Category: 2015

Gift Post #5: More Bags

Kelly's Bag
Kelly’s Bag

As I said the other day, it is the practice of the group to make bags as thank yous for the BAMQG officers. I made all, but one of the bags for the main officers.

I really enjoyed last year at BAMQG. I thought Kelly started off strong and had some good challenges. Remember the Kelly Bag? I want to do that practice again and her technique of making a bag out of the practice really makes me want to do it. There is nothing like having a bunch of ugly muslin 12″ squares laying around to put the best of us off FMQ practice.

I got some Cotton + Steel and thought I would use some of it for her back along with the egg fabric I don’t remember the name of and some Bonnie and Camille on the inside and for the tie.

Claire's Bag
Claire’s Bag

Claire’s bag is much more lively. She is such a little dynamo that I wanted some cheerful fabric. Making her bag coincided with me rummaging through my multicolor fabric bin.

I really should do a review of the pattern. I made these from the Jeni Baker Drawstring Bag pattern, which is so popular now. They are relatively fast to make. We’ll see if I do a review.

This is a good project for other guilds as thank yous, because if you can get people to make the bags everyone else only had to bring a few small gifts. I never liked the idea of getting blocks as a thank you. Yes, you get a little of each person, but you have to deal with another UFO and their foibles in sewing. JMO YMMV, of course.

 

More (Last?) Merit Badges

Merit Badge Sash - January 2015
Merit Badge Sash – January 2015

Last time I had to sew on merit badges, I thought it would be the end. However, the Young Man came home with a few more than he needed sewn before the Eagle Scout Board of Review. I don’t even think this will be the last time, because if (and I am pretty sure he will, but I don’t want to tempt fate) he gets his Eagle rank I’ll have to sew all the accoutrements of that onto his sash and shirt.

My mom commented, when she ironed his uniform for the Eagle Scout Board of Review, that the shirt was really cheap. I wonder if I should get one that is more substantial. More likely, I think, is making a shadow case picture with the shirt and the sash, etc in it for him to hang on his wall.

The Eagle Scout Board of Review was last Tuesday (a week ago) and he is now a candidate for the rank of Eagle Scout. He has been approved by the local district. His application will be sent to the National Organization for approval. Cross your fingers!

Sleeping with Scrapitude

It was cold here*. I wore extra clothes and two jackets when I went on my walk. Nights were hell, because even though I sleep in flannel pajamas, I was cold at night.

I have a lot quilts laying around, so I threw Scrapitude on the bed on top of Thoughts on Dots, the Sampler and Water Kaleidoscope and down duvet. I don’t know if it helped, but it certainly gave the new room (sadly in need of new decor) a temporary new look. Having Scrapitude on the bed also made me look at it more frequently.

Scrapitude Carnivale on the bed
Scrapitude Carnivale on the bed

As you might recall, I did kind of a controlled scrappy palette for that quilt. I didn’t want to throw everything in and hope for the best. I wanted to secure a good outcome, as much as I could, in advance, thus the dotty background on white. Still, as I walk around and look at the quilt, I think about the fabrics I used and consider which I would use again and which I would toss out.

In the recent episode by Jinny Beyer for the 2015 Craftsy BOM, Jinny said that you need dark-darks as well as light lights. I think that is true for certain projects. I have to admit that I would toss most of the darks, especially the blacks and dark greens, I included if I were making the exact same quilt again. They look like holes in the quilt.

Scrapitude at Night on the bed
Scrapitude at Night on the bed

There are also some lights that I would get rid of because they make parts invisible and areas of the quilt look completely different from other areas. There is one block that looks like a Friendship Star with some four patches around it rather than the complex star, with the interesting triangle legs, that it is supposed to be.

I have to say, though that I enjoy looking at the pieces I used. It makes me think that scrap quilts are much more interesting and you can look at them longer than other quilts. I certainly have not yet gotten tired of look at this quilt.

