Blue Improv Journal Cover

Blue Improv Journal Cover - front
Blue Improv Journal Cover – front

My blue scrap drawer is finally showing some signs of having some space available. I have been piecing blue scraps together, as I mentioned the other day, in between working on the Red Scribbles quilt. I finally had enough to make a journal cover, so I decided to stop and make a journal cover. I need a quick finish fix and there are more blue scraps for a Color Improv donation quilt.

Blue Improv Journal Cover - inside front cover
Blue Improv Journal Cover – inside front cover

As also mentioned, I hadn’t thought of this as a journal cover, so the piecing is pretty random. I didn’t center any motifs for the front. This is for an older journal just to protect the pages, so it looks ok for that purpose.

As I did this piecing, I wanted to save any strips I found for more of the Color Strip donation blocks (quilts). I don’t know if I will find enough to make another quilt. If not, I can make a few blocks for the rainbow strip donation quilt I am planning.

Blue Improv Journal Cover - back
Blue Improv Journal Cover – back

Though I am making space in the drawer there are still a lot of scraps. The scraps still fill the drawer, but are not crammed in. There is hope, in other words, that I will have enough strips for something else-blocks or a quilt.

I am trying to use scraps that are smaller than 4.5 inch strips, because of the possibility mentioned above. This means that there are a lot of small scraps becoming larger slabs until they end up as a journal cover. It feels good to see the blue drawer emptying out.

I forget how much I like some of the fabrics I have used until I see a scrap. I know I always say that there is always more fabric. I do get attached to fabrics I like and want to email the fabric companies too reprint them when I find a scrap and know it is out of print.

Blue Improv Journal Cover -top
Blue Improv Journal Cover -top

I had a problem (or my own making) with this journal cover. It is slightly too large. By the time I noticed, I wasn’t about to rip everything out into order to trim it.

I thought the slab was the correct size, but I think I forgot to think about seam allowance for the last bit of piecing. Oh well. Things happen.

Starting another Cell Phone Wallet

Start of Paris Cell Phone Wallet
Start of Paris Cell Phone Wallet

I have a favorite dress that was made for DH’s Grand President events. It is the one dress for which I forgot to make a matching cell phone wallet. I have used others, thinking they looked ok, but I like the matching ones.

I still wear these dresses when I go to certain types of events, so this project was sort of on my list. One problem was that I didn’t have anymore of the fabric and it was so old I couldn’t get anymore. At the January CQFA Mini-Retreat, I saw Marie with some of the fabric and asked her if she had more. She found a little more than a FQ and gave it to me. The fabric has been languishing since then. I was on the phone for an extended call and decided that was a good time to start cutting out the piece.

I didn’t have enough of the fabric for the whole thing so I used an AGF solid pink I really like. The outside will match the dress.

More Red Scribbles

Red Scribbles - mid-week progress
Red Scribbles – mid-week progress

I made more progress the other day. When I think about this project, I don’t want to work on it. When I actually work on it, I don’t mind it. It’s weird, but I think it comes from not working on the right project at the right time.

Obviously, work is getting done on this, however I am not working on it as quickly as I had hoped. I want to work on something else, something with more mind sorbet type of piecing. Perhaps one of the Vanessa Christensen patterns using her ombre fabric that has been sitting around waiting for my attention? I want to work on something easy and fun and not as dark.

Blue Improv Piecing

Blue Improv Piecing
Blue Improv Piecing

In between working on the applique’ for Red Scribbles, I have been piecing blue scraps in an improv style. I am vaguely thinking this is the start of the next Color Improv quilt, but we’ll see.

I am working very hard at not using a lot of strips that I can use for more of the strip blocks like I made for Blue Strips #2. It isn’t working 100% as I do resort to using some occasionally.

