Traffic Cone Quilt

Today's finish is a traffic cone quilt that I designed specifically because the Dear Stella fabric demanded it.

I made strip sets and put the angle lines on my ruler to good use. The first cut was 15 degrees.

The following cuts were 30 degrees.

I filled in the right and left sides with the background and trimmed to the desired block size.

The bottom of the block is a large rectangle of orange with blue rectangles pieced on either side.

I arranged six blocks in a circle.

I went overboard making strip sets, so I decided to use the extras for seminole-pieced top and bottom borders. There's a great YouTube video for that if you're interested.

I quilted the background with a straight-lined modification of loop-de-loops.

In the Project Linus stash, I found a brown fabric with traffic cones and construction things, so I chose that for binding.

Here's the final result! It'll be off to Project Linus tomorrow.

Have you ever had a fabric that cried out for a certain design?

Gridster Bee Rise Quilt

I finished putting together a long-awaited Gridster Bee project, and simply neglected to share until now. 😊 However belated, it's such a fun quilt; and I appreciate all the wonderful blocks my friends from afar contributed. I'm going a little backwards here, but I'm showing off the full reveal and then the components.

I used a solid white for sashing between the balloon blocks. I refrained from picking a blue background, as solid blues tend to vary; and I prefer a more synchronized look. I quilted with swirls. 

For the back I had a hot air balloon fabric, Suzy's Minis by Suzy Ultman for Robert Kaufman. I used for color inspiration. As for the binding, I chose a bright red blender with text pertaining to ballooning, Adventure Awaits by Whistler Studios for Windham Fabrics.

The balloon blocks I received follow. The block patterns are from Alli of Woodberry Way's Rise pattern.

More or Less Quilt

Way back, a long, long time ago, when the world was normal and all...I taught classes in person at UNM Continuing Education.  One of my favorite courses to teach, save free-motion, was Quick Quilts. Hopefully, I'll be able to get it scheduled again. In the mean time, I've quilted up this pastel sweetie on my new-to-me Innova. That was before I started snowballing into a mess of "newbie" foolishness. (Really, really, don't put the needle in backwards. And don't try to bend the thread guides, which it turns out are made of plastic. SNAP! And if you take off the tension knob, don't drop it into your bottomless bin of UFOs. And if you don't have an anti-backlash spring in the bobbin, that's an issue. And if your needle is going into the side of the hole instead of the middle, your head isn't on straight. Whether you consider the head to mean yours or your machine's---in my case, both apply.) Thankfully, I have a dealer close by, and a 24-7 technical help phone number. But isn't she a beauty?

I did a radiating floral meander as an overall design using Aurifil. I love the textured softness it creates.

I titled this one More or Less, since it uses Plus and Minus blocks. It's composed from strip sets, so it comes together quickly. You can pick up the More or Less Quilt Pattern here.

I picked up the fabrics at an Albuquerque Modern Quilt Guild destash sale. (The annual fundraiser garage sale that you swear you're going to utilize to free up sewing room space, and then you accumulate MORE stuff instead. Or is that just me?)

I planned to bind this one by machine. That was the case until I stitched the binding to the front first, rather than the back. Since  I didn't want a line of stitching next to the binding on the front of the quilt, I ended up hand stitching it onto the front. Do you guys stitch from this direction? Most tutorials I see show the reverse orientation, but having the binding nearest to me and the bulk of the quilt extending away feels more natural to me.

I used original, large-scale Lizzy House Pearl Bracelets in Peach for the binding and backing. There are some advantages to aging. For one, my fabrics have become collector's items. 😉

Tula Pink HomeMade Challenge: Put a Pin in It

Today I have a very special make, Put a Pin in It (which is a play on words highlighting the delays to plans this year has produced, as well as the literal pushpins scattered about). This interactive quilt, which is also my Homemade Challenge entry, brought forth an abundance of creative experimentation with techniques and mediums. 

How about an overall view? Ironically, I accidentally left in a safety pin from my domestic machine quilting. (Let's keep that between us.)

My blurb for the contest reads, "Put a Pin in It highlights shifting from homemaking to homeschooling during quarantine. I hope to foster a love of creating in my children. Interactive aspects include hydrochromic ink, thermal vinyl; flip sequins; solar, puff, and glow-in-the-dark paint; chalkboard fabric; Ultra-suede; pockets; squeaker; turnable pages; Aurifil 12 wt; and magnetism."

