Tiled Quilt {Roma Quilt Pattern}

When I first saw the Roma Quilt, designed by Quiltd Studios, I knew I wanted to make it. I love mosaic quilts that are reminiscent of tiles, and I couldn't figure out just by looking at it how it was put together. Which means it was interesting. I bought it and squirreled it away until I was ready to make it. That time came this year, when I was preparing to go to Sewtopia San Antonio. This was my second Sewtopia event and I wanted to take a project I was excited about, but that wouldn't require a lot of brain power since there's so much going on and so much socializing at Sewtopia. 

At first, I planned to take the Interwoven pattern, by Lo and Behold Stitchery, but after I purchased fabric and had pressed it and was preparing to cut it, I realized how difficult the pattern was. Maybe that sounds dumb; I probably should have realized it would be a difficult pattern before getting that far. But I didn't. I thought, oh, strip piecing...precision, but mindless sewing. Perfect. 

Wrong. 

So wrong. 

I opened it up and started trying to decipher the directions and was SO confused. 

Guys, I have sewn, like, 70 quilts. I've created my own patterns. I don't do crazy hard stuff like applique, or really super technical stuff, but I'm a decently advanced quilter. And I could not figure it out. I realized right then that it was not going to work for Sewtopia. So I switched gears and pulled out my Roma pattern. I used my Kona color board to pick out some colors I thought would be great and bought them quick so I could get it all cut. 

Delicate Arch Quilt

I feel so lucky I got to make this quilt as part of a pattern test for Meagan at Lomond Slopes Quilts. When I saw her tester call, and the amazing design, I applied immediately. What an amazing quilt! I love the tribute to Utah. 

This quilt pattern has two sizes, a large throw and a baby size. I opted for the throw because I like big quilts, and if given a choice, I'm going to make a bigger quilt. It's a great size--some throws are too small in my opinion, but I'm very tall and my husband is even taller, which means our kids are also super tall. So big quilts are advantageous. However, after I finished, I wished I had sewn the smaller one. I think the baby size would probably make a great wall hanging, which would be perfect for the design. As it is, folded up on my couch, you can't really see what the quilt is, and so often that's how quilts live, especially throws. 

Picture Perfect (A Snap Happy pattern)

When I saw the Pen and Paper Snap Happy pattern release, I had to have it! I was so excited about it. I love photography and I felt like it would a great quilt to showcase some fun travel prints. Or, to use her tutorial to print some of my own travel photos onto fabric and have a real memory quilt. I was so excited I bought the pattern at Sewtopia in Milwaukee, even though I had no intention of sewing it during the trip.

I quickly decided on using Rifle Paper Co fabrics, because their Bon Voyage line had come out just about a year ago. I knew it would be perfect. I opted to fussy cut the feature prints and I also added in a few prints from other lines and I really love all of them. Because I was so excited about this pattern, I made it pretty quickly, for me, anyway! I didn't manage to participate in the sew along, but within a year of the release is still pretty quick for me. I'm usually pretty late to the party. 

Federa Quilt

Summer has flown by for me. Our kids go back to school in just a week and a half or so, and I can hardly believe it! I've got to pack a bunch of fun things in that we've meant to do all summer, and it just hasn't happened yet. A hike, maybe (if I can talk them into it...), a day at the roller rink, shopping for family picture clothes...plus we need to review everyone's uniforms and make sure they have what they need. We have had a great summer, even if I feel like I need to make up for lost time. We took a roadtrip up to the Pacific Northwest and visited the San Juan Islands and Olympic Peninsula with a short stop at Cannon Beach before coming home. It was a lovely way to start summer. But, we haven't done our typical summer sewing service this year (we also missed last year) and that makes me kinda sad. Maybe next year we can get back into it. I have had my girls help cook for the last few weeks which was on my list...I want them to help me just once a week so they can start to learn how. My older girls end up doing most of the work while I assist, and my younger ones help until they get bored waiting for various steps and never come back...but it's okay. Progress, right? 

