ColorPlay: Compass

Disney Compass
Disney Compass

More imagery from my Disney trip. This was a new image that I had never seen before and it really appealed. The detail is fabulous. In hunting around for an image for today, I thought of this. It didn’t turn out to be great for color, but I think some of the palettes are interesting.

ColorPlay-Compass-default
ColorPlay-Compass-default

Of course the default palette is neutral heavy! Still there is that Sea Glass (great name, don’t you think?) fabric that lightens up the piece. Also some of the other colors have blue and purple twinges (undertones?), which makes the palette look at little less dark and depressing.

ColorPlay-Compass-n1
ColorPlay-Compass-n1

The first palette I made is a little all over the place. It isn’t very cohesive. Of course, I like the Lake and Niagra fabrics. It is interesting that the color names are related to water, though perhaps not surprising. I am not a fan of the Rose. It looks sick to me.

ColorPlay-Compass-n2
ColorPlay-Compass-n2

I went straight to monochromatic, which was marginally successful. I ended up with two of the same fabrics. C’est la vie. I do like the blues. I think my favorite is the Azure, but the Robin’s Egg is nice, too.

ColorPlay-Compass-n3
ColorPlay-Compass-n3

Palette n.3 is all over the place as well, though not a mess, I think. I don’t remember seeing Natural before. I have done a lot of palettes, so I could just not be remembering. The Wasabi looks like sunshine yellow on the bottom, which I like. It has more a green tinge on the side. The Garnet does not have enough red to look Garnet to me. I think it looks more plummy.

ColorPlay-Compass-n4
ColorPlay-Compass-n4

N.4 might be my favorite. It isn’t quite monochromatic, but stays well in the cool shades realm. I like the way Surf looks more purple on the bottom. I think it adds to the palette even though I think one of  the websites used to create this might be off. I think the lights look really good.

ColorPlay-Compass-n5
ColorPlay-Compass-n5

Finally, I decided to get out of my comfort zone and create something with more gold. Palette n.5 heads into the neutrals pretty quickly. I am not a very big fan of this particular palette, but it is different and it does remind me of Mrs. K’s gold Spiky 16 Patch.

 

What will inspire you today?

 

 

Dream Projects #10

I last wrote about my dream projects in July. Since then, I have, actually and surprisingly, made some progress on this list. This makes me kind of feel like writing down dream quilts isn’t a terrible idea. Of course, some projects haven’t changed.

Art Institute of Chicago Fusible Applique’ (Ticker Tape Style) Quilt

  • Status: Dream state
  • Pattern: Original, I do have a version of the pattern I used for the Whole Cloth quilt and I will use it as starting point.
  • Fabric: Turquoise and red, mainly, but other colors for the leaves and flowers, perhaps
  • Steps: need to fuse a bunch of turquoise to some piece of fabric in the ‘ticker tape’ style so i can cut it up into small pieces. I am thinking of making it similar to the Whole Cloth Quilt and using red, again, for the background.
  • Thoughts: I might make another one with turquoise on top of red with just two pieces of fabric.

Art Institute of Chicago Fusible Applique’ (one sheet of fabric) Quilt

  • Status: Dream state
  • Pattern: Original, I do have a version of the pattern I used for the Whole Cloth quilt and I will use it as starting point.
  • Fabric: Turquoise and red, mainly
  • Steps: need to fuse a big piece of turquoise to SoftFuse or similar, then cut out the image and fuse it to the background. I would satin stitch all around the image. I don’t know that I can make one continuous piece, but will try. The image would be similar to the Whole Cloth Quilt and using red, again, for the background.
  • Thoughts: I might make it with turquoise on top of red with just two pieces of fabric.
  • Added: 9/14/2017

Basketweave Baby

  • Status: Dream state
  • Fabric: Scrappy
  • Pattern: Fons & Porter, series 1000, episode 1005
  • Thoughts: I like the challenge of piecing this quilt and using a lot of partial seams for the piecing

Blue Rectangles Gradation Quilt

  • Status: Hunting and Gathering
  • Fabric: blue 2.5×4.5 rectangles
  • Pattern: similar to FOTY 2008
  • Thoughts: I can’t decide if this is still a dream or if it is already started and I just need to arrange it and start piecing. I have done a lot of cutting, so I think I have started it, thus it may not be a dream anymore. The original idea stemmed from the FOTY quilts. I just decided to do a monochromatic version – using just blues, in this case. I probably have enough patches now and just need to slot the time to work on it into my schedule.

