The other day i talked about the Double Spiky 16 Patch that Lee Ann finished. It made me wonder about all the Spiky 16 Patch quilts I have made. I looked back at my media files and decided to put them all into one post.
Double Spiky 16 Patch Quilted #2
Double Spiky 16 Patch #1
New Blue Spiky 16 Patch donation top
Spiky Star donation quilt n.3
HRT Donation Top – April 2018 (Spiky 16 Patch)
Flame HRT Donation top – April 2020
Mrs. K’s Spiky 16 Patch Top
I also inspired Mrs. K to make a top. I love it when you sew along with me, especially if you use one of my tutorials. Hers is great! It makes me think I need to add a yellow version to my list. Look at the corner triangle detail. Isn’t it great?
I always think I have made more of anything I want to show you than I really have. Six tops is not nothing. I want make more of these and now, that I see them, in different colors.
I am sure I will make more of them, so I’ll have to update this post.
I spent most of Saturday working on Scrap Dash, though I also worked on the Yellow Strip Donation quilt as leaders and enders. I continue to be pleased with how the piece is progressing.
I cut a bunch of pieces for the borders during the previous week. I had sewed some of them together in snatches of time also during the week. On Saturday, I stitched many more together. I also started placing them in their spot on the wall. I now have sections of 3 sides of the borders sewn to some other piece.
I didn’t want to sew the entire border strip together then sew it to the quilt top as one piecing. I am chunking all the pieces and I am glad, because I have to fiddle with some of the border pieces to get them to fit. I am not sure why as my 1/4″ looks good and the pieces are cut accurately.
I have started, in a small way to sew the chunks together. I am not seeing much shrinkage yet as that depends on quite a bit of sewing the chunks together.
In between working on Scrap Dash, I made more yellow Improv blocks. I don’t have a tons of yellow scraps and I’ll be lucky if I can make this quilt and a straight Improv version like the other colors I have made. I’ll definitely be able to finish this one, but I have had to add chunks to the blocks. I don’t have enough strips to make all the blocks just from strips.
I sewed way more than one seam throughout the day. I felt kind of manic about these blocks. Even though I was working on Scrap Dash, I wanted to make progress on this quilt as well. I am pleased with the progress.
I came across a post I wrote in 2005 about the qualities teachers should exhibit. Since I have been teaching quiltmaking recently, the post made me think about whether or not I am practicing what I preach. I thought I would revisit the post in this new light and see if everything I said then still stands.
Know your subject: Yes, I don’t think you should teach if you do not know the subject. However, there are sub-sections of classes where you may not be an expert so just brush up and stay ahead of the class. We can’t be experts on every single aspect of a topic. Case in point is me and how I wouldn’t try to each free motion quilting since I am not good at it. I do quilt sometimes, as you know, so when I taught my class I taught what I do when I quilt and gave resources on other types of quilting and the names of teachers I thought were good.
Be well prepared: yes, absolutely.
State your goals at the beginning of the class and let students know your timing. I think this gives people an idea of what to shoot for and also reduces stress. If I know there will be a break at 10am, I can plan around it.
Have handouts (with pictures, if appropriate) : I have taken a couple of classes recently where the teachers have provide handouts after the class. They do this so you will pay attention to them. I understand that, but I also like handouts. I’d rather have a handout with brief descriptions so I can take notes on it than getting it later when I have to consolidate my notes with the handout.
Don’t assume that since you can quilt you can also teach : I still believe this. Teaching takes skill and not everyone has it. Practice your presentation or your class before you teach.
Manage students : I have been in a number of classes where one student dominated. It was frustrating for me, because I felt like the teacher was getting distracted by the person who was demanding attention. This is the hardest part of teaching, but you have to do it.
Don’t assume that people are there to hear your opinion : I am not sure I believe this. I think people take classes now to learn what specific teachers have to teach. I recently took the Latifah Saafir class and didn’t expect to learn how Jen Carlton Bailly sews curves. I was there to learn specifically what Latifah had to teach.
Acknowledge that people cannot absorb information for 8 hours: I made some really good points in this section. People need a variety of activities during a class: listening, doing, undoing, working with the teacher, etc. Change up your class so everyone can be successful.
