Sewing for friends

It's so nice to have talented friends here and abroad. You get to suggest swaps and get packages in the mail. I sent off a package to Corinne (PiecedbyPeace) in Germany. She asked for some "boxes" to keep scraps etc in while sewing. Colors suggested were green, a bit of red and white. I have made a few boxes in the past and have had varing results. Using a new pattern from Ayumi Takahashi's book "Patchwork, Please!", I modified her "My Scrappy Box pattern", so that the box could be folded flat for shipping, thank you IKEA. I also ended up made 2 boxes of different sizes and various coordinating but not matching patchwork.
This is what I ended up with:

nested boxes, the inner box (taller) is from the original pattern.

 For anyone that wants to mail these boxes without incurring cost prohibitive postage, if you (at step # 9) sew into the side seams, about 1.5 " from the top edge on each side, a small elastic hair band, you will create a way to hold the sides up without ladder stitching the sides closed (step #15). All you then have to do is add a button to the adjacent side panel and loop the elastic around the button.

side buttons added to ease with shipping

end buttons added

These can be unbuttoned and folded flat for shipping and once your friend gets the box, if they like, they can ladder stitch the sides.

I did use some fun fabric for the box linings,

the "toile" fabric reminds me of the designs on some old fashioned plates. The one I chose has 2 quilts hanging from a clothes line strung between 2 trees. Kinds old fashioned and cheeky at the same time.

Sliver Quilting and X-factor pillows….

Circles, this "round" was all about circles over at the X-Factor pillow swap.
I decided to try a technique new to me, Sliver Quilting from the book, Sliver Quilts by Lisa O'Neill.
I thoroughly enjoyed myself, even read the directions this time, although I confess I didn't follow them precisely. This pillow is made from 4- 12" quarter circles.

Unstuffed pillow, showing quilting detail and my favorite striped shot cotton binding

 It's stuffed with a 26" pillow form and I think that's the right size if you want your pillow to be nice and fluffy, like here.

front

back- invisible zipper
although I'm guessing if you stared even a little bit you can guess where it is hiding.

The Details:
Title: Kaleidoscope Roulette
24" x 24"(unstuffed)
constructed with shot cottons, LouLouthi, and Zen Garden cottons and a circular, bias cut, satin accent
Hidden zipper closure on the back
Central FMQ, circular and ray quilting around the perimeter with  complimentary Aurifil threads

Central shot cotton covered button.

I used masking tape to indicate quilting placement.
There were lots of threads to bury.

the quilting detail stands out in this photo

close- up, front, circular and ray quilting

central FMQ with shot cotton covered button

Muslin backing of quilted front, you can see the overall design much better

Happy Easter

                                                              Happy Easter to all

Green 2.013

The Pantone Color 2013 is Emerald and it's gotten a lot of press. I don't have much of that color green in my stash, so my immediate thought was "I should make a 2013 Challenge Quilt".  Here goes…….

A just to make you smile photo……...

Title: "Green 2.013"

Outside at the FRMQ Guild meeting, glad to have the extra helping hands and a few chairs to stand on too!
Photo by Marta Strzeszewski 

Outside, side view. Even my fence isn't high enough.

Size: 76" x 74.5"
Designed, pieced and quilted by: me (Stephanie Zacharer Ruyle) on a Bernina 820.
Top: 100% cotton "stash-in-hand" greens, grays and Kona snow (neutral background)
Backing: 100% cotton lime/off-white/gray dots and pieced "left-over" green solids
Batting: 100% cotton warm and natural
Threads: (all Aurifil) 50 wt, Mako- grays(1158: dark; 2620: light), medium green( color number lost), off white (2021)

Front, inside photo
(with big quilts, it's just plain hard photographing them)

Back, outside at the FRMQ Guild meeting
Those "yellow" dots are actually lime green
Photo by Marta Strzeszewski 

So, there you have it.

Now,  here's the back story…..

"Green 2.013" is a tribute to the 2013 Pantone Color of the year- Emerald; the year the quilt was conceived and constructed- as well as the process of only using material from my stash (top, threads, batting and some of the backing). I try to set a challenge for myself with each quilt I make and for this quilt I tackled the actual quilting (which I generally like least of all). Since there is lots of negative space in this quilt, I really wanted the quilting to be an integral part of the minimal Zen Garden aesthetic of the overall design. The pebbles and the lines (both wavy and straight) remind me of how the Japanese Zen gardens are meticulously groomed and designed and I hoped to recreate that same cohesive quality in this quilt.  Using Aurifil threads (which I already had in large quantity), I selected dense straight line, pebble and a wavy line pattern to define different parts of the quilt. The only parts of the quilt left not quilted are the "sticks" that occur in each of the green squares and the frames around some of the boxes. The dominant thread was off white (Aurifil 2021) and I used about two thirds of a large 1500 meter cone as well as additional quantities of grays and green to finish the quilt- by far the most thread I have ever used in a quilting project and this is not the largest quilt I have tackled.

close up detail, front

close up detail, front

Medium detail, front

Medium detail, front

Medium detail, front. Darker gray thread is used in the gray areas, green thread for the boxes.

