QuiltCon 2023 Workshop Projects

I'm officially 2 months behind on my goal of monthly blog posts, so I've taken a moment to be a little disappointed in myself, and now I'm going to try to catch up. First up is what would have been my February post...

My mom and I attended 2 workshops at QuiltCon 2023 in Atlanta. The first was Scrap Swap Social with Wendy Chow (@the.weekendquilter). Everyone brought scraps, which were sorted by color, and then Wendy instructed us in making a mini quilt using fusible grid interfacing. I used the grid interfacing many years ago, so I understood the basics, but Wendy shared some tips that made for a more precise completed project.

When I was selecting my scraps, I started with the abstract floral and then chose others that went with the color story. The low volume sashing and overall emphasis on peach are right in my comfort zone. I finished the 15x15 inch mini quilt top in the workshop and brought it home for quilting and binding. Now it hangs in my home office so I can admire it Monday through Friday.

The second workshop we took was Scraptacular Improv with Rossie Hutchinson (@rossiecrafts). Another scrap-focused class! Improv is not my strength or preference, but Rossie shared some strip-piecing and patchwork techniques that gave the improv process a little more structure and order.

For this workshop, we were told to bring in scraps or precuts. This is what I brought and arranged in a way that I thought was pleasing and could inform my piecing:

Not surprisingly, I leaned into peach and low volume neutrals, plus my other favorite, navy. During the workshop, I made the strawberry strip unit, navy checkerboards at the top, and green checkerboards that ended up in my finished piece:

This panel is approximately 18x32 inches. I plan to finish it and hang it on a wall in home. So that was my QuiltCon 2023 experience. Well, except for one significant souvenir...

This Juki machine replaces a secondhand BabyLock that I've had for a few years but never really loved or been that impressed with. We used these machines in Rossie's workshop, and the sale price on machines only used at QuiltCon was just too good to pass up. I look forward to logging many hours and cranking out projects (especially garments) on this new member of my Juki family (this makes 3!).

Handmade Christmas Gifts

I didn't have a lot of time to devote to handmade gifts this holiday season, but I did manage a few. First up is a mug rug with a sweet foundation paper-pieced butterfly that I made for a mug rug swap at my quilt guild's holiday party.

The butterfly block is one of 3 free patterns from Lilyella Stitchery, her butterfly charm blocks available here. It was the perfect charm (5") size to frame out and turn into a rectangle mug rug. I did some simple walking foot quilting and was happy with the result. I thought the dark teal scrap fabric background was interesting but also set the butterfly off nicely. 

The other gifts I made for two friends took a little (a lot) longer. I learned how to knit socks in 2020, and these make pairs #5 and #6. I finished the purple pair around June and started the black and white pair in July on a road trip to Florida for a family Disney cruise. Both are made with Patons Kroy sock yarn and a go-to basic ribbed sock pattern that I found on Ravelry. I used my acrylic sock blockers for the first time and was happy with the shape they gave the socks. I'll use them again on a pair for myself and see if I notice any difference in how they fit or wear.

Works in Progress

This month I decided to put together a snapshot of my current quilting and sewing projects that are all in various stages of completion. Quilters usually call them WIPs (works in progress) or UFOs (unfinished objects). The projects below aren't all of them, but they're at the top of my To Do list and I'm hoping to finish them within the next couple of months. After these are complete, maybe I'll do another post with a second batch of WIPs!

Lucy Boston Quilt

This isn't my oldest WIP, but it's definitely my favorite. It's English paper pieced and all sewn by hand. I started it in 2017 with a little kit I threw together to take with me to Dallas to visit my friend Eryn, her family and her twin newborns. Those kiddos are in school now! And my quilt is pretty close to being finished! I just need to choose a backing and quilting plan. I can't decide if I should hand quilt it -- given that it's hand pieced, do it matter to me to be able to say it's 100% hand sewn? -- or if I'd be happier with an allover longarm quilting design (and a faster finish). If I hand quilt it, I have no idea what design to use...

Fishing Net Quilt

I made this one with the intention of submitting it to my guild's quilt show in March of next year. The large scale and graphic use of color fit the modern quilt aesthetic. Bonus - it was really quick to make. The pattern is from Suzy Quilts, and I made the baby size using fabric from my stash. It's basted and just needs quilted and bound. I'll be hand quilting it using big stitches and color-matched perle cotton thread.

Solstice Roses Mini Quilt

Last year I bought a couple clearance kits from Quilty Box (RIP), and I decided to make this EPP design from Paper Pieces and Sally Kelly first. The kit came with EPP papers, an acrylic diamond template, a pack of charm squares in Sally's Soltice prints plus some solids and thread (although using my standard EPP thread for the project). I only had one issue with the fabric and had to purchase one more print to finish the piecing -- the caramel brown one by Kathy Doughty. After I get all the large hexagons in place, I'll decide what to use as the background, as the pieced element gets appliqued onto a background for finishing. (The kit minus fabric is still available here.)

