Commentary about works in progress, design & creativity
As I mentioned, Tim was working on the plaid donation quilt when I left him the other day. He sent me a picture of the finished top and a detail (left).
I like what he did with the designs in the piecing. He has a good eye for quilting designs.
I also like this design quite a bit and plan to make another donation quilt using the Block Party pattern.
The guild has started another Sew Happy Hour on Fridays. This one will be devoted to WIPs or group projects though, knowing the guild, people can work on whatever they want. Maria has designated the next date as a time to make Japanese aprons.
A Japanese apron is, apparently, an apron with no ties that crosses in the back. Maria sent a great article on different Japanese Apron patterns, which I mentioned in the most recent V&S post. I chose the Tessuti pattern, which is free, mostly because it was the first one I saw.
The first thing I had to do was print about 1,000 pages of pattern. Then I had to glue and tape it all together. Usually, I will buy the pattern to avoid this step, but the the shipping was from Australia, making the free pattern $40 or so. I couldn’t justify the cost even with the ink, tape, glue and my time. I have to say that the designer did a good job labeling the pieces so it was easy to put together.
After I had the pattern together, I traced it onto tracing paper. This required me pulling out my sewing cabinet, so I could flip up the back. I had one of those cardboard cutting mats people used to use for cutting out garment patterns, but it wandered off somewhere and I couldn’t find it. I just the opportunity of having the back up to also trace my Westchester Dolman Top pattern. I’m glad I thought of that since tracing the pattern to the right size was what was holding me up with that project.
Once those tasks were done, I could start cutting out the fabric. I am using one of the new Philip Jacobs Chrysanthemum prints I bought a few weeks ago. I think this is the same print I used for my sewing machine cover. I think they color the same designs in different ways for new collections.
I chose a white with black dots for the other side. Probably not the most practical choice, but I’ll use the flower print for the front.
I plan to make this reversible. Alison and I talked about how that would work at the last Sew Happy hour so I have an idea in my head on how to do it now.
I finished the X Quilt top and back and took it to Colleen last week.
I am pretty pleased with the way this came out, though I think I would like to try the pattern with different fabrics. The Pop Parade fabrics are not clear enough. Also, I think I needed to choose fabrics with larger designs. While the viewer gets a surprise when coming close too the quilt, I think the large size of some of the pieces would have more impact if the motifs were large or had more contrast.
I do like the different sizes of the Xes. I think that is really good design.
The size of the Xes really used a lot of fabric, too. The quilt and back took 10 yards. If I need to make progress on fabric usage, this is the quilt I will make.
I kind of lost my mind after watching the Free Spirit Facebook Live with Kaffe Fassett and Brandon Mably.
The top fabric is Brocade Peony. This is a different color way from a similar fabric I bought a couple of years ago. I used it in the 4 Zip Organizer and also in the All Rolled Up Tote as the lining and love the design. I like the Crimson colorway (left) even more. I can’t wait to figure out something fabulous to use it for.
I bought the irises thinking I might make a bag for my aunt. Her birthday is on the 21st and she adores irises. I wasn’t really thinking about time in a logical way and I just don’t think I will have the time to make something before then.
I bought the Feathers on a whim. I only have a yard and will have to think of something that suits the design to make.
I finished piecing the top and back of the X Quilt.
I started the backing on Saturday night (after finishing the Retreat Pouch) by pulling some of my Philip Jacobs prints. Then I realized that I wanted to use up the Pop Parade prints, which would take a lot longer since I didn’t have very large pieces. I compromised and used one large PJ piece and the rest are Pop Parade. I worked on the backing all day on Sunday, finishing just before it was time to make dinner.
I still have a lot of Pop Parade fabric left, so I will make an improv donation quilt in addition to the HST donation quilt. I could use the improv piece for the backing. We’ll see.
I have been looking at these HSTs as I sew other projects.
I think this piece looks a lot better in these fabrics than the X Quilt. Don’t get me wrong, I like the X quilt. I just think it would have looked better if I used larger prints.
I think I will probably sew it in this configuration. Perhaps I am just used to it, but I do like how the eye moves around the piece.
