Tag Archives: rainbow

Simple Zipper Bag Sew Along with Fat Quarter Shop

June 1, 2016 kittywilkin 9 Comments

The school year is winding down, which means teachers’ gifts are at the forefront of my mind (along with excitement–and trepidation!–at the prospect of summer adventure day trips with all three kids). When Fat Quarter Shop invited me to join this Simper Zipper Bag Sew Along, I thought it would be a perfect teacher’s gift project. I stitched up three of the large zipper bags, added some chocolate and a personalized thank you note from my 3 year old son, and viola! Perfect heartfelt teachers’ gifts!

These zipper bags are SO easy to make, and Fat Quarter Shop has a very clear instructional video tutorial that you can find here:

The construction of the bags is brilliant, since the lining and the outer panels are quilted together and then simply sewn together and bound–so easy! I definitely will be going back to this pattern for future gifts, and I’m thinking of making a few more to stash coloring supplies for my kids in my purse for when extra entertainment is needed.

This is admittedly the first time I’ve made handmade teachers’ gifts, but my son’s preschool teachers have done such a fabulous job supporting and guiding him this year, that I felt I really wanted to express my gratitude. When I asked Max if he had any idea what colors might be his teachers’ favorites, he said, “Alllllll the colors!” That’s my boy. I figured I probably couldn’t go wrong with a rainbow-esque bag, especially for preschool teachers.

I decided on a gorgeous Amy Butler fabric from my stash for the backings and then used it to pull a coordinating rainbow of some of my favorite fabrics. You can see Alison Glass, Carolyn Friedlander, Cotton + Steel–they’re all there!

I chose to use strips of fabric instead of mini charm squares, and arranged the fabrics in a way that worked with the three zippers I had on hand, making each bag unique while still having the same general aesthetic. I used the edge of my walking foot to space horizontal straight line quilting on the front, using my go-to thread, 50wt Aurifil 2600-Dove. It blended perfectly with the “I love you” appliquéd hand while providing some subtle texture and interest to the rainbow fabrics.

I lined my bag with an appropriate Cotton + Steel print, Study Hall in Black and White from their Black and White Collection.

I love the neat detailing that results with the construction of this bag. Sewing in the zipper is made SO easy, and the top stitching frames it nicely.

More about that “I love you”; I think the American Sign Language (ASL) sign for “I love you” is known pretty universally, but in case you’re not familiar with it, the appliqué on each pouch is a tracing of my son’s hand making the “I love you” sign. My son is hard of hearing and wears hearing aids (when we can convince him to keep them in), and so he has a communication facilitator in addition to his two amazing teachers. His communication facilitator was fantastic, signing to him all day to increase exposure and familiarity to sign, since we are all trying to learn ASL as a family, and ensuring he heard directions during the day. The entire preschool class learned some sign language throughout the year, and the three teachers worked so well together to help ALL of the children in class have the best experience possible. When Max gave the gifts to his teachers, the “I love you” appliqué of Max’s hand was met with “awww” and a few misty eyes. I think the zipper bags were a win!

How would you use one of these Simple Zipper Bags? Be sure to visit Fat Quarter Shop and the other bloggers’ posts to see their creative takes on the pattern:

Tina from Emily Ann’s Kloset

Jessee from An Art School Dropout’s Life

Erin from Why Not Sew?

Kitty from Night Quilter <—That’s me!

Leanne from She Can Quilt

Vanessa from Lella Boutique

Amanda from Jedi Craft Girl

Sherri from A Quilting Life

Cristy from Love You Sew

Leslie from Seasoned Homemaker

Tiffany from Tiny Seamstress

Have fun making your zipper bags!

Hand Stitching, Quilting

Rainbow Hex Star {Sizzix Inspired Project}

May 20, 2016 kittywilkin 6 Comments

Last night kicked off the International Quilt Market, spring edition, which is in Salt Lake City this year. Much of my Instagram feed is flowing with pictures of sample spree booty, gorgeous booths, and peeks at new fabric lines and products. One product that is being introduced at Quilt Market as we speak is a new Sizzix die called Hex Star designed by Victoria Findlay Wolfe.

