to quilt this on a full size quilt, it is pretty quick to do on a mini.

On the backs of these, I've decided that I'm just going to pull whatever stash fabrics I have in that color.  They're going to be on a wall, so the backing really is secondary here.  This orange print does the job nicely.

Giving a nod to Valentine's Day, the other color I finished this week is pink!  If I had to pick a least favorite color in the rainbow it would be pink, so I didn't think this one would be as much fun.  I honestly just wanted to go ahead and get it out of the way.  I was so wrong though.  I love this one just as much as the others.

I actually had plenty of scraps ranging from hot pink to baby pink.  When my quilt calls for it, my personal favorite shade of pink is dark and saturated, but I've made a few baby quilts this past year where baby pink was specifically requested, so I had plenty light value scraps in my jar as well.

The quilting on this one was a bit of a happy accident.  When I drew the chalk line to guide my quilting, I was so focused on centering the spiral and evenly curving the swoops that I accidentally put both swoops on one side of the quilt, rather than opposing corners.  Yes, I am officially using the word swoop as an honest-to-goodness word these days.   Anyway, if you can believe it, I didn't step back from it and really look at the whole spiral before I started quilting, and I didn't realize it until I had quilted three full lines on the mini.  Yikes!

You know I'm not one to rip things out if I can think of a way to fix it on the fly, so I decided to add a swoop to the other two corners.  So, this one has four!  Now the only thing to do is to make half of the minis one way, and half the other.  Crisis averted!

Even though this dark pink print has navy accents, I decided to go ahead and use it for the backing since I had enough without piecing it together.  Again, on the wall the backing won't matter a bit.  All of this scrappy, swirly texture reminds me of the petals in a full, lush bloom so this one is named Peony.

As I mentioned earlier, I have a few secret sewing projects to finish up, but I've already been sorting my yellows, and I can't wait to get to them.  It's my last warm color!

Okay friends, let's take a look at some of my faves from last week's party.  Check out this Urbanologie quilt by Kris at Sew Sunshine-

Something Rosemade linked up this awesome quilt, and that green background is calling my name!

And this sweet quilt is by Shannon at The Flemings Nine.

Okay, y'all!  Let's party.

1. You can link finished projects or WIP's , but just keep it about quilting and sewing!

2. Link to your specific post (not to your home page!) to make it easier for others.

3. Please remember to spread the word and post my button or a text link.  

4. Spread the comment love far and wide!

5. Following me is not a requirement to link, but is so very appreciated!

*If you're new to the party, here's a helpful tip for linking up- select "Auto Crop"  when selecting your thumbnail photo.  For some reason, trying to crop your own image results in the dreaded "white question mark box," and we definitely want to see your awesome work!  :)