The Secrets of My Fabric

I recently saw a post by Jolene over at Blue Elephant Stitches called The Secrets of My Fabric Stash. I thought she had a good idea and I am always looking for content, so I am writing a similar post. I did change the name of the post, though I wanted to have a link to her post. I don’t like the word stash. I am, after all, not a drug dealer. I also feel justified in having supplies on hand so I can do my work.  I have, however, lost the fight in the quilt world to call my fabric a palette.

How you select your fabric for your projects is correct. I am going to describe the way I do it, but that doesn’t mean your method is wrong.

Jolene said that she gets asked two kinds of questions and writes in her post”… how I choose fabrics for a quilt, and the other one is how I choose fabrics from the store to add to my stash. ”

Ignore Trends

I have been buying fabric since the early 1990s, so I have a lot. I was influenced back in the day by stupid ideas like “buy ugly fabric” and “always use a fabric you dislike in your quilt.” I say unabashedly that these are stupid ideas, because they aren’t good advice. It isn’t fun to use ugly fabric, so why do it with an activity I love? I dislike brown and beige intensely, so I feel justified in refusing to use them. They do not make me happy when I use them and they do not work in my quilts. I may use fabrics that I don’t like as much as others, but I have given up using fabrics I actively dislike. The other thing is that ‘ugly’ is subjective. What is ugly to me may be gorgeous to you. The concept just doesn’t work.

I always have to remind myself that a group of fabric on display on a website or in a shop is not going to look the same when I get it home. I love the look of French General fabrics. I love the dream of what they represent, but I almost never buy them. They won’t look right, or the same, as they do in the shop with the fabric I have at home. My fabric has a brighter, clearer tone than these fabrics. I know I won’t use the creams and dustier tones included with these fabrics. I might as well not buy them.

Fabric Shopping

I really enjoy fabric shopping in stores. I like to see the fabric. Having enough money to buy whatever I want is wonderful, but I have to save my pennies and be aware of storage space in my workroom, so I am very selective.

When I shop in stores, I am generally not looking for something in particular, e.g. more of a specific background fabric. Usually, I am just looking, getting inspired, hoping to see something that will work for a project I didn’t know I was making.

If I shop online, it is very dangerous. I have found that when I shop online, I am either tempted by something or feeling bad and need a pick-me-up. Neither mean I made good fabric choices. I am a visual person, so I take cues from the size of my stack of bolts. It is easy to just keep adding things to my online cart without realizing just how much I have purchased. It isn’t always so easy to remove the fabrics from that same online cart. I can easily end up with a lot of fabric coming to me in the mail and not realizing exactly how much I bought.

Also, I have a hard time judging the scale of prints. I like having a variety of prints, both in scale and color. In online shopping, those things are hard to judge because they depend on things out of your control. Some shops have rulers showing the scale, but that doesn’t always help me. In the end, it is a crap shoot and I try to shop in person. During COVID-19, that is impossible, so I am happy to have enough fabric on hand.

Color Palette by Guicy Guice
Color Palette by Guicy Guice

Like Jolene, I almost never buy a complete line of fabrics. I have in the past and have been sorry. I also have been happy. If I buy a full collection, there are prints that languish and I eventually end up using those prints for gift bags. They frequently go to the guild free table or end up in donation blocks. Sometimes, like the recent purchase of a  line of fat quarters of Alison Glass/Guicy Guice, I have been happy. These were tone on tone fabrics that I can use for a variety of projects, though there were some colors (like that orangey-brown) that I probably won’t use.

The other reason I don’t buy (and use) a full collection is because of variety. There usually isn’t enough variety in scale of prints or colors for the full collection to be useful. I remove a certain number of prints from the full collection and replace them with other fabrics that will add contrast and interest to my quilt.

Even with my man, Phil (Philip Jacobs of the Kaffe Fassett Collective), I don’t buy all of his fabrics. Some of the colors are not colors that I would use and a recent horse print he designed was not a favorite. I stick to his large flower prints, because I do love those.

