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.

Handmade Christmas

Hey there! As a Maker do you always want to give handmade gifts? I do. I want to give my family gifts that are well made and are meaningful. I want them to last for more than a weekend. This year I made 3 Overnight Duffel bags. This pattern is by Purl Soho and you can find it HERE. It is a great, simple pattern that lends itself well to making pieced sides or just quilting like I did. For these bags I loaded up my long arm with enough fabric for 4 bags, traced all the pattern pieces onto the white fabric (which is a heavy weight cotton from Ikea) and quilted them piece by piece with white thread. I used my new favorite batting which is Quilters Dream Cotton in Supreme loft. It is super thick and squishy.

This bag turned out to be my favorite. I meant it to go to my mom, but I am afraid I wrote my little sisters name on it. Oh well, they can swap if they like.

This inside has a clever little pocket. I did not add binding to all the inside seams. I just used my #13 switch on my Bernina (it looks like a serger stitch). I LOVE how these bags turned out and I can't wait to make one for myself. I have been saving some Suzuko Koseki fabric for just a project like this.

The two bags meant for my sister have the contour lines quilted into them. But in a way they kinda look like big white brains. Oh well both my sisters are wickedly brilliant so brain bags is fine too.

Everyone also got a zip pouch too. I took a Craftsy quilting class (I know...I am totally a quilter already...but a little professional development is an awesome thing) The Secrets of Free Motion Quilting with Christina Cameli and learned this super cute texture.

A simple Wood grain

and a topography quilting. This is seriously the most fun and quick quilting design in my arsenal at the moment. I want to quilt everything with it.

These little pouches are my own little pattern. If anyone wants I can whip up a tutorial. They are crazy fast to make. The rick rack makes them silly.

My little nephew is growing up and instead of the typical monster man doll I made him a little leather  zip wallet. A little man bag. I put Money in it for him to spend at Disney World.

Then these two quilt for my own kiddos. Yes, I am aware I have 3 children. My youngest likes to design his own quilts, so I will give him an invitation to work with me in the design of his own with free reign of my stash.

This first one is for my oldest son. It is made entirely of Carolyn Friendlander's new fabric line Doe and the rest of my Kona Snow (Doe Snow it rhymes!). I bought a fat quarter stack from Heather over at House a la mode by some sorcery she got the fabric before it was released and was willing to part with it!!!!! Isn't this wonderful? Needless to say as soon as it arrived in my studio I cut into it and had immediately change my idea because I hated it. I was making Farmers Daughter blocks...I thought they would be great. But turns out block piecing was hurting my mind. SO I broke free and just went improv and I am SOOOOOOO much happier with it.

I saved the HST (half Square triangle) pieces from the Farmers Daughter blocks to make some cute little hour glass blocks. I think they are my favorite parts of the quilt.

For the rest of the Improv I cut strips. Some I sewed together then subcut to create interest. This was really fun to work on and was a great reset to my mind.

I LOVE Carolyn Friedlander's new line. The scale it so good for small scale piecing and large scale as well. The colors are fabulous as well. So so so good!

This is the first quilt I tried the Topography quilting on. The best way to describe it is a very loose stipple that you echo. It is awesome! The thick cotton batting shrank up quite a bit after it's trip through the dryer. but I love it.

This beauty was one I made quite a while ago out of my all time favorite fabrics and it sat waiting to be bound for several months. I figured I should get it bound so I could list it in my shop and sell it since I have a zillion and twelve quilts in my house. So many that we trip over them. Well...disaster struck while this quilt was folded safely out of the way. Someone bled on it. I have no idea why someone would want to mark up my pretty quilt with a big plop of blood, but they did. I bound it and sent it through the wash with high hopes...but nope. The blood was well set. Soon....now it is a gift for my daughter!

The quilting was fun on it. hills, wild feathers, swirls and crop circles.

Some random pieced blocks in among the half square triangles

And a great striped back!

So that is my handmade holiday. Hope yours is even more productive. I am shifting operations to the kitchen. We are doing a Beef Wellington for Christmas Dinner. We have been watching too much Gordon Ramsay.

Happiness and Joy to you and yours!

XO,
The Curtis Family