Zentangle

Jaftex 85th Anniversary Blog Hop – Rainbow Spinner!

Jaftex85thAnniversaryICo-sponosored by: Aurifil ThreadsSchmetz Needles, and Janome

I was so excited when I received an email asking if I wanted to participate in the anniversary blog hop for Jaftex Corporation! I received 3 bundles of Peppered Cottons, one for me, one for YOU, and one to make a beautiful quilted item with.  Be sure to enter the giveaway at the bottom of this post for your chance to win 20 Fat Quarters of Peppered Cottons by Studio E.

When I first received the fabrics, I wasn’t quite sure how to show off their simple beauty. It would be so easy to use them and make something pretty, but the challenge I set for myself was to use them and make them sing. I had a notion for a non-tradition color wheel and started out in EQ7.

EQ7 Rainbow Spinner - https://test.sewbittersweetdesigns.com

 I ended up making my own template for the wedges, as I didn’t own one with the correct degree.  Before piecing my quilt, I made a test quilt, I was afraid to cut into the fabrics and not have it be “perfect”. You can see that quilt in this blog post. Once I was certain that the design was a successful one, I started cutting and sewing. The top went together quickly. I ended up spray basting the large circle to the backing fabric and then fusing the center pinwheel to it. The center is appliqued down and the rest is quilted together.

Rainbow Spinner - https://test.sewbittersweetdesigns.comTo truly appreciate the beauty of this quilt, it has to be viewed outside in sunlight, my parents deck in California happens to be my favorite place to photograph quilts, they always look amazing on the weather wood.  My favorite part, aside from the bright and beautiful fabrics, is the quilting. This is another one of my Zentangle Quilts. Check out the back!

Rainbow Spinner Back - https://test.sewbittersweetdesigns.comAs you can tell…it is a bit…ahem…heavily quilted. This is meant to be used as a wall hanging, so I am quite all right with it being dense. For quilts that will be loved and hugged on, I do prefer a lighter touch on the quilting, but I definitely went overboard on this one.

I came up with the quilting design by doodling it on a print out from EQ7, this process always helps me plan my quilting and I highly recommend it to everyone!

Rainbow Spinner Zentangle - https://test.sewbittersweetdesigns.com

I have to say that having never worked with the Peppered Cottons before, I really didn’t know what to expect. When I received them, they were so soft, I just wanted to wrap myself up inside of them. That’s why this entire quilt, front, back and binding, are all made out of them. I wanted it to feel soft and luxurious to the touch, and believe me, it does.

So the big question becomes, who gets to keep this quilt? Anne or Mommy? She has already informed me that it is hers, but alas, her walls are filled with other quilts that she has “claimed”. Maybe this one will be MINE!

Quilt Stats:

Quilt Name: Rainbow Spinner
Designed, Pieced and Quilted by: Melissa Dunworth
Fabrics: Peppered Cottons for Studio E (Jaftex Corporation)
Size: 44″ x 46″

One last pretty picture:

Rainbow Spinner - https://test.sewbittersweetdesigns.comPlease enter the Rafflecopter below to enter to win 20 Fat Quarters of these gorgeous Studio E Fabrics.

A little history behind the Jaftex Corporation:

Jaftex Corp. was founded in the 1930’s when Jacob A. Fortunoff started selling fabric on the streets of New York.  At that time, the mainstay of the business was women’s sleepwear and lingerie.  In the 80’s, Jacob’s grandson, Robert, dramatically changed the business of the company.  The business focus was transferred to the over the counter quilt industry when Robert purchased companies like A.E. Nathan, Henry Glass, Stylemaker, Chanteclaire, Fabric Editions/Studioe and more recently The Blank Quilting Corp.  Robert is now joined by his two sons, Scott and Greg.  Scott currently is the President of Studioe Fabrics, The Blank Quilting Corp. & A.E. Nathan Co., Inc.  Greg just joined the business in late 2014 and has successfully spearheaded the company’s foray in to precut fabrics among other contributions.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Also! Make sure you visit this post and enter to win some even more incredible prizes, including a new sewing machine!

Tomorrow head over to Yvonne Fuchs – http://quiltingjetgirl.com and see what she has come up with! To see the full schedule of bloggers, make sure you check out the link above!