I got to play with this die in advance and I’m sharing the project I made with it over on the Sizzix blog today! It included my very first y-seams, rainbow hand quilting with 12 wt Aurifil thread, and a fun go at embroidery quilting (I may have invented that term myself–is it such a thing!?) I share a close look at my hand quilting, a tip for even stitches, and many more photos of the full project here.

Although the mini quilt is bound and finished, I am 99.9% sure I am going to do more embroidery-quilting on the Alison Glass Endpaper outer border. I was debating whether to stick with the colors extending from each arm of the star or to mix it up in the outer border, but I think I’m going to stick with the same colors as the center. I shared more detail photos of the quilting and embroidery in my Sizzix post, so head over to see more!

Here are the 12 wt Aurifil colors I used, just in case you want to try some rainbow hand quilting, too:

5002 – Medium Red
1154 – Orange
2120 – Canary
1147 – Light Leaf Green
4140 – Wedgewood
2540 – Medium Lavender

I’ll be sure to show you when I finally decide it’s really finished. For now, I’m linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts since this mini is technically finished (although is anything ever really fully finished when you have thread in your hand?)

Giveaway, Sponsored Post, Stash Building

Color Realizations {& Giveaway!}

May 4, 2016 kittywilkin 385 Comments

Many makers have a signature style, a color palette they visit again and again, or perhaps an aesthetic that just makes their heart sing and their makes shine. We all know how much I love a rainbow, but recently I’ve felt the need to dive into other color combinations and experiment elsewhere. I’ve tried color combinations that have felt way out of my comfort zone, played with more monochromatic palettes, and have experimented with predetermined colors (paired with improv, no less!). While I do love the makes I’ve created through these experiments, I’ve realized that I truly love a rainbow gradient, but more specifically, I’m drawn strongly to tertiary colors.

As a refresher, the tertiary colors are the ones that fall between the primary and secondary colors, namely: Vermillion (red-orange), Amber (orange-yellow), Chartreuse (yellow-green, or lime), Teal (green-blue), Violet (blue-purple), and Magenta (purple-red). Thank you, Wikipedia for the great graphic! Even when a project isn’t a full rainbow spectrum, if it consists of tertiary colors it still makes my heart sing. Primaries? Not so much. Secondaries? Meh. Tertiaries? Oh, yesssss! All the colors? Even better!

I’ve decided that once a few last non-rainbow projects are completed, I am going to let go of my hesitancy to creating rainbow-everything. I will embrace my rainbow-loving self and create a rainbow-filled world! I have some really fun projects on the horizon and I can’t wait to share them with you! Do you have a specific color combination that makes your heart sing and your eyes turn into hearts? Tell me about it in the comments and enter to win a great bundle of some of MY favorites!

Giveaway Time!

Today’s giveaway is generously sponsored by the Fat Quarter Shop. When it was time to select the giveaway bundle for the month, this lovely Turn Up the Volume bundle curated by Rebecca Mae Designs caught my eye. Can you tell why? Tertiary colors!! It’s jam packed with vibrant, stash building tertiary colors. Now you have a chance to build your tertiary color stash in a big way (20 fat quarters-big… that’s 5 yards of fabric!).

To enter the giveaway today, let me know what colors you find yourself using again and again. Leave a comment and make sure I’m able to get ahold of you if you win. If you’re a follower of Night Quilter, leave a second comment telling me how you follow for a second entry. Tell me how you follow Fat Quarter Shop (facebook, twitter, Instagram, their blog Jolly Jabber, etc.) for a third entry.

~~This giveaway is open to US and international participants. The giveaway will be open until Tuesday 5/10 at 8pm EST when I’ll select the winner randomly with random.org. Good luck!~~ This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to Delaine!!

