A Little Sew Day

It took two of us to be Mary at Sew Day. She was out of town and we had to fill in. Good thing I have done it a few times otherwise I would have been lost.

Cutting bags at Sew Day
Cutting bags at Sew Day

Of course, I spent the time cutting out the pieces for bags. I am making the Amethyst Project Bag by Sew Sweetness and the Kit Supply Tote by Aneela Hoey. I cut out all of the pieces for both so I can start sewing.

Designing the SJSA quilt
Designing the SJSA quilt

Sara from the Social Justice Sewing Academy was there with more blocks to make into a quilt. Members of the guild had done the embellishment on a lot of the blocks. It was really a group effort.

The first part was deciding how the blocks would go together. They usually go together in a 4 x 6 grid with sashing, which is what happened this time. Still the blocks have to be placed in the right location. In this case, there were some strong designs that had to be dispersed.

SJSA Quilt - April 2023
SJSA Quilt – April 2023

As usual, I didn’t participate. I kept an ear open and chatted with Sara and the others who were working on the project. I brought the Pink Strip Donation quilt, so I felt like I had been doing good. I also brought several donation blocks. I am doing my part.

I found out that the quilts are given to schools and libraries where they are displayed. I think they are given to the places where the artists come from. What I mean is that if an event was held at a school, then the quilt goes back to that school for display. A good idea, I think.

SJSA quilt sashing
SJSA quilt sashing

The fabric used for sashing had an interesting texture, but it was difficult to use and shredded easily. Still, the sashing strips they made look really nice.

You know I am not a fan of beige and brown, but these strips are very appealing.

They didn’t have time to finish putting the quilt together, though several people worked really hard for most of the day. I am not sure what happens if the quilt isn’t finished. Maybe some others will finish it?

Julie has a great post with more information about the SJSA quilt.

Melinda's embellishments on the SJSA block
Melinda’s embellishments on the SJSA block

I also saw Melinda’s finished block – or the block that Melinda embellished. It looks really great! It also got a great position in the quilt.

She added some gold metallic thread around the hands. She also added the stars and the words. It looks really good! The design is also very appealing.

BAMQ Thin Strips quilt
BAMQ Thin Strips quilt

Joelle brought the thin strips quilt as well. She did a FANTASTIC job! The quilt is wonderful. I looked for mine and thought she hadn’t included them, but I saw them scattered across the bottom of the quilt. See the one in the bottom right hand corner?

Sara saw this quilt and wants to incorporate the idea into the sashing of the next SJSA quilt. Interesting idea! I am so thrilled when synergies like this happen.

Contemplating Finishing

Triple Star: PIQF display location
Triple Star: PIQF display location

I was updating some of the Gallery pages over the weekend and noticing that I finish about 5 quilts (including table runners) per year. Of course, there are years where I finish more. 2018 was a good year. I finished 9 quilts, including the Triple Star, which I really like. It lives with the YM now. 2014 was another good year. I finished 10 quilts, some of them quite large. In 2013, I finished 10 projects. The YM was older, so I had more free time. One of them was the Petrillo bag, which was probably one of my first bags. Mostly, I don’t include donation tops in my final finished quilt totals, but in 2012 I did. I included six donation tops I had made in the total of 18 projects (including 2 books) I finished.

Chocolate Box Finished
Chocolate Box Finished

It’s also fun to look at that quilts and remember what was going on. There is a chocolate brown quilt in the 2010 list that I really like even though I don’t like brown. I remember working on it on a retreat in Half Moon Bay.

My quiltmaking has changed a lot over the years. I enjoy looking at my quilts and remembering why I made them, the fabric and where I was. Of course, most of them were mostly made at home.

Between 2005-2009, I only finished 10 quilts. I know I was busy with the YM and work, etc, but that still seems like very few. Perhaps those were the years where I was starting a lot of projects.

Despite have a tiny baby and toddler, I finished 20 quilts and projects, many of them small, during 1996-1999. I was kind of amazed at the number. That seems like a lot for those three years.

So, maybe I don’t finish 5 quilts per year, perhaps it is random.

Finished Pointillist Palette #4

Finished: Pointillist Palette #4
Finished: Pointillist Palette #4

I also finished Pointillist Palette #4. Another finish feels like an embarrassment of riches.

