This modern Churn Dash (tutorial here) isn’t one of my favorites. I love both of these fabrics, but I think they produce something too busy in this arrangement.
I fussy cut the center piece, only. I like how the two side background prints appear almost fussy cut! It gives it a nice symmetry, I think.
I really love the way this block turned out. I think the small polka-dots help to not make this block so busy. The fussy cut center diamond and corners turned out just as I wanted, as well.
This block construction was a cinch for me, thanks to the lovely tutorial at Modify Tradition.
This weekend, I’ve been working on catching up with all of the blocks over at Modify Tradition. Here is my iteration of the Starflower Block (tutorial here). I’m pleased with the way these Michael Miller fabrics and solid white cotton came together, here.
The points on the block are just okay. They could match up just a bit more sharply.
Here’s my attempt at a modern bow tie block for the Modify Tradition Quilt Along (tutorial here). This block was an easy construct, the only thing that I had to remember was to move my needle position, but that’s totally my own personal preference. For my 1/4″ seams, I sew with the needle to the right. To sew the small “knot” piece to the background fabric, I set my needle to the center position. Only one seam had to be ripped because of forgetfulness!
I’m not, generally, a fan of bow tie blocks. By themselves, I always think they need a border. I can see how the right arrangement could produce a really graphic quilt, and I’m all about the graphic. 
I fussy cut this background fabric and I like the way it turned out. I like a lot of white in quilts, too, so I was more than happy to throw that into this block.
Sorry for the unappealing photo. The light is quickly fading, here in the American Eastern time zone (5:15 pm), and the white solid didn’t show up well on my white design board!
What do you think?
Take a look at my Pinwheel Block for the Modify Tradition quilt along (tutorial here).
What do you think?
I thought it would be interesting to see the same print in different colorways in this block. It is interesting to me, but there’s not quite enough contrast for my tastes. I think if you chose a solid from either of the fabrics as the offset, it would be pretty stunning.
This block is the first time I’ve ever had any sort of success with triangles. I mean any sort. I completely credit the tutorial at Modify Tradition. Using a square to create two half-square triangles by their method completely eliminates having to deal with the stretchy bias of a triangle.
This month, I’ve been following the Modify Tradition blog, which is taking a unique perspective on traditional quilt blocks by making them modern. Their Flickr pool has left me in awe of people’s creations. I knew that I wanted to play along but that I lacked the fabric I really needed (ok, wanted!) to make my blocks.
Earlier, this week, while perusing the goodies at Hancock’s of Paducah I came across the Michael Miller Mezzanine line. I purchased the Lime Stained Glass, the Leaf Gothic Wave, the Pink Gothic Flower, the Pink Gothic Arches and the Pink Staned Glass fabrics. I love them!
The first patch that the girls at Modify Tradition took a modern stab at was the Nine Patch (tutorial here). Here is my fussy-cut version. This is my first attempt at fussy-cutting fabric. I think it works well for the Pink Gothic Flower pieces, but it sure does waste more fabric than I’m comfortable with! I can’t imagine fussy cutting an entire quilt top.
It’s a quilting edition, today! Here are some of my favorite Flickr discoveries, this week. From left to right:
1. Crafthope Donation Quilt by hrtgmkr – I love the graphic nature of this quilt and the simple use of grayscale. I think it makes a big impact!
2. Modified Bento Box Quilt by calamityla – I like how this quilt top looks almost pixelated in the photo. The use of all solids isn’t normally something that draws my eye, but I think it’s very effective in this instance.
3. Mini Nine: Whirling Skaters by banquopack – This whirly gig pattern looks great with the white solid offset.
4. Shadow Star Quilt by Red Pepper Quilts – One of my favorite photostreams to look through is that of Red Pepper Quilts. The use of color and pattern and superb construction are inspiring to me. I love how traditional this quilt is in form, but how modern colors really make it outstanding.
5. Stashbuster Quilt by Red Pepper Quilts – Another one from this great quilter! This is quickly becoming one of my favorite blocks, just because of it’s possibilities! Isn’t this great!?
6. Lazy Day Circles by Say Yes Juliet – For a first attempt at hand sewing, I think this is wonderful. Circles intimidate the hell out of me! I really like the starkness of the white background; it really makes these circles of color pop out at you.
7. Oregon Beaches by Bekhy – While this construction is far from simple, I’m sure, the basic piece of these blocks is just a square. Boy, what you can do with just a square! This quilt top almost has a 3-D aspect to it. Those white blocks really come to life!
8. Vanity Square by Val posted by maripenquiltmom – What a riot of color and pattern this is. The solids do a good job of balancing out all of the wonderful prints. This quilt shows me that I shouldn’t be as terrified of mixing prints and colors as I am – look how wonderfully this turned out!
9. Claudia’s Block by Quiltastic! – Here is this pinwheel block, again! I like how this looks so retro to me. I have no idea if it actually is! I just associate this block as something that my Grandma would have just loved.
What are some of your favorites?
It’s certainly nothing fancy, but I’m proud to show you the finished Wizard of Oz Quilt. As I discussed, before, this quilt was started a long time ago. I bought the pre-cut Wizard of Oz fabric during the summer of 2008. I paired it with black flannel sashing and yellow flannel backing. It was, originally, a Christmas gift for my mom. She likes to be warm, hence the flannel, and she loves the Wizard of Oz. Because my sewing machine decided to quit working just before Christmas, last year, it never got finished. After months of trying to get the machine fixed, it was time to make my wedding dress and other crafts. The Wizard of Oz Quilt was my first craft project after the honeymoon, though.
What’s sort of ironic is the my mom and I (and my sister and some friends) just went to see a Broadway Live! production of The Wizard of Oz at the Lexington Opera House. Timely!
Hopefully, this will keep my mom warm in her recliner for many winters to come!
Lately, I’ve been scouring the Flickr groups for a quilt bee to join. I’ve never done a bee and am so excited to have found the Modern Tradition Quilt Bee. It’s been inspired by the Modify Tradition blog, whose subject tackles the subject of traditional and modern quilting. I’m drawn to both types and am so interested in how the two can mesh.
Stay tuned to posts tagged with the bee name for our progress!
Yesterday, I had the spur-of-the-moment idea to make a quilt for my nephew’s upcoming birthday. He’ll be five and loves things that all boys that age love – dinosaurs, dump trucks, animals and trains. So, that’s what he’ll get!
I’m going with a SUPER SIMPLE block layout for this quilt, hoping for speedy construction of the top. These blocks will be 4″ x 4″ finished size. I’m piecing them with the standard 1/4″ seam allowances, but I’m trying something different with the pressing of the pieces. I normally press to one side of the seam. However, my other quilts seem to never look crisp and seams don’t always line up, nicely. This could totally be my fault, but I’m pressing these seams open and seem to have better luck with the crispness and the seams matching. This could also be attributable to the overpinning!
