Weight of Love Quilt

In February, I took the Weight of Love workshop by Libs Elliot. Libs has a very edgy aesthetic and when picking fabric for her class I was torn between a vibrant modern palette or a more sedate contemporary one. In the end I could not resist cutting into the fat quarter bundle of Peppered Cottons by Studio E fabrics that I had purchased. They are just stunning in person and provided much needed color therapy while I was working with them.

I decided to use the entire stack of fabrics rather than limiting the palette to just a few colors. These were my picks. In some cases I mapped 2-3 fabrics for the same color slot. 

Cutting up the hexagons was the easy part. Sewing them together was a slow process with all the Y-seams and it took some perseverance. In retrospect a loose weave shot cotton was perhaps not the right choice for a pattern that required precision cutting and piecing. I had to heavily starch some of the pieces to make them easier to handle. 

Once the top was done I decided to add in a few hexagons as background to complete the top. I had already made up my mind to hand quilt this one with Perle cotton. I used size 8 thread and a good Sashiko needle for this. From previous experience with another hand quilting project I decided not to use Warm and Natural cotton batting as it is really hard on the fingers. Instead I used Hobbs Thermore Ultra Thin Polyster batting. The needle went through like butter. I used about 6 different colors of DMC Perle cotton to quilt this one.

Finally I faced the quilt as I am currently into the no binding look. This is going to be a wall quilt for the most part so facing seemed to fit the bill.

Finishing this quilt has been very satisfying. I am going to miss working on it. Leaving off with a few more pictures.

Linking up to: Quilt Story

Winged Block Bee Quilt

There is an immense sense of accomplishment as I work my way through my WIP list. I cannot describe the satisfaction of emptying a box with a half completed quilt and stacking the finished quilt on the shelf, ready to be used at any time.

This is my very first bee quilt from a bee that I participated with the Central New Jersey Modern Quilt Guild. Inspired by this tutorial on Amy Friend's  blog During Quiet Time, I had given each bee member a fussy cut floral center and matching scraps to construct the block. The finished block size is 12" x 12". For the background I picked Quilter's Linen in Sand by Robert Kaufman. I love the texture of the fabric.

I got back 11 blocks and had to make 5 more for a 4 x 4 square quilt. Three years later I got to the task and finally put the blocks together.

Since the quilt top is really busy I kept the quilting simple and just echoed the blocks. This gives it the perfect texture for daily use.

Once again a scrappy quilt needs scrappy binding, here is to using up binding scraps! For the backing I used a green polka dot flannel I had been hoarding for a while now. Glad to finally put it to use.

This is one of the few quilts I have made that photographs well and I went a bit crazy with the pictures. Oh well here goes.

Even my trusty sidekick wanted to get in on the action and did not loose much time getting comfortable.

I love how this quilt turned out and it will be a great reminder of friends who were instrumental in initiating me to modern quilting. I am ever so grateful!