I also have Kelly’s piece and it is time for me to work on it. As soon as I tidied Kathleen’s piece out of the way. I need to keep Kathleen’s piece for a little while as Kelly is still working on setting up her studio.
I put her piece up on the wall so it has a chance to speak to me. Nothing yet. I thought Chris’ piece needed space. I wanted to retain the freshness of Kathleen’s piece and Kelly’s piece…..
I don’t know. There is definitely personality. There is definitely movement. Kathleen’s Flying Geese really add a lot to this piece. This is a rich piece as in it has a rich look. The idea of a Persian rug comes to mind, though it doesn’t look like a Persian rug, and that isn’t quite right, but I think the closest I can describe is that it just has the feel of a Persian rug.
There is also an element of a royal banner. i can see this piece on a long pole being carried in front of a large group of men on horseback wearing the royal colors.
I don’t think it needs space. I think the richness needs to be continued, and perhaps some more points. I am just not sure how. I’ll keep looking at it and see what I think about.
This review has been on my To Do List for a long time. I know the Farmer’s Wife project is no longer the rage in the quilt community, but I think it is an interesting book, and well worth your time.
I like all block dictionaries. I like them because I can always find a new block and each new block starts me on a fun creative adventure. The Farmer’s Wife Sampler Quilt: 55 Letters and the 111 Blocks they Inspired is no exception and it includes letters! I love letters even reading other people’s letters!
The introduction is called The Changing American Culture of the 1920s and discusses “a time of political and technological changes.” It is an interesting and tantalizing way to begin a quilt book, especially for someone who enjoys quilt history. This page mentions the Farmer’s Wife magazine, a source of some of the quilt block patterns mentioned in Jinny Beyer’s The Quilter’s Album of Patchwork Patterns, which I reviewed a few weeks ago. I commend Krause Publications for allowing Laurie Aaron Hird to include it.
The Changing American Culture of the 1920s is followed by a page called 1922 Farmer’s Wife Contest. I have read quite a bit on quilt history, but don’t remember this contest being mentioned, probably because it was not a quilt contest. It was a contest asking for people’s opinions about being a farmer’s wife. The interesting part is that the organizers asked women to “talk it over with your husband, your children and your friends. Consider not only financial side of the question, but the moral and physical viewpoint and the things that make for real happiness.” The way I read this is that the organizers, and I am not looking at the complete list of directions and rules, assume that their readership is smart and their opinions worth knowing. I love that!
The responses are summarized VERY briefly on page 12 and then the author launches into “How to Use this Book” which is followed by the letters and the quilt blocks.
The first few sections are short, interesting and well worth taking a few minutes to read. The response letters are concentrated in the middle section of the book followed by some minimal piecing directions in the back.
This book includes a CD, but I don’t know what is included as mine is broken so I can’t look at it. (Nota bene: It broke after I got it; the book didn’t come with a broken CD).In the introduction the author says she includes “larger versions of the quilt assembly instructions” and “…you can print templates from the CD-ROM that accompanies” the book. (pg.13)
The author describes the respondents to the contest as “articulate, optimistic and visionary…” (pg.12). After reading a few of the letters, I have to agree, even though I know they were putting their best foot forward in order to win the not insubstantial prize money.
I do have a few problems with this book. The idea is that you make these blocks with templates. The author made her quilt by hand piecing all the blocks. I really have no problem with templates or hand piecing. You all know this is true after reading about my adventures with the Flowering Snowball. The problem is the crazy way I have heard of people using templates to cut pieces for this project (which has taken hold in the Modern Quilt community). I heard and seen quiltmakers make templates and then rotary cut around a thin piece of paper and a bit of template plastic. I am scared of my rotary cutter as it is. This sounds like a recipe for disaster to me.
The basic problem I see is that there are no rotary cutting instructions (though you can buy an EQ6 or EQ7 CD with all the patterns on it and print the rotary cutting instructions). I am not against templates or hand piecing. I understand the need to slow down, quilt more slowly, take your time. However, in this day and age, I think it is important to include rotary cutting instructions, because almost everyone cuts with a rotary cutter. Quiltmakers just do not use scissors to cut out pieces very often anymore.
There are also no line drawings of the blocks. I think this is a problem, especially for beginners. People need to be able to see the pieces without the colors or fabrics the author chooses. Fabrics can interfere with seeing the shape of the pieces or how the pieces fit together. While the maker may want that after a block is pieced, it is important to make that choice. Yes, the reader could look up the line drawings in Jinny Beyer‘s book, but why not just have a small line drawing available with the color pictures of the blocks? Cost probably.