And speaking of progress, I've made progress in my sewing room, too. I bound two quilts, including my Federa Quilt, which I mostly pieced at Sewtopia in April. It's the Wasatch pattern by Compass and Wildflowers. I used colors inspired by our trip to the Dolomites in October, so yellow and orange foliage and turquoise for the lake. We got to visit Federa Lake while we were there and it was absolutely stunning. 

The piecing was really simple and a perfect Sewtopia project since I could just grab strips and go; since it was made of solids and all the blocks were the same, there was no need to lay things out or worry about spacing out colors and fabrics evenly. 

Unfortunately, it's not square. I appreciated that she has you cut blocks in halves or quarters to add to the edges to make the edges straight so you don't have to trim it after quilting and lose so much of the blocks, but I wonder if that was partially to blame for it's lack of squareness. It doesn't really matter, not really, it's a throw quilt and even if it was a bed quilt, I'm really not much of a show quilter. (Although I do have something to share about that later; stay tuned!)

I love this quilt and that it reminds me of Italy. Our trip to the dolomites was really great, I'd love to go back! It was just beautiful. Although, I think we'll wait until after the olympics go through; there was plenty of construction as they prepare to host.

Palais Royale

 I like designing my own quilts and trying to create something out of the box that’s me and unique. This project is one of those, inspired by my travels. 

In 2019, we took our oldest two girls to France to attend a wedding. The wedding was in the south, so we started our trip there and ended in Paris. One of our stops in Paris was the courtyard at the Palais royale where we relaxed for a bit before dinner one day. In the courtyard, they have some permanent modern art installations, including fountains with a pyramid of stacked metal balls, and rows of striped pillars. Some are only inches tall and others are nearly as tall as I am. I’m sure there is a method to the order but it’s not immediately discernible. We spend a while walking around them, taking pictures on and with them, and enjoying our evening. 

One day while I was brainstorming quilt ideas, I thought of these pillars and started playing around with a design. This is where I landed. It’s really big, but it was tricky to get the blocks smaller with the same proportions, and I like big quilts anyway, so it’s okay.

Florentine Sunset

 I loved Quiltcon earlier this year. It was such a fun, but exhausting day. So inspiring. The quilts were just amazing, and I loved browsing the vendors area. It was so large! I was hoping I would be able to get a Clammy ruler, and I was happy that I could. Sewtopia had them for sale and I bought two sizes, plus a Hurty ruler. I can't remember where I had seen a clammy ruler quilt, but I knew I really wanted one, and that Latifah Saafir, the designer behind the clammy ruler, was a MQG darling. 

I bought a bunch of other things too...it was fun. I did try to restrain myself, but it was just all so inspiring! 

I came home and was promptly very intimidated by the Clammys AND the Hurty. So I "brainstormed" color schemes and designs so I could avoid them for a bit. I really wanted to try them, but I was so intimidated!

I finally got the courage after coming up with a fun color scheme (and testing out the sewing method with some scraps) and I went for it! I was inspired by this watercolor that inspired my mini quilt I blogged about here. I referenced this quilt in that post too, but I hadn't started yet. I couldn't decide if I liked the more visual bridge idea that I used in the mini, or this clamshell color scheme better. So I just made both.

Unfortunately, these pieces are a bit off a fabric hog and so I really went through a lot of fabric. It doesn't create useful scraps either, with the shape...and the pieces are so large that some fabrics I wanted to use weren't large enough. Everything was from my stash, I don't think I bought anything specifically for this quilt...pretty sure. That's my favorite way of quilting--I keep a large stash and then sew from it instead of purchasing fabric by the project. I feel like it gives my projects a uniquely me look.

The assembly was tricky, and I bet it was a bit wonky for my quilter. She is a good sport and doesn't complain. Hopefully most of my work is flat and straight enough that once in a while she's willing to tolerate it, haha. About half way through, I realized I really should have starched my fabric. But I never starch, so it didn't occur to me before it was too late. 

