I Put a Hex on You!

A better late than never post...  Last year when I started to think about what to make to go with my Batty wall hanging I remembered I always wanted a redo of this Haunted Hexies table runner.

The original tutorial I used is no longer available but I was able to piece together the process pretty easily.  Since I no longer have my giant table I sized the strips down to fit the size of my buffet.  I cut 2" x 20" strips from my fat quarters and pieced 3 together to make a strip set.  I used my equilateral triangle ruler to cut them alternating up and down.  You should be able to get 6 triangles from each strip set which I then split to use in 2 different hexagons.  

I came up with this pressing plan so the triangles nest together nicely and my points would match up.  

Here's my usual gratuitous basting shot but since I also like to reflect on what I could have done better on a project I'll take this time to point out that I should have used a true solid for the setting triangles rather than the dotty candy print.  It just doesn't provide enough contrast to make the pattern work as well as it did in the original version.

The scariest part of all was when I sat down to quilt this and my machine started smoking.  Being a DIY kind of girl (and knowing the nearest repair shop is 2 hours away) I opened up my machine to see if it was something fixable like dust on the lightbulb.  Imagine my absolute horror when a lizard jumped out at me.  Obviously we have to move, I'm traumatized for life!!! 

 

After my husband disposed of the trespasser and I self-medicated with a cocktail I went back to quilting and was able to finish this up.  Like the original I just outlined the pieced hexagons but then I decided to get fancy in the setting triangles and went with this Harry Potter inspired Elder Wand design from the Deathly Hallows.

I was on bed rest for a bit after some minor surgery and this was the perfect distraction while I was laid up.  

 

I'm having so much fun with this collection so when I saw Peony Pedal Quilts had this bundle to make a coordinating Campfire Glow quilt I scooped one up.  Hopefully next Halloween I'll have a finished quilt to add to the mix!
 

Quilt Stats:
Finished quilt is 20" x 59"
Fabrics: Assorted prints from Spooky n' Witchy and Sweet n' Spookier by Art Gallery Fabrics
Batting: Quilter's Dream Orient Bamboo
Thread: Aurifil 50wt in Blossom Pink (2530) and Pale Pink (2410)

Ahoy Matey!

As you've probably noticed I haven't been quilting much recently but when I found out one of my dear friends from the sailing club was pregnant I knew I had to make her a baby quilt.  As usual I procrastinated on this awhile but with our exodus from Maine looming and the baby shower rapidly approaching I had to get things going.  

I played with a lot of ideas but this quilt evolved into a mashup of my original Out to Sea Penny Patch and this Briar Rose quilt.  I so appreciate past me for leaving these detailed notes on how to make the various blocks I used before.  

Making a quilt is much trickier these days where my stash isn't immediately accessible and it's anyone's guess where any given tool is hiding.  After a supply run down to my storage bin and a generous fabric donation from my quilting bestie I was ready to start.  A lot of the blocks already looked like nautical flags but what really took this quilt to the next level was when my bestie suggested spelling out the baby's name in flags.  Unfortunately, since I needed specific letters I didn't have to spell out the baby's name and I was incorporating some larger blocks there was still much mathing involved.  My quilt math skills are definitely rusty...

 If you read flag, the name Willa is incorporated into the design twice.  I was really wishing they had gone with a name without an "I" but I found this inset circles tutorial by on Williams Street which helped alleviate the pain.  Having my circular templates would definitely have made this process less painful but sometimes you just have to go with what you've got.

I think most of all I miss my design wall.  Planning on my bed is so much less convenient.

Eventually I was able to get a flimsy together and I got a perfect day for a photo shoot.

Basting presented another challenge.  I'm pretty sure this is the maximum size quilt I can baste in our cabin.

I kept the quilting simple and just quilted along both sides of the seams for a simple grid.  I was able to get this quilted and the binding on in plenty of time before we hit the road.  

And this was the perfect distraction for our long journey from Maine to Florida.  I will never get tired of a striped binding! 

To keep with the nautical theme I designed the label to look like a burgee.  We can't wait to meet our newest crew member.

