Wild Thing is Now a Finished Thing

Wild Thing

80 x 80

The blocks and layout were all designed last year by Sophie of Block Lotto in what she called a Modern Modular Quilt Along (MOD MOD QAL).    (The very talented Sophie also blogs at Sophie Junction). 

 Every month at Block Lotto there is a block of the month.  Last year Sophie would tell us how many of each block we needed for our sampler and at the end of the month she would show us where in the overall layout our blocks would be positioned.    When I would see any of the 16 modules  completed I would go ahead and sew blocks in the module together, then module to module, column to column always hoping the colors would be evenly distributed. 

Last year's Block Lotto blocks were either 7 inch square, 7 x 14 or 14 inch square.   I chose to make my blocks in complementary colors and used scraps and stash (and some fun and weird fabrics). 

The blocks were also geometric and varied from very easy to challenging. 

I did big stitch hand quilting with red, green, blue, orange, yellow and purple perle cotton #8. 

And I quilted blocks in different ways...sometimes with stencils and sometimes following the lines of the blocks. 

I've tried to get a pic of the crinkly goodness of Wild Thing now that it has been washed and dried. 

But I can't get a picture that shows you how very soft Wild Thing happens to be. 

This was my goal (#2)  for 

2015 Finish Along

I used solid colors red, green, blue, orange, yellow and purple for the binding. (Wish the blue had been a little brighter but...)

And at the end of the month I will link up to Julie's Binding Blitz. 

For the back I used a solid green wide backing so the big stitching would show up since it wasn't always apparent in some of those wild fabrics. 

I'm now going to go Whoop, Whoop it up at Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

And since this UFO, WIP or what-have-you is now finished I'm linking up to

WIPs  Be Gone at A Quilting Reader's Garden. 

Still Big Stitching on Big Quilt

I'm still big stitching in perle #8 on my big full/queen sized quilt. 

Blocks are made in complementary colors and stitched in the same complementary colors. 

I started my stitching in the middle of the quilt and have worked outward. I'm stitching on blocks along the outside edge now so hopefully I will have this quilt finished up by the end of the month. 

Here's some of the stitching on the back side. 

And a little more back side...

...and just a little bit more.   That wrinkle isn't quilted in...it will come out in the wash...I think.  This is a wide green muslin backing so there were no seams but I guess I didn't get all the wrinkles ironed out. 

Slow Stitching today? 

Join us for Slow Stitching Sunday at Kathy's Quilts. 

Yes...I'm Still Big Stitching and Will Be for Awhile

Perle #8

Big stitching

Yellow fabric had dragonflies on it so why not quilt dragonflies in this section.

I used a dark green back. You may not be able to see all that stitching on the busy fabrics on the front but it shows well on the back. 

All different colors of thread...

All different motifs...

It's starting to have a nice texture.  And, no, that's not a crease quilted in...just a wrinkle in the fabric that will wash out. 

Hand stitching? 

Join the Slow Sunday stitching party at Kathy's Quilts. 

Still Big Stitching

I'm still big stitching with perle #8 on my full/queen sampler quilt 

Sweet Dreams blocks.

The above blocks were paper-pieced and very troublesome for me. First I couldn't get the paper pattern printed to correct size, then the tension was off (too loose) on my machine and when I took the paper off a couple of the blocks fell apart.   As you can see from that first Sweet Dreams block (upper right quadrant) I had other problems besides...the seam should angle over to the corner and doesn't.  I made it fit to size.  So, right now I'm not a fan of paper piecing. 

The blocks and layout for the MOD MOD Sampler were all designed by Sophie of Block Lotto. 

Each month the Block Lotto block of the month was revealed and added to the layout. I challenged myself to use scraps (if I had them in selected colors)  and make blocks in complementary colors.  Since my scraps are pretty wild and crazy and I'm pretty much color-challenged I figured the complementary color scheme might give some cohesion to the quilt.    Well, whether the experiment was successful or not...I love the quilt top. (My 5 year old grandson told me "it's fun").   And now I've been big stitching on it in all different colors and having fun with that too. 

I thought crescent moon and star for the witch section would be appropriate and I used a template I used on my 30s butterfly quilt for the outside edges.

The watering cans got a simple flower shape quilted in the middle and you can't really see it all that well but the outside purple area has some zig zag leaf shapes quilting. 

There's mostly straight line quilting in these areas. 

And there's some heart shapes in these circles.   That one on the right looks a little lopsided but that's just the photo.  I wish I would have used a brighter shade of yellow for the background but didn't so I'll just live with it. 

I can say one thing...I'm not bored doing any repetitive stitching on this quilt...and I can say another thing...it actually lifts my spirits looking at all this color each evening when I get home from work and start stitching. 

And speaking of stencils...I want to give a shout out to Martha of Q is for Quilter.  She had a giveaway on her blog for stencils - some of which she is using on her gorgeous String Star quilt.  I was a winner of the four stencils above.   And now I know where to buy more stencils - The Stencil Company!   

It's Sunday and you know what that means...everyone is meeting at Kathy's Quilts for some Slow Stitching. 

Big Stitching

I've been  big stitch hand quilting a very wild and colorful sampler top with perle #8. 

