B.O.W. - a mini quilt failure that actually was none

I seem to make a lot of blue and orange quilts lately... well, it is a beautiful colour combination! 

The is one is called B.O.W. - Blue. Orange. White. 

This quilt was actually the very first attempt for my mini quilt swap at QuiltCon 2020 organised by The Modern Quilt Guild. My swap partner was Audrey Esarey... and the pressure was on. 

I first didn't really like where this project was going but as the quilt was finished it grew on me and now I do really like it. I made Audrey another one though - see blog post here. 

Audrey's quilt is on the right. I used the same colours, and they do look good together! 

I first started to make monochromatic log cabin blocks and then arranged them. 

The orange blocks were always to be the focal point so they did get a special place in the overall design. 

I match stick quilted in a light blue 40wt Aurifil thread. Loved how that turned out. 

I made a faced binding, my go to choice lately. 

I used a bit of linen fabrics, they add such a beautiful texture. 

Here is B.O.W. with the original design source and the quilt that Audrey liked and wanted a mini quilt with the same colours.  

So, I first thought this was a failure - never judge the quilt before it's finished! 

Sugar Rush - MQG Mini Quilt Swap at QuiltCon 2020

As the mini quilt swap by the Modern Quilt Guild was announced I signed up immidiately. Since I was going to attend QuiltCon in Austin, Texas I was looking forward to exchanging mini quilts with my swap partner in person.

And this is such a great experience! It's my second time taking part in the swap and I really love it.

So this is us, Audrey and me with big smiles on our faces. Audrey made me this awesome 'Indigo Radial' mini quilt with her stunning design. I absolutely love it! It's hanging in my studio now. The pattern is available from her website, go check it out!

Just like my first swap in 2018, the moment my exchange partner was announced I was in a state of total excitement and panic, all at the same time. I mean, I would get a mini quilt from Audrey Esarey of Cotton and Bourbon, how cool is that!!!! But in return that means, I would have to make her one too. And that's where I probably put too much pressure on myself.

Audrey loved the colours in my log cabin quilt, 'The Blue One' and asked that I make her a mini quilt in these colours.

And she wanted something Improv. Ok, I started to make one quilt top and didn't like it. I started another one and that was worse. The mini quilt Audrey received was actually the third attempt.

This mini quilt taught me so much. It taught me to TRUST. THE. PROCESS. I've read this quote so many times but it's hard to get out of this stage of feeling failure, feeling of too much pressure and not having fun at all.

Improv is challenging. And every now and then it gets overwhelming. I finally was able to let loose and play. And, oh, I was having so much fun!

Everything fits together, the colours, the shapes, the straight line quilting. I was amazed by the fact that there are two quilts, that are made from the exact same colours but yet look so different. I called the new mini quilt 'Sugar Rush'.

The best part was that Audrey really liked the quilt! We had so much fun during the quilt exchange and over the course of the four days of QuiltCon. #makeaminimakeafriend - so true!

This is my favourite photo ever!

And by the way, the first mini quilt attempt didn't turn out that bad in the end, in fact I really like it. I actually brought that one with me for Audrey to have her pick, but she went for Sugar Rush, my first choice for her.

Having Audrey's Indigo Radial quilt in my studio and seeing it every day makes me very happy! And it reminds me of days where we were able to travel and to hug people. Even though QuiltCon is only 5 weeks ago, the world has changed dramatically since then due to the outbreak of the Coronavirus Pandemic. The quilt also gives me hope that there will be days where all of this will be possible again.

For all German speaking Readers: there's a new Link Up around! Check this out!

Looking back to QuiltCon 2018 in Pasadena CA

We moved house just one week after QuiltCon 2018 and it took us a long time to get everything organised. There is still some chaos and things to be done but we're getting there.

I've only downloaded the photos I took during QuiltCon 2 moths after the event. I just couldn't find the time.

Pasadena Convention Center

But maybe that was a good thing because now I think I have processed the whole experience of having a quilt in the show.

That photo says it all! One happy girl an her quilt!

Splinter in good company

I have to admit I was super excited and also very proud every time I walked by my quilt which was in line with so many great quilts.

Interesting for me was also the judges comments on Splinter. I wasn't sure whether that would be included but as I unpacked the quilt the judges' comments and the presentation sheet were included.

But enough of my own quilt. I want to show you some of my favourite quilts which are not award winners, for the award winners please see here.

I especially liked this quilt by Carolina Oneto, such a great use of colour and shape.

I'm a big fan of Kari Anderson's work and her 'Mama Bear loves to dance' quilt is no exception.

Once again I was drawn to simple, graphic and colourful quilts like this one by Debra Jalbert, that play with colour is so good.

Very cleverly arranged triangles by Nicole Kroesen in her quilt 'To the point'.

And Jacquie Gering... what can I say. She has a big impact on my own designs and I'm always in awe of her work. With her quilt 'Champ' Jacquie explores minimalistic design combined with strong light and dark contrast creating maximum visual impact.

I love subtle colours like the ones Paige Alexander used in her 'Positively Transparent' Quilt of the Month August 2017. Beautiful thread colours too.

I loved that neon pop thread Carson Converse used in her 'Passage' quilt.

I was absolutely stunned by this quilt by Tara Glastonbury. Her quilt 'What's your time worth?' represents the back of an Australian 50$ note and is a critical statement regarding female textile artists trying to make a living while others undervalue their hobby making it especially hard for artists to earn above the national average wage. This quilt had such a great texture, I wish I could have touched it.