Now, I only buy what I like AND what I think I will use. I don’t have a collection. My fabrics are there to be used. In the past, I bought fabrics that I loved and saved for the right project. Now, I feel kind of ‘MEH’ about some of these fabrics. That is so sad to me, because when I bought them I adored them. Now I try to use beloved fabrics right away. It is awesome to see them in a quilt, especially one that I use.

I have found that I there are fabrics that I decline to buy even though I like them, because I don’t think I will use them. If I can’t envision them in a quilt, I don’t buy them. I also don’t buy fabrics, even if I like the print, if they fray too much. Fraying fabric = imprecision and problems with fitting. It also means I have to pick threads out of seams continuously. That makes me crazy.

Access

Access to your fabric is important. If you can’t pull down your bins or reach your bolts easily, you won’t use your fabric. I use the fabric I can reach most. Climbing up into the top of my fabric cupboard is a production and even though I don’t want to, I avoid it.

Jolene has a much nicer fabric storage solution than I do. Her cupboard is really nice and I would love to have something like that. My fabric closet is larger. 😉 If I won the lottery, I would redo my fabric closet in such a way that all my fabric was out of the plastic bins and I could rifle through it more easily. Still, I can see the amounts that I have based on the number of bins. Nobody who reads this blog regularly will be surprised that I have 3 bins of turquoise.

Storage is an issue. As I said, I have a large fabric closet, but even that is overflowing. Using 100 yards per year is not a whim. I want to use up fabrics, so all of my fabric fits in my fabric closet and I can reach it.

I also want to use my fabric so it doesn’t go to the Salvation Army or Goodwill when I die.

Fabric Selection

First and foremost, I use fabrics that I like. If a pattern calls for a blue, then I will probably chose a turquoise rather than navy.

Frolic! Top finished- corner detail
Frolic! Top finished- corner detail

Pulling fabrics for a quilt happens in two ways: proximity and value. I will often start with fabrics I have close at hand, especially if I am starting a project without planning. Generally, however, I start by devoting a project bin to a potential project. I toss in the pattern, or the drawings or inspiration pages, and fabrics I want to use. Everything – pattern, fabrics, drawings, special ruler, etc. – gets tossed into the project box. When I am ready to work on the project, I have a starting place.

Once I decide on a set of colors, I will go hunting through my stash to find other colors that are similar, but with different prints. The photo (above left) shows this technique very successfully with the red-violets and somewhat successfully with the turquoises. This is a technique I learned from Mary Mashuta back in the dark ages of quiltmaking. Basically, you use different fabrics in the same value to add interest. I don’t really use neutrals, except occasionally, but I have expanded this concept and use it in the foreground and the background. This allows me to use the smaller pieces of fabric, like FQs, I purchase without a plan, scraps and other pieces leftover from other projects. I don’t have to commit to several yards of a fabric I don’t know how I will use. I think quilts look more interesting with a variety of different fabrics. Also, viewers (at a show, for example) get a reward by taking the time to look closely at a quilt when they find you have used many different fabrics.

Scrapitude Carnivale Finished
Scrapitude Carnivale Finished

I used the ‘pushed neutral’ technique for the background of this quilt. I go back, over and over, to Scrapitude Carnivale, because this is the most perfect fabric selection I have ever done. It is not completely perfect, but mostly perfect. Every time I look at it, I am happy. After several years, I still like it. This quilt made me realize that looking at a favorite fabric in a quilt is much better than seeing it unused on a shelf.

The other important aspect is lighting. I live in a place with fog all summer long. That means I have to contend with grey days frequently. Sometimes I can’t see across the street. If I have quilts on my design wall that are too dark, I start to feel depressed. If want to make a purple quilt, I do it is January when the light is clear and there is no fog. I am currently working on a black quilt and that was a poor choice for this time of year, because that feeling of sadness keeps creeping up on me. Most of my quilts are bright, light and cheerful, because it is grey outside my workroom window and the bright colors reflect light back around the room.

