Nerdy 9-Patch

Here's a quick little post about my The 9-Patch Equation quilt I made for an APQ-sponsored QuiltCon2017 challenge. The quilt wasn't selected for the show, but I had fun making it!

My idea was to piece the smallest 9-patch possible by machine (it finishes at 3/4", so each of the 9 patches is finished at 1/4"). That 9-patch would form the middle square of the next 9-patch, which would form the middle square of the next 9-patch and so on. When I have an idea, I like to just start making instead of obsessing over detailed sketches...and sometimes this approach leads me to the conclusion that a sketch and calculations might have actually helped in the beginning ; )

The 9-patches got pretty boring, pretty fast. Once the middle block reached about 8" square, the large fields of black and white just didn't serve the composition. I cut down the inner blocks to make them asymmetrical, so the final quilt is still nine 9-patches each with increasingly smaller 9-patch centres. There's math in here somewhere.

Straight-line quilted with Auriful 40wt. The backing is a large-scale Lotte Jansdotter print, binding is the perfect black and white + print from Cotton & Steel and I used white cotton blend batting.

The final dimensions of this little quilt are 34" x 42". As soon as I got the word that it wasn't going to be in the show, I put it up for sale for $300 on IG (still available!), thinking this would be the ultimate baby quilt to gift some Big Bang-loving, math-nerd new parents. Babies are very visually stimulated by the stark contrast of black and white! Do you know someone who'd love The 9-Patch Equation? Let me know!

In happy news, both my Round Peg, Square Hole and Ice Road quilts were juried into the show, so they will be winging their way to Savannah, GA in the new year. I won't be accompanying them due to so much other travel in 2017, but I am very excited to share these quilts with QuiltCon2017 show-goers and I thank the jury for the opportunity.

Pink45

Over 18 months ago I put this little baby quilt together at retreat just for fun. I had some leftover HST's from another project, so I grabbed some coordinating yellow, pink and orange stash fabrics to cut into charm squares.  Along with the perfect flannel backing, I folded the quilt top over a hanger where it's been resting comfortably for all that time just waiting for a baby girl.

Pink45 measures 31 x 40. Perfect for baby rolling over practice on the floor.

When I heard the news that my neighbour's daughter was expecting a girl, I was super happy (and did some patting myself on the back) that this little number was ready to go.  Naturally, I waited until the recent Vancouver heat wave to quilt it. Luckily, it didn't take very long...I'm super fast at this loopy swirl and it is my go-to all over FMQ pattern when I'm in a time crunch.  The baby is coming to visit from California later this week!

Quilted with Aurifil 40wt yellow 2115

It definitely makes me shake my head that I'm gifting a baby quilt to our former baby-sitter's baby!! She's a welcome first grandchild and I hope she uses this cosy quilt right up to the last threads.  Because it is always my wish that baby quilts will be loved, washed and loved some more, I usually attach the binding by machine so that it is extra sturdy.  In this case, I sewed it on back to front and completed the stitching with my Pfaff topstitch foot (which I LOVE!). It has a fence right in the middle of the foot that you can snug up to the fabric edge, and a wide needle opening so that you can move the needle over a few ticks to the left or right of centre (depending on what side of the fence needs the stitching). You can see what you're doing and it's a breeze to get a nice, straight topstitch line.

 

Donkey from Violet Craft's sweet Madrona Road line. Also pictures is some Lizzy House Castle Peeps & Pearl Bracelets and Happy Zombie Happy Mochi Yum Yum.

Organic Triangles for Baby

Friends of ours recently adopted a sweet baby girl. It's been a roller coaster for them for the past several months and I wanted to celebrate this special addition to their family with a little quilt. A recent visit to Spool of Thread resulted in the purchase of a stack of Cloud 9 Organics prints and a lovely, cosy flannel.

While perusing the flannels, the one I ended up buying for the backing really jumped out at me and I decided to take advantage of the inspiration and make a 60 degree triangle quilt. I just love triangle quilts as a fairly quick and easy alternative to straight patchwork squares. I cut mine from 5 1/2" strips using a 60 degree triangle ruler.