I made another Retreat Pouch the other day. I cut up the fabric when I went to visit Tim, then decided to sew the pouch on Saturday.
I am ridiculously pleased at how this Retreat Pouch came together. I think it looks great!
It is also a great project. Once the pieces are cut the bag goes together in a couple of hours. I think I talked about this before.
First, I love the fabric. This fabric is one of Anna Maria’s Hindsight prints. I received it in one of the Modern Handmade subscription boxes I received last year. Can you believe how lucky I got on the cutting? It looks like I intended to match the flower on either side of the zipper.
I really wanted to make the larger size, but one fat quarter is not enough to make one pouch, so I resorted to this size again. I bought two frames in each size, so I can choose some different fabrics that I have in larger quantities to make the larger version.
Second, the sewing went very well and the pouch looks professionally sewn. I am pleased with how the zipper ended up looking based on the instructions. I went an extra step by pinning the zipper down rather than holding it while I sewed and I think that helped. I knew where to pin it because I measured. I think this is another version of ‘veering’ the zipper that I have talked about with the Cotton Candy Pouches and the UCAB 45 degree angle technique.
Third, turning the pouch using the interior zipper pocket was a smooth process. Sara Lawson of Sew Sweetness has a tutorial. I don’t know why I don’t add these pockets for turning all the time.
This is not part of the pattern, but it is easy to add to any pouch or bag. I had to think carefully about the size because of the boxed corner. Despite my care, I still think the bottom of the pocket goes below the curve on the bottom of the pouch. I don’t think it really matters. For the moment I don’t know what I will put in that interior pocket.
I say this is an easy pocket to put in, but I always need to refer to general directions. I also have Sara Lawson’s Acrylic Zipper Pocket Template (no affiliation) and that makes the marking super speedy. I also saw one by Piera (no affiliation), which includes purse feet measurements as well.
I did watch the video before I sewed the first Retreat Pouch. I vowed to watch it again before making this one, but I didn’t. I don’t know why because it is a good resource.
I put my new Snap Setter and all of my Snap Setter Supplies in this pouch.
Here are a few more pictures of the zipper.
I wrote about the eye mask I made for myself in January. At the same time I made two others and this is the second one, which I delivered to Gerre for International Women’s Day. It went with the Purse Organizer.
These eye masks are simple and quick to make assuming you have some rice on hand. I want to try adding some lavender, but don’t have any so I haven’t done that yet.
I showed this pouch briefly after I made it at New Year’s. The other day, I sent it off to Gerre to celebrate International Women’s Day (same day as her birthday, but she doesn’t celebrate her birthday anymore).
I want to make sure she knows she is remembered and valued so I try to whip something up at each holiday. This was the second of the Purse Organizers that I made, but the other one is for a gift in May. Look for the post then.
I struggled more with the construction of this pouch than I did on the first one, partially because I made some changes. One was to sew the two zipper slip pockets at the same time rather than with some other steps in between as the pattern says. That may have been a mistake as I had to do some ripping.
I am not a huge fan of her method of constructing the inside [regular] slip pockets. They seem too thick to me and I may try and construct them using a different method next time.
The pattern also neglects to remind the maker to clip the corners. OR I didn’t see that instruction. Not clipping the seam allowances made poking out the bottom corners on the first Purse Organizer difficult and the corners didn’t look that great. For this pouch, I rounded the corners using a 2 inch circle template** and they came out a little better. I am not sure if that change impacts the usefulness of the pouch. For example, Svetlana’s picture shows the inside can hold a tablet. Since I don’t have a tablet this size, I don’t know if the rounded corners will change the size so the tablet will no longer fit.
I also added the leash so that it could be clipped to another bag. The leash is a useful feature if you are storing things in this pouch. Taking things in and out of a larger bag is better if you have them organized in pouch like thisand are concerned it will fall out.
The good part of this pattern is that makers can adjust the sizes so the Organizers fits the stuff you need to carry around.
I didn’t choose to put the snap on the back pocket, but since I received a snap installation kit for Christmas, I plan to try that out. I thought that back pocket might be good for my journal**. It was a passing thought and I haven’t measured them yet.
