Author: Jaye

Quiltmaker who enjoys writing and frozen chocolate covered bananas.

New Meditation on Quilt Backs

Corner Store back
Corner Store back

The top photo is a photo of the back for the Corner Store. The Japanese Chrysanthemum print that makes up the majority of the back is by, of course, Phillip Jacobs. I bought that fabric for a Multi-tasker tote I planned to use for the Autumn, but never got around to making and it seemed appropriate to use it for the back.

Today was back day.

I decided that before I could piece more tops I needed to make two backs and a binding. I was able to finish the two backs, but need some input before moving on the binding. Making backs is something I don’t enjoy that much, but feel it is necessary to finish quilts and part of that process is making the back.

I feel strongly about backs:

  1. Pieced backs are good. I prefer to use the fabric I have and not buy special backing fabric.
  2. I label my backs. Nobody may care in 100 years, but if they do care, the information will be there. Also, if a quilt is stolen and, subsequently, found, the finder will know where to send the quilt.
  3. Make the back look cohesive with itself, and moderately related to the front.

I used to never care about piecing backs and would spend all day piecing a back, but today that part of the process got on my nerves. I would have loved for someone to hand me the perfect back so I would not have to make backs today. What I did to alleviate this was to find some large pieces and use those for most of the backs. Larger pieces of fabric meant less piecing. The piecing on the backs is not symmetrical, but the backs are made.

I think what is happening is that I am far enough along is most of the projects on my 26 Projects list that I am getting to the backing and binding stage faster than I would otherwise. Thus, I am making many more backs than I normally would. I also think I am sewing faster than I have in the past. Rote sewing? Somewhat.

I say all this like it is bad and it isn’t. I just think I have a rhythm for sewing and my rhythm is off. I think I need to consider that rhythm and get back into it. I need to take more time with my projects so I don’t get to the backs so fast. Until the 26 Projects list meets my comfort level, though, I think I might have to contend with this challenge, this sewing frenzy. It is, however, a consideration.

Back for Super Secret Project #2
Back for Super Secret Project #2

The last photo is a back for the Super Secret Project (#2). TFQ made the top for me and I was stuck with the back. I didn’t have any of the same fabrics she used, so I did the best I could.

One of my big concerns about backs is the well designed modern backs that many of the ‘modern’ quilters are making. Seeing them make me feel like a slacker. Granted, many of them do not include labels, but they are making backs that are almost separate quilt tops themselves and those backs look good.

These two pieces will go off to the quilter next time I head over there.

Analysis of the Corner Store

Corner Store Finished Top
Corner Store Finished Top

Last week, I talked about finishing this piece and how it had no soul.This realization kind of sent me into a bit of a tailspin, because I am not used to quilt tops having no soul. I got a lot of great comments, which you should go and read. Everyone had great suggestions and insights. I really appreciated the comments.

I had a long discussion with TFQ about this piece and I finally came to the conclusion that the ratio of color to Kona Snow is off. That means that there is too much Kona Snow for the amount of color I included. It could be that this pattern, which originally came from Pretty Little Mini Quilts, was never really suited to scaling it up. In my version, the blocks are small, but the piece is still fairly large.

Still, I think that there is not enough color and too much white. I think that white can lighten a piece and give a fresh look, but I think the quiltmaker has to be careful about how much white to use. I think I have to agree with TFQ that too much white can suck the life out of a piece.

I was upset about this quilt and it did make me think, but I am glad I have bumped up against the “white wall.” I am glad I pushed the envelope and seem to have a limit. It is good for my development as a quiltmaker. I also have to remind myself that I can’t make a masterpiece every time.

Sketching #123

CPP Response #123: Butterfly
CPP Response #123: Butterfly

Will I subject you to multitudes of Creative Prompt Responses this week? I believe so. I am not in a good space for sewing this week. The Corner Store (and some family events) has knocked me off my game.

