This is Boom - my entry for the Modern Quilt Guild Michael Miller Fabric Challenge.
earlier this year the Modern Quilt Guild announced a fabric challenge with Michael Miller fabrics - we were to make something quilted with six fat eighths provided by Michael Miller - adding solids or any other Michael Miller fabrics.
These are the fabrics I received on 2 May.
As soon as I saw them I had an idea to do a "brick" design based on one of the fabrics - I cut out a few of the fabrics using a dresden ruler and put them on my design wall and I didn't like it at all !
So I just started rearranging the fabrics and of course being dresden pieces I automatically put them in a circle - my thoughts were an atomic blast but the strobe of a disco ball was edging in as well !
having already cut them out meant that I needed to fill them ! I had some Michael Miller Cotton Couture in Luna that looked really good with the fabrics so I used that.
I managed to sew pieces of solid to the already cut dresden pieces and then recut but for the record its much easier to sew the pieces together first then cut them out with the ruler !
so it was starting to take shape - the fabric range is called Pinwheel Petals and there is a wonderful petal fabric that I thought might look good in the centre - I had already decided that I wanted to piece the centre and outer circles - well, it was a challenge so I might as well really challenge myself !
I tried out the petal fabric for the centre but wasn't convinced.
So I did a bit of colouring in (using the avery app) and added a piece of luna around the petal in the centre - still not happy !
but I was happy with the idea of the luna for the background. I tried the petal again with the luna in place and folded the petal flower fabric up.
after much deliberation, I decided I liked just the luna in the centre.
it was starting to look like I had imagined ! phew !!
now I just had to work out how to piece it all together - I have enrolled in Cheryl Arkinson's Circles craftsy class so I knew that I could make templates but they're way easier when they're 3" circles !!
I ironed one of the quarter circles onto freezer paper and then traced the outline onto folded greaseproof paper and added a 1/4 inch seam - it was a bit fiddly but it worked !
so I managed to piece the outer, middle, and inner circles all together and I had a top ! woo hoo !
so onto the quilting !
I'm pretty much in love with matchstick quilting and as its a mini and a circle design I didn't even think about using my beginner free motion quilting skills ! so matchstick quilting it was - I looked at a few different threads and my choices were Aurifil varigated 4662 or King Tut varigated 927 - I went with the Aurifil !
the quilting began !
it did take a few hours - well, I didn't actually time it but it took the best part of a day and a bit !
half way through I asked my IG friends for their thoughts on quilting the centre - I did a few sketches and posted on IG - I was tossing up between #3 (in keeping with the matchstick quilting) and #4 (for the bubbling centre of an atomic blast) and suggested maybe #3 - most agreed so I happily finished off the centre too ! next time I'm going to use the pebbles for the centre !
and finally the quilting was done !
I just needed to bind it and Boom was finished !
I like to bind my minis in the same fabric as the background - I like the infinity effect it gives !
I decided to put a couple of coral slivers in the binding to add a little pop of colour - as soon as the binding was on I started having doubts about my choice but the lovely IG community put those to rest !
Boom has been entered on the Modern Quilt Guild website and is now hanging on my wall in my lounge room which makes me happy.
one final close up of that matchstick quilting - love !!!
Stats
size:20"x20"
pattern: improv dresden block
top fabric: Petal Pinwheels and Luna Cotton Couture - Michael Miller
backing fabric: Luna Cotton Couture - Michael Miller
binding fabric: Luna and Coral Cotton Couture - Michael Miller
batting: Warm and White cotton
quilting: matchstick by me
thread: Aurifil #4662 varigated Creme De Menthe