I look forward to hearing how it works for her.
**I use affiliate links and may be paid for your purchase of an item when you click on an item link in my post. There is no additional cost to you for clicking or purchasing items I recommend. I appreciate your clicks and purchases as it helps support this blog.
A few days ago, I posted the first part of the tutorial for the first Large Pocket needed to complete the Ultimate Carry All Bag by Natalie Patton.
In order to sew along, you will need:
You can find more information at the following links:
Additional Supplies**
Today we will finish the first of the large pockets.The directions for this step int he pattern start on page 8.
In the first part of this tutorial, we made the P2 pocket. We will continue from where we left off.
Tutorial:
Sew P2 to P1
Take your P1 fabric piece and your P2 pocket.
Measure line 9” down from the top of P1.
Draw a light line with a Sewline** pencil. You can leave the ruler in place and adjust the placement of the pocket using the ruler, if you don’t want to mark your fabric.
Place P2 upside down on top P1. Line up the bottom of P2 with the 9″ line.
Pin the pocket in place.
Remove the ruler, if you haven’t already.
Using a 1/4″ seam allowance, stitch (see red line) across the bottom of the pocket ONLY. You may want to backstitch carefully or tie knots and sink your threads to secure.
N.B. In this picture (right), the pocket is unfinished. On your pocket, you will not need or being using the small clips show on the bottom of the pocket, which is in the middle of P1 in the picture.
Flip the pocket up so you can see the mesh pocket. Clip or pin in place.
Sew down the center of P2 (red line), going over the mesh pocket to secure everything and make the final division in the center of the mesh pocket.
Sew down the sides of the pocket (blue lines). Leave long thread tails at the beginning and end of these securing seams. Pull the threads to the back of the piece and tie the threads off with knots. You can use a backstitch, but tying off the threads will look better in your finished bag.
Add Zipper to Pocket
Lay L1 down face up/right side up.
Lay zipper on top of L1 with zipper pull facing up.
Line up P1 on top of zipper face down/right side down.
Natalie Patton does something really clever with her zipper. She folds the zipper tape at a 45 degree angle and pins it. This makes it look really neat and tidy.
In the pattern (pg.10), she talks a lot about pinning, horizontal pins, etc. I found it to be kind of confusing.
The photo (left) shows how I interpret her instructions. I tried it and it worked for me.
Once you have the zipper tape folded and pinned, continuing layering the last piece of fabric on top.
The edges of the folded zipper tabs stick out a little bit from the side of the piece where you will be sewing. This is ok and how it is supposed to look.
Sew along clipped edge to secure zipper. I use my quarter inch foot, but you can use your zipper foot, if it works for you. Make sure you move the zipper out of the way as you sew so it doesn’t interfere with your seam.
Open up three layers
Top stitch near zipper.
Episode 4 of Natalie’s video is actually pretty good. I like the way she shows installing the zipper.
The confusing part is putting the pieces you have already sewn together with the other side of the zipper. The photo above shows kind of how this looks. This is the step where Natalie talks about opening up the first sewn side like a butterfly (pattern pg.10).
L1 face up/right side up.
Zipper on top of L1 face up/right side up.
P1 on top of zipper face down.
Sew along clipped edge to secure zipper. I use my quarter inch foot, but you can use your zipper foot, if it works for you. Make sure you move the zipper -See red line in the middle of the second side? – out of the way as you sew so it doesn’t interfere with your seam.
Top stitch near zipper.
Make Pleated Bottom
The pleated bottom allows you to more easily store items that are 3 dimensional
Use 1/2″ marking on my Creative Grids ruler, stick the side with 1/2″ marking into the pleat to measure it.
Clip the sides (the ruler should not interfere) to hold it in place.
Remove the ruler.
This is where I add D-rings. In this case, I used leftover bits of doublefold elastic to stand in for a loop.
Sew up the sides. Make sure to catch the loop/D-ring.
Your pocket is now finished.
