Alternate Way

Those of you that follow me on Instagram (@AQuiltingJewel) might have seen the flying geese blocks and quilts I've been working on lately. When I'm making these quilts, I tend to make extra blocks in case I want to alter my design. I find that having extra blocks comes in handy often. In this case I had 10 extra flying geese blocks, so I started playing around with them.

Using a design wall, I moved around the blocks until I realized what would happen if I organized the blocks around a square made of the same color as the goose. Wow, what a fun design. I knew I had to turn this into a little mini quilt right away. This mini isn't big - only about 15" square or so, but I just love the look.

One of the trends I noticed at QuiltCon was the increased use of faced bindings. I've been wanting to try a faced binding for a while and decided that I would go for it here. And what do you know, I was able to do it pretty easily after checking out a number of tutorials online. I can definitely say that you will see more faced bindings from me in the future for sure.

The best part of this quilt - every single piece is from my stash. From the solids and prints on the front (Cotton Couture and some Violet Craft prints) to the backing (an old Art Gallery print), binding, batting and thread (Aurifil 2024 50wt)... I didn't have to go out and purchase anything. Score! Or is it a bad thing that I've got so much fabric in my stash that I can just whip up a ton of quilts without going shopping? Nah!

Stumped

Every year for the Boston MQG Quilt Show, we have a mini quilt challenge. This year, the theme was Improv. We had to make a mini quilt that was no more than 36" x 36" using an improv technique. That's it! It's amazing how when given so much free reign, that it becomes difficult to get your mojo and make something. In fact, I was stumped (despite being the president and issuing the challenge...)

I decided I just needed to dive in. I've toyed with the idea of an improv curved quilt, so I pulled a bundle of fabric and some coordinating solids and just started cutting and sewing. I had no idea where I was going with this when I started, but I ended up really enjoying the end result. The colors and process are definitely out of my comfort zone, but that's what I love about a challenge. It pushes me as a designer. 

I thought the quilt top looked like a tree stump (hence the name of the quilt), so I quilted concentric circles to enhance the design. I love the effect it gives the quilt. I quilted this using Aurifil 50wt (and pieced with it) in an all over moss green color to match the background. I love using a thin thread to really blend in with the fabric, regardless of the color.

The end result is a fun mini quilt that I really like. Now to think of a new challenge for myself!

Fabric: Alison Glass Handmade and Cotton Couture Solids
Thread: Aurifil 50wt
Batting: Quilters Dream Poly (from my QuiltCon goodie bag!)
Finished Size: 25" x 30"
Started and finished in March 2017

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. 

Picchu Boo

Almost a year ago I took a trip of a lifetime to Peru to celebrate graduating from graduate school. One of the most memorable parts of the trip was when I visited Machu Picchu. I took thousands of photos during the ten day trip, but this photo was one of my favorites.

I knew it had to be turned into a quilt, so when we announced the solids challenge in the Boston Modern Quilt Guild, I decided this was my opportunity to make this into a quilt.

Not wanting to do an exact interpretation or make an art quilt, I started cutting a ton of 1" strips out of five different brown fabrics and sewed them together. I ended up making three different groups of these brown strips, one with the strips horizontal, one vertical and one on the diagonal. I varied the width and length of all three as part of my interpretation of the photo.

I decided on a teal background instead of a more natural green that's found in nature. Again, this was my way of modernizing the quilt and avoid looking too much like an art quilt. When it came time to quilt it, I knew I wanted to quilt straight lines opposite the direction of the brown strips. It took me a little while to settle on echoing the brown sections, which ended up giving the quilt a 3-D look.

I used an Art Gallery print from my stash on the backing that I thought went well with the top. I quilted it using gold and teal Aurifil threads. The batting is Quilters Dream Cotton Select. The solids are Michael Miller Cotton Couture.

Overall, I'm pleased with this quilt and it will definitely remind me of my trip to Peru every time I look at it.

Sticks and Stones

Before I left for Costa Rica, I put the finishing touches on my Lowell Quilt Festival Challenge Quilt - Sticks and stones.

This quilt was inspired by Jackie Gering's Craftsy class. I've enjoyed making more improvisational quilts these days, although I'll never shy away from designing my own paper pieced patterns.

I don't know what it is about this quilt, but it was very difficult to photograph. I tried a whole bunch of locations, but so many of the photos turned out blue, even when I used my really nice SLR. It's a reminder that I really need to invest in some editing software. I just always prefer to spend my money on fabric.

