Blogger's Quilt Festival - Original Design entry

Since this is the fall edition of Blogger's Quilt Festival, I decided to share a fall themed quilt for my second entry. This is Blaze, entered in the Original Design category (I wrote a pattern for this one!).

I had been playing around with the idea of superimposing a column of assorted blocks over a background chevron for some time when these fabrics called my name last fall.  The one on the far right wasn't even in the fall selection at the shop. I think it was from Kansas Troubles' Sunflower Song collection in the shop's Civil War reproductions section.  However, the color played with the other selections perfectly.  It just goes to show that it pays to browse the whole store!

The quilt top came together very quickly. I had it quilted by Liz Meiman of A Quilted Memory, one of only two quilts I have been able to send out to a longarmer.  I wanted simple outlining in the chevrons, and Liz stitched in the ditch in the leaves and quilted a dense filler behind the leaves.  The black is quilted with a falling leaf motif.

I don't get to snuggle with this one this fall, as it is hanging in my trunk show at the Quilting Connection in Ames, Iowa, along with several other quilts.  I hope you'll pop in and see them in person if you're in the area.

Now, please pop on over to the quilt festival to see all the other lovely quilts on display.  Remember to go back and vote for your favourites later this week.

Blogger's Quilt Festival - Scrappy entry

It's Blogger's Quilt Festival time again, and this time it didn't slip past while I was otherwise preoccupied! Thank you Amy for organising and hosting again.  If you are new to my blog, coming over from the Festival post,  welcome!  I hope you stay and visit a while.

Without further ado, here is my entry in the Scrap Quilt category.  If you've been reading my blog, you've seen it before and I hope you don't mind a repeat viewing.  It's one of my favourites from the past year.

Lucky Bugger quilt, 50"x 60"

Lucky Bugger (so called because that was what the doctor called dad) measures 50" x 66" and came mostly from my scrap bins.  I had to raid the quilt shop for the dark blue background/border fabric.  The design is mine, based on traditional blocks. 
 

It's basically a traditional Ocean Waves quilt, with a little careful color placement tossed in to get the stars. 

The sailboat was cut out of a piece that I pieced from scrap strips.

This quilt was entirely quilted with my walking foot.  Have I mentioned I love my walking foot?

I'm off to view all the other eye candy in the Blogger's Quilt Festival!

Tweaking designs

 I thought I had this block all figured out on paper.

Not bad, but hubby thought he looked a little, well, bloated.  Part of me just wanted to get this quilt done and said it was fine.  The other part of me wanted to get this done right and agreed Ducky was a little round.  After tweaking the design and cutting into more scraps, I think Ducky looks more comfortable, and certainly more like the rubber duckies gathering dust atop my bathroom cabinet since the kids outgrew them.

You can see I have done a bit more work beyond just the block, but I'm not quite ready for the reveal yet.  Soon!

I tweaked my puppy block too.  At least I figured that one out before sewing.  Here's how he started out.

 

He didn't quite fill the block the way I needed him to.  Plus, when I came back to him after a good night's sleep I no longer thought he was cute.  He seemed rather stern, like a guard dog on duty.  I started over almost from scratch to transform him into a cuddlier-looking pooch.

Now I'm working on Mr. Owl.  I went through several iterations in EQ. The first few looked more like bats.  I also polled my coworkers for opinions and fine-tuned him a little.

He needs a few little tweaks, including to my medium brown fabric choice.  I think the print is too busy and he'd look better in a solid or an almost-solid.  I think the design is almost set, though I'm not quite sure about those ear tufts, and that beak is not quite right.  I'll sleep on it and see.  I know exactly where he's going to live once I get him just right!

Linking up with

Linky Tuesday at Freemotion by the River

Midweek Makers at Quilt Fabrication
Let's Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts