All Seeing Eye

Oh man, am I in love with this quilt! How in love? Well, let's just say that I'm actually in love with all THREE of these quilts. Yup, I made three versions of this quilt. I started by making the quilt you see below, All Seeing Eye. Then I decided to use this pattern for my Modern Quilt Guild Mini Swap quilt. Except I couldn't just make that quilt and give it away. I've learned with swaps, if you really love a quilt, make a second one for yourself. So that's what I did and how I ended up making three versions of this quilt.

This is the quilt that started it all. These colors are so not what I usually gravitate to, but I love this quilt. It's so fun, vibrant and striking. The cream diamonds are actual a double knit that I bought at QuiltCon in 2016. The olive and reds are Michael Miller Cotton Couture and the Navy is a linen fabric. I love the effect using different textured fabrics has. It's so striking in person.

Here's a closeup with some details of the quilting. I actually quilted this (all three of them) on my domestic using a bunch of different Aurifil 50wt threads.

This version is the one that will go to my swap partner. She loves Alison Glass fabrics, so I went with these fabrics. The white center was fussy cut to showcase the suns and the bird.

Here's a closeup of the quilting. This was also quilted using some Aurifil 50 wt threads. I love how different quilting effects give the quilt a completely different look.

And if that wasn't enough, here's the third quilt that I made. I just made double the number of quilt blocks that I made for the mini quilt for the swap. I just swapped out the background for this jewel solid. I had a ton of fun quilting this one. As you can see, the background was a total change and I love the look.

Look at that texture! (The color is off here because I adjusted it to showcase the quilting. I just had to show it to you!!!)

All of these quilts measure 20" x 21.5". It's the perfect size for a wall hanging.

I did create a pattern for this quilt. It comes together so quilt even though it's paper pieced, has one Y-Seam and uses a few templates. But don't be intimidated, it's very easy.

You can get the pattern on Craftsy here. 

Zippered Pouch Swap

We decided to conduct a zippered pouch swap within the Boston Modern Quilt Guild, which we conducted at our November meeting. I love making zippered pouches and thought this would be a fun, easy swap that didn't require a ton of time for our members. While I've made a ton of zippered pouches, I never made a boxed pouch. I decided this was the perfect opportunity to make one.

I used the Boxy Bag pattern by Kelby Sews. This really came together quick and easily. The most difficult part was when I went ahead and trimmed my plastic zipper and then unzipped the pouch to iron it. Well, I forgot to tack the end of the now-trimmed zipper and the zipper came right off the teeth and into my hand. It took me a good 15 minutes to get it back on. Once I did, it was smooth sailing from there. You can bet I won't be doing that one again.

This fabric is an Art Gallery fabric that I got in a fat quarter bundle a year or two ago with the coordinating yellow print. The zipper is from Zip It. I used three layers of 101 Pellon interfacing for this. Two pieces on the outer fabric and one on the liner. The pouch is stiff enough to stand on its own but flexible enough to allow the new owner to manipulate it as she wishes. 

WIP Wednesday: MSMS Round 3 Progress

The shipping deadline for the Modern She Made Swap is fast approaching, and I'm rushing to finish my mini quilt for it.

I designed a paper pieced pattern a while ago, and when the theme of the swap was announced - stars - I decided to use this pattern for my project. I made 36 three inch blocks (above) which were turned into nine six inch blocks, below.

I finished piecing the top and quilting this mini quilt this week, I just need to make the binding. I'm leaning towards the blue for the binding, but I'm waiting to see what my partner prefers before settling on one. For the quilting, I just did three diagonal lines together around the yellow squares. It's a little wrinkled below because I haven't ironed it after having the quilt all bunched up while quilting it, but you get the idea.

I'm really liking how this is coming out and I might just have to make another for myself. Can you see the stars that emerge as a secondary pattern when you put multiple blocks together?

You can find the pattern in my Craftsy and Etsy shops.

Modern She Made - Received

Last night I came home from work and my Modern She Made swap item was waiting for me!  I was excited to see what lovely item would now be mine!

I was lucky to receive this lovely pillow cover from Scrapstudio, AKA Kelly Lautenbach!  I had put out several options to my partner, one of which was to make a pillow for my newly designed guest bedroom.  I went for blue walls with not quite lime or olive green accents and bright raspberry pink.

