Seasonals and Standards

Hey there, friends!  I am so happy that today I get to give you a little overview of the final sections of my new book, Scrappy Improv Quilting.  The third section of the book is titled Seasonal Sensations and contains six adorable little seasonal quilts.

Every year, I go all out decorating for Christmas (I put up four trees!), but I don't have that same stamina when it comes to the other holidays and seasons.  Even though I don't decorate my entire house during the rest of the year, it is nice to have a little holiday touch here and there, and these mini quilts are perfect for that!  They're easy to turn into pillows, use in a fun table scape, or even hang on the wall, and you'll always feel like your home is ready for the season!

The fourth section of quilts in the book is called Standards With a Twist, and as the name suggests, each of these projects is built around a traditional quilt block, but with a little extra pizzazz to make the quilt fun and fresh.  It just goes to show you that this technique is not a one-trick pony.  It can really be used with any of your favorite quilt blocks.  

Remember when I said that this book was written so that even a novice quilter would be successful?  Well, once you peruse the 22 mini quilt projects contained in Scrappy Improv Quilting, you're not left alone to "quilt and bind as desired."  Sure, if you're experienced, you may not need the guidance for turning your quilt top into a finished mini quilt, but if you need it, it's there for you in the final section of the book. In Finishing Your Quilt, you'll find full instructions for choosing batting, basting, quilting options, and binding.  There are even detailed steps for turning your mini quilt into a pillow, and for sewing a hanging sleeve!

Well, there you have it, friends!  For the past couple of weeks, I've given you a quick overview of everything Scrappy Improv Quilting has to offer, so I hope you're ready to start seeing the individual projects NEXT WEEK!  I've been getting sneak peeks from these amazing quilters, and I promise you're in for lots of eye-candy.  

Beginning next Monday (9/13), the blog tour will feature four projects each week- two on Monday, and two on Wednesday.  

And beginning this week, and for the duration of the blog tour, NTT will be posted on Thursday mornings, rather than the usual Wednesday evening, just to make sure that the posts don't get crowded. 

Scrappy Improv Quilting Blog Tour Schedule-

8/31- Intro, Single Block Beauties, and Simple Shapes

9/7- Seasonal Sensations, Standards With a Twist

9/13- Summer Blossom- Lori @ Crossquilt
           Up, Up, and Away- Sandra @ mmm...quilts!

9/15- Flutter- Rose @ Something Rosemade
           Botanics- Diann @ Little Penguin Quilts

9/20- Face the Sun- Laura @ Slice of Pi Quilts
           Full Spectrum- Jayne @ Twiggy and Opal

9/22- Prismatic- Anja @ Anja Quilts
           Downpour- Nancy @ Grace and Peace Quilting

9/27- Funkytown- Vasudha @ Storied Quilts
           Cherub Wings- Michelle @ From Bolt to Beauty

9/29- Chapel Window- Kris @ Sew Sunshine
           Winter Frost- Leanne @ Devoted Quilter

10/4- Heartstruck- Rebecca Grace @ Rebecca Grace Quilting
           Star Spangled- Christine @ Triangles & Squares

10/6- Birds of a Feather- Preeti @ Sew Preeti Quilts
           Fall Foliage- Susan @ Quilt Fabrication

10/11- Ornamental- Gail @ Quilting Gail
            Churn, Churn, Churn- Cynthia @ Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

10/13- Sunset Crossing- Kate @ Katie Mae Quilts
             Positivity- Sarah @ Sarah Goer Quilts

10/18- All Dressed Up- Linda @ Flourishing Palms
             Shockwave- Anne-Marie @ Stories From the Sewing Room

10/20- Sweet Bee (a bonus thank-you pattern), Finishing, and Wrap-Up (here!) 

Signed copies of Scrappy Improv Quilting are available in my Etsy shop HERE, or ask about it at your local quilt shop.  It is also available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other major booksellers.  
And shop owners, you can get it from any of the major distributors- Checker, Brewer, United Notions, and EE Schenck.  I hope you'll consider adding it to your library or carrying it in your shop!  :) 

Before we go, I owe you a giveaway winner!  Comment number 3, grammajudyb is the winner of a signed copy of Scrappy Improv Quilting.  Congrats!  I'll be sending you an email to get your shipping address very soon.