Thanks again to the Fat Quarter Shop! Blog sponsors help me to keep this blog going by helping cover the costs of hosting, photography equipment, supplies, and of course time. Sweet, precious time. Many many thanks to all who support me!

Stash Building: Cotton Crates Subscription Box

May 1, 2016 kittywilkin 3 Comments

Subscription services are all the rage these days, and who doesn’t love to receive packages in the mail? You can get boxes of stylish clothing in just your size (StitchFix), food ready to prepare healthy meals (Hello Fresh), science experiments ready for parents and kids to build together (TinkerCrate), wine curated to your tastes (Club W), and now fabric and sewing supplies, all mailed to your doorstep each month (Note, I’m not affiliates of any of these subscription boxes, simply stating one of many examples in each case). In the recent months, I’ve seen more and more fabric and sewing notions subscription boxes arise, so when Cotton Crates contacted me asking if I was interested in trying out a box in exchange for writing an honest review on my blog, I was intrigued. When they mentioned that the month’s box would contain 15 fat quarters of bright Riley Blake solids, I was sold. Full disclosure: Cotton Crates provided compensation in the form of product, a subscription box with fabric. All opinions expressed are my own. My excitement and heart eyes are also my own.

Let me tell you about my Cotton Crates experience. There’s something that comes from having a mystery box arriving in the mail that has a different feel than when fabric you specifically selected and purchased is delivered. Yes, any online fabric purchases arrive in your mailbox, but the cotton crates box held a bit of mystery that made the whole experience more exciting. My kids take turns getting the mail, and on this particular day it was my son Max’s turn. As soon as he opened the mailbox and saw the package he excitedly said, “Is it for me!?” I had to contain my glee when I said, “No, this one is for Mommy.”

During the walk back to the house along our driveway, I was excitedly anticipating what I might see inside the box. Sure, I knew pretty specifically what it would contain, but still that excitement was there–specifically what colors would be included? What would it look like? Cotton Crates gives clues on social media (Instagram | Facebook) during the month to give you an idea of what types of fabric are included each month, but once you order it, it’s easy to keep it a surprise. Solids are such a versatile stash builder, since projects using all solids shine, and solids can also be a great compliment to the right print. In my humble opinion, one can never have too many solids in a stash.

Opening the box was like opening a present, tissue paper, sticker, candy, and all.

I love that Cotton Crates includes a card with a schedule of inspiration blog posts with projects you can make using the month’s box. You essentially have fabric and projects all in one box, with some candies, too, unless your kids grab them first!

I captured the beauty of the fabrics, and then, true to my style, immediately put them into rainbow order.

Sigh… ahh, much better!

I do have a thing for rainbows.

Now, how about some details? You can head over the the Cotton Crates website to read all about the subscription process, see or order previous boxes, and visit the blog for project ideas. Basically, the longer the time you subscribe, the cheaper the price you pay per box. For example, if you subscribe for one month, you pay $38 for the 12 (or in this case 15 solids) fat quarters, but if you subscribe for a full year, you only pay $34, which is a bit over $2.80 per fat quarter. I can definitely see the fun in fabric subscription services, and it is a great option for building a stash.

Many thanks to Cotton Crates for the opportunity to try out their subscription box!

I’m linking up with Molli’s Sunday Stash since my solids rainbow grew in a beautiful way this week.

Giveaway, Sponsored Post, Stash Building

Stash Building: Low Volume Loves & 3K IG Giveaway

April 10, 2016 kittywilkin 20 Comments

I recently hit a pretty big milestone over on Instagram when I surpassed 3K followers, so to help celebrate that (and the fact that it was my birthday yesterday), I’m hosting a pretty epic giveaway over on Instagram. If you haven’t seen it yet, check out my feed @nightquilter and enter to win! The giveaway will close tomorrow (Monday) night at 9pm EST.

