Friday, May 1, 2015

Dot Dot Dash

I am so excited to get to share with you a new quilt finish today.  I called it Dot Dot Dash and if you can't tell, the name and the design was inspired by morse code.



Dot Dot Dash was made for the May/June Issue of Fons and Porter's Quilting Quickly.  And you can bet that even with all of those little pieces, this quilt goes together super fast.  Strip piecing really speeds  up the piecing process.  It really is oh so fun to make!!  Fons and Porter also has the pattern available digitally for those that prefer digital patterns over magazines.  

  


I used the absolutely gorgeous Mimosa Collection by Another Point of View for Windham Fabrics.  I absolutely love the fun bright colors and wonderful prints of this line!!!  It really was the perfect fabric to make this design really pop!!!   And using the grey's for the scrappy binding, so cute!!!



When it came time to quilt Dot Dot Dash, I tried something new and had so much fun with it.  Since this quilt is all about morse code, I wanted the quilting to look like "radio waves"  I started with one super wavy line and then just stared repeating it with a pretty loose organic echo.   It was so cool to watch how the loose echo turned into a wave that actually moved across the quilt.   It was so fun to quilt and I had the benefit of getting in another mile or so walking back and forth!!  It was exactly the look I was hoping for and I am for sure going to have quilt like this again sometime!!!



Doesn't the picture from the magazine just make you want to curl up on that couch with a good book??  Dot Dot Dash finishes at 60" x 72" so it makes it the perfect size to do just that!!  I hope you love it as much as I do and want to make one of your own.   And if you do, I would love to see it!!!  You can add it to my Flickr Group or email me a picture at happyquiltingmelissa@gmail.com :)


Oh, and if you are planning on making your own Dot Dot Dash, Fons and Porter has made it even quicker and easier for you with this super fun video tutorial ;)    And when you get the blocks made and go to assemble it the quilt top, you don't have to follow my exact layout, I was just mixing it up.  So feel free to do the same and make yours your own individual morse code message ;)



Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I just love being able to share these finishes that I have had to keep secret for a while ;)  It makes it like I just finished them all over again :)


I hope you have a very Happy Quilting Weekend!!!


Linking Dot Dot Dash up to Sarah's and Amanda's ;)








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25 comments:

  1. "Another mile of walking back and forth" LOL. Great pattern and congratulations on being in F&P!
    I am in love with the radio wave quilting you did Melissa! Did you start that first line in the center and then quilt out from there? Do you think this would be doable on a domestic sewing machine?

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  2. It looks fabulous and I love the bright backing with it.

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  3. Melissa! It's beautiful! I love the squares, and I love that wavy quilting. I'm curious (just like Lara B) about whether you started in the middle and worked out or started at the top and moved down. I'm feeling inspired by your productivity. I have two completed quilt tops and a third in progress, and I need to finish quilting those suckers.

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  4. You have so many finishes. I am curious as to what happens to them all?

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  5. I love this quilt and the quilting is awesome!! Thanks for inspiring once again!!!

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  6. Really pretty, I love the quilting!

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  7. Wow, it's amazing, Melissa! I love the bright cheerfulness of it, but could also see it in "guy" colors - imagine blues on a gray background! It would be a great "manly" quilt. Can't wait to give this one a try myself! Whoop whoop!!

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  8. I just have to know ... does it SPELL anything? A secret message perhaps?

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  9. I love it Melissa! The quilting goes along perfectly with the piecing. :-) Looks like a fun one to try!

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  10. What a fun quilt! And I love the fabrics you chose to make it with!

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  11. Great quilt! Congratulations!

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  12. I love this quilt and I love the way you quilted it.

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  13. Oh wow, great quilt. Congrats on a wonderful finish!

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  14. It's wonderful Melissa. I have a quilt planned that will leave me with 16 strips left over, I know exactly what to do with them now (and 2 more).

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  15. Cool idea!! It would be fun to put a message in Morse Code on a quilt!

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  16. Does it spell out anything? Great quilt pattern.

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  17. It is a fun, fun quilt and the fabrics are super appealing! Great work.

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  18. Another really awesome quilt, Melissa. And I love, love, love the quilting pattern.

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  19. Such a lovely fresh design. Thanks for the tutorial link. Visiting from FIUF.

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  20. That is a fun quilt! And I really liked the block you did last for your Bee, too :) I did want to mention also that I saw you were interested in quilting for left handers. I just watched a series of videos made by Lori Holt called Embroidery Basics. She does mention, at least, how a left hander would do each stitch differently and I think it might be enough for you to be able to do the stitches. She is very clear and I got a lot out of the series. I think she did the series for the Fat Quarter Shop but it's hard to find scrolling through their videos. I would just search for it on YouTube. Embroidery Basics by Lori Holt. I really hope this works for you!
    Beth

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  21. What a fun quilt and it looks like it would be a perfect project for my ever mounting scrap bins. Brilliant!

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  22. My dad would have loved this quilt! He was a ham radio operator, and when he was away on business, he sent me postcards--written in Morse code!

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Thank you so much for your sweet comments. I just love hearing from you!!
Have a Happy Quilting Day :)

Melissa