First Call for Fall

I'm so happy to have a quilt in the latest issue of Modern Patchwork. I named it First Call for Fall. The magazine shortened it to Call for Fall, but I'm sticking with the original name.

It all started with this logo. My husband was searching for contact information on a church website and when I saw the church logo, I had him wait long enough for me to take a screen shot.

With a few adjustments, I knew it would make a great quilt block. I love it when inspiration strikes from unexpected places.

The quilt is in a section of the magazine called Muted Moderns. Cool graphics...

I made the entire quilt top from my stash--also a bonus. I had enough Essex yarn-dyed linen, some Kona cottons in light colors, and scraps of Oakshott cottons in fall-ish colors.

I had a complete surprise when I was paging through the actual magazine for the first time: my quilt from the Summer 2014 issue, Chain Link, was used in the first article, right there across from Jacquie Gering, Alissa Haight Carlton and Latifah Saafir. As my grandson, Levi, has been saying a lot lately, "Holy smokes!!"

I'm linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts and TGIFF.  Have a great weekend!

Blogger's Quilt Festival: One in Every (Kona) Color

It's always fun when Blogger's Quilt Festival rolls around. Amy puts a lot of time into it, so thanks, Amy!

I know a lot of you have already seen this, but honestly, One in Every (Kona) Color is my favorite finish of 2012 so far.

I was trying to duplicate the Kona color card, since I just adore working with solids, and used the iconic Pantone color blocks as my inspiration.

It started with trimming lots of charm pack squares,

printing out lots of labels that included the color number and name,

and then meticulously matching them up to reproduce the Kona color card.

 All of their 243 colors is represented. I had some spaces to fill so I added some other information from the color card, including washing instructions. This turned out to be a good idea, because not only did it fill the space that needed to be filled, it gave the eye a place to rest in all that sea of color.

I thought and thought about how to quilt it. While not a fan of stitch-in-the-ditch, except for a line of quilting through the white labels, everything else is stitched in the ditch. There were so many colors to take into consideration and I also didn't want anything to detract from all the color.

I used the wonky alphabet by Kelby Sews for the back,

black and white striped binding a la Red Pepper Quilts,

and ended with a tribute to Pantone, the initial inspiration for the quilt, a label using the color of the year, Tangerine Tango.

This was such a fun quilt to make. Thanks for stopping by, and enjoy the rest of the Quilt Festival--there is so much to see!

Quilt Stats:

Size: 63x72 inches

Quilted by: Me

Best Category: Throw, ROYGBIV

One in Every (Kona) Color: The (Really) Long Version

The giveaway is now closed. Thank you to everyone!
I will try to make this as un-wordy as possible, and just let the pictures speak for themselves. While my quilt is a mash-up of the Kona color card and Pantone, the original spark of interest for the quilt came from here.Lynne's fabulous Penquin Book quilt. I became an immediate fan of the quilt, and also of Lynne.

When I came home from spring quilt market with my charm pack of the new Kona colors, along with a new Kona color card, the wheels in my head started moving.

 I had the idea for the quilt, but how would I obtain a little bit of every single color? I only needed a little, but buying even a fat quarter would be way too expensive.

 That's when I went to Fat Quarter Shop and ordered every sampler charm pack of Kona. I was sure I would end up with many duplicates. I was thrilled to find out that there were hardly any duplicates at all!

I took them apart, and started separating them by color families. Then I started arranging them in order, using the color card.

I used some Pantone note cards for the dimensions for each block.

And started trimming.

The next step was to print out all the colors names and numbers. I had to buy two 25-sheet packs of June Tailor printer fabric. Wowsers--expensive! Thankfully I had good coupons for each pack. Just let me say that if I hadn't had to run so many sheets through my printer, I would definitely have used Kona white and adhered it to freezer paper, carefully cutting it with my rotary cutter, but I was worried about running so many sheets through the printer and jamming it up. I do not like the printer fabric. It served its purpose in this quilt, but it feels and sounds crunchy, which I really dislike. However, it went through my printer like a dream so it got good brownie points for that.

The next step was to proofread each color and make sure I hadn't transposed letters or numbers.

Next came matching the the names with the correct colors.

 Most of these were pretty easy, but there were at least five times when I had to check and double check in different light before I was pretty sure I had them matched up correctly. Case in point:

You can see the difference here, but it took the really good natural daylight before I realized I had them switched around.

And would you believe it, when it came down to it, there were only two colors I was missing: Ruby and Regatta. I was sure I had Ruby because I had used it in a previous quilt. I was pretty sure I didn't have Regatta. I'm not really a "blue" person, but I checked my solids stash, and sure enough, there was Regatta, also used in a previous quilt. Hooray. I think at that point I was sure it was a cosmic decision to make this quilt!

Sewing, sewing, sewing:

The next step was to put each block up on the design wall, duplicating the same order as the color card. There were 243 blocks, but my layout plan of 16 blocks across and 16 blocks down gave me space for 256. That's when I started copying and printing things from the the color card and bordering them in black, including the washing instructions! And that turned out to be a really good plan because with all the color going on, it was a good thing to have a few different places to rest your eyes.

After I made sure, over and over, that all the colors were in the proper order, it was time to start sewing the rows together.

 

And then, as frequently happens with my quilt tops, things came to a complete standstill while I tried to figure out the whole quilting thing. I knew I didn't want a lot of quilting to show because I wanted all the focus on the fabulous colors. I got advice from a couple of people, and then Deborah taught me how to spray baste a quilt on top of a bed (!). Note: I may actually get more of my quilts completed!