Be professional : definitely act like a professional, which is possible even when being friendly.
Make sure your handouts are well organized or track your lecture : this point assumes you have handouts (see above #4). I prefer that handouts track the class, but I also understand that isn’t always possible. Point your students to the correct section in the handout if your lectures doesn’t track the handouts.
Consider whether you need a helper : I think every class with more than 5 students is improved with a helper. You don’t want the teacher to have to run off to make photocopies or get more of their product to sell. Helpers can also fiddle with machines and troubleshoot so the class can stay on schedule.
Walk around : I think 1-on-1 time with students is important. Students benefit from a discussion with the teacher.
In point 1, I also mentioned books an other resources in a bibliography. This should have been a separate point. I do think it is important to provide additional resources as you won’t be with your students all the time and they may need reference material. or they may want to look at additional resources. I also LOVE reference material. ?
I spent a lot of time on Saturday working on Scrap Dash. I am pleased with my progress and feel like I can see a glimmer of the end of the project. I am still far away from it, but I see a glimmer.
I am getting more of the border on the wall and will soon start to sew it together. I need space so I can get the rest of the right hand column up, too.
I am on the fence about how this quilt is looking. I don’t have the exact colors that Tim used, so I am using what I have. I don’t know if it is working.
Improv Checkerboard
When I talked about this quilt before, I had finished sewing the parts Tim gave me to the piece and had just added a strip of my own.
I made this improv checkerboard to add to the sides as the first piece that was all my own. It was kind of fun to play around with different sized strips. The green, however is a little more chartreuse than Tim used. While I like the shape, I am concerned about the colors and how they fit in with what went before.
I plan to put part of the checkerboard on another side perpendicular to the checkerboard I already sewed to the top.
Tim’s Improv Quilt with checkerboard
I don’t think it looks terrible and that might be good enough for a donation quilt. I don’t mean that it is ugly so it is only good enough for a donation quilt, but that it is not too ugly to give as a donation quilt.
I really don’t nee to make it much bigger, but I want it to have a relatively cohesive design without me spending 50 hours on it.
In February, I worked on some more Spiky 16 patch quilts. Then I gave them to Peggy and she found someone to quilt at least one. #2 popped up as finished at the guild meeting last Saturday! Lee Ann did the basting and quilting. She did a lot of straight line quilting, which I think works really well.
There is a wobble on the edge, which surprises me. I am hoping it is the wind blowing the quilt and not my piecing!
Double Spiky 16 Patch Quilted – detail
Lee Ann sent me these photos, which included a detail. You can see the leaf like shapes in the 16 patch center as well as a little more of the straight line quilting on the border.
I am continuing to work on the yellow donation blocks. I talked about making another batch a few days ago. I have more progress to show you today.
They look better on my design wall than they do on the photo. Oh well.
I made one with a strip going vertically, because I had two leftover pieces that weren’t wide enough to make a block with horizontal strips. For this version, I am really trying to make all the strips oriented on the horizontal. I have a lot of small pieces of yellow, so I don’t know if it will work. I’ll make as many blocks as I can with horizontal strips, then I will start putting more chucks together into blocks.
This is not my work, except for the repair job I just finished. At some point this quilt got a rip in the border. I decided to take off the extra border and put a new binding on it. Sadly, I did not have enough of that fabulous green, but the red-violet looks good, I think
This was a gift from two of my sisters-in-law when I graduated from my Master’s program. I have a Master’s degree in Library and Information Studies from the University of California, Berkeley. At the time, the program was, what we in the business call, ALA accredited. That means that I can work in public and academic libraries, which require that accreditation. Sadly, I was in the last graduating class from that program. They have a School of Information, but no longer train librarians.
Anyway, this is an awesome snapshot of a time in my life. Each book represents a facet of my life and all are still important to me. The upper left shows the insignia of my sorority. Most of my good friends come from that experience. While you may think of ‘Animal House’ when you hear sorority, I met lifelong friends, received a scholarship which allowed me to complete my Master’s degree and learned what philanthropy was all about.
The upper right shows a book with my degree on the spine. I am the first person in my family to receive a Master’s degree. My dad would have preferred I became a salesperson, but I feel I have done well and been happy as a librarian.
