After using some Flying Geese as leaders and enders, I switched to using the large Improv blocks as leaders and enders while putting together the T Donation quilt. The Improv quilt is not a good project for leaders and enders as I really should have it on the design wall and be looking at it all the time as I worked. I really wanted to make progress. This project has been shuffled from corner to corner of my workroom and I am forgetting my plan. My design walls were full of other projects, so it was what it was.
I added a few more strips to make the center (A) blocks more even then sewed the four center blocks together. This breaks my ‘Chunking It” rule, but I just wanted to see the four blocks together. Somehow with them together, I was able to start on the B blocks.
Improv B Block #1
They look pretty good and I got excited about working the B blocks. I had bits and pieces that I made in class that I hoped to use, though I wasn’t sure what I was thinking when I made them, so I kept going. The first one went together relatively quickly and that helped me move forward with the others. I am working on about 4 at once right now and expect to have a big group of them done at once. We will see.
I finished a donation top and back over the weekend. I thought I had posted something about this, but I couldn’t find the post. I think I must have only posted on Twitter and Instagram about it.
I wanted to use up the Flower Sugar fabrics from Lecien that I used for the Flower Sugar Hexagon (Attack of the Hexies) quilt. I thought a donation quilt would be a good opportunity.
I really want to make donation quilts that can be used for boys, but I also, as I said, wanted to use up this fabric. I don’t think I will use this fabric again, except for some of the blues, perhaps, which I really like. Also, the fabric isn’t really great in terms of quality. Some parts of the fabrics were sun damaged waiting to be used despite the fact that they were covered.
The other fabric I don’t think I will use again was some of the greys from a couple of recent-ish Bonnie and Camille collections. They turned out to be too taupe-y for my projects, so off they go to donation quilts.
I will making the binding and then bring this to the meeting to be quilted. I will see if I have enough batting parts to make a Franken-batting as well.
The BAMQG Hawaiian quilts are still in process. Several have been delivered to the family and they were beyond thrilled. The rest are due by the end of August.
A few weeks ago Kelly and I met for lunch. She gave me one that needed to be bound. In the thick of my injury I couldn’t do it right away and it languished. Angela needed to send me the binding, so I didn’t worry. She did and it was time to get to work.
Last weekend was the weekend of little projects: strip for the Food Quilt #2 back strip, journal cover, Stepping Stones blocks, a lanyard, etc. I added the Hawaiian Quilt binding to the list.
Emboldened by last effort at machine binding, I did a machine binding again as well. Also, with my hand in a brace, hand stitching takes abut 15x as long. Angela and Kelly were fine with the machine binding so I was off.
I did a much simpler machine binding this time. I just used a straight stitch on the back rather than a decorative stitch. The stitching shows on the binding, but isn’t obvious on the front, which is great.
Trimming for binding
The quilt came to me untrimmed, so I put the binding on and then trimmed. I used my regular Aurifil #2600 piecing thread to sew the binding on the front. It did not blend, but would be covered once the binding was flipped so I didn’t worry.
It occurs to me now that I could have trimmed, put the binding on the back and then flipped the binding to the front. I might try that next time just to see how it looks.
Hawaiian Quilt Back
These are very bright and cheerful quilts. I am really pleased to be able to help the guild work on them.
I don’t remember exactly when it was, last Friday, I think, but I had a brief window of time before I had to go do something else for someone. The grief at the implications of my BIL’s loss were starting to creep into my brain in the quiet and threatening to overwhelm me.
4 ‘A’ Blocks
I turned to the Improv pieces I had worked on at the workshop. They were sewn together as you see (left photo), but I wasn’t happy with them, so I unstitched them and began to rework them.
Tina’s idea (from Little Blue Cottage) is that there should be a lot of negative space in the center. Because I like the interplay of the strong pattern, I wanted the blacks and whites to act as the negative space and the red to act as the foreground.
This isn’t a terrible idea, but it wasn’t working with this layout. I looked at it a lot, trying to like it – or at least be okay with the center. The reality was that I didn’t like it. I wasn’t achieving anything near what I was imagining, thus the ripping.
Big, fat Improv
The ripping really didn’t take long, but it did allow my mind time to wander, which is not what I wanted. After ripping, I began adding more neutrals to the ‘legs’. The photo (right) is what the pieces look like right now. I have not sewn the four blocks together yet. I haven’t decided if I am done with the ‘A’ blocks yet.
I think I will definitely add some more red to the outside. I also think that a few more neutrals is in order. It needs to sit a bit.
