March 25, 2016

Peak of Perfection - Sewtopia Atlanta Fabric Challenge

When I heard Sewtopia would be coming to Atlanta, just a couple of hours down the road, and the teachers would be Elizabeth Hartman and Denyse Schmidt, I knew I would love to attend.  But when registration opened, I hesitated a bit on signing up and found myself on the the waiting list. Fortunately, I was able to land a spot through a cancellation, one of only 80 attendees.

In completing the registration form, I was asked if I wanted to participate in the fabric challenge.  I did not hesitate marking that box with a YES!

I am happy to show you my Michael Miller Fabric Challenge for Sewtopia Atlanta, Peak of Perfection.  I am guessing that Sewtopia was named after Utopia and according to Webster, it a place of perfection. The pattern I used is called Pike's Peak by Cheryl Brickey of Meadow Mist Designs. So I combined the two and decided on the name, Peak of Perfection.  And I know my piecing and quilting are anything but perfect.

Peak of Perfection by Paige Alexander
(Pattern: Pike's Peak by Cheryl Brickey of Meadow Midst Designs)


The Michael Miller challenge fabric arrived in late February and here is a picture I posted on Instagram.



I received 6 fat quarters and the main print was Color Play in blue by Laura Gunn.  Here it is photographed with 3 Cotton Couture solids, Opal, Lemon and Turquoise.

Michael Miller Color Play with Cotton Couture in Opal, Lemon and Turquoise
Also included were 2 fat quarters of Michael Miller's basics, Painter's Canvas, again by Laura Gunn in Coral and Blue.

Michael Miller's Painter's Canvas n Coral and Blue
According to the challenge guidelines, we could make anything for the challenge and use as least one of the challenge fabrics.  We could add in any other Michael Miller fabrics from solids to prints. The two Painter's Canvas prints spoke to me and I decided to pair them with Cotton Couture in Bright White.

Pike's Peak made its debut in Issue #2 of Make Modern, an Australian digital magazine, and included 2 colors, a lime green and hot pink, both paired with black along with a background of white.  The pattern includes 2 sizes, 50" x 50", Cheryl's version pictured here, and a smaller wall version measuring 25" x 25" which is what I made.

Pike's Peak by Cheryl Brickey of Meadow Mist Designs
(photograph used with permission)

The piecing went fairly quick but when it came to the quilting, I ended up ripping out several seams. One time I started ripping out a line of quilting where I was not satisfied with the spacing and started ripping out the wrong quilting line.  So I then removed two entire lines because it was right in the center and did not want the repaired stitching line to show.  I quilted mine similar to how Cheryl quilted Pike's Peak.  In this blog post you can see the detail of her beautiful quilting and her quilt hanging at QuiltCon 2015.

Here you can see more of the piecing and quilting detail along with the two color binding.  I chose to change the binding color in each quadrant. With just 2 fat quarters, I managed to make 32 half square triangles and piece the binding which included several extra seams due to the color changes.

Peak of Perfection by Paige Alexander, detail

A close up of the binding color change is below.

Peak of Perfection binding detail
I am glad to have my challenge piece done with time to spare and excited to be going to Sewtopia! You can see the fabrics I picked out for the Free-Wheeling Single Girl class with Denyse Schmidt in this blog post.  I am working on gathering the fabrics for Elizabeth Hartman's class now.

Quilt Stats:

  • Finished size:  25" x 25" 
  • Pattern:  Pike's Peak by Cheryl Brickey of Meadow Mist Designs
  • Binding: 1/4" straight binding from 2" strips sewn down by hand    
  • Fabrics: Painter's Canvas in Blue and Coral by Laura Gunn for Michael Miller Fabrics and Cotton Couture in Bright White
  • Batting: 100% Cotton Warm & White by the Warm Company
  • Thread: Aurifil 2024 White for piecing and quilting

24 comments :

  1. Peak of Perfection, INDEED!!! I could not have thought of a name more fitting. And I am the queen of clever names. Your work is so neat, I am sure it makes the viewers jealous. Congratulations on a gorgeous finish!!!
    Hugs,
    Preeti.
    http://sewpreetiquilts.blogspot.com

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  2. This is absolutely gorgeous Paige! Your piecing and quilting are pretty darn near perfect to me.

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  3. I believe you achieved perfection! I love this and the fact that you matched the binding like that is amazing! Your quilting is perfect for this piece!

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  4. This looks great, Paige. Will the mini be part of a swap or what happens next? And I definitely understand about ripping straight line stitching. I spent 3 days on Sunburst and could still go back and fix lots of spots.

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    1. Yvonne, this quilt was made for the fabric challenge and during the retreat winners will be announced. I will bring this quilt back home with me, I think. The swap is separate where anyone who makes a small item, like a mini quilt, pillow, or zip pouches, will take home a swap item. I will write a blog post about my swap item soon. I did post a picture on Instagram already as part of the #IGquiltfest in the Fast Finish category.

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  5. Wow, this really is perfection! The quilting lines are perfect! Well done!! Stopping by from Whoomp There It Is link up.

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  6. I like those painter's canvas fabrics very much. The quilt looks great. I specially like the quilting and the matching binding is perfect!

    -Soma

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  7. Your quilt looks perfect to me. Nicely done, and the binding is great.

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  8. Love flying geese and love your quilt!

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  9. Very nice! I love a simple, striking patten and your quilting really sets it off.

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  10. Congratulations on your finish and getting to go to Sewtopia. It's a great project, and your quilting is great. Thanks for linking up with TGIFF @ Anja Quilts.

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  11. I love your version of Pike's Peak! Your quilt is perfection and I love the binding choice!

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  12. The appearance is so pure and simple but stunningly gorgeous! Lovely design and quilt!

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  13. What a great way to use those fabrics! Love the quilting, it really emphasizes the design.

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  14. Beautifully done! I just love your choice of fabrics, your quilting, your BINDING. Just really lovely. I'm sharing on my A Quilter's Table facebook page.

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  15. Wow! Paige this is fabulous. I have this pattern of Cheryl's, such a terrific one isn't it, and it is on my "to do" list. Great name for a perfect quilt. ;-) Have fun at Sewtopia.

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  16. This is awesome! I love the way you quilted it! :)

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  17. Your challenge piece is stunning! Love how it turned out! We featured your quilt over on the FWFS blog! Thanks for stopping by and sharing!

    -Lindsey

    http://fortworthfabricstudio.blogspot.com/2016/03/fabric-frenzy-friday-features_28.html

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  18. Wise choice in the fabrics you used, and that binding is brilliant.

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  19. What a fantastic finish w/Peak of Perfection. Have fun at Sewtopia!

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  20. I love the binding change in each quadrant. Not sure how you did that but it turned out great!

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  21. I love the fabrics you chose to use in your challenge. Its almost like this pattern was made for them. And I love how you did the binding.

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  22. Lovely work! I really like the quilting and the binding changes. Have fun at Sewtopia!

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