I finished 5 quilts last year, but they felt really hard won. So far this year, I have finished, really finished, 3 quilts and a table runner.

This quilt is 56×56 inches. I forgot to add the size to the back, which will annoy me into the future, I am sure.

You can read more about the series on the Pointillist Palette series page.

New Hackney in Process

Coneflower Hackney in process
Coneflower Hackney in process

As soon as I finished the two Color Wheel Hackneys, I started another. I have decided to make a number of these as gifts. I have to say that this one went a lot quicker than the others. It is a clear indication that practice does make perfect.

I am pretty pleased with how the coneflowers look. I picked the zipper color to go with the yellow coneflower, but also because I wasn’t sure when I would use a yellow handbag zipper otherwise. I think it looks good so far.

Coneflower Hackney interior- in process
Coneflower Hackney interior- in process

I talked about the Hackney lining hack a bit ago. It is for this one. The lining is a little saggy so far, which I have to figure out. Otherwise, I think the piece is looking good.

Finished Orange You Glad

Finished: Orange You Glad
Finished: Orange You Glad

I finally finished Orange You Glad’s sleeve. It took forever considering I got the quilt back from Colleen in February.  The real problem was that I put off making the sleeve for awhile. I know I should have made when I finished the quilt, but I didn’t.

This quilt doesn’t look square, but apparently it is. It is 63×63 inches.

I am pleased to have another finish.

Selection of I Spys

I Spy pouch selection
I Spy pouch selection

After writing the last I Spy post, I decided to take a look at the I Spy pouches I had made. I didn’t pull all of them as some are in project boxes with the supplies for projects I want to make.

I was surprised to find that most of them were made with the same coneflower colorway. I have other colorways. I thought I had used multiple colorways to make these, but I have stuck mostly to the one. Interesting.

Various & Sundry 2023 #4

Like many other Californians, we have been experiencing a lot of rain. We have, fortunately, had no leaks or flooding or any other problems. We have been stuck inside, which is great for sewing, but not so great for exercise. I hope this is the worst thing I have to deal with.

Projects, Classes, Patterns & Tutorials

Take a look at this cute pie themed pincushion from the Sewing with Scraps site. I remember my godmother baking mini cakes or brownies in our play baking supplies. For some reason, this project reminds me of that.

There is a free pattern for little triangle pouch. It good for a a little bit of hardware or earbuds or some cash. The pattern comes with a video as well. The site has a lot of free patterns on the free pattern page.

Rosie and David have a project bag that could be used for a tools to-go bag. It has a free video tutorial.

I like a little coin purse on the McCain Tailor site.

Apple Green Cottage has 30 free bag patterns. Most of them are tote bags, but there is also a Messenger Bag, a tablet bag, a jewelry pouch and a couple of drawstring bags. A few of the free patterns are from Sew Sweetness.

Tools, Books, Fabric, Notions & Supplies

Friend Julie talked about a hand sewing aid called a Lap App. She described the features and functionality very well.

Andover Fabrics has Century Solids.

If you need organizer sheets to keep your projects in order the Sewing with Scraps site has a bundle called the Sewing Planner & Organizer Bundle Pack for $14.95.

You might remember that I received a HuRTy ruler for Christmas. I tried to use it the other night with only the printed directions. That doesn’t usually work for me, so I went looking for a video. Of course, I found several. The one I watched was called 3. The HuRTy™ 1 – Cutting HRT Pieces. There are 3-4 videos about the HuRTy ruler, but I just needed to know how to cut. Remember to check my HRT tutorials and resources posts about HRTs in general.

Media

Mrs. K shared the Francesquilts site with me. Frances showed a number of photos and thoughts about QuiltCon recently.

One of the interns with whom I work told me about her visit to the Basel Kunstmuseum. I looked it up and found that they have a great website where you can see a lot of their art. Good inspiration.

 

26 Projects 2023 #3

No joke!

I have used 23 yards total fabric (net) so far this year. That is pretty good and I am almost on track for 100 yards this year.

Finished 2023 Quilt Projects

Finished (for me!) Donation Quilts

I don’t quilt much and I enjoy the collaborative effort of making a top and allowing someone else to quilt it. Thus, the quilts below are mostly tops, but I will include a finished quilt once someone else finishes it for the group.