I figured I couldn’t go wrong giving away some of my all-time favorite fabrics and threads, and I’m so very grateful to my sponsors for donating the prizes. The prize package contains (from left to right): a fat quarter bundle of Endpaper from Sun Prints 2016 by Alison Glass (Andover) donated by Fiddlehead Artisan Supply; a low volume bundle of 14 gorgeous quilting cottons curated my yours truly donated by Fat Quarter Shop, and the Simply Color by Vanessa Christensen large spool set of 50wt Aurifil thread donated by Alex Veronelli at Aurifil. Many, many thanks!!

Fat Quarter Shop also sent a low volume bundle for me to keep since I curated it, so I’m super excited to be restocking my low volumes! The low volume bundle is available here. Go check it out, and if you love low volumes as much as I do, I hereby give you permission to treat yourself!

I included a little bit of everything in this bundle, including Cotton + Steel basics, Modern Background Paper, Lizzy House mini pearl bracelets, prints from Anna Maria Horner’s newest line, a print from Wonderland by Katarina Rocella, those adorable scissors from Maker Make by Art Gallery fabrics, and more. You’ll have to visit the post on Fat Quarter Shop to see the full list of included fabrics, but I can tell you I’m loving every one and already plotting the next low volume + rainbow Alison Glass fabrics project (are you surprised?).

As always, I’ll be sure to show you once I start putting these fabrics to use. In the meantime, head over to Instagram to enter for a chance to win your very own stash building prize package! I apologize to those of you who don’t have Instagram, but there’s sure to be another great giveaway here on the blog, too. Surpassing 3 thousand followers needs some celebrating!

I’m linking up with Molli’s Sunday Stash, since my low volume stash grew in a fabulous way this week, and one lucky follower will be REALLY building his/her stash soon! Best of luck!

Quilting, Tutorials

Riot of Color: Quilter’s Planner Cover Tutorial

February 16, 2016 kittywilkin 5 Comments

Today I’m sharing the tutorial for how to make the outer panel of a Zippy Quilter’s Planner Cover like the one I made. I’m calling it Riot of Color and it’s a tribute to Alison Glass and her consistently bold and beautiful fabrics. A full color pdf of this tutorial is available on the Quilter’s Planner website, so head on over there to download it!

This tutorial is for creating the outer panel for the Zippy Quilter’s Planner Cover pattern customized by Stephanie (Late Night Quilter) and Amanda (What the Bobbin) for the Quilter’s Planner. This tutorial will provide cutting and piecing instructions for the outer panel (11”x19 1/2”). From there, follow the instructions in the Quilter’s Planner cover pattern found at http://quiltersplanner.com to make the full zippy planner cover, using this 11”x19 1/2” panel as the “exterior fabric”.

The secret to this cover’s creation is the fabric choices. The dark grey of the Essex linen in Charcoal (Robert Kaufman Fabrics) lets the bright bold colors of Alison Glass’s Sun Prints 2016 and Art Theory panel in Charcoal (from Ex Libris – Andover Fabrics) shine. This could also be made using a favorite large scale print for the feature fabric and fussy cut bits for the squares, but be sure to use a contrasting solid or reads-as-solid background fabric so that the construction shines.

General Notes: Seam allowances are 1/4” throughout unless indicated otherwise. I like to press seams open, but in some cases I pressed to the side for this project. I will note those places in this tutorial.

Cutting

First, cut all of your fabric pieces according to the Cutting Requirements chart and diagram above.

A Note About the E Pieces

Here’s where I’m going to be real with you. The DE strips have a lot of seams. This means that if your 1/4” seam allowance is off by even a little bit, your strip may be slightly the wrong size. In the cutting chart above, I’ve accounted for this human error. (You’re welcome!)

*IF* your seams are an absolute perfect 1/4” and your cutting is precise, the top and bottom E pieces on both strips (four E pieces total) only need to measure 1 1/2” x 3/4”.