I am not that fond of the fabrics used and would love to see an alternate color way included in the book. It can be done in EQ7 (with the add-on CD) pretty easily, but it would have been a nice bonus.
I like the idea of this book and think it is an easy and interesting way to dip your toe into quilt history. I would like to make this quilt, but with more Jaye-like colors – lots of pinks and turquoise, I think. 😉
In my last Scrapitude post, which seems like I wrote it an eternity ago, I talked about making the triangles more scrappy using a special ruler. I am glad I decided to make it scrappier, because even the few fabrics I used multiple times seem like I used them too much. Once I see what these sections will be used for, it might make no difference. Or I may need to remake some. I’ll just have to wait and see.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want the new sewing part of Scrapitude posted, because I haven’t finished the last step and I still have cutting to do. Read that last sentence as I am behind. I still really want to know what the blocks will look like so I can make better decisions about fabric choices. This is the ‘fun’ of a mystery quilt, I suppose. I am enjoying the fabric choices I have made so far.
I spent some time on Saturday sewing the segments together. I have 104 of these triangle segments, which means that I need 24 more. I have some foreground fabric, but all of it has been used several times, so I think I need to cut some different ones. I am probably in the same position with the backgrounds, though I know I haven’t cut enough yet.
Once I am done with the triangle segments, I’ll get back to cutting. I think I have some more 2-7/8s squares to cut. My cutting plan got interrupted when I left town and now I don’t know where I am with any project, which is why it was easy to get the Round Robin done. I could start and finish.
I saw that Daisy posted some photos of her Scrapitude progress on her Flickr stream. Good fabric choices. I like the triangle segments she has made. Her photos reminded me that I still need to do those segments with the squares and two triangles. Sigh.
After recent events keeping me away from my machine and last weekend’s fiasco of sewing and ripping, I decided that I would make progress this past weekend. I decided I would sew and make progress.
I did make progress. Small progress, but we have to rejoice in the small successes, right? I finished my part of Kathleen’s Round Robin piece. I am really pleased with how it looks. For one, I am pleased I was actually able to do something. Two, I think I did a good job echoing the shapes from the center.
I hung the piece I got from Chris up on my design wall so I could look at it. It spent a few weeks up there and as I was looking at it, the Kaleidoscope shape in the center stood out, especially those long thin triangles. Also, the fabric with that jade green in the Kaleidoscope in the very middle caught my attention. From those two thoughts, I worked on my design and fabric choices.
Kathleen’s Round Robin in Progress
I used foundation piecing for the blocks for the corners in my round. I designed the corner blocks using EQ7 and then printed the foundations out. The Carol Doak paper I got some time ago is great. I printed right on to it and it worked like a charm. I was able to rip out paper with a minimum of torn stitches. It might not be the most cost effective (I don’t know) but for the limited foundation piecing I do, it worked great.
You can see from the ‘in progress’ photo that I used three blocks to make up the corners and then filled the middles of each side in with white. I had a hard time figuring out the measurements. They weren’t standard so the center white piece is different than the blocks. Not everything lines up nicely either, but I think that can be the nature of round robins. I think it will look fine once finished and quilted. I don’t think Kathleen will mind. At least I hope she won’t
Kathleen’s Round Robin detail
The detail shows the fussy cutting of the green, gold and white fabric very well. After I finished, I thought that replacing the green (closest to the white) with white might have kept it fresher, but I think it would have had the problems I mentioned above.
After doing all the piecing, I decided I like the way, viewed from some angles, the center piece looks like it is on top of the part that I added. I also think the corners look a bit like stylized flowers.
I think that the next person will need to get back to the orange – well, I should say that if I were doing the next round, I would use some more orange. I can’t tell you how tempted I am to add some orange.
It didn’t turn out exactly as I imagined and I am thinking that that green makes it look a lot more 1930’s than anticipated. I also think that more white might have been better, but I paid special attention to fussy cutting the alternate fabric in my corners and I wanted it to show. If I had added some white to the corners, that gold, green & white fabric would not have stood out as much as it does. I am pleased with the way it came out.
I am terribly behind on podcasts and I don’t know when I’ll be able to catch up. This means I haven’t heard whether any of the podcasters are organizing a Black Friday Sew-in.
