Favorite Four Patch - 2. Quilt Top is Done!

20+ hours of sewing, cutting and pressing later...

Angels & Insects quilt top is complete.

Now, to the quilt back.

Favorite Four Patch Quilt aka Angels and Insects

As soon as I saw Botanika for Michael Miller, I had to grab 1.5 meters for my stash. The design was so elegant and the motifs just cried out to be fussy cut into something great. When Johanna had a new class for her Favorite Four Patch pattern, it was the perfect opportunity to use that stash.

I had planned on making a butterfly themed quilt as Valori Wells 'Cocoon' was in stock at the time. That collection, while beautiful, was too vibrant and modern to work with Botanika. Instead, I decided to explore the 19th century theme and picked out
the following:
1. Hemingway (the stamps)
2. Nature Study (the birds)
3. Whitewash (cream with gold postcard script/motif)
4. Butterfly (the turquoise)
5. Aqua Grunge (the aqua texture)


Once the fabrics were put together, they cried out 'Angels and Insects'. It's a novella by A.S. Byatt about a naturalist finding that nothing is ever what it seems, especially in life.

Let's see how it comes together!

FWQAL 5 - 6 wks later...

Has it really been 6 weeks since my last post? I've done 10 blocks since then, spending more time on these ones as they have small pieces or difficult to align seams or both.

Thanks the midwife1020's pointers , I've started to use the spread open seam technique to deal with the piles of tiny seams in the blocks (you there, Butterfly @ The Crossroads!). My seams are lying flatter - now I just need work on butting them better to get crisp corners!

10 blocks as follows:
1. #6 - Big Dipper
2. #14 - Butterfly at the Crossroads
3. #21 - Contrary Wife
4. #37 - Flower Pot
5. #48 - Homeward Bound
6. #42 - Fruit Basket
7. #63 - Ozark Maple Leaf
8. #86 - Squash Blossom
9. #102 - Whirlpool
10. #71 - Puss in the Corner

FWQAL - 4. Sewing on a Jet Plane

Just got off the 16.5 hr flight from Toronto to HK. Between napping and movie watching, I managed to get 3 blocks done - #49 Honeycomb, #66 Periwinkle and #31 Evening Star. On the return trip, I got #9 Box and #69 Practical Orchard completed.

Patchwork must not be a common thing on airplane rides. Almost every attendant stopped by to check out what I was doing! The star of the flight had to be the Clover Thread Cutter Pendant - several people came by to ask where to get one.

So, for those who are curious, I brought on my carry-on:
1. Clover Antique Thread Cutter Pendant
2. 2 spools of thread
3. 1 box of Clover patchwork pins
4. 1 packet of Clover needles
5. 6" quilting square
6. 12 packs of Pre-cut FWQAL squares
7. Hera Marker for pressing
8. Pilot Eno colour lead mechanical pencil

Zipped through customs everywhere ( Toronto, HK and China)!

In any case, here we are:
#9 - Box
1. Lauren and Jessi Jung Flora Feathers in Yellow
2. Lizzy House Yellow Pearl Bracelet

#31 - Evening Star
1. Kathy Hall Coffee Cups
2. Laurel Burch LB Basics Flying Squares

#49 - Honeycomb
1. Tula Pink Prince Charming Hexagon

#66 - Periwinkle
1. Oliver + S Modern Workshop
2. Lecien Mrs March

#69 - Practical Orchard
1. Kate Spain Cobblestone in Pink
2. Martha Negley The End of Day

Irish Chain Variation - 2. What a Stubborn Quilt!

How hard would an Irish Chain quilt made with 2 fabrics be to finish? Very.

After 8 hrs, and a lot of quality time with a seam ripper, the 12" squares were done. There were several mistakes during chain piecing, such as sewing rows out of order or stitching squares and rows the wrong sides together. Nine Patch is a deceptively hard thing to do consistently, especially when one is not completely in love with the project.

As soon as the squares were completed, I was ready to cut cornerstones to break the tedium. Rotary cutter in hand, and about to cut into the Lizzy House Hedgehogs, I realised that the combination did not work at all. The olive-tinged yellow of the Hedgehogs clashed with the turquoise of the Tula Pink print. At the same time, the pairing somehow managed to make both prints look washed out. Time for plan C.

Maybe I was really tired when I went looking for new cornerstones, but 20 fabric combinations later, I was getting nowhere. Even with Karyn and Melinda's help at Quilt Sunday, I simply couldn't figure it out.

Paralysed by indecision, I started going through the same 20 combinations again, only to end up going with the first fabric, Valori Wells' Karavan Quartz Peacock. Thank you Karyn!

Blocks are trimmed, sashing and cornerstone cut - time to put this stubborn child in its place!

FWQAL 3. White Space is a Good Thing

We are now in week 3 of FWQAL and I am "farming" at a pretty good clip. I've got 8 or so blocks done and have 2 more cut, ready for piecing.

Having planned my quilt to be a riff on CMYK, I had decided that the layout too would be a spin on the CMYK registration mark. The blocks would be in 4 areas with 1 row and 1 column of 2 colours that border on each other (cyan/magenta, magenta/yellow, yellow/black, & black/cyan) in the middle for transitioning. The colours of each block would be chosen by inspiration, whether it's their story or name or design. Pretty simple and flexible framework, no?

Then I actually made the blocks. Blocks 29 - Economy and 70 - Prairie Queen are both 2 colour blocks and they are on my remake list already. At the same time, Flock and Storm Signal are also 2 colour blocks and they are my favourites. Clearly, it can't be just a colour thing. It's actually a space thing.

I am a big believer in negative space in design. More is more and nothing is not nothing, but the absence of the obvious. In other words, blank space is an intentional choice meant to draw the audience's attention to that area. All my blocks, except for those 2, have deliberately placed white spaces that not only emphasised the design but actually gave each block added design cohesion to each other.

My framework now includes white space in each block. Space is a good thing.

FWQAL - 2. Week 1 & 2

It's 2 weeks into the 2012 and I've started the Farmer's Wife Almanac Quilt-Along with Karyn's Toronto group. My colour palette is CMYK - cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. (I heart Oxford commas.)

There will be 1 row and 1 column of blocks that are a combination of adjacent colours for easier transition . Also, this allows me to cheat a little and not be tied to tonal interpretations of blocks that do require a bit of extra pizazz.

Actually, I had planned on making each block with all 4 colours. But after testing that out on a couple blocks, it really was way too much. I love splashes of colour to get certain details to pop - anything more and it's just overwhelming.

So here are my first set of FWQAL blocks with the feature fabrics listed. White fabric in all blocks is Kona Bone:

#1 - Attic Windows
- Kate Spain Central Park Cobblestone in Sunshine
- Le Poulet Picotage Leaf Leaves Black

#29 - Economy
- Lizzy House Yellow Pearl Bracelet
- Martha Negley The End of Day

#34 - Flock (my favorite of the lot)
- Lecien Mrs March
- 3 Sisters Luna Notte Floral Solid Black Giardino Tonal Nero
- Lauren + Jessi Jung Flora Feathers in Yellow

#54 - Kitchen Windows
- Martha Negley The End of Day
- Tula Pink Prince Charming Honey Hex Box

#77 - Seasons
- Kathy Hall Coffee Buzz White on Black Coffee Cups

#81 - Snowball
- Annette Tatum Boho Diamond Sea

Block #34 - Flock is my favorite so far. The grey and black smaller triangles add movement, and when combined , with the larger yellow Flora Feathers, it looks like a Canada Goose body.

Butting the many seams together was a challenge. I ironed each quarter with Mary Ellen's Best Press to get a stiffer seam for alignment. Love it!