Bloggers Quilt Festival : Oakshott Scandinavia Challenge Quilt

I'm just squeezing into the Bloggers Quilt Festival this year!  If you hurry there's still about a day left to enter your quilt.  Visit Amy at Amy's Creative Side for all the details!  I decided to enter my Scandinavian Quilt into the Original Design category this year amid some tough competition no less.  You can see the original post on this quilt here if you missed it, otherwise keep reading.  

This Scandinavia inspired quilt was made as part of a challenge sponsored by Sew Mama Sew and Oakshott Fabrics to create a quilt using their new Scandinavian collection of fabrics.  And, boy oh boy, these fabrics are are gorgeous!  They are all shot through with a creamy white that gives them the most amazing soft shine.  Pastel without being too Easter-y or babyish.

I wanted to do something original to honor by Finnish heritage, via my paternal grandmother (or Farmor).  She grew up in Finland (and Sweden during WWII), a country I have had the opportunity to visit three times in my life, twice as a child and once as a teenager, and hope to visit again very soon once we can find the time and money.  Each time I have visited I find great inspiration in the simple, clean designs found in the region and really wanted to be able to create something that could reflect both the design and the memories I have of visiting family there.

After some research I had several ideas sketched out, and ended up texting my "more Finnish" (as my Farmor says) cousin for help narrowing the choices down.  In the end I pulled out the Ittala dinnerware that we received for the wedding two years ago and used that as a jumping off point.

Feeling inspired at the moment. #oakshottscandinavia #iittala #inspirationeverywhere #thanksforthedishesGram #FinnishQuilt - See more at: http://iconosquare.com/viewer.php#/detail/1058925302181042470_1222082853

At first I thought I would make a large quilt inspired by the black and white dinner plate and mug pictured above.  I pieced a couple of arrows and then laid them out to take a picture but what I saw changed my direction completely.  I spent two days piecing the rows and top, finishing it at around 1am the day before it was supposed to go to the longarmer.  Ideally I would have quilted this myself but given the time crunch I was under I thought it was best to have someone else do.  The quilting is simple.  Katie Smith of Home Hearth Quilting quilted it for me in a simple birch tree-esque design following the direction of each row of piecing.  I love how it adds texture to the quilt without distracting from the overall design.  She did a great job and I highly recommend her if you're in the NH/VT area. 

Thank you little brother and Dad for holding this for me!

The pattern came together really quickly since it's all row based piecing.  I really love how the simple Kona Charcol and Kona White let the beautiful Oakshott fabrics shine in all their glory.  While piecing I took a really ad hoc approach to adding in the colors, letting them fall where ever they would in the final top.  The scattered colors are perfect and I love how the various sized strips add additional movement to the quilt.

a glimpse into our bedroom with the quit in it's new home. notice the nicely coordinated pre-existing paint swatches...

in love with this quilt.

quilting detail

The quilt is backed in a Lotta Jansdotter print and a large scale Windham Fabrics print.  I chose these because of how they played into the simple, clean lines I was going for in the overall design.  This quilt finishes at 90" x 86" and will hopefully be plenty big enough for the two of us to sleep under.  I didn't set out to make such a large quilt but once I got started the fabrics and pattern made it easy to keep going.  Plus, I had the added encouragement that my husband gets genuinely upset when I make small quilts.  

I'm so glad that I had the opportunity to make this quilt.  The final quilt is really true to my original vision and reflect the emotion I was hoping to convey.   I think my Farmor would be proud.  I plan on showing her the quilt at Thanksgiving later this year to see what she thinks.  My Finnish relatives tell me that I captured Finland perfectly.  Currently there is no pattern for this quilt but I hope to write one up in the next year.  

Thank you for visiting and I hope that you like my quilt!  Linking up with Amy for Original Quilt Design at Bloggers Quilt Festival!

