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December 2013

Come As You Are | Weekend Inspiration

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Final-Collage

 

What comes to your mind when these three words are used in the same phrase: plaid, florals, and denim? To some of us these are synonyms of the 1990's Grunge fashion, and a style that came back to invade the fashion runways of Fall 2013. Since I started working in this industry it has been a fun challenge to infuse runway fashion into quilts, and vice versa. The collage has a few examples of how you can incorporate this style into your projects. The floral prints in Rock 'n Romance by Pat Bravo are undeniably Kurt Cobain approved. She released her free quilt pattern with this collection and it Smells Like Teen Spirit. Too Courtney corny? Not if this is one of your favourite styles (as it is one of mine).

Some prints in Legacy by Angela Walters are a Sublime infusion of a denim look into quilting weight fabric (hence the name Drawn Destiny Denim). Raw edge appliqué with this fabric? No Doubt grungy. The denim quilt is by Willy Wonky Quilts.

Of course I left plaid for last because it did not come back... it never left. Plaid is a classic, and Jeni Baker gifts us this plaid Oasis in Nördika. I want a jumper like that too! I also found this Broken Plaid quilt by Handmade by Alissa that is a Pearl Jam; a perfect example of how to translate this style into quilting.

I hope this brings you a new wave of inspiration for 2014.

Rock 'n Sew,

Lauv

Runway photo credits from top to bottom:

Dries Von Noten (Photo by Peter Stigter)

Saint Laurent (Photo by Peter Stigter)

3.1 Phillip Lim (Photo by Peter Stigter)

Rebecca Taylor (Photo by Peter Stigter)

Girl with maxi skit: Pinterest

 


My First Quilt Top: A Rookie Quilter's Tale, Pt. 1

Quilttop

How should I begin? Maybe by confessing to my limited knowledge of sewing and using a sewing machine. Or by admitting that up until a few months ago, I had zero clue on how quilts were made, and zero curiosity to find out.

I’m happy to say that these are no longer the case--somewhat.

I was rocketed into the world of quilting overnight when I began my work at AGF earlier this year. My first day was a literary and visual potpourri of all things quilting and sewing. The first task was to go through a wall of magazines and books on the subjects. By the end of day one I was seeing a blur of blocks, and felt drunk with a new, seemingly overwhelming vocabulary of terms like batting, basting, piecing,--on and on and on. “What have I gotten myself into?”

Fast forward some six months into my new venture in this industry and I am sitting in on a meeting at Quilt Market--a quilting magazine editor and I are discussing whether one of our upcoming quilts should be made using on-point or horizontal blocks.

Crazy how that works. And even crazier, but totally expected and overdue: I am working on finishing my first quilt!

Quilttop6

On a Pinterest hunt one day, I stumbled on a graphic design pattern that instantly caught my eye. I went back to it day after day and finally decided, “I’m going to have to make this into a quilt.” By this point I knew the basic foundations of quilt making, but that’s not to say I wasn’t completely lost and hadn’t a clue where to begin. Luckily for me, I work alongside a talented group of designers and seamstresses that were all too eager to come to my rescue. I got a crash course on quilt math, rotary cutting, and piecing.

Picking out my colors were fairly simple. I’m a modern girl with an instinctual appreciation for graphic arts. I knew the effect I wanted the colors to have on my quilt and I knew I wanted to use our amazing Pures.

Pures

(pe-438 coral reef, pe-415 parisian blue, pe-447 patina green, pe-425 mauvelous, pe-436 creme de la creme)

The design I chose was beginner friendly, as my blocks consist of basic strips 2” wide by 2-10” long. Cutting I found to be utterly unexciting and tedious at first and as a result there are areas on my quilt that fell short due to (among other reasons) my inaccuracy on the cutting mat. I’ll live and learn.  

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My first block was a total mess and I only realized that it was a total mess by the time I arrived at my 8th or so block and noticed I was squaring off less and saw a clear difference in the cleanliness and precision of my seams. It took me that long to finally get into an effective groove of feeding perfectly aligned pieces through the foot of my sewing machine with a consistent 1/4" allowance.

