Some dots to make us all happier today.
Inspiration Saturday
Dream Projects #13
It has been quite a while since I reflected on these potential projects. The most notable change is that the Windmill patches have been turned into 3 quilts: 2 are quilted and live in new places, one is ready for quilting and another quilt, with the rest of the patches, will be in process soon.
Art Institute of Chicago Fusible Applique’ (Ticker Tape Style) Quilt
- Status: Dream state
- Pattern: Original, I have a version of the pattern I used for the Whole Cloth quilt and I will use it as starting point.
- Fabric: Turquoise and red, mainly, but other colors for the leaves and flowers, perhaps
- Steps: need to fuse a bunch of turquoise to some piece of fabric in the ‘ticker tape’ style so I can cut it up into small pieces. I am thinking of making it similar to the Whole Cloth Quilt and using red, again, for the background.
- Thoughts: I might make another one with turquoise on top of red with just two pieces of fabric. I’d really like it if someone else would apply fusible to a bunch of turquoise for me.
Art Institute of Chicago Fusible Applique’ (one sheet of fabric) Quilt
- Status: Dream state
- Pattern: Original, I do have a version of the pattern I used for the Whole Cloth quilt and I will use it as starting point.
- Fabric: Turquoise and red, mainly
- Steps: need to fuse a big piece of turquoise to SoftFuse or similar, then cut out the image and fuse it to the background. I would satin stitch all around the image. I don’t know that I can make one continuous piece, but will try. The image would be similar to the Whole Cloth Quilt and using red, again, for the background.
- Thoughts: I might make it with turquoise on top of red with just two pieces of fabric.
- Added: 9/14/2017
- Status: Dream state
- Fabric: Scrappy
- Pattern: Fons & Porter, series 1000, episode 1005
- Thoughts: I like the challenge of piecing this quilt and using a lot of partial seams for the piecing
- On the list since at least 2011. Sherry D sent me the pattern.
Blue Rectangles Gradation Quilt
- Status: Hunting and Gathering
- Fabric: blue 2.5×4.5 rectangles
- Pattern: similar to FOTY 2008
- Thoughts: I can’t decide if this is still a dream or if it is already started and I just need to arrange it and start piecing. I have done a lot of cutting, so I think I have started it, thus it may not be a dream anymore. The original idea stemmed from the FOTY quilts. I just decided to do a monochromatic version – using just blues, in this case. I probably have more than enough patches now. I just need to slot the time into my schedule.
Blue Lemonade
- Status: Hunting and Gathering
- Fabric: blue, purple and green scrappy
- Pattern: inspiration from TFQ’s Pink Lemonade quilt
- Thoughts: I probably had enough squares to make this quilt, but then I used a bunch of them to make En Provence. I have cut quite a few more 2 inch squares, but probably still need more.
Easy Street
- Status: have pattern/ dream state
- 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 her 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. Not sure this will become a reality.
En Provence #2
- Status: Dream state
- Pattern: En Provence by Bonnie Hunter
- Thoughts: I loved the one I made before and can’t stop thinking about it. I have to make another one, but I can’t figure out what colors to use next. The ones I used before were almost perfect.
Feathered Star Block (or quilt?)
- Status: Dream state.
- Pattern: I haven’t decided on a particular feathered star
- Thoughts: use the Triangle Technique for the HSTs. I also saw a pattern, Star of Chamblie, at a shop in Reno that I might want to use as a base idea.
Good Night Irene Quilt
- Status: dream state
- Pattern: Good Night Irene from the Missouri Star Quilt Company’s Block magazine, Spring issue v.2, issue 2, pg. 54
- Fabric: I decided not to use a layer cake and will use the scrap 2.5 inch squares I have been cutting. I love the cheerfulness of Scrapitude Carnivale, as I say over and over, and am not done with that fabric combination yet.
- Thoughts: I thought about using dots on a white background as the background, as I did with the Scrapitude Carnivale quilt. It makes the Scrapitude quilt look so cheerful. I probably wouldn’t call it Good Night Irene.
Interlocking Triangles Quilt(s)
- Status: dream state
- 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; I also have a lot of stripes to use
- 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
- Status: dream state
- 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. I have seen a number of variations lately using different hexagons in the center. It occurred to me recently that I could do four rings and make a pillow cover instead of a whole quilt. Partially, I thought of this because I saw an EPP pattern for this quilt. Taking on another large EPP quilt right now is not in the cards. I could also make the pattern larger, making the piecing for a quilt much quicker. I still like the smaller version better.
