January 27, 2022

From Roses to a Noodles Mini

For Mother's Day last year, Paul bought me this bouquet of fabric roses from a local quilt shop. Didn't they do a fabulous job on the presentation?
fabric roses | DevotedQuilter.com
Usually when I get new fabric that I don't already have a purpose for, it goes straight into my stash for whenever I need it. With these, though, I really wanted to keep them together, for at least one project, and eventually I decided to use them to make another mini version of my Noodles pattern. You can get the Noodles pattern in my Etsy shop. The A Stitch a Day printable is listed in my shop, too!
Noodles quilt pattern | DevotedQuilter.com
I made the blocks at the start of September, but then they just sat until earlier this month when I finally got them sewn into a top. Then, feeling like I was on a roll, I used some of the leftover fat quarters to piece together a back. Usually I can't stand the thought of piecing a back, except a single seam to make yardage wide enough if I have to, but putting four pieces together for a mini quilt back didn't seem too daunting.
pieced quilt back | DevotedQuilter.com
In usual fashion, I knew how I wanted to quilt the yellow curves, but not how I wanted to quilt the blocks, so I started with the curves. A quick outline with Aurifil 1135, then back and forth lines filled in each curve nicely. Of course, it shows up best on the back.
Noodles quilt free motion quilting detail | DevotedQuilter.com
While quilting the curves, I noticed this shape on one of the print fabrics, with all of the swirls around the edges that made me think of the Flourish quilting motif in Christina Cameli's book Step-by-step Free Motion Quilting, so that's what I decided to use for the blocks. 
print fabric inspiration for free motion quilting | DevotedQuilter.com
After some debate, and after asking for opinions on social media, I used Aurifil 4225 (Eggplant) to quilt the blocks. I wasn't really sure about it when I started quilting on one of the clamshell fabrics. The combination of the quilting design and the thread colour obscures the print when viewed up close.
Noodles quilt pattern | DevotedQuilter.com
I was committed at that point, though, because I didn't want to rip out the quilting I had done, so I kept going and hoped I would like it when it was all finished. Thankfully, I do!

The quilting definitely changes the look of the print fabrics, especially the one with the flourish-like motif on it, but I still like the overall effect.
Noodles quilt pattern | DevotedQuilter.com

Noodles quilt pattern | DevotedQuilter.com
And the quilting looks so good on the solid and textured fabrics!
Noodles quilt pattern | DevotedQuilter.com
Can you see the mistake I made when I put the blocks together? I didn't see it until the quilting was well underway, so I wasn't going to take the quilt apart to fix it. Have I ever mentioned how much I dislike ripping out free motion quilting? The problem has to be really bad to make me take out quilting, lol. 
Noodles quilt pattern | DevotedQuilter.com
Did you find the mistake? In case you didn't, the second and fourth blocks down on the left should be flipped over, so each set of four blocks form a kind of pinwheel, like they do on the right. I figure since it's two blocks that are wrong, we'll just call it a design feature.

This is now three mini quilts made this year, all of them using up pieces of Warm and Natural batting left over from making larger quilts. You can see the first two in this post. Three finishes already feels a great start to the year!
Devoted Quilter quilt label | DevotedQuilter.com
I'm so glad I used the fabrics from the roses to make this Noodles mini, even if I did mess up the layout on my own pattern! If you want to make your own Noodles quilt (mini, baby or throw size), get the PDF pattern or the printed pattern in my Etsy shop.
Noodles quilt pattern | DevotedQuilter.com

6 comments:

  1. What an awesome Mother's Day bouquet; such a smart idea! I love that you kept the fabrics together for this mini. From a distance the quilting adds a beautiful texture and the prints glow through. Hooray for such a productive start to the year. :)

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  2. Your quilt is so cheerful. It's extra nice to see those close up shots to understand your process even better. I love those fabric roses. Wish we all had a pattern for them. I'm sure one exists online, but somehow your gift seems different than many others. Flowers that keep looking pretty forever!! Thanks so much for the wonderful share.

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  3. What a thoughtful gift! I really like what you've done with these fabrics, and I think the quilting looks good on it, even if it does obscure the details in the print a little bit. Well done!

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  4. That fabric bouquet is just gorgeous! I've never seen anything like it. And the quilt you made from it is the perfect use of those prints. It's refreshing to see "a mistake" in a quilt, though there's really no such thing. Makes me recall that Fons and Porter did the same in their first quiltmaking book "Quilter's Complete Guide." In the book, there's a lovely quilt draped over a crib, and the mistake (block turned the wrong way) is glaring! Marianne said that NO ONE caught the mistake, during the quilt making, during the photography, or during the book editing! I think such an error makes the quilt memorable, and gives it character. The quilting you did, inspired by the print, it simply perfect. I always suggest to new quilters that they choose a backing print with a pattern that they can follow, for practicing effective FMQ. It's a great idea, isn't it? I'm happy for you to have this beautiful finish.

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  5. What a beautiful fabric bouquet - and that yu kept them all in the same project will forever let you remember them!! I love it!

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