Low Volume Strings and NTT

Happy Needle and Thread Thursday, friends!  I've been working on putting together a string quilt with lots of my low volume fabrics, and though I'm not done playing around with the block layout just yet, so far I love how it's coming together.

Mixed into the low volume strings are some of my favorite spring greens, just for a few pops of color scattered here and there.  These blocks are only six inches, and the strips finish at just one inch wide, so that means that every block has nine different strips in it.  The narrow strips look really cool, but they aren't exactly quick.

In person, this quilt is much warmer than it appears in the photo.  Many of the fabrics are cream and black prints, and there is even some metallic gold, and they are all photographing as gray.  I still think it looks cool, but the picture is just not quite true to life.  I'm going to play around with the layout of these blocks until I have it perfect, and then I'm going to get them all sewn together.  This quilt is going on a wall in my new home, and I can't wait to get it finished and hung.

Before we get to the highlights from last week's amazing party, I owe you a giveaway winner!  Congratulations to Barb, comment number 54!  I'll be emailing you soon so you can get your prize!





Okay!  Last week's party was full of fantastic eye candy.  Check out this fun, happy quilt by Liz at Savor Every Stitch-

I love this beautiful quilt top by Jan at The Colorful Fabriholic-

And this stunner is by Kris at Sew Sunshine-

Wow, y'all!  Your creativity is so inspiring.  I can't wait to see what you bring to this week's party.  Let's do it!

1. You can link finished projects or WIP's , but just keep it about quilting and sewing!

2. Link to your specific post (not to your home page!) to make it easier for others.

3. Please remember to spread the word and post my button or a text link within your 

    post.  

4. Spread the comment love far and wide!

5. Following me is not a requirement to link, but is so very appreciated!

*If you're new to the party, here's a helpful tip for linking up- select "Auto Crop"  when selecting your thumbnail photo.  For some reason, trying to crop your own image results in the dreaded "white question mark box," and we definitely want to see your awesome work!  :)

Moving Right Along and NTT

Oh, this color wheel project is so much fun!  In the past week, I've finished two more minis, and pulled scraps for the next color. I have some secret sewing with deadlines fast approaching, so I've had to take a little break from these, but I can't wait to get back to them.

This orange quilt is called Ember.  The colors dance like glimmering fire, or more specifically, like the glowing wood below the flames, and even though it moves from light to dark like the others, it is slightly different.  Since I almost never use the darkest burnt orange or lightest peachy orange tones in my quilts, the color gradient is not quite as pronounced in this one.  That's okay though, because I definitely want the predominant colors on the wall to be the shades/scraps I love most.  Clearly my orange zone is more narrow, ranging from vibrant tangerine orange to softer creamsicle.

I quilted this one with the same swooping spiral.  This design is really fun to quilt and it creates so much movement.  Though I don't know that I would want to quilt this on a full size quilt, it is pretty quick to do on a mini.

On the backs of these, I've decided that I'm just going to pull whatever stash fabrics I have in that color.  They're going to be on a wall, so the backing really is secondary here.  This orange print does the job nicely.

Giving a nod to Valentine's Day, the other color I finished this week is pink!  If I had to pick a least favorite color in the rainbow it would be pink, so I didn't think this one would be as much fun.  I honestly just wanted to go ahead and get it out of the way.  I was so wrong though.  I love this one just as much as the others.

I actually had plenty of scraps ranging from hot pink to baby pink.  When my quilt calls for it, my personal favorite shade of pink is dark and saturated, but I've made a few baby quilts this past year where baby pink was specifically requested, so I had plenty light value scraps in my jar as well.

The quilting on this one was a bit of a happy accident.  When I drew the chalk line to guide my quilting, I was so focused on centering the spiral and evenly curving the swoops that I accidentally put both swoops on one side of the quilt, rather than opposing corners.  Yes, I am officially using the word swoop as an honest-to-goodness word these days.   Anyway, if you can believe it, I didn't step back from it and really look at the whole spiral before I started quilting, and I didn't realize it until I had quilted three full lines on the mini.  Yikes!

You know I'm not one to rip things out if I can think of a way to fix it on the fly, so I decided to add a swoop to the other two corners.  So, this one has four!  Now the only thing to do is to make half of the minis one way, and half the other.  Crisis averted!

