Commentary about works in progress, design & creativity
I entered my projects the other day into the fair. Not quite at the last minute, but the day before the last minute. I entered the following:
Rainbow Paper Wreath
DH’s Cal Shirt
Planned Improv Quilt
Superhero(ine) Apron
Zip Away Organizer
Flapper Apron
Let’s see if I can win something!
I finished the top and back over the weekend. I started this project in 2015 and am really glad to be done with it.
It is a nice quilt and I will send it off to friends after showing it around.
I made an effort to use cool colors on the border to pick up some of the cool colors in the Nine Patches. I think some of the darks in the border are too dark, but live and learn. This is not a pattern I will be repeating.
I tried to make the piece look like it was woven and I think, if you get close, you will see that impression. At least I hope you will. I couldn’t completely keep like colors away from each other, but I did my best. I am pleased with the way the whole thing came out.
I was fortunate to find a piece of Kaffe in my backing pile that fit the quilt widthwise. I only had to make a strip to cover the rest of the vertical. I was thrilled. Not only was the Kaffe the perfect size, but the colors make it look like it was made for this quilt. Yay!
I was thinking about Marrimeko fabric the other day and this quilt came to mind.
This quilt is pieced, but the smaller sections are not pieced. They are panels. They were already cut when I bought them at the Crate & Barrel outlet, so I sewed them together to make a quilt for the baby I was expecting. Machine quilt was something I was building as a skill with the new machine I had bought the year before so I decided to machine quilt it. Basting has always been a trial, so I thought I was being clever when I used Wonder Under to baste the quilt. It stayed together while I quilted it, but the quilt is stiff as a board, practically. We never really used it for a baby quilt. We did use it as a playmat. I still like it and could put a sleeve on it and hang it up.
This quilt was probably one of the last quilts I made until the YM was about 6 months, maybe a year old.
My small design wall is fairly empty this Monday, but stuff is happening there. Mostly donation stuff.
On the bottom left are my new group of FOTY 2018 pieces. I posted about the most recent group on Saturday.
The middle of the design wall shows my most recent Spiky 16 Patches.
Below the Spiky 16 Patches is one last 9 patch. I forgot to include it in the Octagon Nine Patch.
On the right, a donation block in process.
I am linking up with Small Quilts and Doll Quilts, the relatively new hosting site of Design Wall Monday.
The last time I wrote about this project was March. I have actually made a lot of progress on this quilt, though it might not seem like it. The shape and size are small for this year, so I will really need to step up my cutting game.
Time has been short recently due to a lot of family events, but I have had time to press and cut shapes from my new fabrics. This means lots of new squares for FOTY 2018. In this group you will also see lots of familiar fabrics. Fabrics show up from the projects on which I have been working recently.
There is also something a little different this time: the butterfly. After I washed the fabric, I wrote myself a note to fussy cut one of the butterflies. I did, but I am not sure it will end up as is in the final project. I don’t want one fabric to dominate. If I buy (or use some already in the fabric closet) some other fabrics with fussy cuttable designs, then I might keep it. For now, the opportunity is there.
Here are a few more donation blocks. From the Spiky 16 patch you can see why I have so few. I am getting down to my lesser favorite colors. I’ll have to make some black and grey blocks pretty soon.
“There is only one way to achieve the fluency, freedom and grace of the expert, and that is by doing” (The Little Spark, pg.97). I believe this quote. I live this quote. I sew a lot. I make a respectable number of quilts and chop up and sew back together a lot of fabric.
I get the impression that people think you can make one quilt and be an expert. I have made a lot of quilts and I still don’t consider myself an expert. “We get better at anything we try to do by doing it over and over (and over and over)” (pg.97).
I do think, as we progress towards becoming an expert, we gain “fluency and fluidity with the materials and…movements.” We “understand…the rhythm and harmony of the” materials, the tools and our “body.” We can feel our way through the” work ” instead of thinking…through” [it]. We become less attached to our work as we get better and we get better at telling the materials exactly what we want them to do using great economy of movement. As we get better, we are fully in control of our work and yet we choose to surrender that control to the materials. (pg.97)
“You don’t learn by thinking about doing. You might enjoy thinking and planning, but the learning comes from doing” (pg.97). Each time we make a quilt or, even, a block “a new awareness…is born. The reality is that you have to show up and do the work.
Carrie recommends that when you start to, she calls it, “throw a hundred bowls” (pg.97) that you not do it alone. In quiltmaking, guilds are great for that, but so are friends, classes and, in a pinch, the Internet. YouTube is a wonderful thing. The point is that if you get stuck and you don’t have a friend or support system, you will have an easier time stopping that if you have someone to lean on.
The text is followed by a quiz (pg.98-99), which helps determine your learning style.
Now, go make your hundred quilts or hundred blocks and improve your skills. Become an expert.
