How To Create A Scalloped Border For Your Quilt

In my last blog post I shared my most recent mosaic quilt, "Whitney Lake".  If you missed it, you can find it HERE.

I like using a scalloped border, whether it is the inner, outer or edge.  

It really makes a plain border, very elegant and special.

I used it on my quilt, "South of France", as the inner border:

and on my first large mosaic quilt," Keyfetti Fish", created while wintering in Key West. This border is scalloped and a facing was used to finish the edge. (It was photographed on a black background.)

35" x 48"

I have used a few diffferent methods to create a scalloped border for a quilt.  The key to them all is, Curvalicious.It's a cutting guide I developed about 5 years ago.  I designed it to make curved looking quilts, but I found out that I could use it for amazing and complex looking borders.

It measures 24" long.  The Curvalicious website shares lots of ways to use it as well as a link to my YouTube video demoing it as a border tool.

When the quilt's dimensions are divisble by 6, a mitered border might be the best method to use.  Otherwise, the method I used for Whitney Lake works well and is pretty simple.

First, I added a 4" border all the way around the quilt.

 After quilting the border, scallop the border using Curvalicious and a 28mm rotary cutter.

 It is a bit of a challenge to cut through all the layers, but it's so worth it. Sometimes you need a little scissors help. To achieve balanced corners, make sure you stop about 6" from the edge.

Using tracing paper or parchment paper, or any paper  you can see  through, create a curved corner.  I fold  the paper in half to make sure it's symmetrical. I use that template to trim each corner.

Then I made a 2" strip of bias binding.  After stitching it to the front with 1/4" seam allowance, I turned it to the back and with the help of wonder clips, I handstitched it to the back.

And Voila!

A border that really frames a quilt.

Curvalicious, The Big Unveiling

Yesterday was the day.  It was the day the I have been working towards for the last 2 months. 

 It was the day that I unveiled this:

What is it, you ask?  It's my tool that I designed.  It's made out of acrylic and it is a very cool fluorescent green making it difficult to lose.  It was a journey to get here.

 

I designed it to make this skinny quilt out of silk dupioni:

 

Yesterday was it's debut at The Red Rose Quilt Guild in Lancaster, PA.  They were my guinea pigs and wow! did we have a good time. Many of the quilters chose to use one of my silk kits, but a few of them chose to use cotton.  It was so exciting to see how the quilts turned out. I made sure to remember to take lots of photos.

 

 

 

Thank you ladies.

You have made me so happy.

And the best part is I had a bunch of the Curvalicious tools made and I am selling them along with my kits in my etsy shop. I have also created a blog page just for Curvalicious with a video about how to use the tool.  Come visit by clicking HERE and please, if you like it, give me a thumbs up.

 

Come and be a part of the Curvalicious Crew!

 

Pretty in Pink

Olivia, my DIL, has an older sister that I am very fond of.  Courtney has 2 adorable children. I attended the baby shower for her daughter more than 3 years ago.  We all made blocks for a quilt for her.  Her Mother's friend organized this project.   I can't remember which brand of markers we used, but I wouldn't recommend them. She was planning on making  them into a quilt. But we all know how life gets in the way sometimes.  I respectfully kept my distance. 

After about 1 year, there was no quilt.  I told Olivia  that I would be happy to turn the blocks into a quilt. We all waited and we all hoped the blocks would be turned over to me so this little girl could have her keepsake. No blocks.

 

Then, there was the fire.  The blocks were damaged from smoke.  The house had to be rebuilt. 

It was recommended that the blocks be dry cleaned.  I know that this advice was not from a textile conservator.  The bad news was the blocks turned a blotchy yellow and there was some bleeding of the ink. The good news was that there was no lingering odor and I now had the quilt blocks in my possession and it was time to make a quilt for Elyse.

 

There were two more issues.  This adorable block was really damaged.

 I decided the way to fix the problem was to give that big bunny a BIG carrot.

I even added the greenery.

 

The other issue was that there was a very odd number of clocks - 39 to be exact.  That's a very odd number of blocks to turn into a quilt.

