Big Finish: Celtic Motion Group Quilt

I must point out that this is my third "Big Finish" post in a row, which shows you how many deadlines I've had this spring.  I'm looking forward to more fun, in-progress style posts to come, but for now, here's the lowdown on this group quilt project.

The blocks that make up this quilt were constructed by 16 people with varying levels of sewing experience and skill. In my other life, I'm part of an adult Irish dance group called Celtic Motion. One of our longtime members is getting married this summer, and another member suggested that we all work together to create a quilt as gift from the group. After ruling about a bunch of designs that would be too complicated, we settled on the foundation paper pieced pattern Four Ways Knot. Unfortunately, it is no longer available.



I selected a foundation paper piecing pattern because I knew it would produce the most consistent blocks, which would make putting them all together into a quilt top more manageable.  I created the two blocks above to test the pattern and show the group what they'd be making.  Each contributor received a kit containing all the neutral fabric pieces they'd need, paper foundations for the 4 quadrants that make up the block, and a neutral square for their signature block.  Each contributor was responsible for providing his/her own green fabrics, with the only requirement that the greens contrast each other for the best visual impact.  I also created detailed instructions with photos showing what the quadrant should look like at every step.  Some folks made 1 block, some 2, and some more.  I lost track of how many I made in the end -- 6, I think.  Another contributor and I trimmed and sewed all the 4 quadrants into blocks, again to ensure some uniformity.

After all 30 blocks were made, my partner in this project assembled the top with sashing and borders. We shopped for backing, and then I spent 2 hours using every last pin I own basting the quilt. I took advantage of the empty classroom space at my local quilt shop to spread it out on their tables and make the pinning process much easier.

The 10-inch blocks made it necessary to quilt over them instead of around them, so I used a simple crosshatch pattern and marked every line first to keep them all straight and evenly spaced.



For the back, we chose a green quilter's flannel with a leaf print, and I inserted the panel of signature blocks that everyone made and signed.  We used this tutorial for the blocks.

I played with some different layouts while these little blocks were up on my design wall.  We had the perfect number for a 6x6 block, and I thought it needed a frame to set it off from the rest of the quilt back.

Finally, leftover bits of fabric made a scrappy binding, and I used my favorite decorative stitch to secure the binding by machine.  This quilt was a lot of work -- from planning to creating instructions to coordinating to finishing.  I was lucky to have some enthusiastic contributors who were so thrilled to see their work come together into the finished quilt.  For some, it was the first thing they'd ever sewn on a sewing machine!  Everyone did a great job, and I hope this quilt is appreciated and used for many years.

Big Finish: Plus Quilt

My recent finish was this Plus Quilt, commissioned for friend Lily's 1st birthday.  You can see my first post about this project here.  It's a twin size (approx. 65 x 90 in) and possibly the largest quilt I've made to date.  I've entered this quilt in the Blogger's Quilt Festival, in the Bed Quilt category.  Click here to vote for my quilt!

The fabric is Hot Chocolate by Jacqueline Savage Mcfee, purchased from Hawthorne Threads. For the back, I used a large dot print, with a pieced insert to get the desired length.  Despite some trouble with my basting process, the dots on the back are surprisingly straight.

Because of the size of the pieces, quilting this was tricky, and I ended up mixing techniques. First I hand-quilted inside each plus sign using #8 perle cotton (pink and white). Then I stitched in the ditch of each horizontal seam. Left with some spaces that were still too large to leave unsecured, I added a tie in the center of each block. (Thanks Mom, for helping with those ties while I finished the embroidered label!)

Lily's grandmother requested the label below.  I made a similar label for Lily's Raw Edge Circle Quilt and still had the font saved on my computer, so that's a nice link between the two quilts from Lily's grandparents.

 

The timing worked out perfectly and I was able to deliver this quilt in person to Lily, her mom, and her Gigi.  I hope it will be well-loved and used for many years to come.

 

 



 

 

Big Finishes: More Chenille Blankets

Picture-heavy post, folks.

I recently finished two more chenille blankets for baby gifts.  The first one I made late last year was paisley with orange, red, and yellow chenille -- check it out here.  For blanket #2, I used a blue floral print (Momo for Moda) with blue, green, and turquoise flannel for the chenille.

Blanket basted and sewing lines (1/2 inch apart) in progress.

Tension reliever -- slicing through the flannel layers. The slash cutter is essential for this blanket.