Oakshott Scandinavia Challenge Quilt {a finished quilt}

Today I'm really excited to show you my latest finish: a Scandinavia inspired quilt sponsored by Sew Mama Sew and Oakshott Fabrics.

The call for contributors said:

Are you ready for a sewing challenge? We're looking for 6 people to sew with the gorgeous fabrics pictured here in an Scandinavian-inspired challenge. You can choose what to make (apron, mini quilt, table runner, etc.) but it has to use the fabrics from the collection and it has to be "Scandinavian inspired." 

Well I jumped right on that.  My paternal grandmother (or Farmor) is from Finland, a country I have had the opportunity to visit four times in my life, and hope to visit again very soon when we can find the time and money to go.  I find great inspiration in the simple, clean designs found in the region and really wanted to be able to create something that honors that piece of my heritage and family.  

The weekend before the fabrics arrived I visited Keepsake Quilting to pick up some (hopefully) coordinated fabrics to mix in with the Fat Quarters that would be coming.  I ended up buying several yards of various white and grey fabrics, unsure of what would match.  I had to stop and just admire these when they arrived, with 12 days to spare.  These fabrics are gorgeous!  They are all shot through with a creamy white that gives them the most amazing soft shine.  Pastel without being too Easter-y or babyish.

I had several ideas sketched out, and ended up texting my "more Finnish" cousin (as my Farmor says)  for help narrowing the choices down.  In the end I pulled out the Ittala dinnerware that we received for the wedding two years ago and used that as a jumping off point.

Feeling inspired at the moment. #oakshottscandinavia #iittala #inspirationeverywhere #thanksforthedishesGram #FinnishQuilt - See more at: http://iconosquare.com/viewer.php#/detail/1058925302181042470_1222082853

At first I thought I would make a large quilt inspired by the black and white dinner plate and mug pictured above.  I pieced a couple of arrows and then laid them out to take a picture but what I saw changed my direction completely.  The next few nights were spent piecing the rows and then after an emergency trip back to Keepsake to get more Kona Charcoal, and a marathon sewing night ending at around 1:30am, I had a finished top.  The next morning it was off to the quilter.  Ideally I would have quilted this myself but given the time crunch I thought it was best to have someone else do it for me this time.  I got the quilt back just in time to get binding on over the weekend and then enlist the help of my Dad and brother to photograph it.  I have to tell you, I'm in love with this quilt.

Thank you little brother and Dad for holding this for me!

The pattern came together really quickly since it's all row based piecing.  I really love how the simple grey and white let the beautiful Oakshott fabrics shine in all their glory.  I took a really ad hoc approach to adding in the colors, letting them fall where ever they would in the final top.

a glimpse into our bedroom with the quit in it's new home. notice the nicely coordinated pre-existing paint swatches...

The quilting is simple.  Katie Smith of Home Hearth Quilting quilted it for me in a simple birch tree-esque design following the direction of each row of piecing.  I love how it adds texture to the quilt without distracting from the overall design.  She did a great job and I highly recommend her if you're in the NH/VT area. 

in love with this quilt.

quilting detail

The quilt is backed in a Lotta Jansdotter print and a large scale Windham Fabrics print.  I chose these because of how they played into the simple, clean line astetic I was going for for the overall design.

This quilt finishes at 90" x 86" and will hopefully be plenty big enough for the two of us to sleep under.  I didn't set out to make such a large quilt but once I got started the fabrics and pattern made it easy to keep going.  Plus, I had the added encouragement that my husband get's genuinely upset when I make small quilts.  

I'm so glad that I had the opportunity to make this quilt.  The final quilt is really true to my original vision and reflect the emotion I was hoping to convey.   I think my Farmor would be proud.  Currently there is no pattern for this quilt but I am debating writing one up if there is enough interest. 

I highly recommend the Oakshott Scandinavia collection if you're looking for a soft, light, and airy color palette for any quilt.  They were absolutely beautiful to work with.  You can find them here:

Oakshott Scandinavia Collection

Be sure to check out the other bloggers participating in this challenge as well, either through the links below, or with the hashtag #OakshottScandinavia on instagram.