Windowframe layout
I wandered around it for awhile and then began to wonder whether I should reverse the blocks and arrange them the way Tina intended the pattern to be arranged. I think the neutral part of the blocks look too skinny again when arranged with the red in the middle. It isn’t terrible, though.
I think the ultimate path is to make some of the ‘B’ blocks and see what happens once I have more to look at.
Yesterday was a BAMQG Improv class at Always Quilting with Tina Michalik. I really liked it and it wasn’t long enough, mostly because I was on a roll sewing and wanted to keep it up. Mostly I took it as a reward for smiling and being the perfect soon-to-be First Lady.
I wouldn’t really start an Improv quilt on my own in my workroom. It isn’t that I don’t like the technique, the issue is that I have other things to work on and the technique never comes to mind.
The last Improv quilt I made was the Women’s Work quilt I started in the Gwen Marston workshop. I like that quilt and remember the freedom I felt making the blocks. There was a similar feeling in the class yesterday. I think because of the constraints on my time lately I really liked that feeling of freedom.
I switched around the background and foreground so the red is actually the foreground according to Tina’s pattern. I wanted the interplay of the prints as the background. I may have been wrong in that choice as I am not liking what I have made so far. I like the interplay of fabric motifs and the black, white, greys with the red, but the center is too cross like. The center is sewn together, but I am considering unsewing and resewing in the way that Tina suggested. I am a little angry at myself because I did not even turn the blocks in Tina’s direction to consider laying them out with the red as the negative space.
Kelly’s ‘A’ Blocks
Kelly used some Alison Glass and Anna Maria Horner prints and I love the way hers looks.
Regardless, I want the prints area to be fatter, so I think taking the four blocks apart is in my future.
I finally got my act together to put the postage stamp blocks together. I really was feeling like I didn’t have anything to show at the BAMQG meeting, so I decided on Friday night to get these blocks together. I used leftover pieces from another quilt for the sashing. I really didn’t think about the piece too much; I just sewed. Yesterday morning I finished the border and made the back.
Gerre and I made them together back in February. We used them pieces as leaders and enders as needed when we made the Hawaiian quilt. I don’t see any mention of these blocks, so who really knows?
I wanted to try a different setting that the other versions of the postage stamp donation quilt tops I have made. I was going for a row quilt kind of look. I used different widths of sashing for the vertical pieces, because I used what I had. It isn’t my best work, but it was very intuitive and quick. I think that it was kind of amazing that I was able to let the control go and just put the piece together. You can see that there are squares of the same fabrics near each other. Normally, I would have spread them out. Essentially, I just put the blocks on the floor and sewed them together. Kind of bare bones sewing. I hope someone will like its quirkiness.
To be honest, I haven’t really sewn seriously for quite a while. I have sewn a couple of EPP stars and used the opportunity of this piece to make some more O9P nine patches, but nothing else. It felt really good to throw this together. Very freeing.
Multi-color Donation Quilt back (April)
The back is made from greys that I pulled out of my grey bin. They are older fabrics in the depressing color range of grey. Summer is coming and I find myself divesting myself of colors deemed too depressing and working with even brighter colors than usual.
We are embroiled in college business/drama/selection. Of course, I have other stuff going on as well, but the college stuff seems to be dominating at the moment. This means that my quilt work is suffering and, particularly, my donation and charity projects.
I finally did spend some time a week or so ago finishing this Hawaiian quilt for BAMQG. You might remember that Gerre and I worked on it at a Sew Day recently.
I blather on about testing new techniques and practicing skills on donation quilts then I never do it. I tried something new on this quilt. I tested out applying a binding by machine on both sides. My first effort resulting in me ripping out 3-4′, but I persevered and the quilt is bound by machine.
I made sure that Gerre and Angela were both ok with me doing the machine binding. It requires some more experimentation on my part, but I am pleased with my first effort.
BAMQG Hawaiian Quilt by Gerre & Jaye
None of the fabrics were my choices, but I like the brightness against the black and especially think the back came out well.
As usual, I am really happy to help the guild. As usual, the Young Man worked hard as my quilt hanger.
The vendors were setting up as well and I saw Colleen (Sew Little Time Quilting) there. She has ALL of the American Made Brands solids and I have to say it took incredible willpower not to order half yards of all of them from her. She also has two of her Labyrinth quilts with her at the show. The patterns are finished and available.
This show is held in the same location as PIQF, but in a different hall (I think). I went late, but got there in time to help finish hanging the BAMQG quilts. Amanda, Kelly and Michelle had it well in hand. I added an extra pair of hands and driving skills.
