Tag: Process

Improv Progress

I am still feeling like I am in some weird in between place with my projects. There are projects where I am at a strange point that seems to be stopping me. I have to count up all of the FOTY squares and figure out how big I need to make the quilt. I need to cut some more squares for the Octagon Nine Patch, which has been languishing for, what feels like, a long time.

Improv Top in Progress
Improv Top in Progress

I decided to work on the Improv quilt again and get that project farther along.I finished a second ‘B’ and decided to sew it, along with the first ‘B’ block on to the quilt. I like what is happening and I can see where I go next, to a certain extent, but I think those 2 blocks look heavy. I might put them on the bottom, but I will see if I can lighten them up with more red on the three sides.

One idea I had from looking at the photo above is to make sure some red meets the red on the bottom and continues over almost to the corner. That will mean making that part of that corner side block last and making sure I remember. I think if I do that, there will have to be a bit of one of the black and white prints in the corner – or a strip of red alternated with black and white prints.

Improve top - turned
Improve top – turned

I also thought of making those blocks the bottom. Heaviness works on the bottom. The photo (left) is the same one as above, just turned so you don’t have to turn your head.

It looks ok, but I remembered that there will be other blocks on each side of those new ‘B’ blocks.

Yes, all the blocks are sewn together. I just wanted them sewn.

More Tuffet

Tuffet in process (3/4 view)
Tuffet in process (3/4 view)

I was so nervous about the fabric selection, but I am so pleased about how it turned out. I hope it will fit well with my living and dining room. My dining room is a rich red and my living room is a butter yellow, so this piece isn’t a perfect match, but it is an interesting combination of motifs.

My issue from the other day was seam allowance. You know that I have hard time actually reading directions and understanding them and the Tuffet directions were no different (all me, not Robin). I always assume a 1/4″ seam allowance, which, as a quiltmaker, is normal. As a real sewist it is absolutely not normal. In this case, the pattern had the seam line on it or I could use a 3/4″ seam allowance.

I had to unpick all the stitching that held the tuffet top together, but when I resewed, it looked like Robin’s description of how it should look.

Tuffet Button Cover
Tuffet Button Cover

I was running up and down the stairs, doing as much as I could while chatting with my Mom as she cooked (she was cooking the Y.M.’s last meal with her and the Big Guy and preparing a meal for us for later in the week. She is awesome!). One of the things I was able to do was make the button cover.

I fussy cut some flowers out of one of the Flea Market Fancy prints. The button blends in, which I might not do again, but I kind of like it.

I was thinking that Robin should print the patterns at Spoonflower and then people could just buy them without having to make the foundations as part of the class. I do think that there is an element of “becoming one with the pattern” that you get from drawing out the pattern, but printing them off of Spoonflower would be much easier and it might be less expensive than some of the other pattern choices Robin described.

I am thinking that I will make another so both DH and I have one to put our feet on. We will see since the class is tomorrow and I have to see how it goes.

FOTY 2014 Progress

FOTY 2014 - August 2015
FOTY 2014 – August 2015

The end of July has come and gone, which means that I didn’t make my original deadline. Still, I got back to the design wall over the weekend and worked on this piece. I decided to move all of the reds down towards the bottom, which meant touching almost every piece as I shifted the rectangles clockwise.

The biggest problem I have now is that I have a stack of blues that don’t fit on the design wall. I need to add them to the 9 o’clock position and there are many more than the 10 or so that look like they will fit. I need all of the pieces on the design wall so I can work with them all at once.

I may do some overlapping, but I definitely have to count the patches I have and figure out the size of quilt I need to make. Then I can figure out what I need to add to my design wall to design this quilt.

Improv Progress

Improv A Blocks
Improv A Blocks

After using some Flying Geese as leaders and enders, I switched to using the large Improv blocks as leaders and enders while putting together the T Donation quilt. The Improv quilt is not a good project for leaders and enders as I really should have it on the design wall and be looking at it all the time as I worked. I really wanted to make progress. This project has been shuffled from corner to corner of my workroom and I am forgetting my plan. My design walls were full of other projects, so it was what it was.

I added a few more strips to make the center (A) blocks more even then sewed the four center blocks together. This breaks my ‘Chunking It” rule, but I just wanted to see the four blocks together. Somehow with them together, I was able to start on the B blocks.