More about brown: there is one brown I have found that works for me. It is a rich chocolate brown, slightly darker than milk chocolate, but not quite as dark as 80% dark chocolate. I have found that using a little of this color with turquoise does work and I don’t want to throw-up when I see it. I don’t use it a lot, but sometimes I’ll add it in. I used it in Calm and liked the effect.

This is Personal

Jolene writes “This is something that is very personal, but I’d say it’s a better idea to buy fabric that works with the quilts you want to make, rather than make quilts that fit with the stash that you impulsively purchased. (speaking from experience).” This is true, which is why I think more about the fabrics I am purchasing now than I did when I first started quiltmaking. I also remember that there is always more fabric and I will like the new fabric as much or more than the fabric I see on the shelf but can envision using.

Field Guide by Marcia Derse
Field Guide by Marcia Derse

That being said, I still buy some fabrics that I just like without knowing why I am buying them, without a project in mind and not even sure IF I will be able to use them. This piece of Field Guide: to Art History 101 By Marcia Derse from CURIOSITY. Marcia Derse has an edgy, urban quality that I can’t stay away from but also don’t use much. This print may be telling me to make a drawstring bag from Jeni Baker. For what, though?

I hope this gives you some ideas on my thought process. I am not telling you to go out and buy more fabric. I am telling you what makes up my fabric stash/palette and how I use my fabric. I hope this gives you some insight and helps you with your fabric buying as well.

I wrote on this topic back in 2010.

More Masks

I need to get more masks finished. I have several from the video pattern in progress, but haven’t gotten to finish them. I need a few more since I seem to be going out a little more. I want to change them after every day I go out. As I mentioned, the YM needs some solid versions for work. I found some fun fabrics leftover from pillowcases.

Sunday Face Masks
Sunday Face Masks

On Sunday when I wasn’t sewing on the Red Scribbles quilt, I made a couple of masks using the pattern from Jen Carlton Bailly and some Bonnie & Camille fabric. I was pleased to be able to use my rotary templates form her class. The pattern went together very quickly and I used some wire that my mom sent me when nose pieces weren’t available.

Sunday Face Masks
Sunday Face Masks

One nice thing about this pattern is the little bit of trim that is created when inserting the nose piece. Also, the nose piece isn’t as fiddly to insert as on my other pattern.

I haven’t tried these on as I plan to give them to my neighbor and I don’t want to share my germs. I need to make myself one to see if it fits, however.

Red Scribbles Progress

Red Scribbles - early August progress
Red Scribbles – early August progress

I made a little progress on the black & red quilt I am now calling Red Scribbles. I am calling it that because I think it looks like someone took a red crayon and scribbled all over my quilt.

I thought I would get more done, but Sunday was not a good sewing day. It may be time for some four patches or mind sorbet sewing. I do want to finish this piece, though. Oh well, I am sure things will even out.

 

Blue Strips #2 Donation Top Finished

I spent some concentrated time on this donation top and back and was able to finish it.

Blue Strips #2 Donation top
Blue Strips #2 Donation top

I did something a little different with the borders. Since I had an extra sashing strip, I added it to the left side after accidentally sewing one to the right side. Then I added another border all the way around using a different fabric. There is no first border on the stop and bottom. I think the piece looks ok like that.

I will say that this top looks more like a column quilt or Chinese Coins quilt than the other Color Strip quilts I have made. I think the sea green I used for the sashing didn’t have enough contrast. However, I kind of like the difference.

