Mini Zig Zag

Here's the mini zig zag top that I started a couple of days ago. I had intended to donate it to my guild silent auction, but it's not right. I like it and there's nothing wrong with it, but I wanted something better for the auction. It's perfect for a doll quilt (18x24"), so I'll finish it and try to sell it at the holiday fairs.


Silent auction plan B involves this pile and paper pieced hexagons.


Linda at Paper Panache released mystery block #62, so I pulled these for silent auction plan C.

I happened to be in the same building as my LQS, so I had to go in! I came home with a cool Australian print called Dancing Flowers, a black and white egg-like dot, and an interesting print that was on clearance. You know, just because.

Have a quilty day!

Modern Design Wall Monday

I'm experimenting with some paper-pieced zig zags for a postcard swap. I wanted to replicate my modern zig zag quilt that was made with half square triangles. The first attempt, on the right, was paper-pieced in rows, with all the same seam lines as HSTs. I've been paper-piecing long enough to know that I didn't need so many seams! Plan B is on the left.

Much better! It is flatter, and you can see more of the designer fabrics.
It will be quilted, trimmed and backed later today.

Julia's block for the Girl Scout Troop quilt is on the design wall. Each girl designed or chose her own block to piece. They also dyed some of their own fabric. The light blue in the corners was dyed with Kool Aid! Now that swim season is over, she should have some time to sew this together soon (after trimming up the units!).

Julia got her license a couple weeks ago, so she and her boyfriend Josh went on their first real date this weekend (dinner and a movie). I forgot to give her a curfew, but she didn't need it. She was home over an hour earlier than I would have allowed her!

Here are her Valentines for him. Stickers from Twig & Thistle.

I actually ran into Josh in the grocery store yesterday, with this can of olives in my hand! He was buying a rose for Julia. So cute!

I'm listening to Esperanza Spalding today. She won the Best New Artist Grammy last night (a cure for Bieber Fever?)! We saw her perform on a side stage at the Saratoga Jazz Festival in 2007 and we knew then she was awesome.

Listen to some jazz today! It's perfect for Valentine's day!

Zig Zag Friends

I finished three small quilts this week, and this is my favorite!

For my lecture on Modern Quilting, I wanted to show how nicely all the designers play together.

Lots of girls: Valori Wells, Pamela Mostek, Martha Negley, Pat Bravo and Amy Butler.
And some boys, too: Kaffe Fassett, Joel Dewberry and Philip Jacobs.

I'm really happy with the way the color progression worked out, and I think it would make an awesome Blooming Nine Patch, too. Although, HST Zig Zags are a lot easier to make than BNP.

I had a big piece of this orange solid for the back, but I was wishing it was a little paler. The soft stripe worked pretty well for the binding.

For the quilting, I first quilted in the ditch along the zig zag, then went back and quilted both sides of that line, riding along the edge of the walking foot. The best part of edge to edge quilting is not having to bury any thread tails!

Please visit my friend Karen's blog and her Sew Darn Crafty Party!

Then, be bitten by the modern bug with Megan and her friends!