Resources:
**I use affiliate links and may be paid for your purchase of an item when you click on an item link in my post. There is no additional cost to you for clicking or purchasing items I recommend. I appreciate your clicks and purchases as it helps support this blog.
I finished pressing the rest of the HSTs generated from the X quilt. I have plenty to make a good sized donation quilt. I haven’t done any sewing as I still haven’t finalized the design.
Still no final design, but this is looking pretty good in terms of placement of each HST. I still want to break up the chaos a bit with some background fabric.
Despite not using leaders and enders to make donation blocks, I still seem to be generating some donation quilts, which makes me happy.
As I have mentioned, I am teaching a quilt sampler class based on my series of tutorials. The class teaches much more than the tutorials offer, including dissecting blocks and quilts so students can think about construction and try things without having to buy a pattern every time* they want to play a little bit.
One of my students is looking at tile and other non-fabric designs and thinking about them in terms of making the design into a quilt. I am thrilled.
She sent me a design this week that she has been thinking about. I didn’t get all the straight lines lined up, but you get the idea. I thought of the Sew Kind of Wonderful QCR ruler** and how the designers of those patterns have you make units with straight lines and then cut them up.
I thought about that for awhile and think that it would be a good way to construct the block overall. However, I had to figure out how how to get the Orange Peel joined into the circle.
Since I got the Clammies for my birthday from Gerre and my SIL, I decided I would try them out. I played around for awhile cutting circles and trying to figure out how the Clammy** worked. I was moderately successful once I figured out the seam allowances. I look forward to watching her videos and getting more expert instruction on using the Clammy. I wasn’t able to watch the videos while I was playing, because I was at Craft Night.
I decided that I would worry about dividing the circle later and would start with a circle and an orange peel. I figured I can always break up the shapes later.
I kind of like the possibilities for this shape. It could be a ‘phases of the moon’ type quilt design.
After some fabric wasting, I found that I was ready to cut out some circles and orange peel. I had high hopes that I would be successful.
WRONG! I got the basics, but don’t have enough seam allowance for the orange peel to fit exactly and complete the circle.
Hhhmm. I decide that my next step would be to cut the orange peel with the larger Clammy and see if that works. I suspect Latifah did not anticipate this design and one Clammy cannot be used to cut these pieces. I am keeping an open mind.
Stay tuned.
*N.B. I am not trying to put independent pattern designers out of business. I am not advocating copying the designs of others in order to avoid paying them. I often buy patterns since it is easier than redrawing complex designs myself. I find, however, like with Ring Toss that I didn’t need the pattern once I had the templates. Also, I just wanted to try it and was glad I hadn’t spent more money since I didn’t end up doing anything with the design. Knowing how to deconstruct a block or a quilt improves creativity in quiltmaking.
**I use affiliate links and may be paid for your purchase of an item when you click on an item link in my post. There is no additional cost to you for clicking or purchasing items I recommend. I appreciate your clicks and purchases as it helps support this blog.
I almost finished the X Quilt top. I have two or three seams left on the top and I am really eager to finish it. I just don’t want to work on it any more. Perhaps I don’t like the fabrics I chose. Pop Parade has dull rather than clear tones and that depresses me a little bit. Perhaps the background low volume text prints aren’t right for the size of the blank squares.
I don’t know. I just know I want to be finished with it. I don’t know what I will work on next. I have a few bags to finish for sure, but no quilt in mind except the HST donation top.
Yes, I seem to be on an eye mask kick. I bought a large bag of rice and, with this mask, have used it up, so my eye mask efforts are finished for now. I like making a project a few times so I can get it right. This project will be a good quick gift going forward, assuming I buy more rice I want to use in eye masks and don’t want to eat.
Renee is the Grand President of the Native Daughters of the Golden West. NDGW is the female version of the Native Sons of the Golden West. There are more dresses and more pomp and circumstance as well as more efforts to assist with various California History related projects. They also have a vibrant effort to help kids in various ways through their Children’s Foundation. If you are interested in joining, check their website. It is definitely an organization trying to find its way with a new generation, but there is potential and they do a lot of good.