Do you see your quilts differently once you put it on the bed?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nota bene: I live in California – on the coast and it doesn’t snow here. I have thin California blood not robust snow blood. ‘Cold’ is relative.

Gift Post #4

2015 Bag for Peggy
2015 Bag for Peggy

As you may remember, it is the practice of the BAMQG members to make bags for the officers. This year I made two bags for two of the officers and two for the Charity Girls. The Charity Girls are not on the list, but Michelle and Peggy did such a fantastic job this year that I couldn’t resist.

“Fantastic Job” does not even begin to describe how inspired I have been to make donation quilts. I have been contemplating how I felt in 2014 about making donation quilts, which you can read all about if you want to go back through the year, but I can’t really wrap my head around it. Yes, it was an opportunity to sew. Yes, it was an opportunity to work with others either like Gerre and I did or by handing in a quilt top and having someone else quilt it. Those descriptions sound so selfish. Clearly making these quilts was not about me. It was about making something for someone who needed a bit of comfort. Sadly, I think, if I am honest, the why goes back to me. I enjoy making the donation quilts. I enjoy working with others. I enjoy handing off tops for someone else to quilt. I  I  I.

2015 Bag for Michelle
2015 Bag for Michelle

Regardless of my selfishness in doing good, I thought the Charity Girls did an awesome job and I wanted them to feel the love, thus the bags.

I hope they like them.

Serendipity Lady Help and Process

We had a discussion at the CQFA social on Saturday about Workshop projects and how they are not always the kind of projects one wants to finish. There are a lot of variables going into the workshop -the right fabric and supplies, working in an unfamiliar environment, etc. – that conspire to make you learn something, but not always like the end result.

Serendipity Lady - Beginning Work
Serendipity Lady – Beginning Work

That is not the case with Serendipity Lady. I have wanted to do this design ever since I made stained and leaded glass panels back in the dark ages. Caroline’s workshop at CQFA last spring (?) gave me the means in fabric and the inspiration to make this dream a reality.

The problem was that my piece had so many small pieces that cutting out the pieces straight from the fabric became an issue. I went back and tried a few times and failed – or didn’t succeed as thoroughly as I would have liked. I didn’t want to simplify the pattern and I didn’t want to blow it up larger either.  Struggling with the mechanics of making a piece does not make it fun. Finally, I put it aside to mull over.

This was disappointing, because I came home so jazzed about this project after the workshop. Creating is a struggle, but for this one, I just wanted it to work. Sadly, that is not the way ‘making’ works.

In the mulling process, I came up with the idea of making templates for each piece. I was about to embark on that line of thought  using the kind of cardstock (tagboard??) I used to use for cutting the templates for stained and leaded glass panels when I had lunch with Maureen and Dolores.

I mentioned my problem to them and how I wanted to use templates and asked their advice. They both immediately went to freezer paper and patiently explained how to use freezer paper to make the templates. I couldn’t really envision the process in my head. It became clearer when they kind of walked me through the process, reminding me to trace the design backwards.

What Process Looks Like
What Process Looks Like

Again, I was really excited so I came home, taped the design to my sliding glass door and retraced the pattern backwards. Then I traced the backwards pattern on to freezer paper and sat in front of the TV and cut it out.

Again, those tiny little pieces were not my friend. At the moment I have them all paperclipped together, but that is only because I keep forgetting to get an envelope each time I go downstairs.

Serendipity Lady - Weekend Work
Serendipity Lady – Weekend Work

Next I started applying freezer paper to fabric. Then the real fun began. I threw out some fabrics after putting them near other fabrics and the picture really started to take shape. I am not done and I haven’t glued down the pieces yet, but I really had a lot of fun making some serious progress.

My mind is whirling with the possibilities of adding a few beads, embroidering the eyelash, etc. Fun!

