As you have seen when I have made other Color Strip donation tops, they have been followed by an improv version. I have been putting a few pieces together from the black/grey/brown (mostly black and grey) scrap bin, but it isn’t going well.
Leftovers from black/grey strip quilts
Well, I have made chunks of improvisationally pieced fabric, but mostly they are unsatisfactory. Also, I am not sure if I have enough small scraps to make three quilts. I also am not sure I want to combine the three colors into one quilt.
The grey piece looks really good and I don’t really want to ruin it. The others are meh.
I am tempted to bring them to the guild and see who wants to work on them.
No, today is not birthday. It was a few days ago. I am so thrilled that I have such nice friends and family. You would not believe the number of texts I received! Dozens! As an added bonus, I had fun AND I got a lot of nice gifts.
Thanks, everyone. You are awesome.
Gifts from DH
The first things I opened, at breakfast on my actual birthday, were gifts from DH.
As you can see, he doesn’t usually go for the quiltmaking supplies. He usually leaves that to me. I am not quite sure about the Peppermint Chocolate tea, but I’ll try it. I am a huge fan of Milka chocolate and that spread is A-MAZ-ING!!! The pin is a happy birthday pin and, yes, he got me a stocking hanger. We have more stockings than hangers and sometimes the stockings are too heavy for the hangers when there is more than one stocking on a a hanger. The hangers we have are from the Pottery Barn, but are old and no longer sold. I don’t know where he got this one, but it matches the others. I am super happy we will be able to spread out the stocking love.
2024 Gifts from Julie
Next up was Friend Julie. We haven’t been able to spend much time together lately, so she came up to hang out for my birthday and do quilty stuff.
She wiped out the progress on fabric usage I have made this year with the fabric. It is amazing , however, and I am super happy to get to use it. She always picks the perfect fabric for me. I already have an idea for it, so stay tuned.
She also got me some zipper pulls, which I can always use. I don’t have to use my fancy Split Ring Tweezer tool to put them on the zippers, because they come with a tiny baby lobster clip. There is also a lighted seam ripper, which I can’t wait to try, though I hope it is awhile before I have to use it. So many cool things! A bobbin boat, some buttons, some Tula Unicorn pins and some silicon dots for Sew Tites. What a bonanza!
Gifts from Mom
It was a Tula birthday as Mom got me some Tula thread. The Dragon’s Breath had been on my list for awhile and I am thrilled to finally be able to use it. Next to it is my great grandmother’s diary. Apparently there are some entries about me and my sister. I’ll have to take a look. It probably says what rotten little monster we are!
Gifts from May
My sister-in-law also sent me some quiltmaking/bagmaking items. The mesh will come in handy. I’ll have to make her a bag with some of it.
I can’t wait to write a review of the books! I looked through the one on the right and it is fantastic. It is an updated version, sort of, of Around the Block**, which is one of my all time favorite books.
I received a few other gift cards and am expecting some other gifts, but if none of them come, I am super happy and feel very lucky.
**Obviously, you should shop at local quilt shops and small businesses. However, if you are too busy or can’t find what you need there, I use Amazon affiliate links and may be paid for your purchase of an item when you click on an item’s link in my post. There is no additional cost to you for clicking or purchasing items I recommend. I appreciate your clicks and purchases as it helps support this blog.
I am using this project for leaders and enders, so it isn’t progressing as quickly as it might otherwise. Still, progress is good.
These are the additional blocks I made, some of which were rejected from Black Strip [#1].
It has that weird shape again and I don’t have enough additional blocks to make it wider. Not having additional blocks is a good thing in terms of scraps as it means I am working through my scraps (making room for more!). On the other hand, it is a not ideal situation for actually using the quilt. I might have to go with wider sides and narrower top/bottom when I do the borders.
I am still trying to figure out what my goal for bags will be this year. Or maybe what my plan for bags will be this year. Will I make more bags as gifts? Will I work on UFOs (that EPPic bag is hanging out there ready to sew)? Or what? Not sure yet.
One thing I do know is that if I feel like making a bag, I am just going to make it. I have a friend at work who is having a tough time. She wants to get back to crafting, but her life is too complicated at the moment. I was showing her photos of one of the Enigma bags I have made and it occurred to me that she might like one. I asked her and she said she would be ‘honored’!!! That makes me laugh.
Enigma #3 start for JMo
Anyway, I finally got started on this Enigma. It came about when I was hunting through some bins of dots for Pantone blocks fabrics. I found the perfect dots based on her color request and decided it was time to start.
I didn’t have much left of the pink main fabric, so I found the stripes, which go great with that fabric. I will use it, as you can see for the sides.
I don’t think people realize that there are people who have kids who need care at the same time their parents need care. I know that is the term ‘sandwich generation’, but I don’t think people really think about it. If you know someone in this situation quietly help them out or do something nice for them.
I talked awhile ago about selecting some fabrics. These fabrics sat on my worktable until last week when I decided enough was enough and I started making blocks.
I forgot to take photos of all the blocks before I handed them over to Friend Julie, but trust me, I did make about 9 blocks. 😉
Pantone blocks – NYE
She proves it, because she sent me a photo of the blocks.