Even though this dark pink print has navy accents, I decided to go ahead and use it for the backing since I had enough without piecing it together.  Again, on the wall the backing won't matter a bit.  All of this scrappy, swirly texture reminds me of the petals in a full, lush bloom so this one is named Peony.

As I mentioned earlier, I have a few secret sewing projects to finish up, but I've already been sorting my yellows, and I can't wait to get to them.  It's my last warm color!

Okay friends, let's take a look at some of my faves from last week's party.  Check out this Urbanologie quilt by Kris at Sew Sunshine-

Something Rosemade linked up this awesome quilt, and that green background is calling my name!

And this sweet quilt is by Shannon at The Flemings Nine.

Okay, y'all!  Let's party.

1. You can link finished projects or WIP's , but just keep it about quilting and sewing!

2. Link to your specific post (not to your home page!) to make it easier for others.

3. Please remember to spread the word and post my button or a text link.  

4. Spread the comment love far and wide!

5. Following me is not a requirement to link, but is so very appreciated!

*If you're new to the party, here's a helpful tip for linking up- select "Auto Crop"  when selecting your thumbnail photo.  For some reason, trying to crop your own image results in the dreaded "white question mark box," and we definitely want to see your awesome work!  :)

Woodwork

Well friends, the sun finally came out and though the temps were frigid (for Tennessee anyway), I managed to get some photos of my latest quilt finish.

I love everything about this quilt.  The gray and green scraps play so nicely together, and the simple pattern allows them to really shine without the quilt becoming too busy.  Even though the greens are more prominent in the photos, in person, this quilt has an equal amount of gray that really soften it.  The solid strips are Kona Bone, and the creamy color keeps the quilt feeling more natural than a stark white.

I gave a sneak peek of the wood grain quilting at last week's NTT, and I am so excited to really show it off today.  This is only the second time I've done wood grain quilting, and I am so pleased with the way it turned out.  I love that the wood grain follows the vertical design of the pattern, and the soft wavy lines of the motif move so gracefully down the quilt.  Best of all, it adds such fantastic texture.  I quilted it with Aurifil 40 wt. #2311 (Muslin).  I usually use 50 wt. for quilting, but the slightly thicker thread shows up really well.

Even after finishing the top, I had plenty of green and gray scraps left, so I decided to go for the gusto and sew the rest of them up for the backing.  I am happy to report that my green and gray jars are now completely empty.  Woohoo!

I widened out the improv strip on the back with a gray near-solid, and I love the way the scraps (and quilting!) really pop against it.  Before I sewed up all of my greens, I pulled out just enough strips for a scrappy binding.

With shades of green and gray along with the wood grain quilting, this quilt feels a little outdoorsy, so I've decided to call it Woodwork.

If you've vowed to empty your own scrap jars this year, structured improvisation is an easy and fun way to do it!  Afraid of improv?  My book, Stash Statement, gives three different methods for sewing your scraps together, along with twelve full quilt patterns that take the guesswork out for you.  Once you learn the technique, you can apply it to any quilt pattern.  It's easy peasy, and so versatile!

You can get a signed copy in my Etsy shop HERE, or find it on Amazon, Connecting Threads, or ask about it at your local quilt shop.

Full Spectrum Medallion

Yesterday, I spent a lovely day with the Friendship Quilters Guild in Athens, AL, which also has some members in the North Alabama chapter of the Modern Quilt Guild.  We had such a fun time!  I have just a couple of open dates before my 2019 schedule is completely full.  Contact me ASAP to set something up for your guild!

Before I headed out of town though, I made sure to finish my latest medallion quilt  just so I could add it to my trunk show.  My, oh my!  Quilting this was quite an undertaking.

When I say that it was an undertaking, I mean that I spent 24 hours over the course of three days on the quilting.  This is undoubtedly the most detailed quilting I have ever done, and I absolutely love the result.

In the center, I quilted a free motion flower, and continued the petals into each part of the rainbow, including three petals in each part of the scalloped border.  In the negative space, I echoed the shape of the center and I like the way the straight(ish) lines play against the softer petal quilting.

In fact, throughout the entire quilt, I chose to quilt straight lines against curved designs to make sure that each part of the medallion really stood out (just an FYI- the entire quilt was quilted with free-motion, even the straight line designs).

