Chihuly check-in, Bee Sewcial January recap/update

Well, January at Bee Sewcial is winding down and we are almost ready for another month and another inspiration. Go here to see some fun photos of all things happening in the month of January on BeeSewcial

Collage of some of the blocks received and scraps received and altered.
And some blocks in progress

And blocks that will become other things…. (like a pillow)

And finally my never ending quest to use scraps and make quilts. I have pledged 2 quilts from ONLY scraps so I'm on my quest.

Before

After

Having the constraints of random precut scraps is a fun challenge, one I'm looking forward to completing.

Next up,  February and Kari of quiltsforthemaking. Stay tuned  for February #BeeSewcial on Instagram/Flickr.

And Ladies of Bee Sewcial, you have 2 more weeks to finish and mail blocks to me all the while pondering and sewing blocks for Kari!

Here I am

Thank you Lauren at Right-sides-together for a lovely article!!

Click on the link to read the story.

Last in, first out

"White Out", the last quilt finish of 2014, is the first quilt I'll get to write about in 2015. It was gifted during Christmas so I'm not spoiling any surprises. It is also the 3rd quilt in the derived inspiration series, so here goes…..

"White Out", derived inspiration, No.3
99 x 86"

The Front
My "helpers" were cold but I loved how the sun shines through the quilt in places.
The back lighting makes the "colors" more saturated.
The photo below of the basted quilt is a more realistic representation of the quilt as it would appear on a bed.

Over 40 WOW (white-on-white), cream, and subtle gray fabrics including: Mirror Ball Dot by Michael Miller, Tara Reed for Quilting Treasures, Classical Elements Chevrons, Kona Cottons (Pewter, Iron Gray, Coal Snow White), Lizzy Pearl bracelets by Andover Fabrics, Magnolia by Laura Gunn, Sketch by Timeless Treasures, Fairy Frost by Michael Miller, Cotton & Steel Solid Oyster, Watermark by Studio R, Shimmer by Jennifer Sampou, Cotton & Steel XOXO in Ghost, Tweet Together Medallion, Botanics Lineal Etching Hip Holiday by Josephine Kimberling for Blend, Whisper Prints Squiggle by Robert Kaufman, Botanics Etched Leaves, Cotton & Steel XXXX Netorious, Sun Prints Bike Path by Andover Fabrics, Shades of Black by Moda, STOF Quilters Shadow by Moda, Muslin Mates by Moda, Riley Blake White on White, Zig Zag Chevron White, Tile in Snow Metro Living by Robert Kaufman, Stencil Block, Studio 8 Metro Hexagon by Quilting Treasures, White basics dot by Riley Blake, Gilded Leaf by Benartex, Moda Muslin Mates Scissors, Moda Muslin Mates Polka Dot, Riley Blake chevron basics, Riley Blake blenders, Pearl Bracelets by Lizzy House for Andover fabrics, Metro Living Circles Snow by Robert Kaufman. There are also a few additional cotton fabrics whose selvedges I  did not have but they were perfect WOW and I included them as well.

Fabric pull, and this was only a partial selection

all pieced and pinned, ready for quilting

Batting: Dream Orient by Quilters Dream (silk, bamboo, Tencel and cotton). I had never used this quilt batting before and I will say that is sewed beautifully and didn't seem to add any difficulties to the fact that I was using metallic threads.
Threads: Top (Metallics only): Superior threads Slate, Antique Silver and Silver. Marathon Threads, white. Bobbin: Aurifil variegated white/ivory/ gray #4060, 50 wt, 100% cotton. I used 20 bobbins to complete this quilt. I want to say that I had absolutely NO problems using metallic threads on the top and 100% cotton thread in the bobbin. They played very well together.

Tools: Jay Bird Quilts Hex-n-more Triangle ruler
Binding: 2" straight of grain, color pieced to match the quilt.
Quilting: on the diagonal 3/8" straight rows (more or less), with 2 areas of crossed diagonal quilting. Done entirely on my domestic Bernina 180 using a walking foot.

Quilt back: Top remnants, additional fabrics purchased but not used on the top, large areas of Kona coal. I used inset seaming liberally and one tiny pop (Kona Chinese Red) of color chosen by my daughter.