Blue Lemonade

  • Status: Hunting and Gathering
  • Fabric: blue, purple and green scrappy
  • Pattern: inspiration from TFQ’s Pink Lemonade quilt
  • Thoughts: I probably had enough squares to make this quilt, but then I used a bunch of them to make En Provence. Now I am working on cutting more. I hope to slot the time into my schedule int he not too distant future.

Easy Street

  • Status: have pattern/ dream state
  • Fabric: pinks
  • Pattern: Easy Street by Bonnie Hunter
  • Thoughts: I really liked Daisy‘s version of Easy Street, which she calls Cherry Bomb (she thinks of the best names for her quilts) in terms of color and feel. I don’t want to copy her, but if I do this quilt, I’d like to have the same pinky-red feel to it. One challenge about a mostly monochromatic quilt is getting enough contrast. I look forward to that challenge. Not sure this will become a reality.

En Provence #2

  • Status: Dream state
  • Pattern: En Provence by Bonnie Hunter
  • Thoughts: I loved the one I made before and can’t stop thinking about it. I have to make another one, but I can’t figure out what colors to use next. The ones I used before were almost perfect.

Feathered Star Block (or quilt?)

Good Night Irene Quilt

  • Status: dream state
  • Pattern: Good Night Irene from the Missouri Star Quilt Company’s Block magazine, Spring issue v.2, issue 2, pg. 54
  • Fabric: I decided not to use a layer cake and will use the scrap 2.5 inch squares I have been cutting. I love the cheerfulness of Scrapitude Carnivale, as I say over and over, and am not done with that combination yet.
  • Thoughts: I thought about using dots on a white background, as I did with the Scrapitude Carnivale quilt as the background. It makes the Scrapitude quilt look so cheerful. I probably wouldn’t call it Good Night Irene.

Interlocking Triangles Quilt(s)

  • Status: dream state
  • Pattern: This is an idea that I designed myself. I made two quilts and have variations on the pattern to make more.
  • Fabric: I have a few different collections of fabric I want to use. Most are rainbow colored; I also have a lot of stripes to use
  • Thoughts: This is a quilt from which I get a lot of bang for my buck. The visual impact is tremendous. The easiest way to do the spiky triangles is with paper piecing. I am not that big of a fan of paper piecing (read my laments about the Spiderweb‘s paper piecing). I made Spiky Stars using templates and that was meditative and won a prize, so it is doable.

Jack’s Chain Quilt

  • Status: dream state
  • Pattern: Jack’s Chain, a continuous pattern
  • Fabric: bright scrappy, consistent centers
  • Thoughts: This is one of the first quilts I saw hanging in a quilt store and thought of making, after I learned to quilt. I have seen a number of variations lately using different hexagons in the center. It occurred to me recently that I could do four rings and make a pillow cover instead of a whole quilt. Partially, I thought of this because I saw an EPP pattern for this quilt. Taking on another large EPP quilt is not in the cards.

Music Quilt

  • Status: dream state, but not very inspired
  • Pattern: Top will have a piece of music the Young Man can actually play. That will probably be applique’
  • Fabric/Colors: music prints and tone-on-tones with a little red
  • Thoughts: The Young Man has requested this quilt as his high school graduation quilt. I missed that deadline. He has sent me a piece of music, which I printed out. Now I need to make into an applique’

Pineapple (Hunting and Gathering)

  • Status: I have some strips cut.
  • Fabric: dots. Have most of the strips cut. Will be much more selective about which strips I use.
  • Pattern: Pineapple log cabin
  • Thoughts: I haven’t given up on a Pineapple quilt despite my frustration with the previous attempt. I bought a different ruler: a Creative Grids Pineapple ruler in hopes that it will work better for me

Silk Colorblock quilt

  • Status: I have the fabrics and the plan
  • Fabrics: silk dupioni and cotton in brights (of course)
  • Pattern: Similar to Colorblocks 2
  • Thoughts: I have made a couple of, what I call, Colorblock quilts over the years. One was the Kona Challenge in 2011, another was my 1990 Colorblocks 2 and the first one, Colorblocks, also made in about 1990. I bought the silk fabrics at the Marin Needlearts show about a zillion years ago and they have languished waiting for me to learn to back them so I can use them. I think I have that covered now and there is nothing stopping me except time and will.

