Monday, September 13, 2021

Balloon Ride - Scrappy Improv Quilting Book Release Hop

I am super-duper-excited to have been asked by Kelly of My Quilt Infatuation to participate in her second quilt book release blog hop, and to be posting my project on the first day of the hop!

If, (lol, let me change that):  Because you have oodles of scraps, you need, yup, need this book. It will help decrease them, I promise; though, if you're like me, you won't notice the decrease, ha. 
So. Many. Gorgeous. Mini quilts. It was hard, but I finally decided upon the hot air balloon mini, which I've called 'Balloon Ride'. 

Up, Up, and Away!



Here is Kelly's quilt, 'Up, Up, and Away'. A rainbow of a balloon!
I wanted to change mine up just a bit, so I thought of making a monochromatic improv piece.

If you think, na, can't/won't/don't do improv, think again - you certainly can. Kelly, who is a former teacher, (yay!) shows you how to create a slab of 'fabric' with your scraps in a simple, straightforward way. She gives you tips on colour choices for every one of the 22 minis, and she shows the backing and binding of each quilt. There's an entire chapter at the end of the book for ideas on what to do with your mini: hang it on a wall, use it as a table centrepiece, or turn it into a pillow (she gives instructions for exactly how to make one), how to make a hanging sleeve, even sizing these up if you want a bigger end result. She literally takes you from a pile of scraps to a finished little quilt, and along the way teaches you how to do every single step.

Here is my monochromatic slab in glorious purples of all shades and tints and hues.

Once you have your slab or slabs, you follow the directions as in any other quilt pattern to cut the pieces you need from said slab and background fabrics! Magic!
I was pretty jazzed to find that cool fabric for the basket. I bought it years ago for kaleidoscopes. I was so jazzed, in fact, that I didn't take any more construction pics until I was nearly finished the quilting on Avril! I love the sky fabric I found in my stash, Tranquil Tides by Deborah Edwards for Northcott. It's left over from my 'Champs et Lacs' quilt. 

Kelly did flowing lines and swirls in her sky, so I figured why mess with a fitting FMQ design?
I used Hobbs Thermore batting. It is wonderful stuff for any quilt or quilted garment, but in minis it is especially wonderful. You'd think it wouldn't give much texture because it's so thin, but oh no - the texture is divine. See for yourself.

Here it is all bound on my design wall being blocked. I used leftover 'Believe in Unicorns' fabric from my 'Follow Your Own Path' quilt. It's intense purples and teals.

I quilted it with a few different colours and weights of Aurifil. The pale blue was used for piecing.

Here is the back. I made triangle tabs in the corners with a small sleeve in the centre for hanging purposes. Kelly gives instructions for how to make a hanging sleeve.


Lilacs? you may be wondering. Well, yes, and here comes the story, as with most of my quilts. I had narrowed my choices in Kelly's book down to three or four, but really loved the hot air balloon mini because it was so different. A thought had also planted itself in my head, that it should maybe go to my sister, Linda, because she loves hot air balloons, loves flying, and many years ago she took our dad on a hot air balloon ride, if my memory serves me correct. She loves purple, and lilacs are her favourite flower. The lilacs fabric is left over from the back of 'My Mother's Lilacs', a quilt I made in memory of our mum, that was published in McCall's Quilting in 2019, so it has lots of meaning.

One last shot outside under a cerulean sky:


I hope you'll hop over to visit the other blogger showcasing a mini from Kelly's book, Lori at Crossquilt. Be sure to visit Kelly herself at My Quilt Infatuation, where you can follow her so you don't miss any of the posts on this 5-week blog hop! So much eye candy in store, I can hardly stand it.

Scrappy Improv Quilting is available on Amazon.

Quilt Stats:
Pattern: Up, Up, and Away from Scrappy Improv Quilting by Kelly Young 
Size:  24" x 24"
Fabric: stash and scraps
Backing: 'Lilacs in Bloom' by Jackie Robinson for Benartex
Batting: Thermore by Hobbs Batting
Quilted: on Avril, 31 312 stitches
Threads: pieced with Aurifil; quilted with Aurifil 50 wt and 28 wt; The Bottom Line in the bobbin.



35 comments:

  1. Oh. my goodness I love this quilt! This sounds like my kind of book!

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is just so, so gorgeous, Sandra! I love the monochromatic balloon, and you're right- that basket fabric is absolutely perfect. Thank you SO much for participating in the blog hop. It makes me so happy to know that you enjoyed the book as much as I loved writing it.

