Hey! Happy New Year!  I thought I'd be here earlier in the week, but it just didn't happen.  Hope 2011 is off to a great start for all of you.

The squares are cut.  All 624 of them.  I haven't added any from the stash yet - I need to re-do my math to see where I'm at.  I figure I'll add one or two more prints (including the bicycles for Fatty, you know, so it's not all pink and all flowers) and balance out the rest with white.  Then I need to decide how to attack the making of this quilt.  I want it to be a random pattern.  I'm wondering if I should make smaller blocks or piece it in strips.  I think the points might be easier to match in blocks.  Anyone have an opinion or experience with this?

Not sure what I am going to do with all these little strips, either.  They vary in width and are about 9" long. Ideas?

I bought myself a spectrum stack of Liberty prints from Purl for Christmas. I'd wanted it for a long time, hemmed and hawed and then added it to my Christmas list at the last minute.  Fatty emailed me and said, "Buy it." So I did.  It's made up of 52 fat eighths (each approximately 9" x 26") and was a total splurge.  This morning I started out cutting them into 4" squares - I can get 12 from each print.  The plan is a king-sized quilt for Fatty and I during the summer months.  This pile won't yield quite enough squares, but I plan on supplementing with a solid white cotton lawn and a few more Liberty prints from my stash.  I want to hand quilt this and so I am starting now, hoping that by the end of May, I'll be sleeping under it.

One thing I love about this stack is that there are many prints in it that I probably wouldn't have bought individually, but are going to be great in this big Liberty mish-mash of a quilt.  This one, though, I love. I've never seen it before and its subtle blues and greens in that large scale print are stunning.  I'm sure I'll find more treasures like this as I make my way down the pile.  I spent an hour and a half cutting and I only managed to make it about a third of the way.

This is definitely a long-term project.

I bought myself a spectrum stack of Liberty prints from Purl for Christmas. I'd wanted it for a long time, hemmed and hawed and then added it to my Christmas list at the last minute.  Fatty emailed me and said, "Buy it." So I did.  It's made up of 52 fat eighths (each approximately 9" x 26") and was a total splurge.  This morning I started out cutting them into 4" squares - I can get 12 from each print.  The plan is a king-sized quilt for Fatty and I during the summer months.  This pile won't yield quite enough squares, but I plan on supplementing with a solid white cotton lawn and a few more Liberty prints from my stash.  I want to hand quilt this and so I am starting now, hoping that by the end of May, I'll be sleeping under it.

One thing I love about this stack is that there are many prints in it that I probably wouldn't have bought individually, but are going to be great in this big Liberty mish-mash of a quilt.  This one, though, I love. I've never seen it before and its subtle blues and greens in that large scale print are stunning.  I'm sure I'll find more treasures like this as I make my way down the pile.  I spent an hour and a half cutting and I only managed to make it about a third of the way.

This is definitely a long-term project.

The one handmade gift I gave this year was a quilt for my newest nephew, Liam.  I used Denyse Schmidt's Proverbial Quilt for the letters and the instructions for her Sleep quilt pattern in the International Quilt Fest: Quilt Scene magazine.  I wanted a subtle palette of blues and grays for the letters with a mix of pattern - I used mostly scraps.  The back is Four Square in New Day from Denyse's Hope Valley line and the binding is a gray solid I had in my stash, probably a Kona cotton if I had to guess.  Because the letters in the pattern do not have seam allowances, I traced them onto freezer paper and ironed that to my fabrics.  With the quilting ruler as my guide, it was very easy and fast to add the seam allowances at the same time I cut out the letters.  I will definitely take this approach when I make it again, especially with a limited number of letters to cut.

I used off-white thread to quilt it.  I didn't mark any lines - just started sewing straight-ish lines at random intervals being careful not to cross them.  I wanted a grid-like look without uniformity if that makes sense.  I'm really happy with how it all came together and will definitely be making this simplified version of the proverbial quilt again.

If you haven't seen Melissa's quilt from this pattern, go look now.  Awesome.  So so very awesome.

