Addie's Quilt - The End!

Transformation, creation, intricacy, exploration, learning and even prayer... all of them right there along the process!

This is the last post on Addie's Quilt and I can hardly share enough of how excited I have been with this piece of quilty craziness that I had the opportunity to work on!

I don't want to say much; just invite you to enjoy the satisfaction and thankfulness of a finished work...

...and a failed attempt at a fancy picture with the quilt draped on a chair. Oh my! I guess that's why some people are professionals - but not me, hehehe. I guess I'll have to practice more and more before I can get one of those cover-worthy shots!  :)

And why not some pictures of the back? After all, Addie's gramma saw this side first and she thought this was the front!  :)

I like the evening light for photographing a quilt; I can see an interesting play with the piecing and the quilting without having a huge contrast between those.  I kept wanting to have one of those really nice pictures with the quilt draped on the fence, but I'm not sure I am really happy with the results.

And a little something for Addie to remember... Lilies were about to bloom when her quilt was finished!

I do realize this may disclose how long it takes to go from the quilt to the blog, but I think my first baby quilt deserves a little TLC and time!  :)  

It was a pleasure to work on Addie's quilt in so many ways! Not only did I learn and experimented with new techniques, but seeing every single part of it take place is like a dream... Those ideas in my head keep spinning and tickling just thinking of the many possibilities and endless creative moments!

Thank you for sticking with these posts and sharing Addie's story and my adventures in quilting!  

I am working on a new series and I really think you will enjoy it!  :)

Have a wonderful day and stay blessed!

Yiya

Addie's Quilt - FMQ

Hello everyone!

Addie's quilt series is practically finished. But it HAD TO include a post just about FMQ.

The most challenging thing about this post are the pictures!  There are a bunch of things that can go wrong and sometimes the actual picture does not capture what we want to.  Or, it shows exactly that itty bitty thing that makes the quilt!

OK, I'm not a professional photographer, but I knew what kind of pictures I wanted.  Let's begin the experimentation with light.

Light enhances either the texture (a.k.a. quilting) or the piecing in a quilt. I had a hard time finding a place that would show details, but I really like how the next picture turned out.

This is in the same area, at a different time of the day. The quilt wasn't finished, but I think the flowers in the middle of the diamond are easier to see... Well, sort of...

I knew I wanted the quilting to emphasize the piecing; hence the diamonds in the intersections. Some of them got to have wavy lines to give yet another dimension to the quilted diamonds; they were like medallions scattered all over the quilt! I had an idea of how I wanted it to look, but the final results just blew my mind!

And here are close-ups of the flowers. It all starts with a simple spiral surrounded by loops that flow around the center.

Here is the back. The diamonds are easier to see, and you can get a glimpse of the loopy quilted flowers.

 

And here are the corners with the floating strips. The quilting is also a loopy flower surrounded by stippling.

The lines of the quilted diamonds created a nice boundary for the design.

I always like to enjoy the back of quilts as well. In this picture of a corner, the loopy quilted flower created a lot of movement in that lattice-like print.  Happy accident indeed!

Here is another back view of the diamonds. Every other one got wavy lines. This simple addition made a huge difference, simple to make and so classy!

And another happy accident... Two diamonds intersect on the back, right by Addie's name, forming a nice frame to the two embroidered legends. I guess my centering abilities are getting sharpened!  :)

This was an amazing journey for me. Little by little, sometimes just five minutes a time... Addie's quilt is finished and a stepping stone for more learning experiences has just been set!

Thank you for stopping by.  Stay blessed!

Yiya

Addie's Quilt takes shape

Hello again!!  Addie is about to make her sounding arrival, so I'd better go back to sharing the story of her quilt!  :)

Here is where we left of in the previous post:

A little stack of scrappy units ready to be turned into diamond blocks.

After putting the diamonds together, I had thirteen pieces - which basically meant I had an "empty square" on the batting. I don't have a design wall -YET- and I generally use the floor to work with composition.  

I was trying to decide how to organize the units, but the corner of my eye caught those fabulous treasures called scraps... Perfect for making some kind of improv block in that empty space.  However, I was not satisfied.  I wanted some kind of balance.  Away goes the thirteenth block and in comes a second improv area!  It worked pretty well, and my quilty bug was happier with this option.

Here is a close-up. You know my crafty bone and quilting preferences... If edges don't match, that's all right!  So I was really took my time with different arrangements, always aiming for an uneven edge...

Here is another option:

At one point, I just had to get over those corners and started adding sashing to the sides of the diamonds.

After all the sides were done, I had four long rows; I put them together just by sewing long strips between each row.  

Now, see the two corners with the "floating" strips?  Those are a matter of a future post!  :)

To be continued...  :)

Easy Strip Diamond Quilt Block

Finally!!

Addie Grace's quilt is about to be delivered, so I can now share how it took shape - without spoiling the surprise for Grammie!!  :)

These will be the blocks for the top:

Isn't that just cute? Going from strips to...

... Well, I guess I'd better start the tutorial; otherwise, I'll just go on babbling and babbling about all of the cuteness instead of getting things done!

But before we start, let's give credit to whom credit is due... The very first time I saw this technique was with Jenny Doan, in her video Amazing Jelly Roll Quilt Pattern by 3 Dudes.  After that, I've seen it pop up in several sites and even on the cover of a quilting magazine one day in the craft aisle... I really like the way this block is built, and I had been waiting for the chance to work on it.

