You must be getting sick of my donation block craze. I really do want to add more blocks and quilt tops to my 2017 list, so I made 5 more blocks on Sunday.
Grey and Red Donation Block – December 2017
Misc. Blues and Reds Donation Block – December 2017
Purple Dress Donation Block – December 2017
Solid Blue Donation Block – December 2017
Go Bears Donation Block – December 2017
I worked on them while I was piecing the last quarter of En Provence. The blocks seemed to fly out of my machine despite the fact that I was really struggling to find backgrounds.
I have been working through my little bin of donation patches since I started on this binge. After 20 blocks, I have few backgrounds and a lot of fabrics that I am tired of using. Still, I was determined not to cut more backgrounds until I absolutely had to. I decided, after I made the Cal block (blue and yellow) that I needed to see if I had some charm packs.
The blue and yellow block as well as some of the others will be difficult to use with the standard blocks others make. There is some thing about using up as much as you can before you have to cut more background.
Eventually, I went to my tote of charm packs and found two of white fabric. I started cutting up one of them, so my next batch of donation blocks will be pretty standard.
Although I had a lot of other projects to use as leaders and enders, I really made a lot of donation blocks throughout the weekend as well.
I have used a lot of 2.5″ squares this weekend and I am kind of scraping the bottom of the barrel. It is not a bad thing as I am using up pieces I might not normally use. I’ll have to cut some backgrounds soon, but I hope to work out some piecing so I can use some donation blocks from last year to make a new top.
I had an unexpected day of sewing on Sunday. Mom and I were scheduled to visit her quilt show, but she was called on to act in her Presidential Duties at her church. I was sad not to see her, thought glad to avoid the 2+ hour each way drive. My long commute has prevented us from getting together regularly and that is hard. Mom and were able to catch up for a few minutes on the phone and that was nice.
I sewed instead. I sewed A LOT.
Triple Star n.14
Triple Star n.15
Triple Star n.16
One of the projects on which I made progress was the Triple Star blocks. I have made all the blocks called for in the pattern. After taking Sarah’s class on Saturday, I have a different idea of the layout and may need to make more to get the right balance.
The pattern calls for a straight set – 4 down, 4 across. After Sarah’s class, and after thinking about the layout of the Stars #3 Donation quilt, I want to do something different, more interesting.
Triple Star Potential Layout
I did a quick layout with three quarters of the blocks, which resolved my uncertainty. I like the asymmetrical idea, though I realize that I may need a few more blocks for the upper left and lower right hand corners.
Even if this particular layout (definitely without the toes) will not be the final layout, I am on the right track. Using Sarah’s technique, I be able to cut exactly what I need to put it together.
I was hung up on the Triple Star project because I needed to cut a few more pieces. I couldn’t seem to get to it. It seemed like a good thing to do over the weekend while I was home fighting off a cold. Wielding a rotary cutter isn’t always a good idea when taking cold medication, but in this case, all the cold relief was minor.
I got the pieces cut and was back in business making Triple Stars in between putting En Provence together.
Triple Star n.13
Triple Star n.12
I finished n.12, which had been in process for a few weeks. I was also able to finish a second.
I am finally making progress on this project again. Three more blocks and I can put the quilt together.
I really feel it keenly when I can’t sew, so I think I am posting every little bit of progress so I don’t seem like a slacker in my own mind.
Triple Star #11
This is the most recent star that I have made.
Due to some cutting errors I repurposed some of the pieces to other uses in the Triple Star. This means I have to cut more before I can make much more progress on the rest of the stars. I have one in progress and am sewing as much of it as I can, but I have to cut.
As much as the flippy corners method is a pain, I do like the look of the Friendship Star in the center.
In between working on putting together the En Provence quilt, I have been sewing Triple Star blocks together. I use the blocks as leaders and enders.
While I am concerned that using the blocks as leaders and enders means I am not as engaged with the quilt, I really have to have something in between the En Provence pieces to keep them in order. While I could make make more donation blocks, I want to make progress on other projects as well, so the Triple Star blocks are the leaders and enders.
Unlike Fresh Fruit, I have to pick a lot of colors for the blocks. I also have a lot more seams to sew, so I do pay attention.
