Blogger's Quilt Festival, Spring 2013: Haiku Quilt

For this edition of the Blogger's Quilt Festival, I am entering my latest finish into the Bed Quilts category:

The quilt is a gift for a recently wed couple, Kevin and Colby. We went to visit them today and were finally able to give them their wedding gift. Yay!

The design is inspired by the quilts in the Judy Sisneros book, 9-Patch Pizzazz. I used her methodology to create my version. The largest blocks are 24" square. The nine-patches are 6" square. The finished quilt is about 96" square.

I had a lot of fun quilting this one too! I quilted it all with my Bernina 440QE. In the center, I imagined a breezy wind blowing and quilted a horizontal wavy design using a creamy variegated Superior Threads King Tut thread, #920, "Sands of Time." For the inner border, I used a dark brown Aurifil Mako 50/2, #1140, and quilted linked chain squares, a design I found in Angela Walters's fabulous book, Free-Moton Quilting. Finally, for the outer border, I stitched Elizabeth Hartman's dogwood quitling pattern in a 2" grid using Aurifil Mako 50/2 #2326, a taupe-y gold color.

I love how all of the various quilting designs work together in this quilt. And I am flippin' proud of the work I've done! My one regret is that I used too much pressure as I marked my gridlines in the outer border (I used a Sewline pencil), and some of the lines remain-- I just could not get them out (scrubbing; fabric eraser; multiple washes). On the bright side, they aren't really visible unless you know to look for them as they kind of blend in with all of the quilting lines. Also, after being washed for the third time, they are finally disappearing. So over time, I think they will all be gone. Eventually.

I went into this quilt not really knowing exactly how much I'd need of each fabric. So I just bought a couple of yards of each. I was able to use all of the leftovers in the back (plus a couple of others).

I've taken to calling this the "Haiku Quilt." I'm not normally very creative when it comes to naming, but in this instance, I felt inspired. I wrote a haiku which serves as the name of the quilt and that is written on the label:

Soft winds through the hills,

Petals and leaves atremble,

Cranes fly joyously.
And I have to give many thanks to my quilt photo shoot helper:

Every time we walk by that park (which is daily), he asks when can we go and do another quilt picture? Apparently, I need to get quilting!

The stats:

Quilt Measurements: 96" x 96"

Special Techniques used: none

Quilted by: Robin Zaback (me!)

I hope you are getting the chance to check out lots of other quilts in the Spring 2013 Blogger's Quilt Festival. It never fails to inspire me, and I find myself looking forward to the event each spring and fall when I can gaze at all of the shared happy eye candy and fabulous creativity.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Keeping busy

I've been having a lot of fun following my mojo! Now that I can breathe again (thank you antibiotics!!!), I'm actually doing some stuffs. I'm still working on the binding of the wedding quilt (finally in the home stretch on that), but I've also started working on a couple of UFOs.

Around Christmastime, I put together a cute little baby quilt top. Today, I started in on the quilting. It is small, so it should go pretty quickly.

I also have plans to quilt up my Fall Mystery Quilt top. I finally put together a back and got it basted the other night.

I just realized that I never even showed the finished top. Now the mystery is revealed! Working on the new Spring Mystery Quilt is definitely motivating me to get this one finished.

Lastly, I've been shopping the stash and choosing fabrics to make a new bag.

Not sure when this will actually get made, but I'm happily planning away and gathering materials.

Go, mojo, go!!!

Spring Break!

This year, Spring Break for the bears was April 15-19. Unfortunately, my husband and I spent most of the week being sick. Ugh. But, the boys and I did get out a little bit:

And this is one of the good pics! Ha! We had a fun time at the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival one day this week.

Truly, the tulip fields are just spectacular!

Yesterday and today, I finally felt good enough to do a little bit of crafting. So I spent some time catching up on my Spring Mystery Quilt clues.

Here are Clues 1 and 2 completed. I ended up adding the bright green in when I realized that Clue 2 would have resulted in a big block o' white for me in my initial fabric selections. But this works out on another level as well, since I didn't actually have enough white to cut those center squares. So, I'm making it work. Woo!

I also managed to bind about 2/3 of one side of the wedding quilt. Not much, but it is at least a start! Hopefully, I'll start getting some energy back so I can stay up past 8 and actually sit and work on it soon.

