I made major progress on this piece during the weekend before Thanksgiving. I have had a lot to talk about, so posts are getting backed up. For someone who hasn’t had much of a chance to sew recently, I seem to have a lot of content!
Potential Red & Black Improv Back
I walked around my workroom trying to get comfortable with the blue and green backing. I really tried hard to like it. I tried to convince myself that another color scheme would provide a different look and make a good addition to the piece.
No dice.
I had already cut one piece into two and I still couldn’t like what I saw. The blues just didn’t work with the red and black and I couldn’t do it. I admitted to myself that I wanted to save the large piece of red solid for another project and that cleared the way for progress. I found a piece of American Made Brands red solid on sale and bought it. That kind of freed me up to use the large piece of Kona red for the back, which is what I did.
I spent a whole Sunday piecing the back. I wanted to finish and it took me a long time. I did. I just need to make the binding and then I can take it to Colleen’s to be quilted. I like the way the whole piece came out, but I am glad to get it off my design wall.
The thing is huge and I need to take a photo of both sides outside, but that will have to wait for one of my quilt hangers to return from college.
The 4th Carpenter’s Wheel block sat on my wall for over week. I didn’t really have a lot of time in the past little while to sew, which is hard. I made an effort one evening to get the block done. I had pecked away it, so I didn’t have to sew all the pieces, but there were about 40 pieces to sew, so it was a bit of work.
I tried to add in some different fabrics from the others. I want this piece, whatever it turns out to be, very scrappy.
This block is 16.5″ and has, if I counted right, 77 pieces.
4 Carpenter’s Wheel Blocks
Making the 4th one means that I have reached my original goal. the problem is that I also thought of another variation. Sigh. We’ll see what happens.
I was kind of shocked to realize that the last time I devoted a post to this project was back in September. I did mention it last week and meant to write a full post. I was out of town for most of the week for work and it never happened.
Red & Black Improv Top
On Saturday, I got back to the machine. I worked on this top, in between other projects. For the Improv top, I seem to be able to make progress on this project, but only while working simultaneously with other projects. For some reason this project does not inspire me to buckle down and work on it by itself.
I tried Improv again and it still doesn’t inspire me. I guess I like the technical precision of regular blocks. Does that make me boring? Perhaps.
Three blocks was the sum total of what I needed to finish to put this top together. The end was in sight! (Let’s not talk about back or binding at the moment). I finished one block completely on Saturday and made major progress on two more.
Sunday, I finished the blocks and then put all the blocks together into the top.
I started on the back, for which I am making different color choices just to give it a different feel. I am choosing some blues so that the back will have a different feel.
Yes. More donation blocks. They were part of my sewing work over the past two weekends. I am now out of cut background squares so I will need to cut more. I have some blue dottish on white fabric scraps leftover from the Star Sampler, which I might use. Since they are scraps, they won’t go far and will be a stopgap.
These are on the dull side. I cut up a bunch of foreground fabrics some time ago. I didn’t feel like I wanted to use those fabrics in a quilt and am working my way through them for donation blocks. Someone will like them, right?
I am not doing that again. I decided that if I have fabric I don’t want to use, I’ll just donate it rather than using it like this. It isn’t enjoyable and I want to infuse these donation blocks good energy so that is my plan.
I really tried to recapture the sewing mojo I talked about last week. I didn’t quite feel that adrenaline rush of excitement this past weekend, but I did get a lot done.
Carpenter’s Wheel #3
I finished the Carpenter’s Wheel block that was named #2.5, but is really #3. I called it 2.5 last week to denote its unfinished state.
I was really lackadaisical at the beginning of the day about working on it. I think I didn’t want to get confused by leaving pieces and parts in the machine by using this block as leaders and enders. I worked hard at placing the fabrics, so I wanted to make sure I didn’t get get confused about where each patch belonged. Towards the end of the day, I set a goal to finish that block and did.
The cherry on the sundae was that I also laid out the last variation I imagined.
I might make a four block quilt, but I don’t know. I don’t want to commit to a full quilt with these blocks, but I may get inspired. I am loving the low volume background. It really adds interest to the blocks without making the background too busy.
I worked last Saturday on Carpenter’s Wheel blocks and some other stuff, which you heard about over the weekend. I am really having fun playing with the Carpenter’s Wheel blocks. So much fun was making me feel guilty about the other projects. In the course of resolving that problem, I made good progress on my variations on Deb Tucker’s Carpenter’s Wheel blocks as I mentioned a week or so ago.
#2 is made the way Deb Tucker showed on the Fons & Porter episode. Note that this one has the extra half square triangles along the outside of the block next to the Flying Geese. This definitely gives the piece a different look
Carpenter’s Wheel #3 – in process
I was able to finish #2 and cut everything for #3, but not get get much sewing done on it. I thought of the #3 variation as I added some HSTs to #2. This variation has HSTs as part of the ‘wheel on the inner row of patches. I hope that the HSTs in the corners will make the piece look more round.
In do this variation I thought of another variation, which I will also try.