Spin Wheel

  • Status: Hunting and Gathering
  • Pattern: Fons & Porter Spin Wheel, 1200 series, episode 1201
  • Fabric: Scrappy with controlled scrappy background
  • Thoughts: I like the construction of this quilt and am convinced that I will make it. Another one just waiting for time and will.

Windmill (Hunting and Gathering)

  • Status: half cut; need more greys for the background
  • Fabric: Scrappy. I will use a grey for the background, because if I use more of the cut fabric patches, the pattern will be lost. The pieces are too oddly shaped and I don’t want to lose the pattern in a mass of scraps.
  • Pattern: Come Quilt with Me Rotary templates
  • Thoughts: I think I will buy the Sizzix template and cut grey windmill pieces with that instead of by hand

Out of the Dream State: Below is a list of projects that were on this list at some point that I actually made or am working on:

Other:

I removed Stepping Stones #3 from the list, because I decided to give the pre-cuts to quiltmakers from the CampFire who need projects to work on. The details were:

  • Status: waiting.
  • Fabric: Macaron pre-cuts from Hoffman. It isn’t started, but I have lots of pre-cuts and think they would make a really fun version of this quilt.
  • Pattern: Stepping Stones by the Lintott girls
  • Thoughts: Hmmm. This is less exciting to me now. I think I need to finish #2 and then decide. It is just as likely as not that I will make this.

I might make another Stepping Stones quilt, but for the moment I think I am done with that pattern.

Mosaic Inspiration

As mentioned recently, I went to Disneyland Resort with my SILs and nieces. I always get a lot of inspiration when I go there. I wonder if I would be happy wandering around by myself in an empty park just looking at the detail. I notice that I had taken pictures of motifs I had photographed before. I guess I need to get busy and make some quilts based on the inspiration.

Downtown Disney tile motif
Downtown Disney tile motif

One tile motif would be great for setting the donation blocks the guild already makes. I wouldn’t even have to change the design from 9 patches or 4 patches to 16 patches, the work is already done. I am not sure what I think about the all-beige blocks. I don’t want to piece something that doesn’t need to be pieced. Subtle variations in color or a large plain block? I think large plain blocks would look good with a contrasting – or colorful – background fabric. The pieced design could be set in a column, like I did for the aqua and red Column Donation quilt. I am not sure about the half plain blocks on the top and bottom, but they do make the column look stable.

Tomorrowland pavers
Tomorrowland pavers

I still like the lozenge shape. Despite the Mostly Manor Lozenge quilt, that shape is not out of my system. I was on the run when I saw these pavers, so took a quick snap and ran on. I think the design would make a great English Paper Piecing pattern.

I tried to create a design in my journal, but wasn’t completely successful. I thought about sending the photo to Paper Pieces and asking them to send back the relevant shapes that fit together, but I haven’t. I have the half hexie project and the papers for La Passacagalia, so I don’t want to start something else. I thought about, with other EPP designs, just making one block and a pillow cover. This design doesn’t lend itself to that sort of solution.

Disneyland tile
Disneyland tile

Despite the yucky green, the tile design has potential. I like the combination of larger and smaller squares. I also like the subtle sashing design. Using small enough squares would make this design a great stash busting pattern.

In looking at it carefully, for piecing clues, I am not sure if there is a specific block one could repeat. there are definitely 4 patches and a squashed 3×4 motif. This design would be relatively easy to work up in EQ8.

Do you look at floor and wall tile for quilt inspiration?

 

Spiky 16 Patch, quilt 3, block 2

Spiky 16 Patch block 2, quilt 3
Spiky 16 Patch block 2, quilt 3

I have been working a little at a time on these blocks. Thanksgiving took up a lot of time last week and I didn’t get much time to sew until Friday.

As mentioned the other day, I had to make some right facing HRTs. I made a few so I could finish this block.

I want these blocks to, at least, have the appearance of being scrappy, so I can’t make many of the individual units without getting too much duplication. I am pleased with this one.

Resources:

Cyndi’s Work

Cyndi's quilt
Cyndi’s quilt

Cyndi is a member of my local guild whose work I really like. She has a similar color sense to me.

