Tag Archives: planned improv

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This is my entry in 2018 Pantone Ultra Violet Quilt Challenge, hosted by Rebecca Bryan and Sarah Elizabeth Sharp.

Despite my busy schedule, how could I not participate in the Pantone Quilt Challenge this year? I mean, PURPLE! I even had a dozen Kona purples in my stash from purchasing fabric for my Rainbow Remix project in 2016.

I've been wanting to play with All About Angles variations and I had yet to make one in all Kona. This seemed the perfect time. I sliced up my Kona purples. The colors I used were: Amethyst, Bright Peri, Heliotrope, Hibiscus, Lavender, Lilac, Morning Glory, Mulberry, Orchid, Thistle, Tulip, and Wisteria. One thing I love about this Planned Improv technique is how quickly it goes together. With no specific measurement, it's mostly about about pairing up interesting color combinations and I found that working with a pile of purples, all of the combinations were interesting to me!

I built a bunch of chunks and moved to the design wall to work my final layout. This stage is so fun for me, because there are many possible options. I considered sewing them together in this orientation (minus that bonus chunk on the left), but opted for a different design.

I pieced 12 of my chunks together into this mini quilt top. Then I opened the link up page for the challenge and realized that the "Just the Top" requires a minimum of 30" on a side. At this point my quilt top was about 24" square. Oops. No big deal, I decided to add some black borders on the top and bottom. That brought it up to about 24" x 32" and I went on with my day this afternoon.

After school I once again sat down to blog and link up my project. This was when I realized that the requirement for the category was 30" was that the shortest side needs to measure 30". This meant that my project was still too small. No big deal, right? Add a couple more borders! Except that I was across town from my sewing machine and my quilt top.

One quick trip to visit my sewing machine and two more borders have been added, bringing it to approximately 33" x 33". (Photographed in night lighting.) I'm looking forward to adding some graffiti quilting to it.

Every time I piece another All About Angles I have new ideas of variations I can try. This time I made a list with a bunch of options for next time. But before it comes to that I think I'll finish my three in progress versions.

I'm linking up to the 2018 Pantone Quilt Challenge, in the "Just the Top" category. Hop on over to check out all the purple, quilty goodness and vote for your one favorite in each category. Congratulations to everyone who participated. There is a beautiful pile of purple work!

Update: You can see my finished quilt in this post.

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In April I had the honor of presenting at two Meet the Teachers events in California. First, I attended the Northern California Quilt Council event about an hour from my house. Later that week I flew down to Long Beach to attend the event hosted by Southern California Council of Quilt Guilds. The general idea of these two events is similar, though the Southern California event is larger scale. In both cases, the participating teachers have a booth or table space to display their workshop offerings and promotional materials. Each teacher is allowed three minutes on stage to give a short spiel on their workshop and lecture offerings and there is time for guild representatives to circle the room and speak one-on-one with the teachers.

I attended NCQC Meet the Teachers in 2017 as an observer with my guild program chairs. It was helpful for me to have an idea of how the event is run so I would know what to expect. That information, together with insight from my friend Mel, was very helpful in preparing for attending as a participant this year. Some teachers had a much more elaborate setup than I did, but I had all the necessary items covered. I brought sample quilts, postcards that included photos of my workshop offerings, and a signup sheet for my newsletter. The one thing I'd definitely add next time is a quilt stand for hanging a quilt behind me at my table.

On stage the volunteers hold up each teacher's class sample quilts while the teacher gives their spiel. (Quilt holders are the best!) I shared about my two Planned Improv workshops, Scrappy Squares and All About Angles, as well as my three lecture offerings.

At my table I had a few more samples for people to see. And I gave the 30-second version of my spiel to the guild representatives who came by the table.

For the Southern California event, I traveled with my friend Mel Beach. (Thanks to her for snapping a few pictures of me!) You can read more about the fun we had in her recap of the events.

A great big thank you to all the NCQC and SCCQG volunteers for hosting Meet the Teachers! It's such a great opportunity and both events ran so smoothly. Also, thank you to all of the guild representatives (some of whom traveled quite a distance) for attending the event, and for stopping by my table to chat.

I'm curious. For those of you who live outside of California, are there organizations hosting events like these in your area?

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The products featured in this post were given to me by Island Batik, including products from Hobbs and Aurifil.

I'm a multitasker at heart. Sometimes when I am planning a project, I like to figure out how I'll incorporate multiple goals. This includes quilt challenges and personal design goals. This week's Project QUILTING challenge of Bold and Brave wasn't really calling to me, so I was dragging my feet on formulating a plan. Then I found out that my Island Batik Ambassador box was due to arrive on Wednesday. I figured that meant I was supposed to dive right in and use it for my PQ challenge. It also meant I could procrastinate for a couple more days until the box arrived. ;-)

This project ties to the Bold and Brave theme in a couple of ways. This is the first official month in my role as an Island Batik Ambassador. It was brave of me to put myself out there and apply, and I'm excited to work with their bold colors. Also, I am excited to have started my quilt teaching career. I was a middle school math teacher for eleven years and it's great to be back in a classroom setting. The design of my mini quilt comes from my second Planned Improv workshop, All About Angles, which I'll be debuting soon. The workshop is designed to feature reversible fabrics (solids, hand dyes, cross weaves, batiks) so it lent itself well to choosing from my box of Island Batik fabrics. I love all the bright colors in the Morning Sunshine collection and chose a variety from that bundle to get started. After much debate, I settled on:

  • Sunflower in Rainbow
  • Mini Dot in Sun
  • Grass in Lime
  • Dot in Turquoise
  • Grass in Purple

Back to that multitasking that I mentioned. This mini quilt is my Project QUILTING Bold and Brave challenge quilt, my Island Batik Ambassador Mini Love project, and a class sample for my Planned Improv: All About Angles workshop. A three-fer!

It finishes at 20.5" x 24", pieced and simply quilted with Aurifil white 50wt thread, and features Hobbs Thermore Ultra-Thin Polyester batting.

I chose my binding from one of my Stash Builder rolls. It was a 5" x WOF strip and I managed to make it work by piecing my binding with straight seams since I was worried I didn't have enough fabric to piece on an angle... and I was right! It was a very close call.

 

I love mini quilts. They provide a great opportunity for a fast finish, an especially nice option for gifts. They can provide a splash of color on a wall or table. And mini quilts are my favorite way to try out a new technique. Something about their small size means it isn't too big of a commitment for a first run with a new skill.

Thanks for visiting. I'm linking up to Project QUILTING 9.3. Voting opens Sunday morning, so be sure to check out the other projects and vote for your ten favorites. (Mine is #57.)