Tag: Group project

Crafty Gemini Organizer Club Complete

Crafty Gemini Organizer Club - all the bags
Crafty Gemini Organizer Club – all the bags

After finishing the Retreat Bag on Friday, I have FINALLY finished all of the projects in the Crafty Gemini Organizer Club.

This club started in the 2018, so it has been awhile in the making. I really did pretty well with the first few projects. The last three were the ones that took me longer than I thought they should. Still, life gets in the way.

I have so much more experience now with bags. I suspect that Vanessa, of Crafty Gemini, does as well and she would make these projects differently if she were designing the club again.

I haven’t used all of the projects. For some reason, I was saving them until all were done. I don’t know what that was about, but I am going to put them into circulation.

I keep looking at the Zip Away Organizer and thinking that the construction is similar to the Day Trip Wallet from Sew Sweetness. The Day Trip Wallet is a project I have been putting off because of the tight curves required in the construction.

These are the projects in gallery form. I don’t have all of the projects anymore.

I am not sure which ones I will make again. I think I will make the Project Bag again, but with some modifications. I am finding project bags to be very useful. Not only do they use up fabric, but they keep all the pieces and parts of smaller projects together.

I won’t make the Road Trip bag again, though I like the size. It is very similar to the I Spy pouches from Sew Sweetness and I like the I Spy pattern better. I like making a window of the vinyl and not having it in a seam that needs to be turned. Of course, I have better vinyl now. I do like the leash on the Road trip bag, but I don’t like it next to the zipper. In fairness, I could have put it on the wrong side.

Brown Strip Donation Quilt Finished

Brown Strip donation quilt - finished
Brown Strip donation quilt – finished

This quilt was finished and shown  at the last meeting. Joelle left before I could take a photo, but she was kind enough to send me some. I forgot that I made this way back in February. I thought it was a more recent project.

Carrie did the binding, but I am not sure who quilted it. She added some orange, which I thought was a bold choice. It kind of goes with the turquoise. It is always interesting to see the choices that others make. It is a good exercise in not being in control of every step. As I have said a million times, I love the team effort.

Brown Strip donation quilt back- finished
Brown Strip donation quilt back- finished

The back is one piece of fabric, a postcard print, which I would love more if it weren’t beige!

April 2024 Donation Blocks

I started off strong with my green scrap bin out and using strips as leaders and enders to make strip blocks for my next Color Strip donation top.

I made a few blocks at the Retreat, which helped with my numbers for the month. I am pleased to report that I achieved my goal of 30 donation blocks this month.

New Pantone Blocks from JZS

April Pantone Blocks
April Pantone Blocks

Along with garment sewing and a new bracelet, I also got some more Pantone blocks from Julie at Sew Day.

I have a stack of postcards to match and plan to do that this weekend. I owe her several and hope to bring them to the Retreat.

Pantone ideas - evolving
Pantone ideas – evolving

We are almost done making the blocks, then it will be time to put the quilt together. Perhaps I will use this design – or something like it – sooner than I think.

Grey Improv Donation Top

Grey Improv donation top start
Grey Improv donation top start

The grey improv top is looking good! It’s been a few weeks since I talked about this piece. I am very pleased.

Yes, I have made some good progress and I really like the way it is turning out. This piece is approximately 24.5 w x 17.25 tall. I have some sewing to do before it can be considered large enough for a donation quilt. Still, I really like it and it is shaping up nicely.

I am still concerned I won’t have enough scraps to make it large enough. I am trying not to worry about it. Sometimes I can’t help it.

No Rest for the ‘Wicked’

Green scrap drawer: full
Green scrap drawer: full

I am not really wicked nor am I green, but some of my post titles have been super boring lately, so I thought I would shake things up.

The green scrap drawer is too full, which is good, because I can move on to a new leaders and enders project. It is bad, though as I have plenty of other things I want to do as leaders and enders. Still, I was enjoying making strip blocks, so here we go.

One burning question is WHY do I have so many green scraps. I can remember making things out of a few of them, but not most. How are all of these green scraps multiplying?

On a side note: that large green Pointillist Palette piece is going to get cut up into smaller pieces to be part of a Niece-phew quilt.

