I know I just wrote about my progress on The Peacock a few days ago, but I have made more progress and I am pretty excited. The progress feels kind of like a baby. The first few months of a baby’s life sees a lot of change in their looks. In this piece, each row seems to provide more personality.
The Peacock – Nov 2016
I spent most of the day Sunday out, but since it is Standard Time and the day started early, I arrived home on the early side. The timing allowed me to spend a few hours sewing. I wasn’t expecting any sewing time and was very pleased. As I am getting towards the top, the piece really looks more and more like something.
I am not sure I am a huge fan of the green (feather) diagonal line, on the right towards the middle, that was formed when I pieced those rows. I am not, however, unpicking. I do like the trails the green solid has made and I am eager to get those sections on the design wall so I can finish working on the final width and layout.
I know I was pretty ambivalent after making the blocks for this piece. I am really interested in how the quilt top is turning out. It is taking a lot of time and work. However, the challenge is really working my brain.
The last time I reviewed my list was in July. I have made some progress, but not a lot. August was pretty much a desert for getting projects done and I was gone in September so no sewing then either. I was ready to rock in October and am making some progress.
In Process
The ‘In Process’ is used to denote projects on which I am actively working or pretending to stitch. I try not to put away projects, because that will ensure I never work on them.
Carpenter’s Wheel blocks – I finished #9 and #10. I thought this finish concluded the blocks. However, after I laid them out, I realized that I didn’t have enough to do what I wanted. I need to make a few more. Perhaps as leaders and enders?
English Paper Piecing Project– half hexies – I added three more stars to the large piece over the weekend. I also measure the piece and figure out how much more I have to stitch to get it to a good size.
Lobster – have more stitching to do and then I need to quilt it.
Octagon 9 Patch: ready to put together. Not sure what I am waiting for. Another leaders/enders project or do I want to lay out the blocks more carefully?
Pies and Points from Victoria Findlay Wolfe class. No further progress. I did find more of the background fabric when I went to Portland, so I can make a larger piece.
Stepping Stones #2 – I am in the process of making the border blocks after I designed them to be a little different from the first Stepping Stones quilt.
Still WIPs
I still have WIPs. Who doesn’t, after all? A project in the ‘UFO’ category means I am stalled. A nicer way of saying UFO is a WIP. The list is a lot shorter and the projects are newer, for the most part.
Aqua-Red Sampler – I made progress on the partial seaming tutorial and need to sit down to finish it.
The Tarts Come to Tea: I still haven’t worked on this since April 2011, though, it is in a prominent location so I have easy access. I am taking a machine quilting workshop soon (shock, horror, I know) and the focus is on background motifs. Just what I need!
Pointillist Palette #4: Fourth is a series of 6 quilts; needs tiny square patches sewn together. I still haven’t worked on this project either, but I do think about it.
Self Portrait: started in 2006 at a class at Quilting Adventures in Richmond, Virginia. My career counselor breathed new life into this project for me. She asked a simple question and the end result was inspiration for this piece, but I kind of lost steam again after printing images on paper to try out different designs. Lately, I have stopped feeling like I need to finish this piece. I am not ready to give up on it yet. I think it really needs major surgery.
Under the Sea: class project; like the design and am happier with the colors. I bought a few spools of Aurifil 12wt and have been embroidering with it and the Perl Cotton on it. It might become a lush pillow for someone.
Theoretically, the Tarts Come to Tea is in the quilting process. I am taking a class next weekend that may give me some ideas and perhaps get me back on track with it.
Binding
None
Hunting and Gathering
Blue Gradation Quilt: cutting 2.5″x 4.5″ blue rectangles
Blue Lemonade: cutting blue, green, purple 2″ squares
Spin Wheel: really not started, but supplies gathered. I probably have enough fabrics and just need to decide to start.
Windmill quilt: Still hunting and gathering. I am supposed to be cutting a variety of greys for the background. I bought a new template, so I should be able to get going again
Other
Stepping Stones #3 using the Macaron pre-cuts from Hoffman. I have all the fabric in pre-cuts and am just waiting for space in my schedule.