The lower left represents the University of California, Berkeley. Many of the members of DH’s family have degrees from Cal, as it is affectionately named. I have both my Bachelor’s and Master’s from UC Berkeley. It is also the joint family activity to attend Cal football games. They generally do not do well, but hope springs eternal and stories about trips to bowl games are regularly recounted.
Finally, in the lower right is a book that says ‘QuiltNet’ on the spine. QuiltNet was probably the very first listserv, or email list about quilting. At that time, you had to find space on a server that would allow you to create an email list. You couldn’t create an account on Groups.io and have an email list running in 10 minutes. I don’t remember very well how most people got their messages, but I remember logging into a UNIX server and reading messages using a tool called ‘vi’. No WYSIWYG! We talked about quiltmaking and described our quilts because there was no way to take a photo then attach it to an email message. It was a very vibrant list that led to a variety of friendships, exchanges and information about all sorts of quiltmaking topics. QuiltNet really opened up quiltmaking to me.
I am so pleased that I finished, finally, repairing this quilt. It has been on my list for ages. Now it is time to hang it up again so I can enjoy it.
Sara Lawson’s Sewcial Sunday from a few weeks ago included an interview with Megan Doherty. Some parts of it made me laugh out loud.
The 2021 Quilting Trends survey is out. According to the survey, “…there are now 85 million “active creatives” in North America, meaning people who have done at least one creative project in the last year. Crafts generate $35 billion in annual sales. There are currently 10-12 million quilters and the quilting market is expected to approach $5 billion by 2026-2027. In 2020 there was a more than 12% increase in the number of new quilters. The quilting market is expected to grow to $5 billion by 2026.” Can you believe the increase in 2020? I guess people had to do something with all their free time during the shelter-in-place orders. I’m glad it was quiltmaking.
I know most of you had crayons when you were a kid and probably, like me, coveted the giant box of colors. I also jealously guarded my box and refused to share with my sister, because she would break the points. I never delved into the history of the humble wax implement until the other day. I read the LAPL newsletter, which had a brief history of the crayon. It was so interesting. Did you know Crayola LLC is now owned by Hallmark? Did you know that Mr. Binney’s wife helped create and name crayolas? Another woman nobody ever heard of until now. Did you know that Binney & Smith bought the Munsell Color Company in 1922?
Barbara Brackman recently posted about an interesting wreath quilt on her Material Culture blog. It is the first picture of a square wreath quilt and it is really interesting. I love the woven and squarish look. I’d like to think I would make one, but I probably wouldn’t.
Sharon at ColorGirl Quilts shows you, in her newest video, how make Flying Geese and half circles using her Classic Curves Ruler.
Projects, Classes, Patterns & Tutorials
Michelle Graham, one of the moderators of the Sew Sweetness Facebook group mentioned Sincerely Jen, a pattern company with a lot of bag patterns. They do not have as many patterns as Sew Sweetness, but some are interesting. I particularly like the Rossatron.
I have been contemplating different methods of organizing my Sew Tites. Funnily enough a new pattern designed by LillyElla Stitchery for a folio that holds Sew Tites along with needles, etc was advertised in the most recent SewTites newsletter. It is like a needlecase, but includes storage for Sew Tites as well. Pattern is a free download.
Because I think Im ight become a great knitter some day, I look at some knitting sites and newsletters. As you know, I do knit a bit, but I struggle. One thing with which I struggle is the organization of my circular needles. I prefer circular needles, but they don’t really fit in a conventional bag. I saw one by DellaQ in the Maker’s Mercantile newsletter recently. It turns out that DellaQ has quite a few knitting needle bags. Because I can’t leave well enough alone, I went hunting for a pattern. I love the DellaQ versions, especially the one in turquoise, but I have a lot of fabric here, so can’t I just make one? I found one pattern from Charlotte Copper that looks reasonable. I also found a pattern by Olga (@zaudalcreates )on Etsy that I really liked. You can see a video tour of the case on IG. She has a website, too. I found a nice tutorial for a large shopping/travel tote, which I think would be good for the guild officer gifts. She uses a lot of canvas. If I make the circular needle case, I may have to use quilting cotton and Soft & Stable instead of canvas to make something I like. I don’t really want to get into buying canvas, but I understand the need for stability.
