Commentary about works in progress, design & creativity
Posts about the piecing, applique’ of quilts. Don’t use for completed quilts or non-quilt projects.
After finishing the Warm Four Patch Fun quilt, I started immediately finishing the binding on this quilt.
This quilt is larger than the Warm Four Patch Fun. I do use a lot of cool colored fabrics, but it is still odd. I wasn’t counting, but I thought I had an equivalent number of fabrics.
The back of this quilt has more novelty fabrics. I guess I was in that mood.
I’ll send these quilts off next week, I think.
I finished the binding on the Warm Four Patch Fun. I really thought this quilt was larger, but it is relatively small. Kind of surprising since I use so much pink. Oh well, I hope it will be a good drag around quilt.
The back is another melange of random fabric. I do try and keep to a theme if I can. This time it was peachy pinks.
All of the blocks for the guild Block of the Month are done. We will have the layout party at Sew Day in November. I decided to put my blocks up on my design wall to see what I could do with them.
I am thinking I would like to get the top sewn together so I can focus on helping other people get theirs laid out during the layout party.
The blocks shown are the major blocks, mostly. This doesn’t now show anywhere near all of the blocks. I just wanted to get something up on the wall to get started. Each iteration provides information.
I am not going to bore you going through all the permutations and changes that I made.
Version 8 is the best one so far. You can see some of the ideas that stayed, most notably the upper right hand corner.
I am thinking of making four more Birds in the Air blocks and at least one more Sawtooth Star. The bottom left hand corner is very light feeling and the whole piece is a little top heavy.
I am also thinking I won’t use the grey Pearl Bracelets as the background. First, I may not have enough and second the pearls make the background really confusing when parts are sewn together. I am thinking of a similar color in a solid. I need to look through my greys and at my color cards.
It is definitely a process!
A few months ago, I made the first version of this block, which I really like. This is a block that I explored in Flying Around. When I made the first one I knew it wasn’t right.
Later, I got some more of the grey Pearl Bracelets fabric. Recently, with the end of the project nearing, I remade the block so that it fits in better with the rest of the blocks. I like it much better.
There isn’t as much contrast between the star fabrics and the background. Perhaps that will make people move in closer and look more carefully at the quilt.
Now I need to think about how I will put the quilt together. We have a layout party scheduled for the November Sew Day. I don’t know if I want to have mine put together or if I will work along with the others. I think I will need it put together to show that it can be done. I also think I won’t have time to work on my own project while everyone else needs assistance.
I finished Flower #7 a few days ago. I wanted to keep up the momentum, so I started cutting out#8 when I had a few extra minutes over the weekend.
I went to City Made Quilts the other day to check out their solids. They carry a brand other than Kona, which is a relief, Michael Miller, I think. I bought a couple to mix with my Tilda fabrics so I could use the lavender and peach Tilda on Flower #8.
I cut the lavender and peach solids and the print then went from there. I had some other pieces cut, so I tried those. Some of the pinks don’t work for me, so I tried again.
The version, right, is what I have at the moment. It is sitting on my design. I want greens in the corners, but am not sure this combination is working.
In the category of TMI, I had some dental work done yesterday and spent some time clearing out my email inbox, but otherwise laid on the couch and was a potato. I did get some stuff done over the weekend, which made me happy.
I got some fabric as a gift a week or so ago and decided it would work really well for my next White Strip donation top.
The White strip blocks had been laying around not inspiring me. With the new fabric in hand, I cut it up at SueS’ Sew Day. With that done, I was able to sew large and small squares to the strip blocks to come up with these larger blocks on Saturday.
Most of the blocks have been sewn so I need to start chunking. I was able to use almost all of the gift fabric, which is great.
This is a very different look for the white strip tops I have made in the past. This top will also straddle two series of quilts, Color Strip and Sidewalk.
I finished Flower #7! I finished the block faster than I thought I would. It only took me almost all day rather than all day. 😉
I am pleased with how it came out. I think my fabric choices are good.
So far, my group of blocks looks good. The blocks are very different from each other, but the fabrics tie them together.
On to Flower #8.
I have slowed my Potato Chip block pace, but am still making them. I think the EPPic got in the way a little bit. However, when I got back to the Potato Chips, I realized, I was at the end of my rectangles!
Great job, me! I achieved my goal of using up those rectangles, though I still have to make quilt(s) from the blocks. They will need sashing and I am thinking I will try to pick a split complementary color rather than just using white. I don’t know, though, as I don’t have a destination for this project. Donation quilts, maybe? We’ll see.
I powered through the chunking of the Sidewalk #6: Green and was able to finish. I wanted to get one of the Wheelchair quilts up on the wall, so I needed to finish the Sidewalk quilt.
I really need to make the Half 16 Patches more colorful. The alternating white squares in the blocks means the quilt is primarily white which maybe isn’t so great for a donation quilt. I thought about using a color for the 8.5 and 4.5 inch squares, but am pretty sure I don’t have enough of any one color and am not sure scrappy would work with this design. I’ll have to think about it some more.
The back took longer than I expected as I used a lot of smaller pieces. Still, it uses up a lot of greens that I probably won’t use. Also, I get to add to my ‘Fabric Used” spreadsheet and up the number of donation quilts the guild gives away.
I am continuing to make potato chip blocks as I am determined to use up all the rectangles I cut. I ran out of pink rectangles, but still have tons of the blues, so I am cutting more pinks as I go along.
I am thinking of making some blocks with just blues. I have to think about how to make the design show up.
I finished Old Town a few months ago, but never posted about it. I think my quilt holders have been busy or out of town. After winning Second place at the Fair, I realized it and knew I needed to get it done.
Old Town is finished! Yay! LOL!
Old Town is the 2024 Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt. I played along and sewed many of the blocks together at the BAM Retreat, then finished it up at home.
Colleen quilted it for me and here we are. I was really pleased to get second place since the category in which I entered it (quilted by another) is packed. This was a much easier quilt to quilt than Patchwork Palooza since once I decided how to quilt a block, I just had Colleen quilt all the blocks the same.
Lupine is finished.
It is a little large, so my quilt holder had a tough time. I hope to remember to get some guild members to help me get a better photo.
The poor quilt has been languishing between travel and other more urgent projects. In the middle of all the chaos I finally was able to sew the binding down.
I worked really hard last week to finish the Chaos top before class. I made good progress, but did not finish the top.
It is what it is, so I am continuing. This will be a large quilt and it has a lot of blocks, so I just have to soldier on.
The class is over, which is sad, but I hope to make another quilt like this using the same techniques.
I finished Ends n.25 a few weeks ago. I just handed it in and made time to post about it.
The background doesn’t provide the required contrast to make the oranges and yellows stand out. They don’t, however, blend together either.
This is a great example of what is fun about making donation quilts. I can play around with fabric combinations that I wouldn’t otherwise consider for my own work. I guess making backing is a little of the same.
The back, like the back for Ends n.24, uses some old solids that have been around since the dark ages.
In record time, Lupine is back and ready to bind. I took the quilt to her in mid-March. Colleen did a great job quilting it. I am pleased.
I’ll be glad to get this off my list. I have enough time to enter it in the Fair, but I am limited to two quilts quilted by another, so I’ll have to wait until next year. 🙁
The only thing I have left to do is bind it. I started the other day, but have to actually sit down to bind and I haven’t had a chance. I also need to get DH to hold it up so I can take a photo.