Cornucopia Part Deux (or two)

Today I've got more blocks to share with you and a second class sample... so it is Cornucopia part 2!

Let's get started with three more of my Mom's Africa quilt blocks.

Mom loves grandmas, children and chickens. This block has two of the three!

I love this elephant block. You can see she embroidered a little eye and the tail is not entirely stitched down so it can swish the flies away!

There are seventeen applique blocks in total and they will be alternated with blocks that are a variation of the drunkard's path block. She has used all sorts of scraps to make these blocks. The off white fabric with writing is a Christmas fabric! There is actually one block in the quilt that has that same fabric and right in the middle of the pie shape is "North Pole"! How funny is that I ask you? But it all works!

Mom has all of the blocks stitched together and I am going to quilt it for her. My goal is to have it finished in time for our next Guild meeting! I'm going to have to work my fingers to the bone to get it done in time.

For those of you who aren't familiar with my Mom (Anne) or her work here is a picture of her taken last year at our Guild's quilt show. She is standing in front of a collection of her African wall hangings. She received the third place ribbon in Viewers' Choice.

I've got two more Road 66 blocks. The design for this quilt is from Di Ford's book Primarily Quilts. I made this first block in the winter to try out the large hexagons. The outer ring of hexagons was made from a scrap of fabric and I was really pleased with how the block turned out.

I love the blue and red serpentine print fabric. I looked for a blue that was similar and used it in the middle. I wanted to create the effect of one large piece of fabric and I think that I succeeded!

The last piece I want to share is my second class sample. I will be teaching all of the techniques I used to make this piece at the London Friendship Quilters Guild next month (that's London, Canada). I sent off both samples and they were shared with the members at the last meeting. I hoped that they enjoyed seeing them and that they are inspired to take the class and create their own unique masterpiece!

For those of you who want a copy of my pattern 81 The Giant Monstrosity, now is the time to download a copy. It will be free for only another couple of days so get your copy here now!

I'm linking up with Angie over at Quilting Readers Garden. Pop on over for a visit. There's lots of inspiration plus Angie is running a giveaway! And don't forget to visit Esther's link up party WIPS on Wednesday; there's always lots to see there too!

That's it for today, It is Thanksgiving weekend in Canada so it is time to get cooking. Until I post again, happy sewing!

Karen H

Blogathon Canada and the instructions for my hexagon quilt 81 are HERE!

Welcome Blogathon Canada visitors! This is the final day of a week long blog hop organized by Sew Sisters Quilt Shop in Toronto, Ontario! To celebrate I am publishing the instructions to make my hexagon quilt 81 The Giant Monstrosity!

If you didn't get here by way of the Blogathon you really should visit the  Sew Sisters blog where you can enter to be able to win prizes and you will  find a complete list of host bloggers with links to other Canadian blogs like mine! Leave a comment on the Sew Sisters blog and the host blogger's sites to be entered in draws for wonderful prizes from Sew Sisters! The hosts for Ontario are Lorna from Sew Fresh Quilts and Sandy from UpStairs Hobby Room. They'll be introducing you to some very talented quilters!

I've been promising to publish instructions for making my quilt 81 The Giant Monstrosity. I called it 81 because there are 81 hexagon rosettes and stars in the middle panel. The giant monstrosity part was added when I realized just how big it was going to be; it finished roughly 93" by 97"!

The quilt is surprising easy to make and it is very forgiving. I used English paper piecing to make the stars and hexagon rosettes. I fussy cut butterflies and appliqued them as a little extra embellishment. You can embellish as you see fit!

I thought you might like to see some of the fussy cut hexagons!

If you don't have enough fabric to cut six hexagons (or diamonds for the stars) just fussy cut three and use a complementary print for the other three! You can see some examples of this in the following picture.

I used scraps to make the baskets and fill them with flowers. Each basket is the same basic shape but the flowers and leaves are different in each one! I had a bit of pansy fabric in my stash so I cut some out and appliqued them. It is a great place to use some of those pretty florals that you don't know what to do with!

