Blue Strip #3 Donation Quilt Completely Finished

Blue Strip #3 donation quilt
Blue Strip #3 donation quilt

At my sew day with Cyndi, she worked on binding quilts. One of them was my Blue Strip #3. I am so thrilled because I just finished this one in July! I am thrilled that it is already finished.

We discussed colors to use as binding and eventually settled on a turquoise. I thought a purply blue would look better with the batik border, but she didn’t have such a fabric and I didn’t think it mattered that much. The turquoise turned out to be a great choice.

Cyndi did a machine binding that looks really nice. I have to try and learn that skill.

Blue Strip #3 donation quilt back
Blue Strip #3 donation quilt back

Laura, a longarmer who has been doing quilting for the guild, did the quilting. It is flowers and you can see it really well from the back.

Two New Hackneys

TO MY PARENTS: STOP READING NOW. Everyone else, scroll down.

 

 

 

 

Back to regular programming.

Two New Hackneys
Two New Hackneys

I did all the prep for some new Hackneys after working on the Bristol pouch and the La Pass Border last weekend. These will be gifts for my parents. It just happened that I am working on them at the same time. It is kind of strange since they have been divorced for so many years. Don’t worry, I don’t have illusions of them getting back together.

The Return of Metro Twist

I went over to Cyndi’s the other day to sew. This is not Cyndi of the bag, but Cyndi of the Guild. At first, we were going to work on the Enigma Bag together, but she hadn’t had time to cut out her pieces, so we’ll do that another day.

Metro Twist in process
Metro Twist in process

I took three projects over to her studio and ended up making good progress on Metro Twist. I sewed about 40 blocks, most of which I was able to trim as well. I am super happy that I got back to this project.

Metro Twist ready for the big push
Metro Twist ready for the big push

I put all of the existing blocks up on the big design wall (I had to take Scrappy Celebration down temporarily) and took a look.

Finished: Bristol Pouch

Finished: Bristol Pouch
Finished: Bristol Pouch

I finished the Bristol Pouch. I am pleased with how it came out.

I am also pleased with the “fussy cutting”. I have to laugh, because I didn’t really fussy cut the big flower. It just happened: Happy accident!

Bottom and side
Bottom and side

I think I would construct it a little differently if I made it again. I think the foldy instructions for the bottom are cool, but I don’t like the way it looks on the outside. I also think this technique would be better without the foam. I might try this technique with fusible fleece. The finished piece just feels too thick in the corners. I am pretty sure this is personal preference.

Bristol pouch: top closed
Bristol pouch: top closed

From the top, the pouch looks good. It looks very sleek.

As you can see, I chose a striped binding. I love striped binding and I think the fabric combination looks good.

I am also pleased that my leftover zipper end worked in terms of color with this pouch. I struggled a little to get the zipper to work properly, but once I zipped it a few times, the teeth got themselves organized and there was no problem.

Bristol pouch: top open
Bristol pouch: top open

I really wanted to make this quickly, so I didn’t spend a lot of time choosing fabrics. I used the quilted combination I had from Colleen, but I probably should have matched the binding on the inside to the lining fabric. Maybe next time.

I am not sure how I will use this pouch, but some need will turn up.

Various & Sundry 2023 #10

This is just a short bag edition.

I took some time to trawl through IG for bag patterns. I do not, mind you, need more bag patterns, but I am still looking for the perfect ‘take my tools to Sew Day’ bag. Also, I can’t help it. Previously, I had done a search for bags on IG, which is a stupid search and librarians worldwide are cringing at my lameness. Obviously that didn’t work, so I went away and thought about how I could improve it using a moron-based search engine (e.g. no Boolean, no filtering). I came upon a solution quite by chance, though I am convinced my subconscious was working on it and came up with the solution.

As I was trawling through IG, I saw a new bag pattern announced that I had never seen before. I clicked. Then I went to the pattern company’s website and looked through their bag patterns. Thus I discovered Country Cow Designs. I wouldn’t name my company with a cow, but it isn’t my company, and cows aren’t terrible. They come across as sweet, if a bit large.

Country Cow has some basic tote bag and purse patterns. Nothing earth shattering. One of the bags I like and thought might work for a ‘take my tools to Sew Day’ bag is the Deskasow (why not deskacow? Is a deskasow a thing or it just a surefire name that nobody else would think of?) bag. It is a new pattern and a couple of videos on YouTube. The pattern (£7.50) comes with SVG files and an AO file. The size seems to be about the size of the Kit Supply Tote.

I also like the Kedemouth (is that a cow disease?) messenger bag even though it has no inside pockets. The company has a variety of patterns: bowling shaped bags, backpacks, pouches, etc. They even have a couple of free patterns, which will tell you whether you like their directions.