Here's a better picture that I took this morning outside that depicts the true color of the pillow cover.  That rose in the center there... that's actually pieced!  Kelly did a great job piecing that together so that it looks seamless!  And did you check out that quilting in the border?  Isn't it cool?

And here's the awesome back of the pillow.  I'm actually not sure which side I like more!  Kelly really nailed the colors in this pillow.  Thank you Kelly!

P.I.N. Pillow

The Kansas City Modern Quilt Guild is hosting a pin cushion swap with a bunch of other modern quilt guilds, including the Boston guild.  Me being me, i had to come up with a paper pieced pattern for my pincushion.  After some thinking, I created this very literal pin cushion design that I have dubbed P.I.N. Pillow.

I first made the pin cushion in some scraps for the swap, but then decided to make one for myself out of the new Denyse Schmidt Chicopee line.

This pincushion will be the one I'm including in the swap.  I usually stuff my pincushions with crushed walnut shells, but because this was for a swap, I just stuffed it with some bamboo stuffing.  My Chicopee cushion is stuffed with the walnut shells.

Here's the block before I sewed it together with the backing and stuffed it.  You could easily use this block in a quilt or other project, other than a pincushion.  You could also easily scale it up (or down) if you feel the pattern is too small for you.

You can purchase this pattern in my Craftsy shop here for instant download. 

Modern She Made Swap Round 2 - Completed Pillow

I really had a very productive sewing day on Sunday.  In addition to getting some binding on some quilts (and actually quilting one) I also finished my Modern She Made Swap pillow cover.

I'm really pleased with how it turned out.  It really aligns with the vision I had for the pillow in the beginning. The pillow I stuffed inside this one is a bit too small, but it's the correct size that my partner wanted.

It's easier to see the machine quilting on the back of the pillow before I assembled it.  I did some straight line quilting on the outer most part and did a wood grain quilting in the center, around the leaf since I thought it fit well with the look of the pillow.  I'm really pleased with how it turned out. I hope my partner likes it.

WIP Wednesday: MSM Swap Pillow Cover

This week I've been working on my Modern She Made swap project. I'm making a pillow cover for my partner.

I started with this selection of low-volume prints, mainly text prints, for the background. 

I then cut a whole bunch, okay 14, of 1.5" strips and sewed them into pairs.

I subcut those strips into 1.5" sections.  I turned these into four patches and slowly began piecing the background of the pillow together.

Slowly the background began to take shape.  I love how the Route 66 shows up well here.  It's a fun little aspect of the background.

And after more cutting of 1.5" squares for the colored border, the top is almost done.  I just need to piece and applique a leaf to go in the center of that frame.  You'll notice the HSTs in each corner of the colored frame.  That's to meet the requirement of the swap to have at least one triangle in your item. 

This pillow cover will finish at 20" square.  Right now it has a total of 404 pieces of fabric that have been cut and sewn back together.  Sometimes I think we, as quilters, are crazy.  But, I love it and wouldn't change a thing. 

Modern She Made Swap Round 2

I've had a lot going on personally this month, so I haven't really been doing much sewing.  When I say a lot, I mean a lot. It's just not something I'm comfortable sharing in such a public forum right now.  As a result, I haven't really been in the mood to quilt since I've been dealing with a lot.  Having Angela Walters come visit last weekend and spending time with the guild was very helpful and finally got me in the mood to get back to sewing.  In addition, to help get me through these difficult times, I decided that I was just going to jump into a few things to keep me busy.  One of those things is the second round of the Modern She Made swap.

I participated in the first round and really enjoyed it.  I made this awesome pillow that I hated to give up, but
I did.  I also received a great mini quilt and armrest pincushion that I use whenever I bind my quilts.

Here's the mosaic that I put together for inspiration for my partner.  I asked for a pillow for either my basement where I just redid it in a grey and yellow color scheme or my guest bedroom that I'm redoing in a blue/grey wall color with lime and fuchsia accents.  I also said I could use a mini quilt for the space too. 

I really enjoyed this swap last time and I'm looking forward to making a new item for my partner and seeing what is made for me.

This is the initial design that I sketched up for my partner.  It will be a pillow with the background being made in a bunch of low-volume prints in a postage stamp style.  The colors will be in some earth tones and there will be a pieced wonky leave that is appliqued down to the top of the pillow.