Jessica Skultety from Quilty Habit
Jennifer Fullerton from Never Just Jennifer (you are here)
Mary Kolb from Mary on Lake Pulaski
Casey York from The Studiolo
Deborah Fisher
Caitlin Topham from Salty Oat

I'm linking up with Fabric Tuesday at Quilt Story today.

Blogger's Quilt Festival : Two Birds, One Stone

Its time again for the 2015 Blogger's Quilt Festival.  I'm entering my favorite finish yet: Two Birds, One Stone into the Original Design category.

For those of you that follow the blog, are you sick of seeing this quilt yet?  I'm not!  Every time I walk into the living room I'm happy to see it sitting there on my couch with the kitties.

Well don't these two look comfy? Apparently they like my quilt also. #birdsintheairquilt #challengequilt #martincat #agentarcher #catsofinstagram #pantonequilt2015

A photo posted by Jennifer Fullerton (@neverjustjennifer) on Mar 22, 2015 at 11:10am PDT

This quilt was made for the 2015 Pantone Color of the Year challenge and for my local quilt guild's annual challenge.  It is an original design comprised of two different sized Birds in the Air blocks.  I set the blocks on point and then played with the layout until I had something I was satisfied with.  The real challenge here for me was creating something modern out of a more traditional quilt block.

I've had so many requests for a pattern for this quilt and I've heard you.  I hope to have something done by the end of the summer, though it's my first foray into pattern writing, so who know's how it will go.  (Any tips from you experienced pattern writers out there?)

This quilt also hung at my local quilt guild's biennial quilt show this year and received a very warm response.

You can read more about this quilt here, here, here, and here.

Link ups are open until May 20th, voting is open from May 22nd to May 29th, and winners are announced on May 30th.  Good luck to everyone who is participating!

Voting is Open! | Pantone Quilt Challenge 2015

Voting is now open for the 2015 Pantone Quilt Challenge (#PantoneQuilt2015).  Visit either of the two challenge hosts blogs to vote for your favorite by clicking on the heart in the top right corner of the link up image.    You get one vote per category!  Voting is open until 6pm 29 April 2015 NEW ZEALAND TIME!  (That's 2AM on 4/20 here on the east coast).

Good luck to everyone!

Anne at Play Crafts

Adrienne at On the Windy Side

If you like my Two Birds, One Stone quilt best, I'm #5 in the Quilts category.  

Two Birds, One Stone hanging at our local guild show a few weeks ago.

2015 Pantone Quilt Challenge Linkup!

The linky party is now open for the 2015 Pantone Quilt Challenge.  I know a lot of people dislike this year's color, Marsala, but honestly, I really like it.  It's a color I gravitate towards in every aspect of my life: beauty, quilting, home decor....

I'm submitting my quilt, Two Birds, One Stone to the challenge this year in the quilt category.  You can read the full post here.  You still have time to get your projects finished (or started).   The link up is open until next Friday, April 24th.   I'm hoping to snap a few more pictures of this quilt at our Quilt Show this weekend where it will be hanging. 

Linking up with Finish It Up Friday and Crazy Mom Quilts!

Two Birds, One Stone | A finished quilt

Warning this is a picture heavy post!

I was very exited when Adrianne and Anne announced the 2015 Pantone Quilt Challenge using this year's color: Marsala.  A lot of people aren't thrilled with the color but I really like how warm and versatile it is.  Just check your fabric stash, I bet you'll find some as a secondary color is quite a few of your fabrics.

official Marsala Swatch

Luckily for me, the announcement of this year's challenge coincided very nicely with the beginning of a design concept for my local quilt guild's yearly challenge.  And I, being the ever practical and logical person that I am, decided to combine them!