This block was made as four different blocks. I started with a bunch of strips of fabrics based on the inspirational color palette.

I quilted this, offsetting a handful of straight lines, horizontal and vertical. Once I had a handful of straight lines, I quilted out from the intersection.

Here you can really see what I did for the quilting. I think it gave the quilt a really cool effect.

Quilt Stats:
Sticks & Stones
20" x 20"
Fabric: STASH!!!
Thread: Aurifil #50 #2610

WIP Wednesday: LQF Challenge Quilt

Over the past few weeks, I've been slowly working on my challenge quilt for the Lowell Quilt Festival (LQF) coming up in a few weeks.

I started with this bundle based on the color scheme for this year's challenge.

After a lot of debate on what to do, I just cut a whole bunch of strips in different sizes and decided to play.

I came up with something fun (at least I think so) and am in the process of quilting it. I can't wait to share the finished project with everyone soon.

Modern Mini Challenge

Have you see the Modern Mini Challenge contest hosted by Ellison Lane?

For this contest, I'm entering my latest paper pieced design, my Pinwheel Party quilt.

I designed this quilt and finally made it for round three of the Modern She Made swap. You can read more about this quilt here and here.

This is actually a pretty easy paper pieced block, as you can see from above that creates a really fun secondary design when pieced together.

I created a pattern for this quilt and included templates for a 6" and 12" finished block.
You can find my pattern and others here:

• Craftsy
• Etsy
• Threadbias
• PatternSpot

Quilt Stats:

Pinwheel Party by Jen Sorenson of A Quilting Jewel

Finished Size: 18" x 18"

Fabric: Kona Cotton, Oval Elements, Quilters Linen, Curious Nature

Batting: Warm and Natural

Thread: Aurifil 50wt 2610

Blogger Quilt Festival - Fall 2012

It's that time of year again - the Blogger's Quilt Festival.  This time around I'm "entering" my Dazzling Diamonds quilt.  This was a hard choice for me because I've actually finished quite a few quilts this year.

I made this quilt as part of a challenge the Boston Modern Quilt Guild was hosting. Participants had to make a mini quilt in the colors of QuiltCon.  The mini had to use at least three of the colors and could be no bigger than 24" on any side.

Anyone who knows me well knows that I love to paper piece.  So of course I needed to create my own paper pieced pattern for my entry into the challenge. I designed this block because I wanted a block with diamonds, but with a slight twist.

The quilt went together pretty easy.  The great thing about the block is that there's only one point to match, the tip of the diamonds, which is pretty rare for a lot of paper pieced patterns.  I think this also went together easy for me because I had just finished piecing the 140th paper pieced block in a different (but secret) quilt that I've been working on.  16 blocks in this quilt seemed like a piece of cake!

I love how in using two different grey fabrics for the stars, a secondary pattern emerged, a dark grey pinwheel.  I also love two different stars that emerge when piecing multiple blocks together - the grey and the orange in this quilt.

I lamented for a while on how I should quilt this beauty.  I knew I needed to do some custom quilting, but what kind of quilting should I do?  I started by echo quilting in the grey stars.  I stitched in the ditch around the blue diamonds and did a 1/4" echo three times within the grey stars. I then did some pebble quilting in the lime background.  I knew I wanted to do a figure eight type design in the blue, but I wasn't sure if I could do it well enough in such a narrow space.  The blue diamonds do measure only about 1/2" wide.

After practicing on some scrap fabric sandwiches, I realized that I could do a figure eight pretty well in the space provided, so I went for it.  I have to say, I'm really pleased with how it turned out.  I really like to practice new quilting designs on scrap quilt sandwiches first before digging into a quilt.  Boy am I glad I did.  The first few tries left me thinking that the blue would either be left unquilted or with a more simple design.  Practice is key because, like I said, I really like how it turned out and that might be my favorite part of the quilting.  I finished up by quilting some radiating straight lines in the orange star points to highlight the motion of the star.

I did change my thread color for each section for four different color threads.  Because of that, the back looks like an awesome whole cloth quilt.  Am I the only one who loves to just run my hands across a finish quilted quilt?  I couldn't stop running my hands over this one. I bound the quilt in a charcoal Kona to really frame the quilt.

Overall, I'm really pleased with how this quilt turned out and it has become one of my new favorite quilts.  Of course, that will probably change when I finish another quilt.

I'll be teaching a class on this quilt on November 18th at Quilter's Way in Concord, MA if you're interested in making your own mini quilt wall hanging or table topper for the holidays.

