Monthly Archives: May 2018

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Two years ago I made class quilts with the kindergarteners at school when my son was in kindergarten. Last year another parent took the reigns and and this year it was my turn again, since my daughter is in kindergarten this year.

I decided to do something a little more complicated this year. Since I was really enjoying seeing all the Village quilt blocks on instagram I ordered a copy of the pattern for the kids to each sew a house block. They made fingerprint art a la Ed Emberley on the doorway fabric with their teachers and I led them through piecing their blocks. (The maker's names are on each doorway as well, but they have been removed for the blog post.)

The kids are at a montessori school, so sewing has been part of their curriculum for the last three years. By kindergarten they are all comfortable using needle and thread. To help them with their piecing, I use a frixion pen to mark the 1/4" seam on the wrong side of each fabric to help the kids keep their running stitch in a straight line. I pin together the two layers of fabric to keep them organized. Some kids take tiny microscopic stitches and some take 1/2" long stitches, but it all gets the job done.

Aren't the blocks adorable!? Once each child finished hand piecing their quilt blocks I brought them home to give them a good press, sew them together, and finish the quilts.

I was sure to get a good shot of the quilt sandwich before I added the binding. When I taught the kids about the parts of a quilt they got a kick out of the phrase "quilt sandwich." I told them that the top and bottom fabrics were like the bread and the batting was like the... whatever you like on your sandwich. One student asked nearly every time I saw him if I had added the peanut butter and jelly yet. ;-)

I opted for echo quilting bordering each house and my daughter helped me pick the zen chic blue dot fabric for the binding. These adorable quilts are about 16" x 15". They were finished and hanging on the classroom walls in time for Mother's Day Tea.

 

Just for fun, here I am with the portrait of myself that my daughter drew for the Mother's Day Tea on Friday.

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Shortly after I joined Bay Area Modern I took home a charity quilt top to quilt and finish. I don't know who pieced it. (If you know, please let me know and I'll update the post.) Once I brought it home it was initially set aside and for the past couple months I've been moving it around in my work space. I decided this week it was time to get it done. And it's like cleaning, because I can bring it to the guild meeting to drop it off on Saturday. ;-)

I opted for a large scale meander in a light colored 50wt Aurifil thread.

I used one of my green bindings that I had recently prepped. (I actually made another green binding, for four in a row total.) It was bound using my machine binding technique.

The quilt is about 32" x 32", a quick size to quilt and bind. And it's for such a good cause as it will be donated to a local NICU.

I've linked up to 2018 Q2 Finish Along linkup. See my whole Q2 list.

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This is my entry in 2018 Pantone Ultra Violet Quilt Challenge, hosted by Rebecca Bryan and Sarah Elizabeth Sharp.

Despite my busy schedule, how could I not participate in the Pantone Quilt Challenge this year? I mean, PURPLE! I even had a dozen Kona purples in my stash from purchasing fabric for my Rainbow Remix project in 2016.

I've been wanting to play with All About Angles variations and I had yet to make one in all Kona. This seemed the perfect time. I sliced up my Kona purples. The colors I used were: Amethyst, Bright Peri, Heliotrope, Hibiscus, Lavender, Lilac, Morning Glory, Mulberry, Orchid, Thistle, Tulip, and Wisteria. One thing I love about this Planned Improv technique is how quickly it goes together. With no specific measurement, it's mostly about about pairing up interesting color combinations and I found that working with a pile of purples, all of the combinations were interesting to me!

I built a bunch of chunks and moved to the design wall to work my final layout. This stage is so fun for me, because there are many possible options. I considered sewing them together in this orientation (minus that bonus chunk on the left), but opted for a different design.

I pieced 12 of my chunks together into this mini quilt top. Then I opened the link up page for the challenge and realized that the "Just the Top" requires a minimum of 30" on a side. At this point my quilt top was about 24" square. Oops. No big deal, I decided to add some black borders on the top and bottom. That brought it up to about 24" x 32" and I went on with my day this afternoon.

After school I once again sat down to blog and link up my project. This was when I realized that the requirement for the category was 30" was that the shortest side needs to measure 30". This meant that my project was still too small. No big deal, right? Add a couple more borders! Except that I was across town from my sewing machine and my quilt top.

One quick trip to visit my sewing machine and two more borders have been added, bringing it to approximately 33" x 33". (Photographed in night lighting.) I'm looking forward to adding some graffiti quilting to it.

Every time I piece another All About Angles I have new ideas of variations I can try. This time I made a list with a bunch of options for next time. But before it comes to that I think I'll finish my three in progress versions.

I'm linking up to the 2018 Pantone Quilt Challenge, in the "Just the Top" category. Hop on over to check out all the purple, quilty goodness and vote for your one favorite in each category. Congratulations to everyone who participated. There is a beautiful pile of purple work!

Update: You can see my finished quilt in this post.

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