Commentary about works in progress, design & creativity
Ends n.13 is finished! I got to see it briefly at the meeting 10 days ago. It is such a hodgepodge of fabrics! Erin quilted this one as well and said that she enjoyed quilting happy looking quilts. This one is certainly cheerful.
Ends n.13 has been languishing long either. I finished the top and back in March of 2022.
We had a discussion of how many quilts we have given away and are in the neighborhood of 130 for the year. That is really great for a small guild like ours.
I am not finished yet, but I am making good progress on Month 17. The rosette with the peony center looks really good, I think.
I think the red-violet dots and the green solid look great together. They are sort of complimentary on the color wheel. I am also happy with the way the daisy fabric (in the diamonds) looks in that location. It was supposed to be the center.
After finishing the quilting on the Tarts Come to Tea, I realized that I still needed to fix the burn. Ever since I wrote about it, I have been very careful not to burn any other parts of the quilt. The center of the burn, however, did not get any better. Crispy bits of fabric and batting fell out until I had a hole I could see through.
As I worked, I also thought about how to fix it. I finally settled on some machine applique.
First, I patched the back. To make the patch the correct size, I made a template out of tracing paper by doing a rubbing of the satin stitching. The satin stitching is more 3D than other parts of the quilt so my method worked pretty well.
Then I cut a piece of fabric that wouldn’t stand out. I didn’t have (or couldn’t find) any more of that coffee novelty print so I matched the background with a solid. It isn’t a perfect match, but looks ok.
Then I machine appliqued the piece on to the back.
It isn’t perfect, but I think it looks acceptable. It is so annoying and disappointing that this burn is in the center of the quilt. In the picture of the cup (above), you can see the blue fabric through the quilt. That is the patch on the back.
I needed to take more care with the front of the quilt. I had two competing feelings while I did the work. First, I just wanted it done. Second, I didn’t want it to stand out so much after a quick glance that people would notice it immediately.
I am pretty happy with the patch on the front. It doesn’t scream out that there was a problem, though you can see it if you look closely. Hopefully people will enjoy the overall look of the quilt and not focus too much on the details.
I went the last BAM meeting of the year the other and got to see some of my donation tops finished. This one, was quilted by Erin and I was so pleased to see it finished.
It didn’t even languish for that long. I finished the top and back in April.
The quilting is really hard to see and I didn’t take the time to look at it up close at the meeting, but I am sure it is great. Thanks, Erin, for collaborating!
I know the photo I posted the other day didn’t show all of the tiny quilting lines.
In this series of photos you can better see my obsession. The first photo, left, shows the back of the upper left hand corner.
There are some parts that are not as heavily quilted as others. I was using the quilting on the front to express my vision. In this piece, the quilting is part of the design.
I struggle with the quilting being part of the design. I love piecing and never want the quilting to overshadow my piecing. In strictly geometric quilts, like Frolic! and Flying Around, this is usually not an issue when Colleen quilts for me. Her quilting fits really well into the design of the piecing. It’s different with a quilt like the Tarts Come to Tea.
In the second photo, an extension of the area covered in the first photo, you can see more of the differences in the density of the quilting.
The body of the triangular carafe is a lot less densely quilted than the the background, for example. I really struggled with how to quilt the larger tea pots, as discussed in September when I finally broke that barrier. I am not sure I did the right designs in the those larger teapots. My skills were not up to more curvilinear or loops and swirls designs, which might have worked better in the round green kettle and the tarty silver teapot.
The quilting on the Tarty Silver Teapot shows up very well on the back. I did quilt in some gentle curves, though if I had had Colleen quilt it, I might have had her try to mimic the scrollwork or leaves and vines you see on some antique teapots.
In some respects the idea that the quilting is an integral part of the design shows up in my choice of thread color. Also, as it my usual philosophy, when the quilting lines were not part of the design, I want them to disappear.
I used the same thread on the back and front when I started the quilting. I think I really should have used thread colors that matched the fabric colors on the back. I think it would have looked better, but it doesn’t really matter now. I don’t think anyone will really care and I don’t know that I will put this quilt in a show, but I like to do my best work and this doesn’t feel like my best work.
I am pretty pleased with how the quilting on the cake turned out. The cake is in the upper center of the quilt. I really like the way it turned out on the front. I kind of think using the stripe for the center of the cake was genius (if I do say so myself!). I like how the layers of the cake (horizontal) have been highlighted in the quilting. The quilting on the top of the cake is another plus. I love the way it looks like the pieces have been cut, or scored so they are ready to cut.
Now on to a binding and a sleeve. More coming.
