This quilt might have been a freebie from the Mostly Manor Lozenge quilt, but it might also be something that I pass along to someone else to work on.
What I have now is not large enough to make much of a quilt with. I need to find fabrics to go with the Mostly Manor fabrics I have already used and make more HSTs to make it larger. I could just add some white squares, make a back and call it a donation quilt. I am not sure at this point. I like the what I have so far, but don’t want to spend time making something that won’t be satisfying. I am not saying that this is an ugly quilt; I am saying that I don’t think I want to spend time on it. Even if I finish it as is, someone will like it.
I made a list of projects I had in process in my journal and found a lot. Seeing them on paper seemed to galvanize me in a way that seeing them here did not. I like having them here as it makes me accountable, but the combination of paper and bytes works for me.
One problem has been that I have had my design wall set up since last January. I have been using my small design wall, but really need a larger one. I have been hoping to sell the Pind Design wall (you know you want it!), but no luck so far. I finally spent time on New Year’s Day setting it up.
Ta Dots and Stripes in process
For whatever reason, the first project I put up was the Ta Dots and Stripes quilt. Yes, that is the new name.
I started working on it as a donation quilt using the Leaders and Enders method while I worked on the Planned Improv blocks. I made some progress, but it is easy to get confused about where what goes.
I found some more dots and decided to make another row of HSTs, so I prepared them at Sew Day and sewed them when I got home. It will make the quilt a little larger.
I thought the quilt would be a donation quilt, but after I sewed a number of the sections together, I think it will become a Niece-phew quilt for one of the nephews.
I decided to get my quilt house in order and see what kind of a year it would be with regard to quiltmaking. A few years ago, I cleared out my UFOs and after that I started new projects with near-wild abandon. I don’t think this year will be either of those years, but I want it to have healthy doses of new projects and clearing out the old.
In Process
The ‘In Process’ is used to denote projects on which I am actively working or pretending to stitch. I try not to put away projects, because that will ensure I never work on them.
City Sampler – blocks all made. Need to sash the blocks and put the top together. Due to some issues I had with my seam allowance, some of the blocks are smaller than others, so I will have to adjust them in some way – either ripping and resewing, adding a piece or two to the block or with sashing. This is sort of a sticking point and while I consider this quilt ‘in process’ I haven’t worked on it.
Dots & Stripes HST Quilt (or Something) – half square triangle blocks are made. I laid them out and see what is what with them. These blocks did not turn out as planned. I started sewing them together over the weekend and I am liking the whole better than I thought
English Paper Piecing Project– half hexies – I haven’t worked on this in awhile since I have been knitting while I watch TV. I’ll get back to it.–
FOTY 2016 – I didn’t capitalize on my excitement after seeing the Ellsworth Kelly exhibit and now I have lost that rush. I still need to get on it. I’d like to get the top finished by the end of the month, if at all possible
FOTY 2017 – pieces cut. Need to layout and start piecing.
Lobster – I still have more stitching to do and then I need to quilt it.
Mel Beach Quilted piece – I want to make it into a pillow cover.
Triple Star: The blocks are all made and I have an idea of how to lay it out.
Under the Sea: class project; like the design and am happier with the colors. I had an idea for it and would like to finish it by the end of the year.
Still WIPs
I still have WIPs. Who doesn’t, after all? A project in the ‘UFO’ category means I am stalled. A nicer way of saying UFO is a WIP. The list is a lot shorter and the projects are newer, for the most part.
Aqua-Red Sampler – I need to lay the blocks out and put the piece together.
BAMaQG IRR – I will either quilt it and donate it to charity or use it for the Big Stitch class I am taking at QuiltCon.
Handbag Sampler – this is a project about which I had forgotten. I haven’t even found a picture of all the blocks. The blocks were teaching samples when I taught a sampler class the time before I started writing the quilt class sampler tutorials. I actually don’t know exactly where the blocks are, but I have an idea and will crawl up in the far reaches of my fabric closet soon and find them.
Octagon 9 Patch: It is ready to put together. I could have used it as leaders and enders for a number of different projects I have going. I didn’t, mostly because I have a lot of other projects I can use as leaders and enders. It might be my next leaders and enders project.
Pointillist Palette #4: Fourth is a series of 6 quilts; needs tiny square patches sewn together. No progress.
Pies and Points from Victoria Findlay Wolfe class. No further progress. I need to focus on this and it is not up high enough on the list yet.
Self Portrait: started in 2006 at a class at Quilting Adventures in Richmond, Virginia. I am stalled on this again. Again, I didn’t capitalize on the excitement I got from my career counselor and now the feeling is lost.
Stepping Stones #2 – I am still ready to make the border blocks , but haven’t gone beyond designing them yet.
