This quilt was a lot of "firsts" for me.
First time using only solid fabrics (Kona's Poseidon bundle and Burgundy yardage for the back/binding).
First time sewing curved/wavy seams. (I used Kathy's tutorial and my Curve Master presser foot.)
First time overdoing the basting process. I spent more than three hours basting and less than an hour and a half quilting.
First time I couldn't blog my progress, 'cause this one was top secret.
First quilt for my little brother.
The dresden I showed you in my last post was a warm-up for my bee block this month. Joanna picked out some beautiful fabrics, and her dear, patient husband cut plastic templates for us each to use (and keep).
This brings me to my love/hate relationship with scissors. I decided instead of tracing the template and cutting it out by hand, I would layer a ruler on top of it and use my rotary cutter. Looks like I may want to pick up one of those Easy Dresden rulers for future dresden adventures. I did, however, have fun using my fancy new pinking shears (Christmas gift from the little brother) to cut out the circle. Apparently pinked edges on curves help the seams lie flat.
For the first time, I got my fabric out of the mailbox and finished the block on the same day. I found it easiest to sew the wedges into quadrants and square those up before moving on. I had to trim a bit, but it lies nice and flat now. I also opted for a zig-zag stitch rather than a straight edge stitch or an appliqué stitch.
Now onto some handiwork...
1. happy campers, 2. whirligigs, 3. potholder pass round 3,
4. potholders, 5. finished wall hanging, 6. new purse,
7. robot pillow, 8. Pure wall hanging, 9. hexagon QAL front,
10. garden windows, 11. mug rug for Julie, 12. front
Wow, it's been a month since I posted anything over here. Things have been a bit hectic — starting a new job weeks before Christmas leaves little time for blogging. I haven't checked my Google Reader in a couple of weeks, but I wanted to pop in and share a mug rug I made last month.
What's a mug rug? It's "an oversized coaster for your mug or glass or cup and has room for a cookie on the side!" according to the moderators of the Scrappy Mug Rug Swap on Flickr.
OK, well it's not my mug rug. It's a gift for the lovely Julie of Sew Jewely (formerly Jewel's Arm Candy). Julie and I "met" when participating in the JaybirdQuilts/ORB Hexagon Quilt-Along. We both used Glam Garden by Josephine Kimberling. (On a side note, I think it's kind of awesome how two quilts in the same quilt-along and using the same fabric line can turn out so different. Here's my hexagon quilt, and here's Julie's.)
Julie's mug rug measures about 5¾"x8½".
Julie had a giveaway back in October to celebrate her 100th post. I entered, and even though I didn't win, Julie sent me some fat quarters of Innocent Crush, just 'cause she's awesome like that. Since we bonded over mutual love of the Glam Garden line, I decided to use my last bits of Glam Garden to make this little mug rug as a thank-you to Julie.
For the back and binding, I used this coordinating Mingle dot that was included in the pre-cut bundles (a jelly roll strip for the binding and a layer cake piece for the back).
Anyone wondering how I pieced this baby? I did it entirely by hand, using the English paper piecing method. I was inspired by Malka Dubrawsky's Modern Baby Quilt, which is featured in her new book, Fresh Quilting. Though I own the book, I decided to assemble this tiny homage my own way.
I made this mock-up using Adobe inDesign and printed it on card stock. Then all I had to do was cut out the shapes, baste my fabric around them and stitch them together. I put the petals together into hexagons, pieced the hexagons into rows and then pieced the rows together. I hope that made sense to all. If not, I'm glad to post a tutorial. Just let me know in the comments!
I have about 10 days to finish up gifts before I head to my parents' house for Christmas, so I don't expect to have any updates on the blog until 2011. I'll keep updating Flickr in the mean time. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Joyous Solstice, what have you. See you in the new year!
