Tell Me a Story finish

I finished my Tell Me a Story quilt mini and my daughter has laid claim to it. It makes me happy to see her enjoy it so much! First, it goes to Fancy Tiger because I'll be teaching beginning foundation paper piecing later this summer. Teaching has been really wonderful. I hope my students not only gain some technical knowledge (in this case how to foundation paper piece) but also a great deal of confidence and encouragement. They inspire me by seeing quilt making through their eyes. Summer is going by so fast that I know it will be here before I know it!


Stats:

Pattern: Modified version of Tell Me a Story from Intentional Piecing by Amy Friend. I made it a wall hanging with 16 blocks instead of a larger quilt, used scraps for the background instead of a consistent fabric and used the template to make the pieced border instead of a solid border. The genius of the concept and design is all Amy though!

Fabric: all scraps from my stash, including some Kawaii, hen fabric produced and purchased in Germany, and bits I purchased from others on #thegreatfabricdestash on IG. Border is a color snubbed chambray from Robert Kaufman.

Quilting: I quilted it in a diagonal cross hatch that aligns with the blocks and extends out into the borders.

Synapse Quilt for the MQG

The new pattern I designed for the Modern Quilt Guild just launched today! I'm so excited because I love this quilt. It takes a classic, simple plus shape and makes it something special with the pops of bright pink, the scrappy fabrics and spacial relationships.

The pattern is called Synapse. It's named after the minute gaps between brain cells. This quilt has thin sashing between the plus blocks, creating an interesting visual tension. The dynamic pops of pink make your attention dart from block to block, like nerve impulses sending signals from one cell to another. The circular quilting defines each cell. The end result is one eye-catching and elegant quilt. That connection between this quilt and brain synapses was inescapable to me.

I love being part of the MQG and am so happy they chose my design to be part of this program. The free quilts they offer every month are amazing. The membership is worth it for so many reasons already, and getting these every month is just icing on the cake. I belong to the Denver Metro MQG chapter. They are a fun and incredibly talented bunch!

Christine Perrigo did the quilting on it. She said circles and we both immediately jumped to doing the rings around the blocks. She designed this and it is just perfect! It is amazing to have her insight and amazing quilting skills. I love this quilt all the more for her being a part of it!

Anyone who is a member of the MQG can get the pattern for free! Yay!!!!

Intentional Piecing: Tell Me A Story

My adaptation of the Tell Me A Story quilt from Intentional Piecing

I have to tell you about a new book that I absolutely love. It is Intentional Piecing: From Fussy Cutting to Foundation Piecing by Amy Friend. You probably know who Amy is from her blog During Quiet Time and her many publications and patterns. The premise of the book is to use fussy cut fabric in clever ways. There are so many great foundation paper pieced blocks, but I also have some of the other projects on my list like the cute little clutch. I had the good fortune to be able to help with the book production at Lucky Spool too and it was so hard not to drop everything and make something from the book! I have been waiting to finally dive in and be able to share it!

Tell Me A Story Quilt Stitched Storytelling Event

Amy has a Tell Me A Story quilt stitched storytelling event going on right now. For every block you make and post to Instagram until June 1, you are entered to win a lovely bundle of fabric. The full details on it are here. The instagram tag #TellMeAStoryQuilt is fun to follow!

That stack of fabric on the left is the prize! Lots of good fussy-cut options there!

I dove right in and couldn't stop. These things are like block crack! They go together quickly and easily and it was fun to find a use for some novelty prints I've had stashed away. I seriously thought that I didn't have that many novelty fabrics before I started putting these together. I guess I have more than I thought. My theme is loosely fairy tales and childhood stories. That was an easy one to have on my mind since I have to small kids that I read to on a daily basis. I was impressed that when my daughter saw the blocks, she exclaimed "Mommy, these are all like story blocks!" I see some fun times looking at the little details and making up our own stories together.

Here are some of my favorite blocks out of the bunch I made:

I had so much fun making this beautiful, fun project and making it my own! I didn't use any background fabric in my blocks like in the gorgeous original and made up a little complimentary border. I've been in scrap busting mode so I figured I'd use up some odds and ends from my scrap bin.  The projects in this book are awesome for that! Now it is time to get it quilted but until then, the top is hanging up in my family room play corner already.

I used the same foundation pattern for the block to make the border.
It is a block with only the corners pieced in and then cut in half. Easy peasy modification!

Next up!

My next project from the book is the Stash Happy Tote. It will make a great teacher gift!

Discount!

