Saturday, July 14, 2018

A Bright Addition & Prize Winners For Plus Playtime QAL

You've seen the flimsy, and if you follow me on Instagram, @mmmquilts, you might've seen a quick shot of the finished quilt. Here's another, better one of the quilt I've named A Bright Addition:

This quilt is on my Q3FAL List which is here.
As soon as I saw the Alison Glass fabric bundle for the small plus blocks that Darla at Clinton Modern Creative had put together, I knew they had to pack themselves up and fly their way to me for another Plus Playtime quilt. Well, there's a surprise to this little cutie.  'Little' being the clue... When I got them, I had an idea....


The idea was to make a version with 2.5" strips. I did some figuring...did some sewing...
...and then Anja contacted me and we chatted and well, somehow it came out that she wanted to make a second quilt, and I asked if she'd like to test my figurings, so she did, and they worked, and the 36" version was born!

Her lips were sealed because this was going to be the reveal when I released the pattern on the final QAL prize draw day!

Then Roseanne of Homesewn by Us contacted me, saying she was going to sew it but she would be using 2.5" strips if that was okay--what did I just say in my previous post about like-minded peeps?!--and I said well, I happen to have the pattern done, and tested once; would you test it again? She sure would. And her lips were sealed!

So two, now three, of the finished quilts in this QAL are little guys, made with 2.5 instead of 3.5" strips!

I took it to a part of the Greenway that goes through a reclaimed dump. At the back of one of the little farms is an opening from the path to the perfect fence upon which to peg the quilt.

But first I had to do the requisite quilt in a tree shot:

One of the things I love about my pattern (it's okay to say that right?!) is that the quilt can go any which way you like!
As originally designed, dancing across the quilt:
Or with the plus blocks tumbling vertically:
As pretty much always, the wind was blowing, good on a sultry morning like this one!

I pieced it with my favourite 100% cotton Gütermann thread. Honestly there is no difference between it and Aurifil, except for price, in my opinion. I've pieced with both, quilted with both. The most recent two quilts, Lift Up, and now this one, Bright Addition, were quilted with Gütermann and Aurifil respectively and they each have the same amount of lint, dare I say Gütermann actually slightly less? 😬  Both Gütermann and Aurifil cones were purchased by, not given to, me.

I quilted this one with Aurifil in both top and bottom on Avril.

Until.
Dun, dun, dun..........

 the last eighth of the quilt when disaster struck, as I was zipping along...
I omitted to check the turnscrew that holds the brand new needle in place. I've found a few times, not always, that it loosens over time, and I need to remember to tighten it from time to time. The needle has actually dropped out mid-stitch a couple of times, and freaked me out. Never has it happened at this high of speed though and made a very loud WHOMP! I think the timing of the hook is now out, as Avril failed the 'needle test'.  It's not looking good for the home team. So my Bernina was called in to finish that lower corner, which she did. Bet you can't tell at all; I know I can't and I did it!
Fabulous texture!
So I was going to do straight lines vertically over the entire quilt. Started quilting. Nope. The quilt said, 'You need to distinguish between the large plus in the background and the white background.' So I went horizontal in the large plus. The lines are roughly 3/8" apart. And then I heard the quilt again say, 'What about wavy lines between the vertical ones? Emulate the dancing pluses...' So that's what happened.

I used an old (early 2000s) rainbow stripe fabric I got at Fabricland with kaleidoscopes in mind (you need supporting fabrics to go with the prima donna ones). It was perfect with both sides' fabrics.

I top-stitched the rainbow binding down with another favourite, Sulky Blendables, 30 wt. It really blended in with every single colour!

When it came to backing, I mulled over a few, but hit upon the most recent addition (LOL pun not originally intended! I crack me up sometimes) to my stash, from a LQS in the neighbouring town of Essex, which I got for $10/metre on their sale table of rolled up metres.
I liked the messages in it. Liked the rainbow and variety of script in the text.
Goes so well with the grey fabric on the front right? Yay I remembered the satin label this time!

I sewed the cloth label on the diagonal in line with the text.

Both sides and the binding all work so well together. I love mixing different lines, different ages of fabrics.

My quilt is going to be a sit-upon yoga quilt and I am going to use it tomorrow

because it's now all nice and washed and full of crinkly goodness.😊

Here are all three I've made. I have enough of the fat eighths that I can do another one with Alison Glass fabric. I plan to be part of the Etsy Made in Canada show in Windsor in the autumn so I need to have a few items available and I think this might sell...

Quilt Stats
Pattern: Original design; this one is named A Bright Addition
Size: 36.5";  33.5 X 34.5 after quilting and laundering
Fabric: Alison Glass, Sarah Fielke, and Paintbrush Studio solid white
Batting: Pellon Nature's Touch 100% cotton
Backing: Chamberry by Carolee McMullin for Adorn It
Quilted: on Avril my HandiQuilter Avanté, ruler work and free motion, and finished on my Bernina
Threads:  pieced with 100% cotton Gütermann and 100% cotton Mettler on Tillie, my 1951 Featherweight ; quilted with Aurifil 50 wt 100% cotton on top and in the bobbin; binding top-stitched down with Sulky Blendables 30 wt
Number of Stitches: 41 647 (until the needle issue)

Linking up
Dizzy Quilts for the Q3FAL

Winners! I used the Random Number Generator and the number of your quilt in the linkup.

