Commentary about works in progress, design & creativity
I worked hard on the next Journey2Nebula project and made good progress over the weekend. Surprisingly, we had two social activities, so I couldn’t spend all weekend sewing.
This project is turning out better than I thought it would. I don’t mind the greens too much and think they will be ok for my niece.
The names of the projects are kind of fun.
I think the grey keeps the greens under control.
Now on to quilting.
This post should have really been the first one I wrote about the Catch All Caddy class. I should have posted it before the Baseball Catch All Caddy post. I realized that my mom, to whom I planned to gift it, reads my blog and I wanted it to be a surprise.
As mentioned in the Baseball Catch All Caddy, this was the project from my first Zoom class and I really liked the pattern. Lynette taught the class and she did a great job. I was impressed with her overhead camera set up (she used her iPad on a tripod). I need to figure out that kind of setup for when I teach. Things take time.
I used the color scheme of the original, because I really like that slate grey. I used a Cotton Couture solid from Michael Miller. It was easy to work with, though I didn’t like the fact that the holes where the basting stitches had been showed even after I took them out.
Instead of making a scrappy border for the pocket, I used one piece of fabric. It is the paint tube fabric that goes with the set of bags and holders I am making for my mom. I was actually glad to add this one to the group, because I am running out of useful bags to make for her. She really liked t he bag and thought she might use it to carry a project between her recliner and her sewing room
The bag went together pretty easily, which was why I could make two in one day, though I did cut the fabric for this one the day before the class.
I kind of like the simplicity of the bag and the opportunity to highlight favorite fabrics or scraps on the pocket border. I was thinking that I could use ribbon as well. I have some of that Renaissance Ribbon and this project would be a good way to highlight some of it.
I had some trouble with the lining, but was able to fix it when I closed the turning hole. I don’t think Mom will mind.
First, Happy Birthday to my fabulous Mom who is 29 again today. I don’t know how old that makes me (theoretically 9, but the math doesn’t work with a 23YO YM, so you can decide how old I am). Check out her blog, Mary’s Art Musings. She has started writing about drawing and painting again.
On to your regularly scheduled programming.
Fabric, Notions, Supplies, Books & Tools
I received the Mrs. H newsletter. Apparently, the UK has Recycle Week and Mrs. H took the opportunity to provide upcycling tips for bags, including checking bags at thrift stores for good hardware. Sign up for the newsletter on their main page.
I have purchased from ZipIt before, but I have to say that they have super excellent, excellent customer service. I went back and forth with them because I made a mistake in ordering the colors (and I did try to be organized!) and Jennie, who helped me, was so nice and patient about it all. THEN I got the zippers the next day. I was talking to her one day and the zippers were in my hand the next day. No kidding, no exaggeration. It was all great.
Scruffy Quilts has a new website. It has a fresher look and links to a variety of supplies and services.
Projects, Classes, Patterns & Tutorials
I was looking around for a quick zipper pouch pattern. I found several. This one from CloudSplitter Bags has nice details.
I was looking up swap themes and came across a tutorial for a banner. I have been wanting to make (or be gifted) a banner for Thanksgiving and this tutorial might get me in gear!
You’ve already missed 10 days of the Stitch Pink Quilt-a-Long, but it is not too late to join and to catch up. This is a free QAL to support Breast Cancer Awareness. It is co-hosted by The Fat Quarter Shop and Moda. The quilt along began on October 1 on Moda’s blog where they are releasing a new block pattern each day until October 31! The FQS is sewing along with Moda using the Stitch Pink October 2020 Quilt Kit that includes more than 10 yards of Grunge Basics for the piecing and the background. They also have a matching Backing Set for a perfectly pink quilt that really pops with color! I am sure, however, you have enough pink in your stash to make this without buying anything new. I don’t know that I will sew along, but I’ll go look at the blocks and see what I think. Use the hashtag #StitchPink2020.
I found a pincushion pattern that is adorable! It is called the Little Birdie Pincushion and can be found on the Quiltscapes site. The tutorial and the pattern are free. Makes great gifts.
Jeni from In Color Order has a new Vote mini quilt tutorial on her site. I would love one to hang in my front window.
SuzyQuilts is leading the Shine Sew-a-Long. You need to buy the pattern.
The Sewing Loft is having a Zipper Bag Swap. Cost is $5.
Quilting Jet Girl has a tutorial on setting blocks in a circle. I did this sort of setting for my Carpenter’s Wheel. It isn’t really rocket science. You just need to fill in the gaps with blocks. I made up my blocks from 2.5″ squares, but you can do it with one piece of fabric.