I have been sharing sneak pictures of this quilt since I started working on it but because our local challenge is supposed to be blind voting I couldn't share a picture of the finished quilt...  However, we had our presentation of the challenge quilts on Wednesday and our guild meeting and now I can!

Many thanks to my good friend Jenn and her co-worker Jason for holding up my quilt for me in a few of these pictures!

This quilt uses fabrics from a variety of designers, including Cotton + Steel, Kaffe Fasset, Anna Marie Horner, and many others!  The solid I found closest to the official Marsala swatch was American Made Brand in Brick Red.  Not exact, but close enough for me.  The background is a from Carolyn Friedlander's newest collection, Doe.  It's the Ladder Lines print.  I love how this print gives the whole quilt warmth and is less aggressive than a stark white print would have been.

I quilted on the diagonal on my home machine, a Janome Horizon Memory Craft 8900QCP, using my walking foot and a brandless pink-red thread I picked up last year at Vermont Quilt Festival.  I love the pop of color on the backgrounds and how it blends into the prints.  I also really like the texture it gives the back of the quilt, just enough to be structured but still soft and cuddly.

The background is pieced, half with a nameless print I picked up at a clearance sale last spring and half with this adorable animal faces fabric... blanking on the name of it right now.

I used a fun purple/orange/marsala triangle print... again blanking on the name... and leftover scraps of the American Made Brand brick fabric to bind the quilt.

Despite it's size this quilt, when it's done hanging in our local quilt show, will become a couch quilt for my husband and I.  It measures a hefty 84" x 68"!  My husband gets genuinely upset when he can't find a large enough quilt to cuddle with on the couch so I have been given strict instructions not to make anymore lap quilts!  This ought to fit the bill though.

I'm calling this one: "Two Birds, One Stone"

It uses two different birds in the air blocks, two main color-ways, and will be entered into two different challenge quilt competitions.  You can see my previous progress post on this quilt here: Instagram Progress | Challenge Quilt


Linking up with Caroline at Sew Can She for Show off Saturday.

Instagram Progress | Challenge Quilt

Last week I made a quick trip to Quilted Threads in Henniker, NH for some new fabrics.  They are one of my favorite local quilt shops.  They carry a great selection of new and modern fabrics.  One of the only places in the area that does.  My plan was to make a Marsala Quilt for the Pantone Color of the Year Quilt Challenge.  I also wanted to make something for the annual challenge at my local quilt guild and thought why not combine the two??

I left with this lovely bundle of pinks and reds.  The main fabric I purchased is an American Made Brand solid in Brick Red.  It was the closest I could find the Marsala.  That's the bottom fabric in this picture.  I rounded out the bundle with some Kaffe Fasset, Cotton + Steel and Anna Marie Horner plus a few more solids.  I also picked up some Doe Ladder Lines in a white on white print for the background.

Using the templates here I got to work sewing and cutting HST.  You are essentially paper piecing when you use this method.  It's quick and easy to make a ton of HST at one and there is very little waste or trimming... when you print the right size template.

I printed the templates too large and had to trim all of them down by a half-inch on both sides.  Luckily my husband took pity on me and actually helped me trim them!  He did great and I only had to touch up a few of the pieces.  I even offered to let him trim all of my blocks from now on ... an offer he declined quite quickly.  Oh well!

I'm using several different methods to make my blocks but the end result will all be Birds in the Air blocks.  The blocks below will finish at 6".  I plan on making 12" and 3" and 2" finished blocks also! I was mostly inspired by this quilt when I was thinking about my design.  I can't share much more because some of my guild mates do read my blog but after the quilt reveal in March, I'll be sure to share more progress pictures!

Can we also just take a moment to appreciate the octopus peaking out of the corner in the center HST of the bottom right block, and the perfectly lined up critters hanging out in the center HST of the top right block?  So cute and fun!

