Rainbow Cherry Star

I have two recent finishes.


Ada's Plus Quilt (just posted today)
Mackenzie Love

Making an I-Spy quilt playing with color has been something I've thought about since I started collecting I-spy charms.  After seeing two quilts (Flying Blind Cherry Star and B. Yazoo's I-Spy Version)  made using Sarah Fielke's Made in Cherry Pattern, I decided to go for it.  Of course, this is adding to my WIPs.  I have another top secret I-Spy quilt still in its infant stages using I-Spy labels from Crafterhours.  I'll not share that until I have something more substantial to show, but if you are into I-Spy and Spoonflower, Crafterhours is a place you should visit, just sayin'.

Onto the quilt.

There are 220 charms in this top, no repeats. I did this in one day.  The large square in the middle (100 charms) is one piece, and each triangle is a piece.  I'm thinking of using Kona Med gray for the background pieces.  I used 4 inch charms.  My collection of I Spys included 4 and 5 inch charms.  Lucky for me because I used the 5 inch charms to make the HSTs required for the color division.  The kids already love the quilt. It is destined for Willa, the curly headed kid at the top of the picture.  You'll notice a lack of orange.  I have several hundred I Spy charms, but not enough for orange to have its place in this quilt.  If I ever run an I-Spy swap, I'll suggest people look for orange fabric. 

Works still in progress.

Spiderweb quilt- this one is over a year old now. I did work on it this week in that I sorted through my fabric and sorted out some strips to be used in the quilt.  This was a bee quilt.  I also inspected the blocks and had to take out a couple that just aren't big enough to be used.  I've also decided not to make this a queen quilt.  I'm going to make a few more blocks and call it done. 

Houndstooth tubes- I don't think I've ever shared this one on the blog, but it is a WIP for my husband.  It's pretty cool, so I'll have to get back on that one one day soon.

Love you to the Moon- a word quilt.  

Shot cottons wonky log cabin quilt- another neglected WIP.  All the blocks are made.  It needs to be sashed and quilted.

Rainbow Diamond- I need to get on this one or I'll be paying shipping to Japan as my friends are moving duty stations.  Note to self- find out when

Scrappy Bentos- This was a swap block.  I love how it is coming together.  I might keep this quilt for myself!

4x5 bee blocks- Another bee quilt.  It's going to be a birthday present for my little brother.  I need to sash the blocks and think about what I'll use as the backing, and how to quilt. 

Willa's Birthday Quilt- will need to be bound when it returns.

Brought to you by the letter S (or is it the no. 5?).

So, I love letter making. Additionally,  I love bloggers that love letter making. Lynne, over at the Patchery Managerie is hosting a "Red Letter Quilt Along". I decided to jump in and do my own sampler quilt.  I have a kabillion I-spy squares, but they're mostly cut in 4 inch squares, which isn't conducive to letter making in the first place. There are other places- such as the scale of the print.

I'm not a big fan of the letter S.  It doubles as the number 5 and I just don't like that.  I'm a black and white kinda lady, and the duplicitous nature of this letter/number just rubs me the wrong way.  I mean to say, I can't get on board with it.   Sure, pieced in a word, you know it says SPAWN (if you were to quilt the word spawn)- and not 5PAWN, or maybe you wouldn't.  I tried Lynne's way of putting a little background color on the top bar, but I also added a little curved part in the middle.  It could use some more curvy parts, and I put in- and took out several curvy parts before settling on this one.  I think it looks less like a 5 thank other esses I have made- but I'm resolute that there is a "better" way.

The t is my favorite letter, not because it is simple, but because I like to do the double letter- as in Attie in a previous post.  So, I guess the "tt" are my favorite letters.   After spending more time that I care to admit looking through charm squares for a "t-word",  I can almost probably deduce that this will not be an I-Spy Word Play quilt.  Almost.

T is for tape measure.

And in other letter making updates, I finished another Word Play block. The "a" is another one of the letters that serves a dual purpose.  Plop it on its head, and you have the letter "e".  Looking at this "a", it might do better as an "e", but there it is, stuck as an "a".  Not only is the "a" huge, but the block is too.  It's 7 inches tall and over 18 inches wide.

I Spy With My Little Eye

To commemorate starting Kindergarten, Ada and I made this quilt.  First thing, I have an I Spy addiction.  My collection has grown to over a thousand squares- thanks to charm swaps.  Swaps are a lot of fun, and you get more cute squares than you do what I call "dog butt" squares.  (In one of my swaps I swear, I got a square that featured a dog butt.) Ada picked out the squares from my collection for this quilt and decided on the layout of the squares.  Of course she picked out the pink fabric. It took me a long time to find a solid to match the setting squares for the backing, and when I did, the fabric was flawed. I think maybe from being left out in the sun at the quilt shop.   Let me tell you, I am relieved to have this quilt done.

I looked at this quilt for weeks before deciding how to quilt it.  I decided on the lattice in order to complement the backing.  Initially, I had thought to quilt horizontal and vertical straight lines along both sides of the seams, but the horizontal strips on the back weren't in line with the strips on the front. In the end, I am pleased with the lattice quilting.  I did it on my Janome 8050 using a walking foot.

I  pieced the letters below by using techniques in Tonya Ricucci's book Word Play Quilts: Easy Techniques from the UnRuly Quilter.  I have to confess that I am disappointed with how the back turned out (to no fault of the piecing technique).  At first glance, it is cute, especially with two little girls peeking over the top of it (they were making hearts with their arms).

That "W" is flawed.  I prewashed the eye fabric and the Kona.  The seams were pressed to set as I went along.  I was heartbroken when I pulled the quilt out of the dryer and the "W" had raveled.  It's probably more to do with my lack of sewing skills, and less to do with the fact I prewashed, but this will be the last time I prewash anything.

I quilted that one square a little more in hopes that it will not ravel any further. It does draw even more attention to the flaw, but my other option was to rip out all of the quilting.  Yeah, right.  Flaws add to those character, right?  This was the first quilt I quilted using straight lines.  My previous quilts have been free motion, and such, the quilting kept problems like this happening.  But, I have to tell you, I prefer the look of straight line quilting. 

I created the label in PSE and uploaded it to Spoonflower in order to have a FQ made.  Next time I'll spend some more time working the colors out. The red is a little orangey, and the black is too brown (PSE's issue, not Spoonflower's).   A custom FQ will give you a handful of labels.  Isn't it cute?  The binding is my favorite part of this quilt.  I think I'll bind all quilts in a stripey fabric!

We had to have our 13.5 year old American Curl Cat put to sleep last month.  I miss her bunches, and I used this quilt as an opportunity to memorialize her. I apologize for the picture- it was taken with my iphone before the quilt was done, and I did want to share it with you here.

Stats: 

Pattern: This is a variation of the Disappearing Nine Patch (DNP); tutorial at Obsessively Stitching.
Quilting: Straight-line lattice on my Janome 8050
Thread: Used Auriful 40 wt white for piecing and quilting
Setting Squares: Moda Chutes and Ladders Confetti Pink
Backing: Bella Solid (color unknown)
Sashing: Kona white
Binding: Sandi Henderson, Farmer's Market Summer Stripe
Resource: Word Play Quilts