Rainbow Star Quilt

 

This spectacular quilt belongs to Dianna.  It is a modified version of the quilt called "Rainbow II" from the book "Quick Star Quilts and Beyond" by Jan Krentz.  Dianna added the smaller stars at the top to form the pillow tuck section to make it bed sized.

I knew that I wanted a mix a line work and feathers.  The samples in the book exculsively feathers in the quilting design, but I always prefer a mix.  I used Monopoly thread for all the ruler work in the colored star points and the small border.  I didn't want to detract from the lovely colors in the quilt, and I also didn't want to try to match 16 colors of fabric either!

I loved the idea of highlighting the center star with a circular frame and feathers.  The only problem I encountered was that all of my curved templates were too small to do the job,  The largest template that I own, or that I have seen in the market so far is one based on a 20" curve.  That size of curve would have taken up the majority of the square and left very little room for feathers.  My husband came to the rescue and cut a 32" curve out of a piece of Plexiglas so that I could accomplish what was in my mind's eye.  It isn't laser cut or etched with lines like a commercial template, but it certainly did the job.

I continued the same motifs the the background and star points on the outer ring.  

For the borders I knew I wanted to repeat the motifs used in the center of the quilt, so the narrow white border got curls, the colored squares got crosshatched, and the outer border got feathers with a few curls thrown in for fun.

 The pillow tuck section did have me scratching my head for awhile, but I very pleased with the results, once again repeating the motifs from the center of the quilt - straight lines in the stars, a row of feathers like the borders, and the melon and feathers in between.

I chose Quilter's Dream Puff batting for this quilt as it is the whitest batting I had on hand.  The front and back of the quilt are pure white, and I wanted to make sure they appeared crisp and clean.  The Dream Puff also provided a nice loft.  I used So Fine in Blizzard for the background quilting, and a Bottom Line on the back.

Ashton's Grad Quilt

This quilt was made by Deanna for her son Ashton's grade 12 graduation that took place this past weekend.   Deanna was inspired by a stack of hand dyed fabric that she made during a workshop when Ashton was a baby.  He attended the workshop with her, and the fabric had been in Deanna's stash for the past 17 years.  She thought it would be a perfect thing for his quilt.

Deanna also loves to personalize the quilts she makes as gifts, and she added the quote from the Dr. Seuss book "Oh, the Places You'll Go!"

Deanna chose the "Ebb & Flow" panto for this quilt, but we flipped to vertical orientation from it's normal horizontal one.  I think it gives a very interesting effect.  She provided a light weight denim for the backing and we used Quilter's Dream Puff batting to keep the quilt a little lighter.  I was a little worried that the denim might cause some issues, but none at all. It had a nice drape to it, and my Innova handled it with ease.  Thread choice can be a bit of a challenge with multi colored quilts with black and white, but my go to So Fine #489 - a very murky green called "Lewis & Clark" played nicely on all the different colors.

Tardis Quilt

Reneta made this quilt as a graduation gift for her son Joey.  As you may (or may not) have guessed Joey is a big Dr. Who fan.  I myself am not really familiar with Dr. Who so I needed a little guidance getting started on the design. My dear friend Kathy suggested that the wood grain would be a perfect fit and then I was off to the races.

The pattern is called "Relatively Dimensional" by Hunter's Design Studio and Reneta downloaded it from Craftsy.  The "Police call box" and "Police telephone" signs are a pre-printed panel available from Spoonflower.com .

I had a lot of fun quilting this one.  I used Quilter's Dream Puff batting, and even though it is quite heavily quilted, it still feels light and has a nice bit of loft left.  Reneta chose one of my wide Stonehenge backings, it is much more navy than this picture suggests.

 

I wanted to personalize the quilt in a subtle way, so that if anyone tried to steal this while Joey was at University, he would have proof that it was his!  In between the u-turns on the outside border I added his name and the occasion.

Thanks for letting me play on your quilt Reneta, and congratulations on your Graduation Joey!

Winners & Bright Batik Yellow Brick Road

Today was the day I drew for the lucky winner of the Detour kit.  Lucky comment #41 was left by Ann and she chose the black kit.  I decided to draw a second time, and if that person had selected purple I would give that one away too - lucky comment #29 - Lorna H. from Flin Flon, Manitoba is the lucky winner of the purple kit!  

Now back to the regular scheduled programming!

The beautiful quilt is a beautiful bright batik version of the always popular Yellow Brick Road pattern.  Cindy sent this one in the mail, and when I opened the box my heart sang when I saw these luscious batiks.  I enjoyed every minute this one was on my frame!

Cindy requested a panto in the center with a custom border, and I thought that was the perfect choice as the border fabric did allow the quilting to show up a little more than the center of the quilt (not that my pictures look that way!)

 We settled on the Allium panto for the center and a mix of flowers, leaves and swirls for the border.  A purple Magnifico thread that was much more blue than the border fabric was the thread choice through out.  I love how Magnifico thread looks on batiks!

Cindy's Radio Way

This quilt belongs to Cindy and the pattern is called Radio Way by Jay Bird Quilts.  

Cindy wasn't sure how much she loved this top when it was done, and wasn't sure who the lucky recipient would be for sure.  We decided on the Fascination pantograph, and since she sent a bold red backing I decided to use a bold red thread on the front.  Normally I search out a thread that blends a little more, but sometimes it is just fun to mix it up.  Part of me wondered if she was finding the black squares a little strong as the black is the prints is kind of pale. The red thread softened the black a little and in the end I think it is a very happy quilt.

If you haven't already done so please remember to leave a comment my last post for your chance to win the new Highway 10 Designs pattern - Detour and one of the fabric kits to go along with it.

DETOUR- a new pattern and a GIVEAWAY!

I am very pleased to introduce the newest pattern from Highway 10 Designs - Detour. As always we are offering both a PDF download or a printed paper version of this pattern in our Etsy store or if you are local from Kathy or myself personally. (Wholesale inquires are welcome as well).

This pattern was so fun to put together that Kathy and I couldn't make just one!  Here is a sampling of the colorways we tried.

I had the pleasure of making the classic black and grey and the more modern variation.

You can see the quilting designs I chose here on the backs.  A mix of my favorite curls and straight lines and even a few pearls on the modern one for good measure.

The Detour pattern is written to make one table runner and 4 place mats, and is simple enough for an experienced beginner to enjoy.  I'm sure many of you wouldn't have any trouble working out of your stash to make a quick gift as it only requires three coordinating fabrics in  0.8 m, 0.5 m  and 0.25 m cuts.

We have one other bit of excitement to share and that is the re-branding of all of our patterns with our vibrant new logo!  Many thanks to our dear friend, artist and quilter Dawn who shared her talent (and patience) with us to create what Highway 10 Designs had been missing.

In celebration of a new pattern and a new logo, Kathy and I are each giving away a Detour kit!  To enter, leave a comment on this post telling me which of the two colorways your would like to receive if you win - purple or black. I pick the lucky winner by random draw when I wake up Saturday morning, June 20th. Make sure that I have a way to contact you if you are the lucky winner.  Leave your email address in your comment if you aren't sure if your settings will let me reply directly to your comment.  

Giveaway is now closed.

Make sure to visit Kathy at www.tamarackshack.blogspot.ca for another opportunity to win a Detour kit.