Essentials II & Dare Minis Blog Tour
I'm so excited to show off this mini quilt I made for my youngest daughter. I'm also excited to host an awesome giveaway of 17 fat eights of Essentials II and Dare fabrics, as well as four 1/4 yard cuts of assorted Smooth Denims from the Denim Studio by Art Gallery Fabrics! See the end of this post for how to enter...
But about this mini for my little one ... At two months shy of two years old, Alice is, and always will be, my baby. Totally spoiled with a mind of her own, she completely rejected the first baby quilt I made for her! I decided not to take it personally and wait and see what her tastes were before attempting to make her another one. The first quilt I made for her was all primary colors, blue and red being predominant (I think I read somewhere that was good for helping babies develop their eyesight?). I notice her preferences are for bright, feminine colors. Also she adores the texture of woven pieces. When I got Essentials II, I knew I wanted to give a quilt for Alice another try.
Mini quilt and hoop art made with Essentials II and Dare fabrics by Pat Bravo for Art Gallery Fabrics.
Today is also my turn in the Pat Bravo Minis Blog Tour featuring Dare and Essentials II fabrics for Art Gallery Fabrics. Lately I've been especially drawn to weaving with mixed prints and softer colors, and I've been experimenting with ways to incorporate weaving into quilts. This blog tour seemed the perfect way to continue this exploration, and make something special for Alice, all while using my bundle of Essentials II fabrics!
My mini, which measures 25" x 30", began with a woven panel using 1/2" strips of Essentials II. I'm calling this weave design Woven Tiles. I used the Blush color way for the tiles and Azure for the background. The outer border of my mini is Open Doors from the Dare collection.
Auditioning borders for Woven Tiles mini quilt.
For the quilting, which is all straight line, I used a Superior Threads King Tut variegated called Cotton Candy. The quilting on the weave is all in the ditch, and serves to ensure that the weave stays put during washings (it has so far!) but doesn't obscure the weave.
Straight line quilting with Superior Threads King Tut variegated thread.
Navy and white striped Streakly Business Azure from Essentials II is the quintessential binding fabric!
It just does not get any more perfect than this, people!
Woven Tiles hoop art.
Oh, and Alice loves it! The first night after I hung it up, she was so excited she had a tough time falling asleep. Several days later, she still ends each night and begins each morning by pointing at her new wall hangings and giving me a big hug. What is the most appreciated thing you've ever made someone else? I'd love to know in the comments.
Learn the design
Would you like to learn how to weave your own Woven Tiles project? I've put together an instructional video explaining how to weave this design.
For ease of use, I'm going to write out the sequence directions here as well, so you can read along at your own pace after watching the video.
Woven Tiles Instructions:
- Pin first layer of strips horizontally, alternating between background and tile colors.
- Second layer is woven in from the top
- 1st: tile strip. Over two, under two. Repeat.
- 2nd: background strip. Over one, under one. Repeat.
- 3rd: tile strip. Over one. Under two, over two. Repeat under/over two
- 4th: background strip. Under one, over one. Repeat.
- 5th: tile strip. Under two, over two. Repeat.
- 6th: background strip. over one, under one. Repeat.
- 7th: tile strip. Under one. Over two, under two. Repeat over/under two.
- 8th: background strip. Under one, over one. Repeat.
Giveaway!
Want to win the fabrics pictured below? Of course you do! That's 17 fat eights of Essentials II and Dare, with four 1/4 yards of smooth denim - that's a whole lot of bright colors and soft fabrics. All you have to do is subscribe to my YouTube channel if you haven't already (you'll be the first to learn new weaving designs and tips).
Giveaway ends Monday, May 15 at 7:00 AM PST.
You'll definitely want to check out the other bloggers who have been getting creative with their Essentials II and Dare fabrics! Yesterday was Marija Vujcic and tomorrow will be Samantha Dorn and Maja Wlusek.