Almost as soon as I finished Ends n.24, I started Ends n.25 using the same background fabric. I got the background fabric for free somewhere and never used it, so here we are.
You can see that there is a shortage on the bottom right so I’ll have to add something in there.
I am still working through the edges of the back of Orange You Glad, which make up the color in this quilt. I have a few other red and orange edges that I added in, some still hanging around from the back of the Lobster table runner.
I finished Ends n.24 pretty quickly, but have just had a chance to post about it now.
The edges I used are on the older side, including Orange You Glad, and were waiting for a new home and/or a new life.
Ends n.24 back
The fabrics for the back were even older. I used some solids from a bin of solids. Some of them I think I used in Mary Mashuta’s Pushed Neutrals class about a million years ago.
I have been trying to fit the making of another donation top into my flurry of sewing. I feel like I have been doing so much. I have to acknowledge that some of the problem is design wall space. I finally started a top after taking the Warm Four Patch Fun off the design wall.
Welcome Ends n.24. Can you believe I have made 23.5 of these quilts? Yes, I have made that many over 9 years. It is kind of astounding, but also makes perfect sense. I keep producing quilts and Colleen sends the edges back. Thus I have the edges of bunches of quilts and if I don’t do something with them, they would just pile up.
Don’t worry. I am not going to tell you about every single one of these I make. I am still in the experimental phase so you get to hear about some of my musings.
Like the Snap Trays, I am experimenting a bit with various parts of how to make this. In this version, I used batting as the interfacing instead of SF101. It works well, but the bag feels a bit floopier, which I think is interesting, though maybe not preferable. It works, but SF101 or, maybe, DecorBond might be better. I haven’t tried DecorBond yet.
I am using fabrics similar to those I used for the Snap Trays. I have a bin of Sorbet fabrics I was using for the Block-a-Long a million years ago. There is a lot of fabric in that bin, so even using some for these bags will leave plenty for me to pick up the Block-a-Long project again. They have a Mary Engelbreit-ish look to them.
I sewed a chunk of the 1-2-3 Mosaic table runner together. I think it looks great.
I wasn’t 100% convinced that the project was going to work out when I saw it on the design wall. After sewing this bit together, I am much more optimistic.
I think it looks a lot better sewn together.
I sewed it in between sewing all the other things on which I am working, but it still went together pretty fast. I’ll know soon if I need more blocks.
I am glad I didn’t make it wider as it will be the right width for the buffet when I put a facing on it.
After I did some Pre-Sew Day work, we were able to put together a total of two quilt tops in addition to the larger top that the rest of the group put together. I am much better at working on my own. I was pleased that Sue and Lee Ann joined me without me having to say anything.
Lee Ann was kind enough to take the blocks for this one home and put the quilt together.
Sew Day donation top
The blocks I made also became a quilt top very quickly, thanks to Lee Ann. The blocks are 8 inches by 8 inches, so the quilt ended up being about 40 in. x 40 inches, which is about the size I like to hand in.
I spent the other day prepping about 20 blocks for the 1-2-3 Mosaic table runner. I want to get this off the design wall and it won’t happen magically.
I felt like I needed some additional blue blocks so I concentrated on those. Not all of the 20 came out the correct size so some went back on the board waiting for another round of fabric. I made enough of them to feel like I am nearing the finish line.
I spent some time rearranging the layout. I am happier with how it looks and will soon start putting some chunks together. The bottom looks darker than it is because the ironing board is shadowing the bottom corner of the design wall.
I have made the photo really large so you can see it more clearly.
I know there will still be some rearranging as I begin to sew, but I think I am pretty much ready to sew some chunks together. It will at least tell me what other blocks I need to make.
1-2-3 Mosaic blocks organized
As an aside, I finally made the travel board and am using it for this project. I cut up pieces, laid them out in order and then was able to sew them in an assembly line fashion. I haven’t figured out where to store this board, but while it is in use, it is very handy.
I found a tutorial for a 3 color quarter square triangle block while reading the Love of Quilting magazine. I decided to try it for my Bay Area Modern Block of the Month for March blocks.
The tutorial includes a 1.5 minute video with jaunty music.
I made two first just to see what I thought of the technique. I thought it was fine and something different, so I cut some squares and went to work. I went a little crazy and made quite a few QSTs!
BAM BOM March QSTs
As I was laying them out I realized that I could make pinwheels since I used the lime green in all of the blocks. I don’t know that I’ll do that in the final layout of the quilt, but it was kind of fun to see what such a layout would look like.
I just got a Technique Sheet from Studio 180 Designs for the Split Recs Ruler**. I love that ruler and may make some Elongated Hourglass units. Stay tuned.
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I have been working a bit at a time on more Mosaic blocks.
I think I need to sew some of them together, so I can figure out how many more I need and where.
I have added some more fabrics to vary the contrast and make each block stand out. A two color (ish) color palette can be tricky.
I have been working on making a ton of smaller (2.5 inch) blocks. Lorraine said we would need a lot of them. The size of the blocks I made after I got home from the workshop kept creeping up. I suddenly realized that I wouldn’t be able to put the thing together without more small blocks, so that is my current focus.