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Secret Project – Sneak Peek

This project will have a full reveal in September, and I am so excited to show you all of it, in the meantime I am showing you the back. This project is one of the four that had a July 31 deadline. All that’s left is to trim and bind, so it is looking like I will make it!

Secret Project Backing - https://test.sewbittersweetdesigns.com

Before I quilted this one, I printed out a copy of my pattern and zentangled it to figure out exactly how I wanted to quilt it. I am finding that this is the best way for me to plan out my quilting. I will show more pictures when I reveal the front in September. In the meantime make sure you are working hard on those July goals because the link up will open on Saturday!

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Zentangle Free Motion Quilting

Melissa.Dunworth. Hypnotic Eye. DETAIL

Last month before I quilted Hypnotic Eye I spent two nights lost in Zentangle. I printed out four copies of the block I designed, which makes up the entire quilt, taped them together and started filling them in with my pencil.

I wanted to focus on designs that could be accomplished with my free motion foot or my walking foot. I was really quite delighted because once I started quilting I was able to use my free motion foot for the entire quilt. This was only possible because my foot has some very nice markings that I was able to use for reference and guidance on the sections that I wanted to look straight.

Hypnotic Eye Zentangle - https://test.sewbittersweetdesigns.comWhile this process may seem a bit excessive, I have to say it gave me lots of confidence knowing the overall visual impact the quilting would have before I started.  I doubt I will do this with every quilt, but at least I will have this technique in my back pocket for the future.

Do you ever pre-draw your quilting designs before you start quilting?

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A Lovely Year of Finishes – March Finishes Party

A Lovely Year of Finishes

Time to check in..how did it go?

I finished my goal, but I am still keeping the front a secret. So…I present to you the back!

Divergent Quilt Back - https://test.sewbittersweetdesigns.com

This was my Zentangle quilting experiment. How did it go for you?

You have requirements to be entered into the prizes this month.

1. Link-up {this previous post} the first 7-days of this month

and

2. Link-up below during the last 7-days of this month

~ with a successful finish.

Add your blog post or flickr photo (with appropriate descriptions) to the linky party below.

Please grab a button or link back to Shanna and I so other people can join in the fun! {See stage left for the grab the button stuffs}

And if you remember to make it easy for us we’ll click through the winners faster..aka put number of goal link up. The easier for us to choose you the happier we are.

**Please note, the linky party is the same here and over at Shanna , so there is no need to enter twice **

 
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Let’s see who are amazing sponsors are this month and if you have ONE successful goal and ONE successful finish you are entered to win.

Here is a list of the lovely new and old sponsors and prizes for March

1. Sew BitterSweet Designs one pdf pattern

https://test.sewbittersweetdesigns.com/

2. One PDF pattern from Sew Sweetness

Sew Sweetness

3. Thimblepie’s Quilt Supplies – Custom fabric package, 3 yards plus free shipping anywhere

4. One PDF pattern from Honey, Bunny, and Doll Designs

 

 

5. One Charm pack or $10.00 gift certificate to
Stitches n’ Giggles (winners choice)

6. PDF Pattern from Katy – The Littlest Thistle

The Littlest Thistle - http://www.the-littlest-thistle.com/

 

7. PDF Pattern from Persimon Dreams

Project QUILTING

8. One PDF Pattern from Meadow Mist Designs

Meadow Mist Designs Button

9. Green Fairy Quilts – 3 pdf patterns

10. $15 gift certificate from Fat Quarter Shop

11. One pdf Pattern from Clover and Violet

cloverandviolet

~~~

 Remember to click on a few other’s links and give people some love.

 Just keep Stitching

 



Still here…

Hi everyone! Just a quick note to let you know that I am still alive and kicking. Anne and I are both still under the weather and heading back to the doctor today. Don’t think I’ve forgotten the password to my blog or anything like that, just haven’t had much energy to sit at the computer.  In all honesty I haven’t really sewn much at all this week either. I’ve mostly just been doodling in bed.

I started Zentangling on February 22, 2015 while waiting to be seen at the ER. I bought a book and just started doodling. Here are a couple of the designs I’ve come up with.

Entangling Circumstances - https://test.sewbittersweetdesigns.com

Zentangle - https://test.sewbittersweetdesigns.com

Hopefully I will be feeling better soon, in the mean time, happy sewing!

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