Creative Prompt #293: Berry

raspberry (Himbeer!)

blueberry

goji AKA wolfberry

Blackberry

Pokeberry

marionberry

Chocolate strawberries

Halle Berry

Chuck Berry

Blueberry Hill

Boone’s Farm Strawberry Hill

Berry Linux is a bootable CD Linux with automatic hardware detection and support for many graphics cards, sound cards, SCSI and USB, etc.

Wendell Berry – The backdrop for many of Wendell Berry’s short stories and a number of his novels, Port William is a fictitious town located in Kentucky

 

Kansas City Chiefs’ Eric Berry

Blueberry cobbler

Definition: “The botanical definition of a berry is a fleshy fruit produced from a single flower and containing one ovary. Grapes and avocados are two common examples. The berry is the most common type of fleshy fruit in which the entire ovary wall ripens into an edible pericarp. They may have one or more carpels. The seeds are usually embedded in the fleshy interior of the ovary, but there are some non-fleshy exceptions, such as peppers, that have air rather than pulp around their seeds.

A plant that bears berries is said to be bacciferous or baccate (a fruit that resembles a berry, whether it actually is a berry or not, can also be called “baccate”).

In everyday English, “berry” is a term for any small edible fruit. These “berries” are usually juicy, round, brightly coloured, sweet or sour, and do not have a stone or pit, although many seeds may be present.

Many berries, such as the tomato, are edible, but others in the same family, such as the fruits of the deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna) are poisonous to humans. (Wikipedia)

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.

We are also talking about this on Twitter. Use the hashtag #CPP

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.

Various & Sundry 2015 #1

You MUST go watch the video on Tanesha’s blog RIGHT NOW. I’ll wait.

Wasn’t that awesome? Don’t you wish someone had told you? This is the whole point of the Creative Prompt Project.

Projects, Patterns & Tutorials

Have you seen Quilter in the Closet’s (Jen), Building blocks Tuesday post from December 23rd? I really like the star block. Building Blocks Tuesday is a regular feature on her blog and it looks like you can learn or practice different skills. What do you think?

Valerie over at Evening in the Garden blog made some packs of gifts that included tissue holders. I decided to try making one. I have some of those small packs of tissues and thought they would make nice small gifts. I ended up making only a couple, but they are on my list for this year for gifts on hand. Valerie used a YouTube video tutorial to make them and they are unbelievably fast. If you have a serger, they are even faster.

If you are following along with the Grand Illusion 2014 Mystery Quilt by Bonnie Hunter, she revealed her finished quilt on New Year’s Day. I like the block, but am kind of glad I didn’t do the project as the finished piece looks really busy. I would not have wanted to pick out fabrics for the piece. I think it would have been more frustrating than challenging doing so without knowing what the quilt would look like.

Nonnie tweeted about a free BOM from Craftsy designed by Jinny Beyer. Yes, FREE! the basic design is a basket sampler. I didn’t buy the kit (have plenty of fabric, thanks!), but there is a kit that goes with the BOM, which you can buy. Even if you have no interest in making the blocks, you might want to ‘enroll’ in the class and listen to Jinny’s color theories. While there are many, many color theories out there, hers is interesting and well thought out. I am not sure I agree with all of her points – the jury is still out – but I like hearing what she has to say. Her theory interests me, especially the part about shading, in terms of my FOTY quilts.

I really liked Polka Dot Finale, a tree made from wool with polka dot leaves.

Articles & Information

There is so much out there on why crafting/making is good for you. Here is another article from CNN. I like this quote “Crafting can help those who suffer from anxiety, depression or chronic pain, experts say. It may also ease stress, increase happiness and protect the brain from damage caused by aging.” The article also mentions flow, which I knew, but had a hard time describing beyond ‘ getting into the zone’ until I read a quote in the article from Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, who first described this phenomenon as flow: a few moments in time when you are so completely absorbed by an activity that nothing else seems to matter. Flow, Csikszentmihalyi says, is the secret to happiness — a statement he supports with decades of research.” I like that. Flow. There is also some discussion about “a nonpharmaceutical way to regulate strong emotions such as anger or prevent irrational thoughts. “Flow could potentially help patients to dampen internal chaos”. “

The article includes a video about making electronic gadgets, which was interesting, because it provided an option for those who may not want to glue or sew or stitch.

