Quick Channel Quilting

jill here... Time often moves a little too fast.  Usually, we're more than willing to take a break after piecing and send our quilt top off to the machine quilting expert!  This turn around was quicker with QuiltCon looming.  Nothing like a deadline to encourage finishing it ourselves!

Two rules for our novice machine quilting:  forgiving backgrounds (ones with lots of pattern/ texture) and simple, low contrast in the quilting thread to hide any breaks of perfection.  TV Dinners has a vertical presentation so vertical channels seemed the most obvious modern choice for quilting.  And the lines were a built-in feature (without having to draw any extra, except in the border)!

Since this is a sample display, fewer lines, irregularly spaced were stitched with a medium aqua thread.

The blocks of color on the back make it fun.

The binding was cut from the same length of fabric as the borders.  It must have been a lucky day as it sewed like butter and caught the backside of the binding just perfectly.

'Till next Tuesday...

QuiltCon, Modern Quilt Relish patterns and more

Marny here…so the time is almost here…QuiltCon starts Thursday! We can't attend this year [ :-( ]. There will be fantastic lectures, classes and shopping opportunities! We want to mention two merchants, Sew It Up Studio and Heartway International in particular.

Heartway International is in booth 414! We also know them as The Pat Pourri from Mililani (outside Honolulu), Hawaii! Our paths crossed at Quilt Festival in Houston this fall. We used our TV Dinners pattern to showcase their collection of Paint by Carrie Bloomston for Windham Fabrics very nicely. 

Look at these yummy prints and tone on tone solids.
Love the newsprint, lotus prints and the clever stripes!

yep, I should add that Carrie's company is Such Designs.

Key for the fabrics and positions they hold in TV Dinners.

Blocks made using the seven fabrics you see 
folded and stacked in the top photo.
¼ yards or fat quarters work great as yardage for the blocks.
The outside borders and binding all come from a single length of fabric!

This 'after' photo shows just how awesome the 
multidirectional newsprint looks used as a background!

Since I started with half yard cuts and an extra half yard of the aqua lotus print the back was easy to make from the leftovers! 
Just horizontal bands of colors interrupted vertically (but not centered) by the lotus print and a spot of orange. I love it when you can use up your fabrics from the front to create an playful back!

Next we want to mention Sew It Up Studio out of Hurst, Texas in booth 801.  They've made a Tasty Measures sample using an intriguing ombre running from pinks to orange to golden yellow. The quilt features a pretty floral! Kits and patterns will be available in their booth. Visit and take a peek!

A photo Sew It Up Studio sent of their quilt. 
Fun colors, ombre from pinks to golds! 
Wish I could see the quilt in person!