This tutorial allows you to trim the excess at the end so that you don’t have to worry as much about the precision of your 1/4” seam. That said, focus on straight, consistent seams and we will adjust for scant or generous seams during the process! If you feel like you want to be a Perfect Seams Superhero and save yourself some math and cutting, use 1 1/2” x 3/4” E pieces on the top and bottom of each strip. Go ahead and cut your pieces.

Ready? Lay it all out how you want it and then start assembling!

Assembly

Pair each D piece right sides together with an E piece and sew with a 1/4” seam allowance.

I like to get them all ready and then chain piece to save time.

Organization Tip
Be sure to take a photo of your layout before sewing so that you have a visual reference along the way!

Set seams and press open. Lay them out again and check your reference photo. There should be one E that has not yet been paired and sewn. Pair and sew components of the DE strips until they are completely assembled. Press seams open.

If you are being a Perfect Seams Superhero today and used 1 1/2” x 3/4” E pieces on the tops and bottoms of your strips, confirm that your fully assembled strip now measures 1 1/2” x 11”, pat yourself on the back and skip ahead to the full panel piecing.

If you are being merely human today, give your strips a good press and lay them on your cutting mat. It’s time to measure how much excess you have and take care of it.

We want the finished strips to measure 11” long, but we want to be sure our colorful bits stay centered. To do this, take the following steps (the example shown is in parenthesis):

Measure each strip to the nearest 1/8” being sure to press it flat so that it extends to its full length. (My strips shown measured 11 1/2” when I held them flat.)
Take the difference of 11” from the length of your strip. (11 1/2 – 11 = 1/2”)
Divide the difference by 2. (1/2” / 2 = 1/4”)
That’s how much you should trim from each end of your strip. (I trimmed 1/4” from each end)

Now, measure your strips again. Each strip should measure 1 1/2” x 11”. Don’t worry about a little wobble or wonk at this point. Everything will be smoothed out during the final assembly!

Next, we will piece the rest of the panel.

Lay out all of your pieces again as shown (left to right): C, DE strip, B, A, B, DE strip, C.

Sew them together!

Here’s the order in which I assembled it, but do what works logically for you.

Right sides together, sew B pieces to A. Press seams open. This is the BAB unit.
Right sides together and double-checking the orientation of the DE strips, sew C outer pieces to DE strips. Press toward C. These are your DEC units.
Sew DEC units to the BAB unit, pressing seams toward BAB.

Give your panel a good press, check that it measures 11” x 19 1/2” and trim if needed.

From here, head over to the Zippy Quilter’s Planner Cover tutorial by Amanda and Stephanie to complete your planner cover! Use this Riot of Color panel as the “exterior fabric”.

Have fun creating your own versions of this cover, and please tag me @nightquilter if you post pictures on social media. I always love to see what you create!

I’m linking up with Stephanie’s Tips and Tutorials Tuesday. I love collaborating with that girl! Can you tell?

Quilting, Stash Building

Christmas in February

February 7, 2016 kittywilkin 12 Comments

Sure, it’s February and the silly groundhog just predicted an early spring, but as far as I’m concerned, Christmas has finally arrived! In the past few days we not only got our first solid snow of the year, but I also received my Christmas gift from Santa–fat quarter bundles of Alison Glass‘s full Sun Prints 2016 collection for Andover. I’m so glad I had the foresight (and patience) to preorder these Sun Prints, since even though I didn’t have them to unwrap under the tree, they are well worth the wait.

The Sun Prints 2016 collection includes new lines Sphere, Grow, and Endpaper. It probably comes as no surprise that I love them all.

I took them all out into the fresh snow for a photo shoot with a new camera lens, a 50mm 1.8f lens that was a Christmas present from my awesome husband. While I love this lens, I definitely should have taken these photos with a deeper depth of field. I’m still getting a feel for it. For now, here are the way up close, pinpoint focal point photos of these gorgeous fabrics.

