My Leafy Checkerboard Finish

Time to share another big finish. I've been quilting on and off for close to 18 years and in all that time I have never made a quilt for my own bed. Seriously. Never. Can you believe it? Now I can proudly say my bed has a new cover.

You may remember seeing these blocks eons ago. I worked on them slowly over the course of many months by taking them to BoulderMQG sew days. Month after month after month. I even blogged about it here back in January 2016. Over two years ago! Once the blocks were done it still took awhile for me to lay them all out and sew them together. Obviously it wasn't at the top of my to do list.

Karen at the Quilted Moose did the longarm quilting. I chose an all-over leafy pattern and love the look. I also made pillow shams from the giant hosta fabric I've hoarded for years. You know I love leaves.  : )

Sadly, the quilted top sat all nicely folded up on a chair in the bedroom for far too long. I blame it on the binding fairies. They didn't show up as scheduled. Of course the thought of binding a queen size myself just wasn't appealing so I did what I do so very well. I procrastinated. Expecting two different house guests last month finally, finally pushed me into action.

I set up my machine downstairs on our long dining table and added another long folding table to the side. All this extra space was a tremendous help in supporting a queen size quilt. I also did it all by machine by attaching the binding to the back and then pulling it to the front and stitching it down close the the fold. It's so much faster for a big quilt. You can see this method used on another quilt here. Now that I've used this method a few times I'm getting better at finding that sweet spot for aligning my stitches. For quilts that will be used a lot, I think it's a great way to go.

In the photo below you can see most of the back. I used up a lot of the older leafy prints in my stash. This was at the ironing and trimming stage.

I ended up making two quilts from these leafy scrappy trip blocks. The wall hanging below has actually been finished and in use for some time. I just never shared it on the blog.

I love taking quilt photos in the wild and fell in love with this set of steps full of ivy. Don't you think it's perfect for this quilt?

Hopefully I'll be back before another whole month goes by. Until then happy quilting and crafting.

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The Evolution of a Quilt

Do you ever have an idea for a quilt and then just never get it started? I'm talking years here. Maybe it's a rough sketch. Maybe it's just in your head. Or maybe you actually start the project and it evolves into something completely different? That's how I feel about my current project. It sat around forever and then evolved. For the better.

The initial idea sat around for years in the form of these leafy fabrics in my stash and this sketch. I don't buy traditional fabrics like this anymore but I still love their leafy goodness. After all, I love all things leafy.   : )

My intention was to make a wall quilt to use in the family room during the winter months when my decor goes mostly white with a touch of green. See my white post for more on that. I planned to use my leafy print collection including these great large scale leaf prints that I've saved just for this project. I love them!

I've also had another idea tucked away that was inspired by a lovely blue and white checkerboard quilt in a home decorating magazine I saw years ago. One of those images that's makes an impression and stays with you. It was so simple. So clean and crisp. I thought one day I'd make a checkerboard quilt with white and one additional color.

Then along came the scrappy trip quilts everyone was making not all that long ago. I learned Bonnie Hunter's clever technique for making these blocks. Love the technique. Love the look. Here are a few blocks made for a baby quilt.

After seeing numerous lovely Scrappy Trip quilts online, I had an aha moment. Why not use this technique to make the checkerboard blocks. Instead of a random placement of leafy prints they would appear somewhat clustered and create movement within the checkerboard look. I liked how it looked.

I started making blocks for the wall hanging and the idea evolved into a quilt for our master bedroom instead. True confessions . . . I call myself a quilter but I don't actually have a quilt on any of the beds in my house. Go figure. I think it's finally about time I make a quilt for a bed. Since leaves play a role in my bedroom decor, this idea was the perfect fit. Here are some of the blocks laid out on the bed. Checkerboard look I feel in love with. Leafy prints I love. Perfect.

I've been making these blocks on and off now for months, mostly at various guild sew days. I need about 68 give or take. Truth be told, I'm really tired of taking the same thing to sew day over and over, month after month.

This past weekend was the last time I'll be doing these at a sew day. Yeah! I spent the day cutting the final batch of strip sets into segments and then unsewing as the tutorial calls for. Here's a batch of them all ready for the next step.

