Eclectic Elements Half Square Triangle Quilt (#57)

Tim Holt's Eclectic Elements was the perfect choice for this teen quilt.  Having used Eclectic Elements twice before, I knew that the colors would look good without sashing and harmonize with denim. 

Moda Love Layer Cake was my starting pattern so I cut 6" finished half square triangles using an Accuquilt die. But, as it sometimes happens - the pattern I thought would work didn't ... being flexible is key if you are like me & don't map out your quilt in detail or with sketches. 

 The important thing I like to share is this: do what feels right with what fabric you use and the final result will make you happy - evolve your quilt design.  I spent many years at an art desk doing old school advertising paste up and there is always a way to make your shapes & colors work.

This lap quilt has a minky back and my usual simple quilting method of a wavy line following the seams - it is fast, effective and makes a nice pattern on the back as well.

I used Aurifil 50wt. Muslin (#2311) which is a wonderful alternative to the ever popular Light Sand (#2000).  It glided through all the different fabric weights with a #14 needle - not one thread break or jam up ... love that. 

This is "Teen Quilt No. 2" for my daughter's friends.

Materials:
Eclectic Elements
Kaufman Essex Yarn Dyed Linen / Denim
Dimple dot minky / beige
Aurifil 50wt. Muslin #2311, Beige #2314, Chocolate #2360
Accuquilt HST 6" finished
Warm & White batting 
Size: 59" x 75.5"
November 2016

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"