Do you remember the Corner Store quilt? I started this tutorial back in 2012 and decided that I would post it. I don’t know why I never finished it, but here it is, a blast from the past. Good topic for a Throwback Thursday, don’t you think?
I thought a tutorial might be in order for these Corner Store blocks, so you can start on your own. Why would you want to make these blocks after I felt so miserable about the top I made? Because you can choose a different background. You can make the pieces larger. You can do a better job. I have laid the groundwork. Go forth and do better!
Supplies:
Basic sewing kit
Rotary kit
Square rotary ruler in a size slightly larger than the cut size of your blocks (I used a 6″ x6″ Creative Grids ruler)
Sewing machine
Leftover triangles or squares cut in half on the diagonal. There is no particular size, though larger triangles will be easier to work with.
Background fabric to accommodate the size of your quilt.
First cut some 4×4 squares of your background fabric. Note, you do not have to use white (or Kona Snow as I selected). I would, in fact, suggest something not in the white or cream realm. I think a nice light yellow or creamy kind of grey would look better. Yes, if you choose something else you may need to eliminate triangles in that color range. It will be worth it, because the triangles will show up better against a background that contrasts well.
Nota bene: The triangles you will cut are right triangles. You can take some squares and cut them in half on the diagonal.
Also, you can choose a different sized background square. You can start with a large square to accommodate very large prints in the triangle portion. The directions are the same regardless of the sizes you use. Experiment and see what look appeals to you.
Next: find scraps or cut triangles from yardage. Cut different sized squares in half on the diagonal or use a triangle ruler to cut the shape. You do not have to be precise and there is more movement in the quilt if the triangles are different sizes. The only guideline on size is to make sure that a little bit of the background shows once you sew the triangles to the background.
Once you have your triangles and background squares, it is time to prepare to sew.
Pin Triangle to background
Next: Position a triangle on your background square, right side of the triangle down on the right side of your background fabric, and prepare to pin in place.
Before you pin, you will need to fold the triangle back on itself, approximating a quarter inch seam so you can ensure that your triangle covers the foundation/background fabric.
If the ears of the triangle are about a quarter inch over the edge of the foundation/background fabric, you should be in good shape.
If you have the Judy Martin Point Trimmer, you can trim off the ears of your triangle and position the now blunt edges of the triangle against the two sides of the foundation/background square.
Sew and press
Sew along the hypotenuse (the long side) of the triangle using a quarter inch seam allowance, then press the triangle back along the seam line.
Once you are sure your triangle has covered the foundation/background fabric, you can fold back the triangle and trim the excess foundation/background fabric away.
Corner Store block and patches
You will need to put two triangles on each square, so follow the directions above for the second triangle. Once both triangles are sewn to the foundation, use your square ruler.
After while, you will have a big stack of blocks. My quilt has 288 blocks. It is large enough to top a double bed, but my BIL uses it as a large nap quilt on the couch. You can make more or less blocks, depending on the size you want. (Nobody pays me to do this so you’ll have to lay out the blocks as you make them and figure out your perfect size on your own.)
Layout the blocks. Shuffle them around so different colors are touching each other and you have a pleasing layout. Using my tutorial on Chunking, sew your blocks together.
I wanted to give the quilt blocks some space, so I added an inner border that matched the background fabric and then added my outer border.
Corner Store Finished
And this is what you get if you make a whole lot of these blocks!
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I am linking up with Jenny over at Quiltin’ Jenny blog
I decided to show the front again, one more time, as I don’t know how long it will be before I have it back from the quilter finished.
I have used another Philip Jacobs prints for the back. It turns out I had two pieces that worked well for opposite corners. I was surprised, though, to find the yardage in two pieces as I usually don’t cut up large pieces until I need it. Still, I may have bought it on sale and was only able to get to large pieces rather than one. Alternatively, I could have bought a piece and then decided to buy more. I don’t remember.