 

  • Friendship Star donation top – January 2023
  • Pink Strip donation top – March 2023

Finished Bags and Small Projects

This category covers bags, toys, aprons and knitting as well as other non-quilt projects.

In Process or To Make
The ‘In Process’ is used to denote projects on which I am actively working or are on the design wall waiting for me to stitch. I am continuing to try not to put away projects. I find putting a project away ensures I never work on them, because I just lose steam.

Quilts (machine work)

Nothing at the moment!

Quilts (Handwork)

I decided that some of my quilts are in a different class because they are hand piecing or embroidery or beading. They take longer. Thus I created a new category and have moved some projects here.

  • Half Hexie Stars Project– I am reignited about this project after working on it at the November Sew Day. I have been working away steadily and can see the light at the end of the tunnel
  • La Passacaglia – I am now working on assembling all the rosettes into a quilt top.

Ready for Quilting

 

In the Quilting Process

Nothing at the moment

In the Finishing Process

  • Nothing at the moment

Small Projects

Most of my progress involves thinking or just cutting. I don’t have a bag in process at the moment.

  • Ultimate Project Organizer – another project from the Crafty Gemini Organizer Club, also on my list, but not yet started. I did pull the fabric, supplies and reviewed some finished photos that others posted, so I am one step closer.
  • Retreat Organizer – another project from the Crafty Gemini Organizer Club, also on my list, but not yet started. Recently, I saw one of these made up and I am not so nervous about it. I did pull the fabric, supplies and reviewed some finished photos that others posted, so I am one step closer.
  • Rose Petrillo bag – I found the pieces for this bag cut out, but not sewn.
  • Superbloom tote using Hindsight fabric – not started. I did pull the fabric, supplies and found a photo I plan to use as inspiration that others posted, so I am one step closer.

Still UFOs
I still have UFOs. Who doesn’t, after all? A project in the ‘UFO’ category means I am stalled, it hasn’t been worked on in awhile or it is waiting its turn to be worked on. The list is a lot shorter and the projects are newer, for the most part.

I am annoyed that some of these are still WIPs. I just need to work on them!

  1. Handbag Sampler – this is still the forgotten project. It should be on the UFO list. The blocks were teaching samples when I taught a sampler class some time before I started writing the quilt class sampler tutorials. I found one block recently, but otherwise I don’t actually know exactly where the blocks are hiding. I crawled up in the far reaches of my fabric closet to see if I could find them and they weren’t where I thought. I am sort of mystified as to where they could be. I haven’t even found a picture of all the blocks. WTH?
  2. Self Portrait: started in 2006 at a class at Quilting Adventures in Richmond, Virginia. After a brief burst of inspiration, I am stalled on this again. As one of my oldest (I am pretty sure) UFOs, I put it on my blog and out into the Twitterverse and Diane suggested that I not consider this as a self portrait. I think that strategy is a great idea. I am now trying to think of a new persona for her.
  3. Serendipity Lady – I am still planning to take this piece to be framed. It might need a bit of quilting first.
  4. Fabric of the Year 2020
  5. Fabric of the Year 2021 – I may combine 2020 and 2021 into a COVID edition.
  6. Fabric of the Year 2022 – yes, I added this one to the list, but this is the last one I plan to do.

March Donation Blocks

I was really pleased to see a bunch of quilts that Peggy made for donations at the meeting the other day. She called them her “Jaye collection”, which I thought was very kind. I was confused until she talked about how she made them out of bits and pieces I sent to her. I sent her a couple of stacks of HSTs during the pandemic as well as many 16 patch blocks and she turned all of them into great quilts.

I made a bunch of donation blocks this month. Some are 16 patches and some are the pink strip blocks. As a result I am feeling better about my contributions to the guild.

New Hackney Hack

Yes, I am making another Hackney pouch. I like the shape of this pouch/bag. It is fun and a bit unusual. The process of assembly is also providing me with a challenge even after making several of them.

Yes, it is another gift. I might make one for myself. We’ll see.

This time I am working on perfecting a version that is most useful and that I like. As I might have mentioned, I don’t like the mesh pocket, because I don’t like the way it comes out. Mostly, I don’t like the zipper tabs and how thick they are. They are hard to sew and thus the seams look wobbly.

I tried a vinyl pocket, which was ok. I haven’t heard how useful it is, but will ask next time I see the recipient.

