Tag Archives: quilting

New York Finale + Give Away

So, I am finishing up my posts on our visit to New York this week….and in celebration of my 40th birthday last weekend, the fact I have reached 200 followers (thank you all), I would like to include you all in my experience in the Lotta Jansdotter Surface Printing class I have a GIVE AWAY :-).

GIVE AWAY!!!

The lucky randomly chosen winner will receive:

A Lotta Jansdotter Strawberry Journal
A Charm Pack of Bella Fabric Line (Lotta Jansdotter)
Lotta Jansdotter’s book – Lotta Prints (which covers most of the things we learnt in the surface printing workshop)

All you have to do is leave a comment below, by midnight Thursday 20th June, about what inspiration do you get for your projects from the environment around you. For a second entry, just let me know if you are a follower. If you are a no-reply commenter please leave an email address. I will announce the winner next Friday.

Previous posts from our New York Visit:
40 and Lotta’s Surface Printing Workshop
New York Part 1: The City Quilter Fabric Stash Additions
New York Part 2: Quilting Inspiration

The New York finale is really simple, here are some of my favorite photos and views of New York.

Central Park
The park is so large we only saw a small part of it. We had amazing weather both days. The boys visited the Central Park Zoo where the Polar Bear was the star. There was a great sense of community and fun here. I also loved the statues at one of the entrances of the zoo.

The High Line
This was a great (new-ish) place that used to be a railroad track above the factories in the meat packing district. It is now ~ 2 mile walk through gardens, some vendors (like coffee, ice pops, and food items) and various art pieces. This is my favorite place in New York.

Rockefeller Center
To get a good view of the city on such a wonderful day, we took advantage of the views at the top of Rockefeller center. We were lucky with the atmosphere which was buzzing as it was Puerto Rico Day and a parade was occurring. At the top we saw the Empire State building on one side and a great view of central park expanse on the other (wow is all I can say).

Grand Central Station
What an amazing Building, even in the pouring rain it was captivating. Celebrating its 100 anniversary, it is still in its glory. Look at the amazing ceiling with its celestial paintings.

Times Square
We were very lucky with the atmosphere in Times Square when we were visiting. Obviously we went at night to get the full impact of all the lights….but the night we went there was a viewing party going on. In the middle of Times Square you could sit and watch the Tony awards which was broadcasting on an extra-large screen – there must have been thousands of people out that night.

I hope you enjoyed our view of New York.

Have a great weekend!!! Linking up with Amanda Jean @ CrazyMomQuilts.

Modern Mini Quilt Challenge

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When Jennifer posted on her blog about the modern mini quilt challenge, I was so excited and couldn’t wait to join in in the challenge. I love small projects – what a perfect challenge.

Now to decide what to enter. I am so torn between my Sea Spray Pillow and the Wonky Universe Pillow, pictured below, respectively. I loved both but for different reasons, and they both had new techniques/skills I learned, each were a special gift and had a special meaning. Hmmm…. choices, choices.

Sea Spray….

or Wonky Universe…

Ok…now comes the decision….I think I am going to choose the…

“Sea Spray” Pillow.

This pillow was a gift for our pillow swap last Sunday. It was based on the “Crystallized” pattern in the book Pillow Pop. This was a challenge for me as it was the first time I have used HST’s, so I was so nervous about cutting them perfectly and matching them up. I used some techniques that Adrianne @ On The Windy Side had shared with me, to get pieces to be more accurate…specifically I took the time to cut them carefully and measure a few times, used my 1/4 inch foot and pinned each seam. I couldn’t have asked for a better finish !!!

I thought I would share some of the steps I took:

Cut out 100 x 3 ” squares, 50 low volume and 50 blue, green or aqua.
Choose one light square and one dark square. I used a 1/4 ” seam ruler – which I used to line up the middle along the diagonal and marked a 1/4 ” on each side. I then sewed on each of these two lines.
Cut down the middle of these squares, between the seams. Press the seams, I like to press each seam to the side. Trim the corners. The squares should measure 2 1/2″.
Use a design board to lay out your design.
Start at the top row and sew each square together using a 1/4 ” seam. This is where my new 1/4 ” foot came in handy. Keep sewing each row until finished. Press the seams but each row I pressed the seams in opposite directions in preparation to matching up the rows.
Once you have the each row finished and pressed, take the first two rows and I pin each of the seams together so the seams match. I start from the middle and make my way out to the edges. Once pinned, sew a 1/4 inch seam. Repeat by adding a row to the block at a time. Press after each row addition.
Once the top is complete, I used cotton batting and a piece of muslin (each about 21″ x 21″) to produce my sandwich I was quilting. I decided I would sew irregular distanced lines (about 1/4 inch apart) around the low-volume areas. Here is a view of the back of my quilted front, after pressing.

Close up of the quilting on the front:
Once you have finished the front, its time for the back. I love invisible zippers sewed in the middle of the back. I used two pieces of blue Kona fabric that is 21″ x 11″, and sewed each piece of fabric to the invisible zipper following the instructions using my invisible zipper foot.
Once I have the zipper in, I trim all the edges to 20.5 ” x 20.5″ pillow. I pin the right sides together with the zipper being open to the middle. I then sewed a 1/4 ” seam along all the edges and double seam across the zipper one each side. That’s it – turn the pillow in the right way and iron.

New York Part 2: Quilting Inspiration

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While in New York, we took some time just to look around the city. Isn’t it amazing when you take some time out, just the places you find, that are inspiring. Here are a few photo’s of things which may land up in some way, shape or form in my quilting projects in future.

Bluish Mod-Style Window facade of the building in middle of the photo. I can already see a great pieced quilt design in this building, the blocks all made of squares, rectangles and framed; each block being of a different size:
This building struck me with shape and the vivid white-black-blue coloring. Once reviewing the photo, I also loved the addition of the orange and red that were captured in the overall photo.
The windows of this building amazed me…I loved the composition of a quartered circle within a square within a square.
The stain glass dome in the roof here, could be the next FMQ pattern I could use for a large hexagon pieced project.
I love the design/composition of this pop art piece. Look at the vibrancy of those primary colors, blue, red, yellow, with the white and black. There is a splash of green which works out perfectly.
I see two things I really like in this photo….the obvious one are the irregular shapes and colors used in this outdoor art piece. Secondly, look at the windows in the background…are those log cabin blocks I see?
Lastly, I was super impressed with the walls and walls of M&M’s. The photos were made at night, which is not the best, but hopefully you can still get the idea of a cool striped quilt or blocks out of these: