Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Mosaic Tuesday - Delphinium Inspired {Quiltspiration 365}

Thanks to some of the lovely ladies over at Late Night Quilters I'm happy to introduce a new series of weekly posts I'm calling Mosaic Tuesdays (for lack of a better name at this point).  It's part of an effort we're calling quiltspiration365‬, intended to fulfill your every need when it comes to quilty inspiration 365 days a year.  You can find more posts about the series on Facebook and instagram using  #quiltspiration365 as well as links to the other posts this week below.  I'll be sharing color mosaics that inspire me, and hopefully you as well.  Feel free to use these to inspire your projects I just ask that you link back to the original color pallet post to give credit.  So without further adu...





Today's palette is inspired by the colors of delphinium.  I picked up a bouquet of delphinium at the grocery store late last week and have been captivated by the rich depth of colors of this simple flower.  Everything from deep indigo and violet up to the palest, lightest lavender and blue you could imagine.  And it's all accented by the various shades of green at the center of each flower.  Truly lovely!  I believe I have a new found appreciation for these deep colors.

Left to Right, Top to Bottom: 1. Shweshwe fabric from Da Gama Textiles, 2. Pastel Lavender Irish Chain Crib Quilt, 3. Market Samples, Market Patterns, 4. Squeeeeeeeeee!, 5. 4 Blue Violet - Surly Squares Bundle, 6. Clouds and sky quilt, 7. Clayton/Michelle Quilt, 8. do.Good Stitches - INSPIRE circle mini quilt swap, 9. Barn Quilt, 10. Indigo and Violet Garden Quilt , 11. Modern Baby Quilt , 12. Fat Quarter Stash Club, 13. Moda Quilt Blocks, 14. Blue and Violet Wedding Ring Quilt, 15. Blue and Gray Equilateral Triangles Crib Quilt, 16. Reserved Custom Order for TMP


Be sure to search for #quiltspiration365 for even more inspiration!

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Mosaic Tuesday - Early Autumn {Quiltspiration 365}

Thanks to some of the lovely ladies over at Late Night Quilters I'm happy to introduce a new series of weekly posts I'm calling Mosaic Tuesdays (for lack of a better name at this point).  It's part of an effort we're calling quiltspiration365‬, intended to fulfill your every need when it comes to quilty inspiration 365 days a year.  You can find more posts about the series on Facebook and instagram using  #quiltspiration365 as well as links to the other posts this week below.  I'll be sharing color mosaics that inspire me, and hopefully you as well.  Feel free to use these to inspire your projects I just ask that you link back to the original color pallet post to give credit.  So without further adu...


Today's palette is inspired by the colors of early autumn.  The leaves are just starting to change here and for the most part everything is still green.  It even felt like summer again this weekend.  But the trees know that it's time for the bright mosaic of fall foliage.  The various shades of yellow, red, orange are starting to show.  Even some of the rich purple are just peaking out!  The trees are all bi-colored; starting to display their beautiful colors while still holding on the the lush greenness of summer.  I hope this mosaic inspires you to look around and appreciate the fleeting beauty of this season!

 Left to Right, Top to Bottom: 1. finished, 2. Kona® Cotton, Sweet Peas colorstory, 3. Modern Quilts Unlimited, 4. Emeralds and Ice Quilt - finished!, 5. 100 Modern Quilt Blocks: Month 7, 6. Orange and White Quilt, 7. Ellin Larimer: Fiber Artist - Junctions and Pajama Party Series, 8. Geometrics at Tokyo Quilt Festival 2012, 9. Totem, 10. SEPTEMBER COLOR SALE + NEW FABRIC , 11. Orange Range by Tomoko Tohno, 12. My first quilt: Modern green brick pattern, 13. A fabulous finish for Friday…, 14. Citron GREEN Orange GOLD Pure Elements Half Yard Bundle, 15. Halloween Quilt, 16. lily's quilt: done and done


The other posts from this week can be found here:

On Sunday, Artfully Caroline shares her Meditereanean Blue Inspiration

Be sure to search for the hashtag #quiltspiration365 for even more inspiration!


Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Mosaic Tuesday - Moth Inspired {Quiltspiration 365}

Thanks to some of the lovely ladies over at Late Night Quilters I'm happy to introduce a new series of weekly posts I'm calling Mosaic Tuesdays (for lack of a better name at this point).  It's part of an effort we're calling quiltspiration365‬, intended to fulfill your every need when it comes to quilty inspiration 365 days a year.  You can find more posts about the series on Facebook and instagram using  #quiltspiration365 as well as links to the other posts this week below.  I'll be sharing color mosaics that inspire me, and hopefully you as well.  Feel free to use these to inspire your projects I just ask that you link back to the original color pallet post to give credit.  So without further adu...

Today's palette is inspired by these cool, but somewhat creepy fabric moths by Yumi Okita.  There is another interesting blog post about them here.



This palette is made up of bold and dark aqua and teal offset by sharp yellows and various shades of pink.  Black and lots of white help to ground these otherwise flighty colors.  I think this could be fun as a grown-up version of a primary colored quilt (red, yellow, blue).  It would also be perfect for any nursery in my opinion.


 Left to Right, Top to Bottom: 1. Quilt Market Prep, 2. Low Volume Quilt, 3. Bee Blocks, 4. Modern Ombre Triangle Quilt, 5. Heart Mini Quilt, 6. Aqua and Yellow Zig Zag Quilt, 7. Lady of the Lake Quilt, 8. Churn Dash Block, 9. Baby Quilt for Lizzie, 10. Pink Houses , 11. Ocean Waves, 12. Star Bright Quilt, 13. Ric-Rac Style Quilt Top, 14. Bluebird Park Bicycle Fabric, 15. Modern Quilt Blocks, 16. A Little Low Volume


The other posts from this week can be found here:

Kitty from Night Quilter brought us Color Inspiration Thursday
On Wednesday, Brenna shared how her love of textiles inspires her quilting
On Friday, Cheryl shares some inspiration from the fair

Be sure to search for the hashtag #quiltspiration365 for even more inspiration!



Monday, September 8, 2014

Around the World Blog Hop - Day 2

I was tagged two weeks ago in the Around the World Blog Hop by two fabulously talented ladies: Chelsea @ Patch the Giraffe and Leanne @ Devoted Quilter.  You can see their posts from that week here and here.  I had the please of meeting both Chelsea and Leanne through the New Quilt Bloggers Blog Hop earlier this year and will be working with both of them further in the Round Trip Quilts round robin bee this coming year.  You can read my post here.

I nominated the following lovely ladies.  Be sure to hop over and check out their posts for the Blog Hop in the links below.



Amy Friend of During Quiet Time.  Amy is a prolific quilter and quilt blogger.  You may know her from the To Boston With Love project or from her new Little House on the Prairie Sew along.  Amy's blog was one of the first I started following when I found the online quilting community.  And over time, her work has never ceased to amaze me!

Amy's Around The World Blog Hop Post







Hilary of Young Texan Mama is one of my very first online quilting friends.  We met through multiple Flickr block swaps.  Between juggling a young son and a quilt blog, Hilary is always working on something!  Her cross-stitch work is so cute and her quilts are always stunning.  Hilary was also recently accepted as a contestant in Sew-vivor 3: Quilter's Edition.

Hilary's Around The World Blog Hop Post



Karin of Leigh Laurel Studios is another New Hampshire native!  I met Karin through the New Quilt Bloggers Blog Hop though I'd been following her blog for some time before hand.  I love Karin's use of saturated colors.  Her quilts are so full of life and so fun.  She's also started releasing patterns.  Her Fruit Ninja quilt is sure to be stunning! Karin also has a prolific collection of tutorials on her blog as well!

Karin's Around The World Blog Hop Post




Thursday, September 4, 2014

Orange Peel QAL- A finished quilt top {Hot+Cold}

I finally had time to work on my Orange Peel quilt along quilt top over the weekend.  Entries close on September 8th so I was really pushing the dead line here.

Last time I talked to you about my quilt top I was feeling less than thrilled with the layout.  Piecing was not going smoothly and I really had fallen out of love with the design.  But after finishing up my center block for the Round Trip Quilts round robin bee I pulled the blocks out again and just started sewing them together, first into sets of two, then into blocks of four, and strips of eight, then rows of seven...  and along the way, I managed to fall in love again.

finished orange peel center

If I was to make this quilt again, I'd definitely do some things differently.

  1. My HST were much smaller than I originally intended.  A math mistake led to 2.5" HST instead of the 5" I had intended to make.
  2. I skipped trimming my HST (which was dumb) and it made the piecing that much more difficult.
  3. My orange peels lost their crisp points and are a little blunted.
  4. I'd concentrate the peels more to the center of the quilt and show more completed orange peel segments instead of laying them all over the top.  As it is, I think there's only one or two places where the four points all converge to form the traditional orange peel design.
But c'est la vie.  That's Life.  I like what I made but it's a little different from what I imagined when I started. 


finally trimmed my HST by hand with scissors

I added a thin 3" border in solid white to frame the orange peel top, then bordered the whole thing with some Cotton + Steel Netorious in Cloud Silver.  This warm grey off sets the saturated orange peel center nicely I think.


I think I have a plan for quilting...  I'm picturing phantom orange peels quilted on the empty blocks and HSTs.  Maybe this will help with the idea that I think there should be more concentrated orange peels on the top.


I've already picked out a backing fabric.  It's some extra yardage I got on super sale earlier this year.  Not sure what it is.  I was a little short so I decided to use up the rest of my favorite bunny print and add some aqua stripes to get the size where I needed it.



I've really had a love-hate relationship with this top.  I was so excited about the concept when I started sketching designs and piecing the blocks.  Then when I actually got to piecing the quilt top, I hated how it looked.  As I said earlier, I am finally at the point where I can appreciate it and enjoy this quilt but it's really been touch and go... That's why I am calling this quilt Hot+Cold.  I hope to snap some better photos of this quilt soon so stay tuned for more.  Once the weather cools down I can get to some quilting!

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

My Center Block {Round Trip Quilts}

Thank goodness for long weekends.  I managed to get so much accomplished!  My husband and I cleaned and organized the house and got rid of a ton of extra stuff (yay for free piles).  I also had time to complete the quilt top for my Orange Peel Quilt Along, which is now over by the way... but at least I'm making progress (more on that later this week), and finish my center block for the Round Trip Quilts round robin quilt bee!  I can't wait to show you!

Fair warning: I'm so excited about this quilt top and there are a lot of pictures to follow.  Here's a peek of the final center!  Keep reading for the whole thing!


We decided to send a notebook with our quilts and when I found this one I knew I'd hit the jackpot.  The aqua color is fantastic and it's got that cute little motto on the front:  Hello Beautiful Day.  I asked that the theme for my quilt be all about New Hampshire and what better way is there to wake up in this beautiful state of ours than with a "hello beautiful day"?  I took breaks through out the piecing to jot down thoughts, ideas, and doodles about what I'd like this quilt to be.  If you want a similar journal, you can find them here.  I already bought the hot pink "Be Awesome Today." and neon yellow "Find Your Happy." journals.  Oops.


First a quick itinerary and my information, in case the notebook gets separated from the quilt.  I've removed my information from the picture for obvious reasons.


Then a brief introduction to what I'd like the quilt to be.  You know those brown and green and tan "Lodge Quilts" that you see in hunting cabins, theme rooms, and lake houses?  I want this quilt to be an updated version of that.  I highly encourage the women working on my quilt to think outside of the box with this one and really be creative!  I also included some quick facts about NH.


Next I added some doodles and drawings of elements I might like to see incorporated into my quilt top.  I hope that the ladies don't feel limited by these suggestions!  This notebook was great for drafting blocks and doodling!  Instead of lines there is a dot grid that makes it easy and simple to draw in.


Next more reasons that I love it here in NH.  Hint: Winter, Snow, and Green Space.


Finally, some quilty type details.  What type of color scheme I'd like (bright and colorful but not ROY G. BIV), the types of fabrics I like, the layout I'm imagining (though I know that the finished product will be a million times better than I can possibly think of!).


And in close, Happy Quilting!  (and some links to my inspiration pages here and here.... speaking of, if you haven't seen the Granite State of Mind parody video- 1. Where have you been? 2. Go watch it now.)


Are you ready to see the finished center?  ME TOO!  Here's my sketch of what I imagined the block looking like.



And here's the block!  I am so happy with how this came out!  I love the scrappy happiness and bright colors and I just can't wait to snuggle up under the finished quilt when I get it back!  Now to get to the post office and get this baby in the mail!



Round Trip Quilts now has a Flickr group and you can follow us on Instagram using #roundtripquilts!  You can also find a summary of all of our posts on my Round Trip Quilts page in the toolbar at the top of the page!


The full list of members is below:

Heather at QA Creations

Leanne at Devoted Quilter

Kim at Ties That Bind Quilting

Liz at Green Cheese Quilting

Mary at See Mary Quilt

Christina at WIPs and Tuts

Jennifer at Never Just Jennifer

Chelsea Huckins at Patch the Giraffe



I'm linking up with this weeks WIP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced.

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Mosaic Tuesday - Emerald, Yellow, Cream, & hints of Red {Quiltspiration 365}

Thanks to some of the lovely ladies over at Late Night Quilters I'm happy to introduce a new series of weekly posts I'm calling Mosaic Tuesdays (for lack of a better name at this point).  It's part of an effort we're calling quiltspiration365‬, intended to fulfill your every need when it comes to quilty inspiration 365 days a year.  You can find more posts about the series on Facebook and instagram using the hashtag #quiltspiration365 as well as links to the other posts this week below.  I'll be sharing color mosaics that inspire me, and hopefully you as well.  This will be an interactive series so I'll encourage you to post links to the color palettes that have been inspiring you lately!  Feel free to use these to inspire your projects I just ask that you link back to the original color pallet post to give credit.  So without further adu...


Today's mosaic is bright and cheery.  It has actually felt like summer around here the last few days so I wanted to create a palette that reflected that.  Rich emerald green and bright canary yellow are balanced by warm cream and sprinkled with hints of red to give it some spice.



The other posts from this week can be found here:

Kitty from Night Quilter brought us Color Inspiration Thursday
Caroline from Artfully Caroline started out this week with Quiltspiration 365 : One Design 3 Ways.
Yesterday Adventures of a Quilting Diva showed us Muse Monday: Paper Piecing


Be sure to search for the hashtag #quiltspiration365 for even more inspiration!


First a few rules.

1. PLEASE link back to my blog or put the Color Mosaic Button on your page.  You can find the button in our sidebar.
2.Please link directly to your blog post, not your whole blog.
3. Please keep it to a relatively recent post, let's say within the last 2 weeks.
4. Show us your color mosaics that have been inspiring you.
5. Have fun and visit at least two other links from the party.

Post your link below!

Monday, September 1, 2014

Around the World Blog Hop

I was tagged last week in the Around the World Blog Hop by two fabulously talented ladies: Chelsea @ Patch the Giraffe and Leanne @ Devoted Quilter.  You can see their posts from last week here and here.  I had the please of meeting both Chelsea and Leanne through the New Quilt Bloggers Blog Hop earlier this year and will be working with both of them further in the Round Trip Quilts round robin bee this coming year.

To keep the chain going I nominate:

  .

Amy Friend of During Quiet Time.  Amy is a prolific quilter and quilt blogger.  You may know her from the To Boston With Love project or from her new Little House on the Prairie Sew along.  Amy's blog was one of the first I started following when I found the online quilting community.  And over time, her work has never ceased to amaze me!








Hilary of Young Texan Mama is one of my very first online quilting friends.  We met through multiple Flickr block swaps.  Between juggling a young son and a quilt blog, Hilary is always working on something!  Her cross-stitch work is so cute and her quilts are always stunning.  Hilary was also recently accepted as a contestant in Sew-vivor 3: Quilter's Edition.



Karin of Leigh Laurel Studios is another New Hampshire native!  I met Karin through the New Quilt Bloggers Blog Hop though I'd been following her blog for some time before hand.  I love Karin's use of saturated colors.  Her quilts are so full of life and so fun.  She's also started releasing patterns.  Her Fruit Ninja quilt is sure to be stunning! Karin also has a prolific collection of tutorials on her blog as well!









I spent some time introducing myself earlier in the year that you can read here so I won't go into too much detail again.  I've been quilting for about 5 years.  I'm a born and bread New England girl who loves the outdoors and bright colors.  My husband and I live in northern New Hampshire with our two cats, Martin and Agent Archer.  I work as a Financial Analyst at our major area hospital.  In addition to quilting, I enjoy running, cycling with my husband, and hiking and skiing the mountains near our home.

left: visiting MQX 2014; top right: Color Vibe 5K; bottom right: Martin and Agent Archer

What am I working on? 


Oh my gosh.  So so many things.  I'm pretty bad at finishing things sometimes.  I have just finished the center for my Round Trip Quilts block.  Mailing deadline is today!  I'm also participating in the 2014 Sugar Block Club and love it!  I've got the pieces for 4 more Wiksten Tanks cut out.  I've fallen out of love with my Orange Peel Quilt along top but hope to finish it soon.  I need to finish quilting my Triangle Quilt Along top.  I've got a few pieces left to finish on a my Modern Double Cross quilt.  I need to piece the top for my Pink - Yellow - Grey bee quilt.  Also need to piece the tops in my Red - Orange - Green bee quilt.  I've also got a low volume scrappy trip around the world quilt top started too.

1. #roundtripquilts #nhbeauty, 2. January through August #sugarblockclub blocks, 3. #wikstentank !, 4. Orange Peel Quilt, 5. Triangle Quilt Along quilt, 6. Modern Double Cross quilt, 7. Pink - Yellow - Grey Blocks, 8. Sew Pieceful Blocks Received, 9. More Low Volume Scrappy Trip Blocks


How does my work differ from others of its genre? 


I think that we all hope that our work differs from everyone else's but in reality we are all working off of each other for inspiration.  Because of that, I think that our work is inherently connected and thus similar to the next persons.  That is what makes the quilting community unique.  I do know that when I sew I leave a little bit of myself in the pieces I make, whether through the choice of or placement of fabric, or in the layout of the quilt.  In general I like to work with bright, modern fabrics but usually like to sew more traditional blocks.  I also try to combine colors in unique and interesting ways.


Why do I quilt? 


Wow... This is a loaded question.  I'll give you the medium-length answer.  Most people are good at Math/Science or English/Art.  I've always been good at Math and Art.... I guess my brain is wired a little funny.  I've always excelled at algebra, geometry, and even calculus and always had a passion for creating beautiful things.

When I was in grade school, I painted and threw pottery.  In college I minored in Art (and was once scolded for making something too perfectly square..."That's not art! That's manufacturing!" Another long story).  After college I needed a creative outlet and happened to stumble into a quilt shop on day...and the rest is history!

After college, when I was working in a job that I didn't enjoy and didn't feel challenged in, quilting was my sanity.  It was the challenge I was seeking.  It was the creativity that I needed.  It allowed me to engage my brain in a new way each day and to stretch both my critical and creative thinking.  Quilting forces me outside of my comfort zone.  It allows me to create.  To make beautiful things.  To help others and make them smile.  In my opinion, quilting is the perfect combination of my interests and skills.


How does my creating process work?


I am usually influenced by the things around me.  It could be from the tile on a patio floor or the combination of wild flowers on the side of the road or even the logo on the conference phones we use at work.  I tend to find creative inspiration suddenly and without warning.  My notebooks and meeting notes are always dotted with new inspiration or ideas that I was struck with and had to get down!  I prefer drawing on graph paper and coloring it in with a sharpie pen later to using computer programs to design.  Once I get my idea down I love the process of seeing it come to life in fabric and eventually a finished quilt.  It is such a rewarding process!



Well,that's all from me!  Check in with Amy, Karin, and Hilary next Monday, September 8th for their posts as part of the Around the World Blog Hop!

I'm linking up with Stitch by Stich for anything goes mondays.