Once the quilt top was together I made my quilt sandwich and machine quilted it on my domestic sewing machine. However because the quilt is constructed in sections I think it would be suited to a quilt as you go technique! I didn't include quilting instructions but I wrote about how I did it in several posts. If there is interest I would consider putting together a separate instruction sheet on the quilting. 

So for those of you who love hexagons, I hope you'll enjoy the instructions for making 81. If you do start making it I would love to hear from you! Even if you don 't make it I would love to hear from you! I reply to every comment. If you don't hear from me it means you are a "no reply" blogger and I have no way to contact you! 

Enough chit chat; here's what you've been waiting for!

Link to the instructions for 81 The Giant Monstrosity!

You can also find the link under Patterns by Karen H. I put a great deal of time, effort and energy into my free patterns. Please do not sell or reproduce them without my written permission. However you are more than welcome to post a link to my blog http://www.faeriesandfibres.blogspot.ca so that others can access this pattern and my other free patterns. 

Until I post again, happy sewing!
Karen H

It's Blogger's Quilt Festival Time - 81 The Giant Mostrosity

A huge thank you to Amy of Amy's Creative Side for organizing the Fall 2014 Blogger's Quilt Festival. You can submit nominations for two of your own quilts. It is a great way to share your work with others and to be eligible for some lovely prizes. Take a look at all of the registered quilts and then select three for Viewers' Choice category.  Nominations are open now and they close on October 31. You can start voting for your favourite quilts in all categories starting November 1. Voting closes on November 7 and the winners will be announced on November 8th!

I will enter two quilt and this is the first, 81 The Giant Monstrosity. I am working on a pattern for my quilt and will publish it in the near future. I'll be making it available free of charge! I've entered 81 in the category Home Machine Quilted. This photograph  shows the quilt but doesn't show the quilting so I'll share some close-ups.

81 The Giant Monstrosity

UPDATE: 81 is one of the Viewer's Choice Finalists! How exciting is that? If you like my quilt you can also vote for it in the Viewer's Choice category as well!

I used a neutral soft grey backing fabric and it shows the quilting beautifully. I used my Juki TL2010Q domestic sewing machine. While it doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles is is a workhorse and the stitch quality is amazing!

This is what it looks like from the front. There was virtually no marking required. I just doodled with my sewing machine and I adore the effect!

In this picture the quilt is folded so you can see the outer border front and back. I love the effect of the straight line quilting in the border!

I blogged about how I quilted the background filler designs and you can read about it here and here.

Until I post again, happy sewing!

Karen H

Gardens of a King, My Mom's African quilts, My quilt 81 and Lozagons

I continue to test the pattern for Missie Carpenter of Traditional Primitives. Her quilt pattern is called Gardens of a King and it is inspired by the King George III Coverlet. Here's a partial picture of Missie's quilt.

The pieces are small but once you get the hang of Missie's technique for making these amazing blocks it is so much fun! I'm using up so many little scraps which makes me very happy! There are sixteen patterns and the instructions call for two blocks made from each pattern. Here is one of my blocks! I've not yet cut out the second block because I'm so eager to try out the other blocks!

Now it is time for another couple of pictures from the 2014 Yorkshire Rose Quilters' Guild Quilt Show, mine and my Mom's!

This is my Mom (Anne H) with a Montage of African Quilts which were shown at the Yorkshire Rose Quilt Show in September 2014. The banners on the right and left were inspired by a Pippa Moore pattern but Mom personalized them to make them uniquely her own. The quilt in the third column, second from the top was inspired by a quilt made by Allison Wilbur. Allison's quilt was made for Quilt for Change.

I was finally able to get a picture of my quilt 81 - The Giant Monstrosity when it was hung at the quilt show. It does lay flat however we were asked to attach split sleeves to our quilts and this results in a bit of a hump in the middle of the top edge of the quilt.

I will be writing a pattern for making this quilt and it will be available for free on my blog in the near future. It looks complicated but I think you'll be surprised at how easy it is to construct. I did do a great deal of applique in the dark border but if you had a lovely big print it would be a good place to use it if applique isn't your thing!

