I am continuing to work on the yellow donation blocks. I talked about making another batch a few days ago. I have more progress to show you today.
They look better on my design wall than they do on the photo. Oh well.
I made one with a strip going vertically, because I had two leftover pieces that weren’t wide enough to make a block with horizontal strips. For this version, I am really trying to make all the strips oriented on the horizontal. I have a lot of small pieces of yellow, so I don’t know if it will work. I’ll make as many blocks as I can with horizontal strips, then I will start putting more chucks together into blocks.
This is not my work, except for the repair job I just finished. At some point this quilt got a rip in the border. I decided to take off the extra border and put a new binding on it. Sadly, I did not have enough of that fabulous green, but the red-violet looks good, I think
This was a gift from two of my sisters-in-law when I graduated from my Master’s program. I have a Master’s degree in Library and Information Studies from the University of California, Berkeley. At the time, the program was, what we in the business call, ALA accredited. That means that I can work in public and academic libraries, which require that accreditation. Sadly, I was in the last graduating class from that program. They have a School of Information, but no longer train librarians.
Anyway, this is an awesome snapshot of a time in my life. Each book represents a facet of my life and all are still important to me. The upper left shows the insignia of my sorority. Most of my good friends come from that experience. While you may think of ‘Animal House’ when you hear sorority, I met lifelong friends, received a scholarship which allowed me to complete my Master’s degree and learned what philanthropy was all about.
The upper right shows a book with my degree on the spine. I am the first person in my family to receive a Master’s degree. My dad would have preferred I became a salesperson, but I feel I have done well and been happy as a librarian.
The lower left represents the University of California, Berkeley. Many of the members of DH’s family have degrees from Cal, as it is affectionately named. I have both my Bachelor’s and Master’s from UC Berkeley. It is also the joint family activity to attend Cal football games. They generally do not do well, but hope springs eternal and stories about trips to bowl games are regularly recounted.
Finally, in the lower right is a book that says ‘QuiltNet’ on the spine. QuiltNet was probably the very first listserv, or email list about quilting. At that time, you had to find space on a server that would allow you to create an email list. You couldn’t create an account on Groups.io and have an email list running in 10 minutes. I don’t remember very well how most people got their messages, but I remember logging into a UNIX server and reading messages using a tool called ‘vi’. No WYSIWYG! We talked about quiltmaking and described our quilts because there was no way to take a photo then attach it to an email message. It was a very vibrant list that led to a variety of friendships, exchanges and information about all sorts of quiltmaking topics. QuiltNet really opened up quiltmaking to me.
I am so pleased that I finished, finally, repairing this quilt. It has been on my list for ages. Now it is time to hang it up again so I can enjoy it.
Sara Lawson’s Sewcial Sunday from a few weeks ago included an interview with Megan Doherty. Some parts of it made me laugh out loud.
The 2021 Quilting Trends survey is out. According to the survey, “…there are now 85 million “active creatives” in North America, meaning people who have done at least one creative project in the last year. Crafts generate $35 billion in annual sales. There are currently 10-12 million quilters and the quilting market is expected to approach $5 billion by 2026-2027. In 2020 there was a more than 12% increase in the number of new quilters. The quilting market is expected to grow to $5 billion by 2026.” Can you believe the increase in 2020? I guess people had to do something with all their free time during the shelter-in-place orders. I’m glad it was quiltmaking.
I know most of you had crayons when you were a kid and probably, like me, coveted the giant box of colors. I also jealously guarded my box and refused to share with my sister, because she would break the points. I never delved into the history of the humble wax implement until the other day. I read the LAPL newsletter, which had a brief history of the crayon. It was so interesting. Did you know Crayola LLC is now owned by Hallmark? Did you know that Mr. Binney’s wife helped create and name crayolas? Another woman nobody ever heard of until now. Did you know that Binney & Smith bought the Munsell Color Company in 1922?
Barbara Brackman recently posted about an interesting wreath quilt on her Material Culture blog. It is the first picture of a square wreath quilt and it is really interesting. I love the woven and squarish look. I’d like to think I would make one, but I probably wouldn’t.
Sharon at ColorGirl Quilts shows you, in her newest video, how make Flying Geese and half circles using her Classic Curves Ruler.
Projects, Classes, Patterns & Tutorials
Michelle Graham, one of the moderators of the Sew Sweetness Facebook group mentioned Sincerely Jen, a pattern company with a lot of bag patterns. They do not have as many patterns as Sew Sweetness, but some are interesting. I particularly like the Rossatron.
