Gossip Queen Texture and NTT

Happy Needle and Thread Thursday, friends!  I am so excited to share my finished Gossip Queen quilt today, and I am completely smitten with it.  You can read more about the origin of the fun name HERE.

Y'all, it's hard to tell in the photos, but this quilt has texture for daaaays.  I used six different 50 wt. Aurifil threads, blending the thread colors through the quilt.  It is quilted with a dense spiral design with four side swoops as I did on some of my color gradient minis (check out my yellow mini to get a really good look at the overall design on this quilt).  Getting the spiral centered and balanced on the quilt took some planning, but I love how it turned out.

On the back of the quilt, I used my leftover scraps in a mixed-color strip, along with a rich, berry purple tonal main fabric.  You can almost make out the distinct quilting lines in the photo of the backing.  

The whole goal of the photo shoot for this quilt was to show off the color and texture.  Getting the vibrant colors to show well was easy, but really capturing the texture was a little more difficult.  The improv piecing is so busy that although the texture shows up well in person, in a photo it just blends right in.  (ps- that is not a pucker in my backing, just a weird wrinkle where the quilt was folded)

To really show the texture, I had to take a photo indoors.  Those quilting lines are about 1/4" to 1/2" apart throughout the entire quilt.  Since I quilted this one with free-motion, the spacing and curve of the lines is organic, but I think the lack of perfect regularity really adds to the movement and charm of the quilt.

I set aside enough of my yellow scrap strips for a scrappy binding, and it blends right into the quilt without boxing the colors in.  I love that it just disappears!

If you're looking closely, you'll see that this binding is actually finished by hand (gasp!).  Unheard of for me, I know, but I love this quilt so much that I think I might enter it into shows, and I thought it deserved to be as perfect as possible. 

I really do hate hand sewing, so it's a good thing that I have a quilty BFF that doesn't mind it.  Barter is a beautiful thing, y'all.  Since I made the Louisiana and Tennessee home pillows, my friend has been wanting a Texas Home pillow, and she and I agreed to a little deal.  I made a Texas pillow for her in exchange for beautifully hand finishing the binding on my Gossip Queen quilt.  Win, win all around!

This color blending technique is SO much fun, and much easier than you might think.  It takes a little patience and planning, but the result is well worth it.

Since this technique uses the method from my book with just a little different execution, I've decided to add Using Scraps to Explore Color and Texture as a full-day class offering next year, in addition to the other classes from my book Stash Statement.  I've just started booking for 2020, so if your guild is looking for a fun, unique workshop, be sure to contact me soon for more info and reserve a date on my calendar!

Okie dokie!  Before we get our party on, let's check out some highlights from last week, shall we?  Look at this gorgeous plus quilt by Alison at Little Bunny Quilts.  Be sure you go check out all of the yummy quilting on this one.

I am all about scrappy texture (obviously), so I think this beauty by Katie Mae Quilts is just fantastic!

The transparency effect is so cool in this quilt by Anja Quilts-

And finally, this scrappy quilt by Sarah Goer Quilts is hot, hot, HOT!

Alright friends.  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!  :)

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!

Lazy Wins Again, and NTT

Once again, my scrap jars runneth over.  Occasionally when that happens, I don't mind sorting and cutting the contents of my jars into uniform sizes for a specific pattern (like when I made Snippets, my Scrappy X+ quilt), but most of the time, I prefer to make quilts with them using improv piecing.  I really do love the freeing feeling of sewing without a plan, and if I'm being 100% honest, it's a great way to sew for someone like me, who's just a little bit lazy and likes to quilt in the fast lane.

I love being able to dump out some scraps and just start putting them together; and most of the time, I keep sewing until the jars are completely empty to make one gigantic quilt (like Serendipity or Shattered Rainbow).  This time though, I decided to take a slightly different approach.  Instead of one huge quilt, I am going to bust through all of my scraps with several smaller quilts between other projects (which I realize is probably the more "normal" way of doing things).  I'm still not going to do any cutting, but it will require a tiny bit of sorting.  My Vertigo quilt was the first product of this planned scrap busting, but make no mistake, there are still lots of scraps to go.

After Vertigo was finished, I decided to do some structured improv by pairing scraps with this awesome black and white sketch print, and I'm really thrilled with the way they look together.  So thrilled in fact, that I've decided to add this fun quilt to my class offerings.  This quilt is a great way to dip your toe into improv piecing if you're not quite comfortable with it (or a fun way to play, even if you are).  By using your own treasured scraps, choosing your perfect background fabric, and even your own layout, there are so many ways to make the quilt uniquely yours.  The layout options are practically endless, and I couldn't resist playing around before I sewed my own blocks together.

Check out my Teaching page for more info, or just send me an email if you'd like to learn or perfect this technique with your group!

In case you missed it, last week's party was full of amazing inspiration!  Here are some of the projects that really caught my eye!  This Nighttime Blossoms quilt by Barb at Mountain Quiltworks is gorgeous!

Jen's Crafts and Quilts Scrapbook shared this lovely quilt, and the photo setting is magical!

and just look at this adorable mini from Monkey Needle!

I can't wait to see what you bring to this week's party!  Oh, and by the way, there's a giveaway going on right now, so after you link up, be sure to head over and enter HERE!

Alright, 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!  :)