Time does funny things to my head when I am sewing. I know I sewed A LOT over the weekend. Still, I felt like it wasn’t enough. Will there ever be enough time to sew? I don’t know.
The Peacock, end of October 2016
During all that time, I worked, mostly, on the Peacock. I now have 10 rows sewn together in some fashion or another. I have them mostly sewn together in groups of four rows. They will all be sewn together eventually, but I am just doing this much for now.
I also started to sew some bits of the upper rows together, but nothing major is done up there. I have to get serious about the solids and see what I can make for the background in the upper right hand corner.
I am pleased to report I have used about 145 yards of fabric this year. Isn’t that crazy? I can hardly believe it. I still have to work on using more and I am sure I can use at least another few by the end of the year. November To Do
Wash fabric AKA The Great Unwashed-some progress
Cut out 3 notepad covers for gifts
Finish cutting out Day in the Park backpack variation
Finish sewing Anna Maria Horner Multi-tasker tote -this was a gift I intended to give during Holiday 2013- sigh. Missed 2014 Holiday deadline as well. I made it for birthday 2016 and it was a successful gift.
As I mentioned the other day, I was able to piece in some of the small blocks.
It isn’t a very linear or straightforward process and there is a lot of fiddling that goes on.
One issue I am having is with measurements. I know each row is 3.5″ wide, so I have cut solids + seam allowance to make up that size with the small blocks. I still run short and have to add other pieces of fabric. I do like the texture the added seams give the piece. However, it is still annoying. I can’t figure out what I am doing wrong.
The Peacock “border” detail
I didn’t put a small block on the end of the bottom (first) row and am kind of regretting that. I have a lot of small blocks I want to use and may need to go back and add one. However, the top right hand corner background area is pretty blank and may need some mall blocks there to lighten it up.
You can see the not all of the row ends are sewn on the right side. I am leaving the design open to add more small blocks. I didn’t do that on the left and may need to add some additional yardage to the ends. We’ll see. It may be that I concentrate the small blocks on the top and right.
I am adding different colored solids that kind of match the colors of the print fabrics on the edges and to fill in the background. I bought some solids from the line of fabric, but I have others that go with the fabrics as well. the shiny green solid you see above is one of the first fabrics I bought when I made my first quilt. I have been keeping it all this time and I think it is the right color for this piece.
I bought a lot of black with the intention of using black for the entire background. While I need to drape a piece of black up on the right-top, I decided that it will probably make the quilt too depressing. I am also thinking of using a variety of solids.
The dark blues at the top are ok, but the lavender might be too light.
I spent some time on Saturday night and most of the day Sunday trying to make progress on The Peacock. I now have four rows sewn together in a chunk. A fifth is the start of a new chunk.
The piecing is very labor intensive, though not as labor intensive as Y seams. The good part is that I have to put a leader/ender piece between each Peacock seam under the machine. This will equal a lot of additional blocks or, perhaps, a quilt top.
I started to put the small blocks into the ends of some of the rows. That piecing is fiddly and I haven’t gotten all the measurements figured out. Still, I am pleased that I have been able to incorporate those small blocks into the border as I piece. I have more to piece in and have to figure out how to do that.
I took a photo of the last few Flying Geese I made before I went on vacation.
This is a cheerful bunch and I am pleased with them.
My next step is to make a block, per my design, and see if it works. The Round and Round pattern is a genius way to use the Friendship Star and I really like the pattern. Combining it with the Flying Geese will be an interesting challenge.
During the past little while, I have been flinging curses at the Peacock as it sits on my design wall, taking up space and glaring smugly at me.
No more.
Peacock on Sunday
I made two cuts on Sunday and was off. With those two rotary cut strips, everything changed. Finishing the piecing actually became possible…. no probable. I only had time for a little work on it, but the piece progresses. I am snatching bits of time where I can and making some progress. It is amazing how something can change so quickly. I do think that, more importantly, my attitude about the project changed.
First, I had along rest with absolutely no sewing. The closest I came was visiting a craft shop that carried quilt fabrics and magazines.