Works(!) in progress

That's right-- works is plural! I actually focused myself and got busy on two projects this weekend.

The first is the baby quilt I shared with you last week. It is now fully quilted and bound and is awaiting the label. I'm torn between just doing a generic label that will allow me to present the quilt now, or waiting until baby is born so I can do a personalized one... any thoughts?

The second work in progress is the wedding quilt I started quilting in January. I finally quilted the inner and outer borders and have attached the binding. Woo!!! I plan on finishing the binding with handstitching, so it not quite complete but shouldn't take too long. I am excited to have some simple handwork to do in the evening.

So, the plan for this week: work on that binding, get going on clue #1 in the Spring Mystery Quilt, and stay in hot pursuit of my crafty mojo! :)

Resolution in action!

I started quilting this yesterday.

Woo!

I also went out and bought some fabric. My local quilt shop was having their once-a-year sale. Once a year! It might be better to just not talk about that. LOL!

Basting it up!

I kind of lucked out. The last time I had to baste a queen-sized quilt, I had to do it in sections because we didn't have a large enough area of floorspace to do it. But as we are having some interior walls painted this week, we had to clear out our loft area. It is the perfect size to lay out a large quilt. And (even luckier!), my husband helped me with the basting, making it a much speedier process. Woo!

I've been thinking hard about what to do with this one, and have a plan in mind. My thought is that I want some curves in the center area to help give all those straight lines some movement and a stronger sense of flow. Then in the outer border, I kind of want to do straight lines, mostly because I think it will look cool. Ha! Still not quite sure about the inner border... maybe a ribbon-candy type of thing? Or some vine-ish action? I guess I'll decide when I get to it. Hopefully, I'll be able to start quilting it later this week!

Blogger's Quilt Festival -- Fall 2012

October 26th is a special day at my house. It is the day my husband and I were married-- and this year marks our 10th anniversary! At our wedding, instead of a guest book, we had guest blocks-- blank quilt blocks for our guests to write any well-wishes (or whatever else) they had for us. At left is a picture of our "block signing station" at the wedding.

After the wedding, I designed a quilt to feature those blocks. I even started the quilt. But then, for whatever reason (I can't even remember why), the project got set aside... Until now! I finished our wedding quilt just in time for our anniversary. Woo!

I created the design using Electric Quilt and then I went out and shopped for fabrics. That beautiful leafy print just called to me, and I pulled all of the other colors from that.

The compass was created using paper foundation piecing. Setting it onto the background was one of my early attempts at hand applique. I try not to look too closely at the stitching. Ha! But I am pleased with the quilting. It isn't perfect, but I think it manages to add to the look of the compass in a positive way.

I drew the pieced border onto freezer paper and then cut it apart to create paper templates. The templates were used to cut the fabric, and then I pieced it all together.

I love the little fans in the corners! I was seriously stressed out about those corners and what to do with them. Eventually I stumbled into the fan idea, and I'm so glad I did. They make me happy.

Here is a view of the same corner from the back where the quilting is much more visible. Overall, I'm really proud of my quilting on this project! I used Hobbs Tuscany Wool batting for this quilt. I was actually really worried that it might result in the quilt being too poofy looking. But I'm glad I went for it. It is not too poofy, and it forced me to quilt more than I otherwise would have as the wool batting has denser quilting requirements than I'm used to. It really made me think about the type of quilting I wanted to do and how to deal with every space on the quilt.

The woodsy print in the center of the back was purchased when we went on our honeymoon to Maine. When I bought it I knew I wanted to use it on the back of this quilt. So even the back of this quilt has special memories attached to it.

I vaguely recall creating the embroidery design back when I first got my sewing/embroidery machine. I think my intention was to use it in a block on the front. But, coming back to the project many years later, I couldn't figure out a way to make it work. So I put it on the back with the label.

I am so glad that I finally finished this! Just picking up the project again, reading all of the wonderful words our friends and family wrote for us... it is a very special quilt, and it truly reminds me how blessed my husband and I are and I am so excited to continue our journey together!

Not only did I complete this quilt in time for my anniversary, I am thrilled that I've finished it in time to share in the Fall 2012 Blogger's Quilt Festival hosted by Amy's Creative Side.

