On the Design Wall

A few weeks ago, I took a class with the wonderful Sujata Shah called "Organized Chaos."

I used the fabric on the left for the color scheme.

Sujata said, "These blocks are like potato chips."

She was right!  I just kept making more and more.  

And more!  I was having so much fun, I decided to make it a queen size quilt.

I've always been fascinated by kaleidoscope quilts, and 

Sujata's pattern has a special twist.

I just love the way some of the blocks seem to burst out of their seams!

This is about half the quilt, not yet sewn together.

My design wall isn't big enough for the whole thing, so I'll make one section at a time.

A final check on value before I begin sewing the rows together.  

OK, ready to sew!

Many Hands Make Light Work

Sadly, one of my work friends was recently diagnosed with cancer.  

I proposed to some mutual work friends that we make her a group quilt. 

Never mind that most of them had never made a quilt before!

My house became a quilt workshop.

Here is Kris at my sewing machine.  Jo Ann and Jan learned how to use the rotary cutter 

and cut out all the blocks.

Karen, Leslie and Joan sewed blocks together in the dining room.

Everyone got a turn at the design wall.

All were very proud of their efforts.

The whole quilt top was made in just a couple of hours!

The pattern comes from Sujata Shah's wonderful book, Cultural Fusion Quilts.

It's perfect for a group effort, because accuracy isn't an issue.

Every block is unique, and each maker can identify the ones she made.  

I quilted it with slightly wavy lines this weekend.

It's ready to comfort our dear friend!

The fabrics for the top came from Drygoods Design, a delightful shop in downtown Seattle.  

They have an online store here:  drygoodsdesignonline.com

The main backing fabric also came from Drygoods Design, but a year or two ago.

Quilts for Twins!

My friend has two new baby granddaughters.  

Of course I planned to make quilts.  But it took some thought.

For twins, do you make them different?  What if one likes the other's better?

Do you make them the same?  What if they argue over who's is who's?

Here's how I solved the issue.

 

The blocks are from Sujata Shah's book, Cultural Fusion Quilts.  

The letters are from Tonya Ricucci's book, Word Play Quilts.  

Both are very fun techniques, and no two blocks are alike.

I started with flannel sock monkey print scraps from making 

their older brother's quilt three years ago.  

When I ran out of flannel, I went to my corduroy stash.

The quilts have corduroy backs, one floral and one plaid.

Very soft!

I got to give them to the twins and their moms last weekend.

Older brother got his out and modeled it for us too!