In between putting together En Provence, I made some more Triple Star blocks. I have about six done and have to cut some more pieces to make more. I have ten more to make. They are sewn together pretty quickly with all the pieces cut.
This pattern is from Scrap-Basket Beauties by Kim Brackett. Frances turned me on to this author. There is at least one other scrap quilt in this book I would consider making.
I made another cutting mistake on the Triple Star and decided it was time to make a test block. I laid out two blocks so I could see what I was working on and came up with some great blocks.
I fooled around with the colors until I was happy and began sewing.
I am really happy I made the test block. Even laying it out on the design wall would have been helpful. This block is not difficult, but it is confusing. Still, the effect is really great.
Triple Star – first block sewn
The block came out really well. I am not sure about that mustardy color and may limit it. I am hoping that it will enhance the other colors. Not sure sure yet.
I had a few minutes to sew on Friday night after work and I blew through about 30 pieces for the Triple Star quilt. Not tons, but some progress, which felt good.
Triple Star – August 2017
I have to admit I was avoiding quilting on the art quilt. I had taken off the walking foot in order to finish the star donation quilt and just drifted over to piecing rather than be disciplined about quilting. I have to give myself a break. This is supposed to be fun and I have been driving myself.
I was pleased to do some piecing. I received the Chroma finally, so I could cut the rest of the large rectangles. Now I am in the process of sewing (using the flippy corners method) 2.5″ squares onto two sides of the rectangles to make a parallelogram. I need a lot of them so it is taking forever. I might sew a sample block just to ease the mindlessness. I have no excuse to be bored 1) because I can switch to other projects and 2) I just started!
I needed a break from quilting to do some piecing.
I had the Star blocks on the wall and had figured out how I wanted to put them together. I also wanted to get them done since the guild meeting is coming up and I’d like to having something to turn in. Since my design wall is overrun those blocks seemed to be the most logical project.
Stars #2 top
I put the blocks together in, basically, the arrangement I showed in the previous post.
I didn’t put the blocks together completely. I omitted some of the corner blocks in order to make the arrangement a little off balance. Some of the blocks share corner blocks. I think this adds movement to the quilt.
I think this quilt really shows what can happen if you keep the blocks on the design wall for awhile and look at them.
I have four more of these blocks and will make another quilt in a similar, but slightly different arrangement. I am not quite done playing with the arrangement.
I made a back for Stars #2 as well and will give both to the guild at the next meeting.
Back in the Spring, I received an email about contributing to a lovey quilt for a friend moving to Scotland. She is a Tula Pink devotee and that would be the theme. Of course I wanted to participate, but I am not a Tula devotee and I only had one Tula fabric as far as I knew.
Fat Quarter Shop Purchases
I went online and bought a couple of pieces. I didn’t want to buy a lot as it isn’t really fabric I generally use. I was pleased to find a fat quarter pack of Tula solids. I knew I would use those, so I scooped them up with a couple of the more Tula-esque prints and started thinking about a design.
This was to be a modern quilt from Tula fabric and I really was at a loss about what to make. I would normally default to Sawtooth Stars for a lovey block as they are great all around and work well with fussy cutting. They didn’t seem right for this piece.
I needed to get busy as the deadline was approaching and my work travel + Grand Parlor were all coming up quickly. I decided on a modern house block a la the Clerestory quilt.
Both Tula Blocks
I wasn’t really excited about the house block and hadn’t started yet when I saw another member of the group working on hers at a Sew Day. She was making a Pineapple block. This made me think that a house block would be hard to fit in, so I decided that a wonky log cabin would work better. I am not a huge log cabin fan and wonky log cabins are worse. However, I could fussy cut the special motifs and work around them in a way that would really scream ‘TULA’. That is what I did. I am pretty pleased with the blocks. They didn’t come out exactly as intended, but they look nice and people seemed to like them.
I suppose that is what has to happen at some point. I know I mitigate massive bouts of cutting by breaking it up, but occasionally, I can’t get away from it.
Triple Star background fabric
In addition to everything else I did at Sew Day, I also cut background squares for the Triple Star.
This was a task I really needed to do to make anymore progress on the piece, but was also reluctant to do due to space considerations. At Sew Day, I commandeered a large mat and table. I was able to lay out the book, the finished pieces, my rulers and still have space to cut. It was great and I got the job done quickly.