I added some Kona cotton solids and a Lizzy House Constellations print. I like that the quilt doesn't scream baby girl, but is still soft and sweet.  This baby's momma is a pretty hardcore outdoor athlete and I just don't see her going in for the all-pink-all-the-time thing.  The octopus and jelly fish are perfect little fussy cuts for a West Coast baby!

I quilted straight lines 1/4" away from all the seams during a guild sew-in one Saturday. Although I set the stitch length rather long, the drag of the flannel and bulk of the seam allowances made it a bit difficult for me to maintain the length closer to the triangle intersections.  A good wash and dry will work it all out (oh, and I pre-washed and dried the flannel twice prior to backing the quilt with it).

I just need to make a little label and then I can gift this sweet quilt!  I'm so happy to be sewing and posting regularly again!

Robot Patchwork Blankie

My traditional guild will host our bi-annual show in June. We're super excited about a new venue this year. It's getting more and more difficult to find suitable venues for large quilt shows that are (a) affordable, (b) available on weekends, and (c) have decent lighting!  This year we'll be at the Capilano University Sportsplex and it's going to be spectacular.

With that in mind, I've started turning my thoughts to putting my stash to good use. I coordinate the member's Boutique where we sell our handmade goods to show visitors, thereby earning ourselves and our guild some cash (the guild takes a small percentage).  While searching for something entirely unrelated in my drawers/bins/shelves/bags recently, I discovered a long-forgotten stack of 6" squares left over from pillows I made for my nephews a couple of years ago.

Presto: one little boy stroller blankie or playmat for the boutique! Pieced, simply quilted and bound in an afternoon-evening.

Backed with some Lizzy House Castle Peeps!

Tiny Pink Penguin Quilt in the Bloggers Quilt Festival

This is my second quilt entry for Amy's Bloggers Quilt Festival. The first is here.

I am beyond tickled to be able to share this quilt in the Blogger's Quilt Festival Group Category.

This special quilt was made by 30 women. Most of us have never met in person. All of us love Ayumi Takahashi, the generous creator of Pink Penguin blog and most recently Patchwork Please! a must-have Zakka project book.  When my suspicions were confirmed and Ayumi publicly announced her pregnancy last fall, I got straight to work on a Flickr group of people I knew would want to help make a special quilt for her and Joe's baby.  Many more names of helpers were suggested by members of her online quilting bees and swap friends. A very happy discussion thread allowed us to settle on an alphabet quilt design using Kumiko Fujita's Patchwork 318 book for many of the blocks. Ayumi loves Kumiko and her style of quilting! Since the book is out of print, impossible to find and only 6 people in the group own a copy, Ms. Fujita graciously gave us her permission to share her alphabet and motif designs with each other. Several of the motif blocks were designed by members of the group 'specially for this quilt.

Ayumi is Japanese and speaks English. Joe is American and speaks Japanese. We know this baby will learn both languages and hope this sweet quilt will provide many hours of happy learning and eye-spy fun.

quilt photo by Ayumi

 
Here are the two blocks I made - the kite is my first attempt at designing a foundation pattern.

Over the course of five months and on a few continents, 56 quilt blocks were constructed. 54 of them were successfully mailed to me....IN CANADA...this is quite a shocker considering our super slow postal system.  Participants also provided scraps for setting squares so that I could sash and assemble the blocks with an assortment of fabrics in Ayumi's style. Lori Holt provided her bias gingham for the backing (a print Ayumi loves). Berene provided the sashing and binding.

I considered several quilting options, but in the end just went with straight diagonal lines with white thread to accentuate the layout and let the sweet blocks shine.  Initially, one member of the group had planned a trip to Japan and the quilt was to be hand-delivered, but when that didn't work out we held our breath and went with good old mail (I did drive across the border and leave it, nervously, in the hands of the USPS). Within a week, the quilt was in Ayumi and Joe's hands!