Putting up with Poles
There was some putting up and taking down, redoing and moving, but it went very smoothly. Kelly was well organized and Amanda has great project management skills. The quilt show has interesting tools for doing the hanging and some balance is required, especially for the larger quilts.
The biggest problem we ran into was the creases in the quilts. I know there isn’t much we can do about it in general, but Kelly decided we needed a steamer, but we needed a break and some of us were melting down from lack of food. We hopped in my car and went to lunch to decide on our next move. At lunch we decided that yes, we needed a steamer or a super duper steam iron. On the way back to finish our work, we stopped at Fry’s to see what they had.
Steamer
We ended up buying a Conair Steamer and by ‘we’ I mean Kelly. There were 3 choices. We eliminated the travel version right away, because they didn’t have any (the hovering salesman who didn’t really add to our conversation, but wouldn’t leave told us) and after about 10 more seconds of deliberation Kelly decided on the Conair. We also got water, Snickers and an extension cord.
I have to say that steamers are the way to go. They don’t, however, absolve all sins, but it did a great job with the folds, etc, from storage. Kelly was really happy that she got it. The quilts looked better.
Funnily enough, everyone else at the quilt show came running over when they saw the steam, thinking there was a fire. When they saw what we were doing and that there wasn’t a fire, they thought we were brilliant. A few others, including the featured artist asked to borrow it. Every quilt show management should have one.
Bay Area Modern Banner Pre-Steamed
Pre-Steamed
Bay Area Modern Banner Post-Steaming
Post Steaming
We thought the quilting stood out a lot of more, though I think my phone photos don’t really do the work and expense justice.
Amanda consulting on hanging
Amanda as quilt hanger
Michelle hard at work
Steaming the quilts
All in all it was a good and fun day. I was glad I went despite the drive. I always enjoy hanging out with the BAMQGers!
It was a good meeting last Saturday. Friend Julie and I had signed up for a design class with Joe Cunningham, but it was cancelled at the last minute. I didn’t really see any advertising for it and I wish they had let me know sooner so I could have rounded up people. The effect of that cancellation was that I got to attend the BAMQG meeting. I was really sad that I was going to miss it and was really wanting to be in 2 places at once.
Mike gave us a tour of one section of the MQG. The goal is to get us more familiar with the benefits of that site since our BAMQG membership includes an MQG membership.
Karen, the 2015 Challenge Coordinator, gave us a small lecture on “What is Modern?”. Stop with the eye rolling! It was interesting and a little off the beaten track. She took some principles of ‘modern quilting’ and showed us these elements in modern quilts as well as ‘non-modern’ quilts, including quilts from the 1980s and 1990s as well as vintage quilts. It was a cool presentation! Some of the elements she included were:
Improv
Pictorial
Graphic
Negative Space
Bright Colors
Alternative Grid (drop an element to mess up symmetry, space elements oddly, irregular spacing between element, etc)
I added in Text during the discussion.
The result of this fabulous presentation is a challenge quilt due in July (??) using an alternative grid.
Some of the Hawaiian quilts are finished. Angela handed out binding and talked about the quilts. I think she got some other people who couldn’t attend the Sew Day to take some pieces and parts and finish them.
I got a colorful binding, though Gerre tells me the quilting is still in process. No problem. I am still working on the binding for the Pink T quilt, though I am nearly done.
Joy-Lily is the Swaps Coordinator and the first swap will be in April. We are each to bring a quilt book with which we have finished and trade with someone else for one. In the future, there will be a ‘Sew As You Go” bag swap.
Upcoming events:
Amish Exhibit at the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles ends 2/28/2015
Manteca Quilt Show, March 7-8, 2015
SCVQA Show-March 14-15, 2015
Playcrafts has a challenge going using the Pantone Color of the Year, Marsala
Binding Bee
After the meeting ended, a bunch of us sat around finishing up the binding of the guild’s opportunity quilt. The quilt is a monster, but it is also an amazing monster.
Ruth designed it and it is a very unique design that will be appealing to modern quilters, at the very least. Marci Gore designed the quilting and stitched it out on her computerized longarm.
There was some discussion about what the guild would do if we were asked for a pattern. There is a lot of creativity in the guild so I suggested created a pattern and posting it on Craftsy. There are a lot of steps before we can do that, not the least of which is get our nonprofit status finalized, but it is in the idea hopper.
