Showing posts with label Rainbow Neighbourhood QAL. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rainbow Neighbourhood QAL. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 28, 2023

Final Rainbow Neighbourhood Quilt Top

Hi and welcome to week 437 of Free Motion Mavericks. Have you had a chance to do any free motion quilting (FMQ) this week? I played with fusible web, Bottom Line thread and zig-zag stitching, but no FMQ. I didn't quilt my Neighbourhood Houses, but I did add many (possibly too many) fun elements to the quilt. The rest of the effects will have to be done through FMQ.

Quilt Top Done ✔


Two weeks ago I thought that I was mostly done with the quilt top. I greatly underestimated the time that it took to add the finishing touches.

The Rainbow Neighbourhood quilt top is done 😊

First Row of Houses


The first row of houses all have blue skies, different green yards, including fences, benches, trees and bushes from a wonderful piece of fabric that I've had forever. You can see the fabric at the bottom of this section.

Row 1 - first house

Row 1 - second house

Row 1 - third house

Here is the fabric that I used. This is the only part that doesn't have huge holes 😁

Fabric that I used for the fences,
benches, bushes and trees

Second Row of Houses


The second row of houses starts with a house and then parks and a lake. I was able to include a lot of fun elements to the lake - from a turtle, fish, a girl fishing, a frog prince and a duck😊 

Row 2 - first house

Row 2 - lake and park

Row 2 - friends' house 

There will probably be a few more elements added to my friends' house but I don't have the ones I want. I'm sure that I'll come up with or find something before I finish the quilt.

Third Row of Houses


This third row of houses are set in a night scene. I kept the elements simple, especially in the yards, with one tree and some cute critters.

Row 3 - first house

Row 3 - second house

Row 3 - third house

What I learned
  • Two weeks ago when I had finished assembling the quilt top, I didn't realise how much more work I still had to do to add elements to all of the windows, yards and then the lake and parks. 
  • I also didn't realise how fiddly it was, and how difficult it was on my eyes. I didn't seem to see well enough when appliquéing. Finally I switched to a clear and more open foot which helped a lot. 
  • As I was zig-zag stitching the various elements to the quilt, it was very obvious that this needed to be done before the quilting. It was just easier to work with a quilt top than a whole quilt with batting! 
  • It will be easy after that to just accent these with the FMQ. This will also add an extra layer of stitching so that they all stay in place!
  • I started zig-zag stitching with regular thread but quickly decided to use something less visible. I have three cones of Bottom Line thread - so I used a little bit of black and then white thread. Eventually I just finished everything with the tan thread. It worked for all of the fabrics.
  • As I was working on the quilt top, I was thinking about the eventual quilting of it. Since the Bottom Line thread worked so well, I've ordered a couple more spools of it - one taupe, which works for almost everything and a blue for the sky.  
  • I had originally thought of adding features to the quilt with the FMQ, but at this time, I think that I'll only do that for the park and lake section. The quilting will need to unite all of these sections together. 
  • As for FMQ the yards, I was considering adding shadow trees (or the outline of trees) with the quilting - all in the Bottom Line thread. This will add some lovely texture.
  • I've really had a great time participating in Sandra's QAL. The houses were easy to make and adding the extra elements made it lots of fun. 
  • I had fun, now have a quilt top for my friends and learned a lot! I couldn't ask for anything else 😊

Related links

Linking parties
I'll be linking up again to Sandra of mmm quilts' linking party for her Rainbow Neighbourhood QAL parade. Sew & Tell, Midweek Makers, 


Free Motion Mavericks


Have you had a chance to check out Kelly Young's latest book, Perfectly Pieced Quilt Backs? Many of our favourite quilting bloggers are posting their quilt backs inspired by her book. 

Gail showed us 4 of her quilt backing. Two of those quilts are FMQ with  “Wild” or “Graffiti” quilting. The FMQ is so beautiful from the back!

Gail's finish based on the "islands" backing

Gail used "Cross Purposes" as her inspiration for this backing

I hope that you have a great week. It's now your turn to link up!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter
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Thursday, June 15, 2023

Rainbow Neighbourhood Flimsy mostly done!

Hi and welcome to week 435 of Free Motion Mavericks. I've put in many, many hours this week getting my Rainbow Neighbourhood Houses assembled into a community 😊 It's looking good, even if many details need to be added and stitched on.