Neitherlands Quilt

In 2019, my mom and I attended QuiltCon in Nashville and took the Mystery Quilt Workshop with Jen Carlton Bailly (aka @bettycrockerass). We got copies of two of Jen's new patterns at the time, Find Your Fade and Neitherlands, a big set of curvy templates in various sizes, and the choice of patterns to work on in the workshop. We both decided to make a Neitherlands block, and I finished one during our time with Jen. I made one more block when I returned home, but then I packed the project away and put it on a shelf ... until last month. I pulled the project box out again, grabbed some fabric, miscut that fabric as I knew I would (the templates and pattern are a little tricky to sort out when you haven't worked on it in a while) and then found my groove. I made 4 blocks and plan to make 3 more for a 60 x 60" quilt. Needless to say, I'm feeling pretty confident about sewing curves these days.

Barn Block Mini Quilt: March

Waiting to pick up someone at the airport = perfect time for stitching

Last year I started making mini quilts in the style of barn blocks using patterns from designer This & That. You can see my first two here. Obviously I'm pretty far off schedule as far as the months go, but I'm still enjoying the projects, so I plan to keep working through my pattern (and fabric) stash. Mini quilts are satisfying because they take so much less time to complete than larger quilts, but working with small pieces is still challenging, so these have been pleasant skill builders for me.

One thing I really like about this block is that little border detail, with the squares in the corners. It's a nice variation on the standard, straight border. Very cute.

That busy print around the center and in the border had to go

This is the March block. After cutting everything out, I changed the fabric around the center square and border because my original choice was too busy and didn't provide enough visual contrast. I'm really happy with how these fabrics all came together -- all three of them are kind of unusual and hard to match and coordinate. I think I just got lucky that I had the right complements to make them all work.

Much better!

For the quilting, I decided to do this one all by hand. There are French knots, big stitch straight lines, little dashes and x's. It all adds texture without being too distracting, and I was able to dig into my late grandmother's box of embroidery floss to find some of the colors I needed.

Barn Block Mini Quilts: January & February

We're 5 months into the year and I'm still on track with my goal to blog once a month (hopefully I didn't just jinx myself!) This month I'm showing off a couple of mini quilts that I recently made. Minis can come in any size and shape, but they're usually around 24" or less, and I find that they're a great way to experiment with a pattern or technique and achieve the satisfaction of a fast finish. Plus they're easy to hang on the wall for a quick change in decor.

Earlier this year I purchased this set of 2 mini quilt patterns from one of my local quilt shops, Mountain Creek. It's the first in a series of Barn Block Minis from designer This & That. The January block, which reminds me of a snowflake, first caught my eye and motivated my purchase.

Here's my version! I was between big projects and needed something small to focus on, so I tackled these tiny pieces. All the fabrics are from my stash, and it's also the first time I made flange binding (that extra orchid band inside the regular binding)

I wasn't sure which way I would want to hang it (my straight line quilting pulled the front out of shape a little bit), so I gave myself both options with 3 hanging corners. I rest the dowel on a thumbtack stuck into my wall.

Time for the February block, which has a heart inside a star with an interesting frame around it -- blunt edges instead of pointed corners. I started my fabric pull for this one with the turquoise print with little red and pink flowers.

I handquilted this mini using perle cotton in coordinating colors, highlighting the piecing and adding a little texture.

I have the block patterns for March and April -- more cuteness to come!

Round and Round Mini Quilt

Every time I make a mini quilt, I think, "I should really make more of these." They're a relatively fast and easy way to try a new pattern or technique and get a satisfying finish on the books. Or in the blog.

My quilting guild, the Knoxville Modern Quilt Guild, organizes a brown bag holiday gift swap at the end of each year, coinciding with our December holiday party. Around October, participants bring a supply of fabric and a note about what they'd like to receive and we put them in unmarked brown paper bags. Anyone who brings a bag gets to take one home -- randomly -- and make a gift for that person using the fabric and information inside.

For the 2019 swap, I drew my mom's bag. Totally randomly. Didn't plan it at all. I had to laugh because it made the project more fun but also way more challenging because I couldn't discuss anything with her or else she'd know something was up. I didn't want to risk blowing the surprise, so I didn't bring up the challenge in the weeks between the bag swap and the final reveal, and anytime she mentioned it I tried to be brief and vague. I don't think she caught on.

My mom's brown bag contained cool-colored fat quarters and "surprise me!" instructions. So I thumbed through my books and patterns and Pinterest board looking for ideas for something she might like. I finally decided on a pattern I bought years ago, Round and Round by Thimble Blossoms -- I like the design and have always wanted to make it but just have never found the time. Even better is the fact that this pattern includes instructions for a mini quilt! Just one block - it was meant to be!