I can’t help but be a fan of having a hobby and making. This article is really well done, supported by some research as well as anecdotes. I really like it.

Fabric, Tools & Supplies

For those of you who listen to the Hip to be a Square podcast, you know that Pam, the hostess, tracks her fabric usage. She recently posted her year end review and made a few comments on her usage over the three years she has been tracking. Pam has shared a copy of the blank spreadsheet she uses to track her usage, so you can track as well.

Marsha McCloskey is the Feathered Star Queen (I made that up). It is a block that I have always wanted to make and really think it is doable now that I have figured out the Triangle Technique. She talks also about Bernina no longer producing her favorite presser foot for piecing, the #13. I do not have a Bernina and have not tried this foot, but if you want one, now is the time to scrounge around and see if there are any left waiting to be sold. McCloskey also talks about the ultra fine 70/10 Schmetz Microtex (Sharp) Needles. If you use them on your sewing machine, the needle threader may not work. She was told by a nice lady at Paramount Sewing & Vacuum that a 75/11 is as small as you can go for most automatic needle threaders. Haven’t tested this, but will put it on my to do list.

If you have not perused Marsha’s site, now is the time as there are a lot of specials going on. Until January 30, she’s offering newsletter (click to get to the newsletter on Yahoogroups) readers 10% off on all orders over $25 placed at the website. To receive the discount, just type BLUE2 in the space for Coupon Code when you place the order at: http://www.marshamccloskey.com/ Her newsletter is interesting. You can also join by searching for Marsha McCloskey on Yahoogroups.

Sandy found the Inspira Studio by ClosetMaid. Would this studio work for you as your ultimate-the only-studio-you-get-in-your-lifetime studio?

Organization

There are different types of organization, but mostly they fall into two categories: mental and physical. I find that I need to get into the mental frame of mind before I can start to tackle the physical. GoGoKim has made it past the mental and is on to the physical with some good techniques and tips for organizing her workroom.

NoScrapTooSmall is also back on the blogging bandwagon, talking about her Year of Making. She has some interesting links to others doing their Years of Making as well. I am interested in the words that people pick for their year, but have never been able to make it work for myself. I think that something like NoScrapTooSmall’s Year of Making would be a better method for me. I have been swamped so I haven’t been able to follow all the links, but that is high on my priority list.

Nadine Ruggles talks about her Word of the Year and discusses a little of how I feel about words of the year.

Quilt World News

There is a project going on to underwrite the funding needed to update the IQSC space into a special gallery. Linda Pumphrey is launching this campaign to raise funding to pay for the lighting and hanging system in the new ground floor gallery at the International Quilt Study Center & Museum in Lincoln, NE. The gallery will be used to showcase work from contemporary quilt makers, regional quilt groups and special selections from the IQSC&M collection.

Classes

The class registration for Sisters, Oregon show is open.

EQ‘s first online class sessions begin January 9th! Learn EQ on your own time, from esteemed EQ teachers. They have one or a few free classes as well.

FOTY 2014: Home Stretch

FOTY 2014 Home Stretch
FOTY 2014 Home Stretch

Yes, it is 2015 and I am still gathering fabrics. In fairness, most of these were from the end of 2014. In any case, it is my project and I am still gathering fabrics. 😉

I can’t arrange this piece until the Black & Grey Teenaged Boy Quilt is off the design wall and that project is going nowhere at the moment.

There are a couple of things going on. First, there are certain fabrics I want to include in this entry in the series.

Next, I am doing quite a bit of scrap reduction and when I have a large enough piece that I can use a goodly chunk of it, I cut a piece for the FOTY 2014.

Finally, I am annoyed that I didn’t decide on shapes like I did for 2012, which were rectangles and squares. I’ll probably go with that arrangement for the 2015 version. That is still some time off, so we’ll have to see.

