Modern Mini Finish

I am very excited to join the Modern Mini Quilt challenge!  

After 2 weeks of mini quilt inspiration hosted by Jennifer at Ellison Lane Quilts, I started working on my own modern mini quilt. 

I must admit that I haven't made very many mini quilts before this and I am not a pattern or fabric designer but I wanted to challenge myself in my quilting. 

So many of the guest bloggers for this challenge said that mini quilts were a great way to learn a new technique, practice something that you want to get better at, or try something 'new to you' without a huge investment in time or fabric. I really wasn't sure how it all would turn out. 

I thought that it would be fun to use some bright colored solids keeping the design very simple for a modern feel. I started with a 7" base and I measured 12" from the base to the tip and then drew the 'legs' of the isosceles triangle. I used the freezer paper method to piece to insure that the points of the triangles wouldn't get cut off. The finished size is 12" x 25". 

I used 6 different Kona bright solids for the full triangles, and Kona charcoal for the half triangles. It is bound in Kona black to frame the quilt. 

The back is a brightly colored geometric print from my stash.

I straight line quilted in a spiral triangle pattern following the triangular shapes using gray thread.

I added hanging corners to the back on 3 corners so the quilt could be hung vertical or horizontal. 

I'm am pleased with my modern mini challenge quilt...Prisms.  I hope you like it too! Thanks Jennifer and all those inspiring guest bloggers. ♥

I'm linking up here!

One mini finish...

I can only show you one of my mini finishes since the other 2 are still a surprise. Here is the books that I started last Friday night. 

This is the first time that I sewed using selvages.  It was fun picking out 'titles' for my books. 

Some of my favorites...

See Hometown/Chicago? Just so happens that Chicago (or at least the suburbs of) is my hometown.  But my real favorite is Fowl Play made From Scratch. Sounds like a mystery novel to me. ♥ 

After finishing the upper portion of this quilt, I decided I should challenge myself a little more and create letters for the word 'READ'. I used inspiration from Tonya Ricucci of Lazy Girl Quilting.  This is my first attempt at word play.

Not perfect but I'll take it! It was fun to do.

I found a striped piece of fabric in my stash that works with the linear design of the books. 

This quilt now resides in the 4th grade classroom of my niece-in-law, Meg (my nephew's wife).  Pretty perfect place!

Last Saturday my DH and DD1 went to the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. There were several interesting installations. 

[I apologize for not remembering the names of the artist.]

Welcome!

This very large piece was made with spaghetti noodles. It was quite dynamic...not only in size but in the colors and depth of the painting. 

My favorite piece was this sculpture. 

I could walk around it a million times and each time it would change. What you saw depended on where you stood. Moving one little step forwards, backwards, to the right, or left changed the sculpture. This was so mind boggling. 

The art was also in the staircase. Beautiful architecture!

Well, I hope to be able to share more of my minis soon. Thanks to all of you that have inquired. Stay tuned!

I'm linking up with

FnsI Results!

Another Friday night enjoying sewing with all of you. ♡ 

I actually had most of Friday to sew. Lucky me! 

Remember this quilt? 

My day started with sandwiching it. I had previously pieced the backing but hadn't gotten around to sandwiching it. Sew now it is ready for quilting.

In the late afternoon, I spent some time hand quilting this mini quilt. I can only show a peek as it is a surprise gift to someone.

I have a few more cups to hand quilt and it will be ready to bind!

After dinner, I decided to work on another mini quilt that I have been wanting to try. A book shelf...

All the books are sitting on the shelf but I need to add the titles to the books. I did rummage thru my selvages and choose the ones I want to use.  There was some picking out going on last night...not my favorite thing to do. 

I used this tutorial for this project. 

What did you do on FNSI? You can find out what others have done here.

I also have added a few more flowers to my hexi garden this week.

And some beautiful tulips to brighten the day!

Have a wonderful day!

I'm joining...

