Commentary about works in progress, design & creativity
I put another border (row??) on to the Orange Improv Donation top. I am nearly out of orange scraps. Truly, I have some large Philip Jacobs flower scraps and a few very small triangles left. This is the goal but the top isn’t square and I would like it to be, at least, square-ish before I hand it in. While figuring out what to do, I made those new donation blocks I talked about the other day.
I am not quite finished with the Orange Improv Donation Top, but I had to start on new blocks for leaders and enders reasons.
I won’t have enough strips in these colors to make the number of blocks I need for a quilt top, but it is a start. I will either make chunks like I did for the Red Chunk Donation top or put the blocks aside until I get more of the right color scraps. I could also combine these blocks with the greys, but that might muddy the brightness of the quilt.
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!
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.
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.
At Sew Day,I saw Peggy with my Red Strip (Chunk) donation quilt. Yep, Sue had quilted it, so it was a quilt!
I am so pleased that it was finished so quickly.
It still needs to be bound, but there is progress.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
On Wednesday the YM and I went to Stockton to spend the day making pillowcases with the Tuleberg Quilt Guild. My mom is a member. She told me about it and since we haven’t had a chance to get together alone this month, I decided to go. When I found out the YM would be home, I convinced him to tag along. He wants to learn to sew, so this was a good opportunity to start.
It is a far drive for us, so we go there a little late and, after setting up, he went off with my mom to get something to eat. Is tarted cutting up fabric to make the first pillowcase and quickly realized that he wouldn’t be able to make a whole pillowcase on his own. I decided to do the cutting and have him sew.
It has been a long time since he sat in front of a machine, so this was a good decision. He carefully guided the fabric through the machine, encountering the stop and start problems of the feed dogs not grabbing the fabric, thread bunnies and backstitching. We used the pillowcase tutorial I have cobbled together from experience and a variety of sources. He chain pieced the cuff/body burrito together. I also had him turn the burritos inside out and do a little pressing when I got behind. By the end, the three of us were all working together to finish the pillowcases.
I brought some yard sized pieces of fabric I didn’t think I would use, but cutting bits out for other projects does help with this. Fortunately, I have realized this and started cutting up the side of yardage, so I have a chance of having enough for a body (yard sized length) and cuff (half yard sized length). Newer fabric is easier to use, but so far I still like it enough to not want to use it for community quilts/projects. I suppose that is something I have to work on.
As a team, we made 5 pillowcases in about 3 hours. This is probably a bit slow, but I do French seams so everything is enclosed and that takes longer. I don’t have a serger, so this is the best way for me to achieve my goal.
They also had an ice cream social, which was make it yourself sundaes and banana splits. I love banana splits and made myself a small one. They brought real glass sundae holders, which was really classy.
The guild ended up with 121 pillowcases for the day, which I thought was a good effort.
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.
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.