Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Log Cabin Table Topper in Oakshott Scandinavia



 

This week, I'm sharing the project I made for the Oakshott Scandinavia Challenge over on Sew Mama Sew! When Kristin and Beth announced that the next challenge was Scandinavian designs, I flipped right to my sketchbook page littered with motifs from the movie Frozen (have I ever mentioned how much I love Disney movies? Because I do). I love the clean, modern look of the architecture in that film (I also love the rosemaling accents in the film, which is drastically different, but there you have it).


 The Scandinavia Oakshott Cottons are a rainbow of calm, glittering colors; they give off an ethereal feel. If you've never worked with Oakshott, you must! These shot cottons really do shimmer in the light and they are so easy to work with. They quilt up beautifully, too:


 
Bound in Stockholm, the darkest color of the bunch.
 
The design: This table topper was based off of a wooden floor in the movie (next time you watch, see if you can spot it. And if you haven't seen Frozen, what are you waiting for?!). I decided to make it simple to let the fabrics shine their way through. The entire topper comes out to 28.25" square, and I had very few scraps left! I think this would be a perfect addition to any modern kitchen or space, especially on a white table.



The backing: I pieced together scraps in a rainbow cascade. Now this table topper is double-sided and ready to be used this winter. My mom wants to hang it on a wall - whatever works for her. :)




The quilting: I quilted my project with Aurifil 50 weight #2600 (Dove - light gray), my favorite color. First, I quilted each of the three strips in a different motif (herringbones, small/large pebbles, and tight straight lines). My lines are NOT perfect because I rarely mark my quilting, even with something like a Hera marker. Why not? Because it would have taken a while for something like this, and I just wanted to have fun and quilt. :) And I LOVE how it came out!



I decided the middle squares needed something special, so I searched my sketchbook for some mandala or medallion inspiration. Nothing (now I'm inspired, though, so that might change).




Then, I went to Google (oh, wise Google), typed in "mandala coloring books," and found Quality Kid's Crafts. I printed out the first PDF because it was exactly what I was looking for! I simply scaled the image down, pinned it to the quilt, and quilted right through the paper. In the past, I had done this for Shirley's Stars with great success in my book. 



It was not easy getting the paper out of the small middle sections, but it was worth it (I found another use for my seam ripper, at least. Eternal optimist here).


Quilting brings peace of mind.


Thank you Oakshott and Sew Mama Sew for providing the fabrics for this challenge. It was great fun! Make sure to check out all the other challengers this week!


Jessica Skultety from Quilty Habit (that's me!)
Jennifer Fullteron from Never Just Jennifer
Mary Kolb from Mary on Lake Pulaski
Casey York from The Studiolo
Caitlin Topham from Salty Oat

Linking up to: My Quilt Infatuation, TGIFF, Crazy Mom Quilts.
 

32 comments:

  1. It looks great, Jess, and I love that is is double sided. Great tip for the center quilting. And there are never too many uses for a seam ripper. I call mine my multi-purpose tool !

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  2. Beautiful! The fabric is lovely. I am very impressed with the source of your inspiration for this project! And thanks for the quilting ideas!

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  3. Wonderful quilting on this lovely quilt!

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  4. My first thought on the fabrics was calming. they are lovely and you made it great with the quilting

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  5. I trace my quilting designs on wash away stabilizer, quilt through it, tear away all I can and then spritz the rest with water so it dissolves. Love your quilt.

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  6. your quilt is really pretty. What a lovely little finish. (And thank you for the link! I have to go back and add that to my post!)

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  7. I will totally be looking at all the floors next time I watch Frozen! This turned out really nice, the colors are so pretty together. I love how shot cottons are allllmoooost a solid, and they quilt up beautifully! When I print out something I want to quilt, I then trace it onto a water-soluble stabilizer, and then quilt through it. No tiny paper bits or loose stitches! Just soak it in some water when you are all done. Someone actually asked me to do a tutorial about it...maybe I should do that soon.

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  8. Comgrats with this beautiful finish. Lovely quilting!!

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  9. Just beautiful Jess. I love the subtle colours and the quilting is amazing!

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  10. This is a wonderful link-up to TGIFF! Very pretty finish, Jess. You're right - I can see it sitting gorgeously on a white table. Or on a blonde wooden table like the one downstairs. . .I may have to explore these kinds of colors. ;D I also love that you took your cues from "Frozen" and produced a lovely adult quilt!

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  11. So beautiful! I love the colors and all that quilting! Gorgeous! What a great idea for the centers...I may give that a try!

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  12. Wow, these fabrics really allow your quilting to shine. What a beauty!

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  13. Wow, fabulous quilt, and quilting! I was on a table topper kick for a while there - this may get me going again.

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  14. What beautiful soft colors. You blended them beautifully in your design, and your quilting is just awesome!

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  15. Such beautiful colors and so soft and pretty.

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  16. The quilting is perfect for this project - great job!

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  17. I think this is so beautiful. What a great use of the fabric. And thanks for the tip for quilting through paper designs! I hate marking, and like to decide on designs as I go. This will work perfectly.

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  18. Lovely topper, Jess. Love the muted colors and the quilting really makes it shine.

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  19. Your quilting is very clever and what a good idea to use those mandala colouring sheets. Did you print them on tissue paper for easy removal? Or did you use a shorter stitch length? I am curious to learn more about that!

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  20. What a great idea to use papers for the quilting! Thanks for sharing it.

    Please click on the delaineelliott above for my email link.

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  22. This is a sweet little quilt! Such softness is revealed in the color combination of the Oakshott fabrics. And the quilting is divine! Thanks for sharing your tips on the quilting.

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  23. Beautiful quilt with spectacular quilting! Love the oakshot fabrics and the pastels are refreshing.

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  24. Lovely topper, Jessica. I like the front as well as the back, and I really like the way the pale scandinavian colors would blend with almost any decor.

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  25. The pastel colors remind me of sorbet. I also like your spirograph quilting motif very much! ljbisme at msn dot com

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  26. Second thing I noticed was the design in the cernter of each block. Thanks for explaining. It is so pretty. I think it would be calming to have on the table.

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  27. Lovely colors and beautiful quilting design!

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Let's start a conversation! I love comments and I'd be happy to reply to all who have an email address accessible. Thanks for commenting!

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