I have been contemplating different methods of organizing my Sew Tites. Funnily enough a new pattern designed by LillyElla Stitchery for a folio that holds Sew Tites along with needles, etc was advertised in the most recent SewTites newsletter. It is like a needlecase, but includes storage for Sew Tites as well. Pattern is a free download.
Because I think Im ight become a great knitter some day, I look at some knitting sites and newsletters. As you know, I do knit a bit, but I struggle. One thing with which I struggle is the organization of my circular needles. I prefer circular needles, but they don’t really fit in a conventional bag. I saw one by DellaQ in the Maker’s Mercantile newsletter recently. It turns out that DellaQ has quite a few knitting needle bags. Because I can’t leave well enough alone, I went hunting for a pattern. I love the DellaQ versions, especially the one in turquoise, but I have a lot of fabric here, so can’t I just make one? I found one pattern from Charlotte Copper that looks reasonable. I also found a pattern by Olga (@zaudalcreates )on Etsy that I really liked. You can see a video tour of the case on IG. She has a website, too. I found a nice tutorial for a large shopping/travel tote, which I think would be good for the guild officer gifts. She uses a lot of canvas. If I make the circular needle case, I may have to use quilting cotton and Soft & Stable instead of canvas to make something I like. I don’t really want to get into buying canvas, but I understand the need for stability.
I am tempted by Olga’s Oslo Pouch (different from the Sew Sweetness Oslo Craft Bag). It looks like a cute little handbag. I am trying to be restrained as I just bought the Minikins 3 and have only made 3 projects from that set.
If you need to match a binding in various places to specific designs in your quilt, A Quilter’s Table has a tutorial.
I saw the Bubba Bowling Bag in the AGF newsletter. There are some nice photos on the page, but none of the inside. 🙁 I even checked IG and didn’t see any. Of course, I could put whatever pockets I wanted inside, but I still like to see what others did.
Recently, in various patterns I have had to press pattern pieces a certain amount (usually 1/4 inch). This is such a hassle as it is a small amount and I have to keep my fingers out of the way. I have a weird double headed stiletto type thing that I use, but it doesn’t help with the measuring. I found a ruler by Clover that I am considering called the Clover Hot Press Perfect Ruler **. Keep in mind that I haven’t used this, but it looks like you can lay this down on the fabric, fold over the part you need to measure and then press. That would be perfect, if it works and isn’t too thick. I Like Clover products and think they are high quality, so fingers crossed that it is a good product. Let me know if you have one or if you have tried it.
Check out the Tatter Journal, a quarterly publication “offering of original content, which explores our relationship to cloth through a quarterly theme.” The first issue is about isolation.
I am still on the hunt for a chart of zipper sizes and descriptions. I found a comprehensive blog post about zippers, which is really interesting and helpful. It only gives a brief description of what size zippers to use for what project. Not helpful for my purposes, but interesting. It also says that a zipper foot is a must. I have never had good luck with zipper feet. I use my 1/4″ foot. Perhaps it’s my machine?
I found a yardage converter page on the AllPeopleQuilt site. My only question, because it is not readily obvious, is 4.5 inches x what equals 1/8 yard. I presume 42 inches or the fabric width from selvedge to selvedge. The chart does implicitly say.
Other Artists
My friend Nancy created a website recently to showcase her artwork. She is much more deliberative in her work than I am. Thus, the pieces she shows are carefully selected.
**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.
Tim made part of a top in a Sherri Lynn Wood class. He didn’t want it hanging around anymore because he didn’t like the class and didn’t think he would finish it. I offered to finish it into a donation top for the guild and get it out of his life.
I sewed a strip Tim gave me to the right of the quilt (the strip with 4 patches). I looked for fabric that would match, but I couldn’t find anything really similar. I chose a more reddish orange and am adding various bits to the piece.
The other day I started writing about my visit to BAMPFA to see the Rosie Lee Tompkins exhibit. Today I plan to continue talking about the pieces that I liked.
In the photo, left, you can see how the quilts were arranged. You can also see the older quilts on the left and the newer quilts on the right.
As I mentioned before I preferred the older quilts, which seem to be mostly made from velvet, etc. On the right, you can see the newer quilts. These are mostly made from cotton. They seem to have more meaning, according to the signs, but they lack subtlety and their design elements are less nuanced. The impression I got from looking at those quilts is that Rosie’s supply or source of fabric had changed. Alternatively, someone may have told her that quilts were made from cottons. I don’t know, but I may find out once I read the catalog.
