Nephews Success

I finally got my act together and sent off the latest niece-phews quilts to the intended recipients. The Disappearing Pinwheel and the Wonky Nine Patch headed off about a week ago to two brothers, the youngest of my nephews. I was thrilled to finally get them out of the house. All reports were that the boys liked them. The boys liking them is the most important part. Truly. An added bonus.

Finished: Wonky 9 Patch
Finished: Wonky 9 Patch

The orange of the Wonky Nine Patch was a bold choice. I made it, because when I started the quilt, Aidan told me, in an offhand way, he really liked orange.  It stuck in my head and when I saw Kathleen’s quilt, it all jelled in my head. I was a little nervous about the orange, because some of the prints were tending towards the girly side. Also, boys, and kids in general, change their mind as often as they change their underwear…almost.

I didn’t say anything to anyone (Shhhh! Don’t tell!) and nobody has said anything to me. Aidan’s mom said the colors were perfect and I am so glad.

I have to say, again, probably, that I love that blue batik. It isn’t turquoise, but it also isn’t really in the navy family. It is a great water blue. If I see it again, I’ll buy 10 yards. That is probably too much, but I’ll have enough.

Disappearing Pinwheel Finished
Disappearing Pinwheel Finished

Pierce, the youngest of all of my nieces and nephews, got the Disappearing Pinwheel. I was concerned, again that it would be too girly, but the grey makes it boyish.

Looking at it again really makes me like the layout. If only I had thought to switch a pinwheel block with one of the Disappearing Pinwheel blocks, that would have added interest.

I have a loose project making quilts for all of my nieces and nephews. So far I have made 7 quilts for 7 youngsters. I have 8 more to make. As you know, I make them when I feel like making one or when I  get inspired to make a quilt and then don’t know who should get it. I started out with the idea that I would give each niece or nephew a quilt when they graduated from college, but that didn’t quite work with my creative process. Some of the younger kids may end up with two quilts – an additional quilt when they get to college. We’ll see.

Aidan with quilt
Aidan with quilt
Pierce with quilt
Pierce with quilt

Finished: Wonky Nine Patch

Finished: Wonky 9 Patch
Finished: Wonky 9 Patch

The first thing I thought after I finished this quilt was to start counting the places in my life where I needed to make note. I stopped, because I got tired. Needless to say, the quilt is done, which means this one and the Disappearing Pinwheel can head off to nephew brothers at the same time and nobody will feel sad.

I showed it at CQFA, though the binding was only partially done.  I finished, later that day, at the BAMQG Sew Day, but will probably wait to send it off so I can show it off at the BAMQG meeting. Kathleen will be there, which will make the display extra sweet, because her quilt is the one that inspired this quilt.

One of the reasons I brought it to show at CQFA was because I thought I would send it off before the next meeting, which is in November. It turns out I won’t be able to attend that meeting anyway. They are good eggs and don’t mind if the quilt isn’t finished. Everyone liked the colors and I am thinking of making another one just because this one turned out so well visually. Realistically, though, I have done what I wanted with this design and don’t really need to make another one. The oranges are just so striking that I almost can’t help myself. I have a lot of other projects on my plate (in process) and in my dream list, none of which are a second version of this quilt.

Finished: Wonky 9 Patch (back)
Finished: Wonky 9 Patch (back)

See more on the quilt page.

Wonky 9 Patch

Remember this quilt? I haven’t worked on it in a while, thought it has been on the list for awhile. Working on it what I did on the weekend when I wasn’t at the races (wearing a big hat like I was at Ascot or something), doing laundry or answering one of the 1000 questions I get asked when I am at home.

I also don’t think I wrote much about it. The first time I wrote about the piece, it seems like it was in a very embryonic stage. The last time I wrote about that piece, the top was done. Hhhmm. Talk about quick projects.

The project has been on my mind. I got a bug in my ear to quilt it myself and that was sitting in the back of my mind taunting me. I wasn’t sure how long it would take me. I wanted to get it done during these two weeks (last week and this week), because I was off work and I could devote some serious time to quilting.

Wonky 9 Patch - quilting
Wonky 9 Patch – quilting

Because this quilt didn’t have a border and I didn’t think the design called for one, I put on what I call a ‘quilting border’. A quilting border gives me something to cut off when I am squaring up the quilt and don’t want to chop of points or parts of the design for a piece that didn’t end up quite square. I learned to do this after chopping off points and designs on the Punk Rock Quilt. the only tricky part is to make sure you cut off enough so that the edge will be completely covered by the binding.

Orange blocks quilted
Orange blocks quilted

First, I quilted straight-ish lines in all of the orange wonky 9 patches. I used Aurifil #2145 for the orange blocks. I didn’t intentionally follow any lines or do any in the ditch quilting, except when I was trying to get from one part of the block to another. I did try and keep the three lines in each block about the same distance away from each other. However, sometimes I veered off track a little to make sure that there was a relatively even amount of quilting in each area. I also wanted the quilt to drape so that was another reason not to quilt too densely. That went pretty well and I didn’t see any puckers on the back. I quilted all of the orange blocks in a few hours on one afternoon.

