Commentary about works in progress, design & creativity
Posts about the piecing, applique’ of quilts. Don’t use for completed quilts or non-quilt projects.
Ends n.13 is another in the series of quilts that I talked about a couple of days ago. Yes, I made two this week.
I used the leftover pieces from Ends n.12 to get started and then added some additional pieces from my stash of ‘ends.’
I cut and basted a few of those damn triangles at a couple of meetings last week, but did the bulk of the work at Sew Day. I divided up the different shapes and alternated the skinny triangles with all the other shapes. I got the basting done and was able to do a bit of stitching before Sew Day was over.
I also sewed in the evening, so I have a good start for Month 8.
I decided I needed to get this one finished. All the projects left on my design walls when I put them away were a lot less interesting when I saw them again. I didn’t want to toss them, but I did want them finished.
I started it last year sometime. The first time I talked about it was July, which was right before we dismantled my workroom. I was concerned at that time that I wouldn’t have enough scraps to make a decent sized baby quilt. It’s still a concern as I am piecing tiny scraps together and expect to have no yellow scraps left.
I spent time over the weekend making good progress.
I finally figured out what I was cutting during 2022.
This guide details many fewer pieces than previous years. I have a lot of pieces I have cut and need to make into quilts, so I am scaling back.
3 1/2 x 12 1/2 – this piece is for the Half Hexie Star quilt
2 1/2 x 4 1/2 – blue gradation quilt
2 1/2 x 2 1/2 – FOTY 2022
2 1/2 x 2 1/2 -I cut 2 1/2″ squares to have them handy in case I need them. I can’t seem to give it up.
1 1/2 x 2 1/2 – pieces for another Scrap Dash. I am not sure I am cutting all the pieces I need to be ready.
1 1/2 x 1 1/2 – More for another Scrap Dash
I am not sure what happened to cutting charts for 2020 and 2021. Can we blame that on COVID? Based on my 2019 cutting chart, I may need to cut more for the pink gradation quilt. I also need backgrounds for the Spin Wheel quilt, which I’d like to get off my to do list this year.
I made good progress over the weekend on the current donation quilt. I talked about it the other day. Talking about it really made me want to get it done so I could hand it in at the meeting next weekend. It has been a long time since I have made a quilt.
I didn’t know how this was going to shape up as the picture I saw was small and not very attractively styled. I knew that it wouldn’t look hideous regardless, so I stayed the course.
I had sewn a bunch of HSTs from the charm pack I had. To make the legs, I needed to rip off some of the white triangles in order to make the legs. I decided I didn’t want to make giant Flying Geese and would make the legs into giant HSTs.
I was able to get the foreground part of the quilt done on Saturday, which was great.
The white brightens up the slightly subdued colors of the charm pack.
As I mentioned when I talked about Gelato the other day, Scrap Dash has been languishing alongside Gelato while I worked on La Pass. I got it back at the same time I got Gelato back.
I don’t get to count the yardage in my 2022 spreadsheet, because I already counted it last year when I got it back from Colleen. I know I should have waited, but I have no self control.
This will be a gift for one of my SILs. She doesn’t know yet, but I’ll tell her soon. There is a method to the madness of the back of the quilt. The bluer print fabrics on each side of the fish are shells. There is a small piece of red-violet sea urchin fabric at the bottom making this is an ocean themed back. Except for the batik and the tone-on-tone blue, all of the back fabrics are from the Kaffe Fassett Collective. SIL swims quite a bit so I thought having this type of themed back would be entertaining.
I decided I want to make this quilt again, so I am back to cutting super tiny pieces. Of course, I can use the leftovers I didn’t use from this version.
After months of not sewing down the binding, Gelato is finally done. Catching up with La Pass really propelled my quiltmaking forward. I was able to finish a bunch of projects that need a bit of hand sewing and I got to work on the Half Hexie Star project.
I got this quilt back in the middle of last year, then I got a job and the giant puzzle and La Pass and my schedule went to hell in a handbasket. I enjoy stitching down the binding. It is very satisfying.
Now it is finished. Hooray! DH held it up for me so I could take some photographs. Writing about it here really makes it done in my mind.
I originally made this quilt for my niece, thus the Chrysanthemum back. I think I will give it to a friend who has recently had his leg amputated below the knee. He had an accident about 10 years ago. After multiple surgeries and infections, he decided (and is at peace with) on this course. He will appreciate the front and the thought, I think and won’t mind the flowers. We’ll see.
Lindsay sent me a picture of the ‘Busy Quilt’ she made for her toddler (my baby friend). What a great idea! It’s a really good idea for a baby gift if you want to make a gift for later – or you don’t get around to the gift until the baby is one.
It also reminded me of the Fidget Quilts that BAM made for people with Alzheimer’s. Lindsay’s, of course, is much more vibrant. The Tula Pink fabrics make the piece visually interesting.