Next, I came up with SincerelyJen. She has the Rossatron Bag. This is another one that could be THE ‘take my tools to Sew Day’ bag. This one is also about the same size as the Kit Supply Tote.

This ad has a good number of pictures of the inside of the bag, which, you know, is a must for me. It looks like a Kit Supply Tote with a Superbloom top and Take a Stand pockets. Links to videos are included in the pattern. I also like the How YOU Doin’? Bowler Handbag. I like the shape, but probably wouldn’t use it. She also has a variety of interestingly shaped pouches, which would make great gifts.

I also saw a shop called K.Dill Handmade that has bag patterns.  I didn’t see anything I had to hold myself back from buying. I did think that the Jot it Down Ultimate Bundle could be interesting for gifts. It is unclear from looking at the listing whether the pattern includes a size for a composition book**.  If so, I can see this as really being a useful pattern, however, I can’t tell where the company is based.

La Pass Border Weirdness

La Pass: larger border pieces
La Pass: larger border pieces

I have been dabbling on working on the border. The other day, I tried putting a bunch of pieces together to make a larger piece. I wasn’t sure it was right, so I asked Lindsay, who said it looked pretty normal to her.

I laid this out on the coffee table close to the time I was finishing up for the night. I didn’t want to start anything new right then, but I took a photo so I could remember what I had laid out.

La Pass: larger border piece ready for fabric
La Pass: larger border piece ready for fabric

After Lindsay confirmed, I laid out the top and looked at it like that rather than bunched up on the coffee table. It looked like it would work, so I started taping the pieces together.

I have also been replacing some pieces where the motifs were never finished with background pieces. I don’t know if it will make the other motifs look better, but I think it will help them stand out.

Bristol Pouch Impulse

I saw this video (Reel?) by Center Street Quilts on IG and was really intrigued by the construction. I was especially interested in the way the bottom is folded before it gets stitched. I decided to try and make one.

Bristol - first fold
Bristol – first fold

I thought I could make it without buying the pattern, but I ended up buying it. She has a second video, which gives more information. If I had seen it before I started, I might have tried harder.

I didn’t really follow the measurements and I used my pre-quilted fabric, so I didn’t use the accent piece either. I also added a holder, though not a leash.

The first thing is to cut a piece large enough. I made that mistake before I had the pattern. If I make this again, I will make the pouch wider. I don’t like how tall it is turning out in relation to the width.

Bristol Pouch in progress
Bristol Pouch in progress

I followed the pattern and eventually got a pouch looking thing.

I used a piece of a zipper that I had leftover from something else. Yes, the end hangs down. That is how it is in the pattern. I don’t know if I would do that again, but it does avoid dealing with a zipper along the top edge where there is also a bound [formerly] raw side seam.

I put the zipper head on wrong and eventually had to cut off the zipper tab and redo it. Will I learn to pay attention to details like that? I don’t know. I was inspired to use this piece of a zipper by the box of Sew Hungry Hippie zippers in cool colors that I ordered.

It took me awhile to get this far. I could probably do it faster next time.

New Enigma Bag

Enigma Bag #3
Enigma Bag #3

I am going to sew with a friend tomorrow and we are working on Enigma Bags. Mine will be a Christmas gift, so you’ll see the finished product in a few months. I am happy that I got everything ready to go.

I am using some zipper tape that I bought, but didn’t try until last weekend. The zipper heads I bought to go with it didn’t fit, but I have plenty of zipper heads. I found one for a new Hackney I am making and will use the same kind of head on this one.

Butter vs. Margarine?

Pantone 7548: Butter vs. Margarine
Pantone 7548: Butter vs. Margarine

Friend Julie sent me another Pantone Project color postcard last week. On the reverse she wrote that she thought of the color as ‘butter’. I completely lost my mind. I started thinking I was in line for cataract surgery or something, because to me the color looked more like margarine.

As a result, I started running around the house taking photos. I know that all sorts of things -lighting, weather, etc – affect how the camera sees the color, but I have to say that the color in the photo (left) looks pretty true to the color on the postcard.

Living room ceiling and walls
Living room ceiling and walls

My living room has, what I think of as, butter colored walls. It was hard to tell unless I took a photo of the ceiling (white) and the wall (butter yellow). I was pleased to see that I could see a contrast.

 

 

 

Pantone 7548 against living room wall
Pantone 7548 against living room wall

Then I took a photo of the Pantone postcard against the wall. I wasn’t thrilled with the way the paint looked in the second photo. The yellow/butter paint looked white compared to Pantone 7548, but what can a person do? I wasn’t about to set up studio lighting.

