Commentary about works in progress, design & creativity
The QST 16 Patch donation quilt is coming along pretty well.
I used some random blocks I had been making for the guild, as I mentioned, but I also added a few more to make the quilt just a little larger.
I used some of that striped black fabric I bought a lot of twice( !!!) by accident. I think I have enough of that stripe to make another one of these quilts. Of course, I should finish this one first. 😉
I saw some quarter square triangles (QST) somewhere and started to think about them in conjunction with the guild’s 16 patches. I looked up the dimensions for making QSTs in my trusty Around the Block** book. That simple block was not included. I was trying to avoid firing up EQ8, but had to as I couldn’t get the design out of my head.
The first design I made is ok. You can see the design and the secondary design. However, some of the motifs are incomplete. You know how I like my designs to be finished, so I decided to try and finish off the edges.
I wanted you to be able, at least, to see the full Ohio Star motif (block) even if I couldn’t finish off all of the secondary designs.
Honestly, I didn’t think through the whole process and wasn’t really prepared for a full-on EQ8 design sessions.
I took a stab. I immediately ran into problems. You can see that doing what I wanted wasn’t straightforward. I think I could have resolved the problem by adding another row of 16 patch blocks, but I didn’t want to make the quilt larger than it was. It will be a baby (ish) quilt for the BAM Community Quilts Project.
For the moment, I decided to leave it and go back to sewing. The second design is fairly asymmetrical, which means true Modern Quilters would probably like it. I don’t dislike it; it just doesn’t achieve my goal. I’ll work on it again another day
**N. B. : Obviously, you should shop at local quilt shops and small businesses. However, if you are too busy or can’t find what you need there, I use Amazon affiliate links and may be paid for your purchase of an item when you click on an item’s link in my post. There is no additional cost to you for clicking or purchasing items I recommend. I appreciate your clicks and purchases as it helps support this blog.
At my sew day with Cyndi, she worked on binding quilts. One of them was my Blue Strip #3. I am so thrilled because I just finished this one in July! I am thrilled that it is already finished.
We discussed colors to use as binding and eventually settled on a turquoise. I thought a purply blue would look better with the batik border, but she didn’t have such a fabric and I didn’t think it mattered that much. The turquoise turned out to be a great choice.
Cyndi did a machine binding that looks really nice. I have to try and learn that skill.
Laura, a longarmer who has been doing quilting for the guild, did the quilting. It is flowers and you can see it really well from the back.
Sew Day was Saturday and it was great! There is a lot to tell you, but I’ll probably have to spread it over a few posts.
First up, community quilts.
Friend Julie finished the Ends n.17 (Plaid). She even did the binding! What a star!
I am so thrilled that this will soon go to a good home. I really hope that it will provide comfort and nice snuggles for someone who needs a hug.
Julie worked on a second quilt, which I did not make. My first comment, upon seeing it was that it was a weird shape. I quickly realized that it will be a great crib quilt. It is just the right size and shape for a crib, or a toddler bed for a slightly older child.
Leann brought the White Strip Donation Quilt to the meeting last weekend. It has been a long while in coming, but she quilted it and was finishing the binding. I am so pleased to see it done.
I finished the top in 2019, so it has been languishing for awhile. Fortunately, fabric doesn’t go bad. There is something about this one that I really like. Soon, I will have enough scraps to make another.
I took a break from making bags, Metro Twist and Scrappy Celebration to make some progress. Thus, I made some good progress over the weekend on making Pantone blocks.
I had already chosen quite a few fabrics, which made the task easier. Foundation piecing, not my strength, gave me pains on the first block.
The background of this fabric, a Martha Negley fruit and floral print from a few years ago, was the right hue for Pantone 4545 (not all the colors have names. Some only have numbers, which is a little annoying). I only had a half yard of this fabric and these fruit and florals don’t always have a lot of background. In this case, I only had a few bits to work with.
Of course, I cut a piece that was the wrong shape (remember: foundation piecing needs backwards and upside down pieces), so I had to Swiss cheese cut the last bit of background. Sigh. Fortunately, I don’t have enough of this to use for a back or a bag, so it really shouldn’t matter. Still it is painful to see one of these prints with a hunk out of the middle. Fortunately, this project (and Friend Julie) are worth it.
As an aside, you know how Tula Pink is doing Deja Vu prints? I wish Free Spirit would do them for Martha Negley as well. Maybe I should start fan club for Martha? I love those fruit and veg prints.
I went to town making blocks. I got into a rhythm that was only interrupted by not having selected anymore fabric. I thought I made a wider variety, but, looking at them like this, apparently not.
