Commentary about works in progress, design & creativity
Posts about the piecing, applique’ of quilts. Don’t use for completed quilts or non-quilt projects.
My SIL kindly sent me some photos of the layouts she tested before putting her Infinity blocks together. It is interesting to see the use of color to create the layout. This type of layout did not even occur to me. I was thinking more about the wreath effect of the piecing.
I am really glad my SIL sent me these photos so I could be reminded of the other ways to layout blocks.
This is a fabric I bought at Quiltology. I didn’t have the blocks with me, but I thought it might work. In the end, a person has make visually decisions visually. Looking at it with the blocks on the design wall, I am not so sure. I think the grey has too much beige or brown in it, but it isn’t terrible.
I have to make a few more blocks, but the more important thing I need to figure out is this sashing thing.
I thought the grey Half Moon Dot would work, but looking at in the photo makes me think that the dots are too large and it makes the piece look too busy. It’s too bad. I do like those dots, but not for this piece. I do have to think of something to do with the Half Moon Street Collection, though. Soon.
The dots were a good idea, though, so I looked at some other dots I had. No shortage of dots, of course.
I have to use a fabric of which I have enough (one of the bad things about stashing fabric is that you might have the perfect fabric, but not have enough of it: design challenge, I think, yes.)
I like the large dot a lot. I like it because it looks cheerful. I also like it because it showcases the blocks better than the grey does. I do worry that the white will run into the white of some of the backgrounds I used. I also worry about the colors of the dots not being the same, but I think the colors of the dots are similar enough, so that is not so much of a worry. I don’t think the Zoe Pearns Sweet Nothings dots don’t conflict too much with these large dots.
This small dot works, I think, but the dot might be too small.
Click to make the last photo larger to see how the small dots look against the blocks. The small dot works well with the Zoe Pearns Sweet Nothings in the blocks. It is also bright enough, but the white doesn’t seem to suck the life out of this piece.
What do you think?
This is the fabric I thought I would use for a border first. I have it in my fabric closet already, but I only have a yard, so I don’t think I would be able to add it lengthwise (the stripes running parallel to the edge of the quilt). I guess I should have taken a picture of the fabric oriented in the way I was thinking of using it.
Oh well, use your imagination.
I do like the color of it – actually the color feel of it. It has the right feel to go with the rest of the quilt. It is a very restful border. I am concerned that I don’t have enough yardage and I don’t want to be fumbling around trying to make it work. I usually buy enough of a striped fabric for bindings and not borders. A yard is usually enough for a bias binding and if it isn’t, I have no business making a quilt that big.
I bought this piece at Quiltology. I tried to drape it so that you could see how it would look if I added it to the quilt as a border. How did I do? The colors aren’t quite right, but I do like adding a bit of yellow. One thing about adding these types of colors brings out some of the fabrics in the blocks that tend towards green.
I have to say that I am bit concerned about the grey border I added. I thought it would be the final border of the quilt, but then decided that the quilt needed to be finished off with something a bit darker.
My concern lies with the grey. It is very different from the white in the blocks, which is why I added it. I wonder, though, if it isn’t so different that it doesn’t work. I kind of like it, but I don’t want people snickering behind their hands at my poor judgment.
This piece, also purchased at Quiltology, has much more green it. I didn’t realize that it had so much green until I got it home. I think that this is an issue of the type of light I live in. When I saw it in my workroom, I thought it had much too much green, but seeing it in the photo makes me think that it also brings out the blocks with green in them.
Frankly, in the end, I don’t care that much. I would like to be done with this project and I don’t want to spend much more time agonizing about border fabric. alternatively, I don’t want to look at it after it is finished and wish I had done something different.
Again with the artistic angst! I hope this isn’t becoming a habit.
In addition to sewing I have been cutting.
All of the pinks in the Pink Donation Quilt have a square in the piece on the left. There are a few from some fabrics I bought in the last little while. I also have some patches from the Art Gallery scraps I received.
I have to admit that I arranged the scraps a bit so they look good in the photos I post for you. Look for these patches in the final piece.
