Modern HST Sampler Quilt

  In January 2016 I joined the Modern HST Sampler QAL hosted by Alyce of Blossom Heart Quilts. By the end of that year all 24 blocks were made. I used the fabric line Good Neighbors by Crazy Mom Quilts in the quilt, all 36 different fabrics, with solid light grey as background.

 

 

The blocks were put aside because I didn't feel the quilt top was big enough. Later I discovered a great idea by a fellow Instagrammer to add a double, scrappy row of 2.5" squares all way round the  top, using leftover fabric from the line. The final stitches in the top were sewn September 2020.

The finished top was then nicely folded and put aside in favor of other pressing projects.

 

 

In spring this year my quilt guild announced a UFO lottery, and I entered with my Modern HST Sampler quilt. I had to piece a backing, quilt it and sew the binding on, and it had to be finished within the September guild meeting this week.

I managed as you can see!

 

 The backing fabric wasn't wide enough, but by adding 5" strips of leftover fabric it became an interesting backing. I splurged and used wool batting because it will be my own personal quilt! 

 

 

I quilted it with FMQ in a flame design, inspired by Christina of @afewscraps. The wool batting shows off the quilting in a very nice way, and as a bonus the quilt is extra warm. And the icing on the cake is striped binding for the win!

 

Now I can cross off another finished project with this great quilt of 54" x 80"! Just more than 7.5 years in the making...

 

Keep on quilting!

Mini Plaid-ish Quilt

 When Erica of Kitchen Table Quilting announced the Mini Plaid-ish QAL I just had to join. In 2020 I made the original Plaid-ish quilt (an adjusted size) in red tones .

This time I chose a more colorful scheme.

 Outdoor pictures are always the best, and the uprooted tree is a trusted quilt holder. Finished quilt is 50" x 64".

 

A colorful quilt in contrast with a fairy tale tree. This tree is still alive, even though there's not much soil underneath.

 I pieced the backing from three different fabrics. The elephant/monkey piece is very fitting since the quilt will be donated as a charity quilt to the children's ward at my local hospital.

 Look at all those gorgeous colors! The binding is also scrappy.

 

 In making a plaid-ish quilt it is very important to sort the fabrics by value, light, medium and dark. The best way to check this is to take black/white pictures, because sometimes bright colors may have a pretty light value, if you compare the two last pictures.

This is my ninth charity quilt for the year 2023, and number 101 all time for the children's ward at the hospital. 

Keep on quilting!

Modern HST Sampler - Third Quarter

The third quarter of the Modern HST Sampler quilt along is passed, so it is time to show off six more blocks, #13-18:

I am getting to be an expert in half square triangles in this quilt along. Alyce of Blossom Heart Quilts are showing us several different ways to make HSTs, and I think the designs from Alyce and other designers are beautiful. My favorite so far is the one on the bottom left in the picture above, Whirly-Gig designed by Keera Job.

I have made two more blocks, so here are all the 20 made until now. Just 4 left to go!

I am using Good Neighbors fabric by Amanda Jean Nyberg of Crazy Mom Quilts, with an aqua/grey solid in the background. I love the look of the blocks!

Keep on quilting!

Neglected Sugar Block Club...

Well, that is not completely true. The three blocks for March, April and May were made in their respective months, but I have not shown them off on my blog.

Here they are in chronological order, all designed by Amy Gibson.

March: Orange Peel, a combination of piecing and applique.

April: Ohio Star.

May: Morning Star, paper pieced.

The last block  consists of a purple solid that doesn't photograph well, and Texture Spectrum from Robert Kaufman in the star points as the focal points.

Apart from creating multiple blocks for various QALs, I have also completed my project for the Opposites Attracts blog hop hosted by Marian of Seams to be Sew. The blog hop starts on Wednesday, June 1. I hope you will join me, there will be giveaways!

Coming June 1

Keep on quilting!

More Blocks and A Blog Hop in June

22 blocks of the Splendid Sampler are completed. Each block is only 6 1/2" square, but put all together they make an impressive mosaic. I am doing this QAL from scraps, so it will be a random, colorful look to the quilt when it is finished sometime next year. I like it so far!

I will show you details of the three last blocks.

Here is the most time consuming one, Nature's Walk by Vicki Tucek. It is all hand embroidered, and it took me more than two days to finish! This is the kind of embroidery I did when I was a young girl, with lots of satin stitching. It turned out lovely!

After the 20th block it was a blessing to do some simple piecing. This is Sweet Candy by Kris Thurgood. It is really sweet with the cute hearts and the tiny floral background against the black and white candy wrapper.

The latest block of the Splendid Sampler is Goose on the Loose by Amy Smart, a paper pieced block. This one was fun, but I have to admit that there were a few seams I had to unpick during the construction of the block. But, it is nice to be challenged and have to get out of your comfort zone!

I am also making progress on a second QAL, that is the Modern HST Sampler hosted by Alyce of Blossom Heart Quilts. These blocks are 12 1/2" square, and are all about HSTs. These are the lastest three blocks that have been published. I am making my blocks from Good Neighbors fabric by Amanda Jean Nyberg, with a light aqua as the background. Eight blocks are made so far.

I am also up to date on my BeeHive blocks, but here I can't show this month's block, yet. It has a long way to travel to the other side of the world (almost), but I will show it when it has reached its destination.

Coming Soon

Sponsored By The Fat Quarter Shop

I have also joined a Blog Hop that will be launched in June, Opposites Attract, logo is on my sidebar. The blog hop is hosted by Marian of Seams to be Sew.

I am in the process of choosing fabrics and designs for my project(s), and I can promise it will be interesting! Will show you more later...

Steady Progress on the Splendid Sampler blocks

The first 18 Splendid Sampler blocks in a group picture.

If you want to join the fun, the link to the 20 blocks (published so far) can be found on  here. There are 80 more blocks to be published, twice a week. All details on the Splendid Sampler site.

The 6 1/2" blocks are by various designers, and lots of different techniques are used to make them.

Block 19, Measure Twice, Cut Once is designed by Jane Davidson. I can assure you that the hand embroidery on the measuring tape took a lot of time...

Block 20 is also an embroidery project, also a time consuming one, I guess it will take me 2 days to finish it by hand...

At least block 21 is a simple, pieced one! I enjoy the project, though, and it will become a great, scrappy quilt in the end!

Keep on quilting!

2016 Aurifil March Block

Christa Watson from Christa Quilts is this month's Aurifil Designer of the month. The above block is my version of her Improv Star.

The improv piece is made of lots of scrap pieces. I obviously have a lot of blue fabrics!

This was a completely different block from last month's block with a lot of tiny 1 1/2" HSTs and a lot of seams that had to be matched. Improv piecing is fun, and I really have to do more of it!

Let 2016 be a blue year!

Keep on quilting!

Fifth Block in the Modern HST Sampler

This is the block Mountain designed by Jess from Elven Garden Quilts .

The fabric I use is Good Neighbors by Amanda Jean Nyberg. The different fabrics in the collection match so well  together, and I like the modern touch this will give to the quilt in the end.

The Easter vacation is soon coming up, and this means time for a lot more sewing; lucky me! I will try to keep up with all my blocks, and maybe finish a few items.

Keep on quilting!

All in a Row

A couple of weeks ago I was so lucky to win the book "Moda All-Stars - All in a Row" 24 Row-by-Row Quilt Designs. I won the book in a blog hop hosted by Moda, and the actual day it was Barbara Brackman who gave away a copy of the book.

I spent quite some time going through the book deciding on which row to make. I finally ended up with the classic pattern Double Stars that Barbara made a version of in traditional pinks and brown repro fabrics.

I decided to go a different way: I have  an almost complete collection of 'Birchtree Lane' by Connecting Threads, and  with some additional neutrals from the same manufacturer, I knew this would look great.

After having made 2 of Bonnie Hunter's Mystery Quilts (Easy Street and Celtic Solstice) I have learned to appreciate cutting the pieces with the Easy Angle and Companion Angle rulers. This means no waste! Here are all the pieces for the row.

Here is my complete pieced row caught in the low sun rays of February. The row is actually pressed quite well, but the light shows off all the bumps and folds in the skinny. I like to photograph quilts this way, you really catch the topography of the quilt top, it is not a flat structure.

A close-up shows the little blue star inside the bigger green and brown one. (Yes, I should have cleaned off some lint before I took the picture, but I was in in a hurry due to the fading light).

The skinny is 8" x 48", and I haven't really decided whether I will quilt and complete it as it is, or make additional rows from the book and make a wall hanging out of the assembly.

I also took a picture away from direct sunlight and with the lint removed. Here it is easier to see the design. This was a fun weekend project!

Keep on sewing and quilting!

It's all about Blocks

2016 seems to be a block-making year. I have joined: one Quilting Bee with participants from 4 different continents, 3 (maybe 4) QALs, and I am also going to make a row or two from the Moda All-Stars All in a Row book.

This is the third block in the Modern HST Sampler hosted by Blossom Heart Quilts. The block is called Lantern, and with the fabric I chose, it makes me long for spring!

For the quilting bee I made a Wanta Fanta block for Maja, this month's Queen Bee. The above picture shows the backside of my very first foundation paper pieced block! The technique is so fun, and I want to do it more often!

Maja wanted blocks in pink print with a greyish background. Being the mother of two boys,  I don't have a very big selection of pink prints, but I did my best.  I can not show the front of the complete block, yet, since it has to be a surprise until she receives it.

Keep on quilting!

Modern HST Sampler

I didn't plan to join any BOMs this year, but I couldn't stand the temptation. The Aurifil Designer of the Month hosted by Pat Sloan, had a way too good January block to be overlooked. Now I am hooked, and I know the 12" blocks will look good together with all these talented designers!

In addition, Alyce over at Blossom Heart Quilts is hosting The Modern HST Sampler. Every second week we get a new tutorial for a HST block, and there will be 24  12" blocks when the QAL is done.

I have chosen to use the Good Neighbors fabric designed by Amanda Jean Nyberg for Connecting Threads for the QAL. I am using a light aqua solid for the background. The two first blocks are now completed, and I am really pleased with the result. Looking forward to the rest of the blocks!

Candy block

Ninja block

Keep on quilting!

The Start of a New Year

2016 is in its new beginning and plans are starting to emerge. This year I have joined one quilting bee, and will also join the Modern HST Sampler QAL by Blossom Heart Quilts.

This is my January bee block, and it will be sent off in the mail in a couple of days.

I don't have many definite plans for quilts in 2016, but I know there will be made a few charity quilts, and I will try hard to finish some of my UFOs (or WIPs as I like to call them).

In the mean time I am hand quilting my First Love quilt, that's a very relaxing and rewarding project!

Keep on quilting!