Brochettes plus an extra!

I finished the Brochettes placemats and runner I started at quilt retreat in October and posted about last month.  I struggled to get a good photo.  The binding is really not as dark and stark as it appears in the photo, and the colours overall are brighter.

Everything looks better in a pretty styled shot, though I forgot to take a picture without the plate hiding the placemat's design.  Oops!

These were really easy to make (once I got over distractions at retreat).  The stich-and-flip corners (AKA lost corners) result in extra triangles though.  Stitch-and-flip in my patterns often results in smaller triangle trimmings that I don't have the patience to use, but these were substantial enough that I took the time to sew them together in HST units.  

I played around with possible layouts for those bonus HST.  These are just a few I threw up on the design wall.

I knew if I didn't make something right away those bonus units would disappear into the "do this later" bin and probably never again see the light of day.  With that in mind, I made myself settle on a layout and make it.

I dithered a little about how to quilt it.  Finally, just to get it done, I used a walking foot and quilted staright lines 1/4" on each side of every seam.  It's simple but efficient, and in the end I think it's just the right amount of quilting for this extra little runner.

I added this layout to the pattern as a bonus.  After making Brochettes you're almost all the way to the bonus runner so why not tack it on to the project?

I'm curious.  How small do your bonus triangles have to be before you throw them away?  And do you eventually use the ones you save?  What do you make with them?  I have a small basket full of various saved triangles I plan to get to some day...but for now I'm feeling very smug that I used at least these few!

Happy Quilting,

Joanne

Brochettes pattern available here

A Wreathed Christmas pillow

Just because a pattern uses a single print in a block doesn't mean you have to limit yourself to one.  My stash is mostly made up of leftovers, with not a lot of yardage, so working from my stash usually involves a scrappier look.  

This week I made a block from my Wreathed pattern to use as a Christmas pillow cover.  As expected, I didn't have a big enough piece of any suitable green to make a block, but I had pretty green and gold metallic prints scraps.  The Christmas scrap bin spit out some assorted reds and cream/gold prints too.

Well, I probably had enough of that green with the snowflakes, but I really liked the other greens too.  Why choose? Use them all!

Choosing reds for the corners added a little bit of pop.  A friend once told me every quilt needs a "party girl" fabric to liven it up.  I think the red fits the bill here.  

I chose the border width to make the cover fit my couch throw pillows so I wouldn't need to buy a new pillow form, or find space to store the pillow out of season. I don't have a lot of storage space so finding shelf space for a flat empty pillow cover is much easier.

I considered making the borders in the same fabric as the block background to make the wreath float on the background, then decided more light fabric on a pillow cover was just inviting dirt to show up really well.  Green is clearly a better choice!

The red squares in the corners in the border were added because the scraps of the green I used in the border were not long enough to reach all the way across.  I initially added a different green in the corners, but those two green didn't play well together.  They looked fine together in the block, separated by a little bit of the background, but side by side and touching, they clashed a little.  Red works better, and echoes the red corners from the center block.

It's sparkly!

I love the gold metallic in the background and in the prints.  As a rule, I'm not partial to metallic accents, but that rule goes out the window when it comes to Christmas.  I love some Christmas sparkle!

Two years ago, I wrote a tutorial on how make a zippered pillow cover.  I wrote it because I couldn't find the tutorial I used when I first made one of these.  After figuring it out again on my own I wrote the tutorial so I could refer back to it when needed.  Since I hadn't made another pillow cover since I wrote the tutorial, I needed a refresher so I pulled up the instructions on my blog and followed them step by step.

Here comes the embarassing part.  That tutorial has been up for two years. I've referred people to it. Unfortunately it contained a doozy of a mistake!  Wrong side up is not the the same as wrong side down.  It just isn't, though I seem to have a brain block about it and write the wrong one fairly frequently.  This was one of those times.  If you followed the tutorial as written, you'd end up with the zipper on the inside of the pillow and the wrong side of the back of the pillow on the outside.

Fear not, I clued in before I did anything irreversible.  I layered and sewed tings in the proper order and orientation, and promptly corrected the tutorial.  It's safe for you to follow the instructions as written now!

P

Pretty red binding for a bright finish

When the binding clips match the quilt...

Here's the new pillow, front and back, with the zipper hiding under the cream strip on the back.  