Rosie Lee Tompkins pink velvet
One of the velvet quilts used pink with black, which is a color combination I have not yet explored, though it is on my list.
In this piece, I think it is interesting how Ms. Tompkins used a few different pinks, including a peachy-pink that I would not have used. I am not a peach fan, but the artist uses it to good effect in this piece.
I am interested in the shape of the various pieces and wonder how she worked? Perhaps there will be some photos of her workspace in the book, which I have not yet read. Did she have a dedicated space? Did she work on her lap? I am not disturbed by the shape, I just see it in several of her pieces and wonder if it is the result of her workspace.
Rosie Lee Tompkins ‘pinwheels’
The design of the exhibit was good. While the pieces were in chronological order, I could see that the curators selected pieces that showed a flow of her development. I know that pieces had to be selected from the vast number Rosie Lee Tompkins made.
This green and gold piece was between the emerald piece I showed in the previous post and the pink and black quilt above. There were others with more triangles, but something about this one caught my eye.
Rosie Lee Tompkins more ‘pinwheels’
She showed a variety of blue and black quilts as well, which were also favorites. I looked at this one for a long time and like the subtle shading of the black and grey. I couldn’t decide if the fabrics were the same, but turned or brushed so the nap showed up differently and made the pattern or if the fabrics were different, but very close. She used bits of turquoise in various pieces and that was appealing. I like the purple and turquoise together.
I took the time to finish the face masks that I started for DH. Restrictions are being lifted so I don’t know if they will be needed. I would, however, rather be safe than sorry. I don’t want to get sick or spread anything we might have to anyone else.
DH looks good in brown, thus I used some of the few brown fabrics I have to make masks. I wasn’t very frugal with the fabrics and put any all scraps into the pet bed bag. I am tempted to put all brown fabrics on to the guild destash message on the forum. I don’t really need them in my collection and they are taking up space.
I am slowly making more of these blocks. I know it seems like I am working on very little. I seem to be really busy on things that keep my mind scurrying in a zillion different directions.
Five Yellow Donation Blocks
I wanted to make enough blocks so I could see what I had. I think I will place the blocks 5 across. I might do 6 across, but we’ll see. My plan is 5 across right now. I also won’t set the blocks this close together. My design wall is a little full right now so I don’t have the blocks placed as they would be. I also am not sure what color I will use for the sashing. Blue is the complement, but I don’t think that blue will be good for the look I want. I think white.
Yellow strip donation block #6
I also made one more block, so I have a total of 6 right now.
I actually went to a museum the other day. I am fully vaccinated, wore a mask, stayed away from people and the place was almost empty. This trip contained a lot of firsts: first time in a museum in over a year, first trip across the Bay Bridge in over a year, first time in a car with a friend, first time wearing a mask for 5 hours or more (health care workers: I salute you!). Milestone day!
I went with my friend from CQFA, Nancy. Nancy is much more in tune with what is going on in local arts than I am and let me know that the Rosie Lee Tompkins exhibit was on for in person viewing. She got us tickets and I drove us over.
I used to live next door to BAMPFA, but hadn’t been there in years. The space is gorgeous. The entrance is made human by the mural you see when you walk in (above). The mural is part of an auditorium/amphitheater (??)/performance space. The walls of the museum are tall and white, so the mural grounds visitors as they come in – at least it did for me.
Rosie Lee Tompkins Exhibit entrance
We went straight into the exhibit, which was on the ground floor near the entrance. There is not a lot of information about the quilts and most of them are untitled. I love to hear about inspiration, so this was disappointing, but not surprising. I don’t think people think about the making of their quilts as much as I do. In writing this, I realize that I think a lot more about placement of individual pieces and don’t write each of those comments down.
The brief description of the show says, in part, “…And while most of the Tompkins’s textiles are referred to as ‘quilts,’ this term technically only refers to works comprising pieced tops, insulating material, and backing that have been sewed together – a process she rarely undertook herself, instead leaving this finish work to other local quilters.” I love this, especially the last part, because it means that my quilts could someday end up in a museum!!
Rosie Lee Tompkins ‘Lines’ quilt
My two favorite quilts were from her older quilts. They were mostly made of velvet, crushed velvet and velveteen (I don’t really know if these are the same).
