This is a Test...This is Only a Test

Just before Christmas I was contacted by Elisabeth DeMoo of Brown Bird Designs, about the possibility of putting her very first quilt pattern to the test, looking for any mistakes or recommendations for improvement upon the pattern.

I had a blast making this quilt and considering all the endless possibilities for this particular pattern. Elisabeth did a great job! Right now it's still on the design wall waiting to be quilted and bound, while I consider how I want to quilt it.

"Square Off Lap Quilt" Pattern Written by Elisabeth DeMoo

 The blocks utilize half square triangles to create the visual of squares across the face of the quilt. Elisabeth was smart with her directions for making those half square triangles. She gave us a little extra fabric to work with and once completed the block is trimmed to the desired size. 

I wasn't really paying too close of attention when I was trimming down and squaring up my blocks, but in the end found that I really wish I had paid attention to some details just a bit closer. It is important to keep the corners in the corners....I didn't do that and once pieced together it's obvious. It looks like I didn't get the blocks lined up quite right, but the problem is that I trimmed it off center which moved the corner of the block and throwing off the alignment of the blocks.  

My dad would say, "Ah honey it's okay, nobody driving by 55 will even notice."   As a kid I must have worried about tiny details an awful lot! I remember him saying that quite a bit!!

Lesson learned: Pay attention to details, the small things can make a difference in the end. 

For this particular test I used P&B Textiles Bear Essentials  64 count charm pack. The pattern needs 66 5" squares, so I pulled a couple of leftover medium gray charms out of a Tuxedo charm pack I had used for another quilt. 

After playing with several possibilities for layout I chose to go with a graded look starting with the lightest shades in the upper left corner and ending with the darkest shades in the lower right corner. 

Other possibilities I considered was a completely scrappy look....throwing all the squares in a bag and laying them out however I pulled them out of the bag.  Another possibility was to make each square a single color all blue, all gray, all yellow.

If you're looking for a quick and easy pattern this is definitely one to put at the top of your list. I had the whole thing cut out and pieced in just a few hours. I spent more time moving colors around for the perfect layout than I did sewing. If I had gone with the scrappy look, it would have been even quicker. Of course using the pre-cut 5" charms makes things quicker too.

Checkout Elisabeth's Blog here. She will be publishing the pattern soon.


Now I'm off to work on my sewing studio....I've finally decided on a color for those stark white walls...Ancient Olive. So I've spent the day clearing out the room and preparing for painting.
Pictures of the redo coming soon.

Here's what it looked like before I tore it apart today, just imagine more of a mess.
http://littlepinkrosequiltingandsewing.blogspot.com/2011/12/sewing-studio-redo.html


Have A Blessed Day!
Marcia

Salt Water by Tula Pink

Visit www.littlepinkrose.com

Receive 25% off your entire order with coupon code:  DEC12

While you're there check out all the colorways (Aqua, Coral & Seaweed) of Tula Pink's latest fabric collection -- Salt Water

Praying you each had a Merry Christmas!! 

Blessings,
Marcia 

Triple Play {3 Christmas Finishes}

Three very special quilts have been finished just in time for Christmas. I wanted to take all the quilts outside in the sunshine and take the pictures in natural lighting. But, even though I was hoping for clear skies and calm breezes for a nice photo shoot, that was not to be. Instead it turned out to be too cloudy and much to windy to take any pictures. Not that I didn't try! I laid out the first quilt, was ready to snap a picture and the wind blew the quilt over. UGH! Straightened it back out and as I'm getting into position the wind moves it again. That was enough for me. I ended up inside....threw every window shade wide open to let in as much light as possible, but even that didn't give me the nice pictures I was hoping for.  What can a woman do!?! At least I was able to get some decent pictures.

First up is the Pixelated Super Mario Brothers Quilt with all 3,888 1" squares. 

Love how this quilt turned out!! Kind of wish I had a reason to make another one of these, so I could try a few of the other characters. I used Michael Miller's Cotton Couture collection for this quilt.

 Next on the list of finished quilts is "Trains All Around."  

The fabric for this quilt is from the collection Choo Choo You. I was a bit surprised that the reds weren't the same shade of red from one design to the other all in the same collection. You can see the glaring difference in the reds between the 9-patch blocks and the other red pieces. I've also discovered that the red in this quilt does not like to be photographed. This one is so much cuter in person.....though really I think all quilts are better in person than in a photo.

The back of the quilt is where Trains line the entire boarder of the quilt and what inspired the name for the quilt.

I saved my favorite of three for last....."Cotton Candy" It just looks so soft and fluffy just like cotton candy. Love, love, love this quilt!! Almost wish I could keep this one for myself!! I'm thinking of making one similar to this for this shop.

This was another quilt that did not like being photographed. The picture makes it seem like an ombre quilt where it changes intensity from the top to the bottom of the quilt, but that is not the case. The second picture below gives a more accurate view of the colors featured here. The fabric for this quilt is a wide variety of pieces from my stash and quilt shops across the nation.

"Cotton Candy"

Now, it's back to the sewing studio to put a new quilt pattern to the test that I've been asked to critique and help edit. I'll show you pictures and the link to purchase the pattern once the testing is finished.

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas! And to all my family and friends in the Midwest...enjoy the snow (I'm a bit jealous) and stay safe on the roads!! Love you All!! 

Merry Christmas!!

Marcia 

Cotton Candy & Trains

Last week was a productive week for piecing. I was able to complete the Cotton Candy Quilt top as well as a Train Quilt. 

Cotton Candy Quilt Top on the design wall ready to quilt

Trains All Around Quilt Top on the design wall ready to quilt

This weeks goal is to sandwich and quilt Trains All Around (currently on the machine), Cotton Candy, and Super Mario Brothers.

Blessings,
Marcia 

Cotton Candy on the Design Wall {WIP}

The Cotton Candy quilt is coming right along! Half the blocks are finished, only 15 more to go.  I love the simplicity of this quilt! I'm using the same pattern that I used for the "Black Tie Event" Quilt blogged about HERE & revealed HERE (just scroll down a bit and you'll find it).

Cotton Candy on the design wall

I'm actually further along than I expected to be at this point today. I woke up at 4:15 this morning and couldn't go back to sleep (and that's after not going to bed until midnight last night). Lying there wide eyed I finally came to the conclusion that the attempt of further sleep was pointless and I might as well make productive use of being so wide eyed and bushy tailed! So off to my sewing room I headed. Not bad for a few hours of work.

Today's goal: Finish the last 15 blocks and make the final changes to block arrangement. 

I hope you all had a much better night of sleep and are having a wonderfully productive day yourselves! 

Blessings,
Marcia 

Super Mario Top Finished & New WIP

With some focused attention last week, the Super Mario Quilt Top finally came together.  Finished up the last three blocks and did all the sashing. I've now discovered that I had neglected to order fabric for the backing and binding. 

Super Mario Quilt Top Finished

So, while I'm waiting for that to arrive, I've started an all pink quilt which I'm calling "Cotton Candy".  As I was collecting fabric for this quilt I decided that I would make two.. the first one is a commissioned piece and second will go up in the shop for sale.

Pieces for two Cotton Candy Quilts

Block Layout

 Hope you're all having a fantastic week and enjoying all your Christmas Shopping!! 

Check out the new fabric and all the sales going on this week in the shop.

www.littlepinkrose.com

Blessings,
Marcia