Sophie at CraftBuds told me about their flat zipper pouch tutorial. I haven’t tried it, but I did take a quick glance at the site and there is a lot of information that might be useful.
I saw a great bag on the Sew4Home Etsy store. It is listed as a diaper bag, but it could also be used for general around town use. It has a great shape.
You still have time to start the Rockstar Bag Sew-along, which is starting in the Sew Sweetness Facebook group tomorrow.
Other Artists
The guild had a presentation from Cheryl Brickey at last month’s meeting. I wasn’t familiar with her work, but really liked her presentation. She has a blog, sells patterns, has a book, Modern Plus Sign Quilts, and another one, Just One Charm Pack, coming out. She also hosts mystery quilts and quilt-a-longs and teaches Electric Quilt class for the company. She has some of those classes coming up a QuiltCon Together.
Bonnie Hunter talks a little about reorganizing her fabric stash in her new space. She has some good tips. I especially like “put your fabric where you will use it”.
Media, Exhibitions and Shows
I mentioned my pal, Jeff Rutherford’s, new podcast, Quilting Stories. A few weeks ago he and co-host, Elaine Poplin (IG:@messygoat) interviewed me. If you are interested in hearing my story, check out the latest episode.
The popular Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show, located in Oregon, went virtual this summer, so you can still enjoy the beauty of this show.
Thanks to Kristy of Bonjour Quilts, I go this tidbit and the links: “The Houston International Quilt Festival will be held online in December this year – bookmark this page for details. Similarly, Quilt Market will be held virtually in January 2021. Details will be released here.” Barbara Brackman has a post on the Houston Quilt Festival as well. She reports that there will be a Virtual Quilt Market January 26-28, 2021.
Philadelphia has a series of murals depicting quiltmakers and quilts, which was recently reported on the Quilting Digest Blog.
My longarmer, Colleen Granger, now has YouTube Channel. Get in on the ground floor by subscribing now.
If you are making a quilt for someone who is colorblind, you might want to use Coblis to see how your selected palette will look to them. Upload a picture of your fabric to see how it looks with various types of colorblindness.
I made good progress during the week on this top. It is a lot of sewing since the scraps are mostly pretty small. I have only gotten it up to 30×35 inches, which isn’t large enough for a baby quilt and on the small side of what I like to donate. I went through the scraps on my cutting table (a big pile I really need to deal with) and found more blues. I am hoping I have enough to make one more 5 inch strip so the top will be 35×35 inches. I can think about whether to put a border on it after that.
Somehow the title of “My Mind on COVID” is the way I have started to think about this top. There is some cohesion because of the colors. Beyond that, the piece looks fairly chaotic. My mind isn’t chaotic all the time, but the unknown of the future does bring a sense of chaos to my mind.
Aside from getting a top out of the process, I am also doing a good job of cleaning out my blue scrap drawer I can see the bottom of it!
I worked on the Jawbreaker pillow top over the weekend in between working on my donation projects. The Journey2Nebula video for this week’s piecing is available. I didn’t wait for it as I had time and want to keep progressing. Also, I have done this kind of piecing before and will do it when I eventually make the Spin Wheel quilt. I have done this kind of piecing before.
I should have pressed the way I normally press rather than pressing open partly and pressing to the side partly. I worked out the issues, but bouncing between the two methods wasn’t helpful. My fault.
I think the piece looks good and I will probably be able to finish it this weekend, so I can stay on track with the series.
I was annoyed again at the partial blocks, but watching the video made me understand Julie Herman’s thinking about the design choices. I may even follow the rest of the pattern!
I finally felt well enough to do some work on FOTY 2019.
The first thing I did was start to move the whole piece down and over so I could reach the top better. I also needed to make the top slightly wider to accommodate the various pieces. I am not quite sure how many rows and columns I need since I didn’t do any math around this piece yet.
After move what I had down, I started to add more of the colored squares to the design wall. I am sure I will have to cut more greys, but I haven’t done that yet.
I was finally able to start the third Journey2Nebula project last Friday.
I actually like the process even though I had trouble with the rulers again.
My pieces were the right size yet the ruler didn’t line up. 🙁 It doesn’t matter a lot as I can make the piecing work. I just don’t know what is going on and what the problem is and that irritates me
After several weeks of not working on this project, I got back to it during the guild’s Community Quilt Sew Day on Saturday. The top is now 22.75 x 24.5.