Improv B Block #1
Improv B Block #1

They look pretty good and I got excited about working the B blocks. I had bits and pieces that I made in class that I hoped to use, though I wasn’t sure what I was thinking when I made them, so I kept going. The first one went together relatively quickly and that helped me move forward with the others. I am working on about 4 at once right now and expect to have a big group of them done at once. We will see.

Flying Geese Swap Report

Flying Geese - August 2015
Flying Geese – August 2015

I sometimes make a batch of Flying Geese at once or over the course of a few days. I like to have them available in case my schedule gets crazy and I don’t have time to make some for my weekly swap. I don’t like to show them until I have sent most of them to TFQ, lest she not be surprised at my fabric choices. I also like to show the ones she has sent me. Together hers and mine look super fun.

I wanted the batch off the design wall so I could put up the T donation quilt, so I took a photo and here they are. Aren’t they fun?

I am still thinking of trying out some different rulers for making these geese, but I haven’t done it yet. Stay tuned.

This is such a fun exchange! I am really enjoying it. Find a friend and do one, too.

August To Do List

I had to put this post up, because I made the darn TP holder! Finally! The two have been on the list for such a long time. I just had to crow a bit.

To Do List:

  1. Quilt Christmas table runner
  2. Wash fabric AKA The Great Unwashed-I washed more loads in June and July. I keep having projects for which I need certain pieces of fabric, so I keep washing.
  3. Make stiff bucket or box for TP in main bath
  4. Make stiff bucket or box for TP in second bath – I am thinking of making this triangular in shape
  5. Anna Maria Horner Multi-tasker tote (gift-due Holiday 2013- sigh. Missed 2014 deadline as well)
  6. Cut out 3 notepad covers for gifts
  7. Finish cutting out Day in the Park backpack variation
  8. Finish cutting out 3rd Petrillo bag
  9. Sew Bon Appetit apron
  10. Fix button on DH’s California shirt
  11.  Christmas pillowcases
  12. Art supplies Sew Together Bag
  13. Art supplies pincushion
  14. Purple Sew Together Bag
  15. Purple pincushion

To see the 26 Projects Lists, which list quilt WIPS, visit the July 26 Projects update. May’s To Do List has a couple of changes, which is heartening.

All small items, prior to those completed in December 2014,  have been completed since November 4, 2013. This is a new list for 2015. You can find the list for 2014 and previous on the last post.

Box Full of Letters Back

I finally feel like I made some real progress over the weekend. I finished 2 backs, 2 bindings and almost finished a top. I spent some time on Friday sewing, which I don’t normally do and that helped a lot.

Box Full of Letters Back
Box Full of Letters Back

The first item I finished was the Box Full of Letters back. I pecked away at it for about a week, which made it seem like it took forever. That was a frustrating feeling, because the piece is not very big. I finally finished it on Friday and that was a good feeling!

I always try to use large pieces, but somehow I end up with some fiddly piecing. I resolve not to do it again, but there it is.

I also sewed around the edge of the top to stabilize it as there will be no border and made the binding. The whole package is ready to go to the quilter. Hooray!

Box Full of Letters Top - Finished
Box Full of Letters Top – Finished

Flying Geese Again

Flying Geese June 2015
Flying Geese June 2015

I have received more Flying Geese and I have made a few more as well. My last update was May 23 and this group doesn’t seem like enough, but it has to be. I am pretty sure I am not behind.

My geese have been a tough group to make. I am having problems with the measurements on the rulers I am using. I don’t know why the directions say to make the small squares one size and then the geese cannot be trimmed to the proper size. I was in a panic and a rush, so I sent them to TFQ anyway. I know she can handle the smaller seam allowance and I will make a few extras down the road.

Still, I am annoyed at the measurements.

Yes, I am cutting the squares larger now, but I have a whole bunch of squares that are just slightly too small. It is very irritating.

Improv Again

I don’t remember exactly when it was, last Friday, I think, but I had a brief window of time before I had to go do something else for someone. The grief at the implications of my BIL’s loss were starting to creep into my brain in the quiet and threatening to overwhelm me.

4 'A' Blocks
4 ‘A’ Blocks

I turned to the Improv pieces I had worked on at the workshop. They were sewn together as you see (left photo), but I wasn’t happy with them, so I unstitched them and began to rework them.