Music Quilt
- Status: dream state, but not very inspired
- Pattern: Top will have a piece of music the Young Man can actually play. That will probably be applique’
- Fabric/Colors: music prints and tone-on-tones with a little red
- Thoughts: The Young Man has requested this quilt as his high school graduation quilt. I missed that deadline and now I have missed the college graduation deadling. He has sent me a piece of music, which I printed out. Now I need to make into an applique’ or do something else (print on fabric?).
Pineapple (Hunting and Gathering)
- Status: I have some strips cut.
- 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
Silk Colorblock quilt
- Status: I have the fabrics and the plan
- 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 silk 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. I think I have that covered now and there is nothing stopping me except time and will.
Spin Wheel
- Status: Hunting and Gathering
- Pattern: Fons & Porter Spin Wheel, 1200 series, episode 1201
- Fabric: Scrappy with controlled scrappy background
- Thoughts: I like the construction of this quilt and am convinced that I will make it. Another one just waiting for time and the will. After adding the correct size piece to my cutting sheet, I have continued to cut and cut. I now have quite a large stack of patches waiting for a background color.
Out of the Dream State: Below is a list of projects that were on this list at some point that I actually made or am working on:
- Box Full of Letters
- Flying Around
- Food quilt #2
- Food quilt #3
- Half Moon Modern Quilt I made a Chubby Charmer instead of a quilt and am happy with that choice.
- Medium Mondo Bag – I actually made the Midi bag. I think I might have another pattern to make another one, so I will have to try it out without the class.
- MetroScape quilt is finished, working on the binding
- Stepping Stones #2 –finished
- Cool Windmill
- Warm Windmill
- Warm Windmill #2 – ready for quilting
UCAB Front Pocket
I worked on the UCAB again the other weekend. Last weekend? I don’t remember. It started off so well, then I got lost. I couldn’t figure out how to finish the front pocket.
I really tried hard to understand the pattern, but just didn’t get it, so I contacted the designer. I still couldn’t understand the explanation, so I asked Lynette.
Lynette sent me some info she had sent to another bag maker. It didn’t answer my question, but I woke up the next morning with an idea of how to make the pocket. It may not be the way the designer intended, but it will get the job done – as long as I do it!
New Donation Blocks
I started sewing some strips together and now I have started another donation quilt in the Color Strips & Chunks series.
It started sort of accidentally. I had a few strips left from a box that was stashed behind my old design wall. They were on my sewing table, so I sewed them together when I needed a leader or ender. Then, I opened my blue scrap drawer, which is not noticeably less full despite the last blue strip quilt I made, and used strips to make more blocks. I am pretty sure I have at least two more quilts in that drawer.
I am out of background fabrics for 16 patches, so this is a good way to use up scraps and have something for leaders and enders.
Chrysanthemum Cotton Candy Pouch
I finished another Cotton Candy Pouch over the weekend. As mentioned in a previous post, this pattern is from the Minikins Seasons 1 & 2 (no affiliation) by Sara Lawson of Sew Sweetness.
I made an effort to fussy cut fabric this time so my pouch highlighted some great fabric. Sara does this in her pouches and I really like the look. I cut the side panels out of the Philip Jacobs fabric, which was not correct – I keep thinking those side pieces are the main fabrics. I decided to use them on the inside, reversing the way I put in the fabric.
I had some trouble with the zippers, but in the end the video about veering the zipper off the project and the project video finally got the thole technique into my head. I want to cement it. I think I might make another pouch with some of the Echinacea fabric I got from the last Modern Quilter’s Box.
Spectrum of Colors
Spectrum of Colors Arranged by Chance is a 1951-53 painting (oil on wood) by Ellsworth Kelly. I saw it at the SFMoMA when Julie, DH and I visited a few years ago. I have been wanting to use the idea in a quilt for awhile. Last week, I started on FOTY 2018, which will be my piece inspired by Kelly’s work.
Spectrum of Colors
Spectrum of Colors Arranged by Chance is a 1951-53 painting (oil on wood) by Ellsworth Kelly. I saw it at the SFMoMA when Julie, DH and I visited a few years ago. I have been wanting to use the idea in a quilt for awhile.
Last week, I started on FOTY 2018, which will be my piece inspired by Kelly’s work.