I still have foreground fabric to cut as I have been focusing my cutting on the 2.5″ x 6.5″ rectangles and using the Alison Glass Sun Prints layer cake. Before I can do much more I need to cut some of the smaller foreground pieces from other pieces. I don’t want to make a one fabric line quilt. I want it to be more controlled scrappy like the version I saw at Back Porch.
Triple Star Rectangle-Spikes
I did a little piecing using the pieces I cut and they are looking good so far. I am using the Janome 6600, which I talked about yesterday. They came out perfectly. There was no fighting with the machine. I used the “flippy corners” method and the machine did not eat the corners. It was a relatively painless experience.
Belinda was making blocks for a donation quilt. I thought the design was great. It was great for all quilts, but especially for donation quilts.
The rectangles are 2.5″ x 4.5″, which is a size I am cutting for two future quilts, so not unfamiliar to me. The blocks can be made from any size rectangle as long as the rectangles are proportional.
Belinda used a Bali Pop, which looked really great. I thought that cutting rectangles from a variety of fabrics as I cut other fabrics up for my projects would be interesting as well – a scrappy look.
I figure that the blocks are about 12×12 finished, so making 9 would make a good sized donation quilt. I’ll see about making one once I have the other two, which are in process, finished.
I have liked this quilt for a long time. The photo shows a version that I have admired multiple times at Back Porch Fabrics.
This version uses primarily Kaffe Fassett and Philip Jacobs fabrics with a charcoal (description not actual color name) solid background. I really like it.
I am using the Alison Glass’ Sun Prints layer cake I bought for the Layer Cake Explosion QAL. There aren’t enough bright clear colors so I am throwing in some Kaffe and Philip Jacobs fabrics as well. I also have some Alison Glass Chroma coming soon and may add some of that into the mix.I want it to be as scrappy as possible while using supplies I already purchased. I can always adjust as I begin assembly.
I have the charcoal background I bought for the QAL, but I also have white, so we will see what I end up using. I want this quilt to be appealing and cheerful.
This quilt design is from Kim Brackett’s book, Scrap Basket Beauties. You should buy it. There are a number of quilts I have marked in this book to make. I need to get through this time of “must dos” before I can make any others.
Triple Star by Glenda Freiberg, Half Moon Bay
Star Fancy by Marina Kaiser of San Bruno
*
I visited the county fair last week and was surprised to see a number of quilts in this pattern on display. I don’t remember ever seeing them in quilt shows or at the fair before and wonder if there was a class somewhere locally.
I love seeing individual variations on a pattern. The fair was a great place to see variations on the same pattern and it was so fortuitous that I am planning the same quilt.
*-images ONLY are copyrighted NOT pattern or versions, ideas by above makers.
Modern quilt block library by AnneMarie of Gen X Quilters can be found on her block. Great and interesting block ideas.
Have you seen Yuliya Reshetnikova’s work? I found her on IG and then went to her website to look around. Her website is in Russian, so it is a good thing images are universal. What drew me to her first was her Oddfellows blocks. She chooses fabulous fabrics and does a great job fussy cutting. It has a lot of pieces (which you know I can’t stay away from) and reminds me of my Carpenter’s Wheel blocks. I might need to make some of these blocks. 😉
THEN I saw her Dear Jane blocks. She is making them from Kaffe Collective fabrics. YES! Including my man Phil’s fabrics. Oh what a great idea. I have often thought of making a Dear Jane quilt using modern or more up to date fabrics, but never had an idea that made me really excited. This does, though I would be copying someone else’s idea. Good to know I can still get excited about Dear Jane.
Judy Martin is still one of my favorite quiltmakers. She has such great patterns and her advice and pattern writing is supreme. She may not be considered a modern quiltmaker or au courant, but she keeps putting out patterns and books that are suitable for all levels and all fabrics. Her Celtic Squares Deluxe quilt pattern would be gorgeous in modern fabrics and has a lot of background space for quilting. She has a new venture: e-books and patterns, which means you can order and receive your purchase immediately. Check out her new site. You can also get a sneak peek at her new Lone Star book. Some of the variations she shows are fantastic. Not stodgy at all.