Do you get the Wicked reference? 😉

QST 16 Patch #4 Blue: Finished

QST 16 Patch #4 - finished
QST 16 Patch #4 – finished

This is not a difficult pattern, so it went together quickly. It was especially fast since I already had the striped triangles cut.

As mentioned, I used some mostly blue 16 Patch blocks for the alternate blocks.

QST 16 Patch #4 back - finished
QST 16 Patch #4 back – finished

I pulled out some older batiks for the back and this quilt top (and back) is ready to go to the Community quilt project.

QST 16 Patch #4 Blue

QST 16 Patch #4: Blue laid out
QST 16 Patch #4: Blue laid out

After finishing Grey Strip #2, I put the 16 patches that have been waiting in the wings on the large design wall. This is the start to laying out another Quarter Square Triangle block quilt.

I used different stripes this time. I had some squares that were the leftovers from something that worked well for the size blocks I needed. This provides a different look from the others with the dark black triangles.

I am short of the same white, but will cut a different white. It will be fine and I get to use up more fabric. I think I can finish this before Sew Day. It would be nice to hand in two quilts.

 

Black and Grey Improv Donation Tops Start

Leftovers from black/grey strip quilts
Leftovers from black/grey strip quilts

Because it can’t really be helped, I have started the Improv color quilts for the black-grey-brown scrap drawer. These miscellaneous pieces will end up being two donation quilts at some point in the Color Improv series.

Ignore the pink and grey 16 patch at the top. Design wall space is at a premium these days.

As you can see I have a lot of black pieces from working on the black strip donation blocks. There is also a slowly growing grey piece that I think has promise. One thing I notice about it is that most of it is made up of squares and rectangles.

I am not sure if I’ll have enough to make two whole quilts, but we will see.

March 2024 Donation Blocks

I am back to less than my normal number of donation blocks, but I have been working on two donation quilts, at least. I want to make 30 blocks a month, but I’ll have to keep working towards that goal.

I have started making green strip donation blocks, so my hopes for next month’s tally are better.

Finished: Grey Strip #2 Donation Top

Grey strip #2 donation top
Grey strip #2 donation top

I am really pleased that I was able to finish the Grey Strip #2 donation top the other day.

I got all the blocks together and, again, the quilt was a weird shape – long and thin vertically. I didn’t like it, but I also don’t have enough grey scraps to make 4 more blocks. I know that is good news, but it didn’t help me here.  I also really didn’t want to spend the time.

I decided that I would make the side borders larger than the top and bottom. The blocks are 4.5 inches unfinished. I cut the borders 5 inches unfinished and I think the top looks like it will be a useful size.

I found a large piece of grey last time I was rummaging in the fabric closet, so I used that for the back. I didn’t have to do any piecing! Yay. Next up is another QST 16 Patch.

Grey Strip #2 Progress

Grey Strip #2 donation blocks
Grey Strip #2 donation blocks

The grey strip #2 donation top is finally in process. I finished the last two blocks and started working on it in earnest last week.

I used some leftover top sashing from the Black Strip #2 Donation top. Since I didn’t have enough I found some other random pieces from which I could cut a 1.5″ square. I think the variety looks very cheerful. I am not sure why I didn’t do that before.

I am now in the process of sashing all the blocks.

Orange You Glad on Exhibit

Orange You Glad on display
Orange You Glad on display

In addition to Women’s Work 1, Orange You Glad was also in an art exhibit.

Yes, an art exhibit not a quilt exhibit.

My work had a “[name of company]’s Got Talent”. It was mostly performances, but there was also an art show on the side and I entered Orange You Glad.

Orange You Glad & me
Orange You Glad & me

They didn’t know how to display quilts, so I had to give them a lesson and bring a curtain rod, but the art handlers flung the quilts over plinths and that’s how they were displayed. It worked out ok.

 

Orange You Glad with tape :(
Orange You Glad with tape 🙁

I was kind of shocked when I saw that they had taped – yes Scotch taped! – the label to my quilt!!!

Clearly they were professional curators and it was only a few hours, so I didn’t worry about it too much, but it was still kind of shocking.

I had never seen a quilt on a plinth (pillar?) before, so that was an interesting experience. I thought it looked ok, though the border I sewed was completely lost.

Orange You Glad at work
Orange You Glad at work

I was glad to have the opportunity to have another quilt on display with paintings, wood carvings and other works.