Trina's adventures in quilting: February 2015

Friday, February 20, 2015

Quilter's Academy - Freshman Year Project #7

Dec 2014 - Jan 2015

The lesson is about combining grids and the project is Carrie's Inlaid Tile table runner. However neither Mom or I like table runners so we made extra blocks and made quilt tops. The "YUM" concept is really interesting. It sure simplifies putting together a quilt top if the blocks don't come out to the right size. However I'd expect the YUM could change if the blocks are made at different times. Neither Mom or I needed to have YUM for this project. My quilt is the blues/green/yellow and Mom's is the browns/purple/blue.

Quilt Guild Medallion Round 4

February 2015

I got a row by row for the round 4 of the 2014-2015 medallion series.

I found this to be a bit too dark for me and a lot of aqua. The zig-zag was round 1. Round 2 was 4 bands on both sides of the zig-zag. Round 3 was the court house steps.

For my contribution I wanted to pull the yellow out of the focal fabric in the main zig-zag and to keep the peak and valley motifs going. I choose to do a chop suey 8 inch block. I added a yellow/gold; a maroon and a stripe fabric. I like the result but it feels a bit lopsided with yellow only on the one side. Hopefully the next person will use a bit of yellow and balance it.

Masquerade or should it be Red All Over?

January - February 2015

This is a Pincushion Boutique kit. I've had it a long time. I'm not even sure why I got it as I find it too busy. But I wanted to do a quick project and hone some of the skills I've acquired from the Quilters Academy freshman year book. Well... I blew it. I did not read (or most likely absorb the pattern instructions and cut 5 inch squares out of several of the FQ when it should be 5.5. Did I learn nothing from freshman year? UGH. Oh well, it gave me an opportunity to be creative in changing things. Not sure how I did this but ended up not even using one of the FQs in the bundle in the end. Which I'm sort of glad because it was busiest print of them all and I already dislike this quilt because it has too much going on. It may be a long time before I get around to quilting it because 1) I don't like it; 2) I don't think it would sell well so why bother; 3) it is small so not sure what anyone would do with it unless they loved red.

Need to quilt
Size: 44 x 51

Saturday, February 14, 2015

Splat Cat

Jan 30, 2015

Mom started this top just after we got back from the Palm Springs quilt show. The pattern is Baby Fences by Queen Bee. I had a gray piece of polar fleece that was the right size for the backing and like how previous quilts came out with that as the backing. I quilted 3 straight lines in the fences areas and then stippled around each of the cats in the middle and borders. That really made the cats "pop". I used a 20/80 poly/cotton batting. That did cause the quilt to be a bit stiffer then the two other times I used a polar fleece as the backing. I think I'll skip batting when using polar fleece as I like the drape and feel without it.

Size: 36 x 46.
Sold at Santa Rosa Quilt Show 2015 ($45).

Rosie Cheeks

Jan 30, 2015

Mom made this quilt top a long time ago. I quilted once around the kids in the blocks. The dark pink hourglass block was ribbon candy motif and the lighter pink was curved echo. The dark inner border was a flame. The outer boarder was Hooked on Feathers by Sally Terry.

Size: 32x36
SOLD

Flip flop block for Tri Guild luncheon

Feb 12, 2015

In March I will be attending the Tri Guild luncheon. This is the block that people can make and all are displayed and for each block a person makes that get a chance to win some/all the blocks. I really enjoy making these blocks for a few reasons. I only have to make one a few depending on my mood and therefore don't get bored with it. I generally use scraps. Sometimes it is a technique I don't often use. In this case I tried a few of the decorative stitches on my machine to go around the flip flop. I didn't have 3/8 ribbons so I took some 1/8 ribbons and braided them to get a bit wider. I like the effect. Used some old buttons mom had given me.