The back- I love how the sun shining through shows off the piecing seams especially at the top

Inspiration: an Athleta reusable shopping bag received December 2013 and currently in use this past season as well. The metallic and sophisticated pattern caught my then 15 year old, now 16 year old fancy and she asked if I could make the design of the bag into a quilt. I collected WOW fabrics for 8 months before embarking on this triangle quilt.

New: I have never quilted an entire quilt in metallic thread. I have used metallics focally and sparing in prior quilts but all of the top thread in this quilt is metallic. I had trouble only once (the white metallic Marathon thread) with the thread twisting and knotting as it came off the spool, but a more circuitous route from spool to machine seemed to get that resolved rather quickly. I also used, and highly recommend if you are contemplating quilting with metallics, the special needles (recommended by the manufacturers). I did not have to adjust my thread tension which is sometimes required. I think that extra glint really makes this quilt sophisticated and gives it a real wintery flair.

Bee Sewcial

The buzz…...

And I'm up to bat.
Derived Inspiration on a group level. Eeeeek! Follow along as we try to figure each other out on Instagram #BeeSewcial.

OK, here goes all you creative people:
The inspiration: The Chihuly Exhibit at the Denver Botanic Gardens. I love the linear but not rigidly linear aspect, and the unexpected, like the swirl of glass in the purple/green composition. I LOVE the blues in the top 2 photos and the reds behind them (And I picked this design and inspiration BEFORE Marsala got named the 2015 Pantone Color of the year- damn I'm good).

I digress, back to the story-  There is so much going on and yet it's still peaceful. (You can see more pictures of the exhibit on Instagram (#Chihulydenver) if you need that Chihuly fix or more inspiration.

What I'd like is the pieced equlivant of 2-12.5" blocks more or less, of your best improv interpretation on the theme above. You can solve that any way you like, for instance, by making several little blocks/rectangles, or one big block/ strip/rectangle, I don't care.  It's supposed to look improv when the whole thing is pieced together.  I may adjust your blocks once I get them to make them fit and be more cohesive but please let your inhibitions go and have fun with this. Please don't trim as I will be doing that as I piece, so no worries if your finish is an irregular shape. What I don't want to end up with is a stack of perfect 12.5" squares….. and perhaps no raw edge appliqué as I like the look of a pieced quilt.

Colors: I LOVE the colors in the first 2 photos, the different startling blues against the brick red.  I want you to play with the color palette. Go play! (When I put the top 2 pictures through the Palette Builder I got 3 different "reds" and 4 different "blues".

Below are some colors that inspire me on a personal level. Although the Chihuly exhibit is done out of doors, I want to stay away from greens in my quilt, but you have my permission if you NEED to use a bit of green to do so. (I do like that yellowy-green but not deep forest greens just in case you're wondering).

Remember we are working with solids only, and 100% quilting cotton. I have lots of Kona solids in my stash and will be using those, but again use what you have as long as it's solid.  I think all the colors and texture will only make the quilt more remarkable.

Design Seeds March 31, 2014
click on this link to get the "bigger" picture

 And IF I can get these creative pieces put together, I will enter it into the yearly Pantone Color of the Year Quilt challenge as a group quilt. So, Latifah, it may not be the first Marsala Quilt of the year, but it will be A Marsala  Quilt finished this year. Once done, we can all raise our "virtual" wine glasses and toast that finish!!

And here are my attempts just so you know I'm working on it. But do YOUR thing, you don't have to try and do what I'm doing. And yes, Hillary, if you want to try and get this into circle form you have my permission (plus I'm dying to see how you'd accomplish that).

some curvy

more straight

flipped horizontally the upper right piece looks like Islands or mountain tops...

3 separate pieces This is taken indoors without nice lighting.

some of the fabrics I used, see below

Some colors I selected using the Kona color card in case our monitors are not syncing as they should.

orange:Tangerine/kumquat and flame

yellow: corn/papaya/citrus
pink:azalea/camellia/pomegranate/cerise/sangria

red:brick/crimson/wine/ruby/chinese red/paprika/tomato/coral

blues:(dark) teal/caribbean/cyan/nightfall/prussian/celestial  (light) robin egg/baby blue/aqua/azure/surf

Remember your masterpieces are due 6 weeks from Jan 1, so in my hands by February 12th. Please post work in progress and any other questions you might have on IG and Flickr tag #BeeSewcial. My smart phone isn't smart enough to get discussions on Flickr through the app, so if it's important ask me on IG I'm @spontaneousthreads and we're #BeeSewcial.