Machine Quilting: Field Day

Before I forget, don't miss your chance to win some prizes and read about my block in the latest issue of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Volume 9, just click here, you have until Saturday to enter!

Now that is taken care of, let get back to the quilt feature of the day!

 Granted it is sideways, but Kathy made this version of Field Day from my book, Seamingly Scrappy! I knew she made this pattern before I quilted it, we talked about it. I was in such a brain mush state when I was working on quilting it, I completely forgot all that we had talked about and AFTER I finished quilting it I looked at it from a distance and was like, "It's Field Day!"

I absolutely LOVE her color choices and that striped border (I'm a sucker for stripes and plaids on the bias!). This quilt was so fun and bright and to keep it simple and playful it was quilted with all-over pointed swirls. This is one of my favorite designs to quilt because it is so versatile and it really softens the look of some quilts.

Thanks, Kathy! You did an amazing job and I love the results!

Book Quilts: Field Day & Small Town Girl

Now when it's this time of year in Northeast Ohio, I find myself making the most colorful quilts of the year. Why you ask? This is why:

 Usually, this time of year there is next to zero color outside. And if you're wondering, yes, this was Lake Erie frozen over a couple years ago. I haven't been up to the lake lately, but last year our winter was so mild it never got close to this.

So that's why I find myself making quilts bursting in color and Field Day is no exception. Now, following in the concept of the book, this relatively large quilt uses precuts, probably just not the one you're thinking of! Any guesses? Well, this quilt actually uses a charm pack and just some additional yardage.

Copyrighted Image provided by Martingale, Brent Kane, photographer 

This quilt was super fun to make and super quick. The fabrics I used were designed by the one and only Kate Spain, this was her Terrain line. I did blend in a fabric from Me & My Sister for the white polka dot, but the fabrics worked so well I couldn't resist.

You really can't see it in this picture, but you'll be able to in the book because the pictures are AMAZING! I had a little fun while quilting Field Day, I decided to use both custom machine quilting AND utility quilting. The results are incredible and I have mixed quilting techniques on other quilts since I first tried it on this one.

Copyrighted Image provided by Martingale, Brent Kane, photographer 

And here we have Small Town Girl. Small Town Girl is not small at all, actually she's one of the larger quilts in the book. When I designed this quilt, it was one of those instances where everything fell into place perfectly, almost. I had this design drawn up eons ago it feels like but it wasn't working. I rediscovered it while I was working on the book and had an idea which developed into the quilt above. The best part was I already had a fat eighth bundle of Ruby by Bonnie & Camille sitting at home that was perfect for this design.

If the background looks a but dark, that's because I had to search and find the perfect print to go with this quilt. I was thinking about using a solid white, but I wanted something different. In the Ruby line, there was this teeny tiny gray dot that I knew I just needed. After a few minutes on the Internet and it was being shipped to my house and it looks so much better in person than in photos. It really makes the bright colors of the rest of the Ruby line pop.

Two more quilts down, a few more to go! I'll be showing quilts from the book through the weekend up until Tuesday when the book is released! Yippee!

So which quilt do you like the best so far? Inquiring minds would like to know :) Toodles!