Commentary about works in progress, design & creativity
After finishing the Warm Four Patch Fun quilt, I started immediately finishing the binding on this quilt.
This quilt is larger than the Warm Four Patch Fun. I do use a lot of cool colored fabrics, but it is still odd. I wasn’t counting, but I thought I had an equivalent number of fabrics.
The back of this quilt has more novelty fabrics. I guess I was in that mood.
I’ll send these quilts off next week, I think.
I finished the binding on the Warm Four Patch Fun. I really thought this quilt was larger, but it is relatively small. Kind of surprising since I use so much pink. Oh well, I hope it will be a good drag around quilt.
The back is another melange of random fabric. I do try and keep to a theme if I can. This time it was peachy pinks.
I used up the last of the Four Patch Fun blocks to make a donation quilt. I haven’t made as many donation quilts as I normally do, because of my other volunteer duties in the guild, so this one felt good to finish.
First, I finished a donation quilt after a few months of not making one.
Second, I used up the last of the Four Patch Fun blocks in a way that I think is interesting. I ended up using white for the plain columns even though I tried to think of another color that would look good with the blocks.
The back is very simple. I am working through larger pieces of fabric that have been hanging around for awhile.
Like its twin, Warm Four Patch Fun is now quilted.
We actually quilted this one first and I am so pleased with the way it came out. I went in knowing that I wanted to quilt it with circles. Laura had a great design, which I used for both quilts. I am really happy with the way it came out.
I have always been anti-pantographs, because I want the quilting to go along with the piecing. I don’t want the quiltikng to overshadow or ruin the piecing, as I have seen on quilts in some shows. As mentioned, I am not sure that this design is a pantograph. It was on Laura’s computer and we loaded it into the machine. Laura was able to stretch the design to make a larger version. The key was that I was able to see how the design would look on the quilt, not on the piecing exactly, but the size vs the size of the quilt. I was also able to see, and influence, the size of the design. The size we chose for the design will make the quilt super drapey, which I like for kids quilts.
I think the circles are pretty noticeable in the photo, above left. I was thinking about circles the same size as the blocks, but I like this design in this size better for these blocks. It looks less ….messy… or fussy, maybe. More open, definitely.
I had to trim both quilts myself, which is also an unfamiliar experience since Colleen usually does that for me. Now on to binding!
This quilt was prepared to go to Colleen’s, but I just haven’t been up for the drive and was sick of having this quilt hanging around. I was so thrilled when Laura said she wouldn’t mind quilting it on her machine.
A few days ago, I went over to Laura’s for a visit and we quilted this quilt on her Bernina Q24. I am so grateful that she was willing to do it. Cool Four Patch Fun is the second quilt that we quilted. The process was so fast! I was amazed. I helped, but Laura is the expert and did most of the work. I loved how she walked me through the process with a lot of patience twice .
Yes. Twice.
I am not sure if the process is so unfamiliar despite the training I did back in the dark ages that I can’t get it lodged in my head or if I am starting over so new to it. It could also be that the process is different on Laura’s machine. I don’t know.
The machine was amazing and I was really interested so see how the computer part works within the process. This was the first time I had used a computer generated design – a design created to be used on a longarm. I am not sure if it was a pantograph or if that is something else, but it wasn’t custom quilted. That is new for me.
We weren’t rushing and we were chatting the whole time, but we quilted both quilts in less than two hours.
As mentioned, I finished up a couple of Four Patch Fun blocks. These, along with the leftovers I didn’t use in the Cool Four Patch Fun quilt or the Warm Four Patch Fun quilt will make a nice donation quilt.
I am contemplating different layouts. My first idea was a kind of column quilt.
This layout works because I have an extra couple of blocks that I cannot make into a Four Patch evenly. This layout incorporates those half blocks evenly.
I did try another layout, which I thought was just too boring. I would also have to make a few more blocks into order to make it even and I really just want to be done with this design.