I am tempted by Olga’s Oslo Pouch (different from the Sew Sweetness Oslo Craft Bag). It looks like a cute little handbag. I am trying to be restrained as I just bought the Minikins 3 and have only made 3 projects from that set.
If you need to match a binding in various places to specific designs in your quilt, A Quilter’s Table has a tutorial.
I saw the Bubba Bowling Bag in the AGF newsletter. There are some nice photos on the page, but none of the inside. 🙁 I even checked IG and didn’t see any. Of course, I could put whatever pockets I wanted inside, but I still like to see what others did.
Recently, in various patterns I have had to press pattern pieces a certain amount (usually 1/4 inch). This is such a hassle as it is a small amount and I have to keep my fingers out of the way. I have a weird double headed stiletto type thing that I use, but it doesn’t help with the measuring. I found a ruler by Clover that I am considering called the Clover Hot Press Perfect Ruler **. Keep in mind that I haven’t used this, but it looks like you can lay this down on the fabric, fold over the part you need to measure and then press. That would be perfect, if it works and isn’t too thick. I Like Clover products and think they are high quality, so fingers crossed that it is a good product. Let me know if you have one or if you have tried it.
Check out the Tatter Journal, a quarterly publication “offering of original content, which explores our relationship to cloth through a quarterly theme.” The first issue is about isolation.
I am still on the hunt for a chart of zipper sizes and descriptions. I found a comprehensive blog post about zippers, which is really interesting and helpful. It only gives a brief description of what size zippers to use for what project. Not helpful for my purposes, but interesting. It also says that a zipper foot is a must. I have never had good luck with zipper feet. I use my 1/4″ foot. Perhaps it’s my machine?
I found a yardage converter page on the AllPeopleQuilt site. My only question, because it is not readily obvious, is 4.5 inches x what equals 1/8 yard. I presume 42 inches or the fabric width from selvedge to selvedge. The chart does implicitly say.
Other Artists
My friend Nancy created a website recently to showcase her artwork. She is much more deliberative in her work than I am. Thus, the pieces she shows are carefully selected.
**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.
Tim made part of a top in a Sherri Lynn Wood class. He didn’t want it hanging around anymore because he didn’t like the class and didn’t think he would finish it. I offered to finish it into a donation top for the guild and get it out of his life.
I sewed a strip Tim gave me to the right of the quilt (the strip with 4 patches). I looked for fabric that would match, but I couldn’t find anything really similar. I chose a more reddish orange and am adding various bits to the piece.
The other day I started writing about my visit to BAMPFA to see the Rosie Lee Tompkins exhibit. Today I plan to continue talking about the pieces that I liked.
In the photo, left, you can see how the quilts were arranged. You can also see the older quilts on the left and the newer quilts on the right.
As I mentioned before I preferred the older quilts, which seem to be mostly made from velvet, etc. On the right, you can see the newer quilts. These are mostly made from cotton. They seem to have more meaning, according to the signs, but they lack subtlety and their design elements are less nuanced. The impression I got from looking at those quilts is that Rosie’s supply or source of fabric had changed. Alternatively, someone may have told her that quilts were made from cottons. I don’t know, but I may find out once I read the catalog.
Rosie Lee Tompkins pink velvet
One of the velvet quilts used pink with black, which is a color combination I have not yet explored, though it is on my list.
In this piece, I think it is interesting how Ms. Tompkins used a few different pinks, including a peachy-pink that I would not have used. I am not a peach fan, but the artist uses it to good effect in this piece.
I am interested in the shape of the various pieces and wonder how she worked? Perhaps there will be some photos of her workspace in the book, which I have not yet read. Did she have a dedicated space? Did she work on her lap? I am not disturbed by the shape, I just see it in several of her pieces and wonder if it is the result of her workspace.
Rosie Lee Tompkins ‘pinwheels’
The design of the exhibit was good. While the pieces were in chronological order, I could see that the curators selected pieces that showed a flow of her development. I know that pieces had to be selected from the vast number Rosie Lee Tompkins made.
This green and gold piece was between the emerald piece I showed in the previous post and the pink and black quilt above. There were others with more triangles, but something about this one caught my eye.