Next, solving the problem of squaring up the piece began to rumble around in the back of my mind until I had a solution I wanted to try. Two cuts and I realized that what I wanted to do would work and it was actually a reasonable idea.
The idea was to cut 3.5″ strips (same width as half one of the blocks), cut a 60 degree angle on one side and sew it to the edge blocks. These short strips work. The black, with which I have started, blends nicely in with the very darkest blocks.
Peacock: More background added
Third, I started to move the blocks around after taking some photos. Some of the blocks looked out of place in the photos. Moving them make the piece come together better.
In the photo, right, I have moved some of the solids around to try and blend the background a little better. I haven’t tried super hard yet and I know I won’t be able to blend as well as I do with the Fabric of the Year quilts, but I want to give the impression of a bit of blending going on. That I immediately started to blend the blocks into an Impressionist look tells me I have much more color blending in my future.
Peacock: Exchanging Black for Green
Most importantly, I have changed out the black on the bottom and used green (see arrows at the bottom). The black was too jarring near some blocks that had no black. The green isn’t a perfect match to those feather blocks, but it is the green I used in the other feather blocks.
I am also trying out some of the blues at the top, but I am thinking they may be too dark and I might try some light blue. I have a stack of solids I can try. I just haven’t tried very hard to find the right one yet.
I plan to have a sort of irregular line of blocks, as the quilt looks now, though the background will make the quilt square. There are still some unknowns. I don’t know what the quilt will look like exactly. I am not sure how I will make the small blocks float around the edges as you see them now. I will let it mull in the back of my mind and see what comes up.
As I said in July, I have been using a version of Pam‘s spreadsheet to keep track of my fabric usage. My goal is still not to get rid of my stash, though I do want to use my stash. This means I am not telling you my Net totals. To date I have used almost 136 yards of fabric, 21% of which is for charity. I am upset, because I am not using as much as I expected. I am, however, enjoying keeping track of my fabric usage, because I can see that I am actually using fabric.
September To Do
Wash fabric AKA The Great Unwashed-some progress
Cut out 3 notepad covers for gifts
Finish cutting out Day in the Park backpack variation
Finish sewing Anna Maria Horner Multi-tasker tote -this was a gift I intended to give during Holiday 2013- sigh. Missed 2014 Holiday deadline as well. I made it for birthday 2016 and it was a successful gift.
The other day I had to go to Santa Clara to take the YM to a one day job. He actually got paid! He could have ridden the train, but Julie and I decided to get together, so it worked out.
We went to lunch and went to Golden State Sewing. I hadn’t been to this store before (sorry no photos), but I had been to their booth at PIQF. The store was crammed with fabric, but in an organized way. I looked at fabric for dress for next Grand Parlor and some upcoming events. They had an excellent selection of Kaffe Fassett fabrics.
I looked very seriously at a couple of Kaffe prints for dresses, but didn’t end up buying any. I did end up seeing the Pokemon fabric from which I promised to make a pillowcase for the YM’s new roommate.
Golden State Sewing fabrics
I bought a few things. I bought the Pokemon fabric. I also bought a boatload of black solid for the Peacock. The other fabrics are fat quarters. The two Kaffes are the ones I am still considering for dresses. The center fat quarters are similar to the blue I used for the Midi Bag. I had never seen that print in other colors. While I like the blue best, the red and grey are nice, too. The grey is a little too dark for the Flying Geese, but I have to admit to trying it out on a few FGs anyway.
The Peacock has been on the design wall and I am not as excited as I was. I thought that it would be quite exciting, but I am not excited now. I am trying not to take down all the blocks and put it away, though I do think that is a very real possibility.
Still I am happy with the basic layout. I think the blocks need some space between them, but I don’t think I have it in me to cut up strips of fabric to put between each block.
Testing squares
I thought that perhaps I would add a Peaky to each block and make them in squares. That means I could put the blocks together with a little space between them. I put a piece of a solid behind a couple of the blocks to see what it looked like. It is hard to see what the whole piece would look like, but even still I don’t really like the look.
I think I’ll just sew the piece together, basically as shown, and be done with it.
