A Quilty Finish - QR Bar Code Quilt

**Personal note - I intended for this blog post to go up 2 weeks ago but unfortunately, there was a death in my family.  This combined with a preplanned short spring break trip and preparing for the local quilt show has put a stop to my blog posting for the last 2 weeks.  But I'm back now and I have a quilty finish to talk about today!**

Well, I've gone and done it.  I finally finished my QR Bar Code quilt and I only had to unpick the binding 3 times!

 TADA!  I love it when I finish something because most of the time I just feel like I'm spinning my wheels.

I like this picture because I think you can really see the pattern of the code because of the distance to the quilt.  The closer the quilt is, the more the pattern disappears.

 I went with an organic wave quilting pattern which I also did on my Martha's Cross quilt.

I love this quilting pattern.  It's fun to do and I think it looks great.  Especially on quilts like this that are all squares.

It is quilted with a light gray Aurifil thread number 2600.  I didn't want to use white because of the way it would have contrasted with the turquoise on the back of the quilt.  I wanted the thread to disappear more than white would have.

And this is the awesome back of the quilt.  I used all the leftover squares to make the rectangle of squares in the center.  I used Kona Snow to create a frame around the squares and then finished it off with Kona Turquoise.  I'm not sure if I like the back or front more.  :)

Pretty, yes?  The quilting runs vertically up and down the quilt.

 

This is my label.  I don't like the way I did it.  I found this tutorial online that keeps you from having unfinished edges by sewing 2 squares of fabric together and then turning it right side out so all the seams are on the inside.  Then, you attach it to your quilt back and quilt over it.  I can't remember where I saw the tutorial but I don't like it and probably will never use it again.  The edges are too bulky because of the inside seams and it looks terrible.

But, if you notice at the bottom of the label, there is a scanable QR code that Ebony Love sent me for my label.  If you scan it, my quilt means "HAPPY".

I have since found a tutorial on My Quilt Infatuation that is much better and I've used it 2 times now.  It makes a much prettier label.

And look at the binding.  Not bad huh?  I think I'm getting better.

Quilt Stats:
QR Bar Code Quilt which means Happy
Pattern by Ebony Love

Measures 43 1/2 inches by 43 1/2 inches
Pieced and quilted by Tricia Harvey
Quilted on my home machine, a Brother SE - 400
Finished February 2014

Made with all Kona Cotton in many different colors.  Quilted with Aurifil thread in light gray 2600.
Organic wave quilting.  Binding is the same Kona Turquoise from the back of the quilt.

Ok, now here is a neat FYI.  The is a website - http://www.qrstuff.com/ - where you can go and type in anything and it will give you the QR code.  You need to select "plain text" and then you can type in your name, your kids names or anything, get the code and make your own quilt.  I also thought it would be a neat wedding gift to put in the couples names and the date of their wedding and then make the QR code quilt.

**Linking up to My Quilt Infatuation**

Quilty Finish - QR Bar Code Quilt Top

In this post, I talked about some of my classes that I took at the 2013 Houston Quilt Festival including the QR Bar Code quilt with Ebony Love.

What is a QR Bar code?  To be honest, I had no idea when I took the class.  But it was listed under the modern quilting category and it sounded cool plus I read Ebony Love's articles in Quilty magazine so I wanted to take her class.  Anyhoo, this is a QR bar code.

 I always just called those "the little scanny box things".  I mean, I have an Iphone but I can barely use it.  Seriously, I have about 3 apps and they don't include the scanny app for the QR  code.

 But once I got into the class and saw the cool quilt she had made, I got so excited.  I've always just ignored those little things but now I think they're cool.  I also think Ebony is cool for having thought to make this into a quilt.

Our class was great.  It included the above book which had patterns for 4 different bar code quilts.  Each quilt meant something different when you scanned it.  I chose to make the quilt which means "happy" when you scan it.  The fabrics were also included in the class.  Precut Kona cottons in 2.5 inch strips plus about a yard of the background fabric.  All we had to do to get started was cut the strips into 2.5 inch blocks.   There are 9 large blocks per quilt.  Each large block has 49 2.5 inch blocks in it.