Lucky Spool is offering a 30% discount on the book on their site! Use the code: FRIEND30

Giveaway Winner

The winner of the copy of Scraps, Inc. Volume 2 is Lee, lucky #44! I really hope you love the book! It was a lot of fun hearing about what all of you like for background fabric choices. They are a lot of the same fabrics I like to use!

Scraps, Inc., Vol. 2 & Giveaway!

I am so pleased to share You + Me + Us, a new quilt I designed for Scraps, Inc., Vol. 2 from Lucky Spool Media. This is the second book in the Scraps, Inc. series and they are both full of such wonderful quilts. I want to make every single one—from both books. Volume 2 has 15 quilt projects, each from a different designer. The projects are fresh and new, and anyone who has quilted for even a short while knows how great it is to find projects you love that make use of those precious scraps that accumulate. The photography from Nydia Kehnle is gorgeous. I had the unique privilege of not only contributing a quilt design, I also did the assembly illustrations and page layout. It was a labor of love and I'm so grateful to Lucky Spool.

In addition to making great use of scrap strips, this quilt has extra meaning to me. It is a bed quilt and represents the intertwining of the two lives of a couple, sort of a modern-day version of a wedding quilt. It's also a fun one to put together. I pulled scraps from all kinds of projects for a colorful, bohemian assortment. It's kind of like life, with all sorts of bits and pieces held together and made into a beautiful whole.

My friend Christine Perrigo did the amazing quilting. She suggested using Dream Orient batting with the chambray and it is the most dreamy combination. The quilt has such drape and softness.

The quilt even has a scrappy binding!

Discount!

For a limited time, you can order this book from Taunton for 30% off using the code Scraps30.  The discount is good through Tuesday, February 16th.

Giveaway!-----Closed!

I also have a copy to give away! I'll draw a winner on February 14 to give someone a nice Valentine's Day present! To be entered, please leave a comment telling me about one of your favorite fabrics to use for a background.

More Gorgeous Inspiration!

You really have to check out the other quilters on this blog hop if you haven't already. Their quilts are gorgeous! I have a hard time picking which one is my favorite.

Monday, February 8
Amy Smart, Diary of a Quilter
Nydia Kehnle, Nydia Kehnle Design + Photography

Tuesday, February 9
Amy Friend, During Quiet Time
Alexandra Ledgerwood, Teaginny Designs

Wednesday, February 10
April Rosenthal, April Rosenthal - The {Studio} Blog
Dorie Schwarz, Tumbling Blocks

Thursday, February 11
Erin Harris, House on Hill Road
Janice Ryan, Better Off Thread

Friday, February 12
John Adams, Quilt Dad
Kari Vojtechovsky, that's me!

Saturday, February 13
Katie Blakesley, Swim Bike Quilt
Kati Spencer, From the Blue Chair

Sunday, February 14
Melissa Lunden, Lunden Designs
Allison Harris, Cluck Cluck Sew
Sherri McConnell, A Quilting Life 

Color Play Class at Fancy Tiger

I had the privilege of teaching a couple of classes at the awesome shop Fancy Tiger in the past few weeks. It was so much fun!

The first one was Color Play. (Color Play is the quilt I designed for Lucky Spool's Essential Guide to Modern Quilt Making.) Each and every student did an amazing job of creating their quilt using their own intuition and preferences, honing those things down to a workable palette and applying it to the quilt design. I taught them about some basic color principles and how to use color theory as a framework to make a successful quilt. I was really impressed with what they came up with. They had to work hard and I know especially the first class was pretty exhausting but they were up for the challenge.

Here is Lynn Marie with her basted quilt top. She came in wanting to use the palette of neutrals and mustard colors that were already good together but she made the colors just sing when she added the dark teal.

Can you believe Emily is a new quilter with this top? She did an amazing job of putting it together! The background gray was a little stretchy but she made it through. The way those stripes in the background make diamond shapes is lovely. She fussy cut the flowers and navy checks, too. She's got a bright future of quilt making ahead of her.


I also taught a class on my Slopeside quilt. No photos of those just yet but I'm hoping to see a couple tops done soon. Believe me, they were gorgeous.

I'll be teaching Color Play again this spring. I can't wait! You can sign up here.

June Bee Sewcial block

I made these two blocks for Debbie for June's Bee Sewcial bee blocks. She requested mid-century modern and provided some great ideas on her Pinterest board. I know I had a bit of Alexander Calder on my mind when I made these, even though I think that is sort of a subtle influence. I chose to keep the color palette restrained for each block, but with some carryover of color from one to the other. I think they'll play nicely with some of the other blocks I've seen too.

Speaking of the other blocks, I am amazed by what my bee mates come up with every month. You can see all their brilliant work on the Flickr group. I'm lucky to be a part of this!