Metro Twist** is another pattern by Sew Kind of Wonderful that uses their Quick Curve Ruler**. You might remember that I made Metroscape** a few years ago with this ruler.
At the last Sew Day, she was putting on borders and preparing the top for quilting. I was able to take a photo of the quilt and it looks great!
I didn’t really realize how popular this project was until I heard that Amy will be teaching the guild how to make it at the next Super Sew Day, in July. I also had a clue when Mary C said that a bunch of people bought the pattern and the ruler after seeing Amy’s quilt.
I talked to Amy and offered to help her teach. She hasn’t told me what she needs me to do yet, but I am kind of excited about it. I really need to find some fabrics I want to use. I love Amy’s choices of Tiny Dots and Tiny Stripes, but I don’t want to copy what she did.
The quilt on the cover of the pattern isn’t super appealing and I don’t think the Tula All Stars (if even still available) would work for this pattern.
**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 blog.
Scrappy Celebration is the name of the quilt I started at the Retreat. This one was not on my list, but I saw it in a recent American Patchwork and Quilting magazine and thought it looked interesting.
It was also easy to ease back into series piecing after creating so many bags.
Scrappy Celebration – first blocks
I was able to make about 8 blocks, but cut a lot more pieces. As you can see this quilt is made up of Nine Patches and Four Patches.
I used some fabrics I bought in Washington when Mom and I went to visit the YM. I had put together a fabric pull to which I added a grey background and I think it looks good. I am going to try to vary the centers from the four patches (top left) so the Nine Patches with Four Patches look more like the block in the upper left corner). I haven’t had time to work on it since the Retreat, but it shouldn’t take me very long in general. The cutting is the worst part.
I finally finished Orange You Glad’s sleeve. It took forever considering I got the quilt back from Colleen in February. The real problem was that I put off making the sleeve for awhile. I know I should have made when I finished the quilt, but I didn’t.
This quilt doesn’t look square, but apparently it is. It is 63×63 inches.
I was still recovering from my oral surgery last Friday as I prepared for Sew Day after work. With a full week of work and the aftereffects of the surgery under my belt, I was tired. I thought hard about staying home, but decided to go. I wanted to see my friends and participate in the Destash party.
In order not to completely exhaust myself, I decided to bring as little as possible with me. I needed a small project without a lot of pieces and parts. For example, I did not want to bring a sewing machine. The La Pass BOM would have been the perfect project, but it is delayed again.
It occurred to me that I could bring the Half Hexie Star quilt, put it up on the design wall and make a plan to get it finished. Looking at it and making a plan had been on my list for a long time and Sew Day provided the perfect opportunity.
I did it! And it worked!
I now have a plan to finish this quilt. I can see the light at the end of the Half Hexie tunnel, which is a finished quilt. This is very exciting. I thought this would be one of those quilts I would finish in 10 years.
Half Hexie Star: top two rows
First, this may be the first time I have ever put this quilt up on the design wall and looked at it vertically. I have laid it out on the floor, but seeing it on the design wall is better.
Second, I figured out what I needed to do to even up the sides. I plan to finish the two rows I have started on the top (see arrows) and call it done. I am not going to add more rows to make it bigger.
Half Hexie Star: side
A lot of people came and talked to me about the quilt. One of my guild mates asked what the final size would be. I looked at her, confused. She clarified that she wanted to know whether the pattern said it would be a twin or another size. She also wanted to know if I made enough stars to complete the pattern. Clearly she doesn’t know me that well. I laughed and said I wasn’t using a pattern. I said it would be as big as I felt like making it. This was a foreign concept to my guild mate.
At that point, I decided that it would be pretty much as big as we could see on the design wall right then.
Half Hexie Stars: right side detail (to do)
I haven’t measured it, though it would have been a good time to do it.
Next, I tried to think of ways to square up the sides. I pinned stars to the sides to make each side as even as possible, so I could see what I had.
The top and bottom just need some diamonds and triangles fitted into the open spaces in the stars. The top and bottom will be easy.
Half Hexie Stars: Trying to add background
For the sides, I thought about putting a couple of the half hexie pieces using background fabric in to the sides as a way of getting the sides to be more square. I even sewed some as a test. I was going to go with that solution, which would have made a gentle zig zag edge. I didn’t feel it was an ideal solution.
Half Hexie Star: Lindsay’s idea
Then Lindsay arrived and we discussed it further. She thought I could add in the triangles and diamonds without the background pieces. It wouldn’t make the edge square, but there would still be a gentle zigzag. The triangles and diamond pieces would match the look of the bottom better. I like this idea much better and will work on it.
Finally Mary C said that I could use the edge as is – already folded under – and fold the backing under, then whip stitch the top and bottom together rather than applying a standard binding. I think this is a really good idea. If I can work with Colleen to make it happen, I will.
I am pleased with the various solutions. I am also glad that I will be done with this top soon.
I worked all last weekend on the Pointillist Palette #4 project. I made good progress, but I am not feeling any connection with this quilt. I was quite enamored back in the day, but time did not look kindly on this project. I don’t sincerely dislike it, but I also don’t understand why my younger self loved the concept so much. I guess I need to think about how my quiltmaking has evolved and what makes up my quiltmaking.
This cements my resolve to not let projects linger.
Pointillist Palette #4: blocks in process
So, I worked hard on finishing the blocks for this project.
