Commentary about works in progress, design & creativity
I finished all the blocks for the plaid donation top. I rummaged through some older fabric and found a large-ish piece of plaid I will use for most of the back. The leftovers, of which there are still a few, will make up the rest of the back. I think this will make a great boy quilt.
In the course of my rummaging, I found some baseball fabric remnants and will use them for another donation quilt. Stay tuned for that one.
In an effort to help out my neighbor, I made her some more masks. I am also using her as a guinea pig. She will tell me what she likes and doesn’t like about the masks, I hope.
The top one (Martelli pattern) I modified and put a nose piece in it. I like the pattern for that mask, because it goes together really quickly. We have decided, however, that we prefer straps that go around the back of our head, so we can loop the masks around our neck when they aren’t actually covering our faces (in the car or when we aren’t around people). Also, additional things around our ears compete for space with glasses and headphones. I’ll probably make this one again with straps/elastic that go all the way around the back.
The bottom mask is from the video pattern I talked about. It has those wings on the top and bottom. I need to try making it with straps around the back as well. I wonder how it would be if I made an X on the back with the straps (elastic)?
I don’t think I mentioned it before, but our neighbor only had one mask which is why I offered to make her some. She is keeping that one for ‘good’ and since I had more of the same fabric, I made a couple more. I don’t think she understands how much fabric I have. It’s nice for me to be able to do something for someone. She also makes lemon curd for us and supplies us with lemons. It’s a fair trade.
I am determined to use up the plaid. I used a good deal of it for the Plaid Block Party quilt for my cousin, but I still have some. Thus, I am making another donation top with the rest.
I am using the same Block Party pattern. I am using that pattern because it is easy and I had a number of leftover pieces that I wanted to use. I haven’t had much time to sew during the week, so I only have parts made. I am using these blocks as leaders and enders while I work on the Inside Outside Pouch.
I had a leftover Spiky 16 Patch block from the Flame donation top. Somehow SueS found out, though she is a reader, so that could be the way, and we decided to do a joint project. I sent her my block, not knowing what she would do with it. She ended up making a second block.
MaryC now has both blocks and will do something as well.
As I did last month and for previous months, I made more donation blocks. After April’s work, I had a stack of 24 blocks. Now I have XX. Peggy, the community quilt organizer for BAM, I hope, will be happy.
Sewing the Windmill means that I was also churning out donation blocks. Using leaders and enders between each Windmill piece generates a lot. I have to keep the Windmill pieces in order, thus so many donation blocks. I am thinking about making another Traffic Jam quilt instead of more of the 16 patch donation blocks, but we will see. Until I decide, there will be more 16 patches.
I had to spend some time cutting scraps for new 2.5 inch squares as I was running out. You can see that some of the blocks don’t have a lot of contrast, use a ‘different’ background or look unlike my normal meticulous monochromatic blocks. I guess I am making due. I didn’t really want to cut more foreground squares until I really need them.
I am pretty fond of the red-violet block in the second row. The background is made from a shirt I made for DH a few years ago.
Here are some blocks I made during April. During April we were still under a statewide Shelter-in-Place order. DH and I are fortunate enough to continue to be employed. I didn’t have time off work and I didn’t take any time off work. As a result, I didn’t have much extra time to sew, but since I wasn’t going out to lunch or shopping, I had a little extra time. I worked on everything you’ve seen this month in the various posts, mostly Frolic! and also some donation blocks.
I am tempted to make a donation quilt out of these random blocks.
The two Spiky 16 Patches are from Flame, but I forgot to include them in the tally for last month. The third one is an extra I made that I will send off to Sue S. We are doing a donation quilt collaboration.
My bin of 2.5 inch square patches that was overflowing is now getting a little pathetic looking. I am kind of scraping the bottom of it to make blocks.
I finished the 4 blocks I need to make another Spiky 16 Patch donation top.