One of the things I like about this piece is the not so obvious improv piecing. Current improv piecing comes across as contrived to me sometimes, though you know I am not a huge fan. This piece looks like it was designed so that the pieces lean to the left. I am not sure I could make a piece with so much movement using improv techniques. This piece does not scream improv to me. It looks like Ms. Tompkins designed it that way. The color and sheen, which do not come through very well in the photo really add to the success of this quilt.
Rosie Lee Tompkins Emerald Velvet
My second favorite is a piece that is jewel-like in its success. The various greens show up with some contrast in the photo. In real life the darker greens are much more subtle in their shading. This makes the chartreuse line of squares in the center-left stand out. Even though those four squares are the only green of that color, the design element seems to work. There are a couple of places where four squares show up and perhaps that is the reason. Again, the color and sheen really add to the success of this quilt.
Look for part 2 of my thoughts about this exhibit soon.
Yes, I wrote the title correctly. I have just one block to show you.
I worked to make many, many donation blocks last year. This year I feel like I am sewing a lot and not getting anything done. Am I not finishing things or what? I don’t know.
As I said, I have started some new color improv strip blocks, but I haven’t made any guild donation blocks.
I have been using other projects for leaders and enders. Do I need to get on the ball or can I take a break?
I had to get back to mask making. 🙁 Masks, it seems, get a little worn. I find that I wear the same mask over and other. It fits the best, stays on the best and is breathable. However, it is getting a little frayed around the edges.
For the first time in over a year, we are heading out on a trip. Grand Parlor is next week and we will attend. I don’t want to go without sufficient masks. Since I have been having issues with my skin, I don’t want to buy the paper masks in case they add to my problems. Also, I want us to have enough masks so we have fresh ones to wear every day.
May 2021 Face Masks
I had about 7 that were either cut out or half made. I finished all of those. Some needed ripping out, but I just made them work. The time it takes to make a new mask doesn’t make ripping out really worth it.
I also made two dark ones for for the ‘Banquet’, so we look black tie-ish.
I plan to make more of the masks I know how to make even if people don’t think we need to wear masks anymore. I have enjoyed not getting the ‘flu and not getting a cold, and, of course, not getting COVID-19.
Judy Coates Perez masks in process
I started the Judy Coates Perez masks, but didn’t get very far. Cutting them out was exhausting and, since I had a larger number than I originally ordered from Spoonflower, there were a lot of them.
I haven’t made this pattern. While It looks straightforward, it also doesn’t seem very difficult. I didn’t want to get stuck on trying a new pattern when I needed to get several masks done. I will make these, but I’ll start fiddling with them after I have enough masks for our trip.
There are some links from a previous post that I am reposting here.
Improved Summer Mask tutorial (video) by Keiko Olsson
Judy Coates Perez mask tutorial based on the Improved summer mask tutorial by Keiko Olsson. Judy also has some wonderful fabrics in her new Spoonflower shop that make fun masks.
I really made good progress over the weekend. I figured out what I need to do to finish this quilt, e.g. how big it is going to be. I also cut more of the 1.5×2.5 inch rectangles. I need a lot of them, so more cutting is coming.
I am at the point where I really want to start sewing blocks together, but I am trying to restrain myself. As I moved the blocks around to make more space on the left, I moved blocks to different positions in order to make them stand out more. Sewing will also give me more space on my design wall, so restraint or no I might need to sew to gain the space I need to finish putting all the pieces on the design wall. I suspect I will never have a large enough design wall.
While you might think the cutting is the hardest part, the actual hardest part is getting each fabric in the quilt to shine. Obviously, each one can’t stand out when the viewer looks at the whole thing, but I want each fabric to stand out when someone looks at it up close. I don’t want fabrics to blend together.
I finally needed some leaders and enders, so I started another Color Strip Donation Quilt, this time in yellow. I am, first, working on making as many blocks as I can with yellow strips. I don’t want to get into chunks if I can avoid it. I don’t know how many yellow strips I have, however. I may need to create some chunks from the non-strip scraps in order to clear away the scraps I don’t want to use right away.
The pink in block #1 is from one of my favorite fabrics. It is, of course, a Philip Jacobs (maybe Martha Negley?) and I only have bits of it left. It was an eye watering yellow with big pink roses on it and I couldn’t help but like it.
Yellow strip donation block #2
These blocks are supposed to be yellow, but they will be mainly yellow. As in the other quilts in this series, other colors will sneak in. I think that adds more interest than dilutes the piece.