The piecing is super easy, just a lot of straight stitching in long chains. It is going quickly. It is good after the other projects I have worked on recently.
For this quilt in the series, I want it to be dark, thus the black and white aboriginal prints. I stopped using the lighter parts of the ombre fabrics to get that darkness, but there are still a lot of light fabrics in the quilt. I wonder if I will have to resew some blocks.
I finally finished the blocks and laid out the quilt the way I pretty much want it. I am still fiddling with the Pie half blocks, but otherwise this is how the quilt will look. Obviously, I have to fill in the background.
I am a little concerned about the large spaces of background, but I can’t really process how they will look with the white of my design wall showing through.
I am still working hard on Pies & Points. I have mostly finished the blocks, except for a couple of seams. I am also closing in a layout about which I am relatively happy, too.
There are a few adjustments I need to make.
I didn’t have enough of the right pieces to make all the blocks I wanted. I should have gone over to Friend Julie’s house and cut them using her Sizzix (we got the Sizzix die in the class), but I didn’t think I would need many pieces, so I cut a few by hand, then cut a few more and a few more. I still have a few more to cut.
Once I get the layout done, I’ll have to start putting it together. You can see from the shapes that I won’t be able to put it together in rows exactly. I see some Partial Seams in my future.
I have made a few more blocks. I don’t want to lay the quilt out symmetrically like in the class handouts. I want the eye to follow the lines around the quilt and find some surprises. For now, the surprises will be the Pie blocks placed strategically around the quilt.
Pies & Points blocks -problem
I don’t know if that idea will work. As you can see from the arrow, the blocks to do not fit together in all directions.
It isn’t that I couldn’t piece those pieces together and I may still do that. I want to consider all my options. This is one of those design challenges.
I took a class from Victoria Findlay Wolfe at QuiltCon about 1, 000 years ago (well, 2016). I think I mentioned that every time I rewrite my quilt to do list the same projects are listed as UFOs. I decided that some of these are going to get finished. I backtracked a little and decided to work on one then see how it went. Of course, I want to finish them all, but every journey requires the first step. My first step is Pies and Points.
I have also been in desperate need of a quilt project. Why starting one or jumping back into one was difficult, I don’t know.
The first step for actually working on the project was positive. I found the project and all the pieces were in the same bag. Yay! I had been talking about this project to myself for a few days, so I feel happy that I actually did something.
Pies & Points blocks from class
The second step was positive as well. I put the blocks I have made (4) on the design wall and I still like them. The background might be a bit boring, but well see how things go after I make a few more blocks.
I left work early on Friday and spent the time sewing. I hadn’t worked on this project since May and wanted to get it done. I thought I could make a start.
As shown in the previous post, I had a bunch of pieces for this community quilt cut and blocks sewn together. I still really only needed to find one 5 inch square to finish the last block and put the quilt together.
I started rummaging through fabric and found a piece that would work fairly quickly. If charm packs would add 3 more squares I would be super happy. Of course, who knows if I will ever make a Plus quilt again?
American Jane Plus Donation back
Once I finished that last block and cut some background fabric, I was able to finish the top pretty quickly. I had time, so I went rummaging for fabric again. I wanted to find some pieces for the back. I was hoping for one piece, but my hopes were dashed. I found a large piece of yellow solid, but it wasn’t large enough so I added some red and green. I finished just as my DH texted to tell me he was coming home. Perfect!
I am going through my charm packs and trying to use the ones I like, but don’t think I will use for my own projects. As soon as I select one, I pull it out and start thinking about (or even deciding immediately) what I will make then I get busy. This one was inspired by one of my quilts that Joelle quilted. I saw it finished and thought “I should make another one of those”.
That one used the donation squares that Peggy requests, so it was smaller. This quilt is about 41×41 inches. Nice size.
Frankly, I almost never use charm packs so I don’t know why I buy them. Well, I do know. I want just a little bit of the fabric, so I buy a charm pack.
Charm packs make great Chubby Charmers. How many Chubby Charmers does one girl need? I have three already, after all. I have a Lintott Girls book, Layer Cakes, Jelly Rolls and Charm Quilts**, so I should look there to find some patterns I might like to make. I might make another HST Sawtooth Star quilt. I don’t think I am quite done with that pattern.
**Obviously, you should shop at local quilt shops. However, I use 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 blog.
I finally put the black, red and gold ends together to make a quilt. There is some leftover typewriter fabric in the top, thus the Type writer moniker. I have to distinguish between these ‘Ends’ quilts somehow!
The main parts of the fabrics used in this quilt come from the first Stepping Stones quilt I made for my nephew for his graduation in 2013. Yes, they have been hanging around for a long time!
I didn’t have enough to make it quite as wide as I wanted, so I added the red and gold solids.
Ends n.14 (Typewriter) donation back
I didn’t have enough to make the back so I had to rummage for fabric. This quilt might work for a boy quilt.
See all of the Ends quilt on their own series page.
I may not have mentioned that I ripped out all of the Big Stitch quilting on this project. I am preparing it to go to Colleen.
To do so, I had to find some fabric for the binding. I wanted the main turquoise used for the background. I couldn’t find it anywhere.
BAMQG IRR Corner with possible binding
I did find a slightly darker solid turquoise that I think will frame the piece better than the same color. I know the differentiation is hard to see, but I think you can see that the slight difference looks good for the binding.
I still haven’t done anything with the bits and bobs included by the others who worked on it.
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.
