Project-Quilt – Page 27 – Artquiltmaker Blog

Projects Calling

I couldn’t stay away from my workroom on yesterday. I found a playmate for the child and left them to their own devices (except for an occasional admonishment to go outside away from the screens) while I sat and sewed. I sent Aja’s Bullseyes off to her, as I may have mentioned, last week. She received them Thurs or Fri, so I only had my blocks to work on.

This calling business was a bit disconcerting, because it seemed like my mind had a mind of its own. Normally, I will sew a bit, do the laundry a bit, sew a bit more, make my weekly phone calls, sew a bit, change the laundry and do the dishes and sew a bit more. Yesterday my body and mind were united and they were having none of it. I went to the workroom and basically stayed there. No dishes, no laundry and the dinner didn’t get started until almost 7pm. IT WAS FABULOUS!!!
This is one of the blocks and I really liked it. I fussy cut the last circle and was sad to slice it up, because the flower is so perfectly displayed.

These are my blocks after I have added the last circle. The blocks in the upper right hand corner are blocks that weren’t in the photo I posted the other day. My design wall isn’t big enough to accommodate all of the blocks.

These are details of the blocks from the upper right hand corner.

Now my Bullseye blocks are nearly complete. I have sewed the last circles on and trimmed all the blocks down to 9.5″.
This is how the back of a block looks after I have sewn the last circle and before I have cut the back of the second circle out. You can see that Julie and Aja have cut out the backs of the background and the first circle.

Here is how the above block looks after I have cut out the back of the second circle. This reduces bulk and provides lots of lovely circles for another project.

I finished the process of cutting out the backs of the second circles, and I have sliced the blocks into quarters. I am preparing them to be sent off to Julie and Aja.

Here is how I set up the blocks to slice them. I love the Creative Grid rulers, because they have a lot of different markings that allow you to line up the ruler so the block is sliced very precisely.

I keep two quarters of the block and send one quarter each to Julie and Aja.

Here are my slices. I just slapped them up on the wall, but I like the internal maze surrounded by a larger maze and may go with that type of design for the final design. I think I will have to put some of the stronger colors, perhaps red, in that internal maze so that it stands out. I will also want the self bordering technique to give the piece a finished look You can see it in Seeing Red.

I Didn’t Realize I Did Do Something!

Normally, I like to give my posts their day in the sun – the one time in their life when you will see them and only them first.

Today isn’t one of those kind of days.

A few days ago, I was lamenting the fact that I hadn’t been doing anything sewing related lately except thinking. When I realized that I had been working on the Cross Blocks (Flowering Snowballs) on and off, but pretty regularly for about three weeks or so, I was thrilled and had to show you. I have some work done! Hooray!

Some time ago, I spent a couple of hours cutting a bunch of patches to have handy when I had time to make blocks. The above five blocks are the result of that exercise as well as the actual sewing that I have done during the past few weeks. It pays to plan ahead, I think.

Some of the fabrics I wouldn’t use again, because they are too dark or too blah, but I think they will mix in well in the end.

Since 5 blocks is an odd shape, I took a close up of these four so you could see the circle (of which I am very proud). I also wanted you to have the opportunity to enjoy some of the fun and fabulous fabrics: the kitchen fabric in the middle (upper right block, yellow) as well as the lamp fabric (upper right block, blue). Normally, I don’t use these in the types of quilts I make, but this project is perfect for some of those conversationals that I like and never use.

I have a total of 33 blocks. I could stop at 36 and make a 6 block by 6 block quilt. I would like to have this piecing see me through my summer travels.

I also want to do the self bordering technique on this project so that the quilt looks finished. I will have to make a round of blocks for the outside. That idea worked so well with the Pineapples, I will have to really think about how I can do it successfully. If I make the center too big, the border will be too daunting.

