After many hours of sewing and listening to audiobooks on Sunday, I finished the Purple Improv top. I have been enjoying it on my design wall for a few days, because I couldn’t make the back right away.
Finished: Improv Donation Top
There are a lot of small pieces in this quilt. As much as I could, I pressed the seams open to reduce bulk. This caused some issues with sewing. As I trimmed shards, I gained holes and had to be careful to make sure they were fixed before I moved on. I think I like the medallion style of the Green Thing better. I saw improv-ish quilt blocks by @saija_elina and thought, perhaps I would use that idea for another one of these scrap busters. I am not sure I want to make blocks, however.
I am not a huge fan of the T motif that ended up on the quilt, but c’est la vie. That is improv and that is what happens. Perhaps someone with a name that starts with a T will become the owner?
The red scrap drawer is overflowing so red strips are next. I made 5 of the strip blocks on Sunday night and 3 more yesterday.
Red strip donation block n.1
Red strip donation block n.2
Red strip donation block n.3
Red strip donation block n.4
Red strip donation block n.5
One thing I noticed is that I have a lot of dots on red background prints. They are different, but I am trying to keep them separated by other fabrics so they don’t flow into each other. I also get to visit with some fabrics I didn’t have much of, but really liked.
The size of the scraps in my scrap drawer is kind of crazy. I don’t know what I was thinking putting such large (half a FQ-ish) into the scrap drawer. Of course, I don’t have anywhere else to put that size, so I guess it makes sense. I’ll have to cut some of the scraps into sizes I need for other projects as I work on these donation quilts.
Last Friday, I finished the back of the Purple Strips donation quilt. It is ready to go to Tim for his magic quilting.
I am pretty pleased with the way it turned out, though Mom vindicated my thoughts around using green. I might try something else in purple and green. Right now my purple scrap drawer is much reduced. I am hoping to reduce it more with the purple Improv donation quilt, but we will see.
I really like what he did and am planning another one in purples as soon as I finish a couple of the regular postage stamp donation blocks I have started.
Green Strips Donation Quilt detail
Green Strips Donation Quilt detail
Tim was nice enough to send me some details of the quilting, which looks great! He was excited about quilting this piece because I didn’t use white. I’ll think about grey or yellow when I make the purple one.
Green Strips Donation Quilt -scrappy binding detail
He changed the back, because he didn’t like it, to an ombre fabric (see that blue at the bottom?). It’s fine with me as long as he doesn’t give me the back back. I already counted it in my fabric used tally and it is hard enough to get those yards used as it is. He is also thinking of a scrappy binding. Photo is of his thoughts on binding.
I took Ends n.7 and the Green Strips Donation quilts over to Tim’s house the other day so he could quilt them. He has a bunch of quilts to quilt and said that a number of them need backs and batting.
This irritates me because I know that Tim does a lot of quilting for the guild. The least that people can do is get the quilt ready for quilting. Still, the top is done and who knows what happened? Someone could have just managed to get the top done before s/he had to deal with some tragedy. Also, it gives me the opportunity to participate in a group project.
This is a fun and cheerful quilt. I brought it home in order to make a back so that Tim can quilt it. I kind of think it needs a border. The texture of the blocks, however, makes me want to do some piecing rather than just sew a plain border on to it. I have a number of other donation projects in process, so I have to decide if I want to add to the list with more piecing or just get this one done.
I am a little sick of the Half Hexie Star project, so I switched to Big Stitching the BAMQG IRR. It never ceases to amaze me how much progress I make when I actually work on a project. It has been awhile since I worked on it and it is a nice break from EPP.
I had to get back in the Big Stitch groove, which was difficult. I finally figured out that I couldn’t do it when I was stitching in a seam allowance, because of all the layers. That means I am doing some stab stitching in addition to the Big Stitch.
