a new journey of circles

Last year I participated in a lot of smaller swaps and made loads of pillow covers but only finished one large quilt - my easypatchwork Advanced Sampler (which I have not shown simply due to its large size). This is hard for me to believe, because I started out making only bed and lap size quilts. I love to "use" my quilts. I generally do not display my quilts nor my finished patchwork pieces; you might not even get that I am a quilter if you entered my home. My large quilts, on the other hand, are completely in use. We have our favorites around here which stay neatly folded in the living room.

Leaves a'Flutter, American Primer and the Man's Quilt are our favorites!

I decided I want to make another large quilt this year and have been looking around to see what really interests me. After more than 10 years of quilting, I want to sew what really interests me. Last year, it was on a journey of 60° triangles. And this year, circles seem to be catching my attention.

NOTE: I love men's quilts! I have always loved men's rugged, outdoor clothing-style. I still love it and realize I need this warm feeling in my living room. In total contrast to my sewing room which is white on white on white wood, my living room is dark on dark wood with a dark red sofa and dark quilts. I am not typically drawn to white/bright and colorful quilts for actual use. They just don't "comfort me." What is your opinion about this?

Around October last year, I started picking out circular designs that interested me and started writing them down to explore them in further detail. I first made the Little Bits Mug Rug by Alexia Marcelle Abegg. Honestly, that was one of the hardest circle designs I have sewn other than an adapted Western Compasses due to the tiny bock size of three inches. Segments less than one inch are hard to sew with a curved seam.

LBMR - Sewn with Timeless Treasure Tong Treat Batiks

One pattern that really caught my eye is this one from Denyse Schmidt. It doesn't look like a typical, traditional Drunkard's Path block. I like the white background and white segments included to make the "path" look more like a cogwheel. I was totally mesmerised by this block/quilt.

Pattern from Denyse Schmidt written in 2009

I ordered the pattern. Then I realized, Denyse Schmidt designs fabric too; fabric that I love!! (I actually have bought her fabric in the past, but didn't think too much about fabric designers or their styles nor my style.) I tried to order fabric around Christmas to maximize my € through sales in the United States. I was not successful as I wanted to be. My challenge was this: I didn't want to use just one collection; I wanted to use them all!! My basic color scheme was black, brown and some bright colors. I mapped out the quilt in my head and started ordering a few fabrics primarily from her Katie Jump Rope collection.

Denyse Schmidt Fabrics from the new Katie Jump Rope and (older) Franklin

After reading the pattern a few times, I decided I wanted to make the quilt with Robert Kaufman's Essex Linen in Linen and not Robert Kaufman's Bone as written. I thought natural linen might be too strong in color. It is also rather hard to interpret from a PC monitor what a color really looks like; I do not have any fabric store close by that sells RK linens. I looked around some online shops in Germany and in the US. Not one store sold all of these fabrics!! (The Essex Linen in Linen is almost bright white.)

Now it was going to get serious! It is not cheap to import great quilting fabrics. For every order I make, I have to include 25€ for shipping and add 20% (of the total order + shipping) for German Sales Tax (Mehrwertsteuer). Import tax is not included on orders less than 150€ (if I remember correctly.) When I make an order, I try to spend about 100€/$ to maximize my spending. I had to see exactly how much of each fabric I needed! How?

My New Collection of DS Fabric Charms

 Easy! I recreated the quilt with EQ7 so I could see how the fabrics played together and to find out the quantities of each fabric used. (Although my quilts usually look different than the planned idea, it is a great starting point.) I need a few more oranges and yellow and maybe another blue or green. I changed the colors and fabrics to my taste. I printed out my fabric requirements and checked off what I already had (ordered just two weeks ago.)

Planning it all Out

I looked for one shop that had all of my fabrics but that was not possible. No one had them all. In the end, I ordered from four different shops; Fabricworm for the original pattern, the Fat Quarter Shop, Pink Castle Fabrics and Fabric.com and am still waiting on a couple of fabrics. Once again, I had to maximize my spending and ordered a few more things too. Because if I am going to spend some money, I should buy more more beautiful fabric as well, don't you think?

And this is the last shipment. It literally arrived just 10 minutes ago. You know what that means don't you? Time to get started.

