Commentary about works in progress, design & creativity
Yes, half of my La Passacaglia top is sewn together. I think it looks pretty good. I do think there were some things I would change if I had known then what I know now.
I was telling Lindsay that I have learned so much making this quilt. I am really sad it is ending. I will probably try another one on my own. Nothing is happening before I finish this one, however.
I am ready to put the Blue Color Strip blocks together. I have made all the blocks and laid them out on my small design wall, ready to sew. I hope to get the quilt ready to hand in on Sew Day in July.
I looked at the previous quilts and didn’t want to do the same thing, but also am not up for a lot of fancy piecing.
It came to me in a flash to add some pink cornerstones!!
I forgot to post about the finished second Enigma. I wrote about last a week ago.
I am so pleased with the fabrics, which I talked about last time. They look so well with the zipper, too.
As per usual with second tries, this one went together a lot easier and much faster. I didn’t use the prequilted fabric I had Colleen make for me. I only have one fabric, the Philip Jacobs fabric I used last time and I wanted something different. The bottom piece needs to be quilted, which meant I had to quilt the bottom. It was fine. I used one fabric for the lining and I like that look a lot better, even if the various lining fabrics aren’t very noticeable on the first Enigma.
The accordion construction of the center pocket is magical in a way. It is just so amazing how easily it goes together. I am really pleased with how it came out.
Also, the fabrics look so pretty in this configuration. I think the Kabloom fabric is just a good fabric design, because I didn’t have much fabric left to fussy cut. The end with the half peony flower is a happy accident.
I am still kind of enamored of the diagonal zipper design. I really need to know how Sara comes up with her designs. I saw another bag like this, but can’t believe that she would steal a design.
The only part that didn’t come out exactly as planned was the handle. I think I spaced the stitching too far apart. The empty space is large enough for me to carry it, but the Chrysanthemum version had more space. C’est la vie!
I am so pleased with how this bag came out.
I plan to use it to travel with EPP projects. I haven’t filled it, or the Chrysanthemum version, up yet, but will. I have a few trips coming up later this year and will need it for them. Cross your fingers I can find a good project.
I might put this bag on my list to make as gifts. I am not done with the Hackneys yets, so stay tuned.
After encouraging my sewjo a little bit with the Spiky 16 Patch, I made some more blocks for the Scrappy Celebration quilt.
I have to admit I was dreading this block a little bit because the first one took so long to sew. I concentrated on chain piecing this one and it went more quickly.
I did forget to use the other blue fabric, so it looks the same as #1. Still, it is done and I can move on to other blocks.
I also made the second Plus block, which completes the top row. Unlike the 9 patch above, I have decided to make the Plus blocks different colors. Well, I have decided that the pluses will be different colors. I have been longing to use that emerald green again, so here it is.
I like the combination of the red-violet and that emerald.
I moved some of the blocks around so the completed block layout I have looks different now.
Not a lot of progress, but over a small hump and progress is progress.
I put the border on this quilt and made the back so it is ready for quilting now. I’ll be able to take it to the meeting on Saturday and hand it in.
It isn’t very exciting, but finished is better than perfect. I think the important thing is that I uncovered my sewing machine again and am sewing.
I used up some fabric for the back as well.
I am going to create a border that has some of the rosettes sticking out. It will be similar to the quilts in an Instragram video I found.
Most of the quilts that do this finishing style don’t finish out the Month 18 rosette, which is at the top. I wanted to, because of the woven look I had started on it. I wanted a rosette with that full woven look and it was too late to piece any of the other large rosettes together like this.
I am really pleased with how Month 18 came out. I might do another one as a table topper. We’ll see.
I met Sue G at Sew Day and she had the Hackney I gave her along. She had it filled with supplies, which made me super happy.
You can see how much stuff it holds.
I am so pleased when people use the bags I give them.
I started working on the Spiky 16 Patch blocks again. I was really struggling with just getting to the machine and decided that this piece was what I should work on.
As you read before, I was struggling to decide how to set these blocks. After two weeks, I decided just to do a straight set and a border and move on with my life. I have a couple of donation quilts in progress and it is better to get them finished and out to people who need them rather than have them perfect.
I do think I’ll put a border on this one.
At Sew Day, Gerre was quilting the donation quilt I made in January. I am always super happy when the donation tops I make get quilted quickly.
I don’t know how much she was able to finish. Progress is really good.
Mary has finished piecing her Traverse quilt, which looks great. She brought it to Sew Day as her project. She is now using Big Stitch to quilt it.
This is one of two Traverse quilts she has made. I believe they are for her daughters and are made in different colors.
Metro Twist** is another pattern by Sew Kind of Wonderful that uses their Quick Curve Ruler**. You might remember that I made Metroscape** a few years ago with this ruler.
I showed the quilt that Amy made at the Retreat using the Metro Twist pattern in a previous post.The colors she used and the curves made this a very popular project at the Retreat.
At the last Sew Day, she was putting on borders and preparing the top for quilting. I was able to take a photo of the quilt and it looks great!
I didn’t really realize how popular this project was until I heard that Amy will be teaching the guild how to make it at the next Super Sew Day, in July. I also had a clue when Mary C said that a bunch of people bought the pattern and the ruler after seeing Amy’s quilt.
I talked to Amy and offered to help her teach. She hasn’t told me what she needs me to do yet, but I am kind of excited about it. I really need to find some fabrics I want to use. I love Amy’s choices of Tiny Dots and Tiny Stripes, but I don’t want to copy what she did.
The quilt on the cover of the pattern isn’t super appealing and I don’t think the Tula All Stars (if even still available) would work for this pattern.
**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 had planned to get more blocks for this project finished over the long weekend. In the end I only finished one. It has about 50 pieces. I finished a few other projects, so I don’t really feel that bad.
I need to make another one of these blocks and am trying to decide if I will use the same foreground fabric or a slightly different one.
I have about 9 blocks out of the many that I need. As I have said, the piecing isn’t difficult, just a little tedious.
I used this project as leaders and enders while I worked on the Blue strip donation blocks and the Enigma bag.
I decided that I will make this Enigma and then get back to the Hackneys I planned and cut out. I am making amazing progress.
I have all of the pieces prepped, the bottom quilted, which you saw in the other post, and assembly is underway. The second time is almost always easier than the first.
I remembered to put on my label this time, though this one will probably be for me and I don’t really need a label. I am trying to make it part of the process so each bag I make gets a label. I have a few more hours to make it a habit.
As mentioned before, this bag design requires binding and Sara shows how to do it on the machine. I sewed the binding on by hand last time, but decided that I would do it by machine this time. I am pleased to tell you that it went well and it looks good.
The bag looks like the photo above and on the right when it is ready to be bound. I had to keep the sides out of the way when I got to the binding part.
I changed feet and used the Janome foot F with the little red triangle and kept the left hand tip of the triangle right on the fold of the binding. My seam line looks pretty good. I didn’t really check the bottom because it doesn’t show when the bag is in use anyway.
After sewing, the inside of the bag looks like the photo on the right.
The hardest part to sew past is where the zipper stops. You have to zip the zipper a little to keep it out of the way of the machine foot while keeping the bottom of the bag flat. It was a lot easier the second time, though still not 100% easy.
A few more things to do, then I’ll be finished with this bag.
Randomly, I have been pulling out papers. I don’t want to, but unwieldy is starting not to be the right word for the massive piece of unyielding fabric and paper with which I am working.
I have to be careful not to pull papers out near the edges. I also am not confident in this step so I am pulling out papers near where I am working so I can better maneuver. I suppose I’ll be happy later when I don’t have as many papers to pull out.