I have to say that putting the pieces on the wall has been a joy. I feel much closer to it with my new design wall. I also really like the white interspersed with the color. It is making me think of doing one with white squares as well as the slate grey I have planned for 2019.
I am also apprehensive about adding the black. We will see, though.
I am also really excited that I am working on a true UFO!!
New Design Wall Installation
The felt finally arrived.
DH went out and got a piece of wood and we were able to install my new design wall.
First, I made a sleeve.
Next, we slipped the wood through the sleeve and, then, screwed the wood into the wall.
The photo, above, shows my workroom in a big jumble because I had to move everything out of the way to get the design wall up.
I had hoped that 72 inches would be wider, but 72 inches is just 72 inches. It might be better that it isn’t wider, because I would just make larger quilts, I think.
Making the sleeve was a challenge as felt stretches more than regular quilting cotton fabrics.
It isn’t quite done yet. I am waiting to see if I want to put another sleeve on the bottom before I cut off the bottom. I will have to cut part of the bottom off to make space for the heating vent.
Plaid Donation Top & Back Finished
Despite nothing happening and not going anywhere, it is already June 20! I can’t believe how time is flying by. It would seem a bit unfair except that I am getting a bit of sewing done.
The Plaid donation top and back are finished. I don’t know when they will be quilted. I may make an attempt to send them off to someone in the guild to quilt. That is a project for another day.
As a bonus all of the plaid yardage is used up. I have some scraps left and I am in the process of cutting them up into usable pieces. Some will get filed for for the strip and chunk donation quilts. I am being more generous towards the Pet Beds than I normally would in leaving some larger pieces for the stuffing this time.
Of course, I used a lot of the leftover yardage for the back of the Plaid Block Party back. I did find a large piece of plaid that I used for the back of this piece, which was handy so I could keep the whole thing plaid and didn’t have to introduce other fabrics into the piece. I thought a solid would work, but am glad I didn’t have to worry about it.
Inside Outside Pouch: Finished
I finished the Inside Outside Pouch at Craft Night on Monday. I only had the binding left and that was a good task to work on.
The pattern is pretty easy, especially after making the Boxy Clear pouch as many of the steps are the same.
One problem I had was with the zippers. This was not a problem with the pattern, but was a problem with how to measure zippers. I know now that you measure from puller to stopper, not from end to end. The zippers in this pouch are a little short, but it shouldn’t matter in the grand scheme.
I used some leftovers from projects for Mom, so she will probably end up with it. I am not sure how much I like this product. It is a good pattern and easy to follow, but the pouch is kind of large and I am not sure how I would use it. I’d like a smaller version for my binding makers. I may try making a smaller one.
Plaid Blocks
I finished all the blocks for the plaid donation top. I rummaged through some older fabric and found a large-ish piece of plaid I will use for most of the back. The leftovers, of which there are still a few, will make up the rest of the back. I think this will make a great boy quilt.
In the course of my rummaging, I found some baseball fabric remnants and will use them for another donation quilt. Stay tuned for that one.
Mask Collection
DH got some masks in the mail from my mom. He now has quite the collection! She uses different patterns than I have used, but she has also made a lot more.
I am still experimenting, as I have said, so I try and pick fabrics that he will wear, but may not be fabrics that he will wear to work. That will come when I find the pattern and style that works for us. My mom made him a black one that he can wear with his tuxedo. Of course, I have no idea if we will ever attend a black tie event again.
Various & Sundry 2020 #8
Welcome to week 5 million of S-i-P and working from home, playing at home, staring at the same people, staying home. I am joking. We are fine and it could be much worse for us. Thank heaven for sewing!
Projects
Join the Toledo Art Museum’s COVID-19 Virtual Quilting Bee by submitting a block of your own design. Deadline is June 22! I submitted one of the Spiky 16 Patch blocks.
Other Artists
Friend Julie has a great post about staying positive. She wrote this a month ago and some of you may be able to move around, go places, work with customers at your office or workplace. None of these resources are specifically quilt related, but Julie has one of the best attitudes of anyone I know. Her emails are always upbeat even if I am acting like Dodie Doldrums. I think these resources are worth taking a look at.
Jim Jenkins provides support at GoDaddy, my hosting service. He was helping me the other day and sent me a link to his website. He is a polymer clay artist who works in the Milliefiori style.
