My Basket Quilt

Hey there folks! Today I am going to show you a zillion pictures and chat a bit about this quilt that I have been working on for the past several years and have finally finished. My Basket Quilt. I started this one with Gwen Marston back in 2011 (I think) and finally finished putting the top together at our KCMQG quilt retreat in Hamilton, MO. I LOVE Gwen Marston and if you EVER have a chance to sew with her DO IT. She is brilliant. Truly. Anyway, she came to Dallas When I lived in San Angelo so I made the drive up to her to learn about making basket blocks (her way). I am actually not wild about basket quilts, but I LOVED her technique. It was so fun to make all the blocks just a tad bit different...heck some full blown KRAZY. Some even became flower pots. Flower pots and baskets are pretty similar really.

So I came home with a bag full of baskets and no clue what to do with them or what layout to give them, so they got put away. They were put away for YEARS. I would take them out during lulls...play with them some create some fun spare parts...then get busy with work related quilts and the blocks would get put away again.

Finally I decided to make them into the last border of a medallion quilt. I love a medallion quilt. I make lots of them because they are so fun to build on and really fun to quilt. I made a center block and built on the borders, and made some more appliqué parts.

All the appliqué is needle turn except for one part.

They stars are the only part that I HATE. I really wish I would have just pieced some stars. I love making wonky stars I don't know why I dropped the ball here but I did. I hated this part so much that is sat unfinished for another 2 years. For real.

This funny appliqué sprout is a block I had been working on on and off while waiting in the school pick up line. It was in my purse and I needed another block to make the bottom border long enough. It kinda matched so I added it in. I also quilted a couple extra leaves on the stem.

Some sprouts in a pot. I did figure out the ACU fabric does not want to be forced into leaves. It fought me every stitch. But in the end I won.

Two of my Altura blocks from Carolyn Friedlander went into the quilt too.

I tried really hard to keep the quilting simple...but I decided the trees needed to be snowed on.

Each basket is quilted different. This one has some feathers.

I used two layers of batting in this quilt to make it really heavy and to make the elements of the quilt pop. I used cotton and wool batting from Quilters Dream.

I think this is my favorite basket. I quilted around the spheres and it looks cool.

This is the back. It is all fabric I bought while in Hamilton for the quilt retreat.

This is a process shot, while I was quilting the quilt on the long arm.

And here is fabulous Jenny Doan of the Missouri Star Quilt Company. She was as sick as a dog and still came out to say hi to our KCMQG. She is pretty great.

Anyway, I think that was my longest UFO project. If you have some crazy blocks bust them out and make them into a medallion quilt. It is magic.

xo,
Tia

Cotton+Steel Liberated Quilt

Hey there! 

Lets Look at one of my quilts real quick. Many of you know of my love for the quilt maker extraordinaire Gwen Marston. I adore her and I think she is a national treasure. She has been the single biggest influence in my quilting life.  Improv piecing is my very favorite way to make quilts. I made this one as a class sample. I will be teaching Improv piecing at 2 different shops this summer. While I have several Improv quilts I could have used as class samples it is almost impossible to resist the call to make another.

For this one I choose two of my fat quarter bundles to work from Gelato and Land Air and Sea - from my shop. They are on sale at the moment by the way. I love how this mustard yellow interacts with the fuchsia and aqua.

This was also so very fun to quilt. There is no pressure at all when I quilt for myself and little wobbles work well with Improv piecing, I think.

I used wool batting for this quilt and I love how it puffs up in the un-quilted parts.

This quilt is all freehand quilted.

I got to swirl the center. Swirls never get old.

I FINALLY got to use that crazy bug print. I fussy cut the little beasts and I am thrilled with the results.

Spike border all around with echo quilting.

That ribbon in the aqua sashing was fun.

No block I love more than a Liberated Star.

Lets get a little closer so we can really see the sparkle of the metallic in the fabric. Shimmer!

Some crosshatching in the double gauze looks pretty. And my daughters fat black cat searches this spot out to set up camp on. It is his favorite. And some fun quarter Log Cabins

The back is Voile Mystery food. Voile with wool batting makes one fabulous quilt folks. Very squishy.

And I used the selvage.

If you want to see this quilt in real life it is hanging up at Meadows Quilt Shop in Leavenworth.