Rainbow Radiance: A Finished Quilt

When my scrap buckets were overflowing I decided to make several colour-block slabs and then make one gigantic scrappy quilt using those blocks. They were a blast to make and when I found myself lacking in some of the colours (beige and lavender in particular) my quilty friends jumped into action. If you check the lavender block there is some very precious Tula Pink Parisville from my friend C. That's friendship, people.

The plan because of the size and shape was to make the quilt an outdoor quilt, designed for the many picnics and play events my eldest daughter engages in all summer long. I chose a colourful and inexpensive thicker weight (and looser weave) fabric from Ikea as the backing and used (mostly) polyester thread to make the quilting stronger. I also did machine binding instead of hand binding (which I hate because it doesn't look as good as hand binding but it would make it much more secure for heavy play).

For the binding I used up bits of leftover binding from other quilts and it worked out perfectly!

Here is Rainbow Radiance:

I am tempted to take an individual picture of each block so you could revel in the gems in each and every colour block. It is a delight for me to remember each fabric and point out "There's Lotta! There's Lizzy House!"

This is the backing. I was worried about the brown that was in this print but I find this picture reassuring because you really don't notice the brown.

This shows you the binding a little bit more. It is colourful and perfect.

Doesn't it look perfect for a summer picnic?

Here is the thicker weave that is the backing fabric.

I opted to not use batting for the first time ever. The backing is thick and heavy already so I wanted it to not get too heavy and I thought it would dry more easily when it gets damp in the grass. I feel mixed about the end result. It is already VERY heavy as a quilt but the batting would have prevented the colour of the backing from being seen through the lighter colours. It also would have kept the stitches more even.

I also opted to quilt each block with a different pattern, some free motion and some with the walking foot. The size and weight of this quilt made that a giant pain many times but I powered through. I'm happier with some blocks than others in terms of quilting. It adds an interesting texture to the quilt for sure.

I am also glad that I have another WIP off my list!

Festive Forest: A Finished Quilt

I am not one for seasonal quilts (I think they should be able to be used year round) and I am not one for traditional Christmas colours (our colours are dark blue, turquoise and silver) but when I saw that Violet Craft was releasing a green, red, white and gold version of Brambleberry Ridge it just spoke to me. I used a tutorial that was free (see my previous blog entry on the process). I ended up being quite delighted with the end result and my daughters were using it before I even finished the binding. Maybe it can spend the non-Christmas season in the basement?

I didn't finish until after Christmas (because who has time to sew down some binding in the middle of the chaos that is multiple Christmas events?) but it was still within the time my Christmas tree was up so I consider that a win!

Here is Festive Forest:

It sure looks pretty against the white snow! There are two blocks that are actually made up of four mini trees. I love the variation it adds.

My husband hates the wonky nature of the improv trees, but what does he know? ;)

I didn't have quite enough of this pretty red print from Brambleberry Ridge (I guessed on the yardage when I bought it which is typical me) so I put in a pit of this Laurie Wisbrun red fabric that I had in my stash.

I used this loopy pattern to quilt it because it was quite fast and because my initial plan did NOT work out. I just went with it. I quite like it!

And there is my first finish of 2018! Hopefully many more to go!

Linking up to Finish It Up Friday with Crazy Mom Quilts!

WIP: Improv Christmas Trees

Ages ago- on Pinterest? Instagram? a blog?- I came across Diary of a Quilter's Improv Christmas Tree tutorial and I was charmed. I love the wonky trees and the clever construction. I pinned it and didn't think much of it for awhile. 

Then I bought a bundle of Violet Craft Brambleberry Ridge in Christmas colours even though a) I don't usually buy Christmas fabrics and b)I don't have traditional Christmas colours in my house at Christmas overall (Our tree has silver, white and turquoise/teal ornaments/decorations).  But I had to have it. And I knew that the combination of improv trees and Violet Craft would look awesome.

I finally got started! Christmas in August!

I made the first blocks as a test before I mass cut all my precious fabric. Good thing I did! The original tutorial makes very tiny blocks, way smaller than I was planning. I snooped on her site some more and found a tutorial for a much large block using the same technique. Now THAT is what I was looking for.

Tiny trees (4.5' x 3.5") in the middle, flanked by the big version that I ultimately went for which I ended up trimming to 8.5" x 7.5".

 This became my "pop into the sewing room and whip up a few blocks" project. My cat was very helpful, as always.

Thanks, Cyrus.

 The technique itself is so simple because there is no measuring in the traditional sense once you have the initial rectangles cut. You pair the fabrics and then slice first from the right and then from the left, as you can see below. This is a stack of four which I found the best for efficiency while also not having too many similar-shaped trees.

No measuring makes me happy!

The blocks started adding up, though I did have one "oops" when I cut on square upside down (print face down) which messed up everything for that block and resulted in that horrible tree in the bottom left of this picture. I have since removed that tree...and added many many more!

All the blocks are now made, including a few more small ones since I like how that looked up on the design board. I can't wait to finish this top up and show you the end result. And it should be done in time for Christmas!