BFSI Giveaway?
I will not be shopping on the 29th, so I will be tweeting while I am, hopefully, sewing.
I have a couple of gifts I will be giving away and I will be working with Lark Books to see about giving away some books as well.
As with my other giveaways, my request will be substantive. In a way, I guess this is fair notice about the potential quilt games I may be playing with you. One thing I will probably do is ask you something about your UFOs. That means that you may want to count up your UFOs, think about the status of them, how you might be stuck, etc.
FQ Pack
This is not completely selfish of me. Yes, I am interested in what your are doing, but I also think that your comments could start a discussion that could result in renewed interest in your project.
One of the first things I noticed was the feel of the book. It is a paperback, but it has a bit of a heft to the cover, making the book feel as if the cover wouldnt’ be damaged immediately.
Upon opening the book, I was enchanted by a photo of a group of bead starfish. they look like they are photographed on a piece of Styrofoam, but it isn’t obvious and it is the perfect background. I love these little starfish.
Both are, of course, irrelevant to the content. As with her previous books, Diane Fitzgerald makes a brief introduction and then gets on the with the projects. This book is STUFFED full of projects, 43 in all. If you want a peyote stitch project book, you won’t be disappointed.
After Chapter 1’s intructions, there is what I would call a practice/basic pattern. It is a basic triangle (as 60 degree triangle, if you want to translate the patterns to quiltmaking), which is a component of many of the projects in this book. I see immediately, in the Oh My Stars! necklace (pg.18), a pretty and delicate piece, that this triangle is used. It is clear from leafing through the book that mastering this first pattern will go a long way towards success with the other patterns.
Throughout the book, the author shows very clearly how to put the beads together into the larger units needs to make the various projects. In looking at these images, I am sure a clever quiltmaker could apply beads to a quilt project in the same manner and achieve a great, if flatter look. This book can also be used as a good source of inspiration as it has wonderful pictures of different beads used as well as different pieces.
The Temari Beads necklace (pg.23) gets the reader early into the dimensional aspect of the book
I was hard pressed to pick a favorite project as I started to look through them. I liked many of the projects as objects, but weren’t my style in terms of wearing. If forced, I would choose the Rivoli Bracelet (pg.104). I like the sparkle and flash and think it would go well with what I wear to black tie events. I also think the construction is interesting. The Navette Pendant (pg.132) is also something that I might wear. The construction makes it look like a very large gem and I can see people doing as double-take as they see from the middle distance. Aside from the eye bead, which I liked and was a bit repelling, the Eye of Providence (pg.142) is appealing. I can see wearing the Eye of Providence with Roses(pg.145) pendant.
Chapter 6 covers pointed ovals. While the shape can look a bit weird and eyelike, I did like the variety of options presented in the book, especially the Eye of Apollo necklace (pg.133). This shape and the projects shown really look like jewelry to me.
Each project has a good description of the supplies required along with the nice photos. Variations are mostly shown, though not always described. The reader can get a brief idea of what the project looks like in slightly different colors.
The end of the book has a gallery of projects, by different artists, but all, presumably made in the peyote stitch.
As I said, this book has a whopping 43 projects. At an MSRP of $27.95, that is about $.65 per pattern. If you want to try a lot of different techniques, this is a good buy.
Enjoy this inspirational book and thanks to Lark Books for sending it to me.
My machine is back from the spa and seems to be running only when I press the foot pedal.
I put on The Girl You Left Behind audiobook and drove down to San Jose to pick up the machine. It is about an hour each way for me, so I want the machine to be right when I go to get it. I know many of you have dealers that are far away and can sympathize.
I have to say that I don’t think they take very good notes at the dealer because they gave me another new foot pedal just in case. They did that last time, too. It makes me wonder how they keep their business in business.
I told the repair guy/owner of the shop that I would demand he come and pick up the machine if it didn’t work. Clearly, I can’t force him to do anything, but it sounded good.
This whole machine drama has made me think about opening a sewing machine repair shop in the City. It would be so nice if there were one closer. The place I bought my machine from closed a few years after I bought my machine after a number of family tragedies. Of course, I know nothing about repairing sewing machines, but why should that stop me? 😉
Obviously, if I were really going to do something like that, I would need to do a lot of research.The quiet of the drive down to the shop was good for me. I am a little impatient with people these days and I am pretty sure my work colleagues were glad to see the back of me at the end of the week. Listening to the book made me not have to think too much. My brain is tired.