I saw her starting this quilt a few months ago and was excited by the color scheme. The finished piece turned out better than I could have imagined. It really looks like a quilt that could be used and cuddled on the couch. It is a pattern called ‘A’s Strips’ by Amy Cowan and Opal Cocke of Here2There Designs. Amy also produces the Creative Mom podcast.

Cyndi's MassDrop donation quilt
Cyndi’s MassDrop donation quilt

At last year’s Retreat, we got a nice donation of top quality fabric from MassDrop. Some of the fabric was difficult to use because of the designs,but people powered through and made donation quilts. Cyndi recently finished another one using a great design.

It’s really fun to see what others are making.

Spiky 16 Patch…Again

Spiky 16 Patch block 1, quilt 3
Spiky 16 Patch block 1, quilt 3

I am getting started again on a third Spiky 16 Patch donation quilt.

It is easy just to keep making 16 patches. They are pretty rote, but I have a lot of the prep done for more spiky 16 patches and the units don’t help anyone laying around the workroom. I made the first block with no problems. The first block is always the hurdle. Now I feel like I can zoom through the process.

The stack of the 16 patches and the half rectangle triangles made a good start.

As you can see the rectangles point in different directions I am a bit short of the ones that point to the right (on the bottom row). I had to make a few to finish this block. I will need to make more to finish the rest of the quilt as well. It is a little confusing to know which way to cut the fabric to get the triangles to point in the right direction. I think it is with the print fabric on top. I want to dig out the Split Recs ruler directions to see if that particular piece of information is clearly noted. If it is clear, then I won’t have to try and remember. Small details like that disappear when there is space between projects.

Resources:

Thanksgiving Aftermath

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I was thinking about the holiday. It is a good holiday.  Lots of family and no gifts that gets short shrift with all of the retail crazy. I stay out of shops during this weekend. This has not been a great year for us for a lot of reasons, but I am still really grateful for all that I have, my family and friends.

You might have heard of the Camp Fire in Butte County or the Woolsey Fire in Southern California. I am impacted by both in a very minor way. The air quality here has been awful, terrible and unhealthy on various days. I now wear a mask outside. Also, I was in SoCal when the Woolsey Fire started and had to breathe that air. I couldn’t shake the feeling that I could do something for people who had to flee their homes because of these fires. Yes, I could donate money, but I wanted to help a person. When I found out that my friend’s mother, a quiltmaker, had lost everything, including her longarm, I went through my workroom. I put together a starter kit with new or gently used items and met my friend for lunch. Her mom is set, but there is another quiltmaker having a hard time and needing the tools to make a project. I hope I got her started. As a bonus, I got to have lunch with a friend. It was nice to catch up since we hadn’t seen each other for awhile.

I don’t know Cindy Needham, but she set up a ‘shop’ where Butte County quiltmakers can come and shop for supplies and materials without cost. The linked post is open to anyone to read and comment. It looks like she is no longer taking fabric donations. Cindy’s ‘shop’ is in need of rulers, mats, rotary cutters and all the other things we use to work on our projects. She has specifically requested pre-cuts and solids recently. I have some precuts marked for a future project that I might just donate and cross off my list. Why not? It isn’t as though I have a shortage of future projects.

I know this should be a ColorPlay or creativity post. I’ll get back to it. Enjoy the variety until I do!

Portland Shop Hop: Sharon’s Attic

Sharon's Attic: front doorSharon’s was a surprise. We happened across it as we were preparing to go back to downtown Portland after visiting a few fabric stores. I wasn’t quite ready to stop looking for fabric. I was pleased that so many shops were open on a Sunday.

Sharon's Attic: Moda fabrics and precuts
Sharon’s Attic: Moda fabrics and precuts

The first thing we saw when we walked in was a display of Moda fabrics, precuts and gift items. Yes, I was tempted by the  V&Co ombre dots fat quarter pack and yard pack. I resisted, because I have some of the fabric at home already. The shop had quite a few fat quarter packs as well as jelly rolls. I walked around the display a couple of times even though I am not much of a fan of the Moda greige goods. I do like their designers.

The shop reminded me a bit of Always Quilting, except that it was tidier. Sharon’s was a really big store. There was a large classroom in the back and a space with two longarms, one of which was being used to quilt a quilt.