Gift Post #3

Circa 1934 Tissue Cover
Circa 1934 Tissue Cover

One of the things I made, as I mentioned were tissue covers. I took some of the Cosmo Cricket Circa 1934 fabric I had leftover from the first Stepping Stones quilt and made some small things out of it. I just got a bug in my ear to use that fabric again. Not sure why.

I have a few more packs of tissues to fill some covers, so I may make a few more. We’ll see.

Design Wall Monday – Early January

Is it still early January or have we moved into mid January already? I don’t know. I seem to be back in the saddle after a really good mini-session with Maureen and Dolores. More on that later, but in the meantime, I have been making a sort of effort to sew.

That effort has result in the pieces and parts for many, many Stepping Stones blocks, a bunch of cut pieces for the FOTY 2014 and one Stepping Stones block completed.

Design Wall Jan 12, 2015
Design Wall Jan 12, 2015
  1. Parts for turquoise and red four patches. I really need to cut some more blues.
  2. FOTY 2014 rectangles. It’s a plethora of pink.
  3. Octagons and snowball blocks for the Octagon 9 patch. I am making progress, but mostly I am sewing triangles to the corners of the octagons to make the snowball blocks.
  4. One completed Stepping Stones block. I am having fun selecting fabrics for the patches. I am glad I added some fabrics to the Bonnie & Camille fabrics. It is good to use them and I think they add a lot to the look of the blocks.
  5. Third Stepping Stones block in process. You can see how I keep track of the pieces I choose. There are still a lot of pieces to cut.
  6. Second Stepping Stones block in process. I am sewing patches together.
  7. I haven’t gotten rid of these PIQF Cross blocks yet, so they are still on the design wall.

Take a look at my last design wall post and see the difference, though some quilt things never change. 😉

I am linking up with Judy Laquidera at the Patchwork Times.

More Doing Good

Pink T Quilt Back
Pink T Quilt Back

Remember the quilt top Gerre and I made? I worked last Sunday on the back for the piece. I used as much of the fabric from the front as I could.

I also used part of the back from the Flowering Snowball quilt. Waste not want not. 😉

As an added bonus I found a piece of batting that I thought would be big enough, but it wasn’t so I spent some time last night, after the meeting and dragging the Young Man a Band performance, using the batting tape to make a piece of batting large enough. Gerre is willing to work with frankenbatting, so now the piece is ready to be sent to her.

Moving forward!

Gift Post #3: Receiving Blankets

Receiving Blankets for Ruth & Luke
Receiving Blankets for Ruth & Luke

I really cannot help spreading the usefulness that these receiving blankets bring with them. Also, I feel a bit for Ruth and her family. Her baby was born a month early, The Y.M. was born 3.5 weeks early with jaundice and little under weight, so I understand a bit of what she is going through. Of course, every mother’s experience is different and every child is an individual.

I like giving these as gifts, as I may have said as they are extremely useful as:

  • playmats
  • layering for warmth
  • sunshade
  • Superman cape
  • Sheik headress
  • sarong/skirt

I just did a decorative stitch; I didn’t do any stitch lettering this time. By the time you read this I will have already sent them off.

Creative Prompt #292: Copper

Do you remember the copper colored crayon in the box of 96 (or was it 100? You know the really big box with the sharpener on the back)? I loved the way it went onto the paper really smoothly. I also liked the metallic sheen it had.

Definition: “Copper is a chemical element with symbol Cu (from Latin: cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; a freshly exposed surface has a reddish-orange color. It is used as a conductor of heat and electricity, a building material, and a constituent of various metal alloys.

The metal and its alloys have been used for thousands of years. In the Roman era, copper was principally mined on Cyprus, hence the origin of the name of the metal as ?yprium (metal of Cyprus), later shortened to ?uprum. Its compounds are commonly encountered as copper(II) salts, which often impart blue or green colors to minerals such as azurite and turquoise and have been widely used historically as pigments. Architectural structures built with copper corrode to give green verdigris (or patina). Decorative art prominently features copper, both by itself and as part of pigments.