Last Shipment of Fabrics - now I must stop writing and start working!!

First up, washing fabric. I don't normally pre-wash except for backing fabric, but if the fabric/pattern designer writes that, then I must do it.

Thanks for dropping by!

little bits mug rug swap

Welcome to a pretty little mug rug swap that lets you go wild with sewing curves!

I found this adorable and free mug rug from Green Bee Designs and Patterns (Alexia Abegg) and absolutely had to try it. It is so cute and so much fun to make; I had to share my excitement with everyone and organize a swap just for the Little Bits Mug Rug pattern. So let's pay homage together, shall we?

Little Bits Mug Rug Example

GUIDELINES:
You will be required to use the free pattern from Alexia Abegg but are allowed to make slight alternations to it such as enlarging or shrinking the overall size, adding to it (embellishments, embroidery, or applique, etc.) changing up the border, whatever you like. But we should all still be able to identify the original pattern designed by Cotton & Steel founder Alexia Abegg. This cute and stylish mug rug should measure approximately 6 x 8 1/2 inches when finished.

You can find the pattern on Alexia's website: http://alexiaabegg.squarespace.com/free-patterns/

After you have registered, I will contact you to make sure your data is correct and verify that you are actively participating.

"Flakers" will not be tolerated. What is a flaker? Someone who signs up for a swap and decides somewhere along the time span they have no interest in fulfilling their side of the swap. Bad, bad, bad. Yes, they do exist. Sadly!

Everyone will be assigned a partner. This is an open swap and not secret; you will know who is sewing for you. You are allowed to contact them, and they are allowed to contact you. However, please keep their information (mailing address) confidential.

No mosaics are needed for this swap. You will be sew according to your partner's interests, social media feeds, and direction along the way. We really want you to guide your partner on the right path.  If you have trouble making contact your partner, please get in touch with me.

Post pictures of your progress on Instagram: #littlebitsmugrugswap

Check-in Date is January 15, 2016. Please email me at karen@easypatchwork.de with a small pixel progress photo and this in the header: "Little Bits Mug Rug Swap." You may post a picture on Instagram of your progress as well with the hashtag #littlebitsmugrugswapcheckin. From all of the emails I receive and in the order I receive them, I will draw a number and that person will receive a very special gift.

DATES AND DEADLINES:
Registration: now until Dec. 16, 2015
Partner assigned: Dec. 18, 2016
Check-In: Jan. 15, 2016 per email
Shipping: before Jan. 31, 2016

Please send the completed mug rug to your partner with a little note or postcard. You may send other items as well, but please don't over do it.

Are you ready for a little mug rug swapping fun? Then go ahead and register. Open to 40 participants.

I look forward to seeing familiar and not so familiar faces on this quick little swap! Thanks for dropping by!

REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED. 

destiny's trail pattern

First and most importantly, the winner for the Project Sewing Room: essential wanna haves drawing is...lucky visitor No. 3 - Janarama! Congratulations! Yeah! I will be contacting via email for your address of where to send your surprise package!

Now on to today's post:
I started working on a really cute baby quilt pattern last fall and sent it in to a magazine to see if I could get it published. I never heard back from them, so I thought enough time has gone by; it's time to publish on my own. This pattern is for those of you who like a challenge. Although it is just a baby quilt, you might struggle a bit, because there are lots of points to match up. It uses three basic blocks and has several different patterns that jump out at you.

You might remember that I posted a picture of this at the beginning of the year? I barely gave any details away other than a dotty nine patch block. Here is the finished top:

And this is my work in progress. Looking back at the quilt on the wall, I think it would have been better to quilt this in circles rather than in straight lines. I am a little more confident I could do it too! :-)

BUT, I wanted the mod pods to come out more. Can you see one? Maybe it would have been better if I had used a turquoise colored thread for the quilting?

 Or do you see the star? You can also highlight the star with echo quilting.

I changed the name to Mod Pod Nine Patch while making this quilt, thinking about the pod chains that I wanted to stand out. I had to change the name back though. I think Destiny's Trail Nine Patch is more suited. What do you think? Which name is better?

You can find more pictures here on flickr.

Thanks for dropping by. And if you are interested in this pattern, check it out on Craftsy.

Karen