Cross Blocks Chugging Along

Here is the latest installation of the Flowering Snowballs project. I think that the green (upper left) is a feedsack fabric. I have only a small piece of it and the weave doesn’t seem to be a modern weave. Not that I know anything about feedsacks or the weave of fabric and whether it can be tied to an era!

Fabric of the Year Progresses

Fabric of the Year Project etc.

I decided to do the fabric project that I discussed in two previous posts here and here. This project uses fabrics I have recently purchased in some project right away.

This is the fabric I recently washed (a light load). They are arranged in no particular order. I cut the pieces and slapped them up on the wall.

Above are the fabrics after I rearranged them a bit and sewed them together. You can see the test block in there as well.

I did run across a few situations I had to decide about as I pressed the fabric, so here are the complete new rules:

2.5″x4.5″ pieces of each fabric purchased.
Fabrics that have been washed, but not pressed are ok to add to the mix, even if they were purchased last year.
Fabrics purchased twice in the same year should be included twice.
OK to rearrange fabrics as desired.
Press to the dark.

I did find it to be fun, as TFQ said it was. I did find one fabric that I really didn’t like and will put in the Freecycle pile.

Needing some retail therapy this week and still having Friend Julie’s post on my mind drove me to the Artgirlz site. I was amazed to find that the creativity pack and the rubber stamps came within a few days, even though it was sen from Rhode Island. Nice service! The thing I have to figure out is how to mount the rubber stamps. I know how to mount them, but don’t have the mounting thingies. Perhaps there is a rubber stamp store somewhere where I can buy some. Artgirlz have some, but they have a variety of sizes in one pack and not enough of the little ones.

A few months ago when I was really trying to get inspired to do some visual journaling, I bought a few writing/drawing instruments to inspire me. I finally tried these NeoColors last week. They are like crayons, but more waxy. I wasn’t that impressed as I was looking for something softer. I probably won’t be buying more of them.

Finally, there is good news and bad news on the Cross Blocks (Flowering Snowball). The good news is that I finished another block. I have been working on this one for several weeks, which means that it was mostly languishing in my handwork bag. It is displayed above with some new fun fabrics.

The bad news is that I seem to have lost the templates. In a frenzy of tidying, the stack where the templates lived for months was swept away and no longer exists. The templates are gone now, too, and I can’t think of where I might have put them. Darn! I wanted to cut some more pieces. I can reprint them and start over, but I don’t want to get into a problem with piecing (I have had enough of that!), so I will look for them some more. Cross your fingers that they show up.

Quiltmaking By the Sea

Often, I work almost all the time at one of my two jobs or dealing with other non-paid work type tasks. This past weekend, I threw it all aside, took Friday-most of Sunday off and went to a quilt retreat! Hooray! It was great! I spent Friday night, Saturday and a few hours on Sunday sewing.

I couldn’t completely get away from work, so I worked on the bookkeeping while I watched Law & Order and waited for Friend Julie to arrive. I did go visit Cabrillo Sewing, which is right next to the hotel (how convenient!). Little did I know that downstairs, in the Begonia Room, the other ladies were setting up and warming up their sewing machines. I was pleased that I did this work, however, as I felt a lot better about taking the weekend off.

As you can see, I wasn’t able to follow the directions that I originally set out for myself. The display quilt from Quiltworks Northwest that I saw at APNQ can be seen on the 2007 UFO Report. I am really not sure what happened, but as I drove down to the hotel, it occurred to me that I would rather work with rectangles.

Julie got my act together by arriving. We went downstairs with all of our stuff and set up for sewing.

Here is my mess after cutting a bunch of strips and rectangles. We eventually went to dinner; we tried to go to a restaurant that serves only ostrich meat, but we couldn’t find it, so we ended up at a little Mexican place. It was storming quite hard and they had sandbags around the doors and cloths and things stuck in the windows to keep the water out. Quite the adventure digging for change for a parking meter in the dark in the driving rain where the meters give you 5 minutes for each quarter!.

