Tula Pink All Stars Kaleidoscope - Part 1

I have fallen in love with the new Tula Pink All Stars Collection.  I decided that I needed to fussy cut the fun patterns in the prints.  I started with some hexagons of the squirrels and owls.

Here you can see how I started.

I was trying to decide which strip to use....I decided the pink would be too much so I went with the green and lavender.

To get the right trapezoid I used post-it notes to know where on the ruler the strip needed to be.  I also liked the center line on the ruler to help align the stripe.

I hope you get to quilt today!
Suzy

Folk Art Quilted Traditions...a Month from TODAY!

So, I'm more than a little bit excited for my first quilting book to come out from the American Quilter's Society exactly a month from TODAY!  August 30, 2016!

I can't wait to share 5 fun projects (bag, table runner, wall quilt, and 2 bed quilts!) and twelve terrific applique blocks!  You can preorder it directly from AQS (20% off for members!) or Amazon or Barnes and Noble.

I will have some copies available for purchase directly from me for local family and friends too.

AND here is a sneak peak at the beginning of my new applique project you'll see Wednesday...I LOVE fussy cutting.  It's worth it sometimes!

I hope you get to quilt today!
Suzy

Warmth

I just finished a quilt in which I had to do all the flowers in cool colors because the background fabric was red.  I love it and I enjoyed working on it, but I definitely am having fun picking out warm colored fabrics now.

The center orange and yellow print is part of a rose fabric.  It had a shape similar to the piece I had to cut out so I wanted to try it.  It's really high contrast, but the shapes in the fabric add movement which I like.  The inner dark orange petals went nicely and added some more dynamics to the block.  I used a lighter orange thread to blanket-stitch those petals so that they stood out.  Again, I found that the large dot had to be the darkest fabric.

Since I wanted to outline the large dot in red, I also chose an orange for the inner red and orange petals because I have found that I don't like it when two pieces right next to each other are blanket-stitched in the same color thread.  If they're different their is more definition and separation between each piece.

I used the following threads:

• Outer yellow petals - Madiera Polyneon 40.  This polyester thread has a lot of sheen, but not as much as I expected; almost as much sheen as glide, but not quite.  It's very smooth and silky and was wonderful to work with.
• Inner red and orange petals - Gutermann Polyester thread.  I use a size 80 Microtex needle and I had a hard time getting this thread through the needle.  If I were to use it again I would definitely use a larger size 90 needle.  I did like that it was a thicker thread with little sheen.  I didn't want the thread on this busy fabric to take away from it so I was looking for something quiet with little sheen.
• Inner orange frame outline - Isacord machine embroidery thread.  In comparison to the Madeira Polyneon it definitely has less sheen.  This might be useful when trying to add sheen to accent something, but not as much as a focal point.
• Yellow and orange print - Deco-bob by Wonderfil Threads.  This thread is easy to use and definitely has a nice sheen to it.  I was trying to find a thread that matched the lightest orange in the fabric so that I could accent that color instead of the darker red.
• Large red dot - Fufu embroidery thread.  I must admit that I love the way this looks.  This thread has a ton of sheen, almost like metallic thread without all the peskiness that metallic requires....but that's another story for later.  I definitely want this thread in more colors! 
• Small orange dot - Isacord machine embroidery thread.  Again, little sheen, but that's okay because it's not what I wanted to accent in the block.

I must admit that sometimes I end up using a thread simply because it's the only one I have that is the right color.  That's okay too.  What I'm discovering is that different types of thread are adding more dimension to my blocks and I am truly happy with that.

It's also interesting to compare this block to the other one I did in red and yellow.  They have similar colors, but that pink dot definitely makes a statement.  It's also interesting to note where the lights and darks are in each block.  I think I like their placement in the top block better than in the bottom block, but I am unsure why.  Something to think about.

Suzy

Lime and Orange. Really!

One of the things I am enjoying most about this project is that I get to pick out lots of fun fabrics to applique with.  My current method is to pick a busy/funky/fun fabric and use that as a starting point.  Then I pick colors that look good with it.  I have noticed that it is important to be careful with value.  If all the fabrics are medium tones (no lights, no darks), the block doesn't shine as much.  The same is true with picking thread for the double blanket stitch.

I'm digging into all those really busy fabrics that are hard to use, but not too bad when cutting out a little piece.  The lime green fabric in this block came from this batik below.  I fussy cut the part I wanted.  I think I'll use a different section of it in a later block too. There are so many fun spots to choose from!

Here is Block 3 all finished up.  I really like the orange fabric with yellow dots as I think it adds to the "dottiness" of the block.

I dug into my thread collection for this block and used some new threads that I had to unwrap!  The outer lime green petals are blanket-stitched in DMC 100% cotton machine embroidery thread.  The cotton is very soft and has no sheen to it.  I like that on the lime green because it lets it be subtle.  The orange petals are sew in Bottom Line by Superior Threads.  It is 60 weight filament polyester.  I like it because it's very thin with not as much sheen as a usual polyester thread.  It added a finer, more delicate detail to the orange petals.  I thought about stitching them in yellow, but I didn't want them to stand out too much.  The focus green fabric and light orange fabric are blanket-stitched in my favorite Glide by Fil-Tec.  The big orange dot, which really stands out for sheen, is done in Deco-Bob by WonderFil Threads from Canada.  I will definitely be using this thread when I want something to stand out.

The biggest "ah-ha!" moment I have had so far came with looking at this block when it was finished.  I realized that I can control what your eye sees first with the sheen and contrast of the thread to the original fabric.  Something to think about as I move forward!

Suzy