After being washed and dried, the flannel edges curl up into chenille.  I was happy with this result and the pop of turquoise.  These blankets are a bit of a risk -- it's really hard to envision the finished chenille, so it's always a surprise to see what comes out of the dryer.  This blanket went to my friend who is expecting a little girl.

  

The binding is a DS Quilts print from Jo-Ann
 

Blanket #3 is a chevron print and chenille that reminds me of ribbon candy.  I ordered the chevron from Fabric.com and selected red, aqua, and white flannel for the chenille.  This blanket now belongs to my cousin, who's also expecting a girl soon.

This binding is also a DS Quilts print.  It's the perfect tomato red, and I like that the little slashes mimic the sharpness of the chevron.

Birthday Cupcakes for a Yarn Enthusiast

My dear friend was nice enough to surprise me with these amazingly decorated cupcakes for my birthday last month.  It's yarn!  In frosting!  On cupcakes!  With chocolate needles!

The design/instructions are from the book What's New, Cupcake?. You've probably seen the book, or the first one by the same authors, Hello, Cupcake! It's one thing to admire the designs and think, "Some day, I'll give those a try," knowing full well that you're being optimistic and those gorgeous cupcakes will never materialize. It's another thing entirely to create them -- and do such a great job of it! (Oh, and that's while knowing that you won't be eating said cupcakes because you're in the throes of gestational diabetes. My poor, selfless friend.)

These were a great birthday surprise, and they were almost too pretty to eat.  Almost.

Best Wonton Soup

If you are sitting through a rainy spring day and just want something to warm your bones, try this great Wonton Soup recipe for dinner.  I made it this weekend and it just hit the spot. Don't be intimidated, the wontons are easy to assemble and yummy.

Filling
1/2 lb ground pork
1 green onion, diced
2 Tb. soy sauce
2 tsp. corn starch
Dash of pepper

Broth
2 boxes of chicken stock (approx 4 cups)
Sliced mushrooms (as much or as little as you like)
3 green onions, diced
3 Tb. soy sauce or to taste
1 Tb. seasame oil
1/2-1 tsp. ground ginger, depending on preference

Wontons
1 package store-bought wonton wrappers
1 egg, beaten

Steps

1. Mix all the filling ingredients together in a bowl and set aside
2. Mix all the broth ingredients together in a saucepan and keep warm on medium-low
3. In a second saucepan, start 4-5 cups boiling while you assemble the wontons.
4. To assemble the wontons, put about a 1/2 tsp filling in each wonton and seal with egg wash. I would recommend you watch this how-to video on wonton assembly: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsDOWCyf3tc.
5. Drop the wontons in the boiling water and cook until they float. With a slotted spoon, make sure the wonton wrappers are not sticking to the bottom of your pan. Then, add 1/2 cup of water, and let reboil. Once the water is boiling again, scoop the wontons out of the water and add them to the broth.

I personally like more wonton and less broth (see picture) but this recipe should provide you broth lovers with enough out there if you want more.

Fabric Scrap Cards

I've been making these fabric scrap cards for birthdays, after getting tired of spending money on store-bought cards and not always being in the mood to get out all my paper cardmaking supplies.  With a container of small fabric scraps and a stack of blank cards, they're fun to make!

 

I put an old needle in my sewing machine so that I'm not ruining a good one by stitching through the cardstock.  Any color thread works, too.

 

These pennants are one of my favorites.  It's really satisfying to use such tiny scraps and make something cute.

 

 

Before stitching around the scraps, it helps to use a little dab of a glue stick to hold them in place.

Sneak Peek: Plus Quilt

It was a good mail week when I received this selection of fabrics from Jacqueline Savage Mcfee's line Hot Chocolate.  It was all I could do not to cut into them immediately -- had to snap a few pictures first.  I'm using these to make a commission project, and my "client" picked the fabric line.  Talk about good taste!  I picked the eight prints above for the front.

The large dots will be the quilt back, and I'll turn the stripe into bias binding.  When I saw the fabric online, I knew that I wanted to use a pattern that let the prints and colors shine and didn't chop them up into lots of small pieces.  I turned to my Pinterest board and picked a plus sign design -- simple, but bold.

The quilt will be twin size (approx. 65x90), which is larger than I typically make, so I decided to make things easier by increasing my block size a bit.  The single squares will be 5" finished.

After a couple of hours of cutting, I used my sketch and design wall to start the layout.  Right now, I have 8 or 9 rows assembled, and it's coming together nice and fast.  I'm happy with how the design and fabrics are working together.

Stay tuned for more progress reports on this Plus Quilt...