Pixie Sticks

I'm trying my hand at some new {to me} quilting techniques (I have tried these before in garment making)…… and thought I'd give some of them a try at the Modern Mini Quilt Challenge over at Ellison Lane. Thank goodness for the MINI designation. (I tend to get carried away……).

Do you remember Pixie Sticks? I do, even though I didn't get to eat much candy when I was little, I did love those brightly colored straws and the sweet/tart sugar powder inside.

Pixie Sticks- front (detail of the dense {mostly} straight quilting and the 3-D Pixie Sticks).
The picture was shot with  a bit of shadowing cast by the Pixie Sticks to add some drama

My Modern Mini is a 12.5 x 15" 3-D beauty made from my scrap bin, a bit of cotton string and left over Kona Coal from the For the Love of Solids Swap. (Feels good to made a wee dent in that scrap pile).

The Pixie Sticks are prepared like corded binding, cut to different lengths (dictated solely by the length of the scrap) and laid out in a rainbow progression. Mostly prints, but some solids, again dictated by what I had cut and designated as scraps.

The Pixie strips are then sewn to Kona Coal strips of varying widths and lengths and then sewn to one another to make the mini quilt. I then densely quilted between the Pixie Sticks to make them standout from the neutral gray background. It's fun to run your hand across the top of the mini quilt. Makes an interesting sound as well.

Pixie Sticks- front

Side- 3-D- detail of Pixie Sticks

The back, plain multicolored polka dot, 100% cotton. I chose the backing fabric to keep with the "candy" theme- remember these? Candy dots on paper…….

Pixie Sticks- back, with the fabric version of Candy Dots on paper!

{The}Details:
Title: "Pixie Sticks", original design
Size: 12.5 x 15"
Material: Kona Coal and various scraps of 100% quilting cotton
Thread: Aurafil dark grey, 40 wt, 100% cotton (top thread) and Coats and Clark 100% quilting cotton, 40 wt (bobbin thread)
Binding: Hand bound with Kona Coal.

Design-finish: February, 2012.