I was pleased to take the parts for the back off the design wall. I like the front of this quilt so much and it was great to see it one more time.
FOTY 2012: back
My only concern with the front is the border. I didn’t put one on and I am pretty sure it doesn’t need one, but still, I wonder.
Early last week I posted the final patches I was planning on using for FOTY 2012. The CQFA retreat was this past weekend and I worked on the quilt top all weekend. This is the final layout, or nearly the final layout, of Fabric of the Year 2012. I think of this as a butterfly emerging from a cocoon, in some ways. Perhaps I will call this piece Chrysallis?
In this picture, all the pieces are sewn into groups of 2. By the time I left the retreat center, I had started to sew larger chunks together and the upper right hand corner was nearly all sewn.
As usual, I went through my process of hand wringing and chest beating on Friday followed by sewing and intense rearranging on Saturday.
One of the things I really like about working on this at the retreat (remember last year’s retreat?) is that everyone helps. They don’t help by rearranging, though that goes on a bit, but they come by and give me an opinion, there is always someone around to help with tricky placement and they appreciate my process. By appreciate, I meant they let me engage in my process, which, for this project, involves a fair bit of angst. It was all worth it. I am pleased with the way this is coming out.
I think that I may be over the colorwash technique for these pieces. I like the idea of cutting a piece of fabric from each fabric I use or buy during the year, but I think I have done enough of the colorwash exercise for the time being. I am trying to think of something else for 2013. I have some fragments of ideas, but they haven’t coalesced yet.
I still have a few UFOs waiting for my attention, but due to the 26 Projects List, I made a lot of progress clearing out old projects.
Still WIPs
Aqua-Red Sampler – Frances and I finished our fusible machine applique’ blocks and I am supposed to be preparing the next class on curves.
Corner Store: Finished quilting the entire quilt and am stitching down the binding.
The Tarts Come to Tea: I haven’t quilted on this since April 2011. I really do need to work on the quilting. I was making good progress and then got sidetracked. Quilting the Whole Cloth quilt sort of got me back in the swing of quilting, so perhaps there is hope for this piece?
Garden: I started this piece in a class with Pamela Allen in 2006. I also used this piece for my beading demo for the 2012 EBHQ Voices in Cloth show (March 17). I made the facing and started to stitch it down. After stitching down the facing, I need to make a sleeve and finish about 2? of blanket stitching that I noticed wasn’t complete. I am close to finishing and getting this off the list.
Pointillist Palette #4: Fourth is a series of 6 quilts; needs tiny square patches sewn together. Mrs. K. gave me more PP fabric and I won some from a giveaway. I think it is a sign that I need to work on this.
See: needs satin stitching. Small, also a possibility for finishing.
Spiderweb: Top is together, binding is made. I am working at ripping out the foundation paper (what a pain and what a mess!). I need to make a back and then take it to the quilter.
Under the Sea: class project; like the design, but not the colors much.
Flower Sugar Hexagon: sewed more hexagons together. Sewing Y seams is a bit of a chore, so I get tired of doing it after awhile.
Young Man’s t-shirt quilt: have cut up the t-shirts and am still in the process of applying fusible. He cleaned out his drawers and found some more t-shirts to add to the quilt. Oh Yay! <– just a bit of sarcasm. He asked me again for another quilt, so I think this one is next in line. I plugged in his heating mattress pad, though, which should keep him quiet for a bit longer.
I still have a few more WIPs than I do finished projects. I am pleased with the progress I have made.
Ready for Quilting, at the Quilter
Original Bullseye: Top and back are finished. Needs binding and quilting. I think loopy feathers quilted in the border will set off the blocks fine.
Negative space is part of Design, but neither an element or principle. It could be included in the lesson on Form or Space, but Sandy and I have chosen to talk about it separately. Be sure to listen to the Episode 114 of Sandy’s podcast, Quilting… for the Rest of Us. where we discuss this topic.