You still have time to make a small gift or two.  Really.  I know this because I sat down at the sewing machine yesterday with the bag of scraps at my feet and pieced together this little number in about an hour.  I picked two scraps off the top of the pile and just started adding others in the same color family. I was planning on staying with the blues/greens/golds until I accidentally grabbed a tiny pink-ish scrap.  It was the happy accident that this needed so I added two more pink bits and that ribbon loop for hanging.  Two layers of batting (one insulated, one not), a back and a little quilting - good to go.

I love how freeing improvisational patchwork is.  You just grab fabrics and start sewing.  I need to remind myself of this to battle my tendency to over-think.  I'd like to be less restrained with fabric and design in 2011.

Malka Dubrawksy's new book Fresh Quilting: Fearless Color, Design and Inspiration arrived a few days ago and I am so excited to share it with you.  I've been following Malka and her work for a few years and I am always bowled over by the way she uses color and pattern to create beautiful quilted objects.  This book is no exception - it's jam-packed with great projects in bright, crisp colors that all have a modern aesthetic.  It showcases Malka's signature style with projects that are inventive and inspiring.

The book includes a very thorough section on material and tools and another on technique.  These parts are extremely informative and are a great resource for newer quilters and those of us who have more experience, too.  There are also two project sections.  The first one has small patchwork projects for home, family and friends.  In this part, you can find everything from a knitting needle case to a crib bumper and everything in between.  All the projects are fantastic and live up to the book's title.  One of my favorite projects is the mix it up patchwork scarf.  I love how Malka combined different types of fabrics - silks, corduroy, cotton prints - in an interesting pattern.  I can see making this for just about anyone on my list.  Using subdued colors, plaids and stripes would make it great for a man.  I also love the strings attached potholders and trivet.  These projects are great for using up scraps - perfect for anyone like me who has a hard time letting the little leftovers go. 

The second project section includes quilts for wall, bed and baby.  Malka has included a wonderful variety of patterns that use different techniques.  I think one of the strengths of this book is Malka's ability to transform a traditional patchwork pattern into something updated and modern.  I especially love the honeycomb hexagon quilt for this very reason.  Not only is the scale of the hexagons larger than you'd traditionally find, Malka also walks you through how to piece them by machine, not hand.  Awesome.

Malka's fresh approach to quilting and patchwork is inspiring.  Looking through the projects in this book, it is immediately evident that they are all versatile and adaptable to other items.  I really love the look of the whirlygig quilt - it's simple and understated but there is some great play with pattern and color that appeals to me.  Unfortunately, I don't have time to make any kind of quilt at the moment so I took the whirlygig pattern and used it for a potholder instead.

This came together easily and pretty fast.  I pieced the front and then followed the quilting and assembly directions from the strings attached potholders.  All the fabrics came from the scrap bin with the exception of the binding fabric, which is also on the back.  Easy, fun, fresh.  I am sure I'll be making more.

I have one copy of Fresh Quilting: Fearless Color, Design and Inspiration to give away.  If you would like a chance to win it, please leave a comment on this post before 5:00 p.m. EST, Sunday, December 12th.  I'll use the random number generator to choose a winner.

For more information about Malka and her book, visit her blog, A Stitch in Dye, and visit the other stops on her blog tour.

12/6 -  http://www.filminthefridge.com

12/7 -  http://thesillyboodilly.blogspot.com

12/8 -  http://jchandmade.typepad.com

12/9 -  https://houseonhillroad.com

12/10 - http://www.tallgrassprairiestudio.blogspot.com

12/13 - http://blairpeter.typepad.com

12/14 - http://pinkchalkstudio.com/blog

This is one of five (!) colorways of patchwork camera straps that I just put in the shop.  I finally broke down and cut into my Hope Valley stash.  I love these prints so much - I am not sure why I waited so long to use them.

Have a good weekend, everyone.  See you back here next week.  I actually have some finished things to show.  Woot!

This is one of five (!) colorways of patchwork camera straps that I just put in the shop.  I finally broke down and cut into my Hope Valley stash.  I love these prints so much - I am not sure why I waited so long to use them.

Have a good weekend, everyone.  See you back here next week.  I actually have some finished things to show.  Woot!