QuiltCon Recap - Part 2

My second demo at QuiltCon was Making Wonky Mini Four-Patches. 

I used these cute precut 2-1/2" squares--Paintbrush Studio calls them Paint Chips--to make two different styles of wonky four-patches. 

Here's a pic from the first demo (I had another super helpful "Vanna" holding my quilts). 

A look at the quilt--Four-Patch Parade. I made teeny wonky four-patches (1-1/4" finished) and inserted them into gray and white strips. 

Love the quilting--done by Diane Oakes--she even included little machine quilted four-patches for fun!

Larger wonky four-patches, made by combining four 2-1/2" squares and then cutting them wonkily. A simple but fun mini quilt. 

QuiltCon Recap - part 1

The Hashtag quilt wasn't the only design I had at the show. I was asked to do two demos, so I created samples using the Painter's Palette Solids.

My first demo was Mod Illusions: The 3Ds of Quilts Made with Solids. The quilts you see below demonstrate the principles I talked about. 

Here's me, mid-demo. The Modern Quilt Guild provided me with a "Vanna" to hold up quilts while I talked. (thanks, Chelsea!)

Here's what the demo crowd looked like:

 And just to keep things real, here's a selfie from earlier that morning. I am a water girl, not a coffee drinker. But after a late arrival in Savannah the night before, I decided to sugar up with a chai tea latte. I noticed the lovely stain on my shirt after I got to the convention center. Yikes! Thankfully our hotel was right next door, so I could pop back and change before the demo! 

Here's the "In & Out Log Cabin" quilt, which shows how you can create the illusion of peaks and valleys with value changes. My friend Diane Oakes quilted it. 

A close-up of the quilting, which I love! 

My "Woven Hashtag" variation--a larger version of the block from the Hashtag quilt, but each strip uses four different values to create a gradated illusion. (Diane quilted this one as well.)

"Mod Tumber" - This might be my favorite. Short tangent here. When I first started quilting (17 years ago!), I fell in love with the tumbling block concept. Some wise soul suggested that not be my first quilt. The tumbling block ended up so far on the back burner that I didn't make it until this one. I love the 3-D effect here! And sidenote--if you're considering a tumbling block quilt, definitely use triangles for the black parts in my quilt rather than sewing Y seams! Much easier!

I sewed this quilt the day before I left for QuiltCon, so I quilted it myself. 

OMG February: Complete! (plus a quilt at QuiltCon)

Besides the lovely OMG challenge, which keeps me committed to completing some part of at least one project per month, I had extra incentive this month! My goal was to bind a quilt that I'd recently finished, and I needed to do so because it would be hanging in a booth at QuiltCon! Here is the finished quilt, with completed binding. 

"Hashtag"

A little background on the quilt: 

I wanted to design a quilt using hashtags because of how much IG has become a part of the quilting world. After settling on the actual hashtag look, I played around with the two different background colors, which I think really enhance the design. 

The key to making the design work was to have four different shades of each color for the hashtags. Easier said than done. I had six or seven to choose from for each hashtag (red, yellow, green and blue), and even after I'd selected the top four and stitched a sample block, I realized that I'd have to go back to the drawing board on a few. (Incidentally, these mistakes worked out well, because I also gave a demo at QuiltCon about creating quilts with the illusion of 3D and how shading played into that, so I had examples of what not to do!)

My initial attempts;
the only block that didn't have at least one color swapped out after making these was the red.

Once I settled on the colors and completed the top, it was beautifully quilted by my friend Diane Oakes. I love the combination of the patterns she used in it, even down to the detail of the loop-de-loops along the outer edge!

The quilting from the back:

A side view so we can all enjoy the texture provided by the quilting a little more:

Here is the quilt in the Paintbrush Studio booth. The quilt uses their soft and silky smooth Painter's Palette Solids, which I love working with (168 colors!). The pattern for the Hashtag quilt was given away as a prize to attendees; you can download it here. 

Me with the quilt: 

I didn't submit anything to QuiltCon this year, but after walking the show, I am going to next year! For now, however, having a quilt hanging in a booth at the show was pretty cool! 

And, just for fun, when I originally designed the quilt, I also created a version in a different colorway. Here it is: 

Introducing Diamond Drama!

I've spent much of January and February playing with Paintbrush Studio's Painter's Palette Solids. These fabrics are soft and silky, and with 168 colors, there are plenty to choose from! 

I didn't realize until I started doing this how much I enjoyed designing with solids. You'll see over the next few weeks just how much! 

I'm on my way to QuiltCon right now (yippee!), where I'll be giving a few demonstrations using these lovely solids. After I'm done, I'll post about the sample quilts I've made here and tell you more about them, but for now, I'm sharing my newest quilt design.

Introducing....Diamond Drama!

I'm the first to admit that this quilt is quite simple, construction-wise. The key is color choice and placement. I picked four colors to work with--teal, orange, purple and lime, and selected four different shades of each color. Then I paired these brights with white, black, and a variety of grays. The result? Dimension and depth! (Which just might be the theme of one of my demos...)

Of course, fabulous quilting is key as well. Fellow guild member Brianne Moores did a fantastic job quilting it--I'm in love with her stitching!

I will soon be offering this quilt as a pattern for sale (the pattern also includes two additional size options). Stay tuned!