Bill Kerr wrote a thought provoking obituary of Christo on the CraftNectar blog. It tells me that art is not as personal as we think, that it is something to bring people together. With Christo’s work, it was easy to see how that would work. What about what I do? How does making a pouch or a quilt bring people together
Supplies, Notions, Fabrics & Tools
Wisecraft now has rulers that can help you determine value.
I recently bought a ColorGirl ruler. I think it is similar to the Quick Curve Ruler. Sharon has a tutorial on squaring up blocks on her site.
One of the shops Amanda and I enjoyed together in Portland, Cool Cottons, now has an online shop. TFQ pointed it out to me the other day, tempting me with Martha Negley’s new line. The shopping experience isn’t as sophisticated as other shops, but they have great fabric. Yes, I bought some. 😉
Thanks to Luana Rubin, I heard about fabric that is $735 per yard! I won’t be buying any soon.
Sandy and Gretchen both talk on their blogs about the Cotton Cuts Puzzle Mystery Quilt. Recently, Sandy posted about the details (where to buy, colors, etc) so I went to take a look. In surfing around the site, I also found that the shop has an Aurifil club. I didn’t join, but am tempted. Last time I joined one such club, I got too much brown. This shop posts a list of color themes and there is no brown.
I have a friend who subscribes to Art Snax. I went to look at their website the other day and I had a hard time not subscribing. I don’t think I would have the time to explore the supplies sent to me. I do like receiving non-bills mail and the Modern Quilter’s Box has given me a taste for subscription boxes. I’ll have to be vigilant as I can see how I could get myself into trouble subscribing to art supplies and makeup and thread and….
I have frequently suggested you purchase the Jinny Beyer Perfect Piecer to help with Y Seams as shown in my LeMoyne Star tutorial. This tool has been on the market for years and it is a useful way to mark where to stop sewing when machine piecing Y seams. Recently Marti Michell has come out with the Deluxe Corner Trimmer**. This tool, while I haven’t seen it in person, seems to do the same thing, though without the holes at the intersections. It might also be a bit easier to find and purchase.
Patterns, Projects & Tutorials
Carolyn Friedlander has a very cute tote called the Nest Egg tote! She made it for carrying sewing supplies, but it can also be used as a purse. I love the woven elastic on one side. She uses it to secure thread to the tote. I could use this idea in other bags.
Articles & Information
North of Verona, Italy, the remains of a villa’s floor were rediscovered. My sister shared this article with me and some of the designs make me want to make quilts from them.
The Smithsonian has posted a video of their quilt collection. Thanks to Frances for sharing.
I have been thinking that fashion brands would start including masks as part of an ensemble. Here is the article in the Wall Street Journal (Check your local public library for access, if you don’t subscribe).
Need some coloring pages? Learn EQ8 and get some pages to color with this tutorial.
**I use affiliate links and may be paid for your purchase of an item when you click on an item 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.
More Masks
In an effort to help out my neighbor, I made her some more masks. I am also using her as a guinea pig. She will tell me what she likes and doesn’t like about the masks, I hope.
The top one (Martelli pattern) I modified and put a nose piece in it. I like the pattern for that mask, because it goes together really quickly. We have decided, however, that we prefer straps that go around the back of our head, so we can loop the masks around our neck when they aren’t actually covering our faces (in the car or when we aren’t around people). Also, additional things around our ears compete for space with glasses and headphones. I’ll probably make this one again with straps/elastic that go all the way around the back.
The bottom mask is from the video pattern I talked about. It has those wings on the top and bottom. I need to try making it with straps around the back as well. I wonder how it would be if I made an X on the back with the straps (elastic)?
I don’t think I mentioned it before, but our neighbor only had one mask which is why I offered to make her some. She is keeping that one for ‘good’ and since I had more of the same fabric, I made a couple more. I don’t think she understands how much fabric I have. It’s nice for me to be able to do something for someone. She also makes lemon curd for us and supplies us with lemons. It’s a fair trade.
Plaid Determination
I am determined to use up the plaid. I used a good deal of it for the Plaid Block Party quilt for my cousin, but I still have some. Thus, I am making another donation top with the rest.
I am using the same Block Party pattern. I am using that pattern because it is easy and I had a number of leftover pieces that I wanted to use. I haven’t had much time to sew during the week, so I only have parts made. I am using these blocks as leaders and enders while I work on the Inside Outside Pouch.