I added a couple of fabrics to my mom's selection, including a slightly heathery Cloud9 background neutral that I love. It came together really quickly, and I decided to make it more personal with some big stitch hand quilting. I chose perle cotton in multiple colors that coordinated with the quilt piecing and just ran some lines across it here and there, trying not to distract too much from the overall design.

Now it's hanging in my mom's house and I get to see it every time I stop by.

Big Finish: MQG Mini Quilt Swap

Last fall I signed up for the first mini quilt swap organized by the Modern Quilt Guild, the parent organization of my local guild. I was a little hesitant -- I don't love the pressure of making something on a deadline for a stranger -- but I went for it.

The partner I received wasn't active on social media, so I didn't have anything on a blog or Instagram, for example, to inspire my design for her. That was disappointing. All she provided was a preference for "most colors, love oranges and yellow greens and aquas. Love solid fabrics, graphic and improv designs." I don't do much improv quilting, but I decided to go with a graphic, high-contrast design with some improv (though precise) piecing and gentle curved quilting.

On the receiving end, my partner in Ohio made me a lovely mini quilt full of hexagons. The precision and color palette (navy!) are so me, and I was delighted when I opened the package. After I saw the picture she posted, I realized she intended for it to be turned sideways - oops! It works well either way, I think.

I love her choice for the backing and the hand-written label.

Pineapple Mini Quilt and Swap

In August of this year, we did a big family vacation at Wild Dunes in Isle of Palms, South Carolina. From Colorado, Tennessee, and the other end of South Carolina, my parents and siblings with their kids gathered for a week at the beach, and we all had a great time -- especially all 5 little girl cousins.

Three years ago we planned a similar vacation (with fewer children at that point) in Folly Beach, South Carolina, and that's when I reached out to my old friend, fellow quilter, and Charleston resident Kelly about getting together and swapping table runners and scrap bags. Here's the result of that swap, which was loads of fun. I love my table runner from Kelly and have it hanging on the wall of my guest room now.

Since I was going to be in Kelly's neck of the woods again, I asked her about getting together and doing another swap. This time we settled on mini quilts, and we both got to work, sharing a couple of sneak peeks along the way.

And when I was on vacation with my family, Kelly came by for a visit with her parents, who were in town to see her from Ohio. The other thing about me and Kelly is that we went to college together and her parents are my godparents! Long ago our parents were best buds in Indiana, and they haven't seen each other in 18 years -- how cute are they?!

Back to the quilts. I decided to make this patchwork pineapple for Kelly because it's crisp and bright and the pineapple is a symbol for welcome. I'd seen it here and there online and thought it would be perfect for her. I added some simple hand quilting in perle cotton to accent it without being distracting.

And Kelly! She made me this amazing mini quilt of kittens, with lots of low volume fabrics and bits and pieces of pastel prints -- including some from the scrap bags we exchanged three years prior! Surely we're quilting kindred spirits, because Kelly hand quilted hers with perle cotton too, giving the kittens whiskers and adding decorative x's and stars and lines to add texture and interest. I just love it and it has found a home on the wall in my house where I can admire it as I walk past it all the time.

I love this little tradition of ours and can't wait to see what we swap on our next visit!

Big Finish: Mini Quilt to Swap

Foundation paper piecing

Modern quilters like to swap - blocks, mini quilts, pouches, all sorts of things. I've never participated in a swap because deadlines and expectations both stress me out. But when I heard that the Modern Quilt Guild chapters in Memphis, Nashville, Chattanooga, and Knoxville were joining together for a mini quilt swap, I decided to join the fun. Those of us who signed up filled out a short survey about our likes and dislikes in terms of technique, color, and style. We were assigned partners based on this information and given a couple of months to make and send a mini quilt.

My partner lives in Cleveland, TN, and is a member of the Chattanooga MQG. I found out that she's been quilting for 40 years (!), likes bold colors and prints, enjoys improv and twists on traditional designs, and prefers fall colors (not crazy about blues). For her mini quilt, I decided to make a few blocks from a quilt pattern called Garden Chevrons (designed by Kim Cairns) that had caught my eye in the March/April 2015 issue of Quilty. I knew I could size it down for a mini, and it was a good pattern to incorporate a variety of fabrics.

I liked the foundation paper piecing element of this pattern (it's one of my favorite techniques) but did not enjoy the partial seams required to get the hexagons to fit together. I came thisclose to throwing in the towel and starting over with a new pattern, but my friend and fellow Knoxville MQG member convinced me to push through the frustration. So I stepped away from it, and when I tried those partial seams the next day, they worked.

Quilted and ready for binding

Bound and labeled

A few additional treats for my partner

The mini quilt I received came from a member of the Nashville guild. It's amazing!