Hackney lining tool holder
Hackney lining tool holder

This time I used doublefold elastic to make a tool holder.

I cut the doublefold elastic the same width as the lining, then basted it to the top lining piece.

I marked the places where I wanted the recipient to be able to slide tools in. I used a half inch size for each pencil or pen or whatever. I put an inch between each set of marks. These had to be mirrored on the second strip of elastic. I also made the marks on the second set of elastic off from the first set so the tools (or pens or whatever) wouldn’t interfere with each other.

Pink Strips Together

Pink Strip donation top with borders
Pink Strip donation top with borders

I moved all the blocks to my larger design wall after Who Am I? went into the ‘to be quilted’ bag. While I was little lazy about walking across the room to use the donation blocks for leaders and enders, I finally put the quilt top together and put the borders on.

I got inspiration from the Red Strip donation top I made a few years ago. I really liked the cornerstones and the way the white sashing separated the blocks so viewers could see each one distinctly.

This one is larger than the Red version. I did end up adding a column to the quilt, but I still think it is a weird shape. I didn’t do any of the ratio math I suggest my students do to make their quilts the right shape. I plan to put more borders on, so maybe I will make the vertical borders a little wider than the top and bottom borders.

So far so good and I am on track to bring it to Sew Day or the next meeting.

Surprise! I Spy Again

I Spy with Pink Batik - empty
I Spy with Pink Batik – empty

I quickly cut more pieces for another I Spy and finished it over the weekend. I think I have a sewing routine for this pattern down pat now.

One of the reasons I made this one is that I liked a piece of fabric I pulled for the Pink Strip donation quilt back. I decided to use it for the lining, which shows up nicely through the window. It is a good way to be able to see a fabric I enjoy.

I Spy with Pink Batik
I Spy with Pink Batik

This one will replace the one I gave as a gift. It will hold the Friesan Pouch acrylic templates. I’ll save the Grey Cross I Spy for something else. I kind of like having all of my acrylic templates in pouches that match.

I was pleased to see that I lined up the top strips around the zipper very well.

I Spy with Pink Batik back
I Spy with Pink Batik back

I just love making these pouches, as I have said a million times.

More Pink Strips

Pink Strip donation blocks progress
Pink Strip donation blocks progress

I am making good progress on the Pink Strip Donation top. It is VERY pink. I am enjoying working on it. It doesn’t feel like a must do project. I do want to get it done, however the pink is so cheerful that it is a joy to work on. This one will definitely not be gender neutral.

I did a big clean out and organization of the scraps in my pink bin, which was required to finish enough blocks to make a reasonable sized quilt. It looks a little skinny, so I am debating adding another row.

Finished: 2-in-1 Case #2

2-in-1 Case #2- closed
2-in-1 Case #2- closed

I finished the second 2-in-1 Case pretty quickly and this one looks good enough to give as a door prize. The first one was a good learning experience.

Yes, I am using a lot of that coneflower fabric lately. I like it despite the brown in the print. I am not sure what is so appealing about it to me.

This time, you can see that I was much more careful and attentive to the closure. I thought about using one with a pointy tip, but decided against it in the end. There is a pattern for a project with the pointy tip closure in the book**, but I thought I would try it a different time. I was on a bit of a deadline and didn’t want to mix up the process until I had gotten it right.

2-in-1 Case #2 interior
2-in-1 Case #2 interior

I used the same interior fabric, as mentioned. I thought it looked nice and it was on my cutting table, so why not?

I used longer zippers this time, as I said I would. I know I said I might use even longer zipper next time. I don’t think the project needs the zipper stop. also, I like to being able to get the zipper head as close as possible to the binding. I think it looks better.

As before, I used some foam to give it a little more heft. I wonder if that makes the pouch less useful? I wonder if the recipient can put in fewer items, because the pouch has more structure?

2-in-1 Case #2 exterior
2-in-1 Case #2 exterior

I am pleased with the binding. I think less contrast looks better.

So, another project finished and this one has been sent off to Carrie for the door prize assembly for the guild.

Cha Cha Cha Tablerunner #2 Ready for Quilting

I quickly finished this project, which was great.

The top is pretty subtly shaded, e.g. very little contrast. I guess that is ok. The nook where the buffet is located is a little dark, so I hope what light there is will reflect off of the light colors.

I am sending this to Colleen to quilt.