    :) Kelly @ My Quilt Infatuation

    ReplyDelete
  3. Super cute, and in purple, no less. Be still my heart. I like your idea of putting a small sleeve in the middle when using corner triangles. I'll have to remember that. And wasn't it nice to have a small piece to work on for a hop?
    Pat

    ReplyDelete
  4. That is so fun, Sandra! I love your balloon all in purples, and the lilac print for the backing is perfect. It sounds like your sister is going to love this mini quilt!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Perfect quilting for the mini quilt, Sandra. There is a lot of love about our new home, but I do miss lilacs from our walks around town in our old home; I suppose that just means when I smell them I'll have fond memories. :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. This book tour hop is off to a great start with your project. I knew that the quilting would be special and fitting for the air ballon. It’s going to be so much fun seeing the other quilts on the tour, Kelly’s book is so great.

    ReplyDelete
  7. your blog is among many that have disappeared from my mailbox. I have tried re-signing up, etc. but I get no notifications. I believe many free bloggers are being scammed by for-profit productions. sueclive at aol dot com

    ReplyDelete
  8. A purple hot air balloon - What's not to like! Love the quilting as always and the scrappy improv "fabric".

    ReplyDelete
  9. I bought the book when I first saw your post on Instagram - middle of August? then realised I received it before it's official launch date. I've just pieced the top of a quilt from Kelly's first book and have lots of pieces of improved fabric left over from that which will just have to be used on mini's from this new book. Love the hot air balloon, love the quilting. It's such a lovely way to get into improv piecing. Think your sister will love the mini you've made for her. I love lilacs too :-)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Very cute!! Ironically a small group I belong to locally met on Saturday and our leader shared ideas for crumb blocks and string blocks.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Oh so cute & gorgeous. I love what you've done with it all. I could see these minis from scraps making nice baby quilts when you need something quick. I've lots of scraps too & the book looks good, even though I don't need another book. Thanks for sharing, take care & hugs.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Oh, I do love this - and now need this book. Gotta move those scraps out and the first two project today have me drooling. Love the lilacs and the purple and that your sister will be the lucky recipient!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Pattern and quilting work SEW well together, Sandra. It's going to make a great gift for your sister!

    ReplyDelete
  14. I love the purples! And you are so right no matter how many scraps you use they just keep coming.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I love using scraps this way. I certainly need to try making a pictorial mini using scrap slabs. I love your "Balloon Ride" - a hot air balloon ride is on my bucket list.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Great fabrics, Sandra, including the sky fabric, and the lilac backing!!! Great quilting, too! Your sister's going to love this!!! If you can bear to part with it!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Your version is beautiful. Your sister will love it.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Such a beautiful quilt made with love and all those precious scraps full of wonderful memories. The quilting is beautiful and the back so lovely. The hot air balloon races were in Reno last weekend and there were some awesome photos but I think this is best. Not sure I'm brave enough to get into a balloon but hat's off to you and your dad!

    ReplyDelete
  19. I saw that lilac fabric on IG and just HAD to pop over and see it "in person." I knew that was from your Mom's quilt!!! How perfect that this piece, which is fab, is going to your sister. She's going to LOVE it. My shot at hot-air ballooning didn't happen - poor weather - but how thrilling that she got to take your Dad up. {{Hugs}} a bunch, Sandra. Another great finish. ~smile~ Roseanne

    ReplyDelete
  20. A Balloon Ride in a purple balloon! Awesomesauce! I was lucky enough to win a copy of Kelly’s book! It will be in my mailbox on Thursday! USPS tracking says! I’m so excited! Your version is wonderful and I love the lilacs on the back! I often use the triangles in the corners of small quilts too! And the little sleeve in the middle helps the “saggy ness” that sometimes happens! Well done!

    ReplyDelete
  21. I am enjoying seeing all the versions of the patterns in this book! Great idea using a monochrome color scheme, and that basket fabric is spot on! Love the quilting, too!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Your fabric choices throughout this piece are spot on. That background blue, in particular, is perfection! Love what you did with Kelly's instructions and inspiration.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Anything that uses scraps always catches my eye! I love your version of the quilt - and the larger pieces of leftovers you found for the sky and basket have helped you clear out a bit more scrappy-stash :-)

    ReplyDelete
  24. Love the way you quilted your sky background and the lilac backing fabric is a sweet touch to make it extra special for your sister. Nice job!

    ReplyDelete
  25. So much scrappy and yummy goodness!!! Gorgeous purples and I love the quilting.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Great use of those scraps, and I love the quilting - it's perfect for this!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Awesome!!!! I love the hot air balloon, the fabrics, the quilting ... just perfect! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  28. Hi Sandra, what a lovely mini (although that's a pretty large mini!) Thanks so much for linking up to Free Motion Mavericks. Take care!

    ReplyDelete
  29. It's just perfect!! So meaningful in so many ways! Yes, the fabric is Made for me and the basket fabric is perfect! Thank you thank you thank you xoxoxoxo

    ReplyDelete