Pat Bravo is hosting an EPP Party and it starts today. Check her blog for all of the details. It is a good way to dip your toe into English Paper Piecing without committing to La Passacaglia. The EPP Party will run for 24 weeks providing 1 block each other week, so plenty of time to learn and finish your blocks. This post also provides a list of supplies and says that the first block comes out May 1. Of course there will be prizes.
Moda is having a challenge called the Moda Bella Challenge. The idea is to celebrate Mark Dunn’s love of color and passion for textiles. The piece must use certain Bella solids and have a contemporary feel. Full details are in the PDF. There is also a blog post written about the challenge on the Moda Cutting Table. I wasn’t that enamored of the colors. Some are okay, but the primaries are a bit too nursery-ish for me and the selected fabrics are the only ones that can be used. I have a idea in my mind, but since the selected fabrics are the only ones that can be used, I am not interested in spending the time. The first prize is $5000. All the prizes are purchase awards.
Fabric, Notions & Tools
Jennifer Paganelli is a fabric designer favorite. I see her designs as consistently appealing. Her latest offering is Sunny Isle, which is so pretty and definitely goes with her other lines, such as Queen Street (the fabric I used to make the Improv Round Robin).
I just started following Riley Blake on Twitter. They post very clever tweets, also useful tweets. One recent one was a yardage card.
Inspiration & Other Artists
As you may have seen, if you have spent any time in my Gallery, I have a small series of political quilts. Politics are hard, because people feel differently about politics and very strongly. I am politically active, but in a quiet and personal way. I don’t talk much about politics, not because I don’t want to talk about them, but because I don’t want to get in a fight with people. I don’t think, in general, we know how to have a civilized conversation about politics. Lately, I have been feeling the urge to make another political quilt expressing my concerns. I haven’t quite figured out what to make. Then I saw my friend Sarah’s quilt. Sarah Ann Smith made the quilt that I want to make for this year. She wrote about Speak Up, Speak Out on her blog a couple of days ago. It is a homage to our right to demonstrate peacefully. It also has messages that are relevant. I really like it.
I saw an ad for beautiful cards on Instagram. One was a lovely in bloom cherry tree. Another was a wonderful cherry pie. So clever. They also have a 5 pack in case you have need of five Mother’s day cards. 😉 The cards are pricey and I would use them more for inspiration than sending one to someone who would just toss it out.
I saw a photo on IG and immediately translated it in my head to a quilt design. What do you see?
I have been thinking about a Jack’s Chain quilt for a long time. I remember seeing a sample at the Cotton Patch when I first started quilting. Recently I saw a super upgraded and upsized version on IG that really excited me. It made me think of my recent review of the New Hexagon.
Friend Mary turned me on to Sotak Handmade. The site has a great look and lots of interesting projects, tutorials, links and fabric. I haven’t had much of a chance to surf the site, but do like the Olivia pouch and the grocery bags.
Feedback & Surveys
If you want to have a say in what videos Sara from Sew Sweetness, creates, now is your chance. She has a short survey that allows you to do just that. All I could think of was techniques she uses in her patterns such as sewing inside pockets. I also said that she would do well to think of producing the videos in such to help us think about using the technique for other patterns.
I talked about my trip to Portland in a previous post. I went to a couple of shops for a second time and I want to give brief updates. I went to Bolt again. It is a very sharp contrast to Modern Domestic. It is small, more jammed with fabrics and their aesthetic is really different. i didn’t enjoy as much as I did last time, but I don’t think it is a bad shop. I think I was coming down off of a different aesthetic high. I found some great text fabric I plan to use as the inside of one or two Poolside totes.
I also went back to Cool Cottons. I love the neighborhood it is in and the house where it is housed. The fabrics were also really great, though not as fresh as I was hoping for. I found some more text fabrics and a Blueberry Park I couldn’t resist.
It is hard to know what is a good expectation and what is unreasonable. when I go to shops out of town, I really want to see fabrics and notions I haven’t seen before. I want to take a advantage of the different perspective of a different location. I feel like that expectation might be too much. Still, I don’t want to see the same old-same old. I guess the thing is that shops have to move their fabric through and out and that requires some marketing savvy, knowing the customers and increasing foot traffic. It is hard for a small business owner to be all things.