 

I played and played to achieve a suitable layout. It's actually one of the most enjoyable aspects of quilting for me.  It's solving a puzzle. The best thing is when the solution to a difficult situation makes the finished product even better.

 

So to fill in 3 empty spaces, I added her name across the top:

 

I used machine fusible applique:

 

I framed each block with pink turning it into a scrappy keepsake for Elyse.

Who knew that I owned this much pink. (Thank you Kelly.)

 

 

I added a border and had it machine quilted by Susie R so that it can be used on a little 3 year old's bed and hopefully loved for a very long time.  It's fun to come to the rescue. 

 

 

First Scrappy Quilt of 2013

 

You may have gotten a peak of this quilt when I wrote about my Disappearing Design Wall.  

Do you remember when I cut up a bunch of my blue and white fabric with my new toy, the Accuquilt Cutter?  I saved all the 2 1/2" strips to bring to Key West for power sewing scrap quilts. In addition to the strips I had a few blocks.  They were box in box blocks.  I have always wanted to make one of these quilts, and I guess at one point I started, but I don't remember when.

 And clearly I did not get very far.

The basic construction is one large block with 2 adjacent small blocks. The unfinished size of the large blocks is 11" and the smaller size is 6".

 Since my scraps were now 2 1/2" strips, I had to modify the construction of the blocks a bit because the original one had varying width strips.

The finished quilt top measures 66" x 66".   It will have to wait to be quilted until I return to PA.

And here's a vanity shot.

I purposely chose to photograph it with a lizard, because as I was walking to my exercise class, I was scared @#%*less when I saw this creature on the sidewalk.  It was about 3 feet from the tip of its nose to the end of its tail.  It was lurking around some trash cans.

I found out later it was an iguana.

They are an invasive species and there are lots of them roaming around, hanging out in trees.  Their presence is blamed on pet owners who have released them as they grew too large.  There are several groups trying to banish them from the island with names such as "Iguanas Be Gonna".  LOL!!!

Wednesday's Wanderings #42 - Oh Happy Day

I took the plunge and  hired  someone to clean my house. 

I wish I had fabric with smiley faces all over.

My only words - Oh Happy Day!

Wednesday's Wanderings #38 - Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday!!

It's my birthday this week and I thought I would make myself the cake of my dreams!

I do LOVE cake. 

I have a couple of friends that are as crazy about cake as I am. 

When the topic of cake comes up,  all of our eyes light up as if we won the lottery.

I quilted the background with a stitch I learned from my friend Christine.  I loved this stitch and even though it has been years since the first time I saw it, this is the first time I used it.  It reminds me of confetti and that's why I thought it was perfect for the birthday block.

I used a bunch of different embellishing on the different layers. 

I decorated the bottom layer with "pearls" hanging from triangle jewels.

I separated the layers with a piece of pearl trim.

The middle layer was embellished with star sequins and beads.  I really like using a polka dot fabric.  They're lots of fun to use as the basis for embellishments.

I beaded the top layer with a variety of beads. 

You may be wondering why there are 2 candles on the top of the cake. 

 There is a very simple reason.  It's because a very special person shares this birthday with me. 

It's my husband!  An amazing coincidence.

He tells people that he had to search high and low to find someone to marry with the same birth date.

To finish the creation of the cake of my dreams, I must choose the flavors of the 3 different layers.  I have seen this on those dream wedding TV shows, so why can't I have a cake with 3 different flavors?

#1 - Vanilla cake with coconut frosting

#2 - Hazelnut cake with milk chocolate frosting

#3 -  Chocolate cake with mocha filling

(I hope one of my DILs reads this.  They are both terrific bakers.  HINT.  HINT.)

And here's The Giveaway:

I want someone to celebrate my birthday with me.  I have made a second birthday block that is finished like a mini quilt.  Leave a comment and become a follower of my blog to be eligible to win it. The best birthday present would be for me to get to 300 members. (A girl can dream.) If you're a blogger, please share the love and feel free to post my giveaway on your blog - pretty please.

 I will pick a name and reveal it on my next Wednesday's Wanderings. 

 YOU NEED TO COME BACK NEXT WEDNESDAY TO SEE IF YOU HAVE WON.

(I will name the winner at the end of next week's WW.)