Sunday 3 May 2015

A rainbow mini

So somehow it's over a month since I last blogged, and I'm not sure exactly where April went. I have been sewing quite a bit and have a few very near finishes, so I'll hopefully be blogging a little bit more frequently from now on. I think part of the slack blogger problem is the ease and speed of Instagram, but it's also finding the time to blog. Or having to choose whether to blog or sew, and sewing often wins out ;o)

One of my recent finishes was an angel mini quilt for the #igminiswap that ran on Instagram last year. I haven't ever been an angel in a swap before, and I found it quite tricky. I couldn't get feedback from the recipient along the way like normal, so I just had to go with my gut and hope she liked it. Kelly's main 'like' was rainbow, and she had a great picture of her wall of rainbow mini quilts in her IG feed, so it was fairly obvious what colours I'd be using. I'd picked up a rainbow bundle of Free Spirit solids at Quiltcon which I was busting to use, so I decided to use those (along with white Cotton Couture for the background).


I cut strips from each of the coloured solids and then added a strip of white (in varying widths) to each strip. I cut them using a ten degree wedge ruler, lining the narrow end of the ruler up with the white fabric (so the narrow points of each strip have a improv look). I'm really keen to do something similar on a larger scale, but vary both ends of the wedges. I love the angles wedges create, and I think lots of negative space around these would be loads of fun to quilt.


Even this little one was fun to quilt. I had no real plan when I started quilting this mini - I knew I wanted a ghost wedge on one end, but beyond that I literally made it up as I went along. In retrospect, I think I should have done all straight lines in the background, but I still like how this turned out.


It's nice to be blogging again (as much as I love IG, I do like to elaborate on my projects a bit more!!), so hopefully I'll get a bit more organised and share more of what I'm up to here more often. In the meantime, I hope you're all having a great weekend :o)  

xx Jess

18 comments:

Lucy | Charm About You said...

Beautiful mini and I love that ghost wedge! I love reading about projects as much as seeing them so glad you'll be blogging again :)

Leanne said...

It's nice to see you back in this space, I miss most of what you put on instagram. Lovely mini!

Renee said...

I've been choosing to spend my time sewing and sharing on IG quickly, I hate that blogging can easily take up my whole morning or afternoon! I think this is a wonderful angel quilt! It appeals to the rainbow popularity/obsession, and you have a mix of straight lines and free motion. Who wouldn't like this?! I made an angel quilt for the #igminiswap too, and agree it seemed harder to figure out what to make...I just kind of went with something I wanted to create with a few of the recipients likes included. She loved it :-)

Yvonne from Quilting Jetgirl said...

Finding the balance between sewing and blogging seems like a big struggle for all of us. I am glad to hear more details about this lovely angle mini that you made, though. Watching it progress on IG was fun, but I can certainly understand that a lack of feedback could make it a harder swap make than normal. Personally, I love the mix of FMQ and straight line quilting.

magistra said...

Yay! Yes, more blogging! Less IGing! And your mini is greaf!
Beth

Peta - SheQuiltsAlot said...

That mini is just amazing Jess. Loooovve the quilting :)

Tiffany said...

I LOVE this! I think the swirls in the background are perfect. I'm glad you ended up not going all straight lines.

Benta AtSLIKstitches said...

That's a fab mini!

Alyce @ Blossom Heart Quilts said...

Oh no, the quilting is perfection!!

Hayley said...

Cute mini! Even though your partner was unlucky that they needed an angel it all came good in the end with such an awesome score. And that quilting!

Charlotte said...

it's really lovely, and I think the squiggly quilting is perfect!

Michele said...

I like it too.

Carla said...

The quilting on that is amazing Jess

elizabethdee said...

I love the way you quilted it. The swirls really set off your"ghost wedge" and add a kind of depth. I am in awe of your imagination.

Wendy said...

It's nice to have you back, IG doesn't do it for me, I like the backstory and the details. I love this little mini, especially the ghost wedge. The quilting is fab, I like your mix of straight lines and curves.

Sandra W said...

Glad to see you back. I normally unsubscribe from those who don't post on a regular basis--and today I was thinking you might have to go...but there you were! And with a good blog.
I don't mean to sound ruthless--but like you--I have to balance off this time (reading blogs) with sewing.
Instagram doesn't do it for me. No content provided.
About rainbows--what order are the colours in a real rainbow? I keep meaning to look it up. I don't think yours follow the science of rainbows, but that's okay.
Keep the content coming. Thank you.

Sandra W said...

Hey readers--angels have wings. Angles do not.
I don't see any angels in this quilt.

Karen said...

What a terrific little jewel!