Round Trip Quilts - Second Round!

This round was extra challenging - because the blocks I recieved hadn't been put together yet! I decided that my goal was going to be to combine at least some (if not all) of the blocks.Kim started the center, and she made some great blocks. And Heather added an amazing section.

These blocks are larger than they appear.
The smallest one is about 12.5" square. 

These blocks are smaller than they appear.
About 4" square. 

The dilemma I faced was the scale of the blocks. And, while they are intricate and beautifully worked, there wasn't a place for your eye to rest as it moved around. I decided I needed to make a focus point for this quilt, especially if I was going to combine the blocks. I ended up making a rocky mountain puzzle block, and adding then I split that herringbone block and used it as a sort of sashing.

Here it is!

I think that it maintains the original feel, while allowing your eye to travel along and rest at certain spots. I love how all the 'x' blocks work both as a border and as a their own little block in the corner. I wasn't confident in my ability to incorporate the other blocks without more 'block surgery', so I decided to refrain and send them along to Jennifer. Good luck, and can't wait to see what you do with them! If you want to see the progress others have made, check in at my Round Trip Quilts tab.

What happened to Thanksgiving?

My favorite holiday of the year is Thanksgiving. My family gets together from around the globe, we eat a lot, drink some drinks, do some kind of physical activity (everything from ultimate frisbee to volleyball to skeet shooting), eat pie, and then have breakfast for dinner. I'm kind of bummed out because I just saw a christmas commercial. And it's the week before Thanksgiving! Sigh. If it's not commercial, I guess we just don't care as much, especially considering any Thanksgiving chatter I do hear is for Black Friday deals.

Quilting on a pineapple pillow. 

My family stopped celebrating Christmas several years ago. Now we just go skiing (or at least to my parent's house in Vermont) and hang out - no presents at all! This year, however, I'm really banking on the commercial aspects of the holiday. My restaurant bosses have a warehouse space where they are hosting a holiday Makers Market, and I'm going to take a table. I'm selling out to raise funds for a new sewing machine. I'll be selling my wares along with other artisans from the neighborhood and beyond. It's exciting, but going to be a lot of work, especially considering the amount of other I've got at the end of the semester anyway.

Glasses cases. Pre-quilting. 

My goals are to make:

• 5 pillow covers (1 quilted but not put together)
• 6 glasses cases (2 created, just need the clasp added)
• 12 potholders (4 pieced)
• 4 large boxy pouches 
• 4 small boxy pouches

Pineapple pillow cover. 

I made this pillow cover front in conjunction with a bee block, via the Crazy Mom Quilts no paper piecing method. All I need is some muslin to line the pillow and I can finish it off. I've got ideas for a bunch of pot holders, kitties, birdies, and MEOW. It's going to be meow-gical!

Four kitty pot holders. Already know what I want to piece for the others. 

So, although I feel like I'm cheating on my favorite holiday by starting Christmas preparations, it's been an interesting process. That is only going to get more hectic as the date gets closer. I am making things that will be easy to give away, so if nothing sells I'll gift it for the holiday. That will be extra special, since I haven't given out presents in years!

Red Hook Wedding Pillow

A few weeks ago my restaurant bosses got married. They've been together for 10 years or so, and now that same sex marriage is legal in NY state they decided to make honest women of each other. As is usual, I was working on a pattern design and decided it would make the perfect gift! In this case, it's a paper piecing pattern for a Red Hook (the unofficial symbol of my neighborhood of the same name). Someday I'll stop experimenting on gifts for people I know...

Paper pieced Red Hook (Brooklyn) representing in the house! 

I picked up this Michael Miller Tammis Keefe fabric in Austria, and once I thought up this design I knew it was perfect. Red Hook, Brooklyn is a small community, off the beaten path of the rest of the borough. I like how eclectic and artsy it is, and, frankly how underdeveloped it is (still highly industrial), with great water views on many sides. I can even see the Statue of Liberty from my bedroom, when there aren't leaves on the trees! This also made it especially susceptible to Hurricane Sandy, and many businesses are still recovering more than two years after the storm hit. That's what inspired the newsprint fabric, as it's a very newsworthy neighborhood. 

Cats Cats Cats!

The just meow-rried couple has several cats, so I thought I'd make an Elizabeth Hartman inspired cat patchwork second side for the pillow. I just drafted the cat heads myself, and the stripes across they eyes were actually an accident, since I made a fatal cutting error (fatal to the fabric, not to any of my digits). Not wanting to cut into anymore fabric I just raided my scrap pile and added some nice headbands to the kitties. Make it work, right?

I quilted the cats in parallel lines around each head, and then just along the headband lines. I like how it emphasizes each one and doesn't detract from the fabrics. For the hook side, I left the hook unquilted and used one of the few specialty stitches I've got up my sleeve: the 3-stitch zig-zag. The batting I used is super low loft, so you don't see the impact of the quilting as much. None the less, I like the idea, and hope to try it again on another project. 

They like wine. Enough said. 

The ladies opened their restaurant with visions of a wine bar dancing in their head. Right now they only serve brunch, but they still have a large wine collection, so I thought I'd give a nod towards it on the label. In addition I put their initials and the year. The other side is my typical label with the cheese stamped in green and my initials. 

Cat tested, cat approved. 

Daegan enjoyed the photoshoot process, so I thought I'd include a couple shots of him with the kitty cat themed pillow. Hopefully the cats in it's new home will love it just as much! I'm also drafting a pattern for the paper pieced hook and how to turn it into a pillow. If anyone's interested in being a pattern tester feel free to comment or send me an email (link on the right). 

I also get to check this off my Q4 finish along list. Three down, four more to go.