2014 BAMQG Opportunity Quilt
The first opportunity to buy raffle tickets will be at the Santa Clara Valley Quilt Association Show. It was fun. People would walk up and comment that it was just like an old fashioned quilting bee.
The next Sew Day will be at The Intrepid Thread, which will be dangerous. 😉
I went to the BAMQG Sew Day last Saturday. We had a great time making Hawaiian themed quilts. We made 10 tops and 5 backs. Kelly was on back detail, so she did most of them while others of us did the tops.
5 Hawaiian Quilts
These quilts are for a family who lost their beloved mother/grandmother recently. The fabrics are from her stash and some from curtains and her mumus. All are Hawaiian prints.
Our Work
Gerre and I worked together. Gerre was already sewing away when I got there. I stepped in and began ironing and pinning and we ended up making the top (left).
Angela arranged the whole project and picked the pattern. I was grateful that it was pretty easy. She is great that way and figured out fast that if we wanted to get these done this century they should be easy. Also, as Frances says, the Muggles don’t know.
I don’t think this is a terrible pattern at all and I don’t mean to imply that it is. Simplicity is wonderful. The black/dark grey really sets off the bright Hawaiian fabric. I think that people who are unfamiliar with the process can appreciate simpler patterns much better. Not that they aren’t capable, but if you don’t sew, it is hard to appreciate the work that goes into something complicated.
Gerre & Jaye in contemplation
Gerre and I did have to contemplate our piece. We wanted some variety in the fabric despite all the orange we had to work with. The picture above shows the piece laid out on our design floor right before we were were going to sew the sashing.
Hawaiian Back
The backs were pieced with big pieces and they came out fun, because of the motifs on the large Hawaiian prints.
Once the backs were made, Angela distributed batting and Gerre and I moved on to Postage Stamp blocks. We made 16 and I will piece them into another donation top.
This back was made by Peggy and I like the combination of the diamond pattern and the large leaves.
Some people will take the quilts home to finish then bring them back for others to quilt.
Gerre is going to quilt ours while I bind the Pink T quilt, then she will give me the Hawaiian quilt and I will bind that one. She has a goal of quilting a certain number of charity quilts this year and I intend to help her! We work very well together and it is great to have a sewing buddy at Sew Day.
Our own personal Girl Scout
We also had our own personal girl Scout present. She came to keep us supplied with cookies. I think she also took an interest in our sewing. We have to tempt the young ones and Amanda is doing a good job on that account.
My round robin came back after a long vacation! It went through two moves of my various round robin-mates. Kathleen was able to work on it during the past few weeks and I just got it back yesterday!
It is so bright and cheerful! It is also completely unexpected. I guess the point of a round robin is to work with other people and see how they would work on your project.
I was expecting the rows I created to be continued out into the border, but instead Kathleen added these very cheerful pinwheels and the checkerboard border.
When I saw the pictures of the piece I thought it was very small, but the piece turns out to be quite large – well on its way to being a twin or larger quilt.
I think it needs more and Kelly has agreed to work on it. I think I have to look at the design thus far some more. I also need to see what else the design needs in case it comes back to me and I want to make it bigger. I think I would like others to work on it, in addition to Kelly, though, if I have the opportunity. We’ll see who I can round up.
BAMQG Round Robin detailBAMQG Round Robin detailBAMQG Round Robin detail
As you may remember, it is the practice of the BAMQG members to make bags for the officers. This year I made two bags for two of the officers and two for the Charity Girls. The Charity Girls are not on the list, but Michelle and Peggy did such a fantastic job this year that I couldn’t resist.
“Fantastic Job” does not even begin to describe how inspired I have been to make donation quilts. I have been contemplating how I felt in 2014 about making donation quilts, which you can read all about if you want to go back through the year, but I can’t really wrap my head around it. Yes, it was an opportunity to sew. Yes, it was an opportunity to work with others either like Gerre and I did or by handing in a quilt top and having someone else quilt it. Those descriptions sound so selfish. Clearly making these quilts was not about me. It was about making something for someone who needed a bit of comfort. Sadly, I think, if I am honest, the why goes back to me. I enjoy making the donation quilts. I enjoy working with others. I enjoy handing off tops for someone else to quilt. I I I.
2015 Bag for Michelle
Regardless of my selfishness in doing good, I thought the Charity Girls did an awesome job and I wanted them to feel the love, thus the bags.
I don’t really know if I should count this as a finished project as:
It is a ‘doing good’ quilt
I pieced some and bound it. Gerre did the quilting and Peggy did the choosing of fabrics and the cutting
I suppose that #2 is kind of irrelevant since I don’t quilt my own quilts anyway.