Quilt Stats:

Finished quilt is 41" x 54"

Fabrics:  Out to Sea by Sarah Jane, Michael Miller Cotton Couture: Boy, Raspberry, Flower, Nautical, White, Stash

Batting: Quilter's Dream Bamboo

Thread: Aurifil 50wt. in Natural White (2021) and Pale Pink (2410)

 

Christmas Wrap Up

As always, with Christmas approaching I wanted to make something seasonal.  I've been chipping away at my Christmas in the City bundle and this year added Christmas in the Cabin to the mix.  I've got my Christmas Baubles hanging and I'm sooo close to finishing the Atomic Starburst quilt I started last year so it seemed like a pillow was in order.  I was tempted to make another Swoon pillow but then I spotted this North Star block and decided it would be perfect.  

It's a fairly simple paper-pieced pattern though the sharp angle of some of the background pieces make it a little tricky if you're not used to how paper piecing works.  I know it's meant to use scraps but I would have appreciated some guidelines for block sizes to use for each piece.  

Because I wanted to take advantage of the novelty scene I decided to use a fussy cut circle for the center.  It's been a long time since I've done an inset circle so I did a quick review using this Insetting Circles tutorial by Bill Weeks at Modern Quilt Studio.  Weeks and Bill were a big part of the original modern quilting movement and if you've ever used one of the patterns you know how much attention they pay to both the design and the process.

I used the 12" block but since I like my pillows a little bigger I  wanted to add a border.  Of course I wanted mitered seams to match the lines of the star so that took some remembering as well.  Thankfully my BQF is always there for me with this fabulous tutorial.   

Once that was done I used my first day of holiday vacation to baste it together and quilt.  For the center I kept the quilting simple in the spirit of getting things done and just outlined the star components.  I deliberately made the border the same as my Starburst quilt so I could try out my swag idea.  I definitely won't be doing that on my quilt!  As you can see most of my arcs are a bit wobbly and I don't think it enhances the design.  Back to the drawing board on that one.

Another quick review of my go to zipper closure tutorial by SOTAK Handmade and I was ready for Santa.  It was so nice to have some handwork to do while I relaxed by the tree with some (spiked) eggnog and Scrooged.

Still no quilt but now I have a pillow and a wall hanging.  I put this adorable Patchwork Bow on my Christmas list so we'll see if I can manage to make that as well before I totally wrap up this holiday.  

Pillow Stats:
Finished pillow is 18" x 18"
Pattern: North Star FPP Quilt Block by Amanda at Prairie Quilt Co.
Fabrics: Christmas in the City and Christmas in the Cabin by Art Gallery Fabrics.
Batting: Quilter's Dream Orient Bamboo.
Thread: 50 wt. Aurifil in SilverWhite (2309).

Cozy for Christmas

Now that these have been delivered I can share. I like to make gifts for my crafty friends so I'm always on the look out for new ideas of things to share.  My BQF started making her own tortillas from scratch so obviously she needs a pretty tortilla warmer!

This summer I found this fabulous Michael Miller Sugar Skulls fabric at Marden's which seemed perfect and paired it with some Cedar Essex.  I don't usually prewash my fabrics but since I was planning to use these around food I did.  When making things to be used in the microwave it's important to use all 100% cotton products.  There are microwave specific battings but I just used up some leftover Quilters Dream Cotton.  

There are a lot of options out there but I loosely followed this tutorial from the Bernina We All Sew site.  Rather than quilting each circle individually, I pre-quilted a section big enough to make 3 warmers (6 circles).

I found working with double fold bias binding a bit fiddly and had a hard time keeping my sewing lines on both sides of the binding, especially on the bottom where I'm binding two layers together.  You definitely want to use bias binding here since you're going around curves.  I think if I do this again I'll make my binding a bit wider or just use my usual quilt method.  It's not something I do often so maybe I just need more practice though after the 3rd one I felt like I'd practiced enough.  

Pattern:  Fabric Tortilla Warmer by Ashley Johnston for Bernina at We All Sew. 
Fabrics: Sugar Skulls by Michael Miller, Essex linen in Cedar.
Batting: Quilter's Dream Cotton.
Thread: 50 wt. Aurifil in Rusty Orange (2240) and Pale Pink (2410).

Christmas in the Keys

This is another one I pushed myself to finish up before we leave.  When it became obvious I wasn't going to finish my Bats table topper in time for the holiday I started thinking about Christmas.  I fell in love with this Christmas in the City collection and immediately started dreaming of all the things I could make with it.  