It is monumental that I am quilting. I hope you appreciate the momentousness of the occasion. 😉
Really, I do quilt small things, but most of my larger pieces are quilted by someone else. Part of the reason is an old injury, which doesn’t allow the pushing and tugging a quilt through the machine required. I also have an older machine (though I bought it when it was a top of the line machine) and the arm is the old normal size, not one of the super sized free arms that look so fantastic. The other part of the reason is that I quilt very densely. I quilt about 1/8th – 1/4 of an inch away from the nearest line of quilting. I don’t know why, but it takes a long time.
Still this is a small piece, perhaps 18×24″ and I wanted to quilt it myself. I have been working on the background in small increments. I am really nearing the end of that part of the project, which makes me want to jump for joy. There are parts that I would have free motion quilted, but my machine is not up to it, so I just did straight line stitching. I like the quilting to melt into the background so it works for me.
In order to melt the quilting into the fabric, I needed to quilt the sky in three different sections using different color thread.
Another reason I quilt this way is to reward the ardent viewer. If a viewer comes up and puts his/her nose to my quilt, s/he will get the reward of seeing some additional details. I like to try and layer my pieces in an overt way, above and beyond the textural quality of the quilting.
I don’t really use special thread. I have a number of different colors of Aurifil and I use those to quilt with. I like that the they are thin.
I was particularly pleased with the blue background. I used some of Libby Lehman’s Bottom Line purple thread and it just melted into the background. I get good results when I unwind the thread from the spool and lay it on the area where I plan to use it. I find that the color on the spool – when the threads are laying nicely next to each other – is very different than the color of one strand.
I am sure more experienced machine quilters have better tips for you than this, but this post describes what I do and since I am pleased with the results, I thought I would share.
I am pleased that this project, which is on the 26 Projects list is moving forward!
It is hard for me to sew during the week, but I am making some progress.The iron issue is not resolved, so I have to figure that out (return current iron, which stinks to high heaven when on), but I am trimming and arranging blocks. My design wall is starting to be too small, but I will have to make it work.
I have 289 blocks to work with and I may make more. I don’t know what size I am aiming for, but my mind keeps saying “BIGGER!!!!”
I probably have enough triangles to make at least 50 more blocks, I don’t plan on making 50 more blocks, however you never know what the muse will scream at me.
Stay tuned.
I really like this quilt.
I love the blue and orange together. Complements, what could be better? In addition, the orange just makes me happy.
I am trying to think of whether or not I have used this much orange in a quilt before. Looking at my orange scrap drawer, I would say no.
The other interesting thing, which I always find when working with a monochromatic palette, is how different, in this case, the oranges are. Some are peachy, some are more red, some have a pink tinge. There were a few prints (my man Philip Jacobs!) with browns. It is so interesting to me how those browns took on more of an orange cast when used withe oranges.
I know you can also see that some are multi-colored and so non-orange colors show up as well. I think those add some interest.
I decided to make the Wonky 9 Patch a bit larger. As I said before, the problem is the blue. TFQ said she may have some of the blue, so I sent her a swatch.
I made more of the blocks, so I am ready. One thing I did differently was press the seams open. It made cutting the blocks much easier.
I decided not to sew the one new row to the rest of the quilt, though I did consider it, if for no other reason than to make progress.
Now I am just waiting with my fingers crossed.
I think this project will progress in fits and starts. I made the new blocks (on the right) while I was piecing the Flowering Snowball. I used the Corner Store blocks as leaders and enders. Such a useful, productivity improving technique.
I find that I put the blocks up on the design wall and I become uninspired to make more. Not sure why. I like them; I think the piece works well, is interesting and pretty. As a project I work on steadily, it wasn’t working for me yesterday. However, as leaders and enders in between a different project, I make a lot of blocks. What is that about?
And, the other question is, if I don’t work steadily on the Corner Store, what should I work on? I need some bang for my buck. Can I finish another top next weekend? VIMH#1 says I have to enjoy the process not just go for finished product.