I wanted to do a woman with butterfly wings similar to some others I have done. I really had trouble with the symmetry of the wings. Finally, my mom, my sometimes drawing teacher when I will let her, suggested that I trace a butterfly. I thought that was cheating, but did it anyway and am fairly pleased with the way it came out. Of course, it is quite giant and I think the creature would create real alarm if seen in real life. Good thing my drawings are not real life. That I know of. 😉

Take a look at the original prompt and create your own response.

 

Garden Machine Quilting

Garden - Late June
Garden – Late June

I worked, over the weekend, on the Garden quilt. I am machine quilting it. I hadn’t really planned to work on it since I have a back for the Corner Store to finish, a back to make for the Super Secret Project #2 as well as a binding and some other miscellaneous random finishing tasks to accomplish. I also have some bags and smaller projects I could work on to keep my mind off of things. Still, I sat huddled over my machine and machine quilted for hours.

Yes, I am in avoidance mode over the Corner Store, but at least I am accomplishing something while I am avoiding something else. That can’t be all bad, can it?

Free motion quilting
Free motion quilting

This is the first time I have done any free motion quilting in a long time. Admittedly, I didn’t do much on this piece, but I did some and I am pretty proud that a) I am still able to free motion quilt and b) my machine could handle it.

I am really pleased with the servicing the store down south did. The machine works like a charm and I have stopped having traitorous thoughts about replacing it.

I didn’t free motion quilt (FMQ, FMQing) this entire piece, but I did some FMQing in some key areas. In the photo of the sun, I did some FMQing in the ball of the sun.

Annotated Garden
Annotated Garden

I have annotated the last photo so I can try and show you the differences in straight line quilting vs. FMQing. You will have to make the photo larger to see what I have written.

 

Sketching #121

CPP Response #121: Aquarium
CPP Response #121: Aquarium

I know I have said this before, but sometimes I really do wonder what has possessed me when I pick the words for the prompt. Some prove to be more challenging for me than others. Know when I select the word, I select it for the promise of what the response can be and not what I have in my mind. I often do not have a response in my mind when create the prompt.

This one was part of the giant series of drawings I did over a few evenings. I really wanted to catch up with the ones I missed/neglected. I can always go back and redo some as I did with Beckon, so the ones that aren’t as detailed may get a redo someday.

I don’t know why I am making excuses, but I don’t feel that this response is up to my usual standards. I guess I have to be ok with it.

Look at the original prompt and create your own response. We would love to have you play along.

Inspiration Sunday

Entryway tile
Entryway tile

I am fortunate to live in a place where I can walk down the street and see a quilt pattern. Recently I saw this tile entryway and it reminded me of the Basketweave Baby pattern I mentioned some time ago.

This tile pattern is also similar to one I saw in Petaluma. I was lame and didn’t take a photo of the corner of that older entryway, but there may have been a reason. I do like to take photos of the corners, so if I decide to make such a pattern into a quilt pattern, I know what to do with the corner – or at least I know what someone else did.

There would be a lot of partial seaming if I made this as a quilt.

Do you see how the piece looks like there are curves. If you click on the photo to make it larger, you will see that there are no curves. That illusion is so interesting to me.

Enjoy!

Sketching #110 #2

CPP Response #110 #2: Beckon
CPP Response #110 #2: Beckon

I realized that I already drew a response for ‘Beckon,’but I must have had a reason for keeping it on the list. I do like this one better than the first. I didn’t include a lot of detail. I might go back and add more detail later, but perhaps not.

You can see the original prompt and create your own response.

Fabric of the Year 2012 – Late June

FOTY - Late June 2012
FOTY – Late June 2012

In addition to sewing I have been cutting.

All of the pinks in the Pink Donation Quilt have a square in the piece on the left. There are a few from some fabrics I bought in the last little while. I also have some patches from the Art Gallery scraps I received.

I have to admit that I arranged the scraps a bit so they look good in the photos I post for you. Look for these patches in the final piece.

Sketching #108

CPP Response #108: Abundance
CPP Response #108: Abundance

I am back trying to post the abundance of Creative Prompt Project Responses I drew a week or so ago.