To get warmed up I decided to start with another version of the Christmas Baubles.  For those keeping count this will be my 3rd go at this pattern.  I'm not sure why I keep making it, it's fairly tedious with lots of small pieces.  Rather than marking all those 1 1/2" squares I used the diagonal seam tape method.  It's not as accurate as drawing all those lines but it's much speedier. 

But there's still all that trimming and pressing.  Eventually I finished the blocks and got them together but by then that holiday had also passed.  

I was on a roll after quilting my Bats quilt so I quickly basted this and got quilting.  It felt a bit silly to be quilting snowflakes in Florida but you've got to go with what works.  At least it'll be all ready when Christmas rolls around again.

The local quilt guild here hosts a weekly sew-in at the library so I took this with me to bind while I made new quilt friends.  They're a lovely group and I hope to get more involved when we come back in the fall.  

Quilt Stats:
Finished quilt is 20" x 26"
Pattern: Christmas Baubles by Jen Daley for Moda Bake Shop.
Fabrics: Christmas in the City and Pure Solids in White Linen by Art Gallery Fabrics.
Batting: Quilter's Dream Orient Bamboo.
Thread: 50 wt. Aurifil in SilverWhite (2309).

Something Spooktacular

Now that we're getting ready to head back up north I've been making a push to finish up all my WIPs.

I've slowly been getting my Sewjo back and as Halloween approached I realized I didn't have any of my Ghastlies to put out.  I'd picked up this cute little bundle of Art Gallery fabrics at Portsmouth Fabric Co. and thought it would be perfect to whip up something spooky for the holiday and when I saw Prairie Quilt Co.'s Nocturna block for the Soul-a-long hosted by Mija Handmade it sealed the deal.  

It was an ambitious choice given that I'd barely set up my quilt space and I have almost none of my quilting tools.  If I did it again I'd definitely get a log cabin ruler, this is a bit wonkier than I'd hoped.  The blocks are basically just a courthouse steps block with some pieced logs.  I found it easiest to piece all my logs and then assemble the blocks.

It also was a mental challenge to cut and piece the inverse blocks where I swapped the colors.  Having these block buddies definitely helped me keep my sanity!  Thank you Aimee!!!

I originally planned this as a table runner but after playing with a few different layouts I decided to make it a square.  For the quilting I started by just doing a stitch in the ditch around the bats but then I went a little wild and did these FMQ bats.  Some are definitely better than others and it helps that they're very subtle on the busy background but I love the effect!

I just love to relax and hand tack my bindings.  It's such a nice way to slow down and appreciate all the little details.  I can't wait for Halloween to roll around again so I can put it in action!

Quilt Stats:
Finished quilt is 24" x 24"
Pattern: Nocturna by Prairie Quilt Co. for the for the Soul-a-long hosted by Mija Handmade.
Fabrics: Assorted prints from Spooky n' Witchy and Sweet n' Spookier by Art Gallery Fabrics
Batting: Quilter's Dream Orient Bamboo
Thread: Aurifil 50wt in Blossom Pink (2530) and Pale Pink (2410)

Atomic Starburst

I've wanted to make the Atomic Starburst quilt by the adorable Violet Craft for ages and the MCM vibe of this Christmas in the City collection seemed like the perfect match.  I decided to go off book and size this down to make it a bit more of a throw size and I also added a border to frame it up.  

A lot of people have made this quilt but very few give details.  The best are these videos and blog posts by Canary Quilts.  I especially appreciate her measurements for the background paper piecing pieces and her tip for how to cut piece 4 makes all the difference. If you're new to paper-piecing here is another nice tutorial by I See Stars Quilting.  In general I used the template so that my diamonds didn't have bias edges but for the ones with a directional print I found this triangle ruler worked perfectly.  

Another place where I didn't love the pattern as printed was attaching the sashing.  I started by cutting the strips to size and adding them but quickly decided it would be easier to just sew them on to a continuous strip and then cut them to size.  I did this for both the side and the top sashing.

This is another super useful tutorial by Quilt Addicts Anonymous.  She's using a different pattern but it's a similar diamond quilt tutorial and around the 9 minute mark there's a good explanation for cutting the filler triangles and she also has great tips for matching the points on your sashing.  Matching all those points is a bit tricky but once you get the hang of it they go together nicely.

I was on a roll so I went ahead and basted this one but I doubt I'll have enough time to quilt it before I leave.  Now I have to decide if I take it with me or leave it here waiting for my return.