I was planning to make Flying Geese for Pantone 3985, a kind of olive green, but ran out of fabric. When I selected the fabric, I didn’t realize I only had about half of a fat quarter, so mid-block, I pivoted and made another Storm Center, which would work with the size triangles I had already cut.
I needed a template, so I cut the Pirate Black Storm Corner so I could use the triangles as a template, thus I ended up with four of these. In the grand scheme of the whole quilt it will be ok. It just looks a little odd now.
I suppose I shouldn’t have called this “August Progress” as it assumes I won’t make any additional progress, though I hope I do. I still have a number of colors to match and turn into blocks. Note they are all kind of dull, though looking at them like this reminds me they are not all beige.
I am also happy I made some good progress as I was feeling quite guilty at my tardiness. The hardest part of this project is selecting the fabrics. Aside from hauling the fabric bins down from the top of the fabric closet, the inks on the postcards seem to be different from the dyes used in fabric. I know that is true, however the actual hues and shades seem to be really different.
Ends n.17 (Plaid) is finished! Hooray!
I have used up that taupe fabric I used to separate the print strips. Hooray! That’s out of my life.
I have also made backs for all three Ends tops. I couldn’t not do it. I have another day, so I might make another one of these quilts to hand in on Saturday.
Trying to assuage my guilt at not wanting to make log cabin blocks, I started another Ends quilt top for the guild.
The plaids are from the Plaid Block Party quilt I finished in 2020. I am enjoying using these fabrics again.
I wonder if three quilts is enough to make up for my reluctance to make the log cabin blocks?
Ends n.16 went together very quickly. I actually worked on it at lunchtime the other day, then after work yesterday and I was done. Of course, I had everything out and available, which made the process go faster. Now it is ready for Sew Day next week.
Yes, I used that crazy turkey fabric from the pillowcases I made last fall. LOL!
I didn’t use up the taupe fabric I wanted to use so I started another Ends donation top almost as soon as I finished Ends n.15. I guess I am trying to make up for the fact that I don’t want to participate in making log cabins.
I received more Pantone blocks from Julie. Fortunately, I am not completely lame, because I have also been making some blocks for her.
I did not include the squares of fabric that came along with these blocks in the photo.
There are a nice variety and very cheerful, unlike the fabrics I have been selecting, which are dark and depressing.
The other day I showed some red and dot donation blocks. I brought them to hand in at sew day and Peggy immediately grabbed them. Very quickly, she came up with a block with my donation blocks at the center.
This is such a cheerful block. I love the way she used HSTs instead of Flying Geese to vary the color of the rays of the star. I would say the block is probably 16″ in this form, but I didn’t measure.
As the day wore on, Peggy continued to work. Midafternoon, she came up and showed me the quilt top made with my block at the center.
I know I say this all the time. I love this about the guild community quilt program. I can hand in something half finished and Peggy or someone will take it and make something fabulous.
I wonder if the Spiky 16 Patch #5 inspired her?
This is such a cheerful quilt top and was very quickly finished. It will also be good for a boy or a girl.
I finished the Blue Strip #3 donation top and back in the nick of time to take to Sew Day on Saturday.
As I mentioned, it was a weird shape, so I made an effort to widen it by making the side border strips larger than the top and bottom border strips.
It is still very much more rectangular than square, but more of a bed shape than a weird shape.
I’ll have to work on a blue color improv quilt like the others as I still have quite a few blue scraps. They seem to multiply when I am not looking. LOL!
Peggy, as usual, was very complimentary and happy to receive it. I plan to make another one using greys or blacks or both. The scrap drawer with greys, blacks and browns is very full.
After the meeting on the weekend, I cleaned out the Chubby Charmer I take to the meeting and found a bunch of stuff leftover from Retreat in the bottom. Among the items was a bunch of Pantone Project blocks that Julie made. She must have handed them over at the Retreat.
This group looks very Fallish/Autumn-like to me.
I feel terrible that they have languished unremarked upon for weeks. My only explanation is that I left for a business trip only a few days after I returned from the Retreat and really didn’t do a great job of putting everything away.
I have some fabrics chosen for some blocks for Julie and I am determined to get some done.
I am ready to put the Blue Color Strip blocks together. I have made all the blocks and laid them out on my small design wall, ready to sew. I hope to get the quilt ready to hand in on Sew Day in July.
I looked at the previous quilts and didn’t want to do the same thing, but also am not up for a lot of fancy piecing.
It came to me in a flash to add some pink cornerstones!!