On the Greek Cross blocks, I opted for a very small crosshatch quilting to follow the shape of the blocks.  With the curvy edges of the scalloped border against the straight edges of the Greek Crosses, at first I was unsure how to quilt the negative space between the two.  I should have realized that my very favorite free motion motif would be a perfect filler!  I opted to quilt tiny, micro-stippling there.  Just for reference, the spacing between the stippling lines is only 1/8-1/4".

Even though I like the end result, the Square In Square blocks were my least favorite part of the process.  Those square spirals took FOREVER, and I will say this- it's a good thing I'm okay with "organic" quilting lines.

In the border surrounding the Square In Square blocks, I quilted figure-eight loops.  This is actually the first time I've quilted this motif on such a large space, and I was pleasantly surprised at how easily it went.  Rather than having the loops span the entire width of the border, I added an echoing line on the top and bottom to give the design a little more definition.  Since I wasn't sure how to carry the loops around the corners, I decided to quilt petals there.

The triangle border got quilted with tight swirls, and I added pebble quilting to the corner stars.  I have quilted pebbles in very small spaces before, but never this much, and I'm pretty happy with them.  Echoing lines give great definition to the outer edge of the quilt.

A rainbow of Aurifil 50 wt. thread complimented each color section perfectly (along with white, of course).  Instead of using a consistent thread on the back, I always like to keep my top and bobbin threads the same, so there is a lovely rainbow on the back of the quilt as well!

I pulled fat quarter pieces straight from my stash for the back.  I arranged the fabrics as close to a spiral rainbow as possible, which proved to be somewhat difficult with such large pieces.  I still enjoy the warm/cool effect created though.

There was really only one choice for binding this quilt- a rainbow!  Color-matched to each section, of course.  Since I bind all of my quilts by machine, sewing them to the back of the quilt first, I had to really do some planning to make this happen.  The rainbow of thread on the back of the quilt really helped keep me on track though!

I am in love with the way this quilt turned out, and even more than that, I am really proud of it!   This quilt finishes at 72" square.  I am still working out the details, but I am considering writing the pattern and offering this as a Block of the Month QAL in 2019.  I'm still thinking though the details, but I'll be sure to keep you posted!

Fun in the Works and NTT

Happy Needle and Thread Thursday, friends!  If you missed my chat with Pat Sloan on Monday, no worries!  You can listen HERE!  Pat was so much fun to talk to, and you definitely don't want to miss it.  This week, I've also been playing in my scraps.  It seems to be something that I can't stay away from for too long because I enjoy it so much.

This is just the start of something super fun, and I can't wait to get more of it finished.  Can you guess what it will be?

Before we get to last week's party highlights, I owe you two giveaway winners!  First, the winner of the $25 gift card from Lady Belle Fabric is comment number 4, Alison V., and Simply Sarah, comment number 61 is the winner of the adorable Mulberry Lane charm packs from Fort Worth Fabric Studio.  Congrats, ladies!

                                 

 

At last week's party, Louisa at Sewmotion linked up this amazing rainbow quilt.

This beautiful value quilt is by Cynthia at Quilting is More Fun Than Housework.

And just look at this gorgeous quilt shared by Liz at Savor Every Stitch.

Y'all are amazing!  I can't wait to see what you have going on this week.  Let's link up!

1. You can link finished projects or WIP's , but just keep it about quilting and sewing!

2. Link to your specific post (not to your home page!) to make it easier for others.

3. Please remember to spread the word and post my button or a text link.  

4. Spread the comment love far and wide!

5. Following me is not a requirement to link, but is so very appreciated!

*If you're new to the party, here's a helpful tip for linking up- select "Auto Crop"  when selecting your thumbnail photo.  For some reason, trying to crop your own image results in the dreaded "white question mark box," and we definitely want to see your awesome work!  :)

Take Flight and a Giveaway!

Well my friends, what began in April is now coming to a close in July.  Though this is the thirteenth week of the Stash Statement blog hop, it feels like the time has slipped by so quickly.  Today's feature quilt is the Take Flight FREE bonus pattern.