We're a little slow to decorate for Christmas in this house, but I think this project has tipped me into the right mood.  We bought poinsettias last weekend.  When I finished the pillow, I was encouraged to switch out the fall quilts for my red and white and Christmas ones.  Maybe this weekend I'll get out the wreath for the stair railing and the garland for the mantle.  Next weekend can be the tree and tree lights so we can enjoy trimming the tree after my daughter comes home.  Less than two weeks to Laura hugs!

Have you made anything new for the Holidays this year? I used to make an ornament for the tree every year, but the tree is getting a bit full, so I think I'll count this pillow as this year's addition. :)

Happy quiting,

Joanne

Wreathed Quilt

We just has a dusting of snow here, so I feel like I'm a season behind posting this one.  Wreathed, made with Island Batik's beautiful Flowing Meadow collection, looks like a fall quilt to me, with lovely rusts, golds and deep greens and just a touch of something that reminds me of cranberries.

You might remember Wreathed Squares, which I designed for Connecting Threads and tweaked a little in this quilt this past fall to work better in a different fabric collection.

I tweaked it even more and named the new and improved pattern just plain old "Wreathed".  I liked the original just fine, but I love this new take on it even more.

The wreaths look more substantial.  I think they showcase the fabric much better.  With a little bit of strip piecing, they're also faster to piece.  That's a win, right?

Just a few more wreaths so you can see some of the colours better (though the golden tones Island Batik's Doughnut neutral basic doesn't show very well in these closeups).

I really do love this as a fall quilt, and I think it would make a great spring quilt as well in soft pastels, but what I really want to try next is a Christmas version.  Wreaths and Christmas just go hand in hand, so it's a logical leap.  I'm out of time for this Christmas, but the Merry Moments collection will be in stores in time for me to make a version for next year.

On second thought, I don't know if I can wait.  Maybe I can at least squeeze in a pillow cover using just one block for this Christmas?

What sewing are you squeezing in this December?  I hope it's stress-reducing rather than stress-inducing!

Happy quilting,

Joanne

Wreathed is available as a digital download in my Etsy shop

Pattern development and distracted sewing

I spent a large part of the last month lost down the EQ8 rabbit hole, playing with new designs.  For every design that becomes an actual quilt, there are dozens of discarded ones, and a few that have potential but need to sit and simmer until I figure out what I need to tweak to make it work.

Sometimes, I tweak and tweak and tweak and finally decide the original design was right to begin with.  That's how this placemat set worked out!

Brochettes placemats ready for binding

Last week's guild retreat was just the little push I needed to step away from the computer and start sewing.  If all had gone according to plan, I could have pieced these on the first day and quilted them the next day.  All did not go according to plan.

Pro tip:  When you add stitch-and-flip corners, be absolutely certain you have added them where they're supposed to be.  Do not cut away the excess fabric under the triangle until you are absolutely sure that the triangles are in the right place.  Once you've trimmed, the seam ripper cannot help you!  Just saying...

While chatting with fellow quilters at the retreat I made four of these, stopping a few times to rip seams when I sewed things in the wrong place.  Apparently, I don't multitask well.  I should chat, or sew, but not try both at the same time.  In any case, I finally succeeded in making four of these:

I paused before adding the top strip.  There was a little niggling thought that something wasn't quite right, but I silenced it.  I kept sewing. I added the strip and the second corner triangle, then I trimmed. Then I finally clued in that I should have listened to that niggling thought.  I added that first triangle one step too early.

Pro tip #2: Refer to the pattern at each step.  At an even more basic level, remember to actually bring the pattern with you to retreat.

Yup.  I neglected to do that.  This is a new pattern I'm working on.  The only part I had printed was the cutting chart.  I was running late that morning and just grabbed the chart and thought these exact words:  "It's a simple design, I'll remember it, no problem.  Just go!"  

Obviously, it is a simple design.  Also obviously, I didn't quite remember it on the fly.  What followed was some scrambling to squeeze additional pieces from the leftover fabric.  There wasn't quite enough of the lighter green, so I pieced scraps together to make the last piece I needed.  Thanks to the busy spatter/dot print, you can barely see the seam. 

There wasn't enough extra dark green print to cut what I needed, but I was able to cut some of the smaller pieces from larger pieces in the mistakes. 

Happily, I had enough of the tan to recut the eight pieces I needed.

I started over, paying attention this time, and finished the placemats before heading home at the end of the day.  The runner followed the next day, much more successfully as I brought a diagram AND paid attention.