I’m not typically a polka dot fan, but there’s something about Sphere that grabs me. Perhaps it’s the fact that these dynamic little bulbs remind me of the earth with latitude and longitudinal lines. Perhaps it’s the fact that the sphere colors help blend the fabric lines together subtly and flawlessly. Either way, it joined the ranks in my AG stash.

Grow is a design that also appears in Abacus, with charcoal on white. It was one of the first Abacus prints I bought and I cannot wait to embroider on it. The Grow Sun Prints let us use the gorgeously sketched botanical design in a full spectrum of colors.

Endpaper is the epitome of my favorite types of fabrics. I love tone on tone blenders, and endpaper nails those categories. The colors are rich and deep, and include my favorite tertiary colors.

These three new collections blend beautifully together when combined. I love the subtle flow that emerges between fabrics and colors. Every time I finish another rainbow project, I think maybe it’s time I explored other color combinations. But really, how could I not create with these? I have a feeling you will be seeing quite a few more rainbows in the not too distant future!

I also recently saw that my local quilt shop Fiddlehead Artisan Supply is stocking the full Sun Prints 2016 collection, and has it all shelved with some of Alison’s older Sun Prints and other fabric lines. It’s glorious! If you’re local (or an online shopper), you can get your rainbow fill, too! I’m sharing a screenshot I took of Fiddlehead’s Instagram feed so that you can revel in the rainbow gradient beauty, too. Sooo good.

I’m linking up with Molli’s Sunday Stash. It’s been a while, but I have a lot of stash additions to share. It seemed only right to begin with the newest and most gorgeous fabrics!

Quilting

Blogger’s Quilt Festival – Fall 2015 {ROYGBIV Quilt Entry: Mini Mini Modern Hexies}

October 28, 2015 kittywilkin 14 Comments

When I realized that my Unlocked quilt qualified for the Large Quilts Category in this year’s Blogger’s Quilt Festival hosted by Amy’s Creative Side, I knew that I also wanted to enter one of the smallest quilts I’ve made to date: the teeny tiny modern hexies mini mini quilt I made for Jennifer at Little Black Cat Quilting as part of the #miniminiquiltswap. You can see my progress post on this mini mini here, and the finish post here. I am entering this mini mini quilt into the ROYGBIV Category, since I cannot let a year go by without a rainbow entry!

This mini mini quilt makes me giggle. The English paper pieced hexies are 1/4″ each, and were hot-iron-basted in lieu of thread or glue due to their size. I then carefully removed the cardstock templates and followed this awesome tutorial by Nicole at Modern Handcraft to attach the hexies to the mini mini quilt, which finishes at 4 1/2″ square (18″ around–it would easily fit into the mini quilts category, too!).

I love how teeny tiny the hexagons are, and how well the diagonal quilting worked despite slight wonkiness due to their teeny size. I quilted with 50wt Aurifil thread in 2600-Dove, using the walking foot on my Bernina 560.

A single-fold binding with my favorite neutral from Carolyn Friedlander’s Botanics line finished this quilt in a subtle way, letting the rainbow hexagons be the stars. I really love this mini mini quilt and had such a fun time shrinking the pattern as much as my adult fingers could manage.

The toothpick for scale in this process photo helps you see exactly how tiny these hexagons are!

Just one more peek with a US quarter after quilting. Such cute little hexies!

This is my first year entering the Festival, but my Unlocked quilt is entered into the Large Quilts Category (even though it’s also rainbow!), and you can see my spring entry here:

Spring 2015: Prismatic Medallion Quilt

I invite you to take a minute to browse the gorgeous quilts that have been entered into this online festival, and/or enter a quilt of your own! Here links to all of the categories included in the Festival to make browsing easy: Mini, Small, Large, Appliqué, Art, Hand Quilted, Home Machine Quilted, Modern, Original Design, ROYGBIV, Scrappy, Viewer’s Choice (If you feel so moved, you can nominate Mini Mini Modern Hexies in the Viewer’s Choice category, too!)