This is abundance. I always wanted a cornucopia, so I thought I would try and draw one. Drawing things with a lot of elements can be a bit tedious, but I am pleased with the result.

You can see the original prompt and create your own response.

Creative Prompt #163: Bridge

Bridge pose (yoga)

bridge of the nose

Tower Bridge

Bridge of Sighs, Venice

dental bridge

Roman bridge built by ancient Romans, were the first large and lasting bridges built.[1] Roman bridges were built with stone and had the arch as its basic structure. (see arch bridge). Most utilized concrete as well, which the Romans were the first to use for bridges.

Bridge to Terabithia (book, movie)

Bridge cameras are cameras which fill the niche between the single-lens reflex cameras (SLRs) and the Point-and-shoot camera.

 

World Bridge Foundation: The official site of the body responsible for organizing world championships.

bridge of a ship

Golden Gate Bridge

Bridge (card game)

a bridge is a product that connects a local area network (LAN) to another local area network that uses the same protocol

Bay Bridge

bridge builder

bridge to nowhere

Rainbow Bridge

Definition: A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle. Designs of bridges vary depending on the function of the bridge, the nature of the terrain where the bridge is constructed, the material used to make it and the funds available to build it.

Brooklyn Bridge

Make your response simple. It doesn’t need to be a masterpiece. Take 5 minutes. Just respond and create a creative habit. Please post the direct URL (link) where your drawing, doodle, artwork is posted (e.g. your blog, Flickr) in the comments area of this post. I would really like to keep all the artwork together and provide a way for others to see your work and/or your blog, and how your work relates to the other responses.

The Creative Prompt Project has a Flickr group, which you can join to post your responses. Are you already a member? I created that spot so those of you without blogs or websites would have a place to post your responses. Please join and look at all of the great artwork that people have posted.

Signed, Sealed & Delivered

Stars for San Bruno #1
Stars for San Bruno #1

I went downstairs this morning to get some water before I started my day. I hadn’t see the mail from the day before and it was sitting on the dining room table. I glanced through it and noticed two handwritten enveloped addressed to me. I recognized the addresses as being from the recipients of the Stars for San Bruno quilts. My heart fluttered a bit.

I didn’t get a response to my emails and notes, so I didn’t want to say anything to you when I sent the quilts off last Friday (return receipt requested) in case they were not well received.

Crazy talk, I know. Sometimes I can’t help myself.

 

Stars for San Bruno #2
Stars for San Bruno #2

I was kind of afraid of what I would find when I read the notes, so I went and got ready for work and started my breakfast before I read them.

I really never know how people will respond.

Will they hate the look of the quilt?

Will they feel resentful because they feel obligated to me?

I rarely ever send anyone anything with the expectation of getting something back. The reviews I do for Lark Books I do as a service to YOU. When I send letters to my friends, I send them with a sense of joy in my heart that they will receive a handwritten letter they can enjoy.

Stars for San Bruno #3
Stars for San Bruno #3

There was no reason for me to be afraid. Their notes were grateful and heartfelt. They made me cry.

DH’s cousin writes:

“Words can’t express the feelings that T and I felt. Tears of happiness to know that so many wonderful people put their hearts and hands into such a beautiful quilt….

The quilt has lifted our spirits ~ we have a long healing process but this will help with the warm feeling and thoughts that were sent our way….we have another few months until all is done. Thanks again with much love  T & R.”

I am so pleased. I am pleased that the quilts were accepted with the spirit in which they were sent. I was pleased to get such heartfelt thank you notes. Those notes made all the difference.

Note to those who participated: I will scan the notes and send them off to you separately.

 

Pink Donation Top

Pink Donation Top
Pink Donation Top

TA-DA!!!

Yes, here is the pink donation top. It will go off to Jennifer and Deborah the Charity Queens of Awesomeness at the next BAMQG meeting.

As you might remember (since I know you memorize all of my posts), there was some lively discussion about the white sashing I used last time on the Blue Donation Top and how the quilt would look with sashing the same color as the foreground patches. Now you know. This top is very pink. DH even commented that it wasn’t usual for me. I like it and definitely put it in the cheerful category.