...the challenge with Jennifer over at Ellison Lane Quilts.  You can head over here to get the details or find the button on my side bar.  

Last week and this week are inspiration weeks. There have been many guest bloggers showing their mini modern quilts to help the creative juices.  

Next week starts the creating and sewing weeks and finally the date to enter your mini into the contest. 

Yes, of coarse their are prizes but even so, everyone is a winner if they tried and created something new. That is my 'word up' word for the year...challenge! 

Stayed tuned for my Modern Mini Quilt!

I also found this group on Flickr that makes Quilts for Kids in foster care. I joined in to make a block. The request is for an asterisk block in the colors purple, chartreuse, and grey. I used this tutorial from Carla at Lollyquiltz. Here is my block. 

I had a lot of fun making this. I may have to make some more!

And don't forget FNSI is this Friday night. Won't you join the fun! Check out my side bar to find the link.

On the Bandwagon Wagon Again!

I have picked up my hexagons again! Here are the flowers that I have recently put together. 

Very scrappy! These little hexagons flowers are so much fun to make. I use a 3/4" hexagon paper pattern from paperpieces.

I sew my hexagons without sewing thru the pattern piece. This is the back of my pieces. How do you stitch your hexagons?

I have also finished the second book in the reading challenge. For a book with something you'd see in the sky,  I read The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein.

This book is told from a dog's point of view.  Enzo is the name of the dog and he takes you through a season in the life of his master, Denny.  Enzo wishes that he could talk be so he can tell 'the humans' all that he knows.  Although there are sad situations in this story, it is an enjoyable book to read. You can find what others have read for this topic here.

Another One!

I was hoping to get this done to count as a finish for January but it just wasn't meant to be. I have been busy at work and it took me a while longer to quilt than I expected. I am pleased to show you my finished Birdie Stitchery Quilt! 

The details are hard to see here. The quilting is stitch in the ditch around the squares, a simple zig zag in the sashing, a winter poem I wrote around the inner border, and a feather pattern on the outer border. 

The backing ~ the extra block is used as the label.

This block was originally planned as the June block but I decided it was too busy compared to the others so I used it as the signature block and designed my own June block. This was actually one of my favorites to stitch!

Fabrics: Sunkissed by Sweetwater and Moda Bella White

Backing: found at Joann's

All Stacked up!

Soon it will be time to head over to the Superbowl Party! Enjoy!

Another Flimsy Finish

After not getting much done over the weekend to complete my Scraptacular Picnic Quilt, 

I finished it this morning [or at least the top]! I decided to use a small white border as a stop to the busy scrappy patchwork and then add a blue and white checked outer border. 

I do love the picnic feel that the border adds to it. 

A red and white checkered border would have been great but I had the blue and white in my stash. That's what it's all about....using what you have.

All of the blocks were made from my scraps and the borders from my stash.

Doing 'scrappy' is a bit out of my comfort zone as I tend toward organized, symmetrical patterns. I'm happy with the results and that I took on this challenge as it has been on my 'to do' for some time. If you want some more scrappy inspiration, head over to the Sew Scrap Along Flickr page.

And speaking of challenge, I have finished the first book of my reading challenge. The category I read was: A book with something you'd carry in your pocket, purse, or backpack in the title: Sarah's Key, The Scarlet Letter, Devlin Diary

Well, what would a quilter carry in her backpack? A quilt, of coarse. Or even those hand pieces can be carried in your purse for the next spare moment to stitch. 

The book I read was The Goodbye Quilt by Susan Wiggs

It is a mother/daughter story about their relationship and how it is changing as they move into a new season in life. The quilt is being made by mom on the long car trip to take the daughter to college. Oh, the things you learn about yourself and your daughter when you are on a long road trip. This story resonated with me as I have taken my daughters off to college and experienced many of the same feelings that this mom has. This book is an enjoyable, easy read with a simple message. 

Head over here to see what others have read.