Yesterday I got together with some friends so while we chatted and munched away on delectable treats I managed to get another Lozagons block stitched. Only 29 hexagon blocks to go!

Until I post again, happy sewing!
Karen H

81 - the final stretch and a Quilt Show

The work on my hexagon quilt 81 continues and the end is in sight. The inner striped border with baskets of flowers is completely quilted now so it is on to the last bit in the light grey outer border. This corner is completely quilted. There's still quite a bit of border to go but good news is that the amount of quilting to be done is less than what I've already done so that's something!

When I get going with my doodle (or free form) quilting that fills the background it sometimes feels like I'm repeating the same motif over and over again. I have a limited repertoire so it feels like I just quilted a design even if I didn't. To help choose what to do next I keep a sketch with designs by my machine to give me inspiration and ideas. Each time I come up with something a little different I'll add it to the diagram. When quilting if I am stuck I look to my diagram for inspiration. Combining motifs is a great way to great variations. For example a large teardrop can be changed if it is outlined with circles or feathers. To make a design really pop I echo quilt around it two or three times!

For those of you who live in the Toronto area or will be visiting the area in mid-September I will be showing my quilt 81 at the Yorkshire Rose Quilt Show on September 20 &21, 2014. There will be some amazing quilts on display. For those of you who can't make it I will take pictures and we'll have a virtual quilt show!

Friday morning I'll publish Block 9 in my Value Proposition Quilt Along. We are going to do something a little different this time. I hope you'll like it!

Time for me to get back to quilting! Until I post again, happy sewing!
Karen H

Reader questions about making 81

There have been several questions about how I made my quilt 81 The Giant Monstrosity. Some were from no-reply bloggers which means I can't reply to the comment or question. I reply to every comment so if you don't hear from me it means you are a no-reply blogger and I have no way to contact you unless you provide me with your email address. Anyhoooo, I thought I would answer the questions here!

Where did I get the pattern for 81 The Giant Monstrosity?
I made my own pattern. I saw pictures of the original quilt  (below) which was made in the 1800s. I fell in love with it (what lover of hexagons wouldn't) and I drafted my own pattern. This is the original quilt.

This is my version before I added my final diamond border. I made mine in brighter colours. The grey fabric in the centre panel is different from the grey in the border and that's just fine.

I started with the centre panel for my quilt. It is a single piece of fabric with 81 hexagon rosettes and stars. I determined the measurements for the borders as I went along. I did make some changes to my version of the quilt. For example I swapped out the pieced blocks in the corners for appliqued baskets and I added a slightly different diamond border. While I drafted my own pattern there is a commercial pattern available for this quilt from Threadbear. The Threadbear pattern is by Corliss Searcey and her version of the quilt measures 72" x 82". My quilt measures 92" by 97". I believe the title of her pattern is English Basket Quilt.

What size are the hexagons and diamonds?
I used 3/4" hexagons. You will find the template I used for my hexagons here. Each side of the diamond measures 1 1/4". I drafted my own diamond master template, made copies and cut them up as I needed them. I explained how I draft them here.

Are the hexagon rosettes and stars appliqued?
Yes. After the stars and rosettes were stitched I gave them a spritz of starch and pressed with a hot dry iron. The basting threads and papers were removed and I used Roxanne Glue-Baste-It to affix them to the background for applique.

When I thread baste my diamonds I do the corners a little differently. The method I use results in diamonds that look like the diamond on the left in this picture. You can read how I do this here. I makes the applique much easier because there are no dog ears to be tucked in!

What kind of paper do I use for the hexagons?
I just use regular 20lb bond printer paper and don't seem to have problems. You can get printer paper that is a little heavier but not quite as heavy as cardstock and that might be a better option for you or you can use cardstock. I use a glue stick to tack my papers to my fabric (a tiny dab of glue is applied to the paper never the fabric) and I use only enough glue to hold the paper in place on the fabric so when it comes time to remove the paper the bond is very weak and in most instances the paper just pops out. If you prefer not to use a glue stick another option (which I've used for 1/2" hexagons) is to use applique pins. They are very tiny and unobtrusive so your thread won't get tangled around them when you baste.

