The Updated Zebra

 

I love taking an idea and pushing it around, seeing where I can go with it. 

When I made my son a chessboard out of fabric way back in 2000 (can it really be 24 years ago?) I never expected to make a quilt out of the leftovers, or that I'd be selling a tutorial about making them 20 years later.

At any rate, I have made nine of the so-called "Zebra" quilts, and since I published the tutorial in 2020 I have made three more quilts, which have taught me things I didn't know when I wrote the tutorial.

I have been working on updating the Zebra tute with those things, and have added ten pages of information. I've figured out how to fix a triangle if you have cut the wrong one (there are four different triangles and they aren't easily interchangeable); a more efficient way of cutting them out, and I've included instructions on how to make the Fourth of July quilt.

The new Zebra tutorial is live!

You can get all my tutorials here, at my Etsy shop.

Firebird Outside

 

Here is the Firebird quilt, all finished, hanging outside so you can see the real colors. 

It looks good from across the street too.

Firebird is Finished

 

I've spent the last few evenings sewing the binding on the Firebird quilt.

 

 I love the paisley binding.

I love the quilting.

 

I love the fabrics.

 

This is a Zebra quilt. If you would like to make a Zebra quilt, you can get the tutorial here, at my Etsy shop. It's an instant download so you can get started right away.

 Although it looks really nice on the back of my couch, this quilt will not be living here.

 

Boring, Boring, Binding

I have started hand sewing the binding on the front of the Firebird quilt. Normally this time of the year I would be watching Wimbledon while I do this. Alas, not this year.

Binding Firebird

If you thought the fabric I chose for Firebird's binding looked good on the back...

Check it out on the front...

Yeah, I was lucky when I found that fabric online, but as soon as I saw it, I knew.

Firebird is Quilted!

This is so cool!

I made the binding and sewed it on. There will be a lot of hand sewing going on here in the next week.

The Six

I wanted to see the Zebra quilts all lined up, but I don't own them all. So I did my best in making a virtual show.

Top row, from left: Parade of Zebras; Golden Zebras; Tutti Frutti. All these are made from the same layout.

Second row, from left: Jealousy, Aquamarine, Firebird. The first two are made with the same layout. The Firebird quilt is a slight variation.

It's interesting to see them all together.

Playing Around

I think one of the reasons why my quilts turn out so great is that I never stop pushing ideas around. I never settle. It took me a few tries to figure out how to make a dark diamonds quilt and the result was Dark Majesty. It took me months to figure out how to make a black and white divided-in-half Crayons quilt, but the Black & White Crayons is the quilt my pal Julie thinks defines my work.

I know there's a quilt in that oh-so-modern variation, (the first one in yesterday's post.) I just haven't found it yet. I'll figure it out. It may take months, but I'll crack that nut eventually.

In the meantime, I wanted to play around, so last night I went into the studio and came up with this.
To fill in the empty space, I'd need to make more blocks.

And the more I look at this design, I think shifting it over a bit would be better.

Oh yeah, this is better.

I like this. And yes, these are the same blocks I've been playing with the last couple of days.

NOW, here is something I have observed. These zebras can be really bright, and hard to look at, like in the examples above that have a strong light/dark contrast in the pairs. But these designs can be really successful when the pairs do NOT have a strong contrast, like...

the Golden Zebras,

the Jealousy quilt,

or the Firebird quilt.

 So even though the really zingy examples might not float your particular boat, the variations shown here can be adapted to much more subtle, but equally successful designs.

I would have discovered NONE OF THEM had I not pushed the ideas around.

Change Partners and Dance

 

Sometimes the best laid plans go astray. This is a perfectly serviceable quilt. It's lovely in its own very unique way. But it doesn't sing for me. Clearly I need to do more tinkering. It may be that this quilt is simply better when made with fabrics that do not have a high contrast, like the Golden Zebras or the Jealousy quilts. This quilt is something you could do with the leftovers.

Or you could make this. This was made with the same blocks as in the first version.

And you could probably figure out other things to do with these blocks. That is my next trick or two.

The first batch of blues have arrived. The blue jealousy quilt will be called SAPPHIRE.

The Final Firebird & More

I replaced the border on the Firebird quilt yesterday. This is much better than the wimpy yellow that was there before. This quilt is now ready for quilting.

 I also finished the backing for the Partly Sunny quilt.

Here is the Partly Sunny quilt lying on top of the backing. It is also ready for quilting.