Copper is essential to all living organisms as a trace dietary mineral because it is a key constituent of the respiratory enzyme complex cytochrome c oxidase. In molluscs and crustacea copper is a constituent of the blood pigment hemocyanin, which is replaced by the iron-complexed hemoglobin in fish and other vertebrates. The main areas where copper is found in humans are liver, muscle and bone.[2] Copper compounds are used as bacteriostatic substances, fungicides, and wood preservatives.” (Wikipedia)

copper wire

Copper
Copper

Copper Mountain, Colorado

Copper bracelets for arthritis

Copper at the Linus Pauling Institute:

Summary

  • Copper is an essential cofactor for oxidation–reduction reactions involving copper-containing oxidases. Copper enzymes regulate various physiologic pathways, such as energy production, iron metabolism, connective tissue maturation, and neurotransmission. (More information)
  • Copper deficiency can result from malnutrition, malabsorption, or excessive zinc intake and can be acquired or inherited. Symptoms include deficiencies in blood cells, bone and connective tissue abnormalities, and neurologic disorders. (More information)
  • Marginal copper imbalance has been linked to impaired immune function, bone demineralization, and increased risk of cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. However, the use of more precise indicators of nutritional copper status needs to be considered for future research. (More information)
  • Organ meats, shellfish, nuts, seeds, wheat-bran cereals, and whole-grain products are good sources of copper. (More information)
  • Copper toxicity is rare and often associated with genetic defects of copper metabolism. (More information)

The Curious Case of the Copper Corpse: A Flavia de Luce Story (Kindle Single)

 The Curious Case of the Copper Corpse: A Flavia de Luce Story (Kindle Single)

Copper is a reddish-colored metallic element, widely used in manufacturing and industry.

Copper may also refer to:

Biology

  • Lycaeninae, a family of butterflies commonly called the coppers
    • Copper Ant-blue, found in Australia, from southern Queensland to Victoria
    • Copper Pencil-blue, found along the east coast of Australia, including South Australia, New South Wales, Western Australia and Victoria
  • The Copper Underwing (Amphipyra pyramidea), is a moth of the family Noctuidae, distributed across the Palaearctic region
  • Copper shark, the common name for Carcharhinus brachyurus, also known as the bronze whaler or narrowtooth shark
  • The copper-colored restrepia is a copper-colored orchid
  • The Copperhead may refer to any of three different species of snakes:
    • Agkistrodon contortrix, a venomous pit viper species found in parts of North America
    • Austrelaps, a genus of venomous elapids found in southern Australia and Tasmania
    • Elaphe radiata, known as the Copperhead Rat Snake, a non-venomous species found in southern Asia
  • Copper (adder), a venomous pitviper subspecies found in the eastern United States

Geography

Surname

Nickname

  • Copper Kent (1891–c.1966), Australian rugby union player

Media

Color

Other

 

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.

We are also talking about this on Twitter. Use the hashtag #CPP

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.

Dream Projects #4

As I said in the last post, projects I have wanted to do for awhile, as well as brand new ones, keep springing into my head. I have added at least four more projects to this list in the last little while.

Art Institute of Chicago Fusible Quilt

  • Pattern: Original
  • Fabric: Turquoise and red, mainly, but other colors for the leaves and flowers
  • Steps: need to fuse a bunch of turquoise to some piece of fabric in the ‘ticker tape’ style. I am thinking of making it similar to the Whole Cloth Quilt and using red, again, for the background.