 

 

 

 

Pantone 7548 with butter
Pantone 7548 with butter

I actually have butter (as in the food), so I went into my kitchen and compared the postcard to actual butter. Unless I am in need of cataract surgery, I think the yellow in the postcard is brighter.

I don’t mind Friend Julie calling this butter. I am just glad I don’t have any eye problem at the moment.

Sew Day Amy

Amy's blocks
Amy’s blocks

Amy belongs to another modern guild. That guild does block exchanges. People design or select a block and others make them, so the recipient can make a quilt. Amy has been talking for a few months about selecting a block. At Sew Day, she finally showed the blocks she received.

She had people make two and was working on them at Sew Day.I think the blocks look good together, though not 100% matchy-matchy.

She plans to give it to the Community Quilt team as a donation quilt.

EPP Ball #3 Finished

EPP Ball #3 Finished
EPP Ball #3 Finished

Shortly after finishing EPP Ball #2, I finished Ball #3. As I said in the recent La Pass post, I was in desperate need of handwork. Yes, I have knitting, but I seem to have lost the directions and can’t find the name of the project, so I am stuck for now.

Thus, I quickly sewed up the gap for this EPP Ball.

As I said in the previous post for Ball #2, I will give this one to Dameon or Alita. I haven’t decided yet.

September 11…Once Again

I almost didn’t post about that horrific day this year. There are now adults who weren’t even born on that day. There are even more adults who were too young to remember. I still ask myself if anything has changed. The same old men are still in charge. There are still people dying in the Middle East. I am not excusing the radicals; I just don’t know if there is anything that can make everyone tolerate everyone else, stop killing each other for religion and stay in their lane. It is depressing to think about.

Fireball, 2001
Fireball, 2001

I made two quilts to commemorate the lives lost during the destruction of the Twin Towers. The first one was Fireball, which is the imagery I could see as I sat and watched TV the week after that event.

 I was doing woven art pieces at the time and this is one of them. It is chaotic, reminds me of smoke and flames. This is a small quilt, maybe 12×12, and I was able to channel the pure emotion into this piece as I made it very quickly. The quilt was shown at the Houston Quilt Festival that year.

What Comes Next, 2001-2002
What Comes Next, 2001-2002

The quilt I really wanted to make took longer. I wanted to plead for something different than what ended up coming out of that terrible day. I wished for something different than a 20+ year war. People just want to fight when they are attacked; they don’t want to talk.

This is a hard post for me to write. I force myself to do it every year, to get the message of What Comes Next out there, so, perhaps, people will think and do something different next time, though I hope there isn’t a next time.

Sew Day Round Robin

Rhonda's Round Robin
Rhonda’s Round Robin

I was stunned to see Rhonda pin this amazing quilt to the design wall. I really love the design and the colors.

I went and chatted with her about it. It turns out that it is a round robin with Amanda’s center. I believe those are Swoon blocks, like I used in my quilt, Swoon.

Rhonda has had the quilt for awhile and brought it to get started on her border.

I was really pleased to be able to see it. It is gorgeous.

EPP Ball #2 Finished

EPP Ball #2
EPP Ball #2

I was able to sew up the gap in the second EPP ball and it is ready to go to its new home. The birthday isn’t until October, so I have a little time.

I really enjoy making these. If I had some space, I might make one for myself. As it is, I will give this one to Dameon or Alita. I haven’t decided yet.

Sew Day Velvet

Rosie Lee Tompkins 'Lines' quilt
Rosie Lee Tompkins ‘Lines’ quilt

A month or so ago Gerre asked me to help her think through the construction of a velvet quilt similar to one in the Rosie Lee Tompkins exhibit. We talked about foundation paper piecing the long strips that would make a quilt to look like the Rosie Lee Tompkins exhibit entry way quilt.

I don’t remember how this quilt was constructed, but I am pretty sure Ms. Tompkins didn’t use FPP. I could tell Gerre wasn’t 100% on board with the idea. At the time, I couldn’t think of anything else.

Gerre's velvet blocks
Gerre’s velvet blocks

Therefore I was pleased to see that she and Mary had come up with a plan to make the quilt in blocks using the quilt-as-you-go (QAYG) method. What a great idea! They are sewing strips of velvet on to batting, then will sew them together. This technique really helps keep the velvet under control as it is sewn.

At the beginning of the day they had a few blocks already done. I really like the blocks 2d from the right with the white squares. I also like that Gerre is not copying the Rosie Lee Tompkins quilt. I think it is great that she is making it her own.

Gerre's velvet blocks End of the day
Gerre’s velvet blocks End of the day

By the end of the day, they had most of the blocks made. The photo (left) may not show all of them. In this case I really like the black with the silver. I prefer the blocks that use the color as an accent. They are all really beautiful. The sheen of the velvet gives them an amazing lustre.