Star bright

I finished the quilting on my pink star block and I love how it turned out. This mini just makes me so happy!

I was just going to do pink diagonal straight lines in one direction, but then I wanted to highlight the big star and started adding lines across the middle of that. As I went out, I spaced the lines further apart. I used a slightly darker pink thread for that quilting (which shows up better in the first photo).

Now to make it into a pillow.

My first medallion

Fresh off the high of the Sea Breeze mini quilt-along, I joined another. This is a mystery quilt-along hosted by Clover & Violet where we're making a mini medallion. I have Elizabeth Hartman's amazing Aviatrix Medallion on my long crafty to-do list, so I thought this would be a great way to get started.

It all starts with the medallion centre, with a fussy cut flower and butterfly. (Please excuse this poor first photo. Yet again I was doing some late-night sewing and super eager to join the quilt-along on Instagram, I snapped a quick picture with my phone and neglected to get a better one in daylight.)

When I picked up a FQ bundle of Arcadia, I earmarked it for this project (then dipped into it for another mini). But I decided to go out of my comfort zone a bit this time and add in other fabrics, rather than just rely on using co-ordinating ones from the same collection. Daring for me!

For the centre, I added some dark teal with metallic highlights from the Botanics line and wee squares of Cotton + Steel basics in gold with metallic too. (It was so tough to cut into that prized fabric - even just a few 1.5" squares!) The first border got awesome green polka dots to pair up with the butterflies. Can't go wrong with polka dots!

The second border brought back the teal for the flying geese to go with an Arcadia print, then I decided to go for a bright blue background from my stash. What's hard to see in the photo is the corners are a slightly lighter blue - a necessity because I was two squares short of the 32 needed for the flying geese. Two - unbelievable! Oh and the Cotton + Steel gold reappears because, to be honest, I made a little oopsy cutting the border. (A quarter-inch too narrow - how did that happen!?!)

So what do you think? Do all the fabrics work together? The beauty of the medallion is that as you add borders, no particular fabric stands out.

If you're looking for a low-pressure quilt-along to join, this is a good one. There's a new step posted only once a month. I caught up on the first three months in three days, so now I'm chomping at the bit for the next installment! And I learned a new skill too with the nifty overlapping first border. I'll certainly be using that again.

Back in business

Finally I got back to my City Sampler blocks after a long hiatus since spring. A forced hiatus really because I got too far ahead on the monthly goal set with my friend who's also making the 100 blocks. Today I made 10, putting me up to a total of 60. More than half way there!

Some in the triangle chapter are definitely more fussy. But I don't ever mind making a block no matter how many teeny pieces or seams since I know there's just one to make.

Too bad I'm running out of these birds to fussy cut.

These fabrics are a bit too similar to see the design well.

Pretty in pink

I am over-the-moon in love with this mini! After I finished the piecing, I honest stood there for a while admiring my work and smiling. Silly, I know.

But this is the first time I started with a pattern and then really made it my own. And I love every bit of it! There isn't a thing I would change and I don't know about other crafty people, but that's rare for me. Usually there's at least one teeny thing that I would do differently if I did it again. But not this beauty!

I sketched out what I wanted to do, and then made a new cutting list for my design. If you can believe it, these two minis below are actually made from the same pattern. What a difference fabric choice and placement makes!

My new-found quilting boldness came from the quilt-along I recently joined and, amazingly, won a prize in! Now I joke I have a prize-winning quilt! (It doesn't really count if you pester friends and family to vote for you.) I was just blown away by all the amazing variations on the pattern and wished I thought a bit more creatively for my version. I altered the pattern a bit for the quilt-along, but this time around I created something truly new and unique. And I couldn't be happier with it! Just looking at it makes me smile.

Another month, another mini

Here's the August instalment for the Fresh Mini Quilt Club, called North Star. I love this one! I'm partial to stars and this fabric collection - Arcadia by Sarah Watson - has such pretty designs in soothing colours.

It came together quickly, and I learned a new technique - quarter square triangles. The pattern suggested starting with a light fabric in the centre and getting darker to the points of the stars, but I went the other way to fussy cut this flower and bee. Cute! I also used the white near the centre, rather than the suggested background fabric because I didn't want to muddy the crisp star fabrics.

My mom aptly said it reminds her of a lacy doily. I think this one will become a pillow to make it a bit more practical, especially since I seem to be churning out these minis.

Quilt-along fun

Quilting just got even better! I joined my first quilt-along and it was so much fun. It was great following everyone's progress on Instagram - there are so many talented quilters out there! I love, love, love this one in particular made with Cotton + Steel, primarily the basics. It's perfection!

Here's my finished mini basking in the sun on my front steps:

I settled on simple diagonal line quilting, with orange on the top and pink on the back. The pattern was Sea Breeze by Canoe Ridge Creations. This is probably the first time I altered a pattern, and it worked out perfectly to preserve the birds and flowers. It was amazing to see the elaborate patterns some of the quilt-alongers developed in their minis. I really want to make this one again and push myself a bit more.

The two-week deadline certainly kept me going. I ran out of steam a bit at the end and instead of piecing a back with the fabrics I used for the top, I grabbed Amy Butler Soul Blossoms yardage I had in my stash (snagged at a crazy good sale for $4 a metre!). It goes so well with Heather Bailey's Up Parasol on the front.

While it was a virtual quilt-along, I did have some helpers at home to encourage me along the way. Here's my borzoi Alexi checking on my progress. (And giving me a look of exasperation as she wonders if I'm ever going to leave the craft room and take her outside.)

And Aurora made sure all those piles of HSTs stayed in order while I was trimming.

The whole experience was so much fun and I'm eager to join other quilt-alongs. Host Gnome Angel posted interviews on her blog every morning with quilters who were making Sea Breeze minis, too. First thing in the morning I'd check her blog and Instagram for the latest #seabreezemqal photos. I may feel a bit adrift with my quilting now that it's done!

Be sure to check out Gnome Angel's link party to see all the amazing creations.

Portrait of a sleeping borzoi

The great thing about a smartphone is that you always have a camera handy to capture those fleeting moments. I happened to glance at my snoozing borzoi to see her very symmetrical placement of feet. I love this shot.