See this post for my tips on how to keep the segments organized so you unsew the correct seams. Believe me . . . it's quite easy to make a mistake.

As I worked on the blocks for my bed quilt I had another aha moment. I should just bust out the wall quilt too. I only needed 9 more blocks plus some strips for the checkered edge. Why not make both? It seems like a no brainer and yet I hadn't seriously considered it once my thinking shifted to making a quilt for the bed.

Now I'm well on my way to having the wall quilt almost done and the bed quilt is getting closer and closer to completion too. All the blocks should be done by the end of the week. Then I just need to sew them into rows. WaHoo!!! It feels like two quilts in one.

Next month I hope to have two finished quilts to share. Two projects that have been on my to do list for way way too long. That's a really good way to start the year.

Do you have projects that you've wanted to make for a long time?
Why not move forward on just one of them this year?

Linking up with a few parties this week. Another of my 2016 goals.
Let's Bee Social, WIP Wednesday and Needle and Thread Thursday.

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Scrappy Trip Tips

This is one of my big WIP's at the moment . . .

Years ago I saw a blue and white checkerboard quilt in a home decorating magazine and it really made an impression. It was so clean and crisp, yet simple and striking. My version is green and white and I'm hoping to use up a lot of the traditional leaf prints I have leftover from my impressionist quilting days. They may not be modern fabrics but they do go really well in our bedroom.

I bet many of you have made a Scrappy Trip Around the World quilt. It's based on this great tutorial from Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville and has been around for years. Just google Scrappy Trip or look for examples on Pinterest. The variety is amazing. Truth be told, I'd love to make many more of these. Maybe an all Kaffe. Maybe an all floral. Perhaps even an all low volume. Guess I ought to start cutting loads and loads of strips.   : )

Last year I had my BMQG members make blocks for this baby sized quilt in an attempt to use up some of my greens and aquas. Barely made a dent in my stash not to mention I discovered how few blues I have. That just led to more fabric, not less. I'm sure that never happens to you . . . haha.

Now I'm working on my leafy version. I like how the scrappy trip technique creates diagonal lines of different fabrics. I wanted to take advantage of this effect to emphasize different values and even different green hues throughout the quilt rather than have it be totally random.

As easy as this block is, there is one part where I tend to make mistakes so I thought I'd pass on a few tips. I'm assuming you are familiar with Bonnie's technique. If not, this won't make a lot of sense, so go check out the tutorial. I'd highly recommend learning her method. Once you try it you just might find yourself making multiple Scrappy Trip quilts like me.

On to the tips . . .

TIP:  Like any project, working assembly line speeds up the process. After cutting loads of strips, I grouped them by greens and then sewed the strip sets together assembly line fashion using chain piecing. I managed to get quite a nice stack of them done at the guild retreat in just a partial day.

If you know the tutorial, you know each strip set is sewn into a loop. Then the set is cut into segments, then you un-sew. Yes, I said un-sew. It sounds crazy but it really is a great method for this block.

TIP: Use the same assembly approach to cutting, and use some painters tape to mark the 2 1/2" mark on your ruler. Cutting just one segment the wrong width can wreck the whole strip set as you might not have enough for all 6 segments.

Once the segments are cut, the tutorial calls for un-sewing the loops to produce 6 segments with a staggered fabric placement. This is the point where I inevitably make a mistake by un-sewing the wrong seams.

TIP:  After cutting a strip set into segments leave them on the cutting board and slide the individual segment loops so all the seams you need to un-sew are at the top of each segment. I do this by leaving the first segment on the left as is. Then with the second segment in the row, slide the fabric loop so the white fabric is now at the top. With the third segment slide the fabric so the green that's at the bottom of segment #1 is now at the top. Continue sliding so that each segment has a different fabric at the top. You can see if you have it right by checking for the staggered progressive placement of the different fabrics. See the bottom photo.

TIP: Once they are properly positioned, clip them together along the edge you need to un-sew. This way there's no mistaking what to do when you get back to it. I find it nice to get several groups ready to un-sew and then do it in front of the TV in the evening. Be sure to clip the groups back together after you un-sew so the strips don't get mixed up.