 

Plain block quilting
Plain block quilting

After the orange blocks, came the hard part.  Shockingly, I had an idea for the plain block quilting as well. I found a vaguely Celtic design that would work for my idea. I wanted it to be round, but all of the round designs I found were too complicated. I used Paint to enlarge the design.

I also didn’t want the design to scream out at viewers, so I used a companion color to the blue fabric (FYI: Aurifil #2740). I also used a walking foot on all of the quilting. I don’t usually do that, but it worked pretty well in keeping the puckers down.

I used Saral paper and a Sewline pencil to transfer the design. I really use the Saral paper. I don’t think there is much of the yellow left. I used the Sewline to fill in when the Saral rubbed off and I wasn’t finished quilting.

I quilted a couple of the plain blocks and figured out how to stop and start only once, assuming all went well. Not all of the blocks are perfect but, as Frances says, the Muggles won’t know. I think the overall impact is pretty striking.

One thing I wish I had done was use orange in the bobbin on the plain blocks. As it stands the blue quilting really stands out on the back.

 

Zeus & Athena Revised

Wonky 9 Patch Sewn
Wonky 9 Patch Sewn

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.

More Wonky Blocks
More Wonky Blocks

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.

From Zeus, Athena

Wonky 9 Patch - Full, unsewn
Wonky 9 Patch - Full, unsewn

I do not believe in the concept of Quilt in a Day. I love Eleanor Burns, I love various quick techniques and the rotary cutter, but I simply do not believe I can make a well designed quilt with great piecing and wonderful quilting in a day.It is not possible for me.

I do believe I can get a lot done in one day, though, and this quilt is proof.

Short story: the top is finished except for the quilting border; back is nearly finished. I do not want this project to linger. I want to finish the back and get it to the quilter. I want to be done with my part before the weekend. We will see. I don’t want it to become an albatross.

Kathleen's Wonky 9 Patch
Kathleen's Wonky 9 Patch

Inspiration is a funny thing. You never know when it will strike or what will spur it on. The combination of Kathleen’s quilt, the Pinterest photo and the oranges that I bought some weeks ago from the quilt shop From Here to Quilternity all coalesced into one big blob of inspiration and I sewed.

And inspiration breeds inspiration.

Susan, of the History Quilter podcast commented on Twitter (yes, I am there, too. You can follow me – @artquiltmaker) that the orange part of the quilt looked like mosaics. As you know, I love mosaics and tile and try to take inspiration from them where I can. Susan is absolutely right and her comment has been on my mind all day.

  • what would a quilt look like if I did the same idea, but made the blocks and, thus, the pieces smaller?
  • how would this design look with no plain blocks?
  • is this a great way to explore monochromatic color schemes?
  • etc.

My mind is whirling with possibilities. Simply whirling. If I had more time, I would explore all of these possibilities. Perhaps someday.

 

Long story: I really got a bug in my ear on Thursday night. I happened to look at a Pinterest photo (above, the door and the orange textiles) I had pinned some weeks ago and that photo, along with Kathleen‘s quilt made got me started.

Did I need another project? No.

Did I care? Obviously not. The muse must be satisfied.

Wonky 9 Patch - detail
Wonky 9 Patch - detail

I spent Friday late afternoon and evening cutting 9.5″ squares from the fat quarter group from the From Here to Quilternity quilt shop. I had to press and cut other pieces according to my ‘new fabric regime’, but it went well. The next day I began sewing.

Kathleen had done a demo for making these blocks and she reminded me that this is an Oh! Fransson pattern. I had forgotten.

When I looked at the pattern, I knew exactly what to do. I referred to it for sizes, but I also just went my own way. I have done this kind of piecing before with the Slash Stars. The thing that makes this quilt, IMO is the setting. Brilliant.

I also, like Kathleen, made the quilt a bit bigger. It has to be wrapped around a boy, so it needed to be bigger. If I had had more of the blue fabric, I would have added two more rows to the bottom, but I didn’t.

Fresh Squeezed FQ Pack
Fresh Squeezed FQ Pack

The only tiny quibble I have with the pattern (perhaps it is just a tutorial?) is the movement of the pieces. You can’t just move one piece each time. You need to move 2 at one point, three at another. I think this needs to be a bit clearer, BUT I should also read the directions all the way through before starting a project. 😉 I looked at my pieces and moved them according to what I thought was best, so it worked out.

I am pretty pleased with my blue plain squares. This sort of blue was my plan all along. I had planned to buy a solid, but didn’t have a Kona color card and wanted to make sure I had the right color. Blah. Blah. Blah.

On a whim, I delved into the fabric closet and came up with the blue fabric above, which is an old commercial hand dye. It is probably a Hoffman, but I don’t know for sure. I love it because it complements the orange perfectly. I like Kathleen’s grey background (the photo above does not do it justice); I am not so fond of the white (I know, Modern quilt blasphemy) in EH’s version. Then again, I am a color girl, someone in love with color, so I didn’t expect anything less.

Now I am in love with orange and blue. Stay tuned for the ramifications. 😉

The title of this post has to do with how Athena was born. Zeus got a massive headache and then Athena sprang, fully formed, from his forehead. Can’t imagine the scar. 😉 That is how I feel about this quilt. I didn’t do much of the work – EH designed the quilt, Kathleen made it and showed it at a guild meeting; I took up the baton and ran with the idea.