I was amazed that we sewed as late as we did – 10:30 or so, then we went up and drank Sambuca and Limoncello while we watched more Law & Order and CSI. I am such a junkie for L&O- it is what I do in hotels.

The next day we sewed all day except for a quick dash to lunch and to a quilt store called Round Robin (Portola and 38th Ave). They had nice fabrics and the place was restful and organized. I bought only a few fabrics at the two shops.

I used up about 4 yards of fabric in the quilt and didn’t want to buy more than I used. A novelty, I know, but I really wasn’t in the mood to buy fabric and didn’t see anything I had to have. The dots are nice. I hadn’t seen the one with the white background before. I went back and forth on the one with the black background as I don’t have an idea for a project. The other black-on-whites will be used for the Cross Blocks/Flowering Snowballs.

Aside from a quick dinner at a local Thai Restaurant, I sewed until about 11pm. I really wanted to get a handle on how I was going to put the blocks together. By about 9pm the blocks were finished, but I hadn’t made them perfect squares, so some figuring needed to take place. Terri let me use her portable design wall, which was absolutely necessary and I was very grateful to her for it.

I fiddled with placement a little bit, but mostly worked out how I was going to get different sized blocks together. Once I had about four done, I went to bed and let the process percolate while I slept.

The next morning, I sewed the rest of the blocks together and now have the top you see at the top of the post. I think I’ll call it the Chocolate Box.

So, one thing about this project was that it was not at all precise. I was ok with having to fiddle with putting it together, because I could just mindlessly sew whatever I wanted wherever…basically. I did have a semblance of a plan. Second, I am glad I used the rectangles instead of the squares, because it makes this project mine while allowing me to be inspired by another quilt. Third, there was enough structure to keep me grounded with enough freedom to relieve the stress of the Pineapple Problems.

I don’t have any pictures of it, but Friend Julie is taking a mentoring program from Gabrielle Swain. One thing that she does is “show up”. That means that she gets into the studio every day and works. For her, that is four hours a day. WOW! I am so impressed, I can’t even tell you. I admire her for the commitment. She isn’t just sewing, however. She is noting down her ideas in a visual journal and it is the visual journal I want. My little drawings looks so sad compared to the exuberance of her work. I look forward to seeing more of it and getting to that point as well.

Everyone should really go on a quilt retreat once in a while. Boy! I would love to do that once a month. I can’t believe how much I got done in 17 or so hours of sewing. Amazing!

Snowball and Fabric

I wonder if blogging can get to be like drinking – too much of a good thing? Well, I hope not, though I do feel a bit hungover at all the posts I have contributed lately and am hoping I am not starting to repeat myself. I haven’t even started to post some of the photos I have taken with my phone. Deirdre should be happy about that as she was looking forward to these “on the go” photos and I have not lived up o the possibilities of mobile blogging. Immerhin!

Though I added one measly block, the Flowering Snowball (Cross blocks) piece looks much bigger than it did last time.

I got a FQ pack of the new P&B Pop Parade from Quilting Adventures. Joyce, kindly, allowed me to not buy some of the fabrics from the line that were not cheerful. I want to make something out of just these fabrics, but I am no sure what. I also neglected to decide on the borders and background and buy extra for those. Oh well, I have a bit of time to decide before they discontinue this fabric, forcing me to go on a web/shop hunt for specific fabrics.

As Promised, Completed Flowering Snowballs

Return of the Snowballs

I have not worked on the Flowering Snowballs in a while, because the last time I worked on it I used up the last of my non-red/pink corner pieces. That meant I needed to cut more blues, greens, purples and yellows. I finally did it! Now I can get busy and finish up some of the blocks that I started oh those many months ago. Stay tuned!

I also spent a few minutes of sewing time sewing the binding onto Serendipity Puzzle.

Flowering Snowballs

Had a cruddy day at work today, but came home to some Pineapple blocks on the wall and that made me smile. They weren’t new ones, but I really had a good look at them and was reminded how much I like dots!