Definitions:
In many basic drawing classes, students learn that there are three basic elements of a composition: the frame, the positive and the negative space. The positive space is easiest to understand. Generally, it is the space occupied by your subject. Conversely, negative space is the space that is not your subject. (Artinspired wiki, Positive & Negative Space page)
Positive Space is created by objects that are seen as a main element appearing to be in front of the background.
Negative Space “is the space between an object, around an object, but is not part of the actual object itself. It is the opposite of an identifiable object which can at the same time be used to help define the boundaries of positive space.” (http://www.tutorial9.net/articles/design/enhancing-your-art-with-negative-space/)
The concept of positive and negative space are also called “figure” and “ground”. (Pentak & Lauer, pg.150)
“Negative space, in art, is the space around and between the subject(s) of an image. Negative space may be most evident when the space around a subject, and not the subject itself, forms an interesting or artistically relevant shape, and such space is occasionally used to artistic effect as the “real” subject of an image. ” (http://favbulous.com/post/627/the-art-of-negative-space-illustration)
think about the design that appears when you put blocks together and get a secondary design.
If you have 4 identical white rectangles and 4 identical black squares and place the white rectangles horizontally in front of you and put the black squares on the white rectangles in different places on top, you will: (Pentak & Lauer, pg.150)
notice very different visual effects “caused solely by its placement within the format” (Pentak & Lauer, pg.150)
notice that the location of the black shape immediately organizes the empty (white) space into various shapes (Pentak & Lauer, pg.150)
Notan
“Notan is a Japanese word meaning dark-light. The word, however, means more than that. The principle of Notan as used here must further defined as the interaction between positive (light) and negative (dark) space. The idea of this interaction in Notan is embodied in the ancient Eastern symbol of the Yang and the Yin, which consists of mirror images, one white and one black, revolving around a point of equilibrium. Here the positive and negative areas together make a whole reality. In the Yang and the Yin symbol…opposites complement, they do not conflict. Neither seeks to negate or dominate the other, only to relate in harmony. It is the interaction of the light and the dark, therefore, that is most essential.” (Notan, pg.6)
YinYang from cut-the-knot.org (http://www.cut-the-knot.org/pythagoras/YinYangBisection.shtml)
We, as Westerners, have issues understanding the harmonious relationship of the light and the dark, because of our cultural heritage. “The Western culture thinks in terms of opposed dualities and attaches the moral values of good to the positive, of bad to the negative. Or we seize upon the positive as the only reality and dismiss the negative as invisible and non-existent.” (Notan, pg.6)
Remember, again, the secondary design that can pop up unexpectedly when 4 blocks are put together. You don’t want something ugly where your blocks meet. This is kind of the premise of Notan. Thinking of the whole design is the key rather than just the positive space.
Confusion and Trickery
Franz Kline’s White Forms (http://www.moma.org/collection_images/resized/436/w155h170crop/CRI_203436.jpg)
“Sometimes positive and negative shapes are integrated to such an extent that there is truly no visual distinction.”In Franz Kline’s White Forms, “we automatically see some black shapes on a background. But when we read the artist’s titles, White Forms, suddenly the view changes, and we begin to focus on the white shapes, with the black areas now perceived as negative space. The artist has purposely made the positive/negative relationship ambiguous. (Pentak & Lauer, pg.154).
“In most paintings of the past, the separation of object and background was easily seen, even if the selected areas merged visually. But several twentieth-century styles literally do away with the distinction. We can see that the subject matter of the painting,” Pablo Picasso’s Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, “is a figure. Despite the cubist abstractions of natural forms into geometric planes, we can discern the theme. But it is difficult to determine just which areas are part of the figure and which are background. The artist, Picasso, also broke up the space in the same cubist manner. There is no clear delineation of the positive from the negative.” (Pentak & Lauer, pg.154-155). In Georges Seurat’s Silhouette of a Woman, the Black Bow and The Artist’s Mother (Woman Sewing), (late 1800s, not 20th century, not a Cubist) the positive and negative spaces meld so much as to confuse the mind as to which is which.
