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My Quilty Bucket List

Last week I was over at St. Louis Folk Victorian and she started talking about Quilty Bucket Lists.  The Tilted Quilt has dedicated the Month of march to "the quilts that we all have on our lifetime to-do list...that made you say 'Some day, I want to make that quilt'."  She's hosting a blog hop over the next few weeks and having some more experienced quilters talk about their own bucket list.

The Tilted Quilt

The whole idea of this is to build up some motivation to try and tackle at least one of your bucket list quilts this year.  And reading this first week of posts has already been an inspiration.  Hearing experienced quilters talk about how they can still, after all the time they've been behind their sewing machines, be intimidated by projects is refreshing to hear.

Quilting used to be on my life long bucket list. But like with any to-do list I seem to make, crossing something off just means I've added at least 10 more other things to my list!  So without further ado, my Quilty Bucket List:

Solids Color Play


One of the tipping points that brought me jumping feet first into quilting is the discovery of the Modern Quilting Movement.  It showed me a new side of quilting that I could get behind. One aspect of MQing that I've obsessed over but have never actually done is working completely with solids and playing with the colors of the fabric.  Or using simple patterns but emphasizing on the color placement and negative space.

By Tallgrass Prairie Studios        
above quilts by Jacquie of Tallgrass Prairie Studio

One blogger that inspires this side of me is Jacquie over at Tallgrass Prarie Studio. Her quilts are my definition of bucket-list-level quilts. She has an entire book dedicated to Modern Quilting (she heads the Modern Quilt Guild so go figure) and was part of the book We Love Color.  I'm thinking my first foray into the Solids/Color Play will be from that book!

Improve Piecing


This is another Modern Quilting technique that I have fallen for head over heels! Just grabbing a stack of fabric and sewing them together as I please!  The freedom seems to be both extremely exciting and extremely anxiety inducing! I don't think I can trust myself to be spontaneous!

Photo curtesy of amazon.com

If I want to tackle this one, I'm going to need to chain myself to my sewing desk, lock away my laptop/tablet so I don't peak at patterns, and not get up until I have a 10" block in front of me.  I think I can. I think I can. I think I can!

Curves


Curves. They scare me.  Seriously, I avoid patterns with curves in them.  The only curves I've done have been circular applique pieces.  Technically that's not actually sewing a curve but there was thread, a needle, and something curved involved so it counts for now.

Flowering Snowball by Cut to Pieces


One day, I will make something with curves!  I promise!  (or at least I promise I will try! *gulp*)

Hand Quilting


Gran Flakes by Happy Zombie

I would love to hand quilt something! Anything!  But first I need to get my stitches straight and somewhere around my too-high standards.  I would like to say I'm currently practicing....but maybe this is something I can add on to my list of New Years Resolutions!

Pixel Quilt


Pixel Quilts have taken off in the last year, or at least they have been more frequently showing up on the blogs and Pinterest boards I follow.  Last year I got as far as cutting the actual 1.5" squares for the Mario Brother's Quilt Along over on Cut to Pieces, but there is something about all those little squares that are intimidating.

The Tenth by St. Louis Victorian


This is something that I have added to my "Projects I need to finish this year!" list and I will see it done!  More appropriately, I'd like to have it finished by the fall before I move so that way I don't have to worry about packing up hundreds of little squares with the rest of my sewing stuff!  Talk about motivation!

Sampler Quilt


Sampler Quilt is really two items combined into one.  First: I love the look of sampler quilts especially when they're made with modern or solid fabric.  The mixing of old and new styles is very pleasing to me and I can easily see one laying across my bed now.  Second: I haven't really played with traditional block styles and piecing methods.  It's been mostly easy, modern pieces that I've worked with. I feel completing a sampler quilt would be a good test of where my talents stand in piecing and color choice.

Photo Curtesy of amazon.com


English Paper Piecing


I have missed creating something with my hands.  And I mean literally with my hands.  I swear there is such a thing as restless hand syndrome and I am inflicted. EPP looks like so much fun and looks like it would be the perfect thing to soothe my restless hands.  The variety and complexity of quilts made with english paper piecing is amazing to me! And the perfect points make me so very happy!



I've saved this item for last because this is the item from my bucket list that I have chosen to tackle this month.  My plan is to keep this project at work so I have something to work on during my lunches (since I am of course going to follow my budget and bring lunch instead of going out and buying lunch ahem). My coworker next to me also has a lunch time project she works on each day. I may have to pop over to her side of the cube wall and join her in lunchtime craftyness!

So there you have it. My Quilty Bucket List! I'm confident that at some point in my quilty life I will have attempted and finished each one of these bad boys. But first up, English Paper Piecing!

And if you don't already, you should follow all the amazing people I linked to above!!

Comments

  1. Thank you for sharing your fabulous list! I love those pixel quilts too! How fun... and I'm also a big EPP lover too, so I am with you there as well. This has been such a fun month, thank you for playing along with me :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much! This was so much fun to put together! Thanks for inspiring us this month :)

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  2. Loving your list and all your inspiration photos, especially that one of hand-quilting!
    If you wanted a small project to satisfy your wanting to do handwork, and practising hand quilting, you might give this tutorial a go: http://sillygoosequilts.blogspot.com.au/2012/01/tutorial-quilt-as-you-go-hexagons.html
    I've made quite a few of these and they are quite addicting, but in the nicest possible way, and if you make them bigger (I did mine with 3.5" sides) then they're great for practising hand-quilting!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oohhh those look like they would make excellent coasters for my coffee table! I'll have to give these a try! Thank you so much!

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  3. your list seems very doable. I'm scared of improv and curves too

    ReplyDelete

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