I almost finished 1 block in class (just had the last 2 rows to attach) but when I got home and started working on it, I realized my sewing machine and the sewing machine in the classroom had 2 different 1/4 inch seam allowances.  Sigh.  I scrapped that block and started over.

Here is my quilt top all finished.  I'm working on the back now.  I'm using the remainder of the 2.5 inch squares as a stripe and then completing the back with a solid color.  I've promised to have this quilt completed in time to enter it in our local quilt show.  This years theme is modern quilting so it should fit in.  All the colors and the size of the quilt (which is about 43 x 43 ish) make it unable to scan with your phone but I think all the pretty colors still read "happy".  Don't you?

My son held it up outside for me yesterday which was a lovely sunny day.  It makes it look like stained glass doesn't it?  I just love it.

I wish I had time before the quilt show to remake it in a black and white quilt because I think people would recognize what it is better if it were black and white.  My husband says no one will have a clue what it is.  Maybe they'll read the little card on the side.  :)


And one last thing.  Look over to the right!!! I've joined the Modern Quilt Guild as an individual member.  Pretty cool huh?  I'm pretty excited about it.
**Linking up to Crazy Mom Quilts, Can I get a Whoop Whoop?, and My Quilt Infatuation.**

WIP Wednesday - QR Bar code quilt

One of the classes I took at the Houston Quilt Festival last fall was the QR Bar Code Quilt with Ebony Love.

There are 9 big squares total with 49 small squares in each one.  So far I have 8 squares finished.  Here is my teaser pic of some of the squares.  

I'm trying to get the quilt top finished asap.  My goal is to enter it in our local Quilt show in March so I only have a few more weeks to get my entry in.

Thanks for reading!

** Linking up to WIP Wednesday**

Houston International Quilt Festival - Part 2

Welcome to the Houston International Quilt Festival 2013.  I'm not going to go over every detail or anything.  Just hit some highlights.

This is Ebony Love.  She was my instructor for the Modern QR code quilt class.  The QR (quick read) code is that little scanny thing that is on everything now.  You scan it with your phone and it gives info about whatever it's advertising.

So in this class, we started making one in quilt form.  Ebony was the most professional quilt instructor I've ever had.  Her instructions were all written down for each of the 4 quilts that we could choose from.  She even had them bound with a spiral.  Just that alone made her class awesome.  
We could choose between a gray or off white background and I got to class too late to nab a gray but that's ok because I probably would have chosen the white anyway.
When our quilts are finished they will look like a QR code.  Because they are in color, they won't be scanable but Ebony said that she will send us a label for our quilts that has the scanable bar code on it when we finish our quilt tops.  I'm working on mine now and hope to have it done in time to enter it in our local quilt show.

I really enjoyed all of the classes I took this year.  Not a stinker in the bunch.  I have pics on my phone of some of the other classes and maybe someday I'll get them loaded to my computer so I can post some.

Here I am in my witches costume for Quiltapalooza.  I loved my tulle skirt.  But out of all the people there, about 80% were dressed as witches.  It occured to me that I could have made mine in pink and gone as a Barbie or something.  Maybe next year.  It was a fun party though.  Lots of great costumes and they gave away tons of prizes.  Unfortunately, no one at our table won any.  :(

This was my favorite quilt from the Modern Quilt quild display in the quilt show.  It is called Fireworks Quilt by Tara Faughnan, an individual MQG member.  To see all of the Modern Quilt Guild display, go here.

One of the classes I took was called Fifty Shades of Groovy By Leslie Tucker Jenison.  Her Fifty Shades quilt is one of the ones on display in the above link.  Her class was fun and she is a great teacher.

One disappointment I had was that the majority of the quilts seemed to be landscape quilts.  I love landscape quilts and art quilts but it seems to me that such a major show could have divided the categories up better.  Maybe have an equal amount of each kind of quilt.  I also wish the Modern Quilt display had been bigger.  It's quite a large movement at this point and I think there should be more recognition.  They did offer Modern quilting classes this year, which was a first.  I took as many of them as I could get into.  I'm hoping for even more next year.