On Sunday, I did some clean-up projects. It seemed like a good thing to do after finishing the Pandora Charisma #2. I needed to tidy up my workroom any way.
First, I made a label for the Quilt for Valor quilt. I haven’t shown that one here yet, so stay tuned.
Next, I got out my BAM BOM fabrics to make the last block. This is the Flying Kite (AKA Spinning Wheel) pattern. I made two and I really like them.
Leftovers from the Four Patch Fun quilts have been laying on my cutting table. I finally decided to get them into blocks. I have a few leftover blocks from those quilts and plan to make a donation top with them. Getting these leftovers pieced will add to the donation quilts.
I also tidied up after finishing the Pandora Charisma #2. I put the pattern, leftover fabric, etc away as well.
In between the above photos, I continued to work on the Pink Color Strip donation blocks. I think I have made 60 so far!!! Twenty more and I can make two Sidewalk quilts.
As the title says, Cool Four Patch Fun is off the design wall and ready for quilting.
I am glad this is off the wall. I am a bit tired of looking at it, though I do like the way it came out.
I think I am tired of it, because of how long I have been working on the Four Patch Fun blocks. It’s my own fault, but I did use up a lot of scraps making these blocks.
I finally got some of the Cool Four Patch Fun blocks up on the design wall. I found I needed to finish the 1-2-3 Mosaic table runner before I could put the rest up, so I started working on that.
At the moment all of the block pairs are done and I am just waiting for design wall space to do a little rearranging and then sew the top together.
I finished the Warm Four Patch Fun top and back the other day. The top is a bit of an odd shape, but then I realized it would be great for a twin bed or a toddler bed.
I can’t decide if the scrappy nature of the design works. Still, I am happy that the top is done.
The back looks great, too, IMO. I started with an Emily Van Hoff print I bought. There weren’t many colorways of the interwoven curve designs left when I found about her, so I bought a peach and gold print, which was kind of a mistake. However, it works well with the top and adds interest to the back.
After installing all the KamSnaps into my Snap Trays, I started sewing something easy: Four Patches that will become part of the Cool Four Patch Fun quilt.
I started sewing cool 2.5 inch squares together with white and low volume squares. I chose foreground fabrics that kind of matched each other.
Once I got home, I matched the Four Patches I made with Four Patch Fun blocks I thought would look good together.
I have more to make but the design wall is emptying and the pile of blocks ready for the other design wall is growing. I’ll need design wall space soon to lay this out.
The Warm Four Patch Fun quilt is moving along. I have the individual blocks sewn into small sections. The more I sew, the more the quilt grows, which is awesome!
It is fairly rote to chunk the blocks together, but it is very satisfying to see the piece come together.
I’d like to finish this quilt soon and get to the cool version.
The Four Patch Fun blocks have been on the small design wall for a long time doing nothing, but annoying me. Annoying me, because I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with them.
I finally had a brainwave. I decided that I am going to divide my Four Patch Fun blocks into Warm and Cool like I did with the Warm Windmill blocks (and the cool!). Then I will give them to my friend who is raising her son’s children. One of the first quilts I made, Star Babies, when I bought my Janome 9000 was the quilt I made for her son.I was able to applique’ when I bought that machine, which was something I really wanted to do.
This seems like a good outcome for these blocks. Everyone needs a quilt.
I am not cutting any more foreground pieces for this quilt. I am trying to finish blocks for which I have foreground cut. Thus I have a few more blocks made.
I went looking for a post about the end of Four Patch Fun on Bonnie Hunter’s site and couldn’t find anything. I have several more blocks cut out, but think I might start making the Four Patches as described in the post about the Judy Martin find and work towards finishing this quilt.
I have made quite a few as leaders and enders during the time since my last post. I cut some pieces for more when I was scrap processing at the last Sew Day. After that was when I decided to sew up what I had and move on. I have other leaders and enders I want to use and I need to clear the decks a bit.