Proud Caribou

 My first quilt top finish for 2021 is here, the proud Caribou!

 I have always loved the winter sky in the Northern Hemisphere with its beautiful colors of purples and pinks. When the chance of testing the Legit Caribou pattern popped up, I jumped at it. A foundation paper pieced pattern of 60"x 80" didn't scare me at all!

 

The patterns from LegitKits are very neat and well explained. 64 individual blocks of A4 size are put together to create the final result. Here's a shot from early in the process.

 

I love puzzles, so this was a perfect project for me! The blocks came together slowly but surely, a couple or three each day, depending on the complexity of the block. The eye block was the most complex one.

There's a lot of fabrics and colors in this quilt. Originally the pattern is designed with 72 different colors of Kona solids, but I made my version with fabrics completely from my stash and scraps. Most of it is batiks from my two years as an Island Batik ambassador. A giveaway prize from Sandra Johnson Designs with batiks in greys and purples also came in handy.

In addition, I didn't realize I had that many shades of brown cotton fabrics in my stash for the antlers!

Laying out the completed blocks on the floor wasn't easy with a quilt this size, but I managed to get a pretty decent photo before starting the assembly process of the 64 blocks.

The blocks were assembled in sections, and the points came together very well. I had a few sessions with the seam ripper to get the connections right, but all in all it was a smooth process. I can totally recommend making a FPP quilt from LegitKits, I had lots of fun in the approximately two months it took me from start to finish of this quilt top. 

 

 

This selvedge on one of my antler fabrics reminded me of taking it slow in the FPP process, you can't rush if you want a good result. I loved every minute of it!

 

The photo shoot in the snow was a success, this is where the proud caribou belongs!

I am very happy I was able to make this large quilt entirely from my stash and scraps. No new fabrics were bought, and the thread was also from my stash, A win-win situation in my mind!

 

 

 

 

Blocks, Blocks and More Blocks

This is the year for blocks, and I have joined 4 different "BOMs" with a bigger or lesser workload.

 

The Splendid Sampler comes out with free blocks  twice a week, and when we are finished we will have made 100 6 1/2" blocks unfinished. Above are blocks 30 - 37, in a wide range from simple piecing, intricate embroidery, applique, curved piecing and English Paper Piecing. We get to practice a lot of techniques!

The 2016 Aurifil Designer of the Month June block is Modern Delft II by Jacquelynne Steves. She designed two different versions of the block, where #1 had stitchery in the center block as well as in the four white corner blocks. I chose to make the alternative version of this 12 1/2" unfinished block.

Maybe I will prepare the stitchery project to bring with me on summer vacation, since I won't have access to a sewing machine.

The June block in the Sugar Block Club is Maple Stack, a modern version of the classic Maple Leaf block. I love the boldness of these blocks, and for this particular one I am very pleased with the blueberry fabric! These blocks are the same size as the Aurifil blocks.

I am also making blocks for my Modern HST Sampler, but that will be shown in a separate post. Enough blocks for now...

Keep on quilting!

First Love - Quilt Top Completed

My first English Paper Pieced quilt top is completed, it is the baby quilt "First Love" designed by Lynette Anderson. It is a free pattern on her web site.

The close-up shows more details of the stitchery. I used only fabrics from Connecting Threads for this quilt.

This was my ALYoF goal for December; I managed to piece the EPP, finish the stitchery and join the two parts together. In addition I pin basted the quilt sandwich, and it is now ready for hand quilting.

I will enjoy staying inside working on hand quilting in this cold winter time.

Linked up to December's finishes party .

First Love and Temecula

All the English paper piecing of the baby quilt First Love by Lynette Anderson is done.  The colors look better than I can reproduce in this picture, I have to blame that on the minimal daylight at this time of year. Now I will start the stitchery part of this little quilt.

The other project I partly finished this weekend was the adorable Mini Christmas QAL blocks by Temecula Quilt Company . The blocks are 2 3/4", and the setting choices for these little blocks were published on their blog today. I used only tiny scraps from my stash for this project. Now I have to decide on the block setting for the mini.

Both these projects have been really enjoyable and relaxing in these busy days.

Keep on quilting!

ALYoF Goal for December

This is english paper piecing project I am currently working on. In the end it will become a small baby quilt. The design is by Lynette Anderson.

My ALYoF goal for December is to make the embroidery part for the quilt, and finish the quilt top.

Later I plan to hand quilt the piece, but that will have to wait until 2016.

Happy quilting!

What I am working on

This weekend I managed to piece my Scrappy Summer quilt and pin baste it. This week will be dedicated to machine quilting. The quilt is a really colorful one, but just wait until you see the back!

Another one I am working on is this English Paper Pieced project. It will become a small baby blanket when it is finished. This is my first real EPP project, and I just love working with it, it is so relaxing!

But, this is not enough, I also cut the pieces for a small, secret project I have not had a chance to make earlier, but now the opportunity emerged. More about this later!

Keep on quilting!

Linked up to Oh Scrap! .

Progress on my EPP Project

I was at my local quilt guild meeting last night, and made good progress on my hand sewing project, a small English Paper Piecing (EPP) baby quilt.

I tried to avoid the temptation of shopping the gorgeous fabrics and books that were for sale from my LQS, and concentrated on the hand piecing of my project. The pattern is a freebie from Lynette Anderson, and I am using fabrics from the Birchtree Lane line from Connecting Threads.

It is so relaxing to work with this hand-sewing project, this is something I really enjoy! There is no rush to finish this one, no deadline in the near future...


Linked up to WIP Wednesday and Needle and Thread Thursday.