Basketweave Baby

  • Fabric: Scrappy
  • Pattern: Fons & Porter, series 1000, episode 1005
  • Thoughts: I like the challenge of piecing this quilt and the unique piecing

Blue Gradation Quilt (Hunting and Gathering)

  • Fabric: blue 2.5×4.5 rectangles
  • Pattern: similar to FOTY 2008
  • Thoughts:

Blue Lemonade (Hunting and Gathering)

Easy Street

  • Fabric: pinks
  • Pattern: Easy Street by Bonnie Hunter
  • Thoughts: I really liked Daisy‘s version of Easy Street, which she calls Cherry Bomb (she thinks of the best names for quilts) in terms of color and feel. I don’t want to copy her, but if I do this quilt, I’d like to have the same pinky-red feel to it. One challenge about a mostly monochromatic quilt is getting enough contrast. I look forward to that challenge.

Food quilt #2  (Hunting and Gathering)

  • Pattern: Disappearing 9 patch
  • Fabric: RJR Food prints. Will use a different color for the non-food print section than I did for the Young Man’s version.
  • Thoughts: Gift for son of good friends for graduation. I have started cutting for this in a serious way. I just need to figure out alternate colors.

Food quilt #3 (Hunting and Gathering)

  • Pattern: Disappearing something, probably 4 patch or 9 patch
  • Fabric: RJR Food prints. Will use a different color for the non-food print section than I did for the Young Man’s version.
  • Thoughts: Gift for nephew for graduation

Half Moon Modern Quilt

  • Pattern: I have some ideas, but nothing definite
  • Fabric: Half Moon Modern Fabrics. I have half yard cuts, I think, plus some odds and ends and I’d like to use them together with some additional fabrics, or, at least a background.
  • Thoughts: I do think it is difficult to start with fabrics rather than a pattern.

Interlocking Triangles Quilt(s)

  • Pattern: This is an idea that I designed myself. I made two quilts and have variations on the pattern to make more.
  • Fabric: I have a few different collections of fabric I want to use. Most are rainbow colored
  • Thoughts: This is a quilt from which i get a lot of bang for my buck. The visual impact is tremendous. The easiest way to do the spiky triangles is with paper piecing. I am not that big of a fan of paper piecing (read my laments about the Spiderweb‘s paper piecing). I made Spiky Stars using templates and that was meditative and won a prize, so it is doable.

Jack’s Chain Quilt

  • Pattern: Jack’s Chain, a continuous pattern
  • Fabric: bright scrappy, consistent centers
  • Thoughts: This is one of the first quilts I saw hanging in a quilt store and thought of making, after I had learned to quilt. Making the nine patches would be a good leaders and enders endeavor.

Medium Mondo Bag

  • Pattern: From QuiltSmart. Saw Katie’s and really liked it. I also thought it would be a good use of those mini-charms, or give me an excuse to buy them.
  • Fabric: I have a number of groups of mini-charm packs I have been collecting to use for this project. I will probably go with a combination of Bonnie & Camille fabrics to start.
  • Thoughts: There is something about the stabilizer that I cannot wrap my head around, which is one of the reasons I have not started this pattern.

Music Quilt

  • pattern: Don’t know
  • Fabric: music prints and tone-on-tones
  • Thoughts: The Young Man has requested this quilt as his graduation quilt

Neutrals and Red/Scarlet Quilt

  • Pattern: Sew two ~3?x3? squares together, slice each separate fabric and insert a red strip, resew and sew the two squares to another set of squares.
  • Fabric: neutrals+white, black and whites. I have some of these. I bought them not know what to do with them.
  • Thoughts: gift

Pineapple (Hunting and Gathering)

  • Fabric: dots. Have most of the strips cut. Will be much more selective about which strips I use.
  • Pattern: Pineapple log cabin
  • Thoughts: I haven’t given up on a Pineapple quilt despite my frustration with the previous attempt. I bought a different ruler: a Creative Grids Pineapple ruler in hopes that it will work better for me.

Pink Gradation Quilt (Hunting and Gathering)

  • Fabric: pink 2.5×4.5 rectangles
  • Pattern: similar to FOTY 2008
  • Thoughts:

Scrapitude #2

  • Fabric: scrappy again, but with NO browns or blacks or super darks that look like holes; also more blues and perhaps a different background, though I do like the dots on bright white. I would make sure to skip the dots with a cream background.
  • Pattern: Scrapitude by Charlotte Hawkes
  • Thoughts: I want to try and figure out how to make the edges NOT on the bias.

