Throwback Thursday #4: Sew Charmed

It all started with a Michael Miller mini charm pack of Cotton Couture solids in my QuiltCon 2015 swag bag and inspiration from a quilt hanging in my local quilt shop made from Denyse Schmidt's pattern, Big Charming.  I named this mini quilt, Sew Charmed and here is it hanging on the barn one fall afternoon of October 2015.

Sew Charmed by Paige Alexander

The Michael Miller mini charm pack received in the QuiltCon 2015 swag bag below.

Michael Miller Cotton Couture mini charm pack

And you might think I'm crazy, but here are the mini charms fresh out of the dryer.  I'm a prewasher and don't want any surprises down the road.

Cotton Couture mini charms out of the dryer

I pressed them and started laying them out on the design wall.

First layout of Cotton Couture mini charm squares

Then another layout going from warm to cool colors.

Second layout of Cotton Couture mini charm squares

Final layout after trimming to a consistent size, I think 2 1/8".

Cotton Couture mini charm squares after trimming

Next, I had to decide on a background.  I auditioned various fabrics by pinning to the design wall and stepping back to take a look.  Notice the Hoffman modern batik on the left that I ordered soon after they were on the market and mentioned in this post.

A few more auditions.  I decided on the fabric at the top.  I only had a 1/2 yard and knew it was a Windam fabric.  But after posting it on Instagram, Yvonne at Quilting Jetgirl quickly identified it for me and I ordered what I needed from Warm Kitty Quilts on Etsy.

The finished top measuring approximately 27" x 20".

Sew Charmed quilt top by Paige Alexander

Now...how to quilt it.  I first thought about spiral quilting starting from the center charm and used a quarter at the start of the first circle.

I drew the outline of the quarter and then gradually increased the spacing until the lines were about 1/2" apart.  From there I thought I could use the edge of the walking foot as a guide to finish the quilting.  But I just wasn't happy.  The curves were not smooth and I decided to rip it out.

Spiral quilting ultimately ripped out

I decided to go with uneven concentric circles.  And yes, that entailed burying the starts and stops of each circle.  I found a scrap booking circle template at the thrift store and used it to draw the circles. Sometimes I used a previously stitched line and the edge of my walking foot as a guide for the next line.

Sew Charmed under the machine

Now the quilting is finished and I'm about to dunk it in the washing machine to remove the blue water soluble marking lines.

Sew charmed before soaking to remove the markings

My favorite binding is double fold bias and liked the way it contrasted with vertical and horizontal gridded lines in the background fabric.

Sew Charmed by Paige Alexander

Another view on the barn...

Sew Charmed by Paige Alexander on the barn

And a view on the gate where you can see a little of the fall color.

Sew Charmed by Paige Alexander hanging on the gate

Quilt Stats:

• Finished size:  27" x 20"
• Pattern:  Inspired by Big Charming by Denyse Schmidt
• Binding: 1/4" double fold bias binding from 2" strips and sewn down by hand
• Fabrics: Michael Miller Cotton Couture mini charm squares; background: Grid by Bye Bye Birdie from Windham Fabrics
• Thread: Aurifil for piecing and quilting 
• Batting: 100% Cotton Warm & White by the Warm Company
• Completed: October 30, 2015

Sew Charmed was a fun little quilt to make.  So far, it has been my most liked picture on Instagram and most viewed on Flickr.

I didn't go back too far back in my quilty past to show you this one and am linking to Throwback Thursday with Jen at A Quarter Inch from the Edge.

Free Wheeling Single Girl Block and DS Fabrics

I've been home a week, but I can't stop talking about Sewtopia which took place in Atlanta last weekend.  You can find out more about Sewtopia here and the events page here.

I thought I would show you my Free Wheeling Single Girl block I started in Denyse Schmidt's class Saturday afternoon and finished that evening in our open sew time.  I talked about my fabric selections for Denyse's class in this post.

Free Wheeling Single Girl block pieced by Paige Alexander at Sewtopia Atlanta

Denyse explained to us that Single Girl was her very first published quilt pattern and included many templates making up the rings rather than the more 'freeing' improv method used in her updated pattern.  I found a post by Rita Hodge at Red Pepper Quilts from September 2009 where she made a block and showed all of the templates.

I took a picture of Denyse and her class assistant, Rossie Hutchinson with the quilt top Rossie made.

Denyse Schmidt and Rossie Hutchinson at Sewtopia Atlanta

And I couldn't help myself, I got a photo with Denyse and it shows my progress, or lack thereof, made while in class. Yes, I am SLOW, but I'm OK with that!

Denyse Schmidt with me in Free Wheeling Single Girl class at Sewtopia AtlantaI

 When sewing the quarter blocks together, I reversed two of the blocks.  This picture shows my original layout before the blocks were squared up.  Notice the same tone on tone green fabric in two of the blocks on the left side, Denyse suggested 'disguising' the seam or the appearance of four separate quadrants by repeating the same fabric where the blocks join together in a few of the blocks.

Freewheeling Single Girl quarter blocks on the Pellon design wall at Sewtopia Atlanta

I was expecting the curved piecing to be difficult, but the curves were large enough that they were very forgiving and went together very well. Denyse demonstrated pinning the curved rings to the background pieces and said she likes to sew with concave piece on top.  But Rossie said she received better results sewing the convex piece on top.  I tried both ways and got good results with each.

And...if I didn't get enough of Denyse in class, take a look at the door prize I won while at Sewtopia. When my name was drawn, I chose a complete fat quarter bundle of her line, New Bedford, by Free Spirit Fabrics.

New Bedford by Denyse Schmidt for Free Spirit Fabrics

I love the Modern Solids included in the bundle which include Orange, Kumquat, Flamingo, Solar, Spark Gold, Shell, Dogwood, Licorice, Light Jade, and Asparagus.

Closer look of the Modern Solids in New Bedford by Denyse Schmidt for Free Spirit Fabrics

And if the fat quarter bundle wasn't enough, in our Sewtopia swap bag we received a Modern Solids 75 piece 2.5 "mini charm pack.  

Denyse Schmidt Modern Solids mini charm pack by Free Spirit

Thank you Denyse and Rossie for a wonderful class!  And thank you Amy and staff for such an incredible weekend.

Some other related Sewtopia posts are the Hour Basket, the Becca Bags zippered pouches which were made from Cotton + Steel fabrics for the swap, and Peak of Perfection, the Sewtopia fabric challenge I made from Cheryl's Pike's Peak pattern.

I hope everyone has a great week!  I am happy to link up to Main Crush Monday, Let's Bee Social, Needle & Thread Thursday, Whoop Whoop Friday, Fabric Frenzy Friday, Whoop, There It Is! and Show Off Saturday and the Monday edition of Sunday Stash!