How-e-ver... I didn't want it "even." Jenny's video and all of the other pictures I've seen are of blocks made with strips of the same width - but not me!  As usual, I had to do something different!

So, here is my version of a strippy diamond.  Of course, you can use scraps. They just have to be long enough to have a strip. The step where width and length matter is making squares.  Just keep reading and you'll see what I'm talking about!  :)

Keep sewing strips together until you have enough to...

...get squares.  There really isn't a fix measurement here. Some people use jelly rolls, which are sets of 2.5" wide fabric strips.  If you sew five of those together, you'll have a total width of 10.5" - as long as you are sewing 1/4" seams!  

Remember when I mentioned that there is a step when length/width matter? Well, this is it!

In Addie's quilt, I used strips of different widths, so I kept sewing strips together until I got 9".  I then went ahead and cut 9" squares, like so:

After a while, I had a bunch of squares and some leftover fabric.  Don't worry, I managed to use these in the quilt - you know I don't like to ignore precious scraps!!  :)

Of course, I had a bunch of trimmed fabric as well!  Isn't this cute?  Well, I decided to tease Addie's grandma and put it on her desk on Monday morning... It was there to welcome her to another work week!  I had this second of thinking that I was being mean by teasing her with the trimmings, but she just loved it!  She actually kept the little bundle in her desk drawer! Isn't she a sweet grammie?

Going back to the strip diamonds...

The next step is to put one square on top of the other, right sides together. Take a look at the next picture for a good idea on how to do it...  One square has strips going up and down, while the other one has strips going left to right, or right to left; i.e. horizontal strips in one square and vertical in the other.  Capisci?

Make sure that both pieces are very well aligned; go ahead and sew a 1/4" seam ALL AROUND the square. I know it's sort of difficult to see in the following picture, but...

... here is a blue line to make it all easier to see!  Yep, the blue line is right on top of the seam.

Get ready for some super fun in the next step...  You need to make two diagonal cuts, from corner to corner.

Cut Number 1:

Cut Number 2:

You'll have something that looks like this:

... and you'll have a cute, little mountain of striped triangular bundles that will transform after pressing into something just awesome!

See?!  Isn't that just amazing!  By the way (and just in case you really need some motivation to go on with your day...) this is one of the things I love the most about quilting... Change, transformation and unveiling are just too exciting not to talk about them!

These babies are ready to go into Addie's quilt!

And this is how diamonds will look.  Because I used strips with different widths, the seams won't match exactly - that's part of the look I was going for!

If you'd like the seams to match, just use strips that are the same width.  :)

The only thing I was going for is avoiding something like the following picture. There are two pinks together, and there are three chunky strips in the center of the diamond (and their seams actually match).  I wanted a scrappy look, so I tried to combine the units in such a way it didn't happen. Because of the number of units and the size of the quilt, I ended up focusing more on seams that didn't match rather than on repetitive colors.  

This is the point where you can play with arrangement.  For example, I thought of the following by matching the orientation...  It does look like a patch or steps...  

Another arrangement is an "X".  I will sash Addie's quilt, so it will only have diamonds.  However, if you decide to go ahead without sashing, you will have a series of diamond - X - diamond - X...  It is also really cute and fun to make!

Addie's quilt is finally taking shape and I can't wait to finish it!  The more I work with it, the more I want to keep adding and working with it, hehe... I guess this is that quilt bug that fuzzies up ideas in my head!  :)

Here is a little preview... Not too bad, huh?

Have a wonderful day and stay blessed!

New month, new quilt!

It's amazing how fast time flies!  I remember when I was a little girl, days seemed to be loooong and there was never enough patience to wait for special days; I once said to Tita, grandma, something on the lines of: "two weeks for my birthday - that's toooo many days!"  I still remember the feeling of frustration because I just wanted my birthday to come; I also remember sweet grandma's face smiling at me and her loving hands cupping my face telling me that my birthday would be there soon enough...

Today, I seem to be scraping minutes from wherever possible, fitting this or that activity and trying to schedule my time as best as I can to make the most out of it - of course, that's what I keep trying to do.  However, I wonder how many times I've missed enjoying moments and I pray that I never cease to amaze when a flower starts blooming, a bird sings, the wind plays with the trees... you name it! I also pray and thank God for having breath for another day and hope to make the most out of it.

Expecting... Such a common word, yet full of emotion, dreams, wishes and excitement. Believing and knowing that someone will arrive soon; the joy of life and the miracle within it: New month, new quilt, a new little baby girl growing in mommy's tummy!  That is Addie and this will be her quilt!

Addie's grandma asked me to make little Addie a quilt, and I'm so excited about it!  Grandma chose the fabric: "Pretty Little Things" by Free Spirit.

Grandma wanted "something for a baby," maybe some animals, but she also wanted something different.  I was thinking more within the pastels range, but she really liked the bold pinks because that reminded her of her own grandma!  It is amazing how quilts can link generations.  I wonder how many things little Addie will tell to her own kids...  Maybe I'm going a tad too fast...

So, Addie's quilt will join the seemingly unending parade of fabric that now lives on the dining room table... Cheery Mellow is slowly taking place and soon I will also start a project for a dear friend.  But more about that later in the month.  

In the meantime, stay blessed!  :)