We backed it with a mustard yellow minky. I love the ombre effect this quilt has as they blend together and I'm proud of myself for making something hard! Maybe I'll even make another clammy quilt sometime. With starch, though. 

Travel Scraps

 My Patchwork City Sampler was such an undertaking. I did a fair amount of fussy cutting, which can leave your fabric just in shreds. Or rather, holey. As I got ready to reintegrate the fabric I had set aside for the quilt back into my stash, I decided to clean it up a bit and also opted to see about making a quick scrap quilt from the cleaned up bits. I chose a scrap pattern I've had on my list for a while. It's from Scraps Inc, volume 1 and it was designed by Camille Roskelley. It's called Delightful. I loved how she offset the blocks and I love the simple block construction. With the larger centers (I think they're 4 1/2" to accommodate leftover charm squares if I remember correctly...) I thought it would be perfect to use up some of the novelty prints I had fussy cut from. 

I pulled out a bunch of the prints that needed to be trimmed up and then I had to pick a background fabric. This was really tricky and I opted to go bold for a couple reasons. First, there were enough prints that  Was using that had white or light backgrounds that I knew I needed something for them to stand up against. Second, I figured I could experiment with something bright and bold on a scrap quilt that I didn't necessarily care about, something that was extra. 

I went with Kona in curry, one of my favorite yellows. I figured, it wasn't too bright since it's a muted yellow, and it was more fun than a blue or a gray. I tried to audition it next to some of the prints, but it was really difficult to tell. It looked like it would work, so I went for it.

But it did NOT turn out awesome. I really thought about not having it quilted even. In the end, I hoped that quilting and binding would help finish it up and I would like it better. The picture here actually doesn't look as terrible as it does in real life, haha. 

It helped only a little. It's definitely not a great quilt. You know it's bad when your quilter tells you when you pick it up that the back is really fun, haha. But I am proud of myself for trying something out of my comfort zone.

I used some leftovers for the backing that I didn't anticipate wanting to use in the future and the backing turned out okay. Maybe better than the front, lol. 

It's okay. It really is. It was good practice and I think it's nice to remember that everything doesn't have to be perfect. That not every time we set about to create something, it will work. And now it sits in my closet. It can come out if we needed a quilt for warmth, or for some other utilitarian purpose, but I doubt it will come out to decorate. And that's okay.

Remnants of Dreams, pattern by Camille Roskelley, long arm quilted by Abby Latimer, completed 2021

Around the World BOM

When Whole Circle Studio announced an Around the World monthly sampler, I knew I had to sign up. The quilt is stunning, and I couldn't pass it up, I think I signed up the first day and got to take advantage of the early bird pricing.

I was not excited to sew more paper pieced blocks, I had just finished a bunch for a memorial project I'll post later, but I thought it would be worth it. I think it was. Originally, I figured with only one block per month, it wouldn't be too tiring, but by the end, I was so done with paper piecing. I wouldn't mind never paper piecing ever again. I know I will. But I'm sure not antsy to do it. :)

I chose really similar colors to the original, subbing in some for others I didn't love. They're all Kona cottons. And I redid completely one of the blocks because I wasn't happy with how it looked, especially with all the other blocks around it. I originally made Dubai with an orange background, and it ended up being too similar to the Cairo. I redid it in pink instead and had just enough to complete it. 

One change I made was using letter patterns I already owned instead of the one designed by WCS. I didn't love some of her letter shapes, and I already had one I really liked, by From Blank Pages. So I did a little math and increased the size of the pattern so it would fit better into the blocks. It also meant I had to be flexible and measure to get the piece the right size and shape to fit into the block. It was difficult, and I think it was worth it. I love it with the letters!