Time to get cracking on this one.

Modern She Made Swap Complete

Last week I received the most wonderful package from Whitney at The Peacock Tree as part of the Modern She Made Swap on Flickr.

Isn't it a wonderful package?

Here's the whole mini quilt.  It was inspired by a jewel prism.  How cool is that?  Whitney totally nailed me in terms of my favorite colors and color scheme.  The circle that is hand stitched in the upper right corner meets the one requirement of the swap - there needed to be at least one circular element to the swap item.

To top it off, Whitney even made me an armrest pincushion.  It totally matches my maroon couch perfectly.  My husband will be so happy that I have a place to put my pins, binding clips, scissors, etc. instead of on the couch or coffee table as I'm binding my quilts in the living room. 


If you remember, this is the pillow and pincushion that I made for my swap partner.

This was definitely a great swap and one that I would participate in again.

Log Cabin Pin Cushion

When I was making the log cabins for my Modern She Made Swap pillow, I made one log cabin in red and navy, but didn't think it fit with the rest of the colors.  I left it out of the finished project, but wanted to still use it somehow.  I decided that it should become a pincushion to go with the pillow.

I like to fill my pincushions with a mixture of cotton stuffing and walnut shells.  The walnut shells tend to give the pincushion some heft while the stuffing adds a nice fluff to the pincushion.

Here they are together.  You can see how the red and navy just didn't go with the other blocks, but how by itself, it looks cute.  

Modern She Made Pillow Complete

This weekend I was determined to finish my Modern She Made Swap item.  Work is going to be very busy, and I will be traveling the week before we need to ship everything out, so I wanted to make sure I finished everything now before things got so crazy.

I finished piecing the top and then machine quilted it before  piecing the pillow together.  The rules for this swap state that you must have a circle somewhere on your quilt.  There are a couple of circles in the scraps of fabrics that I fussy cut so that you could see the full circles.  I also quilted the large grey side of the pillow with half circle echo quilting.

Here is the completed pillow.  I love how it turned out!  I really hope my partner likes it.  If she doesn't, I'd be happy to keep this.

Here's a side view of the back.  I did an envelope closure since I'm not that great with zippers.  The label is hidden under the flap in the back.

WIP Wednesday: Modern She Made Swap Progress

I mentioned before that I signed up for the Modern She Made Swap.  The shipping deadline is towards the end of May, but I know that May will be VERY busy for me, so I want to make sure I'm able to do a good, quality job on my partner's project and am not waiting until the last minute, so I got started making the project this weekend.

I had posted several designs to the Flickr group to get some input and my third idea was the clear winner.

Here's Idea #1, which I posted about recently:

Here's Idea #2, which I sketched out on paper:

And here's Idea #3:

My third idea was the clear winner based on comments in the group, and probably my favorite.

After pulling fabric and playing with colors, this is what I came up with for the log cabin strip:

And this gives you an idea of what the pillow will look like.

I love it!

One small confession - I'm turning this into a pillow cover, but, I've never made one before.  This will be a learning experience.  I'm sure I'll be fine making it, but there's always that element of uncertainty when doing something for the first time.  I've been sewing consistently for the past 10 years, so I'm sure I'll have no problems with it.

Kitchen Swap Received

I was lucky to have Alice pick my fabric for the BMQG kitchen swap. Alice is an awesome quilter and I couldn't wait to see what she came up with.  As expected, she created an unbelievable wall hanging that I absolutely love.

Thank you SOOOO much Alice.  I can't express how much I love this quilt.  I plan on hanging it up in my dining room this week. 

Kitchen Swap Reveal

On Saturday at the BMQG meeting we swapped our kitchen swap items.  As a result, I can finally reveal what I made for Rebecca out of the fabric she provided.

I made two pot holders and two dish towels.  Rebecca provided the background fabric in the star/the stripe on the towel. I added all of the solids.

The star is made using a Moda Bake Shop tutorial for a folded star potholder.

You can really see the 3-D effect that the folded star has on the star in this photo.

I love how this came out.  I ended up loving it so much that I kept the first one that I made that had a few errors in it for myself and plan on adding a binding and using it as a wall hanging.