Now I am going to put on Still Life by Louise Penny (yes, I am listening to it a second time, as I think I missed half the story in the drama of last week) and figure out if I remember how to sew.
I apologize for being MIA last week. It was a tough week. I am back in the saddle, so get your paints, colored pencils, crayons and needles out!
The bloom is off the rose
Definition: “Bloom, one or more flowers on a flowering plant” (Wikipedia)
algae bloom
Bloomberg Business, Financial and Economic news (a stretch, I know)
blooming garlic
Post the direct URL (link) where your drawing, doodle, artwork is posted (e.g. your blog, Flickr) in the comments area of this post. I would really like to keep all the artwork together and provide a way for others to see your work and/or your blog.
We are also talking about this on Twitter. Use the hashtag #CPP
The Creative Prompt Project, also, has a Flickr group, which you can join to post your responses. I created this spot so those of you without blogs and websites would have a place to post your responses.
The Round Robin isn’t going exactly as planned and I have two at my house while Chris has none. I am not sure what Kathleen has. Fortunately, we are flexible and working through it.
Kathleen’s Round Robin
This is a pretty and fresh piece. That white is very stark and helps the other piecing float. As I stared at the piece, I knew I wanted to maintain that bright freshness.
Finally, I came up with an idea. I plan to add some Kaleidoscope-esque bits to the corners.
That was rolling around in my mind from the beginning, but I couldn’t figure out exactly how I wanted to do it. I was finally struck with a technical plan over the weekend and began the process of foundation piecing.
As I mentioned on Twitter, I sewed the same seam 3 times and ripped it out 3 times, then quit. I think I was trying to use a piece of fabric that was too small and my stubbornness (work, dammit!) got in the way. That one foundation is shredded, so, hopefully, I have learned my lesson.
Back in April, we started the Color Group. Finally, we got enough blocks together to put a quilt together.
Color Group: Row Layout
Kathleen and I were at the BAMQG Sew Day/Meeting, so we took all the blocks and laid them out and tried to figure out a way to put the quilt together.
The row layout was the best of the way to use all the blocks at once.
We didn’t think it was great, but it was almost the best of all of the layouts we tried.
Color Group: Offset Row Layout
One of the trial layouts was also a row quilt layout, but, in this version, we offset the blocks a little bit.
We were trying to make it a little more modern while making it look good.
It just looked messy to me. Kathleen didn’t like it either.
Color Group: On Point Layout
Color Group Final Layout
We also tried out an on point layout. I did like the extra whitespace, but the problem was that block patterns didn’t work with the on point layout.
So, we went full on modern. We split the blocks up and used 5 in a row for two quilts. Two blocks will be on the back of one of the quilts.
Color Group Final Layout 2
We will use a lot of the Kona White to make the quilts ~48×60. These will go to a women’s shelter, we think, which is why we are making them the size we decided on.
We might put one column of blocks closer to the edge and on the other quilt closer to the center.
I am in charge of one of the quilts and Kathleen is making the other. I haven’t started yet, but plan on doing so as soon as I remember how to sew. 😉
I feel so discombobulated. Not only is the machine still gone, but I was also out of town unexpectedly for a week. I am, now, not sure I know what I need to do or how to do it. I am definitely out of my element and out of my habit of sewing.
I thought a good way to get back in the saddle was to make a to do list. This is separate from the 26 Projects list, because it is more about immediate things. I might add it as a separate category to the 26 Projects list, but it might be a good post on its own.
I’ll get back to posting tomorrow. I am finally back from my unexpected trip to LA. My Grama died and I was down there helping to deal with the aftermath.
Go out and get The Lost Art of Mixing by Erica Bauermeister. It is a beautifully written book with gorgeous descriptions and characters that could be your next door neighbors. I finished listening to on Audible and would highly recommend that production as well.
Still Life (Chief Inspector Gamache #1) by Louise Penny
On the Web
I took some time to vote in a recent Spoonflower contest about pie fabric. Only one of my choices made the top 10, which is sad, but, clearly, I am not dancing to the beat of the same drummer as everyone else. Oh well. Dance on, I say! 😉
Nadine Ruggles is back with her blog and website. Well, she has been around the whole time and I have just let her drift off my radar. I first found her when she started a podcast. it was an amazingly well produced podcast, and is still relevant,which you can still find on iTunes.