You can read all about Ayumi and Joe's receipt of the quilt, see more photos and read Ayumi's unbelievably sweet thank you messages that identifies all of the quilters and the blocks they contributed, here. Please do!

Sweet label embroidered by Jesse in England

For me, this quilt epitomizes the concept of a "group" project. It is not something I could have completed by myself before the baby started elementary school, but more than that, it's got the love and best wishes of a caring community stitched right in. The perfect gift for a Tiny Pink Penguin coming soon. The added bonus is that I got to meet a lot of new friends in the process and feel a tremendous amount of support from everyone.

Check out the rest of the festival entries, nominate your favs and vote!

Baby Hourglass

My fall has started with a long list of projects. How did this happen? Even when I think I'm all caught up, suddenly I find a list of 8 things that need my attention. Although the recipient of this baby quilt isn't due to meet his or her mommy, daddy and big brother until the end of November, I thought it best to get this commission done to avoid any last minute pressure. Plus, you know how these things go, it would be just my luck the baby would arrive way early and I'd be caught with my rotary cutter in my hand, so to speak!

Here's Baby Hourglass. This is a companion quilt for the same family I made this vintage-look quilt for almost two years ago.

The momma-to-be chose Lily & Will by Moda and Penelope Four by Lakehouse Drygoods (in marshmellow) as coordinating fabric lines.  Both fat quarter packs were purchased from the Fat Quarter Shop. The baby's gender is unknown and we both feel there is enough blue, enough flowers and enough pink with a hint of green to satisfy either a boy or girl while keeping with the 'vintage' appearance.

The baby's 3 initials will be embroidered in the corner block once we know what they are!

I pieced the back from left over FQ pieces

The quilt finished up at 36" x 42" and I am happy to say that I was just able to make it all the way around with a bias binding made from one FQ of the blue plaid. Such a perfect binding.

The quilt is on it's way home as I type and I'm ready to get going on a few more small commitments (thread catchers and passport holders) before tackling a new quilt project.

A June Quickie

I'm running today, preparing for tomorrow's retreat. Just popping in to show you this block I finished top-stitching last night for Tracey in the VIBees quilting bee over on Flickr. Tracey sent out delicious 5" charm squares and a chunk of white for background and gave us the theme of "petals". She is expecting her second child and plans to use her blocks for an "if it's a girl quilt".

design & tutorial by Jessica at twin fibers

I hardly made a dent in Tracey's charm squares, so I used a few more to make her this little tag blankie for her baby, and to say thanks for organizing such a fun bee!

There is soft-as-a-dream minky on the back again.

I think June is shaping up to be a really fun month on Poppyprint. I've got lots to share and talk about with you! You'll notice I'm dangerously close to 500 followers (WOWEE!), and you know what that means....yes, there will be a giveaway soon! Maybe even two (more exciting news).

Don't go far!

Busy Baby Hands

My brother and sister-in-law just had their fifth child, a bouncing baby boy! Sadly for me, we live very far apart, so I have no idea when I might get to meet baby Iain. I have made something for all of their children, so of course I want to send Iain some handmade surprises, too.

There is something so adorable about watching babies discover their own hands, and their sense of touch. These wee loopy blankies are a perfect baby gift. At only 12" square, they are fast and easy to make up.

I used a variety of ribbon and trim scraps including twill, satin, velvet, embroidered trim and even a scrap of rubber dotted slipper sole fabric for the texture. I hope baby Iain will enjoy finding his favorite loops to love.

I backed the adorable hedgies cotton fabric square with Minky dimples. Quite possibly the softest, most baby friendly fabric on the planet. Just do ask me to sew two pieces of it together! Holy slippery mother of God. When using it for a backing, the key is to have the Minky against your feed dogs so that they can take up the excess. Works like charm.

Thanks for the warning about the terminology on this little project, Jennifer! I'll stick with wee loopy blankie!

I've got one more fun little gift to make for Iain before I send off his package. As long as Canada Post doesn't go on strike tomorrow, that is.