This quilt is a gift to a dear friend who will celebrate a very big birthday this year. It has not yet been washed. I'll leave that decision to my friend.

I am submitting this quilt to the:

                                                    
hosted by Ali @ a squared w as well as the first ever Modern quilt category of the HMQS Quilt exhibit in Salt Lake City. Wish me luck!

Hugs and a Kiss part 2

Now it's officially time to Kiss and tell…..
The way I constructed the Hugs and Kisses Valentines Pillows for my daughter, left me with the reverse fabrics, already cut. But I didn't have more pillows in mind.

Instead, a quilting tote, one I could load up with rulers and cutting mats, and even my iPad and take to my FRMQ Guild meetings.

So, meet my new sewing tote, constructed with Hugs and Kisses left overs

Front

It has all kinds of nice padded pockets on the back

back

divided pockets big enough for a ruler and my iPad

2 sets of outer divided pockets

a zippered top

The tote is big enough to carry a cutting board and various quilting tools, as well as a WIP or two (really who has just one WIP??).
There is a zippered inside pocket (that I neglected to photograph) that's good for keys, cell phone and my wallet.
I think I have now officially used up most of what I would consider my bright greens. It was fun working on the pillows and the tote and of course, my BIG green Emerald Pantone Challenge Quilt, which will be ready to share with all of you in a few days! Check back here for the big reveal.

What you do after a hug and a kiss?

Bet that got your attention!

First I should kiss and tell. For Valentine's Day I made these 2 pillows for my daughter. I'm still using up some of the greens from my stash. Thought about calling these "Green with Envy", but they are just made with love.
Each pillow is a 20" square with a pieced "X" and "O".

The backs are both the same, black and white print with a zipper. Simple.
So, I decided to jazz it up with some free motion quilting.

I used Aurifil in green (in the green areas) and Aurifil in white on the sashing. Although the quilting is dense, it's still hard to see on the front, so, I thought you might like to see the muslin lining on the back of the quilted pillow face.

Back of "X" pillow. swirls and a flower in each triangular area

Back of "O" pillow with a center Mum and …..

….. swirly feathers and pebbles around the edges.

I really had fun trying some new FMQ on my regular sewing machine and I like the interior backs so much I just might try a whole cloth pillow some time.

BUT, that still begs the question….. what do you do after a hug and a kiss……………
well, I'll tell you, but you might have to wait a day or 2 for the answer.
XO

X-Factor Pillows, 2013

Now is the time I can "tell" about my current X-factor pillow entry. Not, who gets the pillow, but what's up with the pillow, per se.
This last challenge entailed squares, all squares, all of the same size, no sashing. Over appliqué was OK as a detail…..
So…….

 Details:
"Shades of Gray with a Citrus Squeeze"
16.5 x 16.5" square composed of 64- 2" finished squares
Shades of gray  charm swap fabric (various grey quilting cottons) and a citron yellow with greenish undertones (Kate Spain Central Park)
Pieced and quilted with Auriful 50 wt, off white
Raw edge appliqué, circles and their cut outs (Cut from 2 1/2" fabric  squares on a Go-baby)
      circle applique FM quilted in a swirl pattern
      open circle, FM quilted in shadow with trapunto centers
Overall dense straight line quilting

straight line quilting and trapunto centers

3-D trapunto center

Front

Back

Partner, hope you love it!

Still looking good…..

My mom surprised me for my birthday/ Valentine's day with a gift that her mom, my Grammy Exie made many, many years ago.

It's meant to be a pot holder/trivet, but I don't think my mom ever used it. It made me smile; one, because it was made by a person very dear to me and two, because the folding technique she used (I'm guessing 45-50 years ago) is still going strong. Plus, it's something she made by hand and that just makes it all the more special. Like she's giving it to me, even though she has been gone for 30 years.
And just to show how quilting is truly timeless, I  received a beautiful pillow made with the same technique just last year from Marika.

I guess what goes around comes around! And since both the creators of these lovely quilted gifts designed with a dominant red, HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!