WiP Wednesday

Several months ago, I started collecting fabrics to make a quilt for my son. I had the idea of making a Stacked Squares Quilt using a bunch of fun, funky fabrics. Then, I asked for my son's input. He did not care for most of the fabrics I'd chosen. (Oh the joy of having a Tween!)

So, I dragged him along to a fabric shop!

And he chose a 36"x45" panel of the Solar System.

Oh boy.

I had no idea what to do with this panel. I tried drawing out several designs with borders around the panel, but nothing worked.

So again, I asked for his input.

This is what he's come up with so far:

The star fabric and the planet fabric will be repeated below the Solar System panel to look like quadrants. I'm still not sold on this design, but it is his quilt after all.

And here's a nice little stack of fabrics from my stash waiting to become something for a swap I'm participating in. Hopefully there will be more photos as this project progresses.

2014 Pantone Color of the Year Quilt Challenge - Just in time!

Like most quilters I know, I have a fairly long list of things I'd like to do.....Things I should do....Things I need to do. Sewing projects and otherwise.

The 2014 Pantone Color of the Year Quilt Challenge was not on any of my lists.

If you aren't familiar with Pantone, it's a company that has a standardized color matching system that is used in many industries. Each year they select a "Color of the Year".  For 2014, the Color of the Year is Radiant Orchid.

It's a nice color, but I don't sew much with purple. And I have very little of it in my stash. So, again, no plan to participate in this challenge.

Until I started chatting with my friend Jamie about what she was making for the Pantone Quilt Challenge. Her favorite color is purple, so I had no doubt she'd be participating. With a little nudge from Jamie, I decided to jump in.

Luckily, the challenge includes the category "Just the Top". Very fortunate for me since the deadline is tomorrow and I finished my quilt top about an hour ago! (Basting, quilting, and binding will happen sometime in the near future.)

Here is my entry.....

It measures approximately 37" x 37". I've tried to come up with a name for it, but haven't found quite the right one yet. It'll come to me, sooner or later.

I took my inspiration from the "Swirling Medallion Quilt" in Jacquie Gering's book Quilting Modern. After following her pattern, I thought that the light stripey fabric in the outside diamond just got lost, so I added another row of the wonky triangles. I'll be using that stripey fabric for bias binding and needed to give it a little punch, hence the Orchid border.


Linking up for the Challenge at On the Windy Side.

Sewing Difficulties

I don't think she understands that I have a deadline!

A Friday finish!

I finally finished something bigger than a quilt block!

I started this baby quilt back in Septenber. It measures approximately 38"x44".

I followed AmadaJean's method for making chevrons without piecing HSTs. I've used this method before and really like it. I much prefer strip pieceing to making HSTs!

The back is a Gap crib sheet that I thrifted quite a while ago. I love the giraffes on it!

Charity Blocks

Just a little sewing lately... Our Friendship Group is working on blocks for a charity quilt. The only requirements were for the blocks to be 12.5" unfinished, and made of black, white, and/or gray fabrics, with a Modern aesthetic.

My two favorite blocks are Log Cabin and Churn Dash, which are both very traditional. So, I chose to make mine more Modern by using fun, modern prints and solids.

Churn Dash

Pineapple block (a variation of the Log Cabin)