This is the back and is actually a very dark green fabric but the flash kind of washes it out. I wanted a darker fabric so the stitching would show up on the back. 

Here's the top I'm working on.  It was a sampler of all of last year's Block Lotto blocks designed by Sophie who runs Block Lotto.  I used complementary colors in all of my blocks.  It's a large 80 x 80 quilt. 

Doing any hand stitching? 

Join us today for Slow Stitching Sunday at Kathy's Quilts. 

A Mod Mod Sampler Top Finished

Each month, of 2014 as a member of  Block Lotto, I've made the block of the month. I've even won blocks a couple of those month. 

In addition to the blocks Sophie has also designed a Modern Modular (MOD MOD) Sampler for those same blocks.  Each month she would show us the placement of the monthly block in the overall design but it was a mystery as to what the quilt would look like until this month. 

Since I didn't know what the overall design would look like and because I'm rather color challenged, I decided to make the blocks for my sampler in complementary colors and use only fabrics in my stash.  (Warning: some fabrics are weird). 

I have no design wall and so assembled my modules as I went.  I knew if I didn't sew along each month and assemble as much as I could I probably would never get it all assembled and it would stay a UFO for quite some time. 

The last block, Big O,  was released today (earlier if you were eligible for a sneak peek).  After I finished my 3 Big Os I didn't have to wait until mid month to know their placement in the quilt so went ahead and finished the top. 

If I did have a design wall I would probably arranged and rearranged the blocks for hours and still never been pleased with any of those arrangements.  But, I don't make quilts for design walls (hey, grandma didn't have one and I loved her quilts) ...I usually make them for fun, stress relief, warmth, beds...so the 

assemble-as-you-go method worked for me. 

I have a full/queen sized 80 x 80 quilt top and I like it. 

Since I don't really like square quilts I'm thinking about adding a row of chevrons to the top and bottom (or not)

I have no clue how to quilt this...by hand or on my DSM? 

Since it is made of complementary colors and designed by Sophie I guess I will call it 

"My Compliments to Sophie". 

And, speaking of Sophie...visit her blog, Sophie Junction,  to see her version of the Mod Mod Sampler. 

And, if you want to have some fun next year why not join up with Block Lotto - learn new things, methods, make a sampler, win a few, lose a few...

Oh, and I'm linking up to Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times even though I don't have one. (If I did I probably wouldn't have all those yellow/purple blocks all lumped together over on that one side or even have a quilt top completed)

Block Lotto and the Mod Mod Sampler

This month's Block Lotto block is a Woven Bar on white background with orange, gray, brown bars. 

I then made a couple of Woven Bar blocks  in complementary colors for a Mod Mod Full/Queen Sampler that Sophie designed to go along with each month's block. 

Then I made another Woven Bar block which completes another module. 

And then I made one final Woven Bar block and another module. 

Dyslexic Paper Piecing, Poltergeists and Dust Bunnies

Once upon a time Queen Sophie of Block Lotto Land declared that the block for the month of September would be Sweet Dreams. 

Little did she know that for Old Gray Maiden construction of this this block would be a nightmare. 

First try was too 1/2  inch too big. Old Gray Maiden had a difficult time printing the template for paper piecing the correct size.   Queen Sophie accommodated Old Gray Maiden with a .pdf file that still would not print properly on two printers at home.   Then Old Gray Maiden tried a printer elsewhere and the template printed just right. 

Old Gray Maiden was not really a fan of paper piecing but that was because she had not really had much experience with it.   So Old Gray Maiden accepted the challenge and went off to her castle to sew. 

First, she cut the pieces for the paper piecing a tiny bit too small.   Then she started over and had the fabrics reversed (red was supposed to be in the corners) . Rip it.  Then she tried again and had the fabrics wrong side up. Rip it.  Then the poltergeists appeared and Old Gray Maiden's Janome DC2010 started sewing by itself  even when her foot was not on the foot pedal.   Old Gray Maiden knows that usually when the poltergeists appear the machine needs cleaning.  Yep, that was right.  Several Big Giant Dust Bunnies leaped out of Old Gray Maiden's machine even before she could get the screws from the needle plate loose. Several more Big Giant Dust Bunnies had made a nest inside her machine and she ran them off.  And all was well again.  

Old Gray Maiden then sewed and sewed until all the papers were covered.   Then when she ripped the papers off  and several of the fabric pieces fell into her lap.  Old Fair Maiden didn't notice her tension was not right when she sewed and sewed. So, she quickly sewed the pieces back together whilst they were not on the papers. 

And then Old Gray Maiden hand appliqued the circles before she noticed...

...that a corner on each block was bad.  And lots of cuss words could be heard throughout the castle and Old Gray Maiden's hair grew even grayer. 

So, Old Gray Maiden waited a week and tried again. 

And what do you know...Old Gray Maiden made a block that was just right. 

And then Old Gray Maiden made 6 more blocks for her Queen Sophie of Block Lotto Land designed Mod Mod Quilt. 

And the moral of the story is Old Gray Maiden  is very stubborn and loves a challenge and will not be defeated or maybe it's something like" if at first you don't succeed  try try again".  

If you like to learn something every once in a while, like a challenge every once in a while, like fun every once in a while, like to win blocks every once in a while, well, why not join the Block Lotto community.