There are also some differences. In the middle, there are clips to move around that section. This is something to watch out for when making it for a patient or a toddler. Nobody wants the recipient to choke. I am sure Lindsay knows Baby A well enough to put the clips on when she is old enough.
The bottom middle has woven yarn or string with beads and buttons to move over the yarn. There are also laces, which make me think of the Dressy Bessy-update pattern I bought. I never made it for my niece. Now, perhaps, I should make it for Baby A?
Lindsay also used mesh to good effect. The bobbles are a great choice as are the Curiouser and Curiouser faces.
I am so fortunate to have such talented friends.
A long time ago, in this galaxy, Friend Julie gave me a jelly roll. I don’t usually like jelly rolls, but I like this one.
One reason I like it is that the serrated edge isn’t deeply serrated, so the width is actually pretty close to 2.5 inches. Also, the strips seem to be pretty much cut on grain.
At Sew Day, Molly was working on a jelly roll quilt. She also didn’t want to cut up the jelly roll into squares so she was using the strips almost as is. She made a cut in the middle where the color really started to change and inserted a KFC fabric.
Molly’s quilt got stuck in my mind and I couldn’t get it or the jelly roll in my workroom off my mind. I tried to stay focused on Scrap Dash, but the jelly roll kept creeping in.
One good thing about Sew Day is that I get to be inspired by projects on which other people are working. It is also a good thing about the guild.
Almost as soon as Scrap Dash was ready to be quilted, I opened the Jelly Roll and started putting strips on the wall. I want to add the background to the outside of the strips.
I didn’t realize the fabrics were ombre! This makes the project much more interesting. Just putting them on the wall is exciting.
I am starting out keeping the strips in order. I may move them around later after I see what I have. I am also planning to use the Art Gallery fabric I used as a background for Scrap Dash as a background for this quilt.
I finally finished the binding on the X Quilt!!I feel like I usually get the quilt bindings done faster. This one felt like it took forever.
Fortunately, I had a deadline and I got the quilt done before the deadline. I watched some Midsommer Murders with my Mom and was able to sew while I watched.
I took the photo in a hotel room. The best position was laying it on one of the beds. I was pleased that the quilt fit, with an overhang, on a queen sized bed.
I spent most of Saturday working on Scrap Dash, though I also worked on the Yellow Strip Donation quilt as leaders and enders. I continue to be pleased with how the piece is progressing.
I cut a bunch of pieces for the borders during the previous week. I had sewed some of them together in snatches of time also during the week. On Saturday, I stitched many more together. I also started placing them in their spot on the wall. I now have sections of 3 sides of the borders sewn to some other piece.
I didn’t want to sew the entire border strip together then sew it to the quilt top as one piecing. I am chunking all the pieces and I am glad, because I have to fiddle with some of the border pieces to get them to fit. I am not sure why as my 1/4″ looks good and the pieces are cut accurately.
I have started, in a small way to sew the chunks together. I am not seeing much shrinkage yet as that depends on quite a bit of sewing the chunks together.
I spent a lot of time on Saturday working on Scrap Dash. I am pleased with my progress and feel like I can see a glimmer of the end of the project. I am still far away from it, but I see a glimmer.
I am getting more of the border on the wall and will soon start to sew it together. I need space so I can get the rest of the right hand column up, too.
Hooray for progress!
I really made good progress over the weekend. I figured out what I need to do to finish this quilt, e.g. how big it is going to be. I also cut more of the 1.5×2.5 inch rectangles. I need a lot of them, so more cutting is coming.
I am at the point where I really want to start sewing blocks together, but I am trying to restrain myself. As I moved the blocks around to make more space on the left, I moved blocks to different positions in order to make them stand out more. Sewing will also give me more space on my design wall, so restraint or no I might need to sew to gain the space I need to finish putting all the pieces on the design wall. I suspect I will never have a large enough design wall.
While you might think the cutting is the hardest part, the actual hardest part is getting each fabric in the quilt to shine. Obviously, each one can’t stand out when the viewer looks at the whole thing, but I want each fabric to stand out when someone looks at it up close. I don’t want fabrics to blend together.
I made a little progress on Scrap Dash over the weekend in between parts of the UCAB and Triple Zip Pouch. I am still using it as leaders and enders, so I can’t help but make some progress. There was a lot of machine foot switching while I worked on the Ultimate Carry All Bag.
What I really need to do is figure out where the edges are in this quilt. I am not sure if I will add rows and columns or what. Once I figure that out, I will be able to work towards finishing it. Somehow this quilt reminds me of the Corner Store quilt.
I am making progress; notable progress. Because this is still kind of a back burner project, I am making slow progress.
I know I’ll need some more pieces and parts, but am getting all I have cut sewn together before I decide what else I need to cut.