Saturday, July 31, 2010

"Seaside" Mini Quilt

My partner, Karen, has received the mini I sent her as part of the July 2010 Mini QT Swap.  What does that mean for you?  Remember how I couldn't show you any pictures in this post?  Well, you get to see it, finally!

This month's theme was "beach/underwater". 

My approach to these minis is to get to know my partner a bit and then design something for them.  At the beginning of the month, Karen and I chatted about what we like at the beach. She said she liked to sit and listen to the waves, build sandcastles, and collect seashells. 

I used flickr to pull together some images I thought represented those things.  I added them all to my favorites and then used Big Huge Labs to make a mosaic for inspiration.  I printed the mosaic and took it fabric shopping with me.  I bought the fabric and designed the quilt in my head simultaneously.  When I got home I sketched the design. 
 
Here is the front of "Seaside".
"Seaside" - Front

I had plans to add a sandcastle along the shoreline off to one side, but when it came time to do it, it just didn't work for me. 

I did find this awesome seashell fabric at Joann for the back.

"Seaside" - Back


Remember how I discovered how to do circles recently?  (See here and here.)  Well!  I tried the same method on ovals and it works.  What do you think of my label? 

Label

Remember the quilting website I told you about in this post?  Well, I used the Echo Shell pattern in the sky.  The water was something I came up with on my own.  The sand is just basic stippling that you can find just about anywhere.

Detail - 01

I added a few beads to the umbrella. 

Detail - 02
Don't you like my seagull?  I think he's pretty rockin'.

I tried a few new things with this mini quilt. 
  • If you look closely at the seagull and umbrella images you can see I used clear thread.  I really liked using it.  I'll do a post talking a little bit about what I used and why I liked it soon.
  • I found some fusible fleece for super cheap at the thrift store a while back.  I used it for batting on this one and really liked it.  I made my quilt sandwich like this: Fusible fleece fused to back side of quilt top; fusible web used to attach quilt back.  It worked really well!  I didn't have any puckers at all!
I'm really happy with how this turned out.  I made a second one for me because I knew I was going to love it! 

Friday, July 30, 2010

DQS9

Here's my idea for my DQS9 quilt.  The top and bottom triangles will all be pieces of the orange fabric.  The background of the middle triangle will be the black Kona Solid I have.  The circles will be the rest of the bright colors. 
 Sketch
I'm planning to use fusible web for the circles.  The orange triangles will be improvised piecing.  I'm planning on it finishing at a whopping 15"x20".

What do you think partner?  Is it everything you ever hoped for?

Note: If you don't remember what my fabric selections look like, go here.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Jargon of the Week - Honey Bun

Jargon of the Week

A honey bun sounds pretty tasty!  What's dictionary.com say a honey bun is?

honey bun 
–noun
  1. Also called sticky bun. a sweet spiral-shaped bun, usually with cinnamon, raisins, and nuts, coated with honey or butter and brown sugar.
  2. Also, hon·ey·bun . Informal . honey ( def. 6, 7 ) .
Origin:
1895–1900, Americanism
They are close to the quiltie term on the sweet spiral-shaped bun, but we hope they don't come with cinnamon, raisins, nuts, honey, butter, or brown sugar.  Think of what that would do to scissors and sewing machines.  Yuck!

Honey buns are another option for buying an entire fabric line.  It's very similar to the jelly roll we talked about a few weeks ago.  In fact, it's just a narrower version of the jelly roll.  The honey bun is 1.5" strips.

Want to see some honey bun goodness? 
Make Life Honey Bun - Sweetwater for Moda Fabrics
Make Life Honey Bun - Sweetwater for Moda Fabrics

Adoring Honey Bun - Sandy Gervais for Moda Fabrics
Adoring Honey Bun - Sandy Gervais for Moda Fabrics

Moda Verna 1-1/2'' Honey Bun By The Each
Moda Verna 1-1/2'' Honey Bun By The Each

Fresh Cottons Honey Bun - Fig Tree Quilts for Moda Fabrics
Fresh Cottons Honey Bun - Fig Tree Quilts for Moda Fabrics

Moda Whimsy 1-1/2'' Honey Bun By The Each
Moda Whimsy 1-1/2'' Honey Bun By The Each

A Breath of Avignon Honey Bun - American Jane for Moda Fabrics
A Breath of Avignon Honey Bun - American Jane for Moda Fabrics

Spring Fever Honey Bun - Me & My Sister for Moda Fabrics
Spring Fever Honey Bun - Me & My Sister for Moda Fabrics

Moda American Jane Breath Of Avignon Honey Bun
Moda American Jane Breath Of Avignon Honey Bun

Swanky Honey Bun
Swanky Honey Bun

The Moda Bake Shop also has some free ideas on how to use these cute little things.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Sewbot's Favorites - July 25, 2010

sewbot's favorites

A few weekends ago at the farmer's market, we picked up this cool contraption.

Pepper Cooker

You hollow out peppers, stuff them, stick a toothpick through them so they don't fall through, and bake them or grill them in this thing and they're delicious!  Yum!  Favorite thing this week is yummy treats like these.  :)

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Jargon of the Week - Layer Cake

Jargon of the Week

A layer cake is just like dictionary.com says, right?
layer cake 
–noun
a cake made in layers, with a cream, jelly, or other filling between them.
Origin:
1875–80
Not in the quilting world!  A layer cake is just another pre-cut, pre-packaged way to buy an entire fabric line.  The layer cake is a 10" square of each fabric in a line. 

I couldn't leave out photos of a few fun layer cakes:
Moda Tweet Tweet 10'' Layer Cake By The Each














10" MAKE LIFE Moda Fabric Layer Cake Squares10" PARK AVENUE Moda Fabric Layer Cake Squares























And here are a few books that look like lots of fun to play with:


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I know Rachel at P.S. I Quilt just wrapped up a pinwheel sampler quilt-along using a layer cake + 3 yards of solid.  Pop on over and give it a try!

You can also find free patterns for layer cakes, jelly rolls, and charm packs at the Moda Bakeshop.