Some artists play with the reversal of positive and negative space to create complex illusions. The prints of M. C. Escher … often feature interlocking images that play with our perception of what is foreground and what is background. Other artists take these illusions of positive and negative images to even greater lengths, hiding images within images. Perception of form and shape are conditioned by our ingrained “instinct” to impute meaning and order to visual data. When we look at an image and initially form an impression, there is a tendency to latch on to that conclusion about its meaning, and then ignore other possible solutions. This may make it hard to see the other images. Training the eye to keep on looking beyond first impressions is a crucial step in developing true visual literacy.” (Art Design & Visual Thinking http://char.txa.cornell.edu/language/element/form/form.htm)
Above star is a great use of negative space. Flipping the negative space to positive. See below for homework on this block.
Notes:
In a picture, the shapes that the artist has deliberately placed are considered the positive shapes. The spaces around the shapes are the negative spaces. It is just as important to consider the negative space in a picture as the positive shapes. Sometimes artists create pieces that have no distinction between positive and negative spaces. M. C. Escher was a master at creating drawings where there was no distinction between positive and negative space. (Skaalid, http://www.usask.ca/education/coursework/skaalid/theory/cgdt/shape.htm)
A good artist realizes that the space surrounding an object (positive space / shape / mass / etc) is just as important as that object itself. Negative space helps define a subject, and brings balance to a composition.
The placement of one shape – a positive figure or foreground – creates another, a negative figure or background. The placement of a shape organizes the empty space around it into more shapes. (The Quilter’s Book of Design, 2d, pg.62)
“Negative space, or whitespace, is a powerful design element which impacts both the aesthetics and usability …; too little and the design feels cramped, too much and related page elements can become disconnected.” (Wayne Moir website: http://www.waynemoir.com/notebook/asides/negative-space-in-design/)
“It is important to remember that both elements have been thoughtfully designed and planned by the artist. The subject is the focal point, but the negative areas created are equally important in the final pictorial effect.” (Pentak & Lauer, pg.150)
With three dimensional art [forms], such as a sculpture, one can see how the object occupies space by walking around it, looking from above, below or from the side. Three dimensional objects have height, width and depth. With two dimensional art [like a quilt], the arrangement of objects on the design field can be crowded with lots of objects or nearly empty with very few objects. These design elements have height and width, but no depth. (A Fiber Artist’s Guide to Color and Design, pg.130)
“Negative shapes are also an aspect of letter design and typography.” (Pentak & Lauer, pg.150) People design fonts so they look good on the page – the right amount of space between letters and lines, etc.
The artist usually wants some back-and-forth visual movement between the positive shapes and the negative” space. “An unrelieved silhouette of every shape is usually not the most interesting spatial solution.” Generally, depending on the message you, as the artist, wants to convey, breaking the “background” into “areas of value that lend interest as well as better positive/negative integration” will make for a better design. (Pentak & Lauer, pg.152)
Swoon Secondary Design
I have highlighted the part of my design that is the unintended secondary design. It is less prominent, because of the variety of backgrounds, but still marked enough to pay attention and make some definite decisions about.
Photocopy or print famous paintings in black and white. Look at the negative and positive spaces and notice their shapes. The following are specifically mentioned in Pentak & Lauer: Georges Seurat’s Silhouette of a Woman, the Black Bow and The Artist’s Mother (Woman Sewing), but you can use any. Try to find one or two with simple lines.