You can check out the rest of the quilts in the BMQG challenge here. Amazing, aren't they?

Quilt Details:
Finished Size: 24" x 24"
Fabrics Used: Kona Cotton - QuiltCon bundle from Pink Chalk Fabrics
Pattern: Dazzling Diamonds by me!
Machine paper pieced and machine quilted by me using Superior Threads So Fine!
Best Categories: Best Mini Quilt, Wall Quilt, Machine Quilted
Entry #: 78

Dazzling Diamonds Finished

Last weekend I finished quilting and binding my Dazzling Diamonds quilt for the Boston Modern Quilt Guild's mini quilt challenge at the Lowell Quilt Festival.  You can read all about how I designed this quilt here.

I'm REALLY pleased with how it came out.  This might be my best machine quilting work thus far. It's also, easily, one of my favorite quilts, although I feel like that's claiming you have a favorite child. 

See what I mean?  It's far from show-quality machine quilting, but I still think it's awesome. 

Before I got to work on machine quilting this, I used a printed version of the quilt and tested some designs for each different section.  I tried a bunch of combinations and settled on what you see above and below as my first choice.  I also had a second choice for each section.  Why?  Because I needed to see if I could actually quilt what I wanted to.  Sure I've done straight lines before, and pebbles.  But I needed to make sure I could quilt the pebbles on such a small square.  It was also my first time doing the figure-eight quilting motif.  By planning, I was able to relieve some of the stress that I associate with free motion quilting.  I was able to practice the quilting on some scrap fabric and batting before jumping to the quilt.

I really love how the back of the quilt came out.  I love when you can tell what the quilt pattern is by looking at the quilting from the back.  As usual, I used just one fabric on the back as opposed to a pieced back.  While I love the look of some pieced backs to quilts, I have always preferred to use a single fabric for the back.  In this case, I think it really shows off the quilting.

I will say that over the past year, my confidence in my machine quilting skills has grown exponentially.  Practicing really does help, and I've been practicing for quite some time now.  One of the things I love about quilting is the ability to try something new and move out of my comfort zone.  Last year I really spent some time learning needle turn applique.  This year I've really honed my machine quilting skills.

The fabrics are all Kona solids and the thread is all So Fine! by Superior Threads. I love the way So Fine! thread blends with the fabric but you can still see the quilting details.  It's one of my favorites. 

Dazzling Quilting

I'm in the middle of quilting my Dazzling Diamond mini quilt and I thought I'd share my progress. 

Wait, you mean you can't really tell what I've done from this picture?  Okay, let me show you more details.

First, I stitched in the ditch around all of the grey stars and I echo quilted in the stars three times. I wanted to treat the grey stars as one piece rather than calling out the light and the dark separately. 

After that I did some pebble quilting in the green and I have to tell you, I really like how it's coming out so far.  After I quilted an entire quilt using pebble quilting (something I will NEVER do again) I vowed not to do pebble quilting for a while.  With just this small amount of pebble quilting I went through one and a half bobbins of green thread for this mini quilt.  Yikes!

Doesn't it look awesome from the back?  I always match my bobbin thread to my top thread, so this back, despite being a solid grey, will be mighty colorful once quilted. 

Now for my orange and blue thread to arrive so that I can finish it.  Maybe I'll make one of these blocks for the QuiltCon challenge or figure out what my backing will be for the octagonal quilt.  That's next on my to-do list - quilt it.  Time's ticking away until the show.  EEK!

Finish Friday - Rainbow House

I finished my Rainbow House quilt last night and am in love with how it came out.

It's hard to see in this picture, but it's bound in a black Kona cotton.

I did some simple quilting in the house block and in the border.  The tiny-tiny (and did I say PIECED) rainbow stripe is busy enough that the simple lines work best for this quilt.

Those rainbow pieces measure 1/4 square (give or take since it's so small, I'm not claiming extreme accuracy there). Yikes!

Here's the back.  I used a Sweetwater Sunkissed fat quarter that I had lying around for the backing. I used two scrap 5" squares for the hanging triangles.

Now to find a special place to hang this.

**Edit - I scheduled this post to go out on Friday, but it some how published on Thursday, but the date shows as 6/1 in my blog header.  Strange.  I schedule all of my posts ahead of time since life can get crazy.  I usually schedule several posts at a time so that I regularly update my blog.  I had written this one a few days ago and was surprised when it showed up in my reader a day early. Oh well.  Enjoy!