I also opened my second pack of Modern Backgrounds – Paper by Zen Chic, which I bought in Corvallis. I don’t love all the prints in this pack, but most of them will work for me. The ones that don’t work are ending up in donation blocks, which I also worked on in between the Improv quilt and this project.
My last batch will make a cohesive quilt. This group less so. I had one leftover from the previous batch. When I returned home from the meeting on Saturday, I decided to cut up some cream and green squares for a background and make more donation blocks.
I pulled out a small bin of 2.5″ squares that I cut up for donation quilts a thousand years ago and began using those to make more squares. There is a lot of blue.
Last Lone Green & Grey Donation Block
The blocks are interesting. They aren’t as cohesive, as I said, but they make an interesting group of blocks. I don’t know that they will all be put together in the same group.
The other day I watched a Fons & Porter episode that had been saved on my Tivo. Deb Tucker was the guest and she was making the Carpenter’s Wheel block (quilt project is called Country Fair). She has updated the pattern to make quicker work of the piecing. I stopped the recording and gathered up pen and paper, drawing out the design as the show went on. I do that sometimes as much for the opportunity to draw as to remember a pattern I might want to make. I think the stars and lots of pieces made this block catch my attention.
The top drawing has a lot of mistakes, so I made the bottom drawing as the final, even though it is much smaller.
I really like Deb Tucker. She is smart, sensible, confident, excited about quiltmaking and doesn’t simper. I have her Flying Geese ruler and like the way it works. I haven’t watched any, but she has a lot of videos on her website. I may have to go watch a few. TQS has a recent episode with her that I’ll have to watch as well.
On the show, they use a ruler called the Square2 ruler, which Deb Tucker designed. They use it to make the Diamond Square units. I didn’t really want to buy the ruler before I could make the block*. I really just wanted to see what the block was about, thus the drawings.
Deb Tucker’s Carpenter’s Wheel on Fons & Porter
I also took a photo of the block off of the TV. I didn’t think it would come out as well as it did. It is a good reference and they don’t have a good photo on the F&P website.
I am not a really big fan of the fabrics used, The look of the piecing offered enough interest for me to soldier on and fabrics are easy to change.
If you look at the block and break it down, it is not that difficult. There are squares, HSTs and Flying Geese. Change that Diamond square unit into two Flying Geese and there is absolutely no scariness.
It occurred to me that I could make one block and have it be part of the low volume challenge at BAMQG. I could make the one block into a cushion cover or something. I decided to try out one block. Not sure what, but something grabbed me and I wanted to make this block. Not a quilt. One block.
By my estimation it had 82 pieces and, once sewed, turned into about a 16″ block when finished. I decided to use the low volume mini-charm packs I bought at Quiltwork Patches in Corvallis, Oregon. I got a pang of fear and that fearful voice in my head started whispering “what if you need them for something else??” I ignored the voice, opened the packet and began to lay out the block.
There is JOY is using something right away or nearly right away. I am not sure there is joy in saving things for later. I’ll have to think about that and report back later.
My “Carpenter’s Wheel”
On Saturday, I made it. I reveled in the the piecing. I ended up making a version of what I saw and drew. I forgot some HSTs.
As I said, there are a lot of pieces in this block and, thus, there was a lot of cutting I had to do. I used some of the 2.5″ squares I have been cutting for the Goodnight, Irene pattern I plan on making, but haven’t started. There is always more fabric to cut, right? I used the opportunity of using the Flying Geese units instead of Diamond Square units to mix up the fabrics even further.
So, it is a version. I like it, but I forgot those HSTs. I am not bothered by my mistake as I like what came out. I like the cheerfulness and the scrappiness. I just want to see the block as Deb Tucker made it, but in my fabrics with the low volume background. That means I am making another. Just one more block. Perhaps another cushion cover?
A couple of worries: do I have the low volume concept down? Is it ok to have a low volume background and a bright and cheerful foreground?
and
The mini-charms aren’t washed. I didn’t smell anything when I pressed the parts as I made the block, which was good. I don’t have a rash, which was also good.
*It looks like Deb Tucker will have a booth at PIQF, so I’ll have a chance to check out the ruler sometime at the show.
Saturday and Sunday, when I wasn’t working on Michelle’s IRR piece, I was working on the Improv Quilt. I know both are Improv projects.
Improv Progress, September 2015
The last time I made any progress on this piece was over a month ago. That progress felt forced and unsatisfying even though I didn’t know it at the time. I had the piece up on my design, which meant I had to look at it and that frustrated me. Frustrated me, because I wasn’t happy with the work as well as frustrated because it was taking up my design wall. I need to learn to make smaller quilts.
This weekend’s progress felt good. It was fast and intuitive and right. The piece is starting to look like something I won’t hate looking at.
I am not sure the blocks will end up where they are placed now, but there is a good bet some will stay where they are.
Improv Corner Block
One thing that happened to jolt me ahead in the process was that I laid in bed one night, trying to get to sleep. I spent the time thinking about this piece and made a plan. I decided I would cut a big piece of red to use as a start to make some corner blocks.
