Stitch Pattern, Square Stippling

This is a stitch pattern I use in my long-arm quilting

The Neighborhood

| Cindy Anderson

Finally Finished!

After three months of cutting, pressing and stitching, my last Mystery QAL art piece has finally been completed. The art piece I am about to reveal has been titled Neighbors, AP # 37. I chose this name because the overall appearance reminds me of the diversified neighborhoods often seen within the confines of a city. Contained with a metropolitan community you might find

  • single family dwellings,
  • multi-family units,
  • ranch style homes,
  • bungalows,
  • multi-story and
  • high-rise buildings.

I believe the collage created by the unique blocks sandwiched together in my piece are similar to that of a city. With no two blocks the same, each one has the opportunity to add its own flair to the neighborhood.

It All Started…

This art piece began on January 1, 2018. I shared its history via a series of posts; thirteen to be exact. You may find those posts listed under the category Mystery QAL. Neighbors measures 72” x 34”. This quilt, as with most others, was sandwiched with a layer of Warm & Natural batting along with a backing of a very pretty floral fabric. I purchased the floral print sometime ago from the discount table at a local fabric store. As soon as I saw it I just new it would make a wonderful quilt back someday. I’m so happy I decided to add it to my shopping bag.

The Quilting

To secure the sandwich together I used a variegated King Tut thread. The colors in the thread nicely complimented the fabrics used in my project. My piece is filled with straight and angular lines. Using those lines for inspiration I stitched a geometric quilting motif over the entire surface, with each block receiving individualized attention.

A Surprise

In the bottom right corner I personalized the quilting by adding one of my signature stitching designs. Early on in my longarm quilting career I had fun experimenting with the endless possibilities for quilting stitches. The stitch I grew to like the most was my very own version of a flower. Typically I don’t stitch it on quilts that are quilted with straight or angular lines. In this case I thought it would be fun because after all this art piece was titled Neighborhood and who wouldn’t want to have flowers planted in their neighborhood! To add even more bling I stitched  a handmade bead I purchased from jimenastreasures on Etsy. Parmila lives in Spain and creates the most unusual items. Shown below is a photo of one of my favorites.

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A Bead From Jimenastreasures

To cap off the really cool bead I added a small teal one to the very top. Take a look below.

Neighbors, AP # 37 Flair
Neighbors, AP # 37 Flower Embellishment

The Finishing Touches

Most quilts are finished with a binding surrounding all four edges. I could have done the same with this art piece but I really didn’t want to add another fabric. I also didn’t want the binding to take away from my design; I wanted to leave the edges unobstructed. To secure them I made facings from the same material I used for the backing. I also added a hanging sleeve and of course a label.

Let’s Take A Look

I think that pretty much covers everything I have to say about this piece; other than the fact that I am absolutely in love with the final outcome. With nothing more to say let me share photos of the art piece I call Neighbors, AP # 37.

Neighbors, AP #37
Neighbors, AP # 37

The next six photos are of my favorite blocks.

Neighbors, AP # 37 Block 1
Neighbors, AP # 37 Block 1
Neighbors, AP # 37 Block 2
Neighbors, AP # 37 Block 2 This one is my all-time favorite!
Neighbors, AP # 37 Block 3
Neighbors, AP # 37 Block 3
Neighbors, AP # 37 Block 4
Neighbors, AP # 37 Block 4
Neighbors, AP # 37 Block 5
Neighbors, AP # 37 Block 5
Neighbors, AP # 37 Block 6
Neighbors, AP # 37 Block 6
Neighbors, AP # 37 Label
Neighbors, AP # 37 Backing and Label

That’s All Folks!

This brings to a close my adventures in the Mystery QAL. I hope that you have enjoyed flowing along and witnessing the process I took to create my many pieces. Don’t forget to check out my Mystery QAL Category for a complete listing of the posts pertaining to this adventure. If you missed seeing the other three pieces here they are.

Munga Tusen Tak!

That’s Norwegian for Many Thanks! My husband is 50% Norwegian. Aspects of his heritage often filter into our daily lives so I thought it would be fun to honor him by sharing a Norwegian phrase. 🙂

Thank you so much for faithfully following this series. Your comments and likes have made it even more enjoyable.

Talk with you soon!

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My Window Box

| Cindy Anderson

The Birth of a QAL

Window Box is the quilt that started the ball rolling for our current Mystery QAL. Tracy at It’s A T-Sweets Day read my initial post and fell in love with the QAL idea. Together we designed and implemented a new QAL. The rest is history.

A Little Background

My quilt began its journey darn near twenty-one months ago. That’s probably not too unusual for most quilts. Works of Art take time and I think this quilt certainly falls under that definition.

Back in June of 2016 I went on a shopping adventure with a group of ladies. Purchased by each of us was a piece of this fabric.

Challenge Fabric
Challenge Fabric

Jointly we decided to challenge ourselves to create a project using the fabric. The goal was to finish our piece, then gather again in six months for show and tell. Sadly the meeting never took place. In fact, I don’t even know if my traveling companions made something with their fabric.

My Commitment

I was determined to follow-through on my commitment. I searched my quilting books looking for a suitable pattern until I found the Window Box in a publication called Color Shuffle: New Quilts from Karla Alexander.

Getting Started

With my pattern selected it was time to pull fabrics. From my stash I found an abundance of possible candidates. After narrowing down my options I got to work slicing and shuffling, then stitching them together.