Now that you have several groups ready to piece into blocks, it's back to assembly line sewing. But before you sew, play with the layout of strips. For my checkerboard block I have three possibilities as to which fabric falls directly across the longest diagonal. Here are the three possible arrangements I have. Each one has a different fabric in the longest diagonal. NOTE: If you're making an entirely scrappy block with 6 different fabrics you will have 6 possible fabrics that could create the longest diagonal.

Now compare the last two photos below. In the one on the left the sequence is correct and all diagonals have the correct fabric placement. In the photo on the right the sequence got mixed up, so even though the center diagonal is all the same fabric, the other diagonals are off. The fabrics aren't the same in each diagonal.

TIP:  Before sewing your strips together, take the time to be sure the diagonals all line up correctly. Sew them together into strip sets of two. Once you have three sewn strip sets you still have time to rearrange the layout and place a different fabric in the longest diagonal just by switching up the sewn segments. Before sewing the sets together check again that they are in the correct order.

TIP: Instead of pinning, use the tip of your small scissors or a stiletto to hold the seams together. If you pressed to the side as the tutorial instructs, there is no need for pins. Just line up the first seam intersection by nesting them together. Stitch through the intersection to secure. Stop and line up the next intersection. Continue until the entire seam is sewn. It's much quicker than taking time to pin and I'm generally a pinner. Chain piecing also speeds things up.

Now that I have this system down for un-sewing, the process is going along quite smoothly. I still have many more blocks to make for a queen size quilt so this block may continue to be my go-to for guild sew days. It's easy to have at the ready in my plasitc storage box.

Have you made a scrappy trip quilt? If so, what type of fabrics did you use?  Solids?  Modern Prints? Kaffe?  Traditional?

I'm linking up with WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.

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Scrappy Trip Blocks

The second quarter of the Finish Along is well under way and I can't say I'm making much progress yet so I thought it was about time I did something. Anything. This week it was sewing together the bee blocks from my fellow Boulder MQG members.

I played with a few different layouts earlier. You wouldn't think there are so many variations, but depending on the colors you use and their placement within the block, plus the number of blocks you have, there are several design options.

In the end, I went with the diagonal line arrangement. This simple arrangement worked well with just 12 blocks. The smaller size, finishing at 36" x 48, will make a nice baby quilt. I think the colors are fitting for either a boy or girl. Once it's done, I'll be donating it. Hoping to do more charity work this year both personally and through the guilds I belong to so this was a good place to start.

Someday I'd love to make a bigger scrappy trip quilt, perhaps with lots of Kaffe prints. Having more blocks to play with would be fun. Someday.   : )

I've also made a few more leafy checkerboard blocks using the same scrappy trip block tutorial. Right now I'm undecided about whether to turn it into a queen size for our bedroom. That wasn't the original purpose so we'll see. I think I'll make another row of blocks across and down and then decide. That means 9 more blocks but I have the strips cut and ready to go. This is another one of those projects that I like to take to guild sew days because there's no prep. It's all ready to go and sew.

Linking up with WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.

WIP Wednesday

Thanks to our new Boulder Modern Quilt Guild and Denise, I've finally joined the scrappy trip around the world block craze.

I'm not usually one for doing too many quilt-alongs since I have way way too many of my own designs swimming around in my head and not enough time to get them done. That said, now I see what everyone is so excited about. This is such an easy block to piece thanks to Denise's great demo. Love the Elmers glue trick for matching seams.

I've been collecting fabrics in the aqua/blue/lemon/yellow range for awhile now ever since I saw this great eye catching display in one of my favorite Ft Collins shops, The White Balcony. The color didn't come out too great in the original photo but I still remember the impact it had on my creative ideas.

Now I think I'll be making more of these fun scrappy trip blocks. Even have ideas for other color schemes. Who knows  . . .

If you're like me and just never got around to making this one, it's never too late.
Here's the link to the original Scrappy Trip tutorial.

I'm linking up with Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesday. Hop over and take a look.