These two quilts from this years Charity Challenge were my favourites. LEFT: Original pattern design by Alane Davis, made by the Lake Superior MQG; RIGHT: Designed by Holly Anne Knight, made be the Greater Atlanta MQG (Funny that they both have the light/ dark colour gradient from top to bottom).

This year Carolyn Friedlander was the featured artist at QuiltCon and she had a special exhibition of her work which I loved. I'm a great fan of her architectural fabrics and quilt designs with great colour choices.

Her work was beautifully presented. How cool is that couch?

Also these quilted maps are so good. A different kind of whole cloth quilt.

And there were so many more. I have noticed an increased quality of the mini quilts presented in the show, but that would be too much to show them here.

One highlight for me was the exchange of the mini quilt the Modern Quilt Guild had organised.

My swapping partner was Anne Sullivan of PlayCrafts and her work is amazing. I absolutely love the mini she made me! And how coordinated are our quilts? We even made the MQG News letter with our minis!
You can read more about 'Three', the mini quilt I made here.

I once again opted for the all day lecture pass. Sometimes the less obvious lectures are the best and are surprisingly good.
I only took one class and it was the advanced photography class with Kitty Wilkin and Michelle Bartholomew. Thoroughly enjoyed the class, learned a lot and could have actually done a whole day!

Exploring depth of filed

Once again I truly enjoyed the whole QuiltCon experience and being among like minded people. It was so great to meet quilters in person I have been in touch with via social media.


Today the registration for QuiltCon 2019 opened and unfortunately I will not go next year. I will make QuiltCon an every other year event. 2020 in Austin it is.

Three

I have finally found the time to share the mini quilt I made for the 2018 MQG Mini Swap. I was very excited about the swap and signed up to exchange the mini quilts at QuiltCon in Pasadena.
As I received the email with my swap partner I thought: Wow, Anne Sullivan of PlayCrafts is making me a mini quilt!!! And then immediately after that I thought: Oh F#@$%& I have to make her one too!
Anne is such an amazing quilter that the pressure to make her something awesome was big.

After three attempts I made this mini quilt which I called 'Three' giving the circumstances...

I improv pieced strips together and grouped them from light to dark. I like the little craziness in it, so much to look at. The binding is multi coloured as well and plays with the colour arrangement of the actual quilt.

I picked two different shades of violet and paired it with a Friedlander cross hatch fabric in the same colour family. I started with white and light turquoise in one corner and worked my way up to the darker top of the quilt. 'Three' is 24x24" small.

The top also has some orange colour splashes to add a little interest. I used 5 different coloured threads, all Aurifil 50wt, and quilted diagonal straight lines similar to the way I quilted Splinter.

For the back I used remaining fabrics and just pieced a crazy log cabin block. I'm very happy how this mini quilt turned out and I'm so glad that Anne liked it too!

And that's us exchanging our quilts at QuiltCon. I absolutely love the mini Anne made me and isn't it amazing how well our quilts look together? We even made the MQG February news letter!

I'll definitely take part in next years mini swap. Not sure if I will go to QuiltCon though but the minis can still be send via post (although it's so great to see the recipient's face while you exchange quilts and it's always so good to meet other quilters in person).

And I also think I'm going to revisit this design, I'd like to play with it a bit more at a larger scale!

Linking this to SewFreshQuilts and Let's bee social
and Finish Up Friday at CrazyMomQuilts 

2018 Quilty Goals

After a year end review it's always good to look ahead and plan new things for the new year 2018. I've had a good few ideas in my head for quite some time which I finally want to start.

But first there are two WIPs to finish, yes, I only have two. That's about the number I can deal with.

I have a finished quilt top that is waiting to be quilted. 'Playground' was a big learning curve for me. It's the first quilt I made using only prints with a challenging colour palette. You can read about the process here. I made it work though and I have a beautiful wide screen print by Tula Pink as a back and I also know how I will quilt it.

I have also started a Christmas quilt in early December 2017 but so far I have only cut some shapes, nothing sewn yet. Here's the yummy fabric selection:

Oh, I can't wait. I'm planning to make a Christmas quilt for so long, actually since I've made this Christmas table runner in 2014. I think I will just start early this year to make sure this is really finished by next Christmas!

It was just too busy and we also got a family addition in early December 2017: Biene, a 6-year-old female Viszla dog which we gave a new home.

She keeps me busy but I'm so looking forward to adventures and new things to discover!

I am taking part in the Mini Quilt Swap organised by the Modern Quilt Guild. My partner is Anne Sullivan of Play Crafts with whom I will exchange our minis at QuiltCon in February in Pasadena CA. Here's the fabric selection I picked:

I have started to play around, there will be an update soon.

I'm also super excited about the Pantone Colour of the year 2018: Ultra Violet. There will be Pantone Quilt Challenge later this year and I'm definitely taking part in this.

One of my best friends had a baby boy late last year and I want to make a baby quilt with these gorgeous fabrics here:

I have an idea for a design, nothing definite yet.

And there's my Quilty Cirlce of Bees of course. We are currently decreased in numbers but I hope to find more participants and keep it going, it's so much fun!

We will move house in March 2018 and my husband and I will have a large room all for our work, we call it 'Creative Space'. There's gonna be two large sewing tables for me, a design wall, fabric compartments and a cutting and pressing station. Oh, heaven!

I may have another pattern which I will keep a secret and see what I do with this. But it's very exciting!

Other than that I just want to put some ideas into life. Play with colour, shapes and thread.