I made the back, too, but it is nothing to write home about, so no photo for you.

This was made entirely using leaders and enders method while I was piecing other things such as the latest Swoon block, the Corner Store and some other random blocks that you will hear about soon. See what you can accomplish?

Now I am working on a yellow version from the Art Gallery Scraps, plus a few other yellow scraps I scrounged up.

For those of you counting, this makes two finished tops this week. Yes, TWO!!!

Corner Store – Late June Progress

Corner Store - Late June
Corner Store – Late June

After not having much time to sew, as described previously, I spent a lot of time sewing over the weekend. In fact, aside from a quick trip to dinner and a movie with my favorite date and a few other minor chores (no gardening!), I spent the whole weekend sewing.

The Corner Store seems to have taken me a long time. Looking back, I don’t think it should have been on my 26 projects list. After all, when I wrote the 26 Projects List it was just a placemat and an idea; it wasn’t really a UFO. Still and all, I put it on the list and I have decided that everything on the list will get a disposition.

Over the weekend, I made significant progress on this quilt. The picture above shows what I had done previously – most of the blocks were sewn together in groups of four. I had started to sew those groups together, but didn’t get very far, so that is what I worked on.

One after the other, I sewed the groups of four into groups of 8 and then the groups of eight into groups of 16. Basically, I chunked them.

In between, I pushed bits of the Pink Donation Quilt through the machine and made significant progress on that as well as a bit of progress on the yellow version which is the next donation quilt on the list. Another post for another day. Stay tuned.

Corner Store Finished Top
Corner Store Finished Top

I finished the top and am well on my way to finishing the back. I am going to use a big piece of a Phillip Jacobs print called Japanese Chrysanthemum. This fabric was destined to be a very nice bag, but I think, even though I bought the pink colorway, that there is too much brown. I am just not a brown person.

I had planned to put a spiky border a la Gwen Marston. The Molly Flanders blog has a very nice tutorial, which shows a similar quilt to this one with the spiky border I decided not to make.

Ok, here is the confession. This is a pretty quilt top. It is well made, my corners match, etc, but this top has no soul. If I weren’t compulsive about getting project finished, then it would be an interminable UFO. I don’t know why it has not soul, but it doesn’t. I’ll finish the back, get it quilted and then figure out what to do with it. It is a little too girly for one of the boys, but we will see. So it goes, sometimes.

 

Block-a-Long Sampler Quilt

Block-a-Long Sampler Quilt
Block-a-Long Sampler Quilt

I thought I would make up an example of one way you could put the Block-a-Long blocks together in a sampler format. This layout looks a lot more complicated than it really is. Remember each block is relatively easy.

Of course, there are a multitude of ways you could put together a sampler quilt. I was thinking that these blocks would lend themselves to a  scrap quilt. As you get scraps large enough to make one of the blocks, make one, then eventually you would have enough for a quilt. It would be a nice memory of projects you did in a year or over a period of time.

Encourage to Create

Two new books.

New books
New books

I haven’t had time to do more than glance through them, but for some reason, I wanted to let you know that I had a couple of new books.

Color Magic for Quilters is all Sandy’s fault. That is Sandy of Quilting…for the Rest of Us. I’ll have to think of something so she will spend her money.

She is doing a mini-project called Total Color Tuesdays post on her blog every Tuesday (stealing all of my glory for the upcoming design episode on color, I would like to point out). You can participate in her exercises. Color Magic for Quilters uses a different system than Munsell or Ives. I don’t know which;you’ll have to wait for my review. I’ll read the book and get back to you.

Fearless Creating is a book I won as a door prize at the last BAMQG meeting. I am not a big door prize fan. I don’t object to them, but I just usually don’t want what people are giving away. This time I really wanted this book and nearly grabbed it out of someone’s hand as we were called at the same time. I told her I would loan her the book. She was on the fence about it anyway, so I don’t feel guilt.