Friend Julie wrote a really good post about the workshop. She got some great photos that I neglected to take.
Joelle brought the January Creative Play packet to Saturday’s workshop to exchange with someone else.
Some interesting Flying Geese and Sawtooth border have been added since the last time I saw it. The orange has really taken off as a color. It is so fun to see what people do with a little piecing.
I spent Saturday with the guild and with Lorraine Woodruff-Long. The guild arranged for her to teach her 1-2-3 Mosaic workshop. I have to admit that I wasn’t excited, but I am pleased to report that I loved it. I created a lot of little jewels, which makes me very happy.
The photo, left, shows the blocks I made during the workshop.
After the workshop you end up with enough blocks (or almost) to make a 20 inch or 24 inch cushion cover. DDH has warned me off anymore throw pillows for our living room, but he has not said anything about table runners. As a result, I went into the workshop with the idea of making a spring/start of summer table runner for my buffet. Our buffet is probably our nicest piece of furniture and the top is still pristine. Anyway, I started out with the idea of making a tablerunner, which I will actually use.
As an aside, I am going to have to do a table runner inventory and see what I ‘need’. Thanksgiving and Christmas are well covered, but I could go for all the holidays and have an easy way to change the decor.
Lorraine teaching with her quilts
Lorraine did a nice job teaching.
She has clearly thought through the process and was clear about how to do it. I was super excited about the organization of the pieces to make the blocks. It is a game changer for chain piecing, no question. You really need to take this class!
1-2-3 Mosaic mistake
Lorraine said there were no mistakes, because the blocks could always be enlarged. I found a way to have to use a seam ripper. LOL!
I actually just cut the fabric after I sewed the correct piece on the correct side. I didn’t use a seam ripper all day, though I could have.
All the 1-2-3 blocks
I sewed a third batch of blocks at the very end of the day, but didn’t press them until I got home.
This is about the width I will use for the table runner, but I have to make it about three times as long.
I might sew blocks I like together into chunks so I can move them around more easily. We’ll see.
MaryC shared her scraps
MaryC brought a huge pile of ‘scraps’ (some were half yards!!) to share. I pulled some blues and pinks from that pile, so right now the piece is made up mostly of solids and tone-on-tones. I have a couple of fussy cut motifs in the center of blocks, but I think I need to break up the solids and tone-on-tones with some prints on the outside of a few of the blocks.
Gerre’s Jewels
Lynette’s gem
First batch of blocks
Lorraine with more examples
Above are a few of the blocks other people created as well as the first blocks that I made. Lorraine made an awesome video of all of us in her workshop. Check it and see how fun the guild is. You should join us. 😉
Copyright is only claimed on the photos. Permission is NOT granted to take any photos from this page and use them without permission. Designs of quilts and blocks are copyrighted by the creator.
This piece is a little different from #1 and #2, because of the red. I have been feeling like I have a lot of red fabric I am not using. I decided just to put some red sashing on this quilt and see what happened. It is not a favorite of the series, but it isn’t ugly either. Next time, I’ll stick with the monochromatic look.
I like making these strip quilts, as I have said, as they use up scrap and make great leaders and enders. The problem with the white is that I have A LOT of white scraps and I can’t seem to use them up quickly enough. I am pleased that I didn’t use any white background fabric in Lupine. It loaded up my black scrap drawer, but stayed away from the white.
A week ago was the Community Sew Day at the Guild. After doing some pre-sewing, I also sewed another quilt using the same pattern at Sew Day. SueG sat next to me and followed my lead on sewing blocks my way.
Sue used her own materials, which was a lot better for precision. We sewed quite a few blocks, but Lee Ann took them all to sew together before I could take a picture.
I tried to keep the packs I chose in the same color family as Sue’s blocks, but I was really distracted and am not sure I succeeded. when I get a photo from Lee Ann, I’ll share it.
My preference at Community Sew Days is to bring a top (+back, etc) ready to be quilted and work on my own projects. Since I am now guild president, I decided I needed to be a good citizen and work on the project with everyone else. Still, I worked ahead to make some blocks.
I used 3 mini-charm packs and what’s left of my white fabric to make the blocks for the quilt top. I thought they would be incorporated with everyone else’s blocks, but I made the wrong pattern, so Sue and I put the rest of the blocks needed for a quilt together using this pattern.
I worked with the Community Quilts Team’s materials to start a second quilt and wasn’t as happy. I prefer my own cutting, so I know what problems I might encounter with cutting mistakes. I’ll go back to my original plan if there is another Community Sew Day.
I have had the fleece for a Pet Bed sitting around for a long time. I finally sewed it together last week in order to bring it to Sew Day.
One of the things that spurred me on was the bits of batting I had laying around from the various quilts that I have mostly finished recently. The guild is not using schnibbles for pet beds any more as they don’t make for soft and comfy beds. Also, they are hard to wash. This is sad as I still have a lot of schnibbles. We are working out a plan for their use in another way.
This wasn’t my fabric so I don’t get any credit on my Fabric Used spreadsheet.