I wasn’t completely on board with making ‘B’ blocks for the corners, so I made corner blocks, which are similar to the ‘A’ blocks. I did what I thought would look good. I can always make something different, right?
I like the corner block shown at left, but I wish I had varied the length of the neutral strips more. I did a bit, but not enough. It will be fine once the rest of the quilt is done and I am not going to worry about it right now. I do reserve the right to change it if the design needs it later.
New ‘B’ Blocks
I did sort of learn from this block and the first two ‘B’ blocks. I didn’t want all the ‘B’ blocks to be heavy, so I varied the length of the strips to give them less weight — or less perceived weight. I also made the centers a bit more interesting. I want people to be interested in looking at the piece.
I have about 7 more blocks to make on this monster. I have some slim hope I can finish it by next week and take it to be quilted. I am laughing, but you can stop. 😉 I know it is a pipe dream, but I would like to move this project along.
I made more donation blocks last Saturday as I worked on sewing together the FOTY 2014 patches. I thought green would be good and chose a lot of medium greens, though I had to use some darker pieces as my green scrap basket dwindled. I used, mostly, grey for the background. As you will, a little pink and some other colors crept in.
Using the leaders and enders technique, I just kept sewing the 2.5″ squares in between the FOTY 2014 patches and came up with all of these donation blocks. I joked about making enough for a whole quilt, never thinking I would be able to do it. I am close, though, especially with the blocks from the other day.
I saw a quilt on Valerie’s Twitter feed that has these blocks with Flying Geese on the outside to make them into stars. I am sorely tempted, but I have so many projects that I am going to force myself just to turn these blocks in and let someone else make a pretty quilt.
I am very pleased that this will be a quilt (or quilts) that will make someone happy.
Unlike Pam, I do not have piles of 2.5″ squares laying around, though I am starting to think I should. I cut the foreground squares from a FQ I found that I won’t use in a quilt. I decided to make the blocks, because I had some leftovers from a One Hour Basket I made. That fabric became the background. There isn’t a ton of contrast, but they are pleasant blocks. The best part is they will go to a good cause. I haven’t done as much charity work this year and it makes me feel good to add to the BAMQG charity pile.
As I started to sew the FOTY 2014 together on Friday (started last week, but got really serious on Friday), I realized that I needed leaders and enders. After I sew each FOTY pair, I need to sew something in between so that I can keep the FOTY patches in order. I have been using the Octagon 9 Patch as leaders and enders pretty regularly, but I am at a weird place with that project, so for the moment it won’t work. I gave away a bunch of my neutrals, but dug around and found some suitable greys for more donation blocks. I used leftovers of some Bonnie and Camille greys. They are a little too taupe for me, so I have been using them for projects I don’t plan to keep. Since I also have a lot of green scraps, which I don’t use much, I cut some random 2.5″ squares from those and made a couple of blocks.
Green & Grey Donation Blocks
Now I have a random thought to make 12 more and have enough for a quilt. I suppose it is possible since FOTY has a lot of pairs needing sewing, but the cutting of the 2.5″ squares – enough to make a quilt before next week is a little daunting.
I think it will be better if I get over my Octagon Nine Patch hump so I can make progress on that project, not that donation blocks are a bad thing.
I am still feeling like I am in some weird in between place with my projects. There are projects where I am at a strange point that seems to be stopping me. I have to count up all of the FOTY squares and figure out how big I need to make the quilt. I need to cut some more squares for the Octagon Nine Patch, which has been languishing for, what feels like, a long time.
Improv Top in Progress
I decided to work on the Improv quilt again and get that project farther along.I finished a second ‘B’ and decided to sew it, along with the first ‘B’ block on to the quilt. I like what is happening and I can see where I go next, to a certain extent, but I think those 2 blocks look heavy. I might put them on the bottom, but I will see if I can lighten them up with more red on the three sides.
One idea I had from looking at the photo above is to make sure some red meets the red on the bottom and continues over almost to the corner. That will mean making that part of that corner side block last and making sure I remember. I think if I do that, there will have to be a bit of one of the black and white prints in the corner – or a strip of red alternated with black and white prints.
Improve top – turned
I also thought of making those blocks the bottom. Heaviness works on the bottom. The photo (left) is the same one as above, just turned so you don’t have to turn your head.
It looks ok, but I remembered that there will be other blocks on each side of those new ‘B’ blocks.
Yes, all the blocks are sewn together. I just wanted them sewn.
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.
Using leaders and enders I made a few more Stepping Stones blocks. They are looking really awesome, I think. I love the way the red and blue really create distinct secondary designs. This was a little hard to see in my previous quilt. From far away the previous quilt looks great, but close up you can’t see the pattern as well as you can in this turquoise and red version.
Stepping Stones – starting to look like something
I have added a few new fabrics to the mix for this quilt. My original idea of using all Bonnie and Camille fabrics is pretty much out the window. They were a good starting place, but much too limiting. With all the fabrics I have added, I still don’t think there are enough. I get annoyed when I see two fabrics together. I am starting to see the appeal of charm quilts.
The picture to the right is the new blocks with a few of the old ones to show you the effect of the whole design.
