Accuquilt Tumbler Quilt (#74)

Tumbler quilts are fun to make & use up a ton of focus fabric.  Best of all, if you pick a harmonizing collection like this one from Hawthorne Threads, your quilt just blends into itself when you snuggle.

A favorite tumbler quilt that I have kept is Sweet As Honey by Bonnie Christine.  I wanted to make my friend in Australia something similar but in blue tones. Norwegian Wood was the perfect choice. 

Here is a little info on Hawthorne Threads and their digital printing process.  The tight weave did require a #10 needle and I pre-washed & starched before cutting the tumbler shapes on the Accuquilt die.

While I usually quilt with a #14 needle through batting and minky, that size made too big a hole through the tight fabric - so it was slow and steady with a #10 needle in a wavy line 4.0 stitch. 

Backed with vanillia minky from Fabric.com and quilted with Aurifil 50wt. #5007 Grey Blue on top and #2000 Light Sand on the bottom.  This super soft quilt is right on time for winter Down Under!

Materials:
Norwegian Wood from Hawthorne Threads
Vanilla minky / Fabric.com
Aurifil 50wt. #5007 / #2000
Warm & White batting
Accuquilt tumbler die (large)
Size: 59.5" x 78"
March 2017

Day of the Dead Slide Show Quilt (#73)

"Folklorico Baile de Calavaeras" by Alexander Henry is my favorite Day of the Dead fabric yet.  Like all novelty fabrics it is a challenge to capture all the images in large irregular repeats.

After many Google searches of 'large pattern quilts' - I found "Slide Show" by Atkinson Designs. This pattern is available by snail mail from Etsy and different vendors - or from Atkinson Designs (sadly not digital).

What I love about this pattern:  it's simple ... cuts are in whole numbers (not a 7/8" here or 3/16" there) ... it's fast and it showcases a nice chunk of novelty fabric - perfect! 

Important notes:  always use a scant 1/4" and make a small test strip of the smaller blocks to make sure your seams are not too large - there is no trimming.  Also, make a copy of the pattern before you start writing notes on it!

I used for the first time Shot Cottons from Kaffe Fassett - called Wovens in Blue Jean (from Hawthorne Threads). A word of caution - it is lovely and soft but very thin. Some say its because there is no paint or dye sitting on top of the fabric. I just know some seams made with my usual 1.5 stitch length looked more 'fragile' than with a robust Kona or Essex linen. I did pre-wash and starch all fabrics before cutting and assembly.

This quilt is for someone is loves color and it was super fun to add the bright orange border and go out of my comfort zone and use Aurifil 50wt. #1104 ... Neon Orange!  I love how the bright thread shows up on the blue ... can't wait to experiment with more bold thread colors.  I tend to use Aurifil colors that blend since my quilting is so simple, but no more ... color it is!

Materials:
Folklorico Baile de Calaveras / Alexander Henry
Stripe-C #8233 / Timeless Treasures
Mixmasters Dot to Dot #7585 / Robert Kaufman
Wovens in Blue Jean / Kaffe Fassett
Aurifil 50wt. #1104 Neon Orange, #1158 Medium Grey
Dimple dot minky Navy / Hawthorne Threads
Warm & White batting
Slide Show pattern by Atkinson Designs
Size: 60" x 71.5"
March 2017