I also decided to add a nice, wide border to it. When the top was completed, I was underwhelmed by the size. If you've been around my blog much, you know I like BIG quilts. Oversized lap quilts are my preferred size, and by oversized, I mean practically twin. Or, if it's square, practically queen. ;-) And after all the work of the paper piecing, I just wanted the finished product to be larger. So I added a nice wide border in a light gray. I love how it turned out, and the size is much more me. 

I knew, after all the work, I had to send it to Marion McClellan for custom quilting and she did a stellar job. I love the winding road in the border with the pebbling, it's perfection. I am never disappointed with her quilting. 

Before I took it to her, I consulted her on the backing; I had purchased more fabric than I needed intentionally because paper piecing is such a fabric hog, and I had lots leftover. I asked her if it would be awful to pair pretty dense paper piecing with a pieced backing and described what I was thinking and she was supportive! Of course she acknowledged normal backings are easier but also said she thought it would look amazing and that if it were her, she'd definitely consider it. So I went for it; I figured how large the back needed to be and then divided that evenly and cut a bunch of squares to make a pieced back. I do like it; it's different than I pictured, and I might like it more if I hadn't tried to use up my least favorite colors, haha. But, in the interest in not wasting fabric, I went with what I'd like most to get rid of. 

I really love how it turned out, and I love having it in our living room!

Come Fly With Me, designed by Whole Circle Studio, long arm quilted by Marion McClellan, completed March 2022

Threads of Memories and Dreams

 I might do a bit of catch up posting to get some the quilts I've finished recently but haven't posted about, even on Instagram. This is one of those, though I have posted about this quilt project. Several years ago, I started a Patchwork City Sampler, designed by Elizabeth Hartman. The book has 75 blocks, 25 each in three different sizes, and includes several layout suggestions. Naturally, I decided to take on the largest one, using every single block, and I determined to make it a travel-themed quilt. When I started, my goal was to make each block represent a specific travel memory. And many do. But, finding travel-themed fabric and making each block look distinct while still maintaining that goal proved really difficult, so I expanded it to include travel dreams as well as a few more generic travel themed blocks. 

I worked on this quilt for years. I started blocks in late 2016 and finally finished it up during the pandemic in 2021. The final stitches in the binding were put on in January of 2022

There was probably at least a year in there where I didn't work on it at all. I amassed loads of travel prints and more memories to include along the way, even a few pieces of fabric I bought while traveling. I was always searching online for great travel prints and looking in every quilt shop I visited for themed fabric. Which means this is probably one of the most expensive quilts I've ever made, as well, since I would buy a fat quarter or a half yard for just a few small pieces of fabric. Honestly, I still catch myself looking because it was such a long project that it became a pretty entrenched habit. I tried to make up for all the fabric purchases by using other prints from my scrap bins and was mostly successful. I worried a bit that the blocks would be too eclectic to look good once I tried to put them all together, but it actually turned out pretty great. I remember reading somewhere, maybe on Amanda Jean Nyberg's blog, that kitchen sink quilts, where you put in any fabric you have, actually often work out just fine because your scrap collection has one common denominator: you. And if you like it, it probably fits in with your style. I think there's probably some truth to that, as long as you stick with fabrics you purchased or you are more judicious with the scraps you accept from friends. ;)

When I pulled it out during the pandemic, determined to finish this long haul quilt, I started thinking about sashing and binding and backing, and of course, quilting. I decided early on I wanted to have it custom quilted and I took it to Marion McClellan. She's just amazing. We decided this would be a great quilt for graffiti quilting and she even added a nod to covid since I had a couple of covid-interrupted trip blocks in there. I attempted to up the contrast and stuff to make it easier to see, quilting is hard to photograph!

I used an amazing metallic essex linen for the sashing and a light blue essex for the binding. I wish you could see the sparkle in the linen, it's perfection, I backed it with a wide-backed Ruby Star sateen and it drapes beautifully. 

This quilt was a major labor of love. Over 75 blocks, because, I learned my lesson from a previous sampler quilt, and I remade a couple of the blocks I didn't love. I am so happy I did. There are still blocks that aren't my favorite (they can't all be favorites, though, right?), but I know I would have kicked myself if I hadn't replaced the blocks that were not square and that I didn't even really like. Here's a few I love, including a couple with the covid fabric.