I saw a lot of possibilities for creativity, including a number of specialty rulers, embroidery supplies as well as a full selection of patterns, notions and, of course, fabric. There was also a well stocked book area. I was able to look at the new Kim Brackett book, Scrap Basket Bounty.

Sharon’s Attic Quilt Shop
2950 SW Cornelius
Pass Rd., Suite 100
Hillsboro, OR 97123
Ph: 503.259.3475
Email: ssrice991@integra.net
Web: http://www.sharonsatticquiltshop.com/

MetroScape Top Complete

I came home from my trip on Sunday evening. It was actually the second trip in a week, but I was only home for about 12 hours between trips and much of that was spent sleeping, so I hadn’t done any sewing for over 10 days except some EPP in the car.

MetroScape Top - complete
MetroScape Top – complete

Monday was a holiday and DH was home. I had to do some work, but I pretended for most of the day that it was Sunday. I chatted with my mom on the phone while I ironed a ton of fabric. I also worked on some donation blocks and put the MetroScape top together.

Yep. All those blocks are now a top! I am really pleased with the way it looks. I am just trying to decide about a border. I like I like it as is, but we will see.

Random Portland

There were a number of things in Portland that I wanted to mention, but just didn’t fit in a post of their own.

Pittock Mansion, Portland
Pittock Mansion, Portland

Mom and I went to the Pittock Mansion on Monday as a foil to shopping. It was a blustery day, but we avoided the worst of the rain by looking at the mansion. They have a butler’s pantry that I would love to have. The rain had stopped when we went out to the garden. One of the things I love about Portland, which were in abundance at the mansion, are the leaves. They are a million different warm colors and wonderful shapes.

Pittock Mansion sewing table
Pittock Mansion sewing table

There was a sewing room at the mansion with an amazing table. I have never seen one before and think every sewist should have one. It would be great to have some of the sewing furniture companies makes small pieces like this. Some clever spaces for modern tools could be designed. Alternatively, the dividers could be reconfigurable.

Pittock Mansion Turkish smoking room ceiling
Pittock Mansion Turkish smoking room ceiling

I also enjoyed the ceiling of the smoking room. The smoking room looked like another foyer. The information provided said that there must not have been much smoking, because the wallpaper and paint wasn’t very dirty.

Fabric Depot closed. We heard the saga from an artist friend who would buy a lot of her floss there. Abby Glassenberg has a post about it.

I visited both Modern Domestic locations. I wish I had bought some of the V&Co ombre black dot I saw at the Lake Oswego location, but I didn’t. I stopped at the Portland location hoping they had the ombre there, but they didn’t. I bought a couple of fat quarters for the Ring Toss quilt I am contemplating. While I was there I saw a couple of political quilts. I wonder if they were part of the Threads of Resistance. I don’t remember seeing these particular quilts when I wrote the review, but they may not have stuck in my mind.

I bought a couple of pincushions from the artist friend. They were to go to an art sale, but now they will go to my sewing room and I will enjoy them there.

We also stopped at the Crafter’s Warehouse. I was surprised at how large it was and how much stuff they had. I think it had more for sale than Michael’s. The store about four rows of fabric and for the first time, I saw a roll of 2.5 inch batting strips. The lady thought I would need two for a Jelly Roll Rug (yes, I am slowly gathering the supplies), but I just bought one and think I will cut strips from leftover batting for the rest. CW has 40% off coupons. I didn’t sign up, but I found one on the web that I used.

We also stopped at a place called Quilter’s Corner. It was a tiny shop, perhaps in Hillsboro, but it was closed (Sunday, I think) and had a sign on the door saying it was closing for good. Sad.

One of the things I do when I am in Portland is eat like a pig. There are two restaurants I can walk into and order anything I like without worrying I might get sick. I went to both. Amanda told me about a third, but I didn’t visit. Kyra’s Bake Shop in Lake Oswego is my favorite and I bought a supply of cinnamon rolls for my freezer. I ate a BLT on the spot followed by a maple glazed donut. The BLT was amazingly good. I also visited Petunia’s Pies and Pastries. It is a very cute cafe that makes gluten free and vegan food and baked goods. I shared a piece of the sour cherry peach pie and that was delicious. I also tried the rhubarb berry pie, which wasn’t as good.