As per usual, DH and I are hosting about 1,000 people today. Not really. Somewhere between 25-30. I am not really sure. The result is that I can’t play with fabric.
I hope that you are having a wonderful day and are feeling thankful for the good things in your life. I am very thankful for YOU fabulous readers. I appreciate you joining me on this journey.
Happy Thanksgiving!
The Month 17 fabrics were pretty green, but, as I said before a blue-y green not an icky green like the other months. Those large and gorgeous peonies were part of the fabric packet and I wanted to use a whole flower, not cut them into unrecognizable blobs. Thus, I decided to use Kelly Pena’s instructions for creating a large center medallion.
Then I decided to use some red-violet to highlight some of the other colors in the flower. I love those dots and should probably buy more to make sure I don’t run out (famous last words, right?) I used some of the yardage I bought to have enough buds to cut for the alternating pentagons and am pleased with the look so far.
I am so pleased with what I cut and how it looks. I can’t wait to see it finished.
After an amazingly long time with many stops and starts, I have finished quilting the last quilt I ever intend to quilt.* The first post I have on this quilt is from 2007. I wasn’t as diligent then about documenting my process, so the post is surprisingly spare on details. However there is an even older post on my old site (which still lives despite my efforts to eradicate it), from April 2003, that shows the bones of the quilt in existence at that time and says that I started the quilt in May 2002. Assuming that is true, this partial finish is a true accomplishment. This quilt has been in progress for 20 years. Crazy!
One of the reasons I don’t like to quilt is that I am obsessive about the lines being very close together to get my quilt flat as a pancake. If you look at the larger version of this photo you will see how close together my quilting ended up.
I think the piece looks pretty good, if a bit dated. Working on it has inspired me to to maybe sew a second/recreation of “He Tried to Make it Up to Her”. I have one block I can use and I think I have the templates for the others. Also, I really like the idea of using Philip Jacobs flowers for the basket of flowers in the bottom center. I don’t enjoy the thought of all the satin stitching required, but maybe I can do one block at a time.
Look for another post about the quilting. I plan to milk all that work, trust me!
*I don’t like quilting – I like quiltmaking – so I don’t intend to ever start quilting a quilt again. However, ‘never’ and ‘ever’ are a long time and you never know what is going to happen so I reserve the right to change my mind.
My mom made a baby quilt for our new family baby.This is the same baby for whom I made the Diagonal 9 Patch. The baby, born in October, received at least 4 quilts. That’s what you get when you have aunts who sew.
It is an adorable panel she bought while we were visiting Portland last time. She actually bought it at Just for Fun in Vancouver, WA. For those of you who haven’t been to that area, Vancouver is just over the river from Portland. It’s an easy drive. Just for Fun had a lot of panels.
Mom quilt this quilt herself on her Featherweight during Craft Night. She bought the binding when we were together, too, and I really like it.
My fabric and supplies for Month 17 arrived. I like the colors even though it includes more green. This particular green is more appealing to me than the previous groupings, such as Month 7, Month 8 and Month 10. It is more of a blue-green than a yellow-green.
Note: I don’t sincerely dislike any of them; I just prefer more green in nature and less green in fabric.
For those of you keeping track, you might be wondering what happened to Month 16. Month 16 will be coming at the beginning of December. Pink Door did not receive all of the fabric for Month 16 so they switched the months. No problem for me and a quick creative solution IMO. We have to make all the rosettes anyway.
I thought that Month 17 was the last large rosette so I was disappointed that I needed to change out all of the green. I moped around for a few days, then looked at the plan and realized that (duh!) there were two rosettes and they belonged in the middle of the quilt. When there are two rosettes, they are usually on the smaller side.
Tula’s Moon Garden fabric is included in this month’s fabric grouping. I bought some extra yardage when Pink Door offered pre-orders and that arrived this week, too. Glad it did! I wanted one particular bird from the “In a Finch” Dusk colorway (the darker green) that just wouldn’t fit. I used a bit of what I bought and everyone (me) was happy. I won’t use the owl faces as indicated. I don’t want eyes looking at me (sorry, Tula!). I may use another part of that fabric. I’ll need to look at it and see.
I like what Pink Door has planned for the centers, but I really would like to use that large flower. I am still thinking about that. Stay tuned.
A few weeks ago, I coated some fabric using OdiCoat. The OdiCoat dried pretty well in 24 hours and then again in 24 hours after the second coat. I was able to use it to put a bag together, but the bottom, where I had used the OdiCoat was still sticky. Not wet-sticky, but sticky in such a way that it would stick to the table. It felt like sewing thicker vinyl. I had a hard time sewing it and needed to use my vinyl techniques to complete assembly.