In the image you can see the extra pink/red/orange one I didn’t use in Flame. It is a lone, sad orphan right now. I don’t know what to do with it. I could combine it with the blues and make another 5 block quilt, like Spiky 16 Patch n.3. I can’t seem to generate much enthusiasm for veering away from my monochromatic road. I should lash out, but so far I haven’t.
Another idea is to send the pink/red/orange Spiky 16 patch to another guild member to build upon. That is very appealing. I don’t sincerely dislike the idea of including it with the New Blue blocks.
Since I haven’t done anything with the blues yet, I can still decide.
As you know from other pet beds, I have made, they take awhile to fill. Since I can’t bring a partially filled piece to the meeting to have someone use their scraps to fill the rest, I had to wait until I had enough scraps. I filled it up at Virtual Craft Night the other night and also sewed it closed. Now i is piled up with the other things i need to take to guild the next time we have a meeting.
I am concerned I filled it too full, but it will be nice and plump for some small pet.
While sewing the Frolic! top together I used the New Blue Spiky 16 patch blocks as leaders and enders. I felt like I had quite a bit of Frolic! to sew together, but I only ended up with two Spiky 16 Patch blocks. I guess the Frolic! top work seemed like more than it actually was because I feel like I have been working on it forever.
I haven’t, of course, but it feels like it.
In any case, these Spiky 16 patch blocks are coming along well. They are the same, or similar to Spiky 16 Patch #1 and #2. I’ll probably do the same kind of setting as Flame just to get this top finished. I’d like to try something else with the HRTs.
As soon as Flame was off the design wall, I dug out some HRTs I had made last year (?) when I made the other Spiky 16 Patch tops.
I am thinking about making a donation quilt with just the HRTs, but don’t think I will do that yet. I think I want to just make another Spiky 16 Patch quilt. I think I want to make the HRT version (no 16 patch) with a variety of different colors – not monochrome or warm/cool.
I decided to call this donation quilt ‘Flame’ to make things more interesting. I guess we all need a little ‘nice’ interesting right now rather than alarming interesting. Enough of that going around.
I am feeling kind of bad that I am still working on donation tops rather than making masks. I think I will need to make some soon, at least for my son. I wonder how many are being made at the moment?
I used a pretty large piece of Jay McCarroll fabric for the back. I had to add a strip to it to make it large enough, but it will be fine. I still worry about labels. I think I might use stitch lettering to put my name and the year on the back and note that it is from BAMQG. I sort of want people to know I existed down the line. Of course, who knows if the quilt will exist for very long?
There is one thing that is interesting that is going on with this top. If I pay careful attention to the placement of colors, the piece looks woven.
I didn’t plan this, but it has design potential. The overall design might work better with more variety in the colors, so a viewer could tell where the colors were weaving. I suspect that too many colors wouldn’t work.
While I was sewing Frolic! over the weekend, I made a bunch of donation blocks as leaders and enders. I am getting quite a collection to turn in when I finally get to back to guild.
I counted all the donation blocks I have made in 2020 and the total came out to about 76. Not bad. Not 30 per month, but not bad.
Here are some blocks I made in March. I made the 30 in a month I set as a goal last year. I think it might be the first time. Yay!!
As I said the other day, I am working with HRTs again. After getting re-oriented to the Split Recs ruler (By Deb Tucker). I followed my own advice (for once) and watched the video, which told me what I needed to know to get going.
I am using these as leaders and enders, though I also seem to be sticking in some regular 16 patches as well, while I work on the Frolic!
I am really loving these warm colors, which is an antidote to staying home most of the time and the rain (no complaints; we need it). They look so happy. I have used 5 blocks to make a quilt in the past, but might try 4 this time. It will be easier to make the corners.
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The other day I talked about making some HRTs with the intention of making a new donation top. I got inspired by some 16 patches that I made while my subconscious worked on Frolic! I also have the Warm Windmill on my mind.
For the past few days, I have been cutting and sewing HRTs and trying to relax. I am coming up with a quilt top that I really like.