I don’t know. Somehow I just don’t feel like I did much on this quilt.
I really want to work with Gerre again. I think we made a good team. I am tempted to cut up some fabrics to make another T quilt, but I need to finish the Teenaged Boy Black & Grey Donation Quilt. I do think I would like this quilt better if the greens weren’t so dull. Still someone will love it.
Still, it is done and someone will enjoy it. I hope.
Pam, over at Hip to be a Square, was saying on a recent podcast, that we aren’t supposed to call donation quilts or charity programs ‘charity’ anymore. It is too offensive to those who are financially challenged. I suppose I can understand that, but I hope the quilts the guild makes are still appreciated.
Peggy the Fantastic Energizer (TM) Bunny and pals hung the BAMQG quilt show on Monday and we were all able to view it at the meeting/Holiday Extravaganza on Saturday. Jim, one of our members, was kind enough to stand in as an interested viewer for me. 😉
BAMQG Library Quilt Show 2014
The show is not your regular quilt show, which was nice as it really gets quilts out to the public.
No, I did not enter one. I think the patrons seem good about touching, but I wasn’t sure at the time and didn’t make the time. Maybe next year.
I thought it was a little strange that some of the quilts were hung so low, but then I realized what a great view I would get of them if I sat in the chairs. And I would get a sore neck. Win-win!
BAMQG Library Quilt Show 2014
There certainly is a wide variety of quilts. I don’t know if they are all modern, but I guess they are now!
I really like Nicki’s quilt, which is the turquoise quilt on the left. Are you surprised? 😉
I am really scraping the bottom of the barrel for posts and I don’t know why. Too many demands on my time, perhaps? I suspect not enough sewing, but this means you get the BAMQG report ASAP! Aren’t you excited?
Claire told us that the 501(c)(3) paperwork has been put in. That is a ton of work and GREAT news.
Quilty Happenings
Amish Exhibit at San Jose Museum Quilts & Textiles. Reception is on 12/7/2014 from 2-4, though SJMQT members and the artists are welcome to a walk through starting at 1pm.
BAMQG members have a show up at the Los Altos Public Library through December 31, 2014. It is open during library hours
CQFA Members have a show at the Main Branch of the San Francisco Public Library in the Wallace Stegner Environmental Center. I have 3 quilts there! Through April.
Santa Clara Valley Quilt Association show will be in March or April and the BAMQG will have a big presence, both in quilts and helping out.
Meetings
The meetings in 2015 are all scheduled to be at the Redwood City Public Library Community Room. The one that might change is the December Holiday Extravaganza because of the Redwood City parade that usually coincides with our meeting. Stay tuned on the BAMQG blog for updates.
Sew Day: January 3, 2015 at Los Altos Public Library
Charity Sew Day: February 2015 at Los Altos Public Library. Probably the first Saturday. Stay tuned on the BAMQG blog for updates.
Events
There will be three speakers next year, Stacy Lynn Wood, the lady from Peppermint Pinwheel and another, as yet to be named, national speaker. Buy or renew your membership to join that fun.
There was a prize drawing for the UFO Challenge and I won a spool of Aurifil thread! Yay! I can totally use that. There is a super prize in January and I can’t wait to see what that is. I hope I don’t have to be present to win as I can’t make that meeting.
BAMQG 2014 Swap Items
The Holiday Swap was awesome. I didn’t participate beyond admiring all the gifties.
I didn’t take a picture of the food, but the committee did an awesome job. There are now five of us who eat a GF diet, so there were plenty of GF goodies of which to partake. I had some yummy chocolate thing that Claire made. Yay for chocolate!
After that I just chatted with people. I found out that Michelle S has a blog. I had never spent time talking with her, but we were sitting next to each other and just got to talking. She does a lot of handquilting and doesn’t have many UFOs, which is quite envious, I have to say. She is also using the Hoffman Challenge fabric to make her City Sampler/Tula Pink blocks. I have to say that Michelle’s blocks made mine look terrible. 🙁
I also had the chance to discuss bindings with Annemarie. She has a large hexie made from Kaffe Fassett (and friends) fabric. She was thinking of cutting off the outer hexies and I encouraged her to either fill in the edges with triangles to make them square a la the Eye Spy or to bind them around the outer hexies, leaving them in tact like I did, sort of, with Flower Sugar. I really wish these designers would stop telling people to cut off their hexies.