I have actually made three different versions of this quilt, but the only one I've kept for myself is the one pictured above (actually the last version I made).  The other two have gone to friends who have lost loved ones.  Since each of these quilts has already had its own post, rather than recap the stories and photos of each quilt, you can visit the original posts to see the quilting, backing, and binding details.  I am including helpful links for you though!  To see the details of the quilt I kept for myself, check out the post HERE.

I love this blue, green, and teal version of the quilt.  It was made for a friend who lost her son as a toddler, and is a precious keepsake in his memory.  This was the second version of this pattern, and you can see the additional pictures for the Will's Wings quilt HERE.

My first version of the quilt is actually the one that graces the pattern cover, and it now belongs to a friend who lost her sister to cancer.  This quilt was actually debuted waaay back in January (see the snow on the foot bridge?), when Stash Statement first became available for preorder!

Though this pattern is not included in the book, when I made it, I knew I had to somehow make it available to my readers.  This pattern is exclusively available as a free bonus with the purchase of Stash Statement.  Since the pattern is written with improv terms from the book, it is intended as a supplement only, and will not ever be available as a stand-alone pattern.

If you purchase a signed copy of the book from my Etsy shop HERE, the pattern will be automatically emailed to you when the book ships.  Unfortunately, I don't have a way of knowing who has purchased books from somewhere else (Amazon, Connecting Threads, quilt shops, etc.) so things become a little trickier.

If you've purchased Stash Statement from another vendor and would like the bonus pattern, when you get it home, just snap a quick photo of yourself with your book and send it to me using the Email Me button on my right sidebar, letting me know where you purchased it.  Then, I'll happily send the pattern to you!

This hop is going out with a bang!  To finish off the blog hop, I am giving away TWO copies of Stash Statement, including the bonus pattern.  One US reader will win a hard copy, and an international reader will win a digital copy of the book.  To enter the giveaway, leave a single comment on this post to let me know your favorite quilt from the book (duplicate entries will be deleted).  Be sure to let me know if you're from the US or an international reader, and remember to leave your email address if you're a no-reply blogger!  I'll announce the winners at NTT on 7/25!

This week, Kelli Fannin at Seriously... I think it needs stitches and Paula at The Sassy Quilter are sharing their own versions of the Take Flight quilt, and each of them put a delightful twist on the pattern with wing and color placement.  You definitely don't want to miss them!

Also, Hilary at by Hilary Jordan has her College Prep project all ready.  You might remember that last week, we had a scheduling mix-up, but she is all ready to go now!

Just in case you missed any of the amazing projects from the hop, here's the full lineup, all in one place.  Debuting my book has been so much fun.  Thanks for all of the book release love, friends!

4/16- Grand Bazaar    Shelley @ Cora's Quilts

                                      Connie @ Freemotion by the River

4/23- Louvered  Lindsey @ Primrose Cottage Quilts 

                            Diann @ Little Penguin Quilts

4/30- Precarious  Jess @ Quilty Habit                       

                              Myra @ Busy Hands Quilts

                                                            

5/7- Beach Retreat  Sarah @ Sarah Goer Quilts                               

                                  Liz @ Savor Every Stitch 

                                                           

5/14- Fire Pit   Alison @ Little Bunny Quilts                                          

                         Preeti @ Sew Preeti Quilts

                                                            

5/21- Detour    Laura @ Slice of Pi Quilts                         

                         Shelley @ The Carpenter's Daughter Who Quilts

                                                            

5/28- Murrina    Yvonne @ Quilting Jetgirl             

                            Leanne @ Devoted Quilter

                                                            

6/4- Scattered    Jayne @ Twiggy and Opal                      

                           Christine @ Triangles and Squares 

                                                            

6/11- Bloom Chicka Boom   Chris @ made by ChrissieD            

                                               Michelle @ From Bolt to Beauty

                                                            

6/18- Regatta   Susan @ Quilt Fabrication                             

                          Debbie @ A Quilter's Table    

                                                            

6/25- Catch a Falling Star  Cynthia @ Quilting is More Fun Than Housework        

                                              Anja @ Anja Quilts

                                                            

7/2- College Prep   Hilary @ by Hilary Jordan                 

                                Lori @ Crossquilt

                                                            

7/9- Take Flight (free bonus pattern)  Kelli @ Seriously, I Think It Needs Stitches 

                                                             Paula @ The Sassy Quilter