Friday, March 23, 2012

Colorbrick Quilt


The Simplicity quilt started last month is now a finish!
The tutorial for this quilt is posted at Stitched in Color.
The pattern calls for "bricks" cut to 10"x 5.5" so
the quilt sews together pretty quick.


I began the process by laying out all the bricks on my
design wall in random order.


Stitched in Color posted a tip on her site about using
painter's tape to mark the rows of the quilt as you sew them 
together. I took it a step further and used painter's tape to mark
the bricks as I sewed them together. It worked great and eliminated 
a lot of confusion as the rows were sewn together.


The painter's tape was also useful as the seams were pressed
at the completion of each row.


The biggest "opportunity" I had in piecing this
quilt is that I should have chosen a heavier fabric to use
for the sashing. The sashing is the glue that holds this 
project together so be sure to choose a fabric with a
tight weave if you make one for yourself.


One of my personal goals for this year is to expand
my machine quilting skills. I purchased a wonderful DVD
by Patsy Thompson called "Fast and Free" which is full
of machine quilting design ideas. The above pattern is from
the Loop-D-Loop family. The awesome thing is that Patsy
offers a series of free patterns and videos that can be downloaded
off her website if you would like to check it out:)



This was the first time I've used this particular machine quilting design on a quilt
and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. I actually found it quite
relaxing to stitch out and a nice change of pace from the basic
stippling pattern that I normally use.



Here is a close-up of the quilting on the back. The thread is difficult
 to see since the shades of color are so similar, 
but it does add a nice texture to the back of the  quilt.


In conclusion, this was a fun quilt to make 
and it was liberating to try several new techniques.

Check out the other finishes this week at

May you always Sew in Peace!

18 comments:

  1. What a lovely quilt! And your quilting is excellent! Thanks for the link... I'll be checking it out as I want to expand my machine quilting repertoire...

    Happy Friday!

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  2. I love your stipple heart quilting. Looks sort of like ivy climbing up a brick wall. very cool!

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  3. It is a very pretty quilt. I really like your quilting with the hearts.

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  4. I have that same tutorial bookmarked and I'm hoping to try my own version soon. Your quilting is gorgeous, I love the hearts! I have only done FMQ on one quilt so far so I'm anxious to branch out and try new designs. Anything with a heart is a 'must try' for me. Thanks for the links!

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  5. This quilt is beautiful. Did you do the quilting on your own machine, not on a long arm? It is lovely quilting. Any tips on quilting a quilt so large on a home machine?

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  6. Hey great job! I too have been trying free motion quilting, doing it via a monthly challenge on the SewCal Gal website and this month we had to try a loopy pattern very similar to yours as tutored by Ann Fahl - lots of fun to try new things!

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  7. I keep saying (and forgetting) Simplest is the best...

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  8. So, so pretty! And your quilting looks fantastic. Wonderful finish! :o)

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  9. Gorgeous! I will be checking out those links. I really like your quilting.

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  10. Beautiful quilt, Sandra - and I love your new quilting design! Whoop whoop!!

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  11. You did a great job with this quilt! We'd love for you to share it (and anything else you'd like) at our Beautify It Monday Link party going on now at BringingBeauty.blogpsot.com!

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  12. What a pretty quilt. You did a great job on the FMQ. That's something I just don't have the patience for right now. Congrats on your finish!

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  13. I love the quilting! I had no idea how you can do fun little flowers and things. :) I just finished my I Spy Quilt from the swap last year. I tried your modern i spy tutorial. Thanks for sharing your talents!

    justenoughstyle.blogspot.com

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  14. I really like this quilt and your machine quilting is perfect...

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  15. It's beautiful! Your quilting is grand....I'm just beginning to learn the skills. Thanks for the pictures - they're very inspiring!

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  16. I like this quilt....and now I stop reading.....I must sew ;)
    SewinPeace, lots of love Birgit from Germany

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