Here is the schedule for those of you who want to follow along, view the quilts, and vote for your favorites:

October 23-29, 2015 – Linky’s Open & Nominate for Viewer’s Choice
October 29-Novebmer 5, 2015 – Vote for favorites in each of the categories
November 6, 2015 – Winners announced

Quilting

Blogger’s Quilt Festival – Fall 2015 {Large Quilt Entry: Unlocked}

October 26, 2015 kittywilkin 8 Comments

As we all recover from the onslaught of quilt market overload, either for those of you who are/were there in person, or those of us scrolling through endless Instagram eye candy and Periscope broadcast pop ups (or just for fun, for those of you who manage to avoid all talk of International Quilt Market), it’s time for the fun virtual quilt show hosted annually by Amy’s Creative Side: Bloggers Quilt Festival.
This year, I’m entering my quilt Unlocked into the Large Quilt Category. It is also an original design, but I figured I’d go by the old adage “go big or go home”. Plus, I find it somewhat comical that I will be entering the festival with a large quilt (250″ around) and a 4″ square mini mini. The draw of that dichotomy may have played a large role in my category-decision making process.

As regular readers may remember, Unlocked is my quilt magazine publication debut pattern, available in the September issue of Make Modern magazine, and will be available for individual sale in my Craftsy shop in early November.

It is a quick and easy quilt featuring a column of rainbow keys and lots of yummy negative space. It measures 53″x72″, resulting in a 250″ perimeter and qualifying it for the Large Quilt Category.

Unlocked was longarm quilted by my friend Stephanie at Late Night Quilter, and boy did she take full of advantage of that negative space! She used the Cityscape Path straight line quilting style designed by Krista Withers and photos don’t even come close to doing it justice.

This is my first year entering the Festival, but you can see my spring entry here:

Spring 2015: Prismatic Medallion Quilt

I also plan to enter my teeny tiny Modern Hexies mini mini quilt in the ROYGBIV category. (stay tuned for that post!)

Here are links to all of the categories included in the Festival: Mini, Small, Large, Appliqué, Art, Hand Quilted, Home Machine Quilted, Modern, Original Design, ROYGBIV, Scrappy, Viewer’s Choice (If you feel so moved, you can nominate Unlocked in the Viewer’s Choice category, too!)

Here is the schedule for those of you who want to follow along, view the quilts, and vote for your favorites:

October 23-29, 2015 – Linky’s Open & Nominate for Viewer’s Choice
October 29-Novebmer 5, 2015 – Vote for favorites in each of the categories
November 6, 2015 – Winners announced

Many thanks to Amy for organizing such a fun gathering of quilty goodness that we can all appreciate from afar, even while in our jammies!

Community, Quilting

A Finish is a Finish, No Matter How Small (x4)

October 23, 2015 kittywilkin 16 Comments

Lately, I’ve been sucked into the world of mini mini quilts, sparked by an Instagram post by my quilty blogger friend Michelle Bartholomew. The Mini Mini Quilt Swap, as far as I can tell, is an open swap of teeny tiny quilts (finishing usually between 3 – 5 inches square). It’s entirely independent, and up to you or a partner to send the invitation to swap, on you and your swap partner’s own set timeline, and open to as much fun and interpretation as you want. As Yvonne from Quilting Jetgirl said, it’s the perfect “Squirrel!” activity for quilters.

I have a big project to fini…. Squirrel! Off to the world of mini mini quilts.

I’ve finished four mini mini quilts so far and have at least two (more like three or four) in progress. You can see my mini minis in progress HERE. I have promised mini mini quilts to 9 people and have received 4 (5, technically, since Allison sent me two!) so far. They are a perfect little brain-rest in between bouts of completion on larger projects.