Tina’s idea (from Little Blue Cottage) is that there should be a lot of negative space in the center. Because I like the interplay of the strong pattern, I wanted the blacks and whites to act as the negative space and the red to act as the foreground.

This isn’t a terrible idea, but it wasn’t working with this layout. I looked at it a lot, trying to like it – or at least be okay with the center. The reality was that I didn’t like it. I wasn’t achieving anything near what I was imagining, thus the ripping.

Big, fat Improv
Big, fat Improv

The ripping really didn’t take long, but it did allow my mind time to wander, which is not what I wanted. After ripping, I began adding more neutrals to the ‘legs’. The photo (right) is what the pieces look like right now. I have not sewn the four blocks together yet. I haven’t decided if I am done with the ‘A’ blocks yet.

I think I will definitely add some more red to the outside. I also think that a few more neutrals is in order. It needs to sit a bit.

Windowframe layout
Windowframe layout

I wandered around it for awhile and then began to wonder whether I should reverse the blocks and arrange them the way Tina intended the pattern to be arranged. I think the neutral part of the blocks look too skinny again when arranged with the red in the middle. It isn’t terrible, though.

I think the ultimate path is to make some of the ‘B’ blocks and see what happens once I have more to look at.

 

Design Wall Monday

The last post was in April. Not quite a month, but close.

Design Wall 5-18-2015
Design Wall 5-18-2015

How’s this for a change? I completely revamped my design wall.

Normally, I am fortunate enough to work with two design walls. I usually have a large design wall leaning against one wall, but I gave it to Friend Julie at the last retreat. yes, I used it, then made her take it home. HA! I have been waiting for a new one since the Santa Clara show and it was finally delivered on Friday of last week. In the meantime I was a design wall short, so I cleared off the small one in anticipation of actually sewing. HA again!

I made two Flying Geese all week. This nonsense has got to stop or I will not have anything to write about and you will all go away.

Here are the things on my design wall this week:

  1. Hot 4 Patches. I will want to make more of these and do something with them, but they have not floated high enough in the idea file for me to actually do anything about it.
  2. I rearranged the red and turquoise 4 patches. They look kind of cook in a big row like that, don’t they?
  3. FOTY 2015. This is the start of the second batch of patches. Amazing how fast they accumulate.
  4. Field Day Zipper (or whatever I am going to call it). I wasn’t able to put the whole thing up on the wall, because I didn’t want to take down some of the things on the left, but the last three rows are stacked up on top of each other on the right. When I am able to sew the left hand rows together, there will be space for all the rows.
  5. These are hand written numbers that tell what order the rows should be sewn.

I am linking up with the Patchwork Times by Judy Laquidara.

May to Do List

I completely forgot to post this in April. Probably for the best, because not much has changed even after TWO months. The last post is from March.

To Do List:

  1. Quilt Christmas table runner
  2. Wash fabric AKA The Great Unwashed-I washed more loads in April. I have a some receiving blankets to make and some dresses for Political Wifery to make, so it was inevitable.
  3. Make stiff bucket or box for TP in main bath
  4. Make stiff bucket or box for TP in second bath – I am thinking of making this triangular in shape
  5. Anna Maria Horner Multi-tasker tote (gift-due Holiday 2013- sigh. Missed 2015 deadline as well)
  6. Cut out 3 notepad covers for gifts
  7. Finish cutting out Day in the Park backpack variation
  8. Finish cutting out 3rd Petrillo bag
  9. Sew Bon Appetit apron
  10. ATCs for CQFA April Meeting – made a large piece
  11. Fix button on DH’s California shirt
  12. 3 Christmas pillowcases
  13. ATCs for June meeting
  14. Art supplies Sew Together Bag
  15. Art supplies pincushion
  16. Purple Sew Together Bag
  17. Purple pincushion

To see the 26 Projects Lists, which list quilt WIPS, visit the December Current Projects update. Last month’s to Do List has a couple of changes, which is heartening.

All small items, prior to those completed in December 2014,  have been completed since November 4, 2013. This is a new list for 2015. You can find the list for 2014 and previous on the last post.

Finished in 2015:

 

Design Wall Monday

Design Wall - 4/27/2015
Design Wall – 4/27/2015

I am a little short of content, though more is in the works, so you get to see my design wall again.