Silk Colorblock quilt

  • Fabrics: silk dupioni and cotton in brights (of course)
  • Pattern: Similar to Colorblocks 2
  • Thoughts: I have made a couple of, what I call, Colorblock quilts over the years. One was the Kona Challenge in 2011, another was my 1990 Colorblocks 2 and the first one, Colorblocks, also made in about 1990. I bought the fabrics at the Marin Needlearts show about a zillion years ago and they have languished waiting for me to learn to back them so I can use them.

Spin Wheel  (Hunting and Gathering)

 

Stepping Stones #3

  • Fabric: Macaron pre-cuts from Hoffman. It isn’t started, but I have lots of pre-cuts and think they would make a really fun version of this quilt.
  • Pattern:

Windmill  (Hunting and Gathering)

  • Fabric: Scrappy. I will use a grey for the background, because if I use more of the cut fabric patches, the pattern will be lost. The pieces are too oddly shaped and I don’t want to lose the pattern in a mass of scraps.
  • Pattern: Come Quilt with Me Rotary templates

This is clearly only an irregular feature, but and thinking of all the projects above, I am kind of scared to add more in order to make it a regular feature.

Out of the Dream State:

Stepping Stones #2  – I started to make blocks for this, so it is out of the dream projects stage.

  • Fabric: Bonnie & Camille fabrics Bliss, Ruby, Vintage Modern. I wanted the contrast to be good, so I added additional fabrics to beef up the Bonnie & Camille fabrics.
  • Pattern: Stepping Stones by the Lintott girls

Gift Post #2: Purple Gifts

Tissue Holder
Tissue Holder

I didn’t make a lot of gifts this year despite my best intentions, but I did make a few things for Friend Julie. I bought some purple chair fabric and just started making a set of things for her. I didn’t really plan to, it just happened. it was fun to try and figure out how place the fabric on the projects so the chairs stood out.

First, I made the tissue holder. Actually, I made two others as tests before I made this one, but it was the first gift that I made for her. I took a look at the tutorial that Valerie uses and tried it myself. Easy peasy! Bonus: I had some tissue packs with which to fill it.

Purple Chair Needlecase
Purple Chair Needlecase

Next was a needle case. I *think* Julie does some hand work, but I don’t really know, I am embarrassed to say. Now she is encouraged to do so because she has a needle case. 😉 If she is not a handworker, then perhaps I should start a campaign of buying Perl Cotton for her? 😉 With my luck, she will couch it to something on the machine.

Before she opened it, she didn’t know what it was. I think she was confused because I re-used some Recchiuti ribbon. I was pleased with the way the case looks tied up with the ribbon.

I made some changes to the pattern. Are you surprised? Instead of sewing two pieces of quilting cotton together to make the needle portion of the needlecase, I cut and sewed one square of felt to hold the needles.

Purple Chair Needlecase - open
Purple Chair Needlecase – open

I also used felt for one side of the baby pincushion. I can’t quite seem to get the pincushion to finish straight, but I’ll keep working on that.

Awhile ago I bought the Jeni Baker drawstring bag pattern that has been so popular among the modern quilters. On her blog, In Color Order (I wish I had thought of that name!!!), is a tutorial for one size of the bag. Anyway, I made several over the holidays and I decided at the very last minute, e.g. two hours before we were meeting (sigh!), to make her one to hold all of the goodies. When I say last minute, I mean last minute. DH had to lace the string into the holes while we drove. I didn’t even have a chance to take a phone, but Julie was kind enough to send me a couple.

Purple Chair Bag - closed
Purple Chair Bag – closed
Purple Chair Bag - open
Purple Chair Bag – open

The inside is grey.

I have a few other ideas for purple chair (and purple Pearl bracelets) fabrics accessories.