Happy Fall Y'all!

Thursday, August 15, 2019

This month's Aurifil Artisan challenge was to make a whole cloth mini quilt using a Painter's Palette solid fabric. The catch? I had to use whatever color was sent to me. And you know what color I got??

Autumn whole cloth mini quilt using Painter's Palette Mink solid fabric and Aurifil threads

Brown.

Brown!



To be fair, the color is really "mink." And it's actually a beautiful color that reminds me of bunny fur.

I did consider making a bunny quilt, and found lots of inspiration on Pinterest, but the longer the fabric waited for its turn in the spotlight, the more it wanted to be something else.

I knew I wanted to add color, so I picked out a palette of autumn inspired Aurifil threads, and a plan started to form.

Aurifil 50wt #2460 Dark Carmine Red
Aurifil 50wt #2255 Dark Red Orange
Aurifil 50wt #1154 Dusty Orange
Aurifil 50wt #2125 Wheat
Aurifil 50wt #2892 Pine

Aurifil threads

Using Canva, I created a text graphic that said, "Give thanks." I printed it so it would be 9" wide.

Give Thanks graphic made in Canva

Then using my son's lightbox, I traced the words onto the fabric using an air erasable pen.

Autumn whole cloth mini quilt using Painter's Palette Mink solid fabric and Aurifil threads
Autumn whole cloth mini quilt using Painter's Palette Mink solid fabric and Aurifil threads

I pin basted two fat quarters (cut from one half yard) of the Painter's Palette Mink fabric and two layers of Hobbs Heirloom Premium Cotton batting

I chose Aurifil 12wt thread #2890 Dark Grass Green for the word "GIVE." I used Aurifil 50wt #2892 Pine in the bobbin. Then using my walking foot on my Juki, I stitched over the letters twice.

Autumn whole cloth mini quilt using Painter's Palette Mink solid fabric and Aurifil threads

Next, I switched to the free motion foot and 40wt Aurifil #1103 Burgandy for the word "Thanks."

Autumn whole cloth mini quilt using Painter's Palette Mink solid fabric and Aurifil threads
Autumn whole cloth mini quilt using Painter's Palette Mink solid fabric and Aurifil threads

I outlined the letters first, then filled them in with tiny free motion stitches. I went over each section multiple times until the letters were filled in as much as I wanted.

Autumn whole cloth mini quilt using Painter's Palette Mink solid fabric and Aurifil threads

Next was adding some leaves!

Autumn whole cloth mini quilt using Painter's Palette Mink solid fabric and Aurifil threads

I printed several leaf outlines using Google images.

Autumn whole cloth mini quilt using Painter's Palette Mink solid fabric and Aurifil threads

I traced each one with the air erasable pen (one at a time so the marker wouldn't disappear too quickly), then free motion quilted it using one of the original five Aurifil 50wt colors I chose before starting the quilt.

Autumn whole cloth mini quilt using Painter's Palette Mink solid fabric and Aurifil threads
Autumn whole cloth mini quilt using Painter's Palette Mink solid fabric and Aurifil threads

I filled in with partial leaves on the edges where needed.

Autumn whole cloth mini quilt using Painter's Palette Mink solid fabric and Aurifil threads

Then I used my 12 1/2" square ruler to cut out the mini quilt.

Autumn whole cloth mini quilt using Painter's Palette Mink solid fabric and Aurifil threads

It made trimming up the quilt really easy!

Autumn whole cloth mini quilt using Painter's Palette Mink solid fabric and Aurifil threads

I carefully cut the excess fabric away, and had just enough unquilted fabric at the top and bottom to cut three 2 1/4" strips for binding! Of course I machine sewed it on (tutorial here).

Autumn whole cloth mini quilt using Painter's Palette Mink solid fabric and Aurifil threads

Here's a peek from the back showing the binding.

Autumn whole cloth mini quilt using Painter's Palette Mink solid fabric and Aurifil threads

I absolutely love how the quilt turned out!

Autumn whole cloth mini quilt using Painter's Palette Mink solid fabric and Aurifil threads

Using two layers of batting really gives the quilt fantastic texture.

Autumn whole cloth mini quilt using Painter's Palette Mink solid fabric and Aurifil threads
Autumn whole cloth mini quilt using Painter's Palette Mink solid fabric and Aurifil threads

A close-up of the text reveals just how tiny the free motion quilting is!

Autumn whole cloth mini quilt using Painter's Palette Mink solid fabric and Aurifil threads
Autumn whole cloth mini quilt using Painter's Palette Mink solid fabric and Aurifil threads

Even though it's a whole cloth quilt, there is lots of subtle color in the leaves.

Autumn whole cloth mini quilt using Painter's Palette Mink solid fabric and Aurifil threads

I love the back! It's an exact mirror image of the front!

Autumn whole cloth mini quilt using Painter's Palette Mink solid fabric and Aurifil threads

I'm really pleased with how the quilt turned out! And to be honest, I really want to get another half yard of the Mink color to make a bunny quilt...

Autumn whole cloth mini quilt using Painter's Palette Mink solid fabric and Aurifil threads

I'm also especially chuffed at having a fall quilt made before it's actually fall!

Autumn whole cloth mini quilt using Painter's Palette Mink solid fabric and Aurifil threads

Thank you Aurifil and Paintbrush Studio Fabrics for a fun challenge this month!


The fabric and thread for this quilt were provided by Paintbrush Studio and Aurifil.

This post contains affiliate links. Clicking a link will NOT affect the purchase price.

11 comments:

  1. That is so perfect for fall! Love the way you did the leaves.

    ReplyDelete
  2. You really had some inspiration! Amazing. I couldn't believe that you actually cut into some of that beautiful leaf work! Thanks for the pics and descriptions.

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a beautiful quilt. I admire your control in getting the word Thanks to come out so perfectly! The quilt with all the leaves, the color changes and the fall theme is truly lovely.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh, that's wonderful. I am very impressed with your turning that into something really lovely. I like the way the wall paint matches the Thanks, too. =)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Beautifully done, Laura! I love that teeny-tiny quilting to make the word Thanks :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Beautiful, perfect for fall/Thanksgiving.
    patsystitch@gvtc.com

    ReplyDelete
  7. That is amazing. At first, I thought you appliqued the word thanks. Beautiful mini.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Love this! The leaves especially are amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wow. Great piece. That is a lot of tiny FMQ. Kudos!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Gorgeous mini for fall! The fact that it's a wholecloth quilt really lets the words stand out. So pretty. Thanks for sharing on my 300th Wednesday Wait Loss.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for visiting and for your comments! I try to reply to comments via email, so if you're expecting a response and don't hear from me, check if you're a no-reply blogger. Happy sewing!