Commentary about works in progress, design & creativity
These are the latest blocks I made from the BAMQG kits the Charity Co-Coordinators put together. I wasn’t able to get kits of all the same colors, but I think these look nice.
I also cut some 2.5″ squares from scraps of my own as I worked on some other projects. I am trying to cut 2.5″ squares from scraps and fabrics I am working with, so that I can contribute more to the donation effort at BAMQG.
I was able to make 2 blocks from my own scraps. I like the blue.
I am really enjoying making these 16 patch/postage stamp blocks for the BAMQG Charity Quilt project.The beneficiary of our quilts is the Lucille Packard NICU. Apparently, they use the quilts (and other kinds of blankets) to cover the incubators and keep out the light. Each baby who leaves receives a quilt or afghan or other kind of blanket to take home.
I take as many kits, which consist of 16 2.5″ squares, as I want and sew them together into 16 patch blocks. Last time I only took one, but this time I took 4, which was all the red kits available.
They made great leaders and enders and I really was able to put the blocks together very quickly.
BAMQG has afforded me the opportunity to participate in charity projects without doing the whole thing myself. The group will start 2012 with a whole group of “coordinators” who are organizing different elements of the guild.
Jen and Deborah have started early with their charity duties. They provided kits for making these blocks at the last meeting and I whipped mine together in about 10 minutes. I was so thrilled and wished that I had taken more of the parts! They will assemble the various blocks they receive into quilts. I am not sure they have chosen a charity yet, but they are throwing around ideas for different local organizations.
I want to make another Anna Maria Horner Multi-tasker tote.
“But, Jaye,” you say “you have so many works in progress, don’t you want to finish them before you start something new?”
I did finish something!!!!
The top for the Stars for San Bruno #3 is pieced, the back is pieced, the binding is made. All the parts are hung up and waiting to go to the quilter.
I feel like I have made a significant step in the Stars for San Bruno Project. it feels SOOOO good to say: All of the piecing for all of the quilts in this project is COMPLETE!! Yes, I finished the piecing for Stars for San Bruno #3 on Sunday. I also made the back and binding.
The back took a lot of time. I have mostly used up the value of blue fabric that I planned to use in all of these quilts, so I spent a lot of time piecing bits of fabric together. It was soothing in a way, but as you can see, some of the fabrics are not blue. They were in the blue bin, so I counted them as available to use.
Also, a note on the photos. My quilt hanger’s wingspan is smaller than the quilt, so the photos aren’t terrific. Hopefully, you get the idea and will come back and continue to read and not be horrified by my terrible photography skills.
So, everyone, do a happy dance. The end is near.
I worked all Sunday and a couple of hours on Monday afternoon on the Stars for San Bruno #3. I am too small, so I asked the Young Man to hold it up to me, which, as you can see, didn’t work out very well.
The way I asked him to hold it is actually sideways. The plan was to make a row quilt with vertical rows of stars. If I would actually measure on occasion, I would have known that it would come out weirdly wide. Looking at it like this gives me a chance to see whether it will look ok with horizontal rows.
It definitely needs some kind of spacer on the [current] sides. I want something to separate the pieced stars from the embroidered stars I plan to use for the border.
Progress on one of the 26 Projects? Yes.
I finally started the Stars for San Bruno #3 quilt. The picture is lame, I know. It looks like nothing and you can’s see the squares I put on point or squared up. I wanted those of you who participated to know I am not being completely lame.
Stars for San Bruno #2 is almost ready. #2 and #3 go to the same family, so I need to finish #3 before I can get #2 out of the house. I plan to work on it soon so you can see some real progress.
For a long time I have been wondering why tiny bits of fabric couldn’t be recycled. As I tossed out stockings and holey socks, I wondered if there wasn’t something that could be done with them. Reading Victorian mystery novels didn’t help, because they describe ‘rag pickers’, but who wants that job?
I have often judged the amount of work I have done over the course of a week by how full my garbage can was. Still, I wished that I could put those bits of fabric somewhere to use without having to store them myself.
A few months ago, Amanda came to the BAMQG meeting and solved my problem! She told us that she and some friends were making cat beds for a local homeless cat shelter. She asked us to save our tiny bits of fabric including worn out clothing (no underwear!) such as t-shirts and sweatshirts. She would use them to fill the cat beds she was making so the beds would be soft and comfy for the cats.
Despite the fact that I had long thought about saving tiny scraps and doing something with them, I thought saving the tiny bits would be too much trouble. Then I remembered 1) all the times I had been reluctant to toss tiny bits; 2) Pam and what what good care she takes of her cats; and 3) how lame I was acting.
I got myself a zipper bag and started tossing scraps in. Thread, schnibbles, bits of batting, and selvedges all go into the cat bed filling bag. I was shocked at how many tiny bits I had and how quickly I filled up a bag. I brought two bags of bits to Amanda the first time she collected them!
Trimmings from quilting, e.g. the edges of the quilt sandwich fill those bags up faster. It is another kind of sorting I have to do daily and I haven’t quite found the right place for the bags. I am really happy to do one small thing to make a cat’s life better and to help Amanda, who is doing the heavy lifting on this project. The other good thing is that my garbage can is a lot emptier, which means less stuff going to the landfill.
I am really good at doing one small thing for various projects that all need time, attention and money. In other projects where this has been my M.O. I have found that I can see the difference – how my contribution changes things-when I do one small thing.
The ‘paint was barely dry’ on SfSB #1, but I got busy putting the Stars for San Bruno #2 quilt together on Sunday. I had done a few smaller projects on Friday and Saturday afternoon and decided that Sunday morning was the day for SfSB #2.