In between working like a complete dog on the weekend clearing out my aunt’s craft room, I sewed a tiny bit on some Flowering Snowball (Cross Blocks). I did most of the sewing on the plane, but some in the morning over my coffee. I decided just to do corners, except for one block, because I was running out of the colored pieces and had mostly greens and pinks left. It is a scrap quilt, but I don’t want to have too many greens and pinks. It’ll be a balanced scrap quilt. 😉

When I got home I pressed all of the pieces and, on a whim, counted the finished blocks. I have a total of 22 finished Cross Blocks thus far. WOW! How did I get so many? Just plugging along, I guess.

My next task for this project is to cut blue, purple, orange and yellow corner pieces to round out my choices a bit.

I also talked to AJA this weekend. She lives near where I was working, but we couldn’t fit it in to get together. I didn’t e-mail her in time at the beginning of the week to remind her and she forgot to write it on her calendar. Not sure when I will be back, but we had a good chat. We discussed doing the next color Bullseye quilts. Purple, I think. She put me in charge. I will have to talk to JulieZS and see what we can work out.

A Little More Progress

I spent a lot of the day playing with Flickr, adding a lot of quilt photos so I could organize them in different ways. As a result, it meant that I didn’t sew much. I did finish another Flowering Snowball while watching some TV and worked a little on the Pineapples.

I am working on four at a time and I really should cut back to two, but I’d like to get them finished.

Pineapples Return

I did not make a Halloween costume this weekend as promised, but did work on the Pineapples.
I tried to get back into the Pineapple groove by taking the baskets down. I had two Pineapples half finished from before the machine went to be serviced. I started by finishing those and make two new ones. Above are two that I completed and two that I started AND completed. YAY! I only have 4 more Pineapples to go!

Border Pineapples 11 & 12.
Border Pineapples 13 & 14.

I cut strips from some of the new fabrics I bought at PIQF and from fabrics that I washed and the Fabric Queen pressed for me. That freshened up the project and livened things up a bit in the fabric department.

Having a break and doing some different piecing was great, but there is no way that I am stopping this project and putting it away. I really had to get back into the groove and remember my little tricks and tips. The first two I was trying to finish felt like a comedy of errors. I kept cutting the strips too short and putting pieces on the wrong side, etc. I got it all worked out, but jeesh! I can’t imagine what would happen if I put the whole project away for a year or two like some of my other projects.

I ran into the Pineapple teacher at PIQF and was glad I did so. I thought I had to trim the blocks to make them fit together, but she said only to trim the corners, which I have not yet applied to any of the blocks. She said to use the bias to get the blocks to fit together. There is a bit of bias on the edge of each block that I can stretch, if I need to.

I would have done more (and started the Halloween costume), but it turned out that we had a family event to attend today. I thought it was next weekend, so it really cut into my sewing time.

So, I am screwed for the Halloween costume and will have to work on it during the week, but it will get done.

Snowballs Really Flowering

I spent the weekend in LA. No machine. I brought my handwork with me and was able to sew four Cross blocks (Flowering Snowballs)! I have said that each one takes me an hour and a half, but these, except perhaps the first, did not take me an hour and half each. I really blew through them.

One has two pinks, but I tried hard on the others to make all the corner pieces different colors. I started to run out of greens and really need to add some violet or purple to the mix. I’ll work on cutting some different colors this weekend.

Now that I have a good amount of blocks, I decided to lay them out. They are really looking good! I just love the design that is made when the blocks are set together.

Project Progress

I now have 15 Cross Blocks (Flowering Snowball). I could have laid them out in a 3×5 grid, but it didn’t look that good.
MavMomMary and I took the Pineapple Quilt Class together back in January. She is already putting her quilt together. I haven’t seen it since she had only done a few blocks and was thrilled to see it today. I think it looks fantastic. And very different from mine.

And a detail.