I put all the blocks up. I have quite a few. They are small, though, so it isn’t enough. There is still a lot of red and pink. I made an effort to make blocks with no red or pink, but I have a lot of red and pink triangles, so it is hard.
This is not the final arrangement. I slapped them up on the wall and did a tiny bit of rearranging.
I also have to buy some more Kona Snow as background. The Pure Elements Linen, of which I have plenty, is different enough to be noticeable.
Sunday was a nice day. It was Mother’s Day and, though nobody in my house said anything specifically, I did whatever I wanted and didn’t have to do too many chores. I received a depressing, if very true card and an iTunes gift card from the Young Man and then spent the rest of the day finishing the Flowering Snowball. Not finishing as in quilted and bound, but finishing the top and the back.
So, the top, back and binding for the Flowering Snowball are all done and will be sent off to the quilter soon.
I am pretty pleased with the top. Since the project spanned several years, some of the fabrics are fabrics that I would not choose to work with now. Also, since I wanted this to be a scrap quilt, I should have stuck to using each foreground fabric only once.
Still, none of the fabrics jump out and demand attention and the variety of fabrics is significant, so there is a lot to look at.
Of course, I can think of things I would do differently if I did the quilt again and the VIMH#1 is musing about making one on the machine and color schemes while VIMH#2 is getting ready to slap her. I have plenty of projects on the design wall that need attention before I can circle back and make another one of these.
I have to admit that after I started chunking the top, I thought that I could have made more blocks so that the center would be wider. I was thinking that two more rows of blocks down the center would be great. I am not doing it. What I have is enough and I will think about this as a lesson and carry it forward.
I am doing backs in a little different way now. I decided that the large Philip Jacobs and Martha Negley prints I love so much would be great backs. I am taking some of the giant pieces I bought recently and putting them on the backs. I am still committed to piecing my backs, but am taking a break from tiny pieces. I am trying to use larger pieces. This makes making the backs much faster to piece. It also means that those large prints are shown off to their best advantage.
In this case, I tried to pick fabrics that went with the Martha Negley print and, further, with each other. I ended up with a very pink back.
the librarian in me has to tell you that I called the pattern “Cross Blocks” until I found that Barbara Brackman had cataloged it. In EQ7, the notecard lists it as “Barbara Brackman’s Encyclopedia of Quilt Patterns #3081 – Aunt Kate 7/65.” It is from the Classic Pieced, Orange Peel family.
The Sunday Stash Report (a la Pam at Hip to be a Square podcast) is 8 yards. More on that later.
I can’t believe that this approximately 6 year project is finally done. this means that I am down to 20 projects which need serious work. Some of the 6 are still at the quilter or need to be bound, but I consider this to be good progress.
I don’t know what project is next. I’ll have to work on the Flower Sugar Hexagons again just to get some more of them sewn and added. I also have some blocks to make for the A-B-C Challenge.
Nota bene: the WordPress media uploader has not cooperating. I have been having trouble with it for the past few days so I added the photo of the top, but it is large. If I can make it smaller, I will.
I know I am trying to finish the Flowering Snowball, but the hand piecing is slowing me down. Since th cut squares and triangles were sitting right by my machine, I just started sewing them together. I just needed to sew. In between sewing the Swoon, I made 20 of the Corner Store blocks.
These blocks are fairly easy to make if you have everything cut. As I have said, I like the variety of different sizes of triangles. I think it creates movement across the design field, but I think the viewer can see it better if the blocks are sewn together.
Lots of red in this group, but really awesome reds. I found another container of triangles with some more variety of color. The blocks will look different when I put them all up on the design wall and move them around.
I am not sure how many blocks I am going to need for a finished product, but I think the height of the piece will be 15 blocks down. If I make a piece that is 15 blocks x 15 blocks, I will need 225 blocks not counting the borders. I don’t have any idea of what type of border to add at this point. We’ll have to see.
I thought I would work on the Corner Store as my next project. It was calling to me during the dark time while I pieced the Renewed Jelly Roll Race. As soon as I turned my attention to it, it held no interest for me.