Window Box Aquas/Teals
Window Box Yellows

The process from piles of fabric to finished quilt top took six months.

Window Box Quilt Square Ready to be Stitched
Window Box Quilt Blocks

I finished the top while on a sewing retreat during the summer of 2017. The completed top waited patiently to be quilted until mid December.

The Finished Quilt

I had so much fun when I finally had the opportunity to quilt it. Using a brightly colored, variegated thread I stitched a straight-line geometric pattern.

I’m so thrilled to reveal my quilt. Please enjoy the following photos.

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Window Box Quilt

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Window Box Closeup # 1

Window-Box-Closeup-2
Window Box Closeup # 2

Window-Box-Closeup-3
Window Box Closeup # 3

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Window Box Closeup # 4

Window-Box-Quilt-Backing
Window Box Quilt Backing & Label

As you can tell by the volume of photos I am head-over-heals in love with my quilt. I’m so glad I decided to use the fabric color combinations that I chose. I’m also very, very thrilled with the quilting. I just can’t say enough about how pleased I am with the finished product.

The Inspiration

How cool that this Window Box quilt has been the inspiration for another QAL. Even more exciting is the fact that I am not the only one participating and actually making something this time. 🙂

On to the next reveal!

Thank You!

Thank You so much for sharing your time with me! I always look forward to our visits. Talk with you soon!

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My Teacup

| Cindy Anderson

Block Magazine

I was once a subscriber to Missouri Star Quilt Company’s Block magazine. The magazines I received are still resting on the reclaimed cabinet in my office. Shown below are some of them.

Block-Magazine
Some of the Block magazines that I own

I’ve spent many hours browsing the pages of each one of those books. On the back covers I wrote the names of the quilts I might oneway like to make.

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Back of Block Magazine

One of the many quilts I fell in love with was the Teacup quilt, published in the Fall Vol 1 Issue 5 magazine. As you can see by the above photo it was one of the projects I listed on the back cover.

Teacup Quilt Pattern
The Block magazine that has the Teacup pattern

Let’s Make It!

Having fallen in love with the Teacup pattern I set-out to make one for myself. After browsing the Missouri Star Quilt Company’s website I chose a grouping of fabrics to purchase for my project. Buying the fabric, for me, is always the easy part. Finding the time to make it is what’s hard.

I had the fabrics for the quilt sitting in a tub for more than a year. Last summer, on one of my sewing retreats, I finally was able to get started. The quilt was a fun and easy quilt to assemble. Unfortunately the pattern has an error. It wasn’t until I had all of the blocks made that I discovered it.

A Pattern Error!

As I laid out the blocks to decide on their placement I realized I only had half of the blocks the quilt pattern called for. Being puzzled by this revelation I went back to the book to figure out where I went wrong. As I studied the pattern I realized that the quantity of fabric called for in the pattern was incorrect. The pattern listed only one package of 10 1/2″ squares (aka layer cake). In order to make the correct number of blocks I should have purchased two packages.

Letter to the Company

I contacted the company to point out the error.  They thanked me for the information and credited my account for $5. I guess the $5.00 was supposed to make me feel better. $5.00 was not going to make it possible for my quilt to ever be the size I was anticipating.

No Longer Available!!!

Since I waited so long to actually start making the quilt the fabrics had since gone out of print and were no longer available. On top of that I had purchased enough fabric to make the quilt backing to the correct size. Obviously I can use the extra fabric on another project, but that’s not the point. Had I known that my quilt would be much smaller I obviously wouldn’t have purchased as much. Thus, their $5.00 compensation paled in comparison to my level of disappointment and the amount of money spent on this quilt.

MSQC’s Pattern Corrections

Missouri Star Quilt Company publishes a list of pattern corrections for its subscriber to refer to. As of today the error that I found is not listed on that Missouri Star Quilt Company’s pattern correction list. I’m disappointed that my revelation has not been shared on their website. If you decide to make the quilt yourself make sure to adjust the amount of fabric that you purchase. Otherwise you too will be disappointed.

Ok, enough about my disappointment! Let’s get back to my very pretty quilt.

Moving On

In December of 2017 I was able to finally find time to finish my Teacup quilt. Using a straight-line geometric pattern, swirls, a paisley design and white thread I quilted my Teacup project on my longarm machine. Here’s how my sweet little quilt looks now.

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My Teacup Quilt Top

Teacup-Closeup-of-Quilting
A closeup of the geometric meandering

Teacup-Another-Closeup
A closeup of the binding, and border quilting

Teacup-Backing
The back of my Teacup Quilt

Conclusion

Throwing aside the disappointments associated with my experience, I must say that this darling little project sits very high on my list of favorite quilts. I am so pleased to have it in my arsenal of finished quilts. 🙂

Thank You so much for visiting with me today. I look forward to our next encounter.

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Note: At the beginning of this post I mentioned that I was once a subscriber to the Block magazine. My experience with one of their patterns and the company’s failure to correct the issue had nothing to do with cancelling my subscription. I made the decision to stop receiving the magazine because I felt I had more than enough ideas for possible quilts to make in the future; let alone finding the time to make them all. I’ve also found improv quilting to be my preferred avenue to follow. I’m not saying I would never make a pattern quilt again; it’s just not as likely as it once was.