Cut 4 2.5×2.5″ black squares, cut out 4 2.5″x4.5″ white rectangles. Arrange the black squares on the white rectangles in different ways and notice the way the negative space is organized. (See above)
See how the negative space is affected with different iterations of this block. Make the block above with:
one solid fabric where the scrappy fabrics are located
different solid fabrics in the same color range, e.g. all blues. Tone-on-tones would work, too.
change where the colors are with where the background is
the same type of fabric layout, then quilt the center with a complex pattern that has its own design, such as a feathered wreath, in white thread to see whether the center Sawtooth Star is still negative space
the same type of fabric layout, then quilt the center with a complex pattern that has its own design, such as a feathered wreath, in colored thread to see whether the center Sawtooth Star is still negative space
Definition #1: to provide with what is useful or necessary in achieving an end.
financial aid
assist
Association for Individual Development
KitchenAid mixer
Rite Aid
California Student Aid Commission
World Teacher Aid
aid worker
Aid for Trade
Truth AID
World Bank Aid Effectiveness: Aid effectiveness is the impact that aid has in reducing poverty and inequality, increasing growth, building capacity, and accelerating achievement of the Millennium Development Goals set by the international community. Indicators here cover aid received as well as progress in reducing poverty and improving education, health, and other measures of human welfare.
Take 5 minutes to do any kind of artistic response: poem, doodle, quilt, pastel, pencil. ANYTHING counts. No rules; just do it!
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.
The Creative Prompt Project, also, has a Flickr group, which you can join to post your responses. I created this spot so those of you without blogs and websites would have a place to post your responses.
Definition #2: In international relations, aid (also known as international aid, overseas aid, or foreign aid) is – from the perspective of governments – a voluntary transfer of resources from one country to another, given at least partly with the objective of benefiting the recipient country.[1]
It may have other functions as well: it may be given as a signal of diplomatic approval, or to strengthen a militaryally, to reward a government for behaviour desired by the donor, to extend the donor’s cultural influence, to provide infrastructure needed by the donor for resource extraction from the recipient country, or to gain other kinds of commercial access.[2]Humanitarianism and altruism are, nevertheless, significant motivations for the giving of aid.[3]
Aid may be given by gangs, private organizations, or governments. Standards delimiting exactly the kinds of transfers that count as aid vary. For example, aid figures may or may not include transfers for military use: to cite one instance, the United States included military assistance in its aid figure until 1957 but no longer does.<Fund (DLF) to provide concessional credits to developing countries world-wide (i.e. not, as in the past, just those in areas of potential conflict with Moscow) to promote their long-term growth.</ref> ref>Lancaster, p 67: “In 1957 the administration (with congressional support) separated economic from military assistance and created a Development Loan
I spent several hours last week quilting the Corner Store.
Yes, she who does not normally quilt large pieces quilted a large quilt.
I went easy on myself, because my shoulder is acting up again and I didn’t want to be crippled when I had so much to do for the holiday. My pile of quilts to be quilted is getting ridiculous (7 that I can remember), though, and I wanted something to give to my BIL to provide some comfort while he goes through radiation treatment.
Quilting the 1st Border
I used to be a good quilter (not like Colleen, but I could hold my own). I stopped quilting large pieces when I hurt my neck and am way out of practice. I wanted to go easy on myself and I didn’t want to try anything too ambitious, so I stuck with straight lines and gentle curves. I have to admit that my original idea for the first border (white) was to fill it with a line of large circles. I couldn’t fix the tension enough to make it look good, so I went with the straight lines. It kind of looks like a frame, if you squint.
Corner Quilting
In the last photo (left), you can see some of the quilting in the center. I used a Valdani variegated thread that I bought in Chicago several years ago. I don’t really like variegated thread, but it works in certain circumstances.
You can also see how I used the walking foot to measure the space between the quilting lines. I kind of like doing that as it seems to be a consistent measurement.
The quilt won’t win any prizes, but if it provides some comfort, I will be happy.
I wrote about my second Jelly Roll Race quilt a few days ago. I don’t remember if I hadn’t made the back yet, or, for some other reason, I just didn’t post about it. Probably the former, but that seems like an eternity ago, so I really can’t say.
