Category: Quilting and Sewing

Practice makes prepared.

Before I started working my way through my small collection of Carolyn Friedlander quilt patterns, I needed to know that I could actually handle them.  Would my catenary arches actually look good?  And would the botanics quilt leave me in tears?

I discovered some of Carolyn’s classes on Creativebug , and started watching.

This applique block is one of hers and it was a great way to test my skills and patience without committing fabric, time, or emotion for a huge project.


This block has everything: concave and convex curves, gentle and tight lines, sharp points, continuous circles.  I knew that if I could execute it decently and enjoy both the process and outcome, I could dive in on the other patterns.


It worked!  I enjoyed it, I learned, I love how it looks.  It sold me on all the others.


Recently I quilted the block with a 1″ grid and bound it.  It’s a funky but fun block and will be a bright addition to my mini quilt wall.


Also, I really like this brick wall.  It’s so cool.


This block started me on the Aerial grove quilt , Botanics quilt , and more recently the Catenary quilt.  If you’re considering one of Carolyn’s patterns and find yourself nervous about the applique, I highly recommend watching her Creativebug classes, particularly this applique block.  Because I now have some quilt tops to finish, I’m excited to watch her class on machine and hand quilting techniques.
(Creativebug offers a free trial, which I signed up for, and then decided to join for $5/month.  My kids love watching the craft videos as well) It’s nice to finish something.  I had a funny conversation recently with the father of my son’s friend.  We were both sitting at the district science fair where we would wait for 6 hours or so, and I was working on my Catenary applique.  He asked what I was doing and I told him I quilt.  His response surprised me.  He said, “quilting is hard work.”  I said to him, “Yes, and unlike most of the hard work I do as a mother, quilts stay done.”  He stared at me for a minute, threw back his head, and laughed.  True story.

Seriously, though, I cleaned my kitchen 7 or 8 times today.  My children helped, but as I type this post it’s past ten p.m. and my 16 year old son is hungry again, cooking something on the stove.  I’m fine with it.  But it’s so great that quilts stay done.

Jennifer

Slowly but surely my Catenary quilt top is taking shape.

I started this applique project about a month ago and have worked on it steadily in quiet moments.  I now have ten of the fourteen applique strips complete.


Until now I have cut and basted only one row at a time, but with only four left I couldn’t resist getting them all ready to stitch.  I’m so close!


The lovely blues in the Summer House fabric range (by Lily Asbury for Moda, years ago) have been cheerful company and a feast for the eyes as I work.

I decided to assemble the quilt top as I finished each section, to keep them in order and to see how the overall composition looks as I go.  It also means that I only have six more seams on my sewing machine and the entire quilt top will be finished.  I like that!


Fingers crossed for a finish in the next week!  I have another applique project to start….

I am so happy to share this State Flowerscape quilt today!  I have followed Kirsten Brinton (@turnofthecenturies) on Instagram for some time.  Her artwork is meticulous and beautiful.  I watched with interest when her family made a cross country move a while ago that landed her in one of my favorite places, Tacoma Washington.  I love seeing her photos as they are little glimpses at a place I lived and loved many years ago, and last summer we discovered that we share a birthday!

Pretty much I’m a fan of everything Kirsten does and really admire her work.  She draws the most beautiful maps , temples , and a gorgeous map of the United States , illustrated with the state flower for each state.  When this beautiful print became a fabric panel I jumped at the chance to sew with it.  Kirsten sent me the panel and pieces of most of the other prints in her debut collection for Moda , State Flowerscapes, and I have have loved sewing with it.


I knew that I wanted the map panel to be the central focus of my quilt so I began building around it, medallion style.  I added a few other fabric prints from my stash like the colorful triangle print by Alexander Henry, but I limited myself largely to solid colors so that Kirsten’s fabrics would take center stage.  The creative challenge of using a variety of solids was interesting as I didn’t have a master plan when I started, but instead let the design and color of each border evolve as I went.


I also wanted to personalize the map a little, so when quilting I tried my hand at “thread drawing” by stitching hearts where my husband and I were each raised, where we met, and where we are raising our family.  To me, it’s a fun mini-story.


Kirsten’s collection consists of the map panel, topography designs, the floral print, and a text print of all the states and their flowers.  Each of these is available in three colorways.  My favorite ended up being the flower print in gray and white.


I quilted the quilt on my domestic machine with several different designs, all of them VERY “organic”.  Every time I do this I wonder if someday I might enjoy learning longarm quilting.


I’ve been feeling the pull of medallion quilts lately.  I really love the way each border changes as you add another, and this quilt was no exception.  My favorite borders are the half square triangles in different greens and gray, and the flower strip bordered by purple at the top and bottom of the quilt.  They really make me smile.




For the backing I used a small Juliana Horner floral print and a strip of Heather Ross’ tiger lily, and framed it all with a rich blue binding.




Although the fabric collection is rather subdued as a whole, all of it works well with a range of colors.  I wanted to infuse it with as much color as I could manage, as that’s what flower gardens are to me:  masses of color splashed together, all playing off each other beautifully.  Wouldn’t it be lovely to see all 50 of these flowers together?


This quilt makes me feel like spring is on the way!  Hooray!