Flimsy assembled and mostly finished!


Rainbow Neighbourhood Houses quilt top assembled!

I worked on the first row and then the third. It took me about half the time to finish the third row, since by then, I knew what I was doing 😊 You can't really tell from this photo (sorry, in the evening off the stairs railing), but each row is progressively wider! There are at least 3 inches between the width of the first and the third row. 

Row 1

Row 3

In the second row, I started by finishing my friends' home. I added a thin sliver of fabric on the other side of the door - it was bothering me too much! I used fusible webbing and stitched it down with a zigzag stitch. Once it's all quilted, it will look fine!

House with door fixed and a forest in the back

I wanted to make the trees, and since I had recently done two wonky stars, I used the same technique to make the 4 trees. A couple of them are straight but the other two are quite wonky. It looks a little weird in the open like that but I'll be adding critters and plants, so it'll look fine!

Making Wonky Trees


Here's a quick look at how I made the trees.

Wonky Tree

Start by folding your piece of fabric in two, so that you know where the top centre needs to meet. For this tree, I used a 3" x 3" square fabric, but it doesn't have to be square.

Fold your fabric to find the centre

Get a piece of background fabric - if you haven't done this before, make your background fabric the same size as your green fabric. Once you've done this a few times, you can use small pieces of fabric. 
Place your background fabric over your green fabric, facing each other, with your background covering the bottom corner going to the centre (see photo). Stitch.

Add your background fabric

Flip your background fabric over. It should go from the centre top to the bottom right side.
Flip your background fabric and press.

With the background fabric extended, turn the block face down and trim the background fabric around the original green block. 

Trim the background fabric

Take another piece of background fabric and cover the other bottom side to the centre. Sew it down.

Sew the second background piece down

Flip the background fabric and trim. You can also trim the excess green fabric behind the background fabric.
Next comes a stump for your tree. You'll need a piece of background fabric the same width as your tree. Cut it in half at the centre.

Cut the background fabric in half for the stump

Cut a piece of brown fabric for your stump. It needs to be the same height as your background fabric. The width should be a half inch wider than your stump to allow for your seams. Stitch the background fabric to both sides of the stump. Press.
Sew the stump to the tree tip. Press.

Add the stump to your background fabric

Only use this method if you don't mind having crooked trees....just like in nature. Otherwise, use Sandra's instructions.😁 Here are my wonky trees.

Wonky trees


Adding extra elements in the second row


In the quilt design from my last post, you may have noticed a lake between the two houses in the middle row. I have the outlines done but details will be added both through appliqué and in the quilting.

Lake area

Here's a close-up of the fabric - too cute!

Flower garden and then a path in the woods

Right now there is only a lake, but it will have a beach, fish and a dock. There will also be other critters and plants around the gardens. 

More flowers and a rock garden

As you can see, I'll be spending the next few days adding details to the quilt top and then FMQ (free motion quilting) it. 

I was able to get out between the rain, wind and smoke...here are some better pictures of my flimsy.

One flimsy ready to appliqué and FMQ

Gotta love those backyard fence pictures 😊


What I learned
  • I thought that I had tons of time to finish the flimsy, but that central part took a lot of time, mostly looking at my stash to see what fabrics I wanted to use. 
  • I'm looking forward to adding the fun stuff to the quilt. 
  • I will probably end up removing the excess fabric on the right side of the quilt - it will still be fine. I knew that I was accuracy challenged, but that's by a lot! 
  • I enjoyed making those wonky trees. They wouldn't get by the quilting police but it's all good fun!
  • The next part, stitching down the appliqués and adding elements, is fun but I always struggle with what needs to be appliquéd before quilting, and what can be done while quilting. If you have any advice, I would appreciate it!

Related links
Linking parties
I'll be linking up to many fun linking parties, including Sandra's Rainbow Neighbourhood Houses party. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's flimsies! Design Wall Monday, Sew & Tell, Midweek Makers, Put Your Foot Down, Finished (or not) Friday, Off The Wall Friday, Beauties Pageant, Peacock Party, 

Free Motion Mavericks

Thanks to everyone who linked up 😊.

Melva finished her Rail Fence quilt and went to a lovely spot for pictures. 