I had a number of pieces of Paris related fabric that I bought specifically for the back of this quilt. Lil Sissy loves Paris, so it seemed appropriate.
I am actually kind of eager to quilt this. I need a basting fairy.
While I am making progress on preparing to sew the FOTY 2012, I still have a pile of fabric to press, not to mention the other pile I have to wash AND press. There is no way for me to get it all done, but I will get as much done as possible before I start sewing at the CQFA Retreat in January.
I do enjoy this process, however. I like seeing these photos and thinking about what I made from the fabrics.
I have FOTY 201o hanging in my hallway and I keep walking by thinking “I need to find that fabric; it would be perfect with X project.” That is really fun.
I have never counted this as a project, but I think I have to admit that it is. I now have 13 blocks, this one being the latest. I also have #14 on the Design wall.
I decided that I would make the last few blocks and sew this piece together. I have had my fun and would like to finish this piece.
I don’t hate the process, so it won’t be a chore or anything. I just want to move on, especially with the Star Sampler looming.
I guess I also have to admit that, while I am pleased with the progress I have made on clearing out old projects, I want to clear out more lurking projects. I don’t want anymore 10 year+ projects hanging around.
You might remember that I made a pincushion for a Modern Quilt Guild swap (and sent me into an orgy of pincushion making), which was organized by the Kansas Modern Quilt Guild. You can see the pincushions that were sent in to swap on Flickr. Not all of them are up there yet, so go back and look later.
The photo, left, was posted to the BAMQG Ning site (members only) by Adrianne. I tried to find the original source, but couldn’t, so I may swap it out, if I find it later. My pincushion is in the upper left hand corner a tiny bit in from the exact left.
I love the creativity, but I have to say that I am pretty pleased with the way my pincushion turned out. It looks like a pincushion and is cute, but not cutesy, if you know what I mean.
I haven’t received a pincushion yet, but others in the guild have so I am waiting with bated breath.
Take 5 minutes to do any kind of artistic response: poem, doodle, quilt, pastel, pencil. ANYTHING counts. No rules; just do it!
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.
The Creative Prompt Project, also, has a Flickr group, which you can join to post your responses. I created this spot so those of you without blogs and websites would have a place to post your responses.
Princess Diana
Pretty, pretty princess
Disney princess
Definition: Princess is the feminine form of prince (from Latinprinceps, meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince or for the daughters of a king or sovereign prince.
For many centuries, the title “princess” was not regularly used for a monarch’s daughter, who might simply be called “Lady” or a non-English equivalent. Old English had no female equivalent of “prince”, “earl”, or any royal or noble title aside from queen. Royal women, or women of the nobility, were simply addressed or referred to as “Lady” or “The Lady Firstname” for a particularly highborn woman.
As women slowly gained more autonomy and respect in European history, the title of princess became simply the female counterpart of prince; it does not necessarily imply being merely married to a prince.[citation needed] A princess may be a hereditary, sovereign, head of state in her own right.
The traditional meaning still applies in Europe in the sense that an untitled or at least non-royal woman who marries a prince will almost always become a princess with the possibility of eventually becoming Queen Consort, in nations where that title exists; but a man who marries a princess will almost never become a prince, unless his wife is expected to inherit the higher title of Queen regnant. If that is the case, then on her inheritance of that sovereign title, he will often become a prince (or remain one if he was already a prince).
In many of Europe’s royal families, a king would grant his heirs actual or theoretical principalities to train them for future kingship or to give them social class. This practice has led over time to many people thinking that “prince” and “princess” are titles reserved for the immediate family of a king or queen. In fact, most princesses in history were not immediate members of a royal family but rather women who married into it.
Yes, I rearranged the way this post was structured. You will get to see the year’s roundup soon, but I wanted to highlight the finishes on this list, too.