Need to make a badge? Check out the article that points to a site where it is pretty easy to make badges. The icons and clip art are education based, but you can upload images to make the badge your own.
The Grinnell, Iowa Arts Council created a series of posters that depict art in the community. Judy Martin, one of the people who got her own poster describes the effort as “It was designed to show that art isn’t some hoity-toity abstraction created by self-absorbed cosmopolitans but instead comes in many forms and its creators and practitioners are your friends and neighbors.” I love that it included someone who did hair design and baking, two things that often come under the ‘trade’ label. Aside from quiltmaking, what is your art?
Tattered Garden has shown her finished Easy Street quilt. It looks like she used something similar to the recommended colors. Her quilt came out great.
If you’d like to read some new information (to me!) about Bonnie and Camille, there was an interview posted on the Fat Quarter Shop Website.
I mentioned Judy Martin did some videos for QNM. They are coming out now. The first two available are:
I got another two-pack of thread from the Quilt Bear. I think I need to remind them that I want brights as these are more autumn-y than my quilts tend to be.
Their offerings are always nicely packaged and lovely to receive. This group includes 2692 (black) and 2277 (orange). I might have to start quilting to use up the thread I have received.
As you know, I was part of Purse Palooza. I have been trying to go and read the reviews every day. One day, I found a great satchel bag pattern reviewed. It is called handmade by Mrs. H Satchel Bag. It looks like a good size and I like it that the reviewer made the bag twice.
Giant Squid Pillow
Let’s all make giant squids. Why not? This pattern is adorable and it isn’t like you have a shortage of fabric. Don’t you think a squid in Philip Jacobs fabric would be GREAT?
I suppose the stuffing would be a pain, but I think this squid is very cute. If the Young Man sees it, he will definitely want it.
If you missed the Don’t Call Me Betsy 2013 Lucky Stars Block of the Month, you are in luck! Elizabeth from said blog will be hosting the 2014 Lucky Stars Block of the Month for the second year. Susan from the History Quilter did this BOM, so she may have some tips and opinions. Apparently, you can still join in on the 2013 blocks for a deal.
I often think I should go on a fabric diet and I do when money is tight. When money is not tight, I drift back into buying fabric because I love the possibilities that come with buying a new fabric. I don’t see a piece of fabric; I see a gorgeous finished quilt. In a recent Judy Martin newsletter, she explained her stash philosophy, which I am adopting as mine. If you don’t read her newsletter, you should. It is much more than just fluff marketing. I love it.
[Judy’s] STASH PHILOSOPHY
I view my stash the same way I view my public library: I’ll never come close to reading or using every book in it, but I am glad they are there because when I am looking for the perfect book, I want a healthy selection from which to choose.
When I’m pulling out fabrics for a scrap quilt, I want a healthy selection from which to choose. While that will get me started, invariably I have to head out to the quilt shops to fill in the gaps. It’s not about the efficiency of dying the day after I use my last scrap so that no piece of fabric went unused; it’s about the efficiency of finding the perfect fabric when I need it to make the quilt I’m making right now. And if I go to my grave with a room or two filled with fabric, it served its purpose by giving me choices when I needed them. (from Judy Martin’s newsletter)
Have you ever thought of Feathered Stars? Marsha McCloskey, the queen of Feathered Stars now has some patterns on EQ in the EQ Boutique. Making the Feathered Stars in different patterns is now possible using EQ. The Feathered Star Quilt Blocks I and Feathered Star Quilt Blocks II collections are available at MY EQ BOUTIQUE. Currently, you need a PC to run the free program that comes with the block collections. (There is a rumor that EQ will soon be available for the MAC, but not now.) The advantage is that the block templates can be printed out in any convenient size. For instance, if you want to make the Radiant Star as a 7-1/2″ block, the program will give you templates for that size. Here’s the address for the Feathered Star block collections: https://www.myeqboutique.com/Shop/pc/viewCategories.asp?idCategory=76 To download the promotional flyer with the Special Offer coupon code for 15% off and see Marsha McCloskey’s 7-1/2″ Radiant Feathered Star, go to: http://www.marshamccloskey.com/myeqboutique.html
Creativity/Creative Process
One View of the Creative Process
This is one view. I found it on Facebook, courtesy of Lisa Fulmer and the Craft Report. I am not sure about the binge eating, though I do tend to get into the chocolate after 2pm. Please discuss.
