Design Wall Monday – September 27

Well, not much has changed on my wall since last week – I did manage to arrange all the blocks and get them sewn into rows. It’s a cold rainy day here in New York City – so perfect for putting something good in the oven for dinner and sewing the top of this quilt.

NOTE: I have my setting triangles pinned to the top row – so that is what is hanging down – and guess what – I didn’t measure correctly and cut a set of setting triangles that were just a smidge too small – YEAH – it’s the start of a new quilt!!!!!

One week left in the voting for the McCall’s Design Challenge – click the link to the right and cast your vote – leave a comment while you are at it!

And — stop by Judy’s Blog to see what everyone else is up to.

McCall’s Design Star – Lost in New York

There is a series of recordings out entitled Lost in Boston. These CDs contain songs that were cut from some very famous Broadway Shows while they were doing their out-of-town runs before coming to New York City.  There are some great songs on these CDs, but they were cut because they just didn’t fit the show.

With the McCall’s Design Star Challenge 1 I had a design that just didn’t fit the timetable – I liked it a lot but I decided that I just didn’t have the time to find the right fabrics and sew the quilt top before the deadline. So, here is my contribution for a new series of quilt designs –  Lost in New York.

Each of these designs is made up of  two blocks – Steps to the Altar is # 394 in Maggie Malone’s 5,500 Quilt Block Designs and Swamp Angel is #1632 b in Barbara Brackman’s Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns.

Steps to the Altar

Swamp Angel

All of the following designs were made by using the above two blocks with the coloring/values as presented above. I alternated the blocks in a checkerboard fashion and by simply turning individual blocks these patterns were created. I did this with the use of the EQ 6 Program (My EQ 7 is scheduled to arrive today!!) The blocks are 9 inches square – the quilt would measure 90 x 90.

If I had the time to get appropriate fabrics and sew all 100 blocks I would have made this design.

Here it is presented in another color-way.

And – don’t forget to vote for the quilt I did enter in the competition! Click on the icon in the right side bar to take you to the voting page.  And after you vote – please take a moment and leave a brief comment at the bottom of the page! Thanks

Stop back next Wednesday and I will show you how the various components of  my contest quilt went together – color placement deceives you – it might not be constructed as you think! See you next week.

 

Design Wall Monday – September 20

From what I have been recently posting you just might think that all I do is work in bright colors – well – I unearthed the following project – these blocks have been made for a year – maybe two??? and I just never got around to putting them together – or I would pull them out and then the weather would warm up and I would think – too hot to work on a flannel quilt. Well, I am going to get this one done for my bed so I can use it this fall!

I am going to play around with the blocks a bit – I just took the stack and put them up as they came off the pile – I want to mix up the colors a bit – or maybe not – not sure yet. Need to have a few more cups of coffee and see what happens!

Stop by Judy’s blog to see what every one else is doing.

 

(AND — don’t forget to click the link in the right sidebar and vote for my quilt in the McCall’s challenge! THANKS!)

Design Muse Thursday – September 16

After the riot of color (Don’t forget to vote for my quilt!) that has been surrounding me these past few weeks – it’s nice to tone things done a bit. Here are some shots of an installation by  Doug and Mike Starn on the rooftop garden of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

It’s called Big Bambu.   Some neutral tones and straight lines after all those curves and color. Enjoy….

McCall’s Design Star – The Voting Begins

Here is my entry for the McCall’s Quilting Next Design Star Contest.

I hope you will pop over to the McCall’s Website and vote for my quilt in their Next Design Star Contest. You can vote once a day. So, I hope you will take time to vote every day – or if not every day as often as you can. (Voting continues through October 5)While you are there – take a look at some of the other entries.

The challenge was as follows:

1.) Construct a quilt top using 2 “traditional” blocks. Use of multiple sizes of the same block is allowed, but no more than 2 blocks.

2.) The quilt top (including borders) must be at least 24″ square. It may be larger, but not smaller.

3.) Embellishment is allowed. Embroidery is considered embellishment.

4.) Continuous applique is allowed in the sashing and borders.

5.) Top may be pieced, appliqued, or mixed techniques.

The quilt started out with this initial sketch that I made on graph paper

I then went to the EQ (Electric Quilt Program) and drafted the quilt  so that I could play around with it a bit. I took copies of the quilt with me and doodled and scribbled as I rode the Subways in NYC

 

I eventually came up with this design….

… and then revised it again.

I liked the look of it with the addition of the black arc replacing one of the colored arcs. I think the other quilt would be great and might give it a try (maybe in some ’30s repros!) I had chosen these colors because they reflected a lot of material that I have in my stash. But one day I was in the City Quilter and I came across these Fat Quarter bundles of Mixmasters Fizz (Kaufman Fabrics) by Patrick Lose  and I said – yes these are the fabrics to use! (After all – why use the material we already own when we can just but more which will work better in our project!)

Stop by next Wednesday to have a look at a few designs  – totally different from this one –  that were rejected for the contest. But – they just might end being made into a quilt one of these days!

Now – a question for you – what name would you give this quilt????  Post your title below in the comment section.