Thanks so very very much to my wonderful sponsors:


1. Benartex - a bundle of select fat quarters of Wonderlust by Paula Nadelstern (used in my 'Electric Swirl): Rochelle of Rochelle S on Flickr

2.  Stitch Stash Diva - $100 gift certificate: Rose of Something Rose Made

3.  Mad About Patchwork - $50 gift certificate: Ioleen of @ioleen.kimmel

4.  Canuck Quilter Designs - a PDF copy of two patterns: Louise of Quilt Odyssey

5. Cooking Up Quilts - a PDF copy of two patterns: Helen of Midget Gem Quilts

6.  Devoted Quilter - a PDF copy of two patterns: Roseanne of Homesewn By Us

7.  Meadow Mist Designs - a PDF copy of two patterns to two winners: Anja of Anja Quilts &
                                                                                                       Kathleen of Kathleen McMusing
8.  Quilting Jetgirl - a PDF copy of two patterns: Vasudha of Storied Quilts

9.  Sew Fresh Quilts - a PDF copy of two patterns: Melody of @lutzcats

10.  Stitchin At Home - a PDF copy of two patterns: Tish of Tish N Wonderland

11. Tish N Wonderland & me, mmm! quilts - a PDF copy of her pattern (one of these days we each are going to have more....we are almost there!) Laura Manning of @lolly2430

12.  All Points of the Compass - a handmade wooden bowl and frog pencil holder to a NZ participant, which (sniff!) didn't happen this go-round. Next year maybe!

Thank you ladies, SO VERY MUCH, for participating in my second QAL. Without you and your generous time you gave up to sew this, there would be just me (and probably Tish) sewing together LOL. Much love to each of you.😘😘😘

18 comments:

  1. I need to give the NZ quilters a shake up or a HUGE reminder to enter next year. The goodies will mature until then. Lovely pic of all three together, I truly cannot pick a favourite, each one is wonderful.

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  2. Congrats to all the winners! You ended up with 3 very fun versions.

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  3. Woo-hoo, could this Quilt Along get any better, love the pattern, love my quilt and now a prize, how lucky and happy can I get. I just love the Plus Playtime pattern and I definitely want to do the 2.5" version now. Thanks for hosting and rounding up these great prizes.

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  4. Boy it sure is hard to pick a favourite! They all look fantastic, I hope Avril is an easy fix.

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  5. It was a great QAL. Thanks!! And thanks for saying you don't find difference with Aurifil thread. I've tried it and don't find it any better or any worse than Gutermann or Essential. I'd buy more Aurifil if it wasn't so costly. You had a lot of sponsors. Well done and thanks to the sponsors.

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  6. All those quilts are lovely, and it was fun to read about your process. Too bad the timing is off on your machine - yikes! You'll have the most stylin' yoga mat in town, I imagine :)

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  7. I hope that getting the timing reset on Avril can be done without too much trouble. Congratulations to all the winners, which in my opinion is everyone who sewed along and created a beautiful quilt! :)

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  8. Thanks to you, Sandra, for a great pattern. I started my quilt on a Saturday and finished on Tuesday. Once started I couldn’t stop. Thanks to all the sponsors. My gift card arrived this morning, thank you Pam at Mad About Patchwork. Xmas shopping in just, love it. Congrats to all the winners.

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  9. Hi Sandra! Oh my, A Bright Addition turned out fabulously. And your pattern is just a dream to sew - your instructions are spot on. Thank you, thank you to you and Leanne for giving away two patterns!! WOWEE - how lucky am I?! Congrats to all the winners and a BIG thank you to all the sponsors. This was so much fun. I look forward to seeing everyone's posts about their winnings, etc. Happy Happy Sunday! ~smile~ Roseanne

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  10. What a wonderful little quilt. I hope your Avril is up and working again in no-time. Easier than by domestic machine but still.... Thank you for such a wonderful pattern; I'd love to make the two and half inch strips too. You have wonderful sponsors and I was thrilled to be selected for a prize. Thanks again and looking forward to the next quilt-along. BTW, your yoga class will be so bright and cheerful with that pretty quilt.

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  11. I think I love this little one the best of all! There's something about a rainbow stripe binding that just makes me do a little happy dance :) And so funny that everyone was thinking about a 2.5" version at the same time!

    Thank you so much for doing all the hard work to put together and bring to completion this fabulous QAL! I'm grateful for the delightful pattern and generous sponsors.

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  12. What fun and colorful quilts! I don't think I could pick a favorite. And congrats on a fabulous pattern! Good for you!

    And congrats to all the winners! Would you have a link-up so that everyone could see all the versions of the quilt pattern? That would be fun.

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  13. It was a fun QAL to watch unfold. Congratulations to all the winners. It is fun to see so many familiar names! This little quilt is adorable!

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  14. Sandra, I love “Bright Addition”! That’s so cool that a few of you were on the same wave length and you were all set to go. I enjoyed looking at all the entries on the previous post.

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  15. Your three versions are beautiful! I love yours, bright and charming!

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  16. Bright Addition is my favourite of them all. :) I hope Avril is fixed soon, yay for the backup bernina. I like Gutermann thread.... and Madeira and Superior.... all for different jobs.

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  17. I also love Bright Addition. The vertical chains look really nice. I have had needles fall out in the past. Can you use a screw driver when changing your needle? My mom's Longarm only came with one you can tighten with your fingers. So my dad ordered a different screw. It helps a lot.

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  18. A brilliant Bright Addition! I love the detailed explanation how this quilt came about, and the quilt itself is just great! Thank you so much for participating in the Finish-A-Long!

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