The Grand President will be having a Parlor visit in April. Apparently, people make gifts and the Grand President opens them at this event. I am not able to attend this year, but I feel a special rapport with Renee, so I made her a gift. I will drop it off with the District Deputy and it will be sent on to her. Her theme is butterflies, which guided my choice of fabric.
I updated the Tutorials page to include the Folded Corners Ruler tutorial.
Another late birthday gift came in on February 6. I love getting late gifts, because it makes my birthday last longer. This latest gift came in on February 6 and it totally made my day. The bad part was that I didn’t know who it came from. A week or so later, Gerre contacted me and told me she was my fairy godmother! 😉 What a fabulous surprise! Another bonus is that now I have 3 Clammy sizes. I need to try them out!
I have seen people’s work using on the Parallel Universe mystery quilt. Reviews are good, so I am not afraid. I just need to make some time.
Articles, Media, Exhibitions and Shows
One of my students told me about Gyleen Fitzgerald’s Butterfly Seam technique for Y Seams. You can see this technique demonstrated on The Quilt Show #1403. While I think the way I teach Y seams (inset seams) is valuable, Gyleen’s technique is revolutionary. Gyleen’s technique is a lot easier to understand if you understand my method first.
You know that 1″ square for printing patterns? My nemesis? I know for many it has become despised during the pandemic, because we have no or fewer options for getting patterns. Help is here in the form of a post about adjusting the size of your patterns and blocks by Barbara Brackman.
The Craft Industry Alliance has an article about Sara Lawson of Sew Sweetness and her video add-ons.
Floors are a great place to get inspiration. This article about the world’s best libraries shows a number of tile floors that could be used as quilt settings.
Books, Fabrics, Notions & Supplies
Barbara Brackman has a new line of fabric out called Ladies Legacy. It is based on a sampler quilt from the Civil War. In conjunction with this new fabric, on her Civil War blog she is leading an appliqued block of the month based on New York albums. The first block will be up there as a free pattern on March 31st. Some of the money from the fabric goes to support the Quilt Research Center at the University of Nebraska Special Collections, which includes a comprehensive collection of vintage quilt patterns and papers from some of today’s best-known quiltmakers.
Friend Julie wrote about her adventures in pre-washing Jane Sassman Hand-Crafted solids by Free Spirit. Julie writes “They are advertised as “hand-dyed” with mottled surface imperfections. I found that the hand of the fabric was truly lovely, with a slightly nappy softened surface, called peached.” Don’t avoid them; just make sure you pre-wash!
I am not left-handed for rotary cutting, but I know some of you are. I saw the Left-Eze tool on the A Left Handed Quilter blog and thought you might be interested. It is described as being used to trim the selvedge, cut Half-Square Triangles (HST), cut Quarter-Square Triangles (QST) for Hourglass Blocks (and others), Flying Geese units, and Squares. Let me know if you try it out.
I watched a Facebook Live presentation with Kaffe Fassett and Brandon Mably. It was fun and I found out about Zappy Dots, where Kaffe Fassett Studios has a ‘shop’ various products using their designs. Nice gifts.
Projects, Classes, Patterns & Tutorials
Quilt & Surface Design Symposium has released their catalog of classes. I would love to take another class with Rosalie Dace or a class with Jane Sassaman.
Remember that I recently made a composition notebook cover? After that I found that Sara of Sew Sweetness has a 10 minute version. It’s 10 minutes because she doesn’t have to worry about raw edges. In the Sew Sweetness FB group one member made the notebook cover and wrote ” Just finished this notebook cover using alligator cork, based on Sara’s pattern. I read quite a few comments that the pattern was too small for most composition notebooks, so I did some measuring and came up with cutting the cork to 10.5” tall by 16” long, and cut the 5” wide panel covers to 10.5” as well. I also added the inside pocket, the bookmark and the pen loop. So much fun to make and feels really high-end. I’m going to make some extras to have on hand for gifts. ” I am thinking that if I made another composition notebook cover, I will use the 10.5 inch measurement and see if that works.
A friend asked me to make a skirt or curtain for her kitchen bar. I don’t have the time right now, so I pointed her to a sink skirt pattern. I haven’t tried it, but it was the concept I thought of when I read her message.