Rosie Lee Tompkins more ‘pinwheels’
She showed a variety of blue and black quilts as well, which were also favorites. I looked at this one for a long time and like the subtle shading of the black and grey. I couldn’t decide if the fabrics were the same, but turned or brushed so the nap showed up differently and made the pattern or if the fabrics were different, but very close. She used bits of turquoise in various pieces and that was appealing. I like the purple and turquoise together.
I took the time to finish the face masks that I started for DH. Restrictions are being lifted so I don’t know if they will be needed. I would, however, rather be safe than sorry. I don’t want to get sick or spread anything we might have to anyone else.
DH looks good in brown, thus I used some of the few brown fabrics I have to make masks. I wasn’t very frugal with the fabrics and put any all scraps into the pet bed bag. I am tempted to put all brown fabrics on to the guild destash message on the forum. I don’t really need them in my collection and they are taking up space.
I am slowly making more of these blocks. I know it seems like I am working on very little. I seem to be really busy on things that keep my mind scurrying in a zillion different directions.
Five Yellow Donation Blocks
I wanted to make enough blocks so I could see what I had. I think I will place the blocks 5 across. I might do 6 across, but we’ll see. My plan is 5 across right now. I also won’t set the blocks this close together. My design wall is a little full right now so I don’t have the blocks placed as they would be. I also am not sure what color I will use for the sashing. Blue is the complement, but I don’t think that blue will be good for the look I want. I think white.
Yellow strip donation block #6
I also made one more block, so I have a total of 6 right now.
I actually went to a museum the other day. I am fully vaccinated, wore a mask, stayed away from people and the place was almost empty. This trip contained a lot of firsts: first time in a museum in over a year, first trip across the Bay Bridge in over a year, first time in a car with a friend, first time wearing a mask for 5 hours or more (health care workers: I salute you!). Milestone day!
I went with my friend from CQFA, Nancy. Nancy is much more in tune with what is going on in local arts than I am and let me know that the Rosie Lee Tompkins exhibit was on for in person viewing. She got us tickets and I drove us over.
I used to live next door to BAMPFA, but hadn’t been there in years. The space is gorgeous. The entrance is made human by the mural you see when you walk in (above). The mural is part of an auditorium/amphitheater (??)/performance space. The walls of the museum are tall and white, so the mural grounds visitors as they come in – at least it did for me.
Rosie Lee Tompkins Exhibit entrance
We went straight into the exhibit, which was on the ground floor near the entrance. There is not a lot of information about the quilts and most of them are untitled. I love to hear about inspiration, so this was disappointing, but not surprising. I don’t think people think about the making of their quilts as much as I do. In writing this, I realize that I think a lot more about placement of individual pieces and don’t write each of those comments down.
The brief description of the show says, in part, “…And while most of the Tompkins’s textiles are referred to as ‘quilts,’ this term technically only refers to works comprising pieced tops, insulating material, and backing that have been sewed together – a process she rarely undertook herself, instead leaving this finish work to other local quilters.” I love this, especially the last part, because it means that my quilts could someday end up in a museum!!
Rosie Lee Tompkins ‘Lines’ quilt
My two favorite quilts were from her older quilts. They were mostly made of velvet, crushed velvet and velveteen (I don’t really know if these are the same).
One of the things I like about this piece is the not so obvious improv piecing. Current improv piecing comes across as contrived to me sometimes, though you know I am not a huge fan. This piece looks like it was designed so that the pieces lean to the left. I am not sure I could make a piece with so much movement using improv techniques. This piece does not scream improv to me. It looks like Ms. Tompkins designed it that way. The color and sheen, which do not come through very well in the photo really add to the success of this quilt.
Rosie Lee Tompkins Emerald Velvet
My second favorite is a piece that is jewel-like in its success. The various greens show up with some contrast in the photo. In real life the darker greens are much more subtle in their shading. This makes the chartreuse line of squares in the center-left stand out. Even though those four squares are the only green of that color, the design element seems to work. There are a couple of places where four squares show up and perhaps that is the reason. Again, the color and sheen really add to the success of this quilt.
Look for part 2 of my thoughts about this exhibit soon.
