Elephants Under The Big Top!

I LOVE the design phase of quilting! So many possibilities! Last night I decided to have some fun designing a new block for a new quilt.

Approx. 19"x 23"

I've had this block in my mind's eye for a while now, but you never really know how it is going to turn out.

If you're curious, this is how I did it.

Fussy cut the elephants from the Caravan fabric. Size approx 9"x 12". The side strips are 1 1/2" wide. You will want to sew these on first.

Sew 1 1/2" strips to 4 1/2" strips (light green). Once strips are sewn on, I cut them to 7" long x 5" wide

Cut 5" blocks

Sew the block together and press.

Fold in half and make sure the the correct color face each other. Teal to teal.

Navy to navy

Stitch together and VOILA! Two-tone giant, dimensional, flying geese.

This was done for top and bottom of the block. Make sure you flip the colors so that they line up.

Cut a 5" square in half on the diagonal. Line it up so that about a 1/4" of the flying geese shows. It's okay if there is fabric hanging past the bottom.

Securely hold in place and stitch 1/8" from the bottom. I like to stitch from the back, easier to go over the seams and keep to an 1/8" (you don't want this stitching to show when you put the block together.

Once the bottom is secure, flip the edges up and press.

I hate using pins to hold this while I sew, so I use a thin line of Elmer's School glue. Then press. Because this is washable glue, it will wash out when you wash your quilt. I have never had this gum up my needle. Works great. Then stitch down each side.

Trim the excess that hangs below the bottom of the flying geese.

Two-tone Gothic Geese!

Stitch on the Gothic Geese on the top and bottom of the block and then add a 4 1/2" strip of green to each side.

Peek under the big top!

I'm linking up today with the fabulous Melissa at Happy Quilting for TNT Thursday and the wonderful Rebecca Lynne at Making Rebecca Lynne for TTT.

Color Me Quilty!

Pat

Time to Start a New Quilt

I have been diligently working on whittling down my WIP and UFO's. It is time to start a new project! So last night I decided to play around with a few design options.

Two-toned Gothic geese! Each side is a different color .

 This is a play on the Gothic geese I made for my Gothic Windows block and my Rose Window block (click on either one to see a tutorial on how they are made)

Gothic Window block

Rose Window block

I was pretty pleased with the two-toned effect. Here is a sneak peek at the fabric for this new quilt. If feels so good to be starting something new!

Elephant quilt fabric

I'm linking up with TNT Thursday at Happy Quilting and TTT at Making Rebecca Lynne

Color Me Quilty!

Pat

Jester's Hat - Sew Cal Gal's August FMQ Challenge

This month's Sew Cal Gal's FMQ Challenge tutorial was from Wendy Sheppard showing us her "Jester's Hat". I immediately loved the curly design and set out to add it to my repertoire of stitches.  I always draw a new motif before I try to stitch it. With this design I drew and drew and drew it - in a word, I struggled.

One of numerous attempts to draw Jester's Hat

Then something clicked, I realized that the second swirl of the first hat was the first swirl of the second hat. The hats flipped direction, but you could pivot on the swirl. Depending on how big you draw the second swirl, you can fill in spaces on the quilt.

Adding the little flare in the middle of the hat seemed to help me remember where I was in the design. I also really like the look of this version.

This motif was the last section of my wonky/improv quilt. Now to trim and bind and I'm done.

Thank you to Wendy Sheppard and Sew Cal Gal for the wonderful opportunity to learn fun new FMQ designs. I have completed all of the FMQ challenges to date.

July Challenge
June Challenge
May Challenge
April Challenge
March Challenge
February Challenge
January Challenge

Today I'm linking up with Sew Cal Gal for the August FMQ Challenge and with Happy Quilting for TNT Thursday.

Color Me Quilty!

Pat

Faux Piped Binding

In the recent September 2012 issue of American Quilter magazine, there was an article on "Faux Piped Binding" by Trisha Chubbs. As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to try it.

Choose two contrasting fabrics - The plaid is the binding, the teal is the piping. The binding strips (plaid) are cut 1 1/2" and the teal piping strips are cut 1 3/4". Note: this is a little counter intuitive, the piping piece is wider than the binding piece.

 You will need to cut enough of each (binding and piping) to go around your quilt. 2x lenght + 2x width + about 10" extra to overlap and join at the end.

You are going to be making a two piece binding.

Sew the binding strips together into one long strip, then sew the piping strips into one long strip. (All seems are 1/4").

Then sew the binding and the piping strips together

Press the seams toward the piping side.

Fold the binding in half and press. (front)

Back of the folded binding.

Attach the binding to the BACK of your quilt.

Fold the binding over to the front and stitch in the ditch.

You will probably see the stitching on the back, but I really love the effect of the piping.

I'm linking up today with Happy Quilting for TNT Thursday!


Color Me Quilty!

Pat

TNT Thursday - Modern Quilt Guilds

I have been a member of the FLMQG for a while now, but one of the main problems is that the group is geographically spread over a huge area and we just can't quite get together. We are basically just a Facebook group.  So a few of us are forming satellite groups so that we can get together and meet, maybe once a month. I'm forming the Ithaca Modern Quilt Guild. Right now, we have a Facebook page, but I'm working on a blog and a meeting place.

I'm so excited about meeting several people that have only been names on Facebook. The other satellite group that is forming is the Rochester Modern Quilt Guild. They have a Facebook page too.

If you are in the area of either of these groups, please join the Facebook group or you can contact me, if you're not on Facebook.

And speaking of Facebook, Color Me Quilty now has it's own Facebook page and I would love to have you follow me there.

I'm linking up today with Happy Quilting for TNT Thursday and Making Rebecca Lynne for TTT

Color Me Quilty!

Pat

Meet the Newest Member of My Quilt Family...

...Frances Pfaff. Otherwise know as Miss Frannie. And yes, I know I'm weird, I name my machines, (and really spoiled for getting a new machine).

Miss Frances (Frannie) Pfaff - Pfaff Quilters Expression 4.0

Two different setting for Free Motion - Traditional spring free-motion and Sensormatic free-motion

The Sensormatic free-motion setting lets the presser foot hover so the quilt sandwich glides. 

The free-motion foot is nice and open. Love it!

The little black arm in the back of the presser foot is a build it walking foot.

10" Throat - oh yeah!

Hundreds of stitches

Even the foot petal is nice and big. Easy to use.

But the very best part is the service from Quilters Corners, the store where I purchased this machine. This machine was used for a year in their classroom. They cleaned and serviced it, and because they never actually sold it, it still has it's full warranty.  It also includes basic training when you pick up your machine, the a 3-4 hour new owners class that goes through all of the functions of the machine. You can take this class over and over again, for the life of the machine - FREE! And if Frannie goes in for service, they give you a loaner from their classroom. Oh and did I tell you the machine was $1000 off MSRP! You just can't beat this deal!

Quilters Corners just ROCKS!!!!

And since I've never purchased a new machine (I inherited my Babylocks), this is definitely trying something new. So I'm linking up with Melissa at Happy Quilting for TNT Thursday! 

Color Me Quilty!

Pat