When I do a lot of work on Flying Around, a lot of work gets done on donation quilts or other projects. You already know that this Orange Improv quilt is currently on my small design wall as my leaders and enders project. I made a lot of progress over the weekend.
The size is about 34″x34″ right now. I like to make these quilts about 45×45, but I am really running out of orange scraps. I have 3 large, marginally orange at best, scraps left in my scrap drawer and a handful of scraps that SIL #2 gave me on Craft Night.
I worked hard during the past week to make this piece large enough to call it done. I am scraping the bottom of my orange drawer to have enough! I am still liking the way it looks.
The other day I talked about a new quilt top on which I was working. Over the weekend, I finished it and the back. It is now ready to take to the guild meeting for someone to quilt.
I can’t decide what I think about this color combination. It very much reminds me of eating sherbet at my grandparents’ house. I probably should have called this Lime Sherbet!
Orange & Green Donation Back
I did decide to make a back for this piece (more fabric used!). I pulled out several fabrics I didn’t think I would use and whipped one up. Amazingly, I didn’t have to fight to make the back for once. It went together really easily.
I am pleased that the green rectangles are off my sewing table and I get to add 3+ yards to my “Fabric Used” tally.
I had some plain green blocks, which I showed during the process of working on the Purple Strip Donation Top. Obviously, I cut a bunch and didn’t use them. They have been sitting on my sewing table since then. Recently they started to bug me.
Green & Orange Donation Top
I decided that orange would look good with that shade of green. I cut some oranges and have started to put the top together. This is not interfering with Flying Around, but I put the Orange Improv top on a brief hiatus while I put this thing together.
It might just be quick and dirty with no back or batting since I know the Community Quilt stash has both of these. We will see since using fabric is high on my priority list.
I mentioned the Orange Improv donation top yesterday and realized it had been awhile since I showed it. I just finished adding a major piece, so it was time to post it again.
It is progressing. The orange scraps in my drawer are significantly fewer than before. I have some large-ish pieces and am wondering if I should add them as is or cut them up. I like the look of the piece now, which is mainly small pieces.
Over the weekend, I worked on Flying Around and on the Orange Improv donation top. I am pleased with how the Orange Improv top is looking.
I am trying not to insert big strips in as I didnt’ like the effect with the Purple Improv Donation top. I am inserting bits of strips in. I don’t think the ones I have added take the focus away from any other part.
I took some packs of leaders and enders at Sew Day. I wanted to make a couple of blocks in between sewing the zipper pouches. I used the packs that Peggy always has available.
This is the first time I have made the postage stamp blocks in awhile and it was kind of fun, though my fabric placement was a bit off.
I spent the day yesterday sewing for good. It was the guild’s Sew Day and we made zipper pouches for the Grateful Garment Project. The project provides a variety of items to assault victims. You can read more about the project on their website.
31 BAM zipper pouches
We ended up with 31.5 zipper pouches. I have one that I need to finish, which is the other half. 3 of us made over half of them, but everyone contributed. Mary talked to me about a production line where we could more done in the same time frame. I like that idea and hope we can do it again soon.
I also like the variety we came up with. Peggy, the awesome, put out a bin of fabrics and we were allowed to choose the ones we wanted. This meant there were fabrics with which I had never worked and that expanded my horizons a bit. I think some of them will be suitable for men, too.
Green & Yellow Zipper Pouch
I chose fabrics I liked, but I concentrated on producing as many well done zipper pouches as I could in the allotted time.
The first zipper pouch I made was the hardest. It came out fine, but was a challenge to get oriented to the pattern. After making the first one, I consulted with Mary on the zipper. We traded tips and after that our zippers came out as well as can be expected. I made two using the green and yellow fabric combination.
Purple Zipper Pouch for BAM
The second one I made was from purple fabrics. I liked the various motifs and like to use fabrics I enjoy.
I wasn’t a big fan of the white zipper, but there wasn’t a lot of choice in zippers. Peggy bought a bulk packet and there were no purple. Needs must and all. I think it looks fine.
Dots and Stripes Zipper Pouch
Midway through I made two bags from the dots and stripes. I couldn’t, of course, resist the dots and the stripes were just great.
I like light interiors for pouches bags and handbags. Black interiors: blech! The light insides/linings allow one to see what is inside the bag. Light can also reflect on the light fabric to aid seeing what is in the bottom corner of your bag. I am sure I have said this before.
Dots with white zipper pouch
I had a lot of the dots, so I made a third pouch with a different interior. I liked the stripes better, but the light white on white (or maybe a very light pink) is fine. It does show the red dot fabric through a little bit, which is a shame.