I came across last year’s end of year post and realized that I surpassed my previous goal of 9 quilts finished in one year last year when I finished 10 quilts. If I want to surpass another significant goal, I will have to finish at least 11 quilts this year. There is no hope for me now. Oh well, I did make a lot of progress on projects and that pleases me. I also had fun, which is the goal, right?
Still WIPs
Aqua-Red Sampler – Frances and I finished our fusible machine applique’ blocks and I am supposed to be preparing the next class on curves.
The Tarts Come to Tea: I haven’t quilted on this since April 2011. I really do need to work on the quilting. I was making good progress and then got sidetracked. Quilting the Whole Cloth quilt sort of got me back in the swing of quilting, so perhaps there is hope for this piece.
Garden: I started this piece in a class with Pamela Allen in 2006. I also used this piece for my beading demo for the 2012 EBHQ Voices in Cloth show (March 17). I made the facing and started to stitch it down. After stitching down the facing, I need to make a sleeve and finish about 2″ of blanket stitching that I noticed wasn’t complete.
Pointillist Palette #4: Fourth is a series of 6 quilts; needs tiny square patches sewn together. Mrs. K. gave me more PP fabric and I won some from a giveaway. I think it is a sign that I need to work on this.
See: needs satin stitching. Small, also a possibility for finishing.
Spiderweb: Top is together, binding is made. I am working at ripping out the foundation paper (what a pain and what a mess!). I need to make a back and then take it to the quilter.
Under the Sea: class project; like the design, but not the colors much.
Flower Sugar Hexagon: sewed more hexagons together. Sewing Y seams is a bit of a chore, so I get tired of doing it after awhile.
Young Man’s t-shirt quilt: have cut up the t-shirts and am still in the process of applying fusible. He cleaned out his drawers and found some more t-shirts to add to the quilt. Oh Yay! <– just a bit of sarcasm. He asked me again for another quilt, so I think this one is next in line. I plugged in his heating mattress pad, though, which should keep him quiet for a bit longer.
I still have a few more WIPs than I do finished projects. Again, I have made progress on clearing out old projects and I am pleased.
Ready for Quilting by Checkbook
Original Bullseye: Top and back are finished. Needs binding and quilting. I think loopy feathers quilted in the border will set off the blocks fine.
Flower Garden: The flowers were too spiky. This is going to Pam for a cat bed.
Pineapple: will remake blocks at a later time with more care.
Moon and Stars: This quilt was barely a quilt and was not interesting. I realized I didn’t want to devote time to it. So, I finally just decided to give up and get it off the list. I will send it to Pam for a cat mat.
Hunting and Gathering
Spin Wheel: really not started, but supplies gathered. Cutting fabrics as I go. TFQ does not consider this a UFO and made some good points to that end, which is why I have moved it to the Hunting and Gathering section. She says, and I have to agree, that quilts are not ‘projects’ until the sewing starts. OK. I’ll go with that.
Stepping Stones #2 using Bonnie & Camille fabrics Bliss, Ruby, Vintage Modern: made two blocks, but still on back burner while I decide on the background colors.
I am pretty pleased. I have 8 projects off the list and 9 others with a definite plan.
I am still mulling over whether I want to continue this update into 2013. I, of course, want to create some kind of disposition for all of the quilts and projects on the list. However, I do want to think of a new focus for 2013 and I don’t want it to be the same focus year after year. Stay tuned while I decide.
I am redoubling my efforts to do good with fabric. To that end, I am thinking that I would like to finish the Patchwork Wheel blocks before Christmas and, thus, I need to think about layouts.
I mulled publicly sashing this piece in the last post and was pleased to receive an email from SherriD with her Photoshop handiwork allowing me to see the effects visually.
I like the space between the blocks that the sashing provides and I have plenty of Kona Snow to make sashing. I am not quite sure if Kona Snow will match the background used in the blocks, though, and that might be an issue.
The sashing-less version is much more chaotic, but it does look like roads winding through a town.
Thanks, again, to SherriD for taking the time to create this image for me.
Not on original list