I made a cake yesterday. I didn't use the right decorations. I used nonpareils (or "jimmies" as they are called here in New England) instead of "sprinkles." Sprinkles keep their color when they get moist, jimmies lose it. So when I put jimmies in the cake, the dye ran and the cake looks really weird. Instead of a white cake full of colored sprinkles, it is a funny colored cake. But that is only a "cosmetic" issue. The cake tastes great.

I don't usually make a cake with frosting, but with everything going on all over the world, I wanted to make a bit of something fun, silly and totally frivolous. A cake with sprinkles inside and out (yes, I wanted to recreate the "funfetti" cake, but from scratch) checks all the boxes.

 The big surprise I mentioned last week is that I traded in my car. This is the new one. While I was at the town hall transferring the license plates the clerk asked, "Is your car white?" I said yes. "Well, it says here the color is Blizzard Pearl, and I wasn't sure." It is white, it is pearl, and I think it's pretty as hell. (The old car is beside it on the left. That one was "Brown Sugar.")

Old and New

This was the border of the Firebird quilt, but it really didn't work.

So I ripped it out.

Yup, I did.

I will replace it with this yellow in the next few days.

As for the working in the office, here is a shot of the inside of the closet. In this room I am cleaning, sorting, and cleaning out every single shelf, drawer, folder, table, desk in there. I've completely reorganized the inside of the closet. Now it is time to tackle the paper tiger.

Quite frankly, until I'm done in the office, I'm not going to be doing much in the studio.




then again, you know me. If an idea hits me just right...

One Template, Two Templates

Some things LOOK easy, but they can be deceptively difficult. The Zebras quilt is one of them. There are actually FOUR different triangle shapes that get sewn together and believe you me, it is easy to get confused. Still, it's a fun quilt, and the designs you can create are really interesting and very modern looking. This isn't your grandmother's quilt!

I'm working on the tutorial in my head, thinking about everything I want to say and all the little details I want to include. A template is vital.

I'm working with my friend Leslie, a design engineer, to create a template for the long triangle that can be downloaded as a PDF file and then printed to the correct size. When Leslie prints the file on a large format plotter it's perfect, and the next thing I have to do is bring it to a place like Staples to see if it prints the way it should.

I've tested the full size print and it works beautifully. One thing I discovered is that I want the horizontal lines (where the seams for the stripes are) to extend into the seam allowance area, as I have drawn them in the photo above. This should help quilters line up their templates for maximum success. Quilters will be able use the pdf file printouts to create a templates out of poster board, or whatever material they prefer.

The template is important because the triangles have to be the right size to fit together, and I want the stripes to line up properly, like in the photo above. You can't buy a plastic ruler this big, so you need a template. For me that is the biggest hurdle.

So even though you may not be seeing or hearing much about this in the coming weeks, it doesn't mean I'm not doing anything. I have to make the backing for two quilts and sew the binding on two more, so I'm going to be busy.

On the Back of the Firebird

I picked a red for the backing of the Firebird quilt.



Yes, I'll be writing a tutorial for the Zebras quilts. Stay tuned!

A Border for Firebird

  The Zebra quilts are so busy, I feel they need a bit of a border. For the Firebird quilt, it was clear the border had to be yellow.

I had one of these, and purchased three. I really liked the big paisley on the lower left as a binding.

This yellow fabric is just too blah!

It's pretty clear this is way too busy!

This isn't working for me. The border is too busy, and the binding isn't doing anything good either.

I like this fabric as the border.

It even looks good next to the yellow. Now, I have to tell you I didn't want the border to be the same as the yellows in the quilt, because I didn't want the center to "leak" into the border, but I needed a bit of breathing room.

I think this is looking good. I'll figure out what I want for the binding when the quilt is quilted, but for now I'm happy.



***Yes, I'll be writing a tutorial for the Zebra quilts. I'm currently working with a design engineer on a template for the long triangles. Then I'll test it and get going. But it will take a couple of months because I have some dental work to be done first.

Firebird All Sewn Up!

The Firebird quilt is now a flimsy. I've ordered fabric for a narrow border, and I've ordered backing fabric and fabric for a possible binding.

I found 11 more large diamonds, so now I have 125. I used 58 to make the Fifty-Eight Carats quilt, and 60 or 61 to make Magic Carpet, so I know I have enough. I sorted the blocks by color. I have more purple than anything else, but not a wide range of colors. I think there are two yellows and five or six greens. I have a glimmer of an idea but I won't know anything until I start throwing blocks up on the design wall. I have been toying with the idea of arranging the diamonds sideways - which will force me to do something different than the other two. I think it's going to be kind of fun.

Stay tuned!