At first I thought just quilting horizontally would do the trick, first just below the words in each block, and then in the ditch between the white band and the color block.  But then I realized I wasn't going to be happy until I quilted vertically between each row. The dilemma? While I'm not a fan of quilting in the ditch, I still didn't want the quilting to show. And besides that, there was such a range of color from dark to light that choosing a color of thread, well...I couldn't even go there. So I tried something I had never tried before--monofilament. It turned out to be a great solution. It didn't show on top, but gave a little definition between each row.

I wanted a simple back, but with some pop, so I used the wonky alphabet from Kelby Sews, and pieced a heart with some leftover scraps.

 I finished it with Red Pepper Quilt-inspired black and white striped binding. Really--would anything else have worked? I think not.

And with a nod to Pantone and the color of the year, Tangerine Tango, here is my label.

So that's the story of my color card quilt. It was a challenge I gave to myself and I'm thrilled with how it turned out. My sweet and very supportive husband, Mark, turned out to be very protective of this quilt, or at least the idea of it, and forbid me from posting a single process picture until it was completed.

And in my dreams, Robert Kaufman gives me a lifetime supply of Kona solids. Or wants to add this to their corporate quilt collection. But I'm happy to hang it in my hallway and gaze happily at all the beautiful colors.

I hope you enjoyed reading about my little creative journey, or at least looking at the pictures.

Want "one in every Kona color" for yourself? Well, scraps, that is...these are only about 1 by 5 inches, but I'm pretty sure all 243 colors are represented. Just leave a comment telling me your current favorite color. I'll choose a winner on Monday morning. Have a great weekend!

WIP Wednesday

Not much to show, but a lot of behind-the-scenes work. This is not technically a secret. I just want to have the quilt burst onto the scene when it's finished instead of in bits and pieces. Does that ever happen to you too?

I'm going to a friend's cabin to sew away the weekend. No cell phone reception, no computer access. Pure bliss. I have been wanting to make a chevron quilt forever based on this sweater. And then someone asked me to test a chevron quilt pattern. Perfect timing. So this stack of fabric is going up to the mountains. But not the sweater. It's supposed to hot this weekend!

Thanks, Lee, for WIP Wednesday.

Farmer's Wife Friday: Live a Successful Life

The farmer's wife is finally back after a relaxing holiday season. I hope she had a restful time before it was time to go back to work.

This week's farmer's wife is from Shawnee County, Kansas. She begins her letter with a quote from George Washington: "The tilling of the soil is the most healthful, the most useful and the most noble occupation of man." She asks, "What other position requires the knowledge and skill as does that of the farmer's wife? She must be a home-maker, that is, she must be skilled in cooking, sewing, washing, ironing, making beds, setting tables, sweeping, dusting, cleaning, buying, nursing, educating the children, as well as social manager and anything else her hand finds to do indoors."

Okay. Maybe she did not have a relaxing holiday season...

"Then outside she must be a livestock breeder, that is, raise chickens, turkeys and so forth..."

#28, Duck & Ducklings. So let's just pretend that this farmer's wife jumped on the Pantone Color of the Year bandwagon, Tangerine Tango, to make this block. It's not quite the deep reddish orange of tangerine, but she worked with what she had on hand. Good for her. 

 "...she must be a gardener, know how to can, preserve and store her fruits and vegetables, how to care for her meat in winter, how to make soap and many other things...she is a financier, a bookkeeper, a home-maker, a manufacturer...."

I have to admit that just reading the list made me a little weary.

#87, Star Gardener.  This 6" block has 57 pieces!  And making this block made me a little more weary.

But yet, after that list, she goes on to say that the "so-called privileges of city life are few in comparison to the contentment and love for nature we enjoy in the country....men have deeds to land, but the beautiful view they do not own." That was an interesting thought. "Even night in the country with its stars and its dews is a wonderful blessing...."

I can say for certain that the stars do not shine as brightly here in the city where I live. There is competition with street lights, neon signs, buildings.... When we are out of the city,away from all the artificial light, the stars are almost blindingly bright. I am literally "star-struck" by the sheer number of stars that we don't see in the city.

#31, Evening Star. This block was a walk in the park. I have usually called this block "sawtooth star." Whatever its name, it has always been one of my favorites. And it was nice to have a block go together quickly after Star Gardener.

"The memory of the farm home will be treasured long, long after the screen artist has married and divorced her fourth husband, or been murdered...so I want my girl to marry a farmer that she may have the best chance to live a successful life and of being a real home-maker."

#47, Homemaker. It's a good thing Evening Star was quick and easy. Because Homemaker, in my opinion, is the toughest block I have made so far in this sampler. After you do the corner segments (the green and Kona snow), the rest of the block construction involves set-in seams. Don't look closely. I finally pressed this block into submission.

Here are this week's four blocks together:

They have such a different look when set on point.

Here is the whole group of 54 (54!) completed so far. Nearly half done.

 It's good to be spending time with the farmer's wives again. I'm looking forward to seeing what Carla has to say about this week's letter...and how she feels about that Homemaker block!

The Postman Always Rings Twice...

Well, yesterday he did. Good thing, too, because I needed some major fabric therapy. But if this happened on a regular basis, I would need financial therapy...

Need some therapy yourself? You can get some here and here.

P.S. Now I'm a little sorry I went to the links. Bad news for me, but good news for you: At Fatquarter Shop, until April 1, Kona and Bella solids are 20% off with the coupon code "solids." *sigh*. It was still good therapy for me...