The first mini mini quilt I finished was inspired by Chawne Kimber’s Roberta quilts and her idea to sew SMALLER (check #sewSMALLER on Instagram to find her amazingly tiny and detailed quilting @cauchycomplete). I had played around with the idea after meeting Chawne and seeing her amazing work in person at the Slow Stitching Retreat hosted by Sam of A Gathering of Stitches this summer, and this mini mini was originally one of my play pieces. Michelle claimed it, I quilted it with a spiral and bound it with as much skill as an elephant threading a needle.

As my first mini mini quilt bound, I was silly and tried a normal binding method, except thought it would be a good idea to join the binding at a corner (like a miter, right!?). Trust me, don’t do that. I’m seriously strongly considering ripping off the binding and giving it another go. In fact, I think I will. Sorry, Michelle, it will be a bit longer before your mini is in the mail.

The second mini mini I finished is for Yvonne, who said she liked rainbows and that I could have free reign. I first made the rainbow strips 1/4″ wide, but it ended up far too large.

So I channeled Chawne and sewed smaller… these finished rainbow bars finish at about 3/16ths of an inch. In my typical style, this mini is rainbow with a black/grey contrast (it’s either that or low volume, right!?).

I added a little meticulously cut bit of Medrona Road that says “a place to call home”. Without going into too much detail, one of the projects Yvonne is undertaking in an ongoing manner is her Reclamation Project, where she creates quilts with a personal statement. As she says, she “decided to take seeds of inspiration I found in song lyrics to create my own unique poetry in the form of a simple haiku. Once I had derived my own original work, my goal was to use my poetry as design inspiration for a mini quilt.” (from her Reclamation Project intro) From these projects, and through knowing Yvonne for nearly 2 years (really!?), I know that Yvonne has moved quite a bit in her life. I mean this mini mini quilt as a positive reminder that now that she’s found quilting, she will always have a place to call home. Home is where your sewing machine is, right?!

I quilted this mini mini with 50wt Aurifil 2600 – Dove around the text, and then used 12wt Aurifil in coordinating colors to hand quilt a single stitch above and below each rainbow bar. I think it’s the perfect amount of quilting to bring out the colors without detracting from the overall clean aesthetic of the quilt. I hope Yvonne loves it!

Next, I attempted my first improv and resulted in this mini mini. I love the scrappy binding and the gold 50wt Aurifil works great to bring out the pops of gold in the quilt. This mini mini is not yet claimed, but I figure I will make a few more and then email the folks with whom I agreed to swap and let them choose a mini mini of their liking.

I like the backing, too, which is a scrap of a fun low volume print called Passport Charcoal Etchings by 3 Sisters for Moda included in the low volume fat quarter bundle I put together for Fiddlehead Artisan Supply early in the summer.

Finally, I made what is perhaps my favorite mini mini to date: my ultra tiny modern hexies mini mini, with 1/4″ EPP hexagons glued and sewn according to Nicole at Modern Handcraft‘ awesome Modern Hexies tutorial, and finishing at 4 1/2″ square.

I wasn’t sure if these tiny hexies would work, but with forgoing actual basting (I just used a hot iron and Flatter to press the fabric around each tiny cardstock template), and using a toothpick for fine-tuning placement, it all worked quite smoothly! I quilted with 50wt Aurifil 2600 – Dove and bound in one of my favorite Carolyn Friedlander prints from her Botanics collection.

Now that I’ve bound four of these mini minis, I think I’m beginning to get the hang of a method that works. A single fold binding, joined before it’s attached to the quilt, and sewn to the back before top stitching to the front seems to work the best for me. As you can see, the bottom left corner of the modern hexies mini is a *bit* mis-calculated, but the rest of it is spot on. I’m planning to send this one to Jennifer at Little Black Cat quilting, since it’s somewhat inspired by the gorgeous mini mini she made for me!

I’m linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts Finish it up Friday for the first time in a LONG time. But, hey! A finish is a finish, no matter how small.