You can see the last post on this topic from last week.
Nota bene: we are working through Carrie Bloomston’s book, The Little Spark. Buy it. Support the artist. Play along. There is much more to each spark than what I am writing. The original chapters will help you. Go buy Carrie Bloomston’s book, so you get the full benefit of her fabulousness! You can see my book review, which is fueling this flight of fancy.
I worked on the Octagon Nine Patch quite a bit over the weekend, despite the several hours I spent helping clear out my MIL’s house. I am pleased with my progress.
I didn’t want to do a complicated border, but the quilt demanded something more than a plain border and self-bordering is way better than sewing on a plain border any day! This means I am creating more Snowball units with the intention of “finishing off” the Nine Patches. In between the border snowball units I will put squares of grey. I am hoping it will look more woven this way, but I don’t know. You can see some of it coming together in the lower right hand corner.
In between all that sewing for the Octagon 9 Patch, I made a few 16 patches and another Spiky 16 Patch. The center 16 patch is actually one of the 16 patches I made. Instead of putting in the pile and taking one of the centers I intended for the Spiky blocks, I just started adding bias rectangles to it.
I won’t be able to make anymore of these until I make some more of the left facing HRTs. I am almost all out and I always forget to make them.
Now I have three blocks for this donation quilt. I am thinking 4 or 5 blocks will make something nice. I want to set it a big asymmetrically like the giant Sawtooth Star quilts I made. I’ll have to play around as these 16″ blocks are larger than the Sawtooth Stars.
I really took a big leap forward during the past couple of months and I am so pleased with my progress. I had a loose goal of completing two quilt tops (+backs, binding) before April 9th and I didn’t make my deadline. I did make some other small projects and crossing those projects off my list feels great. Having a lot of small things on my to do list was dragging me down. I was ‘shoulding’ on myself a lot. However, I still have the quilts on my list so I still need to get busy.
Finished 2018 Quilt Projects
I really feel like I have finished more quilts. I am keeping good track so I know I haven’t. I have worked on a lot of quilts that are still in process, so it just feels like I have finished more.
Finished 2018 Non-Quilt Projects
Doing Good
In Process
The ‘In Process’ is used to denote projects on which I am actively working or pretending to stitch. I try not to put away projects, because that will ensure I never work on them
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.
Small Projects in Process
Most of my progress involves thinking or just cutting.
Ready for Quilting
In Quilting Process
Binding
Hunting and Gathering
Other
I bought some fabric, so I am down on net usage. Still gross usage is just over 92 yards (45 net; yes I have bought about 45 yards worth of fabric this year!). I am pleased, but I want to hit 50 yards net as soon as possible. If I could make it to 100 yards NET used by the end of the year, I would be ecstatic.
What’s on your list?
I was just beginning to wonder where the Triple Star and Fabric of the Year 2016 were when Colleen contacted me and said they were done. Thus, the two quilts came back from my longarmer on Friday. I knew they were coming but was surprised when they actually showed up. Not sure why since they were expected. I think life is busy and I am not keeping track of the details very well.
Fortunately, it was a pleasant surprise and it will be even more pleasant when I sew down the bindings and sleeve (on the FOTY 2016) and cross these babies off my list.
The Triple Star quilting came out really well. I like the variation that Colleen did. She quilted one motif into the stars and a different one into the background, accentuating the stars.
She did a simple design on Fabric of the Year 2016, which is also fine. I know she was thinking about using her computer. All over designs work very well for this type of design, but I am not a big fan of computerized quilting. Perhaps I am stuck in the Dark Ages of Quilting, but there you have it. Nobody can complain if I am willing to pay.
Hooray! I am so excited!
Quilt World News
The Quilts for a Cure winner was not me. 🙁 or Julie :(, but I am sure the winner is thrilled. You can read more about it in the Quilts for a Cure newsletter.
Keepsake Quilting has been ripped from the claws of F&W and is in the process of being revitalized.
Pat Sloan is talking about the charity project on which she is working on her blog . I found post when everyone was on block 4. The project supports St. Jude’s Hospital and Moda is also involved. There is a video that goes along with the post. They ask for a $5 donation for each pattern download. Another way to do some good.
Administravia
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Patterns, Projects, Tutorials & Classes
Deirdre showed me this Ultimate Carry All Bag. The sample is made from beige. While I am all for light colored interiors, I don’t like the boring look of this project. Still, fabric aside, I think it would be a useful bag.
Gretchen, a regular reader and contributor to the blog read about an addition to Tucker University, which was mention in V&S n.3. Tucker University has teamed up with Siesta Charms to reward your learning. This is a wholesale opportunity, so you have to visit your LQS and tell them you want those charms.
Need a patchwork, drawstring bag? In Color Order has a tutorial. You can use this pattern to make gift bags and also to use up scraps.