The bag sat for awhile, which was great, because the OdiCoat cured (I guess, or dried further) and is no longer sticky! Yay!
I am pleased with the protection the medium provides. This is the perfect pattern for it as it has a contained piece for the bottom. I’ll definitely try this substance again.
Tim brought his newest quilt to Sew Day. I really like his work. Even though I wouldn’t use these colors, I think the whole piece is really appealing and attractive. I especially like the checkerboards.
I thought he was making this quilt for himself, but he is giving it to one of his nieces.
Cyndi invited a group from the Social Justice Sewing Academy to our Sew Day. Some of our group had finished blocks, so those were turned in. Sara, the organizer, brought a different group of blocks that were to be made into a quilt.
People worked together to put sashing on the blocks and sew them together.
I was tired and stayed in my corner working on the Half Hexies. I wasn’t up for a group project that day.
The group achieved a lot. They put thin sashing around each block and then worked on larger pieced sashing (no photo). They decided to put the larger pieced sashing on backwards so the raw edges show. I am not sure the point, especially after quilting, but it was definitely a design choice.
The themes of the blocks varied. I might have put all environmental blocks together in one quilt and all animal blocks together in another quilt. I can see the appeal of varying the themes as it makes people really look at them to see what else is there.
My favorite block has a fantastic design. The design is very simple and clear IMO. It also has a graphic quality and provides a lot of scope for discussion. Whoever designed this block should get an award. Great job.
It was fun to see the blocks up close and contemplate the messages. If you want to participate, check the SJSA website for more details
I was still recovering from my oral surgery last Friday as I prepared for Sew Day after work. With a full week of work and the aftereffects of the surgery under my belt, I was tired. I thought hard about staying home, but decided to go. I wanted to see my friends and participate in the Destash party.
In order not to completely exhaust myself, I decided to bring as little as possible with me. I needed a small project without a lot of pieces and parts. For example, I did not want to bring a sewing machine. The La Pass BOM would have been the perfect project, but it is delayed again.
It occurred to me that I could bring the Half Hexie Star quilt, put it up on the design wall and make a plan to get it finished. Looking at it and making a plan had been on my list for a long time and Sew Day provided the perfect opportunity.
I did it! And it worked!
I now have a plan to finish this quilt. I can see the light at the end of the Half Hexie tunnel, which is a finished quilt. This is very exciting. I thought this would be one of those quilts I would finish in 10 years.
First, this may be the first time I have ever put this quilt up on the design wall and looked at it vertically. I have laid it out on the floor, but seeing it on the design wall is better.
Second, I figured out what I needed to do to even up the sides. I plan to finish the two rows I have started on the top (see arrows) and call it done. I am not going to add more rows to make it bigger.
A lot of people came and talked to me about the quilt. One of my guild mates asked what the final size would be. I looked at her, confused. She clarified that she wanted to know whether the pattern said it would be a twin or another size. She also wanted to know if I made enough stars to complete the pattern. Clearly she doesn’t know me that well. I laughed and said I wasn’t using a pattern. I said it would be as big as I felt like making it. This was a foreign concept to my guild mate.
At that point, I decided that it would be pretty much as big as we could see on the design wall right then.
I haven’t measured it, though it would have been a good time to do it.
Next, I tried to think of ways to square up the sides. I pinned stars to the sides to make each side as even as possible, so I could see what I had.
The top and bottom just need some diamonds and triangles fitted into the open spaces in the stars. The top and bottom will be easy.
For the sides, I thought about putting a couple of the half hexie pieces using background fabric in to the sides as a way of getting the sides to be more square. I even sewed some as a test. I was going to go with that solution, which would have made a gentle zig zag edge. I didn’t feel it was an ideal solution.
Then Lindsay arrived and we discussed it further. She thought I could add in the triangles and diamonds without the background pieces. It wouldn’t make the edge square, but there would still be a gentle zigzag. The triangles and diamond pieces would match the look of the bottom better. I like this idea much better and will work on it.
Finally Mary C said that I could use the edge as is – already folded under – and fold the backing under, then whip stitch the top and bottom together rather than applying a standard binding. I think this is a really good idea. If I can work with Colleen to make it happen, I will.
I am pleased with the various solutions. I am also glad that I will be done with this top soon.
A long time ago, I made the Double Spiky 16 Patch #1. At Sew Day the other day, Lindsay brought it back quilted. I was pretty excited to see it done an in reality it was only February of 2021 that I finished it.
She quilted it really well. I love the designs she chose. I am so pleased this was a group effort.