In the next couple blog posts, I'll share all the blocks and their special features, my free-motion designs, and my process. Today, I'll share all the fun gimmicks I incorporated so my kids will love it. 

The calculator features a thermo-sensitive vinyl screen, numbers stenciled with Shiva Oil Paintstiks and a Dollar Tree stencil, and a squeaker under the = button. 

To create realistic, larger-than-life paper, I painted hydrochromic water-reactive paint over solid black fabric. The paint has a gel-like consistency, and is best applied after being diluted with a bit of water. It becomes opaque white as it dries. A thicker application on fabric results in cracking and chipping. 

For the lines, I used 12 wt Aurifil thread. Then I applied eyelets for the paper holes. I covered over the back with the background fabric so my batting wouldn't escape through the holes.

For the watercolors, I used the hydrochromic paint as well, but added Dye-Na-Flo for color.

My glue stick gives the impression of twisting up and down using flip sequins. One side is purple, like the real glue stick; the other side is navy to blend into the background--as if it's vanished.

I annihilated a flip sequin Dollar Tree pillow to make this happen. My children may be a little scared from the destruction. But, never fear, I acquired more Dollar Tree mini pillows to compensate for the dramatic injury. I even found an argyle one that it the most fabulous thing I have ever seen. My rainbow-loving heart can't even...

Wait, what was I even talking about? Oh yes, the Put a Pin in It Quilt.

The glue bottle features chalkboard fabric. It's an upscaled version of my Quilt block Mania Back to School free pattern.

It's pieced with stitch and flip curves (similar to a cathedral window block) and paper piecing with fussy cutting. I love how Tula Pink prints provide such great opportunities for this. The glitter was created by applying fabric medium and actual glitter to black fabric. The lids were embellished with Aurifil 12 wt thread and eyelets using my Crop-a-Dile. 

The black sections are heat-sensitive vinyl that changes to yellow with heat. 

The solid sections of the crayons are painted with solar pigment that changes hue in sunlight. 

I added a secret panel (but I suppose the secret is out now) to my binding with a pencil I drew using fabric markers and a pigment pen. It says AMONG TWOS BE (where pencils usually say HB) 1 (where it usually says 2 on #2 pencils), as a reminder to viewers that it is good to know your own mind and not always fall in with the common crowd.

The paper-pieced stapler featuring ribbon candy free-motion resides near the HomeMade patch, which was attached with clear Aurifil.

My tape dispenser features some paper piecing, stitch and flip curves, reverse appliqué, turned-edge appliqué...

This block was a diva who thought it needed all the techniques. Since it was a bit extra anyhow, I went with pebbles and some lines on the tape portion to follow the direction of circular tape layers.

The acrylic paint tube block is embellished with oozing puff paint.

The cream, fussy-cut portions of the tubes is coated in glow-in-the-dark paint.

I did a rift on a Ball Jar, mimicking the font, but changing the letters from Ball MASON to Pink TULA. I used a hot glue gun to apply the letters to clear vinyl. Then I secured the edges with bias cut binding. The jar was attached to the quilt post-quilting, using clear Aurifil. The lid, made from Solarize (insulating thermal barrier fabric) on account of the metallic shininess, is pieced into the background. Pieced into the background is a hidden pocket to hold a battery pack for the Dollar Tree Christmas "candies". The gummy bears are actually pencil toppers.

My backpack block has a fully functional lined zipper pocket and straps. Strapping the quilt to yourself and running around would be pretty funny though. It's poshed out with the Tula Pink HomeMade enamel pin, a Bernina pin, and my Quilting Mod button. It thought it'd be fun to attach a Quilting Mod label where the backpack brand label would usually go. Some Cut Once Noon Blue Renaissance Ribbon serves as a top handle.

Drawing life is not complete without vibrant markers. My box needed even more pizzaz, so I added a magnetic sheet to the banner. The PINK is actually temporarily-attached magnets.

My book block isn't just made to look 3-D, you can really turn the pages.

The glitter contains are made from applying fabric medium mixed with glitter to black fabric. The tops feature 12 wt Aurifil and eyelets.

Erasers have a fun texture that I wanted to capture in my interactive quilt, so I used a few different shades of Ultrasuede due to its soft, grippy feel.

I'd like to give a shout out to the spools that made this quilt possible. So, thanks Aurifil, for providing every color under the sun.

Even more than my dearly loved threads, thank you, quilting friends, for joining me here to share in this project with me. I appreciate you so much!

I'm linking up with: 

Free Motion Mavericks