I quilted these on Sunday with very basic straight line outline quilting with the walking foot.  Binding will follow soon, then I can take pictures for the pattern cover.  The pattern itself is almost ready. I just need to lay out the diagrams on the pages. 

I'm rather pleased with this design.  I think it would work in different color schemes of with themed prints.  Some leafy fall prints, or Christmas poinsettias would be perfect this time of year.  It's too bad I have four more quilts to make in the next month or two.  I don't think I'll be squeezing in new Thanksgiving or Christmas placemats!

How is your sewing going?  Hopefully it has involved less seam ripping and recutting than my placemats!

Happy qulting,

Joanne

Rescuing another quilt UFO

Salvaging  my Sparks test quilt has built my enthusiasm for moving a few more stalled projects to at least the completed quilt top stage.  The one that was closest to being finished was Weathered Squares, which I never got around to sharing here.  I pieced the blocks at about the same time last fall as I pieced the Sparks test, but I wasn't happy with how it looked.  Here's where I left it last October.

I moved blocks around after this photo, but I just couldn't get to something I liked.  I loved the blocks individually, but as a whole, something wasn't right.  Two of those greens don't do it for me.  The blocks seem faded compared to the rest.  So does the yellow.  Maybe the dark blues are too dark and stark.

It all looked just fine as a fabric pull.  Look at these squares all together! 

Fabrics from Fig Tree and Company's Fruit Cocktail
collection from Moda, over grey Dimple fabric from Andover

To get the proper effect I guess I should have left space for the background fabric to peek through between the fabrics, as it does in the quilt. 

An excursion to the quilt shop to pick out new fabric to replace a few blocks should have moved this along, but new projects claimed priority.  The blocks and the new fabric languished on my shelf until this week, when I spent an evening cutting out fabric for three replacement blocks.  The next evening I sewed, then everything screeched to a halt just before I added the last of the sashing in the blocks.  Suddenly, I wasn't sure I liked the sashing in the block.

I wrote this pattern for Connecting Threads last fall for their new Shimmer Tonals fabrics, released in their current October 2024 catalog.  Here's what their sample quilt looks like, followed by the mockup so you can see the entire layout.

Wreathed Squares as kitted by Connecting Threads.  Find the kit and pattern here.
Photo by Connecting Threads.

Do you notice that the sashing that bisects each block through the center and middle is wider than the rest of the sashing in the block?  I did this intentionally for more movement and interest in the layout.  I like the way it looks with these more solid fabrics. 

It occurred to me that with the prints and the busier background fabric I chose, the two different sashing widths might not have the same effect.  I picked sashing out in one block then reassembled the block with narrower sashing down the center and across the middle.  I should have taken a picture of the block before ripping to do a before-and-after comparison, but I didn't think that through in the moment.  I settled for comparing with another block in the same print and value even if not the same colour.

Huh! It did make a difference.  It tightened up the block just a little.  Bringing the print squares just a little closer together helped the prints hold their own against the background a bit more.

Much seam ripping followed, though it did not take as long as I had feared.  It took longer to press everything flat again and pick out all the little thread bits that stuck to the fabric after ripping.  I thought of using masking taped to lift the little thread bits off, but there were some fabric edges that really wanted to fray.  I thought the tape might indulge them in that, so I took a little longer and used my fingers.

Next came trimming.  I trimmed the sashing I had removed to make it narrower.  I was a able to leave some of the short sashing strips attached to some units and trim them on just one side.  That saved me a tiny bit of ripping and resewing.

I then reassembled the blocks with the narrower sashing.  One more evening of sewing and I had a stack of 15 blocks.  I only needed 12 for my layout, but I had three extra with the new fabrics I bought last fall.

After laying out 12 blocks, then switching some around, then replacing some, then moving those around too, I landed on this layout, called it good enough and added sashing and borders.

I also added cornerstones that I left out of the original pattern.  I was feeling lazy about lining up the vertical sashing across horizontal sashing.  Cornerstones make it easier so I added them in.  The pattern is only a suggestion, right?  As an added bonus, the cornerstones pull together that element where the block corners meet.

So, all that to say I finished another quilt top!  It's not dramatically different than where it was headed last fall, but I'm happier with it now.  It probably would have been fine if I'd left the blocks as they were, but in order not to feel like I wasted my time, I 'm going to say this is better!

Looking back though my photos, it looks like this could also have been fun without sashing between the blocks.

Actually, now I think I like it better without the sashing.  Ack!  So many options! 

