{riley blake} challenge

a {riley blake} modern quilt guild challenge. we were give a few fat eighths of cottage garden and able to include any riley blake solids. my inspiration came from an older fabric of jay mccarroll's center city. i loved the challenge of a simple rectangle set in different ways within each other and overlapping.

and my quilt

i am really pleased with how this turned out. {please excuse the terrible picture. my good camera is broken. boo} the process was so freeing. i used a method from daintytime's book, which encouraged quilters to lose the ruler and use the rotary cutter freehandedly.  it was so fun! 

{challenge} quilt

i really should know better than to rely on my memory to keep an accurate account of {well, anything, really} how inspiration moves. i know it started by looking at the spindl-y fabric, to circles-radius'-stars, to dissecting above items, to this randomly finished project.

the thing i love about this project is that i really had no idea where i was going with it. it morphed at each stage. it's not my favorite quilt at all, but i am glad to have finished it and to have tried something new and pretty outside my normal asthetic. the curves are free-handedly cut and sewn back together. 

i wanted to play with the negative space, but didn't feel like curvy-line-quilting would have done it justice. i went with 1/4" straight line quilting instead. i like it, but feel like maybe a different kind of quilting could have stepped it up a notch. not to mention learning that unless it's a small quilt, there may never be 1/4" quilting in my future again {takes for.e.ver.}.

i'm glad to be joining my fellow guild members in the michael miller fabric challenge open wide to the modern quilting guild.

quilt stats

size: 40"x42"

fabrics: michael miller fabric from STLMQG, solids

pieced & quilted by me

{challenge}

this is my stlmqg challenge quilt. we were given Riley Blake fabric to use. our guild's guidelines were that it had to be a finished quilt bigger than 24" on all sides. i've wanted to try out the feathers quilt block/pattern. i was also inspired by this target mug {my daily favorite mug}. i'm pleased with how it came out and am excited about the possibilities this block has in all sorts of different projects.

i opted for some straight line quilting in clumps. i like the opposing texture it gives the quilt.

 you can really see the texture the quilting gives on the back.

quilt stats

size: 40"x45"

fabric: Riley Blake Challenge fabric, scrap solids

pieced & quilted by me

owls in the stars

i'm here, though i can't believe it been almost THREE months since my last post. i have not meant to be so quiet. when the choice is to sew or blog, sewing usually wins out....and i'm *pretty* sure i'm amongst friends on that one.

it doesn't help when there has been secret sewing going on. i'm excited to finally get to share a little quilt i made for my nephew, who will be making me an aunt the beginning of novemeber.

this quilt was part of a couple of projects we did with the STLMQG. the first is a workshop we were lucky enough to participate in with Jacquie Gering. what a blast!! this lady was real and genuine and i so loved hearing her stories about how and why she creates the way she does. it was a morning well spent! i had other ideas for my 'crazy piecing', but in the end the crazy was getting a little TOO crazy. i used it as the 'grass' part of my quilt.

the other challenge we did was the 'ohio star' challenge. basically we had to make a quilt using the traditional block in a more modern way. my sister has a loose owl theme going for my nephew's room. stars+owls seem to make the perfect quilt to me.

this was the first time i did a more patchwork background on a quilt. i was pretty nervous about how it would turn out. keeping the blocks in a light-dark progression and the stars in the consistant white gave some structure to the improv. i LOVE how it turned out!

i finished the back with some leftover blocks and blues i had on hand. the quilting is wavy line quilting with my walking foot and Starry Night inspired swirls around the stars.
i am so pleased to be able to give this to my sis and her little one. it's one of the main reasons i love this craft in the first place.

quilt stats

size: 45"x60"

fabric: assorted scraps

quilting: wavy line by me

tsuru mini {revisited}

i recently finished this mini and blogged about it here. sorry to my followers for a quick recap.

this quilt was made as a challenge for the {stlmqg}. we did a secret room-by-room swap. my partner wanted a wall hanging for her wine room. i had been wanting to try out the quarter circle pattern for quite some time, after having purchased templates here.

the color scheme was a bit out of my 'norm', but i'm really pleased with how it turned out.

it was my first time making a quilt someone would hang on a wall.
thanks for visiting!

quilt stats

size: 24"x24"

pattern: 1/4 circle template

fabric: tsuru, stamped, kona amber, curry, aloe & teal

pieced & quilted by me

i'm linking up with Jennifer's {modern mini quilt challenge}. you should visit and check out the other quilts!