Sharon from Color Girl Quilts is hosting a quilt-a-long using the Rise Above pattern by Charisma Horton. I love the layout of this quilt. I do not love all of the blocks, but changing them out would be easy enough. I like the alternative setting for a sampler quilt.
Kerry Goulder (KidGiddy on IG) talked about the Sew Plush Mini Planner. This is an organized needlecase pattern available on her Etsy site. I thought it looked a little like the Floral Supply Case from Clover and Violet, but smaller and made specifically for needles.
The guild will be making Japanese aprons. We will all be working on our own projects, but helping each other. Right now we are sharing pattern options. Maria found a list of multiple patterns in this style. The good part about the article is that it gives a mini review of each pattern as well as a download link where available.
The Zenaida backpack is a really interesting bag. I like the shape, though I might put a cross body strap on rather than the backpack straps. I worry about the requirement for leather. I wonder how it would be with canvas or quilting cotton?
Other Artists
Susan Carlson talks about sorting out her fabric.
I thought about including some of Friend Julie’s Cornucopia links. It’s much easier to point you to her post. 🙂
Recently, Roberta Horton died from Lymphona. Roberta Horton may be an artist that modern quiltmakers haven’t heard of. She was an author, teacher and an amazing quiltmaker. Her books, especially An Amish Adventure** and Scrap Quilts** were really inspirational at a time when quilt books weren’t as prevalent as they are now. I used to belong to EBHQ and I still follow them on Facebook. The current President wrote a post, which is how I heard about Roberta: ”
The sad news reached me today that our beloved Roberta Horton passed away Thursday afternoon, February 4th. I don’t have any more details at this time, but I want to reflect a moment on what a gift her life was to us.
It’s impossible to overstate her impact on our guild, on quilting nationwide and even worldwide. Roberta made her first quilt in 1972. She was an important bridge between the quilters of the Depression, who carried the craft with them for love through the post-war prosperity that suppressed the craft. Roberta caught the baton, and passed it to us. She was there, already teaching, when the Bicentennial revived interest in quilting. She taught the first state accredited adult education classes in quilting back in 1973! I know of a number of long-time Guild members who learned to quilt from Roberta. Roberta and her sister Mary Mashuta were EBHQ founding members.
Roberta stretched beyond tradition. There had been Story Quilts before of course, but her exploration of her European heritage through her quilts helped popularize the form. Her exploration of ethnic fabrics, and the design influences of artists worldwide helped make EBHQ in the early days, before the Studio Art Quilters Association (SAQA), a welcoming home for the burgeoning Art Quilt movement. And she taught all of this, through Albany Adult Education and beyond. She wrote 5 books on quilting, donated some of her most important quilts to the then new San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles, and was honored nationally and internationally.
She was also an avid gardener, and two years ago at the East Bay Mini Maker Faire I had the honor of teaching a Woman Of A Certain Age, who had known Roberta for decades from the Garden Club, how to piece a nine-patch, as we shared stories of our beloved friend from different contexts.
Roberta was unfailingly gracious, welcoming and kind to me, a much younger MAN, encouraging my sometimes strange quilts!
Keep her memory close, and I challenge YOU to challenge yourself, as SHE did; learn, this year, a new technique, use some unfamiliar fabric, and always, always, teach whomsoever you may.
“And gladly wolde she lerne, and gladly teche.” -slightly altered from Chaucer, “Canterbury Tales”
I have asked the Web Support Team to create a Forum Thread on the Discussion Board where we can share our memories of Roberta.
May her sister, Mary Mashuta, Be Comforted In Her Loss, along with all of Roberta’s family. And May Her Memory Be For A Blessing. I’ll pass memorial details as I get them.
You can read and remember at http://www.robertahorton.com/
– Ryan Young -EBHQ President, 2020-2021″
**I use affiliate links and may be paid for your purchase of an item when you click on an item link in my post. There is no additional cost to you for clicking or purchasing items I recommend. I appreciate your clicks and purchases as it helps support this blog.