I worked a bit on the Garden, as I mentioned, but floundered a bit on Saturday. I made a couple of QuiltCon blocks, did a bit of piecing on the Swoon #6, but finally took myself in hand on Saturday night and planned out my Sunday.
On Sunday, I worked pretty steadily on the Flowering Snowball. Aside from some math issues, e.g. not being able to count, the process went pretty well. I had little to no trouble putting the hand pieced blocks together by machine. I do need a few more blocks, so I can’t finish the chunking until those are pieced. If all goes well, and I have counted properly, I should have them done by the end of next week. We’ll see. Don’t hold your breath.
I feel like doing another version of this pattern by machine with pink or aqua background. It has to wait, though, until many other projects are completed.
My camera seems to be taking fuzzy photos. I wonder what that is about?
I am progressing well on the Flowering Snowball. I seem to be able to sew about a block a night. These are hand pieced, which is why they take so long.
I am trying to decide how to put the blocks together – by machine or by hand. I am thinking that I will put them together by hand and then go over them by machine. I am hemming and hawing because the hand stitching isn’t as precise in terms of seam allowance, so I have to sew on a line rather than lining up the seam allowance. I’ll try it out and see how it goes.
I am pleased with the progression and glad I took it up again. I am really liking the way the side and corner blocks look. Another good example of self bordering success.
The top and back are done. The binding is made and I took the quilt to the quilter on Friday.
You will have to click on the photo to see the border I put on. It is relatively small – 3″ or 4″, I forget- and mostly it is there to stabilize the edges of the piece. I think it gives the diamonds some breathing room.
When I look at this piece, I see a lot of movement. I first thought the rows and columns weren’t lined up, but the variety of fabric makes the piece look like it is moving rather than misaligned. At the moment, the top is 61″x61″ approximately.
I decided to use most of the rest of the diamonds on the back. I still have a few left, but they will end up in some other project another time – perhaps in a pencil roll or gift bag. Hhhmmm….
Again, I decided to try not to make myself crazy. I used a large piece of purple Moda Marble for the sides of back. Around the diamond is some random solid I had and I had to throw in a few other pieces to make the back large enough.
I felt bad having so little to show at BAMQG, but next month, or in June, hopefully, I will will have a lot. I do like those finishes.
I have decided to give it to my aunt as a gift. She is doing something really nice for me for which I can never thank her.
Yes, I am working on the Flowering Snowball. It is a hand project (as I designed it to be) and I work on it when I watch TV.
I did a lot of cutting a few weeks ago, as I mentioned and the result is that I am putting segments together until there are none left and then putting other segments together until I can start sewing blocks together. At the moment I am working on sewing a foreground piece (the printed, colored fabric), which has been joined with a black on white piece to a different foreground piece that has been attached to a small black square.
So far, I have done three. When I looked at them the word ‘florets’ came to mind. Yes, like broccoli, but not broccoli. Nicer than broccoli-not that there is any thing wrong with broccoli, but fabric is much better. So I am calling these joined segments florets.
One of the things about this method is that I put all the squares together at once. I sew the same segments to each other until all of the blocks are done and then I move to the next segment. When I start finishing the blocks, they will be done quickly.
I haven’t done anything with Fabric of the Year 2012 yet. I decided that I would go even more simple than last year, but would keep one of the elements of FOTY 2011. I decided that I would go with squares and rectangles. I will cut squares out of fabrics I have used this year (but not bought) and rectangles out of the new fabrics.
A lot of the fabrics in the photo are from the Flowering Snowballs foreground. I only used one piece from each of the fabrics in the Flowering Snowball blocks, but I figured it still counted. They are all great fabrics, aren’t they?
I really like the scrappy look, but think it will be even better when I start arranging the fabrics at the retreat in 2013. Seems like a long way off, but here it is already March, so I know it will be here sooner than I think.
From my brief comment, you might have inferred that I am also working on the Flowering Snowball. I am. More on that later.