Nostalgia Layer Cake Quilt (#52)

Nostalgia by Jennifer Paganelli came out last year and it is even prettier 'in person' than on a computer screen.  Buying fabric on-line can be a gamble but this collection does not disappoint.

No matter how many times I have used the Easy Bake  pattern from Allison over at Cluck Cluck Sew, I am always pleased with the random yet structured final result.  I didn't follow her pattern to the letter for this quilt - but her general instructions give me guidance every time.

Beautiful French Lilac Variegated Aurifil 50wt. thread in a wavy line over the seams, vanilla minky on the back & Kona Grape Mist binding ... well, this makes for a really nice lap blanket.

I only know how to do simple quilting and not intricate free motion designs so I appreciate fabrics like Nostalgia whose stunning patterns & delicate colors make a simple quilt become a star. 

Materials:

Nostalgia by Jennifer Paganelli/Free Spirit

Kona Grape Mist

Vanilla minky

Warm & White

Aurifil 50wt White, French Lilac Variegated (#3840) & Dove #2600

Size:  54" x 74"

April 2016

Old New 30's Quilt (#31)

I love fat eighths and Westwood Acres had a lovely bundle of Old New 30's from Lecien that worked out perfectly. 

 I am always pleased by the simple and quick way fat quarters and fat eighths can be used with Cluck Cluck Sew's Easy Bake pattern. 
 Using Aurifil 50wt. white with a medium sized zigzag stitch is so effective on square block quilt patterns - it looks nice on both sides (front & back).  It's pretty sweet for piecing too.

I wanted to use the whole bundle and not have leftovers, so every piece went in - even the strong green & red.  The backing is white flannel, something I usually use as a middle layer in my minky quilts - but plain was best since the front was strong & bright.

Pale pink & white stripes from my stash expanded the quilt into a twin size. The large pale border created a nice barrier between the binding and help soften all those strong colors mixed together.

Materials used:  
Easy Bake Pattern/ Cluck Cluck Sew
Old New 30's Lecien fat eighths (from Westwood Acres)
90" wide white quilter's flannel / Fabric.com
Pimatex Basic Stripe Pale Pink / Robert Kaufman
Aurifil 50wt. White for both piecing and quilting
Binding:  Amy Butler Solid in Coral
Batting: Twin sized Warm & White
Quilted with a broken zigzag stitch on a Janome DC2013
Size: 69" x 84"
February 2015

Another Tim Holtz Eclectic Elements Quilt (#27)

My second quilt made with Tim Holtz's Eclectic Elements, but this time I used 24 fat eighths, modifying my favorite pattern Easy Bake from Cluck Cluck Sew. (here is the link to my first Eclectic Elements quilt made with 10" squares)

I ended up with 48 blocks, obviously smaller than the original pattern that used 10" squares since I cut mine 8.5" x 8.5". A fat eighth is supposed to be 9"x21" but some pieces were a little shy of 9 inches so I played it safe and cut 8.5" x 8.5".

To fill out the quilt to the desired size - the remaining fabric was cut into small 4" squares and added to Michael Miller's Cotton Couture in Nite. (some sites recommend using Midnight blue but I used the Nite on both Eclectic Elements quilts since I had it in my stash - it lightens it up and while Midnight would look good - the vibe overall would be  'heavier & darker')
 Quilting was done with a  loose broken zig zag stitch in Aurifil 50wt. light sand on the top and blue cobalt on the bottom.  

The back is dimple dot minky in Midnight blue from Fabric.com - with a layer of JoAnn's bleached muslin in between the quilt top & minky.

I keep my minky quilts to  maximum 60" wide so I don't have to piece the back - and buy 2 1/4 yards - which leaves me a little wiggle room when laying it out and trimming it square.

Finished size is 58"x69"
July 2014

Tim Holtz's Eclectic Elements Quilt(#25)

I fell hard for this Eclectic Elements fabric collection by renowned paper crafter, Tim Holtz.  Tim is the Creative Director for Ranger Industries and all you have to do is go down an aisle at a Michael's or JoAnn's and see walls of his wonderful product creations.

 

This is his first fabric collection, and it comprises of 3 design categories:  Documentation, Labels, & Melange.  In order to retain all the good scrapbook/grunge/steampunk vibe - I used my trusty pattern:  Easy Bake from Cluck Cluck Sew.

It was not easy to find the entire collection (24 fat quarters total) and I wanted to use every bit of it. After making the bulk of the quilt -  I measured the remaining fabric and found that 4" square gave me the most pieces.  These squares were put on the front sides and back.

My first time making a quilt with a cotton top, traditional batting & a cotton back - (used Warm and Natural batting  / pre-washed and dried before quilting).  The back is Michael Miller's couture cotton in Nite -  which comes in 85 colors - and has a wonderful soft drape -  (while it looks rather bright in the pictures, it blends well overall - another option could be the Midnight Blue which is darker).

Quilted top and bottom with  Aurifil 50 wt. ( light sand #2000 & dark cobalt #2740).  Spray basted (and ironed to fuse them even more), I had a few hiccups (and 3 rows to rip out) as the bottom tension went all wonky - but a few turns on the bottom bobbin case screw worked fine.  Each time I re-loaded the bobbin - I had to make minor adjustments. 

April 2014
Size:  60 x 72"

A Walk in the Woods (#19)

I have loved making 3 different style quilts out of Aneela Hoey's A Walk in the Woods.  It looked good as a tumbler, a disappearing 9 patch - and just as pretty using Cluck Cluck Sew's Easy Bake pattern ($7.45 for a PDF).

One layer cake (42 10x10" squares) makes a lap quilt that measures 54" x 62". 
 Backed with my favorite flannel from Robert Kaufman (cozy cotton in Sky) from Beverly's and  the middle layer with 90" Quilter's Flannel from Fabric.com.

Large broken zig zag stitch done with a walking foot - using the seam as a guide.  
Since I press my seams open this works great and is fast.
  Quilted with Isacord #40 both front and back in white.

Size: 54" wide by 62" long
February 2014