I am glad I am doing yellow, though I really should be reducing pink scraps as that drawer is full to bursting. I just have had the yellow version of this quilt on my mind and it was time.
I am also glad I am doing yellow, because I am finding bits of fabrics that I love. The yellow dots at the top of block #2 is a favorite. I can’t say why it is different than other dots, but it is.
Yellow strip donation block #3
I have four blocks made and 3 others in process. I am concerned that I won’t have enough strips to make enough blocks for a whole quilt. I have two choices if that happens: 1) use the yellow blocks I have for the quilt I have planned with the extra blocks of all colors. I have a few each of red, orange, blue and black; or 2) make some blocks using chunks and combine the strips and chunks as I have in at least one quilt. I don’t know why I am so adverse to that right now. Perhaps I know something intuitively about that design that isn’t readily apparent right now.
Yellow strip donation block #4
I always struggle through the first few blocks. I start making several at a time and it always seems like nothing is happening. Then, all of a sudden, block after block is finished. I have four finished now I am can see a burst of sunshine appearing on my small design wall. I am really excited about how these will work out.
I went to see Colleen the other day and came home with the X Quilt. This quilt hasn’t been gone very long at all, so quite a contrast to Frolic!
This is another photo where I just flung the quilt on the floor of my workroom.
Colleen did a kind of Xes and Os motif, which is nice. I have to do the binding, but don’t need to do a sleeve. Perhaps it will be ready for me to send on its way soon.
I finally got Frolic! back from Colleen as well. I checked and it has been about a year since I finished the top. Colleen said she was horrified to realize that she had had the top since September. I don’t really remember, though I know, because of the pandemic, that I probably didn’t take it to her until then. Last year is such a blur that I can’t really remember. I don’t have a photo of the back or any note about making it. Frolic! was a much bigger project than I anticipated, so I was probably glad to get it off to be quilted.
Frolic! Corner detail, quilted not bound
Again, I flung the quilt on the floor of my workroom and took a photo. It is really large and I know even my tall DH couldn’t hold it up enough for me to get a good straight on photo.
I am still really excited about the border and how perfectly it came out. I remember how excited I was making the borders and how much more excited I was when they came out really well.
I am still not much of a fan of the corners, but that is a small part of the quilt.
Quilting detail
Quilting detail
The quilting is pretty intricate, so I know it took her a long time even once she got it on the machine. I really like the way this quilt came out. I don’t know what I will do with it. Soon, I am going to need another house to hang and store all these quilts!
During the tutorial session on Saturday during Sew Day for the Ultimate Carry All Bag, Lynette showed how to complete the front panel. I had tried and messed it up. Don’t worry, though, I will write a tutorial for this step now that I know how to make it to post here later.
UCAB front and back panels
Lynette went further than I had planned. I had planned on just doing the front zipper pocket, which I talked about the other day. She showed us how to complete that pocket, plus apply the pocket to the front, add handles and make the back panel with handles. I am really glad as it makes the tutorials move along faster and I have to create fewer. I am not afraid; the work just takes time.
One thing that came out is one piece was missing from the list on the pattern of pieces we needed for this step. On part 2, pg.16, you need to add L6, an 8×8 lining piece, to the list of pieces you’ll need. This pattern would improve significantly if the designer went through and numbered all the pieces. I know you know that we did that at the beginning, but you can’t number pieces in the pattern that aren’t listed.
One thing I did was use the handles I made for the All Rolled Up Tote, which I ended up not using for that project. I decided that those handles would work for this bag even though they are a little wider than called for in the pattern. One side, which you can see in the other blog post, is pleather and the side you can see above is the accent piece I sewed from Philip Jacobs Brocade Peony fabric to cover the pleather seam.
I had to unsew and redo the back luggage sleeve because I forgot to put SF101 on the back. I thought it would be ok, but decided it was too flimsy. I am much happier now that I redid it, though unsewing takes awhile.
Finally, this project is starting to look like something. With the back and front panels finished, I can see the end of the road in the distance. In some part of my brain, I feel like I am wasting time when I am working on this project. I feel like I could be working on better projects. In another part of my brain, I tell myself that I am making progress, this bag will use up some fabric in my palette, etc. It is so weird. I just think this project has been hanging around for longer than I like and I want to be done with it.
I have to remind myself that one of the reasons we started this was to encourage people to make bags and show them they could do it. Perhaps we didn’t choose wisely with this weird and difficult bag. Fortunately, it will be a useful bag. I don’t know if people will be encouraged to make other bags or be daunted.
