Latest Quilt Crush

Oh, the dangers of Pinterest!

I was wasting time amusing myself, letting one pin lead to another, then another, when I stumbled upon this image and then this one. Oh my, instant quilt crush!  I had to know more.  Several hours of internet research later, I found out the answer:  Millefiori Quilts by Willyne Hammerstein.  

I bought the book.

It arrived in the mail.  Wowza, it takes about a gazillion teensy pieces and is English paper-pieced.  I had serious doubts but the design kept calling my name.  I could not get it out of my head.  I searched online for more images and started following the Instagram feeds of quilters working on their own versions.  Falling more deeply in love....

I gave in and ordered the supplies:  almost 3000 little pieces of paper, acrylic templates for cutting fabric, and some glue pens.  

Desperately wanting to get started but afraid of embarking on an UFO.  I pulled fabric from my stash, let it sit in a pile for frequent contemplation.  Liking the idea even more....

It's time to start.  Wish me luck!  The quilt is called La Passacaglia. Google La Passacaglia quilt for lots of eye candy or check out my Pinterest board.  But don't say I didn't warn you.  

3 Sisters Aster Manor Destash Sale

Something more to destash from my collection; this one is almost like a kit.  I am a big fan of 3 Sisters fabric for Moda and have bought heavily from many of their collections.  When Aster Manor came out, I bought everything to make a Carolina Patchworks pattern called Cottage Maze, using a layer cake of Aster Manor, with yardage from the line for background, backing, and binding. It has sat in its sack ever since.  It needs a new home.

Included is a layer cake of Aster Manor by  3 Sisters for Moda (prints in shades of brown,

 coral, pink, and ecru), 4 3/4 yards of solid for the contrast and sashing, 

1/3 yard brown tone-on-tone for the sashing corner stones, 

5/8 yard brown leaf print for the binding, and 

4 3/4 yard large floral print for the backing.

Price is $125, which includes domestic postage.  SOLD

I'll throw in the pattern and the thread if you want them.

If you would like to purchase this, leave a comment telling me and I will send you an invoice via Paypal.  Just be sure you are not "no reply" in Blogger/Google so I can respond to your comment via email.

Fourth Time is the Charm

Thank you for all the advice you left in the comments on my applique post of last week.  Clear thread - that's the answer!  I even had some on hand, bought several years ago at a quilt show.  So now I'm using Superior Thread Mono Poly and am very happy with the results.  It is a very fine, clear polyester monofilament thread.

I put the thread on my machine then played around with some different stitches, stitch lengths and widths, and thread tension, until I found the combination I like best.  I'm using the hem stitch (#7 on Bernina 440Q) with stitch width of 2 and length of 1 and I loosened the thread tension so the bobbin thread doesn't get pulled up to the front.  I have ecru Aurifil thread in the bobbin.  

So far, so good, and I'm well on my way with the blocks.  I'm on the lookout for some dark brown batik fabric for the body section and may use matching thread for that work.