Quilt-achusetts

I got two quilts done this weekend, YAY!  The first to be completed was  the Jacob's ladder quilt for a church auction.  I'm pretty sure I'll do another Jacob's ladder quilt in the future there are so many combinations and great patterns with these two timeless blocks. Jacob's Ladder This quilt came together quit quickly and it was enjoyable to piece all those half square triangles and four patches, I've been on a curve piecing binge lately so the straight stitching was GREAT.  I used a Cotton and Steel print for the backing, yes again.  I love the sea of roses and it allowed me to use a complimentary color for the binding, green.  My first choice was the bubble gum pink but then I remembered that this quilt needs to appeal to a larger audience. The second project finished was a modern quilt I designed  after stumbling across a Finn Juhl piece of furniture.  This is the first truly modern quilt I've done in a while. Chests of Draw

I entered a quilt, Paris Medallion, in our local fair this year.  I did it for fun and to support my niece who'd entered 8 photos.  I didn't have too many expectations, I really didn't know how the fair's judging worked.  Last Tuesday I dropped off my quilt at the fair grounds and saw piles of blue, red and white ribbons.  This peaked my curiosity so I searched online and found the following: " The Spokane County Interstate Fair uses the Danish System of judging. The Danish System judges each exhibit against a standard, as opposed to the American System, where the exhibits compete against each other and only one exhibit is awarded 1st, 2nd 3rd etc. In the Danish System exhibits are awarded blue, red or white ribbons, or no ribbon based on how well they met the standard. Blue is the highest award (excluding special or champion awards) that you can earn in this system. "  My English Paper Piecing Journey At that point I felt there was a chance tha

Oh so I almost forgot here's the full picture of my Michael Miller Challenge quilt. Michael Miller Challenge Quilt - Book Cover As I mentioned before I was not prepared to do this challenge.  In fact I'd finished up my Riley Blake challenge quilt just days before getting the fabric for this one and had told myself only one challenge a year, oops.  After a moment of, oh gosh now what do I make, I hit the Internet and found a book cover from the 1950's that I fell in love with.  I started to draw up this quilt with that cover in mind.  In the end I'm happy with how it turned out. This will be quilt #4 entered to Quiltcon 2016.  I honestly think it will be a miracle if any get in to the show.  I know I'm not a "modern" quilter under the strict definition of the term so I'm keeping my expectations low.  Thank goodness for non-juried local shows like the Interstate Fair and Washington State Quilter show. Here's another close up shot.

I finished the charity quilt (Jacob's ladder) quilt top and got the backing ready to sandwich this week.  Now I just have to wait for the stars to align and then I can get it all basted together.   Sorry no pictures yet. I also finished my daughter's TV quilt, Retro Wavelengths. I really like how bright this quilt is.  It's  a take off on my Retro TV quilt I designed a couple years back.  I was never 100% pleased with the raw edge applique I used to make the screen but since I hadn't done any curve piecing it was the only way I could think to do them.  One of my goals this year was to tackle curve piecing and here it is! In addition to the Cotton and Steel fabric I used for the screens I also custom made the screen on the bottom left. Finally here is the back. I think the theme came together nicely and CoraJoan seems to really like it.  At least she screams with excitement when I lay it on the floor for her.

I had a very productive week.  I finished my Michael Miller challenge quilt for Quiltcon 2016.  I've already entered three quilts, fingers crossed, and will be entering this one as well.  I didn't realize that I had confirmed delivery of the challenge fabrics so it was a surprise when I got them and then realized I had to design a quilt for submission.  Here's a sneak peek: Michael Miller challenge quilt My fabulous niece, who's a great photographer, said she'd help me with some entry pictures. I also sandwiched my daughter's retro TV quilt.  I find that my quilt 'bottle neck' is often sandwiching.  I have one window to sandwich a quilt and it's when I'm home with free time and my daughter is sleeping, not all that frequent. Retro TV quilt (redo) I've loved Melody Miller's fabric designs for years and was so excited to be able to use her viewfinder print from her Playful line for this backing.  The theme was perfect.