I was really ready to be done with this project. After so long, I was ready to see the finished product, what I had worked so hard on and spent so much time and money on. But now that it's done, I almost want another long-term quilt project to work on. 

Threads of Memories and Dreams

quilted by Marion McClellan

completed January 2022

San Francisco Quilt

Designing an original quilt is always satisfying, even if it's difficult. I love to find inspiration in travels, and often take pictures of inspiring patterns or designs. Often, nothing comes of them, but sometimes I make it work. This quilt pattern is one that marinated for a while before I figured it out, and then it marinated longer still as I tried to decide on a color way. I use Electric Quilt 8 software and I tried out all kinds of colors, including a more traditional quilty look with different colored blocks. In the end, I love the dramatic colors I went with and the focal blocks. I used Alison Glass Kaleidoscope solids and the texture is fantastic. 

The inspiration for this came from a long weekend in San Francisco. I wanted to name this quilt Sausalito because that sounds like a better name, but I couldn't bring myself to since I knew full well I hadn't seen it in Sausalito. We were walking around, and I can't remember what neighborhood, and I saw an amazing antique grate on the side of a house. It was fantastically intricate and interesting and instantly knew I wanted to make it into a quilt. But, it took a while. 

I finally made it during the pandemic and I just adore it. I backed it with navy winky and it lives in our theater room and it's just perfect.

Right now, it's currently on display at the Springville Art Museum for their annual quilt show. I love going to their quilt show every year. It's an eclectic mix of mostly traditional quilts with some modern and art quilts mixed in and it's not overwhelmingly large, so it's just enjoyable. I entered a couple quilts a few years ago and didn't realize that when you enter a quilt in a show, they give you feedback when you pick up your quilt. I did NOT love receiving the feedback. I'm not a show quilter, it's just fun to see your quilt hanging in a museum! I swore I would never do it again. 

But I guess my trauma has worn off, because I went ahead and entered again. I like entering original designs and I just decided I'm not going to read the feedback. I'll let my husband read it and tell me the good parts. :) 

Arno

 I like picking up small pieces of artwork when I travel. We bought a small watercolor in Florence of the Arno River from the view of Piazzale Michelangelo. It's a classic view of Florence and the painting we bought was done at sunset, so the colors are just lovely and perfectly Florentine with the terra-cotta roof tiles. The painting lives in our bathroom now so I get to see it every day. 

Recently, I started thinking about how the colors would be perfect for a quilt. I pulled a bunch of fabrics out and decided to use the Clammy ruler I had just picked up from QuiltCon. 

I got cold feet for a while, though, and in the meantime, decided that I really wanted to make a wall hanging to replace a piece of art that I've always hated. Why is it even in my house? Long story, don't ask...lol

So, instead, I pulled some solids that worked together and created a bridge design that reminded me of the view of the bridges in Florence. I made an extra one or two curved block pieces for each row so that I could stagger them and I added sashing strips between the rows so they looked more like bridges and I absolutely love how it turned out!

I wasn't sure how I wanted to quilt it, so I waited for a few weeks and brainstormed. I ended up with a design meant to mimic the Arno River running horizontally through the middle, as it appears on maps of Florence, and then added perpendicular lines to it. I used a walking foot, which is by far the most comfortable way for me to quilt, and I'm pleased with it. Even though the tribute is subtle, I still appreciate it and I like the softness the curved lines add to it. 

Some of the blocks aren't pieced super well, and that's okay. They don't all line up perfectly. I still like it and it turned out better than I expected. And the best part is that they were all scraps/leftovers from other projects! I find that extra solids tend to languish in my drawer so I'm trying to use them up.

PS I also did manage to get the clamshell quilt top made and just dropped it off to the quilter's. I LOVE it and I'm excited to get it back!