By the time I made all of these pouches, I didn’t need a pattern. I was just making them over and over and refining as I went along. One thing I should have done was sew the lining with a larger seam allowance so that it fit inside the pouch better. It didn’t occur to me until I was almost done. I’ll do that on the last one.
I finished the Orange Strip Donation top & back yesterday. It came down to finishing the back, which took longer than expected in a busy week.
My quilt holders were around so I was able to get some photos in a timely manner.
The blue is an unexpected choice, but I talked about it before, so I won’t go into it again. I kind of wish I had more orange strips so I could do a version with a white background. I don’t, though, so I’ll have to do that next time I get a plethora of orange scraps.
Orange Strip Donation Back
I used some odd oranges for the back. These are nice fabrics that I don’t think I will use for something else. I had a hard time curating the fabrics for the back as I really like 90% of the oranges I have left. I guess I had better use them for something if not for donation quilts.
Using up fabrics makes me wish I hadn’t stashed so much fabric when I did. On the other hand having so much fabric on hand means that I can put my hands on almost any color I need for any project. It also means I can make almost any quilt I want without going to the store.
I have been remiss about posting donation blocks lately. I have also not been making the standard postage stamp blocks that my guild collects. Here are a few I have made recently.
I thought I would finish this top before the meeting, but I didn’t. the last few weeks have been harrowing. Nothing bad. Just a lot. That means I haven’t taken much time to sew. Some, but not as much as I would like.
I did work on Sunday. I worked on Flying Around a little, fixed the sleeve for FOTY 2017, finished this top, worked on the Orange Improv Donation Top and started on the back for this piece. Not bad, but not as much as I wanted and not a lot to show here.
Orange Strip Donation Top
Still, I am pleased with this piece. I like the blue and hope it doesn’t overshadow the orange too much. Ever since working on the Wonky 9 Patch, I have been unconsciously looking for an excuse to use this color combination again. I am really glad Friend Julie and AQ reader Sherri mentioned it.
The meeting was Saturday and it was a raucous and fun meeting. Kelly was visiting and she came to the meeting to hangout. SIL #2 and I went to lunch with Kelly and Angela, so we had a bit of extra time to catch up. At the meeting, Kelly gave a slideshow about her life in Scotland. I forgot what a fantastic quilter she is. She showed some of her recent quilting and it is amazing.
We also had a great show and tell. Maria brought a two sided quilt, which had really effective quilting.
Tri Valley Modern Quilt Guild Charity Quilt
I loved the Tri-Valley Modern Quilt Guild’s QuiltCon Charity quilt. Alison brought it for us to see and the colors really spoke to me.
Sheila’s 3D Flowers
Sheila is a new member and she is showing some amazing work. She showed this vase of flowers. The flowers are made with Peltex so the petals are 3D. they look really great. Her woven background reminded me of my 3 woven quilts. Her woven background is much more controlled than the weaving in my pieces.
Almond Rhubarb Cake
Finally, I brought this cake. It is a recipe from Allrecipes.com that I saw on Friend Julie’s website. I am always saving my rhubarb for pies, so I used cranberries and blueberries. It took a long time to bake – maybe 3x as long as the directions say, but when it finally finished it looked delicious. It wasn’t as sweet as some cakes I have made. I brought it to the guild meeting and only brought home one piece. Sue wasn’t there so my cake didn’t have to compete with her delicious brownies. I am pleased it was mostly eaten.
I feel so lucky lately. I won at the Fair and yesterday I won a prize at the guild meeting.
July BAM Raffle Prize
Every month there is a very generous raffle prize given out. I haven’t ever won, that I can remember. I never expected to win.
I am pretty pleased with the items, especially the book, because it has some patterns I have gotten out of magazines. Now they are all in one book. It’s great! The colors aren’t really mine, but they aren’t horrible either. And I like the little pouches and portfolios.
July BAM Raffle Prize – open
Lynette is the genius who puts together the prizes. She is retiring at the end of the year and I have agreed to head up a committee to create the raffle prizes. I have some ideas. With a team I think I can do it.
While I was vacillating about the sashing color, size and fabric for the Orange Strip Donation Top, I still needed some leaders and enders. I started in on the Orange Improv Donation Top.
This part of the project is also coming out quite well. I am starting to think that I pick my oranges carefully and they go together well.
I really like the orange dot at the bottom of the left hand photo. However, it really stands out in real life. I might have to use smaller bits of it, so it doesn’t dominate.
Orange Improv Donation Top start 2 – mid July 2019
The top piece (in this post) is about 8 in x 10 in right now. I have some sewing to do to get it to a larger size.
The smaller piece will be added on to the larger piece when it gets to the right length or width to fit. I am at the point now where I make smaller pieces fit together to attach to the larger ones.