Church on 12th in downtown Portland
Church on 12th in downtown Portland

Remember I said the leaves were gorgeous? They were.

Girl Scout Hearts

Girl Scout Hearts
Girl Scout Hearts

I sent off my #girlscouthearts on Tuesday. I made six of the small size on Monday afternoon. I just returned from my 4th of 4 trips in a 4 week period and was pretending it was Sunday.

I find the Cluck Cluck Sew heart block good for these types of projects. It is easy to make and the symbolism is appropriate. I had been wondering what to do with the leftovers from the Ariel pillowcase I made for my little niece. This was the perfect solution, except for the color. The request was for bright greens and kelly greens, so I was worried that my blocks would not be included. I took a look at the #girlscouthearts hashtag and found that some of the blocks are similar in color to mine. Also, I can only do what I can do.

I might make more, but we will see.

Color My Quilt: Nicole

Color My Quilt: Nicole - November 2018
Color My Quilt: Nicole – November 2018

I did my piece at almost the last minute, but not quite.

Nicole asked for a dark, kind of Moon and Stars theme. I used scraps and this was what i came up with. I didn’t have the dark batiks in the example. Others might and mine will provide a bit of night-shiny brightness to the quilt. I hope…

 

ColorPlay: Tile

I got back from a trip with my SILs and nieces to Disneyland and California Adventure on Sunday. As usual, I was overwhelmed by visual stimulation. I have previously written in couple of places about the colors and motifs I see at the parks.

California Adventure Mosaic/Tile
California Adventure Mosaic/Tile

I do think I posted a photo of this mosaic/tile before, but I can’t find it, so we are doing it again with PlayCrafts, though we will just be using a small piece as I may need to use another piece in the future.

California Adventure "The Grapefruit Experience" (anno)
California Adventure “The Grapefruit Experience” (anno)

I will call the piece we are using the ‘Grapefruit Experience’.

ColorPlay default - Mosaics/Tile
ColorPlay default – Mosaics/Tile

The default, surprisingly, was not all neutrals and included some quite lovely blues.

ColorPlay n.1 - Mosaics/Tile
ColorPlay n.1 – Mosaics/Tile

The first palette was created with just a few tweaks to the default palette.  I like the Kona Marine and Caribbean combination. I am not very fond of the other colors, though Bright Idea is interesting.

ColorPlay n.2 - Mosaics/Tile
ColorPlay n.2 – Mosaics/Tile

In palette n.2, I tried to go for a light palette without being a  neutral palette. In the end I kept the Hyacinth and Coal. I like both of those hues, which look like tones of purple to me.

ColorPlay n.3 Mosaics/Tile
ColorPlay n.3 – Mosaics/Tile

The green I added to palette n.3 was inspired by the #GirlScoutHearts project on Instagram. I am not much of a green fan, but this palette might be a favorite. I like the Turquoise, the Royal and the Lavender, especially. I think the whole palette hangs together well.

ColorPlay n.4 - Mosaics/Tile
ColorPlay n.4 – Mosaics/Tile

With a little tweaking, I got a nice golden yellow. It goes well with the Kona Jamaica, which is one of my favorite tones.

This image had just the right amount of opportunity for playing with color.

ColorPlay n-5 - Mosaics/Tile
ColorPlay n-5 – Mosaics/Tile

I really, REALLY wish Kona had less ravely greige goods. some of their blues are fantastic, even adjusting for computer differences. N.5 is the monochromatic effort.

ColorPlay n.7 - Mosaics/Tile
ColorPlay n.7 – Mosaics/Tile

I realized I would be able to create a yellow palette as well.

ColorPlay n.6 - Mosaics/Tile
ColorPlay n.6 – Mosaics/Tile

I also tried on a neutral palette. I could resist.

 

What will you make?

 

Metroscape Block n.12

MetroScape block n.12
MetroScape block n.12

I am back from 4 trips in 4 weeks. I am hoping I can can get to know my husband again, get back on schedule and get life back to normal. I have finished the last Metroscape block and am ready to start making a quilt top.

Actually, I am ready to do a whole bunch of sewing.

This block is my least favorite. The blue and red, especially the blue don’t see to go with the other blocks. I had 12 different dots and I didn’t want to repeat any, so I used it. We will see how I like it when I put all the blocks on the design wall together.