Last night I had some more time to sew while my husband was in a class and have another 20 blocks completed in addition to the four above.  Our adopted cat, Martin, also got in on the action and decided to visit with my on top of my sorted HST.  The sewing went a little slow at that point because his tail was dangerously close to my sewing machine.  But I was glad he came to visit!  He and his brother Archer are finally starting to warm up to us after almost a year.

All of these pictures are from my Instagram feed.  You can follow me here, @NeverJustJennifer, if you'd like to stay up-to-date.  I tend to share there the most.  And if you want more of the cats (you know you do!) they are at #MartinCat and #AgentArcher.

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

Challenge Quilt Reveal

You may remember this post from way back on March 11th where I told you I had finished up my entry for my local quilt guild annual challenge.  I promised to share my finished quilt shortly.  Well low and behold, we got over two feet of snow the next day and our meeting was cancelled and the presentation of challenge quilts was postponed until our April meeting.  (interestingly enough, the same thing happened last year too....).  The guidelines were as follows for this years challenge:

Challenge Quilt for March 2014: The color of your Birthstone or Birth Flower
Make the quilt perimeter no larger than 240″ total. Suggestions or ideas (but not limited to) are: throw size quilt, wall hanging, baby quilt, jacket, bag or table runner, etc. The item needs to have the usual quilt construction, ie: 3 layers, with batting in the middle & quilted. The birthstone color and/ or birth flower must be listed on a tag on the front of the item for display. You can use just the birthstone color or just the birth flower color or both. Two other colors may be used in addition to the specific colors identified. There is a limit of 2 entries per member and they need to be completed. 

I am a November baby so my birthstone is topaz (I hated how ugly it was growing up) and my birth flower is the chrysanthemum (ever read the book Chrysanthemum, by Kevin Henkes about the mouse? My favorite!).  I decided to make a quilt inspired by both.

The center stone is the Shine Bright pattern from Sarah at {no} hats in the house.  I am huge fan of Sarah's work and am always inspired by what she makes.  The greatest thrill for me was when she saw what I was working on on Flickr and commented on how much she liked it!  Talk about a confidence boost!!  This was my first time sewing curved seams as well.  If I could go back and do it again I would add the background pieced to the center gem before sewing the gem together, but as it was, I had already removed all the papers and really didn't want to pick open all of those seams.  So I improvised.  I cut a circle out of the middle of my background fabric, slightly smaller than my gem, then pinned and sewed around the outside of the gem.  It got a little wonky; there are a few ripples in the background fabric, but overall it worked!

I quilted the background using the chrysanthemum quilting tutorial from Rachel at Stitched in Color using a dark red thread matched to the background color.  I'm also a huge fan of Rachel's work.  Her use of color is just amazing!

I did have some problems with tension while I was FMQ the flowers so the back of this quilt is pretty ugly.  A quick, last-minute fix meant it was ready to display for the guild meeting but really I should have gone back and ripped out all of the background quilting and re-done it.  Luckily this is a wall hanging, and we'll hopefully never see the back of the quilt.

I added a row of stripes to the top of the quilt, using up the oakshott cottons I had purchased for this project.  I feel like it added a bit more interest to an other wise simple quilt.  I also felt like it helped to show off the quilting a little more as well.

I stitched in the ditch of the gem stone, hoping to add some depth to the pattern without retracting from the overall design.  This was my first time doing straight(ish) line quilting with my free motion foot.  There are only a few minor deviations from straight so I'm really happy with the results.  I'll definitely be revisiting this technique in the future.  I also added some "sparkles" with my quilting and then sewed on some gold colored seed beads when I was finished to add to the shine of the gem.

Luckily I didn't win the challenge (I know you're saying "wait, what?!").  The winning quilters make up the body of the challenge quilt committee for next years challenge and with being President of the guild next year, I'm not sure I could have handled all that.  The winning quilts were fantastic though!

Don't these look just like daffodils?

Northern Lights inspired quilt

Thanks for stopping by and happy quilting!