I have some large chunks that I worked on which are not yet attached. Working on two donation tops at once is difficult. I don’t feel like I am making progress on either. I need to finish one up so I can focus on the other.
I started teaching another quilt class via Zoom a few weeks ago. We started on Google Hangouts/Meet- whatever and that was terrible. My screen kept freezing and the experience was terrible. I bought a Zoom subscription and everything has been better.
My goal in the class is to teach my students all the skills they need to make any block they want – or any quilt they want. Both have already decided that they love quiltmaking, so I don’t have to worry about that.
I have taught basic quiltmaking before, but never via video. It is a different experience and I find the demos challenging. Thank the stars for the web, because I am able to find publicly posted videos to stand in for live demos.
My students are AWESOME. They are energetic and enthusiastic and I look forward to our sessions very much.
As of this writing, we have had about 7 classes and they have done a lot of learning, practicing, sewing and listening. The class started off with supplies, fabric choices, how to shop online and color. We subsequently talked about accuracy, block structure, fraying and ripping. The blocks start off very basically with squares. Then we move on to triangles and curves. Eventually, we will get to techniques like Y seams, applique’ and hexagons. I want the class to be comprehensive. I am willing to put in the hours it takes to prepare the presentations and my students seem to be prepared to do the homework.
The whole process has been very gratifying.
If you want me to teach you via Zoom, contact me at poste [at] artquiltmaker [dot] com.
I finished the Lucky Charm Pillow on Sunday after finishing the quilting on Saturday evening. I ended up using the directions for a zipper pouch and that worked pretty well. The corners by the zipper ends are a little funky, but it looks good.
I was planning on just giving the cover to my niece, but my mom pointed out that she would probably never buy a pillow form for the cover, so I ordered a pillow form.
I am pretty pleased with the way this turned out. I think I will try the Spoonflower zipper closure directions next time as I think they were more appropriate for a pillow. There is another pillow in Journey2Nebula so I can try the directions when I get there.
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I had several face masks in process for a number of weeks. Since I decided to work on small projects, I decided that I would finish them.Finishing them also means I get them off my cutting table, so I can actually cut things out. (I can but half finished projects are definitely in my way).
Having run out of black thread was a problem, but otherwise, I got a number of them finished. The ones for the YM will be in the mail soon.
I quilted Lucky Charm over the weekend. I was running up against the Journey2Nebula schedule. I knew I needed (and wanted) to get the thing finished before the next assignment came on Tuesday.
Since this is a small project and I did simple straight line quilting, the process didn’t take that long. I had some trouble, but nothing a seam ripper wouldn’t take care of.
Now I need to make it into a pillow. I think I will do a zipper closure.
I checked in on my donation blocks progress a few days ago. I wanted to see how many I made and where I was in comparison to last year. Last year I made 115 total donation blocks. So far, this year, I am up to 95. I want to make at least 20 more to get to 115. If possible, I would like to get past that 115 mark. I am not going to make it to 365. I would, however, like to get farther than last year.
Finished 2020 Quilt Projects
Four quilts are now complete for the year. I am thrilled.
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, because I just lose steam.
Small Projects to Make or in Process
Most of my progress involves thinking or just cutting.
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
In the Quilting Process
In the Finishing Process
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.
I finished piecing the front of the Lucky Charm Pillow cover a few days ago and am getting ready to baste (bleah!) and quilt.
Sewing the half hexies together was not that difficult, but I didn’t enjoy it. I don’t enjoy sewing rows together. That is how this project goes together, so I had to do it that way. When I sat down and focused, it really only took me less than an hour. I was slightly hampered by trying not to hit the edge of my sewing table with my boot, otherwise the process was smooth.
This isn’t a project I would make again, but the whole ‘getting to know the Jaybird rulers’ is a good experience.
I am feeling guilty about the Blue Improv Donation quilt, but somehow I can’t seem to get back to it. My reasoning for working on the Traffic Jam blocks is that I need to get rid of the 2.5″ squares that are preventing me from closing my bin of donation squares.
I’ll get back to the improv quilt eventually. In the meantime, I am using up squares from various Bonnie and Camille lines, mostly.
I have been making 4 patches and all of a sudden I am able to put several blocks together. I am going to make at least 9 of these blocks, but perhaps 16, to make a donation quilt. It depends on how many squares I have. I am already running out of red, so I may need to augment that stash a bit. My foot is healing so I may be able to climb upin my fabric closet again. We’ll see.