26 Projects 2020 #7

I have stayed away from fabric purchases for the past month or so. I am stocking up a bit on zippers and I bought some FlexFoam in anticipation of making more bags and Minikins projects. With this tactic and sewing as much as I can, I am regaining some of the ground I lost on using 100 yards of fabric. I have used 50.25 yards net (89 yards total) so far this year, which is half of my goal. I reached this goal just before the end of July so only a month behind. I need to use 10 yards per month for the rest of the year. Gift bags may be on the agenda. 🙂

Finished 2020 Quilt Projects

I still only have two quilts completely finished for the year, but three quilts are on their way back from the longarmer. I am also making progress on my UFOs, which you have seen on various posts, so there is hope

  • Cool Windmill – finished March 2020 – I gave this quilt to its new owner and she was thrilled.
  • Warm Windmill– finished March 2020

Finished 2020 Non-Quilt Projects

This category covers bags, toys, aprons and knitting as well as other non-quilt projects.

I feel like I have made more of these small items, but I can’t find any others.

Doing Good

In Process
The ‘In Process’ is used to denote projects on which I am actively working or are on the design wall waiting for me to stitch. I am continuing to try not to put away projects. I find putting a project away ensures I never work on them. I just lose steam.

Small Projects to Make or in Process

Most of my progress involves thinking or just cutting.

  • One Hour Basket for organizing my decks of cards – Creative Strength, mindfulness, etc. I may switch to one of the Minikins projects for this purpose.
  • One Hour Basket for my stuff that tends to accumulate on the dining room table. I may switch to one of the Minikins projects for this purpose.
  • One Hour Basket for DH’s stuff that tends to accumulate on the dining room table. I may switch to one of the Minikins projects for this purpose.
  • Retreat Organizer – another project from the Crafty Gemini Organizer Club, also on my list, but not yet started
  • Ultimate Project Organizer – another project from the Crafty Gemini Organizer Club, also on my list, but not yet started
  • Officer gifts for January 2021 – have the pattern and the supplies. Need to start so these are ready and I am not scrambling at the last minute
  • Ultimate Carry All Bag – Bag-a-Long for BAM – I have the inisde pockets made and am struggling with the front pocket.
  • Westchester shirt – this is a Crafty Gemini pattern. I bought the fabric at PIQF last year (??) and just need to make it. The pattern comes with a video, so there is hope it will be wearable.

Handwork

I decided that some of my projects are in a different class because they are hand piecing or embroidery or beading. They take longer. Thus I created a new category and have moved some projects here.

Ready for Quilting

  • nothing yet

In the Quilting Process

In the Finishing Process

nothing now

Still WIPs
I still have WIPs. Who doesn’t, after all? A project in the ‘UFO’ category means I am stalled. A nicer way of saying UFO is a WIP. The list is a lot shorter and the projects are newer, for the most part.

  1. FOTY 2019 – this is now on the list since 2019 is over and I have the squares, theoretically, ready to sew.
  2. Handbag Sampler – this is still the forgotten project. It should be on the UFO list. Too bad I don’t have one. The blocks were teaching samples when I taught a sampler class the time before I started writing the quilt class sampler tutorials. I found one block recently, but otherwise I actually don’t know exactly where the blocks are hiding. I have an idea and still have to crawl up in the far reaches of my fabric closet soon and see if I can find them. I haven’t even found a picture of all the blocks. Sad.
  3. Lobster – I think I might make this into a tablerunner for the buffet. I think that will be a good and fun use of the piece even if the colors aren’t quite right for the dining room.
  4. Pies and Points from 2016 Victoria Findlay Wolfe class. The last time I worked on it was when Julie and I had a playdate in April 2018. I brought this piece with me so I could cut more elements (Julie has a Sizzix). I lost my excitement about this piece shortly thereafter and still have to get it back. Thus, I had to move this to the WIPs area.
  5. Pointillist Palette #4: Fourth is a series of 6 quilts; needs tiny square patches sewn together. No progress.
  6. Self Portrait: started in 2006 at a class at Quilting Adventures in Richmond, Virginia. I am still stalled on this again. As one of my oldest (I am pretty sure) UFO, I put it on my blog and out into the Twitterverse and Diane suggested that I not consider this as a self portrait. I think that strategy is a great idea. I am now trying to think of a new persona for her.
  7. Serendipity Lady – I am still planning to take this piece to be framed.
  8. Who Am I? – This piece is off my design. I have lost momentum, but I think that just has to do with the amount of satin stitching I am facing.

