Category: Quilting and Sewing

I mentioned my Prairie Sweets applique project when I shared my Aerial Grove quilt top recently.  Here it is, a completed quilt top!  This was a project that I prepped and then carried around to soccer games, practices, and tournaments as well as carpool lines.


It took a while to hand stitch all those rings around the pinwheels, but it was fun to do.  Seeing them together in a finished top brings a smile to my face and reminds me how much you can get done with just a few minutes here and there over time.


Plus, sewing with Anna Maria Horner’s gorgeous Pretty Potent collection was pretty awesome.  Once I finished the blocks I had a bunch of circles left over from the centers of the rings so I decided they needed to be part of the quilt back and that launched me into another applique project.


Here is the quilt back, and I love it!  I didn’t have enough swiss dots to use for each square so I added a bunch of low volume prints to the mix.  Once again, these blocks traveled with me as I stitched the circles to the background.  With the rings I glue basted.  With these circles I tried needle turn applique and loved it!


I had saved yardage of the Pretty Potent banner print for the backing but I had to get a little creative when I realized I had less than I thought.  I added a strip of this awesome Amy Butler print (from her Hapi collection) that I’ve been saving and couldn’t be happier with the results!


The measurements of the circle blocks perfectly matched the scale and design of the fabric and it all came together beautifully.  I feel like this could be a two-sided quilt, and I’m not sure which side would be my favorite!  Now I need to decide how to quilt it so that both sides can look good.


I’ve decided I’m going to try to get all my unfinished projects sewn into quilt tops this year, and prepare a backing for each as well.  It feels good to have one done!

I’m excited to share my Aerial Grove quilt top with you today.  This is a gorgeous quilt pattern by Carolyn Friedlander that I’ve admired since it was first published.  One of my goals for 2017 is to make the quilts on my bucket list instead of adding to my list, and this quilt is the first of several Carolyn Friedlander patterns I’ve had on that list.


I prepared the “circles” for applique last November so that I could have a hand sewing project during the holidays.  I wanted to be hanging out with my family instead of in my sewing room and having these ready to applique meant that I spent most of my time with them AND the applique was done before Christmas!


To complete the quilt top I pulled out some of my favorite low volume fabrics and just started sewing them together until I had panels that were the correct size.  I wanted a little cool, but also some warm tones, a touch of yellow, and some texture.  It was a quick and easy, no stress finish – a great way to start the year!


If you’ve never tried hand applique before, it’s worth having a go at it.  While 80 circles sounded a little intimidating at first, they’re also done quickly and the curves are easy.  I have found applique to be a relaxing and enjoyable process and I’ve tried to have some kind of hand sewing project ready to go since I started my Prairie Sweets project a couple of years ago.


This pattern can be found in Carolyn’s book, Savor Each Stitch , and is just one of many beautiful projects included in the book.  I have a few others I’m anxious to try!  In fact, right now I have four more of her patterns in some stage of progress and am enjoying all of them.

Now to decide how to quilt this!

Jennifer

Colors, flowers, a little vintage, a little modern, simplicity and elegance, bold but delicate.  All of these are things I love.  I also love to make things.  Last week all of them came together in this little project and I still feel giddy about it.


I’m a member of the Utah County Modern Quilt Group (ucmqg) and I’d known for months that I wanted to make a hoop for their hoop challenge.  I even had a plan but when sewing time came I had no desire to make what I’d planned.  I decided to start with something I felt excited about and see where it led.


I’ve been doing a lot of hand sewing lately, specifically, hand applique.  Once upon a time I had a lot of sewing time during the winter but as my children have grown the winter is really busy and for the most part I’m only sewing on the go.  I’ve started several patterns by Carolyn Friedlander and am loving the process of making them, so I decided to try her Trudy block which is available on Creativebug .

I knew the block was too small for my 12″ hoop so that led me to look at my fabric differently.  I wondered if I could find something that would do the work of filling the space with interest, and would also showcase the applique.  I tried to remember everything I learned last year from Australian designers like Kathy Doughty and Jen Kingwell, how they mix modern and vintage and use unexpected fabrics to make heroes of the combination.  My thoughts immediately went to this vintage fabric I’ve been “saving.”  The perfect blue, I decided to center it carefully in the hoop and see how the circular block would look with it.  The yellow was an easy choice for the outer circle and I decided a floral would fit nicely in the center.  The fabulous Jennifer Paganelli print was the first that came to mind; I’ve been saving it too.


It worked.  And I love it.  And it’s so ME.  It’s what I’ve always loved mixed with where my tastes are moving, who I’ve always been and who I’m becoming and where I’m trying to go.  Perhaps that’s all a little much for something as simple as two circles in a wood embroidery hoop, but it’s how I feel.  Making this block made me hungry to make!  The very best creative harvest, if you ask me.