BAMQG IRR detail, January 2019 n.1
BAMQG IRR detail, January 2019 n.2
BAMQG IRR detail, January 2019 n.3
BAMQG IRR detail, January 2019 n.4
BAMQG IRR detail, January 2019 n.5
One of the challenges I have is what quilting designs to use. Right now I am just echo quilting. I don’t know if I want to do more, if curves will work with Big Stitch or if there are other designs I should use. I haven’t handquilted a lot. When I have done it I have mostly used echo quilting to highlight the block designs. Occasionally, I have used stencils. I’ll have to look at some books and see if I can get inspired.
I finally have a chance to post about this first donation top of the year. I used the edges Colleen cut off of the Triple Star quilt and a couple of half yards of burgundy, but on the pinkish side for the background.
The two burgundy half yards were old and I had never cut into either. I think they look well in this quilt, but I am not sure I would use them in something now.
I can’t believe I have made 7 of these quilts! quite a series without really trying. I have another to make from the edges of the Stepping Stones n.2
As you know, members of my guild make bags and then the rest of the members bring small gifts/goodies with which to fill them. This time we had a new position for which to make a bag. The Member-At-Large position was somewhat undefined, so there was some discussion about whether the job that had been done was bag worthy. I felt bad not giving a bag to a board member when, despite her work, everyone else on the board was getting a bag.
Allison’s 2018 Bag
As a result, I pulled fabrics and made a Jane Market Tote. The hardest part of these bags is the cutting. I always forget how many pieces I need to cut. I take responsibility, because I have such trouble understanding patterns. I’d love a system where cutting was uniformly described across all patterns. If wishes were horses…. Still, once cut, this bag goes together easily.
I add interfacing to the outside pieces, which makes the bag pretty crisp, though still foldable. I also set the straps in the top seam rather than sewing them to the outside. This means that three seams cover the straps and provide security.
I am making good progress on the quilt from the scrap strips.
I finished the blocks as I worked on the All Rolled Up Tote and was able to start setting them together. It turned out that I came up two blocks short. Fortunately, I had partial blocks made of strips, so I just finished them up and everything was fine.
I decided to use some Kona Cream for the background. After cutting it up, I thought some green would have been better, but I am sticking with my plan. I don’t want a bunch of rectangles laying around. Even with the Cream, which has a distinct yellow cast to it, I think the quilt will be suitable for a boy or a girl.
A few days ago, I wrote about some new strip donation blocks I was working on. I have made a few more as I have worked on other projects. I think they are looking good.
Mrs. K was interested and pointed out some challenges with my previous post. I know she didn’t do it intentionally, but I was glad to be reminded that I am not one of those people who hides information so I can sell a kit.
Strip donation blocks
Each block is 4.5″ x 8.5″ unfinished. I sew them with whatever strips I have, trying to keep the bias straight since I am not using a foundation. Once I have a large enough piece, I trim it with my Creative Grids 4.5 x 8.5″ ruler. This is a ruler I use all the time. I keep it on my cutting table for quick cuts, because it fits my hand really well, but is also useful for cutting 2.5″ squares and other sizes I am Hunting and Gathering.
My plan is to alternate them with plain blocks. I will make enough for 5 rows of five blocks, which I think is a total of 20 blocks. I’ll have to actually draw a picture to be sure.
This is an exercise in scrap clearance and workings towards my goal of using 100 yards of fabric (net).
Bonnie Hunter has a pattern using the same technique, but with foundations and set a different way. Having a real plan might be better for some of you than my random way of working.
I made my last ATCs for awhile last week and forgot to take a photo. At the CQFA meeting on Saturday, I was the only one who brought them. It was decided that we weren’t going to do them going forward. I will kind of miss the rush of getting a small work of art done, but I will also not miss the stress.
Last CQFA ATCs – December 2018
Sadly I forgot to take a photo of the 4 together, but Julie brought hers along when we had lunch and I took a photo of one of them.
I signed up for the BAM swap and received Lindsay. I don’t know her very well. I talked to her briefly at a recent meeting as she rummaged through a stack of donation blocks I had recently donated. You know I love it when people use my blocks. 😉 It is such a great feeling of collaboration.
