I am getting a little sick of this top. Many of the scraps I have available are the same size and the same fabric, which makes for boring piecing. I think it looks nice, but I will be glad when it is done.
Tag: BAMQG
Community Quilt Bonanza
Cheryl agreed to help me with a few projects, so the other day I received a large-ish box from her. At first I didn’t realize it was from Cheryl as it seems like boxes are arriving at our house 3 times a day. The YM is sending stuff here, DH and I plus gifts from out of town relatives are also being sent here. It’s crazy.
Anyway.
In addition to stuff from the project on which we are working, were three community quilts.
She asked me to bring them to the meeting in January. I am happy to do so, especially since that means I will have something to show! HA!
Clearly #2 and #3 are related. Also, #1 and #2 are in the same format as the Color Group Donation Quilt I worked a few years ago. I can’t say whether she was inspired by (or even remembered or saw) that quilt. It isn’t as thought that layout is novel in Modern Quiltmaking circles.
So, these will be the first three quilt tops for the 2020 BAM Community Quilt Project. YAY!!
BAM Largesse
A week or so ago, we celebrated Winter at my guild. There was a short Sew Day where I worked on Frolic! Clue 2, then a potluck lunch and a swap and socializing.
In between all of this fun and excitement was fabric. We hold our Sew Days in a church hall. On the side of this room are 4-5 old pews. The room used to be the church sanctuary. Normally, we store our bags and other Sew Day paraphernalia there to keep it off the floor and reduce tripping hazards.
On the Winter Party/Sew Day at least 3 of the pews were filled with fabric. The guild had been given a donation of fabric by a longarmer who was closing her business. She donation only about a quarter of her stash to the guild. People at the party were allowed to look through the fabric and take what they wanted. I stayed away, having plenty of fabric of my own. Plenty of the members took a few pieces or filled up grocery bags with their selections. The rest will be used for our community quilt project.
This was kind of startling in a number of different ways. Will my unused fabric end up like that? Why get rid of all of her fabric? Doesn’t she want to sew anymore or did she keep her favorite pieces? I know I will probably never know the answers to these questions. I will have to think about what I am going to do with my fabric and make sure my DH knows so it doesn’t all go to Goodwill. What happens to your fabric and supplies when you go to your next adventure?
More Raffle Gifts
I have the best raffle team ever! At the meeting last Saturday, a couple of them came through with MORE gifts. These raffle baskets are going to be the best ever.
Cheri started in on some bags and coasters. I need a bunch of those little bags for stocking stuffer gifts! 😉
She tried out a few things and found they took too long, so she is trying some different patterns. Cheri only made them for a couple of months with the first pattern. AFter she decides on a new pattern she will work on the rest of the months. We have time.
Sue G also made some small boxy bags. Aren’t they adorable?
She made three or four. I forgot to take photos when I brought them home. Since I organized everything, I don’t want to undo all that hard work. I’ll get some photos when I stock the bags.
Mega-Pinnie Thanks
The other day I talked about the first Mega-Pinnie that I made. I got a really sweet thank you note with a photo that really shows how the Mega-Pinnie is used.
I photocopied some of my tools and stuck them in the pockets before I wrapped the piece so she would know there were pockets. This is kind of an unusual tool and I don’t think many people have seen it.
I am so pleased. I might need to make another one! 😉
Gift Post #3: Mega Pinnie Angel Gift
I made this Mega Pinnie as kind of a test. It was the second one I had made. I thought I would use it as one of the raffle prizes.
However, we are having a Winter swap in a few weeks. Last year, people didn’t show up so others did not get their gift. I decided that I would donate it as an angel gift for the swap.
I didn’t go as crazy on the pockets, so the pockets are larger than on the Swap Gift Mega Pinnie. I also forgot the handle. I think it will be great, though.
Gift Post #1 2019: Swap Mega Pinnie
As mentioned, I had to make a swap gift for the Winter Extravaganza Palooza at the guild. In that previous post, I talked about the pattern. Since then I have been contemplating WHY I chose what is, basically, a giant pincushion.
Short answer: I don’t know.
Long answer: it is kind of a strange gift, but it is useful. It reminds me of the cube I made for the YM. It is also different from other things I have seen. The pockets can hold scissors and seam rippers, etc. I photocopied a variety of tools and put them in the pockets to show how the pockets can be used.
The baby pincushion (Mini Pinnie) can be removed from the Mega Pinnie and used away from its giant mom. There is also a piece of felt designed to hold needles.
The top has a handle, which can be used to hold the full Mega Pinnie.
As I usually do, I filled the piece with some Beanie Baby pellets as well as stuffing. I didn’t use wool roving on this one; I used poly-fil because I needed so much of it. I hope I put enough of the Beanie Baby pellets in the square to keep it anchored. I know I could have put more in it.
