The Supreme Yumminess of the Hand Marbled Fabrics and the Graffiti Quilting

Earlier this week, since I was all caught up with customer quilts and right on-track with the kaleidoscope blocks I'm making for Anders' high school graduation quilt, I finally -- FINALLY -- got my UFO Bear Paw quilt out of the Purgatory closet and loaded it on my frame for quilting.  I am so excited to finally be finishing this quilt for myself!  I stewed over how to quilt this one for three years, but when I discovered this digital edge-to-edge quilting design, Graffiti E2E #7, by Karlee Porter,  I knew it would be perfect for this top.  

I'm Loving Graffiti E2E #7 on my Bear Paw Quilt!

I started making my 10 1/2" bear paw blocks in May of 2014 as an experiment, chopping up Anna Maria Horner's large scale LouLou Thi print and enjoying the "blobs of paint" effect that created in my blocks, with sections of butterflies or flowers recognizable in the larger patches but not in the small triangles.  Soon afterwards, I got my hands on my first hand marbled fabric assortment from Marjorie Lee Bevis (I think she was selling them through Luana Rubin's equilter.com online shop at that time, but today she sells her fabric directly through her Etsy shop here) and started making 4" sawtooth stars out of them.  

60 Weight Bottom Line Thread in Silver Blends Into Prints

This is my first quilt that deliberately included lots of "negative space" -- that sea of solid white background fabric -- for showing off quilting texture, but then I couldn't figure out HOW I wanted to quilt it once the top was finished.  I'd been saving it for "when I got good enough" or "when I got around to custom quilting" it, but I gradually realized that custom quilting would reinforce and emphasize the structure of the straight horizontal setting and make the finished quilt feel very traditional.  Which would have been lovely and just fine, but not really what I wanted from this quilt.

65 x 65 Quilt Top, Prior to Quilting

See what I mean?  I wanted a more free-spirited vibe, with my bear paws and stars seeming to float in the white space rather than being locked in place by their seam lines.  And I love the way that Karlee Porter's large scaled, doodle-inspired quilting design minimizes those seam lines by flowing across the borders and boundaries in long, sweeping curves.  This is one of those computerized designs that really looks like hand guided, free motion, rock star doodle quilting.  LOVE!

This Quilting Texture Reminds Me of Dollops of Whipped Cream!

Well, that's all you get about the bear paw quilt for today (unless you want to check out my 2018 post from when I completed the flimsy).  

Back to Our Regularly Scheduled Kaleidoscope Project

I think what got me interested in that UFO again was the hand marbled fabrics I've been cutting up for Anders' high school graduation quilt that you see on my design wall below.  On my ironing board, check out the assortment of NEW hand marbled fabrics that just showed up on my front step yesterday:

New Order of Hand Marbled Fabrics for Kaleidoscope Blocks!

I could not be more delighted with the fabrics Marjorie sent me!  This was a custom order she put together for me in bigger pieces than her usual assortments, so that I can get four of those big kaleidoscope triangles out of each piece of fabric, with leftovers.  I was able to communicate with her about the colors I wanted, the size of the fabric pieces I needed, and she even accommodated my request for really dramatic, larger scale marbling for maximum impact on these 11" kaleidoscope blocks.  You can find Marjorie's hand marbled fabrics on her Etsy shop here, but if you don't see the sizes or colors you need listed, definitely reach out to her directly.  This fabric is so cool; it's just what I need to keep me motivated as I crank out more blocks!

Tuesday's To-Do List

1. 14 more kaleidoscope blocks
2. Finish quilting bear paw quilt
3. Bonus: Machine embroider a quilt label for the bear paw quilt & attach binding 

PSST!!  I'd Love to Quilt for YOU!

By the way, if you or any of your quilty friends has a quilt top or two that needs quilting, I'd be delighted to quilt for you!  My turnaround for edge-to-edge quilting is currently running about 2 weeks, and you can click here to find out how to book your quilt with me.

I'm linking up today's post with the following linky parties, and then I'm headed right up to the studio to get back to work!

SATURDAY

UFO Busting at Tish in Wonderland

SUNDAY

Frédérique at Quilting Patchwork Appliqué

Oh Scrap! at Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

Slow Stitching Sunday at Kathy's Quilts

MONDAY

Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts  

Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt

BOMs Away at What a Hoot Quilts

TUESDAY

To-Do Tuesday at ChrisKnits

WEDNESDAY

Midweek Makers at Quilt Fabrication

Wednesday Wait Loss at The Inquiring Quilter