Are the papers reusable?

Sometimes. If the paper is in good shape I will reuse it. Otherwise it goes in the recycling box. In order to be reusable I want nice sharp corners so if the paper is chewed up at the corners I get rid of it!

What basting method do I use?

In the past I basted through the fabric (the brown hexagons in the picture below) and will continue to do so when making my foundation paper pieced English paper piecing hexagons. However when as of late I've been basting only the fabric at each corner fold without piercing the paper (the turquoise hexagons in the picture below). With this method the basting thread remains in the quilt and the papers just pop out quite easily. The bonus is that the papers remain relatively intact which means most of them can be reused. Let me know if you would like a little tutorial!

There is an alternative to thread basting and it involves the use of starch and freezer paper. Missie of Traditional Primitives explained her method and you can read about it here. I've tried this method and it works really well. There are no threads or papers to removed however you will need a little iron such as Clover's Mini Iron or Dritz's Petite Press for this method.

If you have questions about the making of 81 please feel free to send me an email or leave me a comment and I'll be more than happy to reply. It's time for me to get back to quilting 81. Until I post again, happy sewing!
Karen H

Free form quilting, quilting straight lines and binding 81

Thanks for all the nice comments on the free form quilting in 81. I got the idea and the confidence to do this by examining one of my quilt sandwiches that I use to test stitches and/or threads before I start quilting. I thought it looked pretty nice and if there were lots of open spaces to fill it would be a good way to do it. I'm quilting on the Jukester, a Juki TL2010Q domestic sewing machine.

Mistakes are less visible when there are a variety of motifs and you can adjust the size or change the motif to fill small spaces or odd shaped spaces. The first time I tried this was on my Lazy Girl quilt.

The entire quilt was ditch quilted to anchor everything and then I went back and quilted the open spaces. The trick was to pick a corner and work out from there. I chose to work with shapes that were comfortable and familiar. I first wrote about how I do it here. If you want to give it a go I recommend that use a light weight thread on top (at least 50 wt or greater) and use a colour that matches the area that will be quilted.

Angie asked how I quilted the straight lines in the border. This is a picture of the quilting from the back. Ignore the line of sewing along the bottom edge; I had already attached the binding when the picture was taken.

I quilted to the outside edge of the quilt, stitch over a couple of stitches and then quilted back up until I hit the edge of the diamond applique on the front. I would take a couple of stitches along the edge of the diamond applique and then head back down to the outside edge of the quilt. I used the edge of my free motion foot as my guide. The lines are not perfectly spaced nor perfectly straight but on a large quilt it doesn't really matter because once you it doesn't show. If you do want to keep them straight you can mark guide lines on the front of the quilt and make them about 3/4" to 1" apart. It gives you a visual guide so you can keep the in between lines reasonably straight. This technique was so fast and easy!  

There is a corner square and I wanted radiating lines. The first thing I did was quilt the swag which is the stop for the radiating lines. I marked my sewing lines before quilting. I next made marks along the outside edge of the quilt and I spaced them 1/2" apart. I placed my ruler on the quilt and lined it up with the inside corner of the corner square and a 1/2" mark. I drew a line. I repeated this for every 1/2" mark. I then quilted it going back and forth (or up and down actually) the same way that I did on the border. 

This is a fun way to quilt and it looks great even when it isn't perfect! And I assure you that mine is not perfect but that's perfectly fine with me! You should give it a try - I think you might just impress yourself with how good it looks!

I've attached the binding to the quilt and started to stitch it down. I used the scraps of the backing fabric and the colour is subtly different from the border fabric. Love that look!

I also love the look of a nice sharp bound corner! Can you see my pretty little scissor pouch and scissor fob? They are so beautiful and I just love them. I won them in a giveaway earlier this year. They were made by Sheryl of Sewing After Seven. She does absolutely gorgeous, incredible handwork!

Well I would love to write more but as you know I've got some binding and quilting to do! So until I post again, happy sewing!

Karen H