Pandemic Tile

For the first time during the pandemic, I ordered take-out online, went and got and took it to a friend’s house where we ate on their deck. I had a specific time I had to pick up the food. I left the house, ran some errands and then went to the restaurant. I was 15 minutes early. The neighborhood has a lot of nice shops so I decided to just walk around for a few minutes and then go get my food. It was interesting to read all the pandemic related signs with different rules about accessing their store (order online with curbside pickup, temperature check, physical distancing – you name it, I saw it). I also saw a lot of people out and about with a variety of masks. There are more people wearing fabric masks than the small blue pleated paper masks. I was less anxious about being out than I have been, but some people wouldn’t stay away from me.  That was anxiety provoking.

IOOF Doorstep, Burlingame
IOOF Doorstep, Burlingame

I also saw some tile. It was on the doorstep of the IOOF and would make a GREAT quilt.

That line at the bottom could be one of 3-4 columns in a quilt. It looks a little like bargello. The squares are clear enough so that I could make a pattern without very much problem. I don’t think I have seen a design like that before. It is pretty distinct.

I was disappointed that whoever is the tenant can’t be bothered to clean the tile.

IOOF Doorstep, Burlingame - corner
IOOF Doorstep, Burlingame – corner

The corners would make interesting blocks as well. The black and white diagonal line would make an awesome secondary pattern.

July 2020 Donation Blocks

I just keep making donation blocks. Some of these 16 patches look really weird. Mostly that is because at the beginning of the month I was getting to the bottom of the donation patch bin. I know Peggy will find a good way to use them regardless of how they look. Eventually, I cut some cream background fabrics, so the blocks don’t look as weird. Still, I worked on other things, like finishing the Blue Strip #2 donation top,  and didn’t make as many blocks this month.  I sent her the 50 or so blocks I made last week, so I don’t have any blocks right now.

Various & Sundry 2020 #10

Fabric, Notions, Supplies & Tools

Have you heard of a Glowforge? I hadn’t until the other day. It looks like a Cricut, Accuquilt and a 3D printer all rolled into one. I have to investigate more to see what it can do. I hope it will be terrible so I won’t want one.

I really like the new Prism fabrics by Guicy Guice. I like the art swatches as well as the splatter prints.

I know some of you like to knit. I signed up for the Maker’s Mercantile newsletter because of Franklin Habit. He is really funny. Now I enjoy looking at the yarns and projects. I am NOT buying, but I thought the Gradient yarns by Schoppel-Wolle were gorgeous. Maker’s Mercantile has fabric and super fun buttons as well.

Mary C (not my mom) turned me on to British bagmaker Mrs. H. I went wandering around the web the other day and found her Companion Carpet Bag. I am sorely tempted, but have another carpet bag pattern AND the frame, so I need to make that one first before purchasing another pattern. After going to her website, I found that she has a book called The Complete Bag Making Masterclass**. It isn’t yet available in the US, apparently, but is available for pre-order. I am not pre-ordering YET. 🙂

Projects, Patterns & Tutorials

Jessica House has a series of small patterns.

Sharon from Color Girl quilts has a series of sampler block videos up on her site. These might be a good way to improve your skills.

Art Gallery has a lot of interesting free projects. I particularly like Clear Reflections.

Face Masks

  • Need a Face Mask with matching ears so you can pretend you are at Disneyland? Check out an Etsy Shop.
  • Creative Grids has a template for face masks ~$14. You can also buy it on Amazon.
  • Need a fun face mask? These animal masks will bring a smile to people who see you. (Thanks, La!)
  • Owl Bee Crafting has a face mask pattern. This is a similar shape to some of the other patterns, but one thing I liked about the tutorial is that she shows some edges are pinked. Genius! Why didn’t I think of that to keep edges from unraveling?
  • Jen Carlton Bailly has posted a tutorial using the templates that she sells when she gives workshops. She also includes templates, so you are not forced to buy her templates. C’mon, though, you know you want them. She first posted about it on IG, which made me happy but also say DUH! Why didn’t I think of using them? Perfect idea. And another good use for those templates. There are other templates you can use as well, such as Drunkard’s Path templates. The size is the issue.

