Author Archives: mlwilkie

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About mlwilkie

Software Developer, Mother, Wife with keen interest in art, design and crafts of all kinds.

March Madness {Hope not}

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March is usually a crazy time of year, in my world (and not due to basketball). I am hoping it is not the same this year. It’s been a month since I blogged last….wow where did time go. I have been super busy with various projects…

QuiltCon 2017

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1. Sunday Best; 2. Rails; 3. Negative Crosswalks

QuiltCon 2017 happened last week. Three of my quilts were accepted, which was so great to see in the show. Sunday Best (first quilt on the left) was also in the QuiltCon Magazine and was the feature quilt for the section introduction of “Quilts of the Show”. I was thrilled.

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I also organized a showcase for Quilt Design a Day that had some amazing quilts from amazing people.

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The whole weekend was so amazing, as I got to meet old friends and make new friends and got to try hand quilting for the first time. Overall, a fantastic and memorable weekend.

Other News..

I published my second article for the MQG  (you need to be a member to view the link) on Improvisation: Shapes and Lines.

Also, the other big news item, is….I am self-publishing my own book (with help from a great technical editor and graphic designer). The book will be on the process of Quilt Designing. I hope to have it for sale late Q1/ early Q2 2018. I am so excited and can’t wait to share more.

I hope to be blogging a little more this month (shouldn’t be hard to improve from 0 posts in February ;-)).

 

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Pink Sherbet {a finish}

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What feels like forever ago, I posted a secret project out on Instagram.

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Well, that project had its reveal to on Love Patchwork and Quilting Instagram and Facebook accounts. “Pink Sherbet” is a pattern in this month’s issue of LPQ #43.

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Photo Credit: Love Patchwork and Quilting

This is a huge project for me, as its only the second time I have made a twin size quilt.  I am also not a fan of pink, so getting the right balance was important for me. I loved playing with the improvisational strip piecing and seeing some of my favorite prints in the mosaic of pink.

A couple of design decisions, included adding 3 areas of scrappy grey piecing into the sashing – the bottom left corner was just some strips, the right middle was a variety of quarter triangles, and lastly (which is almost hidden) top second left strip has a few flying geese (also in the first image above).

The other design decision was to add a bright yellow binding, which I think offers a great complementary warm color, balancing the silver grey. This yellow is also in the back with some great Alexander Henry 60 looking prints.

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Photo Credit: Love Patchwork and Quilting

Details

Name: Pink Sherbet
Design: Original Design
Fabric: Pink Strips of variety prints, Kona Sliver
Backing: Alexander Henry (mostly)
Dimensions:  72 x 90″
Quilted: Large Circles by Cathy Kirk @ The Quilting Cowgirl

The best news is that LPQ are starting a sister TV channel (Sewing Quarter – coming soon..tomorrow in fact) and you may see this quilt in the backdrop of the set sometime.

Fractions {a finish}

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I loved the collaboration with my son on this quilt. He actually designed it based on his 3rd grade math fraction homework, last year. He was also the one who decided on the scale – he wanted it “big”.

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Due to the large-scale size and not wanting to buy additional fabric, lead to the fabric combinations you see – Kona Pickle, Highlight, White, Sliver, and Stone.

There were actual several other design choices:

  • Irregular width border
  • Color Placement – Stone (which is in the bottom right corner) was too over powering to be a big triangle, so I replaced it with White and made the stone a smaller triangle. Also, I didn’t want the border to look as an additional, so the white triangle on the top right was purposely placed to break that definitive line.
  • Quilting – The big decision other than the overall design was to again address the incorporation of the border. I extended the quilting lines from the small triangles through the border. The direction for each of the quarters through the border were defining the diagonal quarter lines of the square.quiltingdetail_2
  • The thread color matches each of the fabrics and that color continues through the borders.
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  • Lastly, the binding was mostly white but add color balance, I add pickle to the top of the quilt which is matched to the bottom pickle triangle in the bottom left edge. I repeated this balance on the right side binding by matching the stone triangle.

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I love how the quilting turned out and its going to look amazing once its washed.

Details

Name: Fraction
Design: Original Design by my son
Fabric: Robert Kaufman Kona – Pickle, Highlight, White, Silver, Stone
Backing: Various Carolyn Friedlander prints
Dimensions:  60 x 60″
Quilted: Straight line Machine quilted. Used Aurifil wt 50 – #2021, #5022, #2600, #2325, #2110

Linking up with Amanda @ Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish it up Friday.