Thursday, June 08, 2023

Rainbow Neighbourhood Houses Finished

Welcome to week 434 of Free Motion Mavericks. I don't have any free motion quilting (FMQ) to share with you but I finished the last two houses of my Rainbow Neighbourhood QAL. It's good to celebrate small accomplishments and focus on enjoying the process 😊!

Last two houses done ✔


This first block is the third of the night houses. I had a wonderful time making the wonky star for this house and the next one. I used Missouri Stars' video, "Make a Tiny Wonky Stars" quilt to remind me how. You will find the link in the Related links section below.

Dark fuchsia house with a Wonky Star block

I love these little owls - they come from a scrap bag that was donated at our guild meeting. The same bag yielded the main fabrics for the next house too!

This next house is my version of the home by the lake of my friends who will receive this quilt. There are still a few more details to add to this house. Here is the block followed by the existing house.

Brown house with a Tiny Wonky Star

The existing house

Adding details to the yellow house


When I made this block, I was still working out how to add the extra elements for each house. I'm not finished since I want to have something in the windows of each house, but here are some additions to the yellow house.

Yellow house with an Ohio Star and extra elements

What I learned
  • As I mentioned before, I tried various ways of adding the extra elements to the houses. My favourite method has been using the adhesive bonding web to keep them on. This allows me to stitch them on when I'm ready. They are very fiddly to appliqué, so I have to be in the right head-space, and that isn't the night before the post is due!
  • I really liked using fancy stitches from my sewing machine to add details such as the door knob to block 2, the mauve house with a blue Friendship star. I'll be doing that as I finish each house.
  • If my calculations are correct (that's a big IF that can be easily adjusted!) I have about 5" between houses and 4" at each end to add the yards. My very flexible plan is to start with the first row of houses and see how that goes.
  • I think that it'll be best If I machine appliqué the extra elements, such as fences and trees, onto the fabric between the houses. It worked fairly well for the fence on the porch of Block 8. It also means that I can use the adhesive bonding web to see if I like it before stitching everything down.
  • The only possible exception to this are the small trees behind the Brown House, since the trees are part of the pattern.
  • I've used the images of the blocks to illustrate a rough plan of what I want. The measurements are not accurate since I'm only using PowerPoint. I bought some graph paper so I can figure out a more accurate layout. 
  • I have one week according to Sandra's schedule to finish my flimsy. I think you know what I'll be doing during the next week. So make sure to drop by to see the finished flimsy! 😁
Very rough layout of the quilt

Related links

Linking parties

Free Motion Mavericks


Thanks to everyone who linked up last week!

Sharon of Ms. P. Designs shared with us her  “Bonus” HST Squares from RSC2021 and RSC2022 quilt that she quilted using a chevron design. It's really very effective quilting for this colourful wall quilt.

“Bonus” HST Squares by Sharon of Ms. P. Designs 

DonnaleeQ is quilting her "Nine Plus One" quilt using her Quilters Select ruler. It's extra thick, and the back of the ruler sticks to the fabric.  She lines it up ruler to the side of her machine foot and guides the stitching without issues. The large holes in the center lets her grip the ruler and guild the machine's foot right along the edge. Thanks so much for sharing this tip with us Donnalee!

Donnalee is quilting her "Nine Plus One" quilt 
with the help of her 
Quilters Select ruler.

It's now your turn!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

10 comments:

  1. Love the plant & watering can next to the door!!! All the tiny details make this a fun quilt, Andree!!!

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    1. Thanks Nancy. It sure took a lot longer to add the details at the end but it's done! If it cools down a little, it'll be time to quilt this baby!

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  2. Jolies maisons ! Les détails sont bien choisis, et j'aime beaucoup aussi les entrées et jardins devant ;)
    Merci pour le partage !

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    1. Merci bien Frédérique. C'étais beaucoup plus de travail de finir que je pensais. Finalement je peux répondre à mes messages. :-)

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  3. Your little houses are lovely, Andree. This is going to be a beautiful quilt! Love the purple house against the night sky.

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    1. Thanks so much Kim. I'm so glad that I decided on the night sky - it's my favourite part!

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  4. Andree your Rainbow Neighborhood houses are just too cute with the embellishments you are adding. Thank you for hosting a fun linky party. 😉

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    1. Thanks Carol, I hope that you'll be able to join us often, although even I can't FMQ enough to have something every week! Take care.

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  5. Your "extra" elements are really fun, they make the houses so unique.

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    1. Thanks so much Kate. The extras made it fun to make because I certainly can't just follow a pattern! lol

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