Putting all of the blocks on the floor and looking at them worked pretty well last time, so I did that again. I found that they logically divided themselves into 2 groups (generally right and left of the photo). Most of the blocks on the left are Sawtooth Stars and I decided to group them into one quilt. I saved the Stars on the right for the last quilt.
Once I had selected the blocks, I laid them out on some fabric that Sandy sent just to get an idea of what I was facing.
I could see right away that there would be a lot more open space in this quilt, because I didn’t have as many blocks left. This looks more like a starry night sky, I think.
The quilt didn’t really end up like this at all, but it was a starting point.
I could see from the layout above that I needed some of the blocks with the light background in lower corner.
More rearranging…
This is a technique that I call improvisational piecing. TFQ and I have used this process when working together on a quilt called She had to have her Latte, which was kind of a precursor to the Tarts Come to Tea. Isn’t it strange how I can relate all of my quilts to each other?
I kept rearranging disparate sized blocks and adding coping strips, corners and strips until the pieces fit together. This process is not for the faint of heart.
I decide where I am going to start and then march down or across the quilt.In this case, I started from the top and moved towards the bottom. I decided to put almost all of the blocks on point, so I added triangle corners to them. I also filled in the spaces with large pieces of fabric.
I was able to finish the top last night. I wanted to get the parts off of my design floor and I didn’t want to have to remember what went where. There was a lot of partial seaming, so it was important to me to get the pieces together correctly.
As you can see, I added a few pinwheel blocks in different sizes. I was inspired by the very center of TFQ’s block (upper right), though I realized that I didn’t make them exactly like hers.
My first thought after sewing on the last line of blocks (right) and looking at the whole piece was that it needed a border. Sigh.
Yes, I really did it! I made the first quilt in this series and it is finished. I have brought it around to CQFA and BAMQG and shown the contributors in those groups. I want as many people as possible who contributed blocks to see it before I give it to DH’s cousin.
Now I have to call the cousins and arrange to bring the quilt. I am nervous, since I don’t know them that well. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Nota bene: the Block-a-long will return next week.
Want to contribute? I could use some more blocks.
Friendship Stars and Sawtooth Stars are both easy and relatively fast to make.
All star blocks are welcome!
Block background: dark blue
Block design: Yellow star (any pattern, technique, eg. embroidery, painting, silkscreen, etc)
Block size: 8? finished (8.5? unfinished) or smaller (we will work with any size)
Remember to sign your block!
As I mentioned last week, a friend asked for lovey blocks for a mutual friend who needed some quilty hugs. I showed the ones I made, but decided to add some Double Four Patches in as well.
Yes, I went a little crazy with the red and orange. Doesn’t this one remind you of those popsicles with the twin sticks and two flavors? I love that red.
I think it is Fossil Fern or Impressions, but it is not quite rose red and has no black in it. Just gorgeous.
I wanted to coordinate the new blocks with the stars I made last week, thus the paisley again.
And I just lost it with orange. I pulled out my orange bin and went crazy. I don’t know what got into me.
I think they look nice together. What do you think?
Kristen emailed me, and a few friends, to ask for Lovey blocks for a mutual friend who needed some quilty hugs. I spent an hour or so yesterday making these 6″ Sawtooth Stars for the quilt. Ever since I saw how many of these little stars TFQ could churn out, they are my go to pattern for donation blocks.
These blocks are small and I know it takes a lot to make even a lap/wrap around quilt, so I may make some more. As I was looking at the blocks on the design wall, I was also looking at my Sampler blocks and wondering how some small Double Four Patches would look in the same fabrics? Stay tuned.
This little project gave me the opportunity to work with orange. Not sure why orange popped into my head when Kristen said ‘bright’, but I think it works. I was really pleased that I stopped being lazy and pulled down my bin of orange. Orange isn’t associated with a gender, necessarily, and this was a good opportunity to get reacquainted with some really nice fabrics. The cool thing is that I also cut some pieces of the fabrics for the FOTY 2011, so I can see them in that piece when these blocks go off to be in the Lovey.
Yes, it was one more thing to do on my long list of things to do, but it was also a good little project to warm me up for some concentrated sewing this weekend.
I explained the whole deal about these pillows a few days ago.
Last Friday I needed to clear off my sewing table (do you see a theme of Spring Cleaning here again?) before I did anything else.
The pillow tops were already pinned to the backs, so I really just had to sew around the edges and do a little trimming. Since it was easy, I did it and now they are done and I can cross this task off my to do list. I can’t tell you how good this makes me feel. I am not sewing like a demon at the last minute! Hooray!
This is the first first of a series of pillows I will be making over the next month.
My DH is an executive board member for a California organization called the Native Sons of the Golden West. In addition to supporting the preservation of California history, they raise money to help people suffering from facial deformities such as Cleft Palette. During their elections, each of the candidates opens a hospitality room. They do their best to raise the most money for Cleft Palette. To do this they display items, such as gift baskets, for sale. People purchase raffle tickets or bid on items. The competition to put out the best items is fierce, because each candidate wants to draw the most people to hospitality room. They get kudos for the amount of money they raise.
Last year, the pillows were a big hit. People bought many tickets and when I made a brief appearance for the Grand Ball, people wanted to place orders for pillows. I told them they had to buy raffle tickets. The pillows and the gift baskets put together for DH raised over $600 to donate to the NSGW Foundation. Get a donation form on their website.
The Young Man was visiting his Grama so I spent time (when I was not doing Easter stuff) working on the pillows. I did a kind of log cabin design around the printed flag and emblem with leftover strips from various projects that are piling up on my desk for the Spiderweb.
I have all of the pillow tops done, but haven’t made the backs for all of them.
I finished the Stars for San Bruno #1 top Saturday afternoon. I will, hopefully, take it to the quilter next week and send it off to its new owner soon thereafter. Stay tuned! Thanks to everyone who contributed and helped.