Quilttop3

(i had quite a few misalignment issues and here is clear evidence of a do-over)

Quilttop4

(I wasn't kidding when I said my sewing skills were limited. An all too scant allowance left this hole on the first block)

My verdict after finishing my first ever quilt top? Well, first—thank goodness for seam rippers, and second, I need to hurry up and finish this quilt so I can start my next. I’ve already got another design ready to go and nearly added the image here but decided to keep it under wraps for now ;). My favorite part of this experience so far? Watching my quilt grow from strips, to blocks, to quilt. It’s most rewarding. When I finished my first block I stopped to stare and marvel at it, feeling super smitten with myself. Least favorite part? I think that may be coming up.

Quilttop5


There’s still loads I’ve got to learn about quilt making. My experience is pint-sized compared to most of the people I work with in my industry, but we’ve all started out just the same and mistakes are nothing more than parts of the process.

If you'd like to share any of your tips with me, or the origins of your first quilt, or reprimand me for such careless mistakes, I'd love to hear it all on the comments below!

I’ll be back soon with a finished quilt to show you. Promise.

 


Square + Circle = "Squircle", a Quilt + Giveaway by Amy Friend

Hey everybody,

We've got another quilted stunner for you today by way of Amy Friend of During Quiet Time. Our love and acquaintance with Amy spans its way back to the days of the epic Fat Quarter Gang. We missed her, dropped her an e-mail, one thing led to another and ta-da! This quilt was conceived.

 

Unnamed


Amy used prints from the Legacy collection and loosely based her design on what happens to be Angela Walter's favorite print from this collection, Grand Mosaic. Genius!

 

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Check out Amy's full post for more photos and enter the giveaway, where two winners will be picked to receive a fat quarter bundle from the collection!

Thanks Amy for a superb job on this quilting project, we look forward to more collaborations with you!

 

 


Sprouts of Joy | Table Runner Tutorial

Hello! How is everyone's December going so far? We are almost half-way through the month which means that the new colour options for one of my favourite blenders in the fabricsphere, Squared Elements, will be here soon! 

Today we created a table runner tutorial focusing on tones of red (taking advantage of the season as well). We wanted to show you one of the new colours in advance, and Pomegranate as the main fabric brought the perfect touch of modernity. 

Sprouts_of_Joy_cover

Here is what you will need:

1. Seven (7) 6 7/8” squares of White Linen (Pure Elements)

    Sub-cut diagonally

2. Seven (7) 6 7/8” squares of Pomegranate (Squared Elements)

    Sub-cut diagonally

3. Seven (7) 2 7/8” squares of London Red (Pure Elements)

4. Two (2) 1¼” x WOF strips of Sprouts of Joy Crimson (Reminisce by Bonnie Christine

5. Three (3) 1 1/2” x WOF strips of Dulcette Azalea (Color Me Retro by Jeni Baker)

6. 1/2 yd of Hibiscus (Nature Elements)

7. Batting

 Diagram-1

 

Diagram-2

 

CONSTRUCTION:

Begin by sewing together the HST patches using one triangle of White Linen and one of Pomegranate. Make fourteen of these patches.

Diagram-3

 

In order to create the red corners, grab one square of London Red and align it with the corner of the White Linen part of one of the HST patches. Sew on the diagonal of the London Red triangle. Trim 1/4" away from the sewing line, fold upwards and press. Repeat this step seven times.

  Diagram-4

Now that you have all of your patches ready, construct two columns, each of seven patches. Pay close attention to the orientation of each patch.

Diagram-5

 Now you can attach the sashing strip of Sprouts of Joy Crimson.

Diagram-6

 

Now you are ready to quilt it. We decided to do a triangle motif to bring more modernity into the design and used the Tarnish Gold thread from Pat Bravo's Quilting Heart thread collection for Aurifil. For the binding use the strips from Dulcette Azalea. You are done!

Sprouts_of_Joy_1

Sprouts_of_Joy_3

Rock 'n Sew,

Lauv