The Bad Ass Quilt Club: Bazaar Delight

Spool has this really great quilt club that I couldn't resist.  Go check out the full description of the "quilt club for the oddly afflicted" and then come back here to see what I did with my version.  I promise, the blog will still be here.

This is how packages come from Spool.  Totally Bad Ass!

The June pattern is Joy by Jessica Darling.  If you aren't following her amazing work on Instagram you totally should.  An added bonus to joining the club is that you also get this pattern from Villa Rosa Designs for a card holder to hold your pattern cards.  I know I have several of these pattern cards.  I just don't know where I have put them.   That means I need this holder.

I picked out some fun fabrics from Spool in the Bazaar Style line by Pat Bravo for Art Gallery Fabrics.  This fabric is amazing.  I see more of this my future.  I think it would be great for making skirts and shirts.  It is soft, a very tight and stable weave.  This pattern is very simple and requires only 2.5 yards of fabric for the top and binding.  I pulled the solids and the backing fabric from my stash.  (You should also check out the Sale Table at Spool.  Totally worth it.)

This quilt makes up quickly.  I was really happy about the simple piecing.  The cutting is very straightforward with little waste.  I was glad the swirl print (Bellydancer Sky) had a little more than I needed since I did make one cutting error.  With the extra I saved myself some tears.

I wanted to add some applique that would give this little quilt some extra punch.  I grabbed three solids and coordinating threads and Urban Threads' Flash Stitch applique design pack.  All three threads are Magnifico from Superior.  It is a great filament poly thread that is perfect for embroidery and quilting.

I traced my chosen designs onto some fusible web and pressed them onto my fabrics.

Then watched an episode, or two of Downton Abbey while letting the embroidery machine do its work and carefully cutting out my applique shapes.

One of  my stars is a little wonky.  An embroidery machine is not to be trusted while you go get a fresh cup of coffee.  Ever.

I selected this great mauve So Fine #50 from Superior Threads for the top thread and the light gray Omni for the bobbin.  I usually match my needle and bobbin threads but I figured if the intensity was close enough no one would ever be able to tell.

Loaded up and ready to go.  I quilted with a gentle wave design that had some swirls thrown in for interest.  I'm really pleased with the overall effect.

This is the better of the two stars.

Each one of these appliques got me closer to the right answer for preparation, stabilization and stitching speed.

The anchor came out the best, I think.

Machine-finished binding helped me get this one finished in a weekend.  From start to finish, this was one weekend.  I think the quilting took almost as long as the applique, but it was worth it on both counts.

If you like a quick and easy project, or need a quilt in a hurry, this is the perfect project.  If you just want an excuse to buy some fabric, it's good, too.