Pieces of Eight

I am calling this quilt "Pieces of Eight." It is a Chinese Coin Quilt with the "coins" grouped in eights. Then I added 5 inch borders all the way around. The name is inspired by my current infatuation with Pirates (I mean the pirates of old--not nasty machine gun toting pirates of today.)

I used the quilt as you go method for this quilt to see if I could do a better job with the machine quilting with less bulk under the harp of the sewing machine. Using a high contrast pink thread for the quilting allowed me to see how my stippling design was turning out. I experimented with different types of swirls and whorls. The eight pieces in the center of each block were done separately to help them stand out in the design.

So, usually the quilt as you go method calls for you to sew the quilted blocks together with the seam revealed to the backing. Then the seams on the back are trimmed and covered to hide them. However, I chose to have the seams revealed to the front because I like the smooth feel of a backing with no extra bumps or seams. I will have my work cut out for me to conceal the seams from the front without botching the design of the quilt. Right now I am trying to decide if I should use more of the white on white fabric that surrounds each group of eight coins or if I should use some hot pink for both the center seams and the binding. I am leaning toward the hot pink.

The backing for this quilt is a vintage sheet from a thrift store. I chose it both for its incredible softness and also for its busy design. Busy designs are more forgiving when being cut up and pieced back together.

Here's the math: I used a Tula Pink Nest Jelly Roll and cut 2 five inch pieces off each of the 40 strips. That made 80 2.5 x 5 inch rectangles. When I pieced 8 of them together that made 10 blocks. As you can see from the pictures, this lap sized quilt only uses 9 completed blocks.

What happened to the tenth block, you ask? It will be finished by itself and probably sent off to a swap partner in a small quilt swap on SwapBot.

More on this project when it is finished!

Grocery Bag Holders

This great tutorial by Rachel of P.S. I Quilt can be found at the Moda Bake Shop. I used Rachel's very clear and easy to follow directions to sew up these grocery bag recylers. The one on the left is made with Tula Pink fabric in the Neptune collection. The one on the right is made with charms from the Oh-Cherry-Oh collection by Me and My Sister. Both of these collections are produced by Moda.

Fresh Tulip Wall Hanging

I love this cheater panel so much I had to buy another one. Which may indeed lead to a third purchase because my sister wants one too. It has all the things I love about the coming of warmer weather-- flowers, butterflies, birds, vibrant colors. This panel has lots of "blocks" of different color and design. It was fun to stitch around all these "blocks" to make them look pieced.

I sandwiched the layers, stitched around three sides and turned it right sides out. Doing this allows me to do without a binding strip.After machine quilting most of the top I stitched the remaining side and finished the quilting. Once I run this through the washing machine, the wrinkles will disappear and it will be ready to go to its lucky recipient.

This fabric is from the Fresh line by Deb Strain for Moda. I have enjoyed surfing the 'net and finding these wonderful cheater panels. The best thing about them is the quick completion time--almost instant gratification. I have several more waiting to be sewn and a list of others to buy when they are available.

Birthday Wishes for Stacey!!

Today is my only (younger) sister's birthday-- best wishes to her for a happy year!

My new sewing machine is getting a workout. I have made a raggedy quilt on it using some Tula Pink Charm Packs. I have not measured it exactly, but it is a generous lap quilt size. The front (raggedy) side is pieced with 2 packs of Nest fabrics. The opposite side is sewn with 2 packs of the Flutterby fabric line. I am in love with these fabrics and with the designer. I have a Neptune Charm Pack and some matching yardage that is going to be made into something fabulous--I just don't know what yet.

I added some border bands using some tonal fabrics in complementary colors. The quilt store did not have any yardage from either of these lines. I am finding out that fabrics tend to sell out pretty quickly when a new line is introduced.

Here is a cool thing about the Internet-- you can find images of fabric you love and use them as your desktop background. Now I have lots of favorite fabrics to choose from--but currently my background is this bird hidden in flowers fabric from Tula Pink. It comes in more vibrant colorways, but this one still allows me to see my desktop icons.