Here are some stats for my quilt:
Quilt Name: Keith & Robin's Wedding Quilt
Finished size: 53" x 53"
Pieced and Quilted by: Robin Zaback (me!)
Best Categories: Home Machine Quilted Quilt; Wall Hanging
Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you enjoy your Blogger's Quilt Festival adventures! So many beautiful quilts; so much fabulous inspiration!!!

Clue #2!

Woo! I seem to actually be keeping up with a project. A nice change, for sure!

I completed Clue #2 for the Heather Spence Fall Mystery Quilt (you can learn more about the project by visiting her Website).

The project is called "Jack of Hearts," so I'm thinking that these little squares will be set on point to look heart-ish? I kind of wish I had been more aware of my directional kitty print-- they have ended up rather cattywampus (ha!). But the print is busy enough that the off-kilter cats don't bug me too much (certainly not enough to unsew!).

Clue #3 arrived yesterday, and I'm ready to start stitching. Meanwhile, I have also managed to complete my wedding quilt top and backing (planning to baste tonight!), and I have traced out the pattern pieces for Big Bear's Halloween costume. I'm feeling productive!

A little bit of process

One of the things I enjoy as I read blogs is learning a little about the process behind a project-- be it fabric decisions, block placement, or design choices. Since I found myself having to make a decision in the design of my wedding quilt, I thought it might be fun to share a little of my process.

At issue: I needed a corner block for the outside border of my wedding quilt. And I knew I wanted more than just a plain square.

In my original design, I had decided on this block, with these fabrics:

I really like the look of the style of block-- it has movement and is a happy starry shape. But it just looks too muddy with the red print on the busy leafy background print. I tried it again:

I used a red batik instead of the red print in the smaller star points. This one is better, but it still doesn't feel like the star stands out enough. It's a detailed design, and I want all that work to really sparkle! So for the third attempt I decided to try out a different background to see how that worked:

The star is shining for sure now! The dark brown batik really allows the yellow and red to pop. Then I looked at it in the quilt:

Hmmm... I'm not diggin' this. The dark brown is just too stark when surrounded by all the leafy print. And now that the star is really visible, it just doesn't seem to fit. It feels a little too stark, angular, and "off" in relation to the rest of the quilt. I went back to the drawing board and came up with this:

I definitely wanted to move in a more simple direction (no more foundation piecing!). I have also been loving Dresden plates/fans lately, so maybe that is why this block called to me. But it also isn't completely different from the original design. It includes the same fabrics (yellow batik, red print, leafy background), but because the fabric pieces are bigger, I don't get the same sense of muddiness. This block also includes points, but they are in a different style than the ones in the original. I slapped it up onto the wall to check it out:

It doesn't have the same movement as the previous iterations; rather, it has a symmetry that I find very appealing in the context of the quilt. It kind of echoes the compass points in the center, but with a different look. I'm feeling good about this one. I declare this block the winner!

It can be very frustrating when I find myself having to rethink a design. But sometimes, a little bit of trial and error is what is needed to get me on a better path. That doesn't mean I like it though. Trial and error kind of sucks-- so much wasted effort. On one level, I realize it is not actually wasted because it does get me where I need to go and one of the challenges of design is that it really can be a process; but even with that understanding, on another level, it still feels wasted (and there's a bit of bitterness in there too). It occurs to me that maybe this frustration is part of why this project sat languishing in the closet for the last 10 years. Maybe I needed a break, some fresh perspective, to be able to come to terms with the mistakes and be able to make some changes? I can't even remember. But at least I'm making progress now!

Wedding quilts-a-rama!

Wow. It has been awhile since I've updated. However, I can't say as there has been much crafting of which to speak. Getting into the back-to-school groove has pretty much left me wiped out in the evening with no energy to do anything crafty. But the juices and motivation are finally starting to flow again. Here's hoping that crafting is on the rise!

So, you remember that wedding quilt I was so concerned about finishing before the wedding? Yeah. That didn't happen. I'm still working at it. But-- there has been progress!

The center is pieced! Yay! The next step is borders. Hopefully, I'll manage to cut them out later today.

And, speaking of wedding quilts, I have another deadline coming up. When my husband and I got married, in lieu of a guest book, I set out fabric and fabric pens for our guests. I designed a quilt. I actually put together a good chunk of that quilt. But I somehow got sidetracked and never actually finished. It is not too far away from completion-- it just needs a couple more borders.

October 26th marks our 10-year wedding anniversary. So it is time. I want to finish it.