I still want to make more of these!
White Improv Donation Quilt Progress
I have been making some progress on the White Improv piece. I am not working as fast as I would like.
It is looking good, I think, different than the others, but interesting in its own way.
The pieces I have in my scrap drawer are a trial, however. There are many, many pieces of great fabric in stupid lengths. They seem to always be wrong. I am making it work, though.
BAM Challenge
The guild did a color challenge recently where people were supposed to make something they like from a color swatch they picked out of a bag.
It was a small, but mighty group. There were people who participated for the first time and also those who don’t have a lot of spare time. I was really thrilled to see some new folks participating Everyone did a wonderful job.
White Improv Progresses
Now that I finished the White Strip Donation Top, I can work on the White Improv Donation Top in earnest.
I spent time on it this past weekend and the slabs are getting bigger.Except for the middle, the piece is still very much in process. The strips I have are very uniform in size and I feel like the other pieces are all triangles, so this isn’t an easy piece to put together.
There is a large-ish slab in the bottom of the drawer and I don’t know if I will make a journal cover or if I will use it in this piece.
White Strip Donation Top: Finished
All the blocks for this quilt were made from my scrap drawer. I know I can make at least two more quilts from this one drawer. Yes, I used some yardage for the back, the border, the sashing and the cornerstones, but that is a small amount compared to the blocks, I think.
Carrie the Raffle Queen
Carrie, a self-described inexperienced sewist, made the most amazing group of gifts for next year’s raffle baskets.
One of the reasons I love my guild is that people step up when you ask them to help. Carrie just decided she was going to make some items and did it! I was not expecting this many gifts
This is an amazingly generous group of gifts. It means that each basket will have a book, a group of the items pictured above, a cord holder, some fabric, an organizer, scissors or clips and a small item like a threader or finger light. I think this is a good amount of stuff.
I think I will have to get busy and make pouches in which to put the various items!
I might even be inspired enough to make Jane Market Totes in which to put the items. Then, again, maybe not. I have a lot of shopping bags.
Guild Leaders & Enders Demo
I did a demo at the guild meeting with sewing machine and everything. I created a handout, which might be useful to some of you. I didn’t do a video, but there are some on the web already.
Bonnie Hunter is the leaders and enders queen. She has a number of books on the subject and also writes about the subject frequently on her blog. She also writes a column for Quiltmaker magazine on scraps. Her blog and shop can be found at http://www.quiltville.com
The basic concept is: instead of just stitching over a scrap at the end of a seam, you insert piecing from another project. So each time you start or end a seam and you are ready to snip the thread and press, you sew some component of another project. (Color Girl Quilts blog)
Keys for me:
- Designate, at least in your mind, a primary and secondary project. I like to have them completely different. Different shapes or different colors or something so I don’t get confused.
- Work small. Once the project gets too large, it is difficult to keep it in the subordinate position.
- Keep patches/units ready to go near your sewing machine.
- I find it easier to work on two completely different projects. Anything with a ¼” seam allowance will work.
- Having shorter bits of thread between pieces keeps the thread trash to a minimum on the finished quilt. While this might be picky and odd, I sincerely dislike a lot of thread ends handing around a finished quilt.
The point of leaders and enders has little to do with using thread bunnies regularly, but to get more done. Using the leaders and enders method, I get a lot more community quilts finished.
Resources:
- Leaders and Enders by Bonnie Hunter – full explanation with photos
- Leaders and Enders: the Whys and Hows by Bonnie Hunter: – more updated info with images
- Gift Bags as Leaders and Enders
- Leaders and Enders by Melissa Cory – good images to help you understand the process
- Leaders and Enders, Color Girl Quilts blog:
- What are Leaders and Enders?, Quilts by Jen – – excellent images to help you visualize the process
Books:
- Adventures with Leaders and Enders by Bonnie Hunter – also available from her shop
- More Adventures with Leaders and Enders by Bonnie Hunter – also available from her shop
White Donation Strip Quilt Progresses
It is a slow process, but I am making progress. I have all the sashing cut and placed. I have also started to sew the sashing to the blocks.
It is hard to see because of the color, but I think you can make out the blocks.
Raffle Mega Pinnie
I made another Mega Pinnie and decided to use it as a raffle prize sometime down the road.
I started it as a gift for a friend, but it didn’t turn out to be suitable. I think someone who attends a guild meeting will like it. I still might use the mini Pinnie for my friend and make a new one for this one.
For the raffle, I can also put the tools into the pockets.
Trolling around the web, I saw a post by the designer who showed a number of different versions of the Mega Pinnie. She taught a class and the examples were from those students. Take a look. The post has a lot of fun photos showing different ways to use the Mega Pinnie.