Ditto by Jaybird Quilts

May 29, 2012

Julie, aka Jaybird Quilts, and I have a running bet. I bet her last year that she couldn’t wear me out. That I could handle as many quilts as she threw my way…..and this quilt market, she tried. I quilted a bunch of quilts for her booth, and she nearly beat me…..I nearly couldn’t keep up with her. But I prevailed and am happy and slightly worn out!

Photo by: Julie Herman

She released several patterns at this quilt market, but today I am going to show you her Ditto pattern.

I really like this pattern and the diagonal lines that it creates. For this quilt, I quilted feathers in some of the “diagonals” and swirls in the rest. I know that Julie likes feathers, so I love to quilt them on her quilts.

But I didn’t just quilt this Ditto quilt, I quilted a second one with Vanessa’s (V & Co) new fabric line, Simply Color.

First of all, I love Vanessa’s fabric line. The blues and greens are perfect!

This quilt is a great example of “efficient quilting”. When I was quilting this quilt, I was running out of time. The closer I get to Quilt Market, the faster I need to be. But even though I need to be quick, I can’t just quilt an allover…..so I use a few “illusions” to give a quilt a “custom” look as quick as possible!

First, I determine which area(s) of the quilt will show the quilting the most. In those areas, I quilt the same way as normal. In this example, the area that showed the most was the green, so I quilted that with a swirl quilting design.

Secondly, to quilt more efficiently (read: faster), I will quilt my favorite design on a bigger scale. So in this instance, I wanted to quilt circles, so I quilted them on a larger scale then I normally would.

Then, in areas where the quilting won’t show up as much, I pick a design that I know that I can quilt quickly. So in this diagonal line, I quilted a basic swirl.  Something that would be quick and easy!

In the smallest diagonals, I picked a design that looks great but that I know that I can quilt quickly.

I love to quilt…..I love starting a new quilt and hoping it will turn out exactly like it looks in my head. I also love the satisfaction of finishing a quilt. I don’t think that there is anything wrong with “quick quilting”. I like to do the best job I can in the shortest time, and this quilt is a perfect example of just that!

I will be back tomorrow with more quilts from Julie!

Happy Quilting!

Dot to Dot Quilting~A How-To

May 28, 2012

First off, I hope that everyone has a great holiday today. We  are having a big ol family get together, but we will also be remembering Grandpa, a veteran. We will also be giving thanks that we are free due to the sacrifice of so many.

Ok, back to quilting……Today’s quilt is one that I quilted for Robert Kaufman’s quilt market booth, and it’s a perfect example of dot to dot quilting

When I am quilting any quilt, I try very, very hard to avoid marking. Not only does it take time to mark it, it takes time to remove it as well. And there is nothing more frustrating than marking a quilt and still missing my mark!  So when I can, I like to use the actual block as my guide. Here is a diagram of how I quilted the design in the gray diamonds.

Here’s how I quilted this design:

Step 1: Starting from one of the corners of the diamond, quilt a straight line that stops approximately 1″ inside the next corner of the diamond. I don’t mark the exact point, I just eyeball it and go for it!

Step 2. Pivot and quilt a line that actually touches the opposite corner than the starting point.

Step 3: Quilt another straight line that ends 1″ inside the next corner.

Step 4: Continue quilting until you end at the starting point.

Step 5 (optional): If you wanted you could leave the inner diamond unquilted, but in this example, I quilted a figure 8 design from the starting point to the opposite corner.

This quilting is fast and easy and I think you will find that even if you don’t mark the points, it will be close enough!  Use this design in diamonds or squares  to add a custom look to your quilt without taking much longer than other designs!

The rest of the quilt:

In the border, I quilted a feather……Just love to quilt those feathers!

A shot of the back…..the waves on the fabric and the curves of the quilting really made a trippy illusion. It made the fabric look like it was moving!

What do you think? Is this a design that you could see yourself using on future quilts?? I sure hope so! I’ll be back with more Quilt Market recaps this week!

Happy Quilting

Kona Modern Quilts

May 26, 2012

Happy Saturday everyone!! I am sure you have a busy holiday weekend ahead of you, so I appreciate you stopping in today. Today’s quilt is brought to you courtesy of the Robert Kaufman fabric company.

When I am quilting a quilt with a lot of little pieces and colors, I try to find some kind of reoccurring element within the quilt.  If I can find it, I always quilt it the same. I like to say it’s like the verse of a song, it adds some repetitiveness to the quilt. Around each center pieced block is a border, so I picked two designs (back and forth lines and squares) and alternated between the two.

Even though the “borders” are different colors, I quilted them the same.

Another thing that I like to do when quilting busy quilts, is to highlight random pieces within the block. Quilting each little piece differently might overwhelm the quilt.

I quilted a swirl all over except for a few random pieces. Just to add a bit of detail…..

I think it adds a custom touch to the quilt without overwhelming it!

This quilt was fun to quilt, but it isn’t exactly what it seems to be…..it was made using Kona Modern Quilts fabric from Robert Kaufman. This fabric line is kinda like a modern quilt cheater cloth….and I love it!!!! If you look back up at the quilt at the top, the blocks surrounded in white are pieced block. But the rest of the pieced sections are large pieces of the fabric.

In the picture below, the left side is the cheater cloth and the right side is actually pieced.

I think it’s kinda hard to tell the difference!  When I am quilting for the awesome people at Robert Kaufman, I know that the most important thing about the quilt is the fabric. I want to make sure the quilting helps sell the fabric. To make that happen in this quilt, I quilted all of the blocks the using the same techniques….whether they were pieced or the “cheater” fabric. When the quilt is viewed in person, it is hard to tell which is which.

On a completely different topic, I am having a giveaway on my Facebook page. I have decided that my quilt studio is beyond help, so I am giving away a copy of the book, Organizing Solutions for Every Quilter. Head over there and leave a comment on the picture of the book telling me about your studio…..you never know, you just might be the lucky winner!

Happy Quilting!