Commentary about works in progress, design & creativity
Posts about the piecing, applique’ of quilts. Don’t use for completed quilts or non-quilt projects.
I needed to finish this block so I could get the Patchwork Palooza blocks up on the wall.
Mission accomplished.
It doesn’t look anything like it did when I first cut it out. I think it looks better now.
I am really enjoying using the solids I bought for this project and I am glad I took that leap.
I think the bolder colors in the new version really make this much more interesting than the original version.
3 down, 6 to go. I had better get cutting.
I finished all of the Patchwork Palooza blocks and am now waiting for the finishing instructions. I can definitely finish this without them, but I want to see what they say. I was annoyed not to receive the email last Friday despite receiving other marketing emails. I may just have to make my own instructions for finishing. 🙁
Julie was working on her PP blocks at Sew Day so I was able to see that sashing provided the blocks with a little bit of space. I think it needs the space just by looking at what I have on the design wall.
Some of the blocks look complicated or busy, but that is somewhat because of the fabrics I chose and where I decided to place them. I can also see where making some half alternate blocks might look nice in the border. We’ll see. I’d like to get this finished, so I might not want to make it more complex.
I took the fabrics Friend Julie gave me to Portland. I had an idea for a quilt top and thought I could get it done while I was there.
The yardage was skinny quarter yards and I was able to get three strips out of each piece. That made the quilt around 60 inches long, I think.
Success! The top is done. I just have to make the back and binding before it is ready for quilting.
It was a little bit of a challenge to work without a design wall. First, I used the couch (see above), but since we couldn’t use the dining table to eat, we needed the couch and coffee table for meals. I moved the strips, once they were cut to the mantle, which worked pretty well. I had to figure out how to keep them from falling off. Books were the answer. It is so interesting to see what books people leave in a shared space.
One of the blocks that arrived in my inbox while I was in Portland was Safe Harbor, Block 16. It is a kind of Square in a Square block.
I was very interested in the way the corners were added. Instead of a template for the blue pieces, the designer used a flippy corners method. Very clever!
I am behind on posting these.
After a hitch with my email subscription to the Patchwork Palooza blocks, I was able to quickly make Block 15 of the project after receiving the pattern from Friend Julie.
This looks like a Lozenge Plus block to me, though the PLUS in the center looks a little fatter.
In Barbara Brackman’s Encyclopedia of Quilt Patterns**, this block, #1970, is called the Spool Block and is attributed to Nancy Cabot, c.1938.
In Jinny Beyer’s The Quilter’s Album of Patchwork Patterns, this block is #186-2. It is also called the Spool Block from Nancy Cabot (glad they agree!). Beyer references The Chicago Tribune, April 1, 1938. I should go look that up sometime.
**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 website.
The other day I showed you the rest of the Flower #1 metamorphosis for the Country Revival/Sad Quilt. Here I am going to show you the entire process, though go back to the first post, then the second to read the explanation of whole process.
I am probably more fascinated by my own process than you are. As a result, I may publish another post later today. Stay tuned.
I received the stack of solids I ordered, so it was back to Flower #1 for more changes. you might remember how much I worked on making incremental, small changes the first time around. I have been looking at it as I sewed Flower #2 and still wasn’t 100% happy.
I decided to pick out some solids and see if I could make Flower #1 look better. I started off with a vast improvement over the original. Adding some more greens made the block much more interesting. I decided that there was too much solid pink, so I replaced some of the solid pink with some Emerald. The Emerald is about halfway down the stack in the photo above.
I put the Emerald in the corners on the bottom right and top left. I want to make incremental changes to so I can see what it happening. It is amazing how the replacement of two little pieces makes a huge difference.
The edges were looking better, so I decided to work on the center. I replaced some of the pink with Dragonfruit, a darker pink.
I liked the change, but it wasn’t quite enough. Each change I make highlights another area that needs attention!
Once I made the change by adding the Dragonfruit, I thought it needed more. I cut another couple of pieces to end up with more dark pink in the middle.
After looking at v.6 for awhile, I decided that this was the final version. Maybe it isn’t perfect. Maybe it could be better, but I like it. I think there isn’t anywhere that is too boring or too repetitive. Even the bottom left and top right corners light pink works.
Finally, I decided that the Emerald needed to be toned down a little. I like that fabric and the color, but for this block, I needed something a little more subtle. I decided to change the Emerald for Dark Citron.
I started sewing the block together and it is looking good.
These look too similar at the moment, so I am not happy with what I have made. However, I spent some time when I had a bin of black out cutting squares for the 6 and 8 inch Orange peel circles. This means that there will be some variety coming at some point. I am not in a rush to make these blocks. I have to figure out what to do about the background. I’ll probably use black, but I haven’t 100% decided yet.
I don’t know how many blocks I will make for this project. Many so it will be a large quilt (as usual!), but how many is still a mystery.
This is the last backlog block. The PP project calls it Keep the Fire, but it is a Bow Tie block. I am not sure why the Patchwork Palooza people are renaming the blocks. I suppose it makes the block fresher.