1. Hot four patches. I still want to make a lot more of those and make a 4 patch quilt. I like what Bonnie Hunter has been doing with Four Patches lately.

2. Flying Geese Exchange with TFQ.

3. First batch of FOTY 2015 patches! This is the first glimpse. Stay tuned for more.

4. Turquoise and red Four Patches.

5. Stepping Stones block in process.

6. Four completed Stepping Stones blocks.

7. Another Stepping Stones block in process.

8. Box Full of Letters blocks.

9. A few more Flying Geese from our exchange.

10. More turquoise and red Four Patches.

My last update wasn’t that long ago – a month or so. I am linking up with the Patchwork Times by Judy Laquidara.

Design Wall Monday

Design Wall 3-22-2015
Design Wall 3-22-2015

I haven’t done a post like this in a long time. A long time is about a month and a half. i wonder if it looks much different from my last post? You tell me.

  1. Hot four patches. I want to make some kind of four patch quilt out of hot colors. This is a long term project that I am thinking about. It just came to the fore recently.
  2. Love Notes quilt: this is a Missouri Star Quilt Company pattern. Someone told me it was boring, but I decided to make it anyway. I object to the bias edges, but there is something about it that I like. Perhaps the envelopes making people think of writing. I am not going to call it Love Notes. Look for a more comprehensive post later.
  3. Red & turquoise four patches.
  4. FOTY 2014 Patches: I have decided that this is the last batch of the FOTY 2014 patches.
  5. Sampler quilt basket block in progress. I haven’t done more about the tutorial, but, see Frances, it is in process.
  6. Red & turquoise four patches in progress.
  7. Flying Geese project: TFQ and I are exchanging Flying Geese and these are the ones I have made and received so far.
  8. Folded paper star: I made this with a friend and really wish I could remember how to make it. If you know, let me know. Each leg is made from a square piece of paper.
  9. My birthday card from the Crafty Garden Mom.
  10. Four Stepping Stones blocks. I have a stack of fabric and various parts of blocks, but I haven’t made any new ones yet. No room on the design wall for another project.

I am linking up with Judy Laquidera at the Patchwork Times.

O9P

Getting the Black & Grey Teenaged Boy Donation Quilt off the design wall allowed me, as I had wished, to put the Octagon Nine Patch up on the wall.

Octagon 9 Patch - March 2015
Octagon 9 Patch – March 2015

It looks so little. You know I make big quilts so this one just looks weird.

I could cut more octagons and make it bigger, but the pieces are really small and piecing the blocks takes forever.

I have a few more octagons that are in the process of being sewn into Snowballs, so the piece will be a bit bigger, but it won’t be bed sized.

I can add a border and I do have an idea for that already, so that will also enlarge it.

I could also just be okay with the size that it is.

Octagon 9 Patch - March 2015 detail
Octagon 9 Patch – March 2015 detail

There are a lot of warm colors and I may need to cut a few octagons from cool colors, but I am not going to decide until I have more 9 patches completed and all the octagons are made into Snowballs.

March To Do List

I didn’t think I made progress, but I actually did!

To Do List:

  1. Quilt Christmas table runner
  2. Wash fabric AKA The Great Unwashed (I am still pressing and cutting the loads of fabric I did in December. I did do a couple of loads in February since I wanted to use the fabric) ;-)
  3. Make stiff bucket or box for TP in main bath
  4. Make stiff bucket or box for TP in second bath – I am thinking of making this triangular in shape
  5. Anna Maria Horner Multi-tasker tote (gift-due Holiday 2013- sigh. Missed 2015 deadline as well) – found the pattern, which is a good start.
  6. Make 3 notepad covers (gifts)
  7. Day in the Park backpack variation
  8. Sew Bon Appetit apron
  9. ATCs for CQFA January Meeting – meeting was cancelled and I have until February 28? I have found some fabric for the backs and marked it
  10. Make binding for Pink T Quilt
  11. Fix button on DH’s California shirt

To see the 26 Projects Lists, which list quilt WIPS, visit the December Current Projects update. Last month’s to Do List has a couple of changes, which is heartening.

All small items, prior to those completed in December 2014,  have been completed since November 4, 2013. This is a new list for 2015. You can find the list for 2014 and previous on the last post.

Finished in 2015:

  •  Make two bags for gifts
  • Dragon Box (gift)
  • Make back for Pink T Quilt