It has been almost a month since I did a Design Wall post. The wall seems like a storage facility for pieces and parts lately. I am putting patches, bits of fabric, parts of blocks and hunting / gathering pieces up to get them out of the way more than work on them. Space feels at a premium in my workroom right at the moment.
Design Wall mid-July
Flying Geese. I am making some sets of them again. I don’t think I need anymore for the design I am contemplating, but I have a stack of squares already cut and so I might as well make them.
2. I am still collecting red donation blocks. The two set apart are the latest.
3. FOTY 2016 latest squares. You can see some of the Food Quilt #3 fabrics showing up.
4. Donation squares. I seem to have mislaid the box, so I have been putting them on the design wall until it turns up, which it will undoubtedly do. This is always why there are no new donation blocks. No fabric = no blocks.
5. Partial seam block for my Aqua-Red Sampler. Tutorial coming soon.
6. Turquoise donation block. I am thinking of making a bunch of these next for another donation top.
7. Stepping Stones block. This is my sample. Yesterday I made some progress in my head about making the parts for the rest of the blocks I intend to make.
In Process
The ‘In Process’ is used to denote projects on which I am actively working or pretending to stitch. I try not to put away projects, because that will ensure I never work on them.
Carpenter’s Wheel blocks – I finished #9 and #10. This concludes the blocks and I will start laying them out soon.
English Paper Piecing Project– half hexies – I am adding another big section, but I have done half and stopped. Slowly but surely wins the race
Lobster – have more stitching to do and then I need to quilt it.
Octagon 9 Patch: ready to put together. Not sure what I am waiting for
Pies and Points from Victoria Findlay Wolfe class. No further progress. I did find more of the background fabric when I went to Portland, so I can make a larger piece.
Still WIPs
I still have WIPs. Who doesn’t, after all? A project in the ‘UFO’ category means I am stalled. A nicer way of saying UFO is a WIP. The list is a lot shorter and the projects are newer, for the most part.
Aqua-Red Sampler – I made progress on the partial seaming tutorial and need to sit down to finish it.
The Tarts Come to Tea: I still haven’t worked on this since April 2011, though, it is in a prominent location so I have easy access. I was thinking about how this was veering in the direction of being one of my ‘masterpieces,’ but now that it has languished for so long it just looks old and dated.
Pointillist Palette #4: Fourth is a series of 6 quilts; needs tiny square patches sewn together. I still haven’t worked on this project either, but I do think about it.
Self Portrait: started in 2006 at a class at Quilting Adventures in Richmond, Virginia. My career counselor breathed new life into this project for me. She asked a simple question and the end result was inspiration for this piece, but I kind of lost steam again after printing images on paper to try out different designs. Lately, I have stopped feeling like I need to finish this piece. I am not ready to give up on it yet. I think it really needs major surgery.
Under the Sea: class project; like the design, but not the colors. Still a possibility for abandonment. Just can’t seem to pull the trigger.
Spin Wheel: really not started, but supplies gathered. I probably have enough fabrics and just need to decide to start.
Windmill quilt: Still hunting and gathering. I am supposed to be cutting a variety of greys for the background. The problem is that I mislaid the rotary template. Sigh. I may be able to cut the greys on a Sizzix.
Other
Stepping Stones #3 using the Macaron pre-cuts from Hoffman. I have all the fabric in pre-cuts and am just waiting for space in my schedule.
As I said in May, I have been using a version of Pam‘s spreadsheet to keep track of my fabric usage. My goal is not to get rid of my stash, though I do want to use my stash. This means I am not telling you my Net totals. To date I have used almost 82 yards of fabric, 18% of which is for charity. I am upset, but also enjoying keeping track of my fabric usage, because I can see that I am using fabric.
July To Do
Wash fabric AKA The Great Unwashed-no progress
Cut out 3 notepad covers for gifts
Finish cutting out Day in the Park backpack variation
Finish sewing Anna Maria Horner Multi-tasker tote -this was a gift I intended to give during Holiday 2013- sigh. Missed 2014 Holiday deadline as well. I made it for birthday 2016 and it was a successful gift.