I kind of like doing the swaps,though this one was hard. I kind of gave up on the theme, though Rhonda, the organizer is pretty lax about sticking to the theme. I have to learn to be more like her.
Classmate Bag by Terry Atkinson
I went through my patterns after I saw that Lindsay requested a bag. I have a lot of bag patterns and need to start plowing through them. I came up with the Classmate Bag by Terry Atkinson. It is not a large tote sized bag, but I thought it would be useful for going to class.
I have heard good things about Atkinson designs patterns and the company certainly has a lot of patterns out. I can’t remember ever making something from their line.
This bag went together pretty well, especially when I was able to concentrate after Thanksgiving.
Classmate Bag for Lindsay – BAM Swap
The problem I always have for these types of swaps is fabric. I don’t buy a lot of the lines that modern quilters seem to swarm over. I chose some leftover Tula Pink fabric from a project for which I made a block for Kelly.
It looks pretty good on the outside, I think. I am surprised to see how well the pattern of the fabric matches up. That was a happy accident.
Classmate Bag for Lindsay -open – BAM Swap
This was a good enough pattern to make me think that I might make this bag again for another friend. Stay tuned.
I made a few more donation blocks in November. Between working on the Spiky 16 Patches and traveling a bit, I didn’t get as many done as I would have liked. However, I am taking the positive route and thinking that every little bit helps.
Spiky 16 Patch block 2, quilt 3
Dark Blue & Turquoise donation block
Spiky 16 Patch block 1, quilt 3
Dark Blue donation block
Girl Scout Hearts
Spiky 16 Patch n.3 for quilt n.3
Stripey donation block
Even though I try, I still seem to end up with a majority of blue donation blocks. I’ll have to see about changing that. Or not. 😉
More imagery from my Disney trip. This was a new image that I had never seen before and it really appealed. The detail is fabulous. In hunting around for an image for today, I thought of this. It didn’t turn out to be great for color, but I think some of the palettes are interesting.
ColorPlay-Compass-default
Of course the default palette is neutral heavy! Still there is that Sea Glass (great name, don’t you think?) fabric that lightens up the piece. Also some of the other colors have blue and purple twinges (undertones?), which makes the palette look at little less dark and depressing.
ColorPlay-Compass-n1
The first palette I made is a little all over the place. It isn’t very cohesive. Of course, I like the Lake and Niagra fabrics. It is interesting that the color names are related to water, though perhaps not surprising. I am not a fan of the Rose. It looks sick to me.
ColorPlay-Compass-n2
I went straight to monochromatic, which was marginally successful. I ended up with two of the same fabrics. C’est la vie. I do like the blues. I think my favorite is the Azure, but the Robin’s Egg is nice, too.
ColorPlay-Compass-n3
Palette n.3 is all over the place as well, though not a mess, I think. I don’t remember seeing Natural before. I have done a lot of palettes, so I could just not be remembering. The Wasabi looks like sunshine yellow on the bottom, which I like. It has more a green tinge on the side. The Garnet does not have enough red to look Garnet to me. I think it looks more plummy.
ColorPlay-Compass-n4
N.4 might be my favorite. It isn’t quite monochromatic, but stays well in the cool shades realm. I like the way Surf looks more purple on the bottom. I think it adds to the palette even though I think one of the websites used to create this might be off. I think the lights look really good.
ColorPlay-Compass-n5
Finally, I decided to get out of my comfort zone and create something with more gold. Palette n.5 heads into the neutrals pretty quickly. I am not a very big fan of this particular palette, but it is different and it does remind me of Mrs. K’s gold Spiky 16 Patch.
I did my piece at almost the last minute, but not quite.
Nicole asked for a dark, kind of Moon and Stars theme. I used scraps and this was what i came up with. I didn’t have the dark batiks in the example. Others might and mine will provide a bit of night-shiny brightness to the quilt. I hope…