The sashing is staying.  I'm calling this top done.

I'd love to hear about your adventures choosing a layout or tweaking a design.  Let me know I'm not the only one who waffles!

Happy quilting,

Joanne

Salvaging my original Sparks test

As I wrote about last December,  my fabric choices to test my Sparks pattern were not great.  The yellow fabric I chose did not have enough contrast against the background, and it was too weak compared to the other two colours.  The result was that the top third of the quilt faded away and the whole design looked unbalanced. 

Over the last couple of weeks I ripped seams to remove the sashing and reorder the blocks.  I ended up removing most of the yellow blocks to give them a smaller role in the design.  Removing two rows of blocks on point shortened the quilt and made it square, but I had enough background fabric leftover to add background to the top and bottom to lengthen the quit again.  It's not quite as long as the original design, but it will do.

Enough chatter.  Time for visuals!

You can see the design in the yellow blocks still fades away compared the red and orange elements, but having fewer blocks and sandwiching them between the stronger blocks make them more of a secondary element and the fade isn't so jarring.  

Original version on the left, redesigned version on the right

I had to make an extra orange block to make this work, but I goofed and ended up with the wrong combination of units. I made more units to fix that, then figured I might as well make a few more to use up  the extra goof bits.  I also had a few extra red units.  I'm not sure why I had extra red last fall, but I decided I might as well make a few more to finish an extra red block as well.

The eight yellow blocks I removed, as well the extra orange and red blocks, are going to end up in the backing.  Of curse the yellow on the background will be more subtle than in the EQ mockup below, but it's on the back so I can live with it.  I just want to use up the pieces.

The column of blocks on point is intentionally off center so there won't be a need to obsess about centering the backing.

Here's a fun and surprising fact: tossing these block in the backing is not going to  result in buying less yardage to finish the back.  I did the math, was sure I must be mistaken, checked the math again, talked it out with the hubby to see if he saw any errors in my math, and confirmed that I will buy the same amount as if I planned a plain backing.  

Why?  Well, I need fabric for the setting triangles to place the blocks on point.  Because of the size squares I need to cut those large triangles, I'm going to end up with large leftover chunks of fabric.  So, I'm not going to use as much of the fabric as if I made a plain back, but I'll have to buy as much.  There will be leftovers for the scrap bin.

In case you were wondering, setting the blocks straight instead of on point wouldn't help much on that front, because one width of fabric plus the width added by the blocks wouldn't be quite as wide as I need the back to be.  I'd have to buy extra yardage to make up the difference anyway so I decided to go ahead and make the back more interesting by setting the blocks on point. On point is wider than straight set, so the blocks plus one width of fabric cut into two smaller uneven widths A and B to make the side panels will give me the required backing width.

That was a mouthful.  It's simpler in fabric than in words!

This project has progressed as far as it can until I can go to the quilt shop for more backing fabric.  The blocks and some sashing will be waiting.

Would you find  a tutorial on pieced quilt backs useful?  Do you have any particular questions related to quilt backs, plain or pieced?

Happy quilting,

Joanne

Presenting Sparks

I'm still thinking about a new layout for the red/orange/yellow quilt I was ripping at the end of my previous post.  I think I have a solution.  It's not fabulous, but it's at least better than the original.

While I continue to ponder that, I thought you might like to see what the original design looks like when I don't mess up the colour values.  

None of the sparks disappear in this one!  I'm not sure there's as much color variation as I originally envisioned, but I still like it.  Subtle can work too :). The three prints are all from the Playful Posies collection from Island Batik.

The orange print is my favourite of the three.  

It was tricky to get a pretty styled photo showing all three fabrics.  This was the best I managed.  It's not very well styled!

This looks prettier but one of the prints is hidden.

After I finished the quilt and sent it to Island Batik to photograph for their fabric catalog,  I had to publish the pattern with this quilt on the cover.  This, of course, is when a design change occurred to me.  I think this is a stronger design:

What's a designer to do?  Include both in the final pattern, of course!  The tweak is super simple, just moving units around in the block construction, so fabric amounts are the same.  That worked out well!

I'd love to play around with a dark background, with shades of blue, or maybe blue and teal.  Or maybe blues at the top and bottom and a bright contrast in the middle?  So many options, so little time...  What would you try?

I'm off to play with the red/orange/yellow alternate layouts. 

Happy quilting,

Joanne

PS: Get your copy of Sparks in my Etsy shop now.