Project Update: 09.09.2021

Hello Friends and Welcome!

The beginning of September has brought cooler weather and more than a few storms. I love sitting and hearing the rain while I sew, so I really hope this weather continues!

As we move into fall, I'm excited to get some of my ongoing projects finished, start some more in depth exploration of new quilting techniques, and wrap up the Summer Mini Quilt Challenge!

So friends, let's move into this week's update!

National Quilt Museum Block of the Month

Since the last update, I've continued piecing together chunks of my redesigned July block for the NQM BoM! The redesign was based on a preparatory sketch I drew, inspired by the original One Day in Summer block by Ann Brauer.

When redesigning the block, I broke it down into seven chunks. Each chunk is improv pieced using the differently sized and shaped pieces of fabric I have on hand.

I pieced the first chunk by hand simply because I was in the mood for hand sewing and ended up deciding to continue making the other chunks the same way. So far, I've finished six of the seven chunks needed, and I'm looking forward to the block being finished soon!

Once pieced, I trim down each of these improv chunks to the right shape and size using my piecing diagram. I fold the diagram on the yellow lines and use one of my rulers to trim the chunk ¼" away from the edge of the paper for seam allowance.

With the chunks trimmed, I can see the block starting to come together!

I'm planning to machine sew the chunks together through the batting and backing to emulate the technique from Ann Brauer's original instructions. This means the major construction seams will be visible on the back side of the quilt, which will add some extra detail to the quilted motif when I get around to that!

Since this block was assigned back in July, I'm currently a few months behind, but I'll have lots of time to make more progress soon, and I'm really excited to see this block coming together!

In more recent news, a new block was released for this project on the first of September!

Glasby, Becky. "Lotus." Designed by Maggie Weiss, 2021.

The new block is called Lotus and was designed by Maggie Weiss. It features an abstract, layered background with visible raw edges to add texture, and a lotus applique overlay made using the fusible applique technique!

I'm sure I'll end up making a few changes to the pattern to make the block my own, but for now I'm just looking forward to making the block in the future!

If you're interested in making any of the blocks I've shown, check out the National Quilt Museum's website! This year's BoM patterns are available as free downloads, as well as a few projects from past years.

Summer 2021 Mini Quilt Challenge

I've also continued progress on the ongoing Summer Mini Quilt Challenge!

I started this Challenge back in June as an opportunity to try some new quilt making techniques. By making mini quilts, rather than full sized projects, I am able to experiment with these techniques in a low stakes, minimal effort way!

While the Summer Mini Quilt Challenge will soon be coming to an end, you can still check out the full list of prompts and guidelines in the original Challenge Announcement post! It may just inspire you to experiment with a new technique for yourself!

As for my own mini quilts, I've continued enjoying some experimentation since the last update!

We left off in the middle of week ten with an incomplete hexagonal mini quilt, made with the intention of exploring how to bind non-square and odd angled corners!

Binding is a finishing method used to encase and protect the raw edges of a quilt. Most quilt makers learn how to bind square corners on their very first project, but may never encounter alternate angled corners.

Since the focus of my project was the binding, I decided on a black and white colour scheme for the quilt, paired with a bright cyan binding. I really love the contrast in this quilt, it creates a really striking effect!

On top of loving the finished effect of the quilt, learning to bind non-square angles is a really valuable skill and I'm sure it will lead to me making quilts with even more creative shapes in the future!

To learn a little more about binding different angles, and the making of this quilt, check out my binding odd angled mini quilts post!

Moving into week eleven, my next mini quilt prompt was needle turn applique! Needle turn is a method of hand sewn applique involving minimal preparation, allowing the maker to quickly begin constructing their blocks!

I've been excited to learn this applique method for a long time since it is so popular and well known. But after my experimentation, I ended up learning that I prefer a different method, prepared edge applique, which is the method I taught myself.

Even though I don't plan to be doing many more needle turn experiments in the future, I'm so glad to have made this quilt and learned how I feel about this method!

I'm also really happy with the mini quilt I made! The bright, citrus colour scheme references the name of this traditional pattern, orange peel, and the scrappy binding really pulls the whole thing together!

To learn more about the making of this project, check out my needle turn applique mini quilt post!

The final mini quilt I've worked on for this Challenge is my current project for week twelve!

This week's prompt is bagging out, a finishing technique where the quilt edges are finished by sandwiching the layers of the quilt inside out, sewing around the edges, then flipping the quilt right side out. Bagging out is one of the fastest and easiest methods of finishing the edges of a small project, but is not recommended for most larger quilts.

I've pieced a simple log cabin for this week's quilt top, using a black, white, and gold colour scheme. I'm really excited with my progress so far and am looking forward to seeing how this quilt looks with a bagged out finish!

If you're interested to learn more about bagging out or just want to see how this mini quilt looks when complete, visit me again on Monday when that post gets released!

MQG Mystery Quilt Block of the Month

Tonight is my quilt guild's first meeting of the year, and we will soon be starting a new block of the month project!

This year's project will be a mystery quilt, meaning we will receive instructions without knowing what the finished quilt will look like. I've made a mystery quilt in the past and it was a lot of fun, this time I'm looking forward to challenging my Mom to participate with me!

Not a lot of information has been released regarding this mystery quilt, so I don't have a lot to say about it at the moment, but keep an eye out for more announcements in the future!

If you're interested to participate in a mystery quilt project, check out the MQG website where the instructions will be released!

Friends, that's all for this update! While I wasn't able to make any new progress on my Simply Woven quilt, I'm really excited about the new projects and patterns I'll be working on later this fall!

What projects do you have lined up for this season? Feel free to share photos and stories in the comments below! I am always so inspired by the work of other creators and I love seeing what you're making!

If you're interested in keeping up with any of my projects between updates, please visit me on Instagram, @vafibrearts! I try to post regularly throughout the week so you always know what I've been up to!

I can't wait to see what surprises and inspiration this fall will bring, and I hope all of you are just as excited to move into a new season!