At some point in my life I have to learn to do a good machine binding. I have tried, I have practiced, though not enough, and my machine bindings still aren’t up to my standards. Sew At Home Mummy has a machine binding tutorial that I might try. Tim likes Sharon Schamber’s machine binding with glue technique. This is a video and the music that plays at the beginning is a little startling – classic, perhaps Baroque? Sounds a bit Gothic cathedral-ish to me. I haven’t watched the video yet. Another technique to try.
Media
Pam from Hip to Be a Square Podcast and The Stitch TV Show has posted a video on selecting fabric. The video talks about starting with a focus/feature fabric. You can see other ways to select fabrics in my tutorial. Remember, choosing fabrics is very personal, so do what you like.
Tools, Products, Fabric & Supplies
I have an Oliso iron. I bought it from MassDrop when I shouldn’t have and REALLY like it. Lately, the feet have started to act up. I contacted Oliso and they provided some instructions, which were essentially how to reboot my iron. It worked a little bit, but quickly went back to acting up. Apparently they have a replacement program, so I sent my iron off and am waiting for a new one to arrive. In the meantime, I have a cheap one that my stepfather fixed that I use as a backup and it is working fine for what I need. I got this process started by contacting Oliso via their website. Ryan, the customer service rep who helped me (consistent service gets high marks) through whol process was very patient.
Bernina 7 Series machine have special oiling instructions. Information is available on a recent Edgestitch post. I do not have a Bernina, so I haven’t checked the information. Consult with your technician or deal if you have one of these machines.
Culcita’s modern fabric club will be shipping Santa Fe by Cotton & Steel next.
I made another paper wreath to enter into the fair. I actually made two, one for the Fair and one for Grand Parlor, but the one for Grand Parlor had some issues and I am going to throw it out. The lady in charge of the Ladies events at Grand Parlor did not want the wreath anyway.
I really like the one that came out well.
I folded the legs for both wreaths at Craft Night – yes we are resuming Craft Night. I hadn’t made the time and took the opportunity to cross this task off my list. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with the wreath after the Fair so I offered it to SIL#3. She helped me pick out the papers and I am pleased it will go to a good home.
I am entering a wreath, because I can certainly win in that category with it.
I have been working on the Spiky 16 Patch prep so I haven’t made as many regular 16 patches. These are particularly nice.
I have been cutting up new fabric, which means I have some fresh fabrics to use and that is always fun.
I was walking through the streets of downtown San Francisco to the train Saturday night after a lovely dinner with friends. I saw this great piece of art by Joel Amit of Jerusalem in one of the gallery windows. The piece is called Flying Sun. I really like it and thought it would be great for ColorPlay.
Starting off with the default always makes me wonder. This time I checked out some of the pieces on the Play-Crafts Instagram feed and I don’t see that her quilt pieces focus particularly on neutrals. With all the color in this piece, the tool still defaults to neutrals. There are so many colors that can come in the Palette Builder tool! I don’t even have to move the circles very much- a couple of millimeters at the most to make a new palette with completely new colors. Again, this makes me wonder why so many neutrals in the default palette. Do I sound obsessed? Perhaps I am?
The greys are nice, but it is still mostly neutral.
I finally started moving the circles around and thought, when my first palette was finished “okay, I am done”. My first palette is extremely bright and cheerful and reflects some of the colors Mr. Amit has used. I like the Kona Lipstick and the Kona Cardinal, overall, but there is a bit of a circus feel with this palette, so I tried again into order to get something a little more subtle or, perhaps sophisticated.
My second palette uses more subtle colors. I don’t think the Kona Grellow works. It looks a little too mustardy to me. It isn’t terrible, but it doesn’t fit with the rest of the palette. I like the green – Kona Leaf, but not with the Tomato and Watermelon.
Palette n.3 was another adventure. I added some turquoise, which is great and added Orangeade – there aren’t enough circles to have a ROYGBIV rainbow palette, but we do what we can. I wanted to keep the Watermelon, but moved the wrong circle and ended up with Chinese Red. Somehow I didn’t get rid of the Leaf or Grellow.
Palette n.4 is much better. I kept the colors I liked – Cyan and Orangeade – and tweaked the rest. Except for the yellow, I just made little tweaks. The Geranium is a nice addition. The Honeysuckle and Cyan go really well together. The Clover isn’t terrible, but I don’t like it next to the Canary.
Since I was getting close to a palette I really liked, I only changed the green. Again the Grasshopper is better, but still doesn’t work very well with the yellow. Also, with the Grasshopper, somehow the Orangeade doesn’t look as bright, but it does look ok next to the Honeysuckle.
This is a great photo for this exercise and I could go on forever, but I am not going to since you can go to Play-Crafts.com and make your own palettes.
TA-DA! I took out the green. It wasn’t working, so I added some Shitake. It is a nice light-ish grey and would make a good background.
What will you make?