Category Archives: Uncategorized

Mothers Day Sewing

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I hope you all had a great Mothers Day. My day started of wonderfully at a local french patisserie.
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I indulged in coffee and sugar!!IMG_4168

The rest of the day, I decided that I would play with an idea that has been in my head for a while. I put away my projects that have deadlines etc….just a day of play. It was fantastic!!

I recently bought the book “Unconventional & Unexpected: American Quilts below the Radar”. I have bookmarked several pages.
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One of my favorites is this Cross quilt (pg. 179 c. 1940-1970), which is behind inspiring my play today.
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I wanted to make my blocks in black and white print fabrics, with a splash of color striped fabric.  I am using strips of black and white cut at 1.5″, 2″ and 2.5″. I then put them in a bag and pull them out randomly (brown bag method), and sew them together, trim them down to 12.5″ squares.

At first, I thought I could use these squares and cut the block across the diagonals. That actually gave me the cross blocks, but also gave me these square blocks as well. I am not sure about the combination yet (??)

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For now to save on fabric, I am sewing strips vertically together, using the improv. brown bag method, until it was 6.5″ x 31.5″. I then cut the triangles along the 45 degree angle.
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This is how my cross blocks look so far. I really like where they are going. I plan to build them out a bit more and see how they go.

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Oh! Apparently, I have a lot of black and white fabrics which means no need to buy fabrics….I can sew from my stash. I am hoping to give an update on these again soon (once I get my projects deadlines complete).

Hawthorne Threads Gift Card – Giveaway

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I love giveaway day held by Sew Mama Sew. Its such a great time to give back to community.

giveawaydaymay6This year, I am going simple. In the 2.5 years of sewing, can you believe I have already purchased 650 yards of fabric from Hawthorne Threads!!!! I love their service and selections. I even purchase fabric for my Mum in New Zealand from them due to their fabulous international shipping/services.

hawthorne_threads_200_225So, I am giving away $75 gift card to Hawthorne Threads. Maybe you can pick up some of these new lines that I also just picked up (NOTE: images are screenshots of Hawthorne Threads New Arrivals section)….
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So, to enter:

  • Leave a comment answering “What is  your # 1 project you have on your wish list?”
  • Also, if you are a follower (my blog or instagram – ml_wilkie) please leave a second comment.
    If you aren’t a follower, then I hope you take a look around, check out some of my pages (QDAD – Quilt design a day, or check out my new page on the quilting classes I teach or my recent finishes, and here)
  • International participants are welcome
  • Giveaway is open until Sunday, May 10 at 5 p.m. PST and I will email  the winner by Wednesday, May 13.

Have fun and good luck!!

Please note: this is NOT a sponsored giveaway and the views above are my own opinions.

CLOSED: WINNER is #397 which is Kelcie who said “397. My number 1 project is to finish my sons peekaboo quilt.”
Screen Shot 2015-05-10 at 9.31.53 PMI will email you with the gift certificate shortly.

My week of QDAD Sparks

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This past week, I was so super excited to be hosting the sparks (palette choices/inspiration) for our Quilt Design a Day Facebook group. I decide early on that, I would show and inspire the group participants by using photos from my travels over the years. I had such a blast and was amazed at the designs (make sure you come over and take a look – or even add your own design).

26 April: San Francisco
First up, is Coppola’s Sentinel Building in San Francisco. I love the variations of the copper – those teals!!

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I actually based this design on the top of the middle building but I rotated and tilted the design. This seemed to give it much better balance.

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27 April: New York High Line
This is one of my favorite spots and photos that I took while visiting New York High Line. Of course, it has one of my favorite color palettes; blue, grey and orange.
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I had so many ideas for this one and decide to play around with lines that could possibly be done with improv techniques.
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28 April: Washington DC
This was taken in Winter. I love the starkness of the color palette.
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My design kind of happened by accident. I  accidentally moved pieces off the design worksheet and couldn’t delete them, these landed up being the best part of the design…the left hand side. I love the difference between the darker palette in the right with the starkness of the white panel on the left.
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29 April: Venice, Italy (St. Marks Basilica)
I really love neutral palettes, so I decided to challenge the group with a couple of palettes.
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The diamonds and the crosses on the side of the building fascinated me. I really liked the repetition options.
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29 April: Venice, Italy (Grand Canal + Rialto Bridge)
To be fair to those who don’t like neutrals I also included a brighter palette, but I did not do a design for this one.
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30 April: Sintra, Lisbon (Castle of Moors)
Lisbon is one of my favorite cities in the world. This castle has amazing tiles and architectural features. The castle itself has amazing gardens. imm006_5-23-palette(1)

I loved the spikes and that gold in this palette, LOVE.
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30 April: Lisbon (Coastal Village)
Like I mentioned, I love Lisbon. This photo speaks words about why I love it!!imm001_1-44-palette

01 May: Rome, Italy (Coliseum)
This photo was taken by my husband. The illumination of the Coliseum provides an amazing color palette.imm029_30-palette

I loved the architectural arches, and the top lines of the Coliseum. I really enjoyed this palette.QDAD_01May2015

02 May: Paris, France (Musee d’Orsay)
The glass roof of the old railroad station of Musee d’Orsay has amazing shades of greens.
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I did two designs, one more structured that was based on the floor space.
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and one that is more adhoc, improv based. I think this is my favorite of the two.
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So several of these are on my make list: NY High Line, Sintra Lisbon (Castle of Moors) and Rome Italy (Coliseum) are among my favorites!!

Please Note: If you would like to make or use one of my designs, please email me (ml_wilkie(at)hotmail(dot)com) or leave a comment below. I am happy to talk with you on options and provide the relevant measurements etc. or have you test out a pattern. Also, if you use one of my designs, please use the following text to credit me the design: “Designed by Michelle Wilkie @ Factotum of Arts”.