Other Artists

Vanilla Beane just turned 100 and is still making hats, which are more accurately called works of art.

My foot doctor is also an artist! I get to see nice art when I go get my foot worked on. Amazing, right? Another site where you can see a few of his paintings.

Media, Exhibitions, Lectures & Collections

Jeff Rutherford has started a podcast! It is called “Quilting Stories.” The first episode, an interview with Timna Tarr, is already up. Listen and let me know what you think.

Brandon Mably posted about a re-highlighting of an exhibit of Kaffe’s work at the Fashion and Textile Museum in London. There are other interesting exhibits you can view from the comfiness of your pajamas. Included was a few pictures from the exhibit. I really like the black and white stripes with the pink and am thinking about how I can use the combination. There is an Orla Kiely exhibit, as well as The Secret Lives of Scissors, Josef Frank, The Art of Pattern, Liberty in Fashion, and many others in their Archived Exhibit section.

Someone from my art quilt guild directed me to Quilt Fever, a short film on PBS. I haven’t had a chance to watch it yet, but will.

Last time I talked about the Rosie Lee Tompkins exhibit at the Berkeley Art Museum. After I finished the last V&S post, I saw a blog post by Barbara Brackman discussing the exhibit with some of her friends. The points are really apt. I especially like the comments about one quote and Julie Silber’s comments about it: “These quilts are great because they are almost like paintings” a statement she described as
“demeaning, condescending, dismissive (even contradictory.)”

Julie’s opinion:

“Quilts are not great because they look like other forms. They stand on their own—and the makers who excelled (reaching aesthetic heights) need to be acknowledged as ‘masters’ (‘mistresses)?’ ”

Read the blog post, because it is interesting, but because it also touches on  inherent mysogeny in newspapers and the lack of respect for quiltmaking.

The International Quilt Study Center has a number of virtual experiences:

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Check your local public library for access if you don’t have a subscription

**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.

Blue Strip #2 Donation Top

Blue Strip #2 with sashing
Blue Strip #2 with sashing

I made good progress on the Blue Strip #2 donation top. It was getting on my nerves on my design wall with no progress. I was busy during the week, so it languished. Finally, I just sewed the strips together with the sashing.

The photo looks a little wonky. The quilt is not wonky. I plan to put another border on it to hem in all of the movement of the blocks. I have to search out some fabric for that. I also have to make a back.

Tim’s Pillow

Tim's Cushion
Tim’s Cushion

I visited Tim last week for another transfer of quilts, etc. He showed me this awesome cushion he made. I really love the color choices.

Tim used the All People Quilt Play It Cool pattern and took inspiration from their color choices as well.

Of course, there is a lot of turquoise, but the combination of the splatter print and the greys are really great. The darks anchor the overall design and the pink gives it a little pop. I just love it.

Tim's Zipper installation
Tim’s Zipper installation

I am so impressed with Tim’s zipper, too. Look how perfect that looks!!! I need to practice to do so well.

I am surrounded by people who provide excellent inspiration. I feel very fortunate.

May Spiky 16 Patch

New Blue Spiky 16 Patch donation top
New Blue Spiky 16 Patch donation top

Apparently, I forgot to show you the latest blue Spiky 16 patch. Maybe not, but I couldn’t find a post about it, so I am assuming I didn’t show you this quilt.

I finished this in May. It is made from some of the guild’s 16 patches. I looked at it again the other day when I visited Tim. It is small, but mighty. I’ll see about making a larger one next time.