This effort set me on the path I described earlier this week where I made more blocks. I thought I might see Julie on Sew Day and I wanted to have another batch for her, as I mentioned.
Today is the day where we give the officers their gifts.
Carrie, Sue and I spent last Saturday at The Granary, a local quilt store that has a great restaurant nearby.
We bought gift cards for the officers and spent time, in between eating, looking at quilt supplies and wrapping the gifts. It was another fun time with Carrie and Sue.
Scrappy Celebration is finished. Well, my part is finished. Today I will bring it to Colleen for quilting.
This quilt was nowhere near ready to give to Colleen, but except for one mishap, it went together quickly and fairly easily (knock wood). I am pretty pleased with the way it came out. It is a lot more interesting to look at than it was to piece.
Scrappy Celebration back
As usual, I used a lot of the leftover fabrics for the back. Friend Julie said the look of the back is energetic. I hope that is good and not just a nice way of saying “what were you thinking?”
Notice that I didn’t use the Philip Jacobs chrysanthemum print on the back. I wasn’t ready to use it up yet.
We are fast approaching the end of the Pantone Project block making aspect of the project. That means we are speeding quickly towards the design of the quilt phase. I looked for the ideas that I had generated last year and couldn’t find them so I sat down and doodled what I remembered,or thought I remembered.
I don’t have tons of spare time, so the doodles evolved over several days. The colors represent different days.
Remember, we have units based on Doreen Speckman’s system from her book, Pattern Play**. As an aside, I know most of you missed Doreen’s career in quiltmaking, but anything you can find on her is worth the effort. This book is all about designing quilts using units.
Pantone ideas – evolving
Friend Julie and I are using these units for our project, which means I used those units for my doodling. In putting together these units, I made larger designs. And that was super fun.
I started off thinking of a row quilt. I was a little stiff at the beginning, but as I worked, I started coming up with some interesting shapes using the units.
Umbrella shapes
I am super excited about the umbrella/propeller shape, which makes me want to make more of those blocks. That is an added bonus for the doodling.
One issue I have not addressed is color. You know that each unit is a different color and we are making units from colors in the Pantone Postcard Box** as they inspire us not to any plan. I am not going to worry about that now. After all, I can always make a second quilt with the colors of my choice from the same design, if I want.
Fabric, Sewing machine and regular Sewing supplies (BSK)
Decisions to Make with your friend:
Size of units (blocks)
Type of units to make
Time frame for making the project
Time frame for sending postcards
**Obviously, you should shop at local fabric, knitting shops or quilt shops. However, if you can’t, please know that I use affiliate links. I may be paid for your purchase of an item when you click on an item’s link in my post. There is no additional cost to you for clicking or purchasing items I recommend. I do not recommend items I don’t like. I appreciate your clicks and purchases as it helps support this blog.
I was able to finish the grey strip top at Sew Day, then work on the back at home. I am pleased that this top is finished and am already working on the next black version.
With the back, it is another 3 yards used for a good cause.
Grey strip donation back
I have now made 14 of these quilts, with the help of my guild colleagues.
The last time I talked about this quilt was in September! Since then I have been moving the blocks around my workroom in a desultory manner. I last had them all on the design wall in August and they don’t look great. I decided I needed to finish it and my deadline is on Friday. I have a date with Colleen and knowing my work schedule, will be unable to make another any time soon. So, I needed to get it finished.
Scrappy Celebration -what I had
I actually didn’t start from a bad place. I just needed to figure out where I was and where I needed to go.
The photo on the left is what I had when I put all the blocks up on the design wall. I ignored the block labels I had put on based on where the blocks were in the pattern. I rearranged blocks so they looked more appealing and, then, decided what I additional blocks I needed to make.
I worked on it last weekend and made good progress. I am now ready to sew the piece together.
I finally finished the Tula 2-in-1-Case. The binding gave me fits. I am pleased, however, that it came out so well. Choosing a Tula Tiny Stripe for the binding made coordination easy.
The inside is an old feather print I had. I like it and it is light colored so the recipient will be able to see what’s inside. I suppose, however that is not as important with a bag that opens flat?
Tula 2-in-1 Case – openTula 2-in-1 Case -back
The back is fairly normal. It is just the back of a bag. There is an interesting bit of symmetry because of the way I cut the exterior panel so that the lady would be centered on the front.
I don’t yet know who the recipient will be. Stay tuned!
Angela is a relatively new member who volunteered to make one of the 2-in-1 cases for the officers. She did a really wonderful job!
The colors are really great. I think the binding picks up and enhances the purple in the dragonfly print really well.
I love the fussy cutting she did, though she claims it was a happy accident. The cover really looks like the dragonflies were placed intentionally.
AngelaB’s 2-in-1 Case – interior
The inside mimics the outside, but uses a lighter print to still allow the owner to see what is inside.
She really matched the interior print and the zippers well.
AngelaB’s 2-in-1 Case – interior detail
Angela’s zippers also went in beautifully.
I am completely impressed with this version of the case. You can see the other completed 2-in-1 Cases in a previous post and my, second, in process case in a post from earlier this week.