Melva's lovely Rail Fence quilt

Gail had another finish for the Island Batik's June Challenge. Look at those great feathers among the 92 flying geese! You can get a great look at Gail's feathers from the back of her topper.

Flying geese Topper by Quilting Gail

It's now your turn.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter
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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
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Thursday, May 11, 2023

Rainbow Neighbourhood Houses 5 and 6

Welcome to week 430 of Free Motion Mavericks. I didn't get much free motion done this week, except for adding details on one of the Neighbourhood houses.

Houses at Night


The two houses that I completed will be at the bottom of the quilt and are night scenes. I have beautiful night sky fabric and chose colours for the houses that are a little darker than those done to date.

Two houses at night

The last time I made these houses, I did two at a time - so that's what I did. At least if I mess up the first house, I'm not likely to do the same mistake in such a short period of time 😁

I made the mustard coloured house first and had to unpiece the roof section a few times. Luckily my theory worked - the second house went together easily. The roof fabric was bought last weekend at a quilt show. It's great for a night scene, as is the flowers on brown fabric. 

Mustard house with an Evening Star block, at night

For the extra details, I used images on darker fabric - in the windows you see bees (or teddy bears with wings) and lots of buttons! I also added a bunny, because they tend to wonder in the evening. There is a bird that looks like a moth (or a moth that looks like a bird - you pick!), and since the porch over the door was off-centre, I added a lantern on the over-hanging edge. 

Teddy bear (or bees) playing with buttons

The second house is a lovely deep orange colour. I used the mustard fabric for the centre of the star, but found some rich brown/burgundy for the star points and frame. For the lawn, I used a darker green.

Deep orange house with an Eight-Pointed Christmas Star

I had so much fun finding fabrics for this party! I remembered that I have a basket of novelty scraps. These are really perfect for this fun house! I didn't FMQ these little additions yet. I used adhesive bonding web to keep them on. I'll FMQ them when I'm more alert. 😊

The night is filled with music and dancing.

Here are my 6 houses so far.

Six houses so far

What I learned
  • Making two houses at a time was still a good idea!
  • I'm so happy that I remembered my scrappy novelty fabric basket. There was so much to choose in there!
  • I've been experimenting with different ways of adding those lovely details on the quilt. So far, this time was the best. I  used adhesive bonding web and then FMQ the first house. The second house will get FMQ soon. 
  • After making 6 houses, it's time to start planning my quilt layout. I know that I want it larger than the throw, but smaller than the twin, especially the length.
  • I drew quite a few pictures until I found something that may work. Here's my very rough plan.
    • I want to add sky fabric above all of the houses. For the bottom houses, this will be a night sky.
    • Between the top and bottom row of houses, I would like to add picket fences and a tree or something. This could be a lot more complicated than I want...so we'll see.
    • There will be a road between the first and second rows.
    • The middle row will have two houses. The first house will be one of the ones I have made, but the second one will look more like my friend's home. I will add a lake between the two houses, and a small forest on the other side, probably using the trees provided in the pattern.
A very rough plan of the layout

Related links

Linking parties
Sandra of mmm quilts, who is hosting the Rainbow Neighbourhood QAL, is having a mid-point link-up. Let's go see what everyone else has done 😊. Design Wall Monday, Sew & Tell, Midweek Makers, 

Free Motion Mavericks


Last week we saw some wonderful finishes. Thanks to everyone for linking up!

My Free Motion Mavericks partner, Muv, quilted her first quilt in a long while. It's a Union Jack baby quilt - just in time for the Coronation. Glad to have you back Muv! It's a sweet quilt in a variety of blues.

Muv's Union Jack baby quilt


Denise participated in the Tool Craze Blog Hop. She used a tool to make Half square rectangles from Studio 180. The fabric is Island Batiks "Make A Wish" - they are so lovely and vibrant in her quilt. I just love the details at both ends of the quilt, which she FMQ with feathers. 

Denise's Half square rectangles quilt

Sandra is working on her PHDs (Projects Half Done challenge) and finished up her last 2 Rainbow Scrap Challenge quilts from 2015. She had so many blocks that she got two quilts out of them. They are called Dawn and Dusk. Each got a different quilting design. They look so comfy. Congrats Sandra!

Sandra's Dawn and Dusk quilts

It's now your turn!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter
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