I found it in Jinny Beyer’s The Quilter’s Album of Patchwork Patterns, where the block is called Necktie (73-1). It is by Ruth Finley, ca 1929.
I have to make this block for another project and I found the instructions to make this one SO easy. I have always dreaded the flippy corners method. No problem on this block. It came out great, especially after the grief with Block 8.
I am almost finished with the backlog of blocks.
I finally finished block 5, Card Trick, or, as the Patchwork Palooza people call it, Go Your Own Way. I don’t like this block. I always have trouble making it, which seems very odd to me. It shouldn’t be a difficult block, but for me, it is. Apparently, it didn’t like me either as there was a lot of ripping involved in finishing it.
In Barbara Brackman’s Encyclopedia of Quilt Patterns**, this block, #1674, is called Crow’s Nest or Card Trick. Both names are from Beth and Jeff Gutcheon. In the Encyclopedia it is colored very strangely, so you can see the card effect. It looks more like an Ohio Star, but with half QSTs instead of regular QSTs.
In Jinny Beyer’s The Quilter’s Album of Patchwork Patterns, this block is #143 and also called Card Trick, but doesn’t have the QST in the center. It is listed as from The Perfect Patchwork Primer by Beth and Jeff Gutcheon.
**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 website.
Block 12, On the Horizon, is done. I am keeping up, though I know I am posting out of order.
I am still working on the alternate blocks and will continue to do so until I finish them.
I finally sewed one of the flowers.
It is amazing how different it looks from the pre-trimmed and sewed piece.
Sewing this together really moved me along in the process. I felt able to work on the colors for Flower #1 again.
The piecing on this quilt takes a lot of time. I think it is because of the curves. That doesn’t mean it is difficult, just time consuming.
In the photo, the top left unit is pieced and trimmed. I wasn’t happy with the trimming. I ended up buying the SKOW recommended ruler, Sew Square 6**, though, despite my love for specialty rulers, I am fundamentally opposed to specialty square rulers. I would much rather the ruler I already have, the Quick Curve Ruler**, be marked well enough so I could trim with it. It isn’t impossible, but I found it to be very difficult. I haven’t decided if I need to make that upper left unit again. I don’t know if I trimmed too close to the green curved shape.
Except for the bottom row, the rest of the units have been sewn, but not trimmed. You can see how weird looking they are before they are trimmed. I bought the Sew Square 6** which I plan to use to trim the other units.
I didn’t buy the whole set; I just bought this one to see if I thought it was better than just using the Quick Curve Ruler.
Flower 1 is still unsewn. I am not 100% happy with the color selection. I bought a few solids, which I am hoping will help fix whatever the problem is.
**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 website.
The latest Patchwork Palooza block came out on Friday and I am pleased that I finished it. I didn’t finish it until last night, but I don’t want to get behind again.
This block is called, by the Patchwork Palooza people, Set Sail. Historically it has several different names, including Old Maid’s Puzzle or Hour Glass or School Girl’s Puzzle. You can find this block in Barbara Brackman’s Encyclopedia of Quilt Patterns** as #1317.
The name Old Maid’s Puzzle is from Ladies Art Company #25. Not very P.C., as many of these names tend to be.
The Hour Glass name is from Grandma Dexter. I had never heard of Grandma Dexter and had to look it up. Grandma Dexter is listed in the bibliography of the Encyclopedia of Quilt Patterns** as a “series of booklets published in the early 1930s from the Virginia Snow Studios, apart of the Dexter Yarn and Thread Company and the Collingbourne Mills in Elgin, IL. Hmm. Interesting. More puzzles as I have never heard of that company either, but I am just interested and not an expert.
The School Girl’s Puzzle name is from Needlecraft Supply 1936, n.12.
I also found it Jinny Beyer’s The Quilter’s Album of Patchwork Patterns, where it is called as Crosses & Losses (73-9). The name comes from Ladies Art Company, 1897. Beyer says it is also known as Bouncing Betty (!!??!!) (Progressive Farmer, 1933), Fox & Geese (Finley, 1929) and Hour Glass, as mentioned above.
This is a block that I have always admired. I know I made a similar one for the Handbag Sampler. I don’t think I have ever made it otherwise, so it makes me glad to have the opportunity to try it again.
I have also made a few of the alternate blocks. I think there will be another piece of sashing, but for now, I have a few of the blocks laid out without it. I just chose some random blocks, though I see now that two of them are Sawtooth Star types. I’ll choose some others once I get more of the alternate blocks made.
**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 website.
I haven’t made much progress on this piece, but I haven’t given on it either. After I posted about the most recent Color Improv finishes, I got some nice feedback and decided to get back to this piece.
I had a couple of the strip blocks and I decided to add them to the piece so as to make it larger sooner.
It has been a struggle, because I have the half 16 patch blocks for the next Sidewalk quilt as leaders and enders as well as the Four Patch Fun piecing.
So much quilty goodness!!