Ta Dots & Stripes HST quilt – I have started to sew the blocks together. I thought this would be a charity quilt, but it might end up as one of the Niece-phews series.
Ready for Quilting
En Provence – This will be going to Colleen later today
Theoretically, the Tarts Come to Tea is in the quilting process, though I haven’t worked on it in a while. See above.
Binding
Nothing at the moment
Hunting and Gathering
30 Something: I am still cutting 1.5 inch squares. I am pretty sure I have the 800 I need, but I am not ready to sew them together yet, so whenever I have a chance I cut more. It will give me choice when the time comes. I’ll have to think up a new name, too.
Blue Gradation Quilt: cutting 2.5 inch x 4.5 inch blue rectangles. It has to end sometime. I am just not sure I am ready.
Blue Lemonade: cutting blue, green, purple 2 inch squares. I used a lot of these squares for En Provence, so I will need to cut more.
Pink Gradation Quilt: cutting 2.5 inch x 4.5 inch pink rectangles
Spin Wheel: really not started, but supplies gathered. I might have to cut some more background fabrics. I probably have enough fabrics and just need to decide to start.
Windmill quilt: Still hunting and gathering. I am supposed to be cutting a variety of greys for the background, which required the purchase of a new template. I should be able to get going again
Other
Stepping Stones #3 using the Macaron pre-cuts from Hoffman. I have all the fabric in pre-cuts and am just waiting for space (and desire) in my schedule.
I made a lot of progress on the En Provence quilt and it is nearing the conclusion.
En Provence -December 2017
I started out Saturday afternoon sewing the two halves of the top together. Then I laid out the quilt to see where I was. It was really great to see almost the whole quilt laid out. I think it looks really great.
After seeing the quilt so close to completion, I was on fire to sew the last 4 rows. I took everything back upstairs and laid on that bottom corner on my design wall. I didn’t have much more time to do that on Saturday and no time to sew.
En Provence Beginning – Dec. 3, 2017
Laying out the last corner was huge, though. I found I was missing a couple of Peaky & Spike blocks, so I had to cut some fabric to finish those. It was good, though, because I could switch out some of the Peaky & Spike blocks that I hadn’t yet sewn.
After we came back from a NSGW event on Sunday afternoon, I put the pedal to the metal on my sewing machine and sewed 3 rows. I know there are only 3 blocks left in each row, but there is still a lot of piecing. I also have to add the border and that makes some of the blocks larger, thus more time consuming to sew.
En Provence – 3 good rows
I ended up with what I thought was 3 good rows.
Standing back really helps and I found a mistake. I stopped after the mistake block. It was really too late for me to be sewing anyway and I’d already had to rip out two sections of that block.
En Provence Ooops
Except for the two pieces, I am pleased with how this quilt came out. It is not insane like Grand Illusion, but it was complex enough to keep me interested and interesting enough to want to continue to look at it.
All of those year end lists will soon be out, including my year-end summing up. It’s been a few months since I did an inventory of my works in progress, so I thought this was a good time.
Finished 2017 Non-Quilt Projects
While finished quilts are still a bit thin on the ground, I have been sewing. I have finished a lot of small projects, I am working on quilts and I have one more quilt finished this year than I did last time.
In Process
The ‘In Process’ is used to denote projects on which I am actively working or pretending to stitch. I try not to put away projects, because that will ensure I never work on them.
City Sampler – blocks all made. Need to sash the blocks and finish putting the top together. Due to some issues I had with my seam allowance, some of the blocks are smaller than others, so I will have to adjust them in some way – either adding a piece or two to the block or with sashing. This is sort of a sticking point and while I consider this quilt ‘in process’ I haven’t worked on it.
Dots & Stripes HST Quilt (or Something) – half square triangle blocks are made. I laid them out and see what is what with them. These blocks did not turn out as planned. I will put them together and donate the top to Charity.
English Paper Piecing Project– half hexies – I haven’t worked on this in awhile since I have been knitting while I watch TV. I’ll get back to it.
En Provence – I have three quarters of the quilt put together and am nearing the end.
FOTY 2016 – I didn’t capitalize on my excitement after seeing the Ellsworth Kelly exhibit and now I have lost that rush. I still need to get on it. I’d like to get the top finished by the end of the year, if nothing els.
Lobster – I still have more stitching to do and then I need to quilt it.
Triple Star: The blocks are all made and I have an idea of how to lay it out.
Under the Sea: class project; like the design and am happier with the colors. I had an idea for it and would like to finish it by the end of the year.
Still WIPs
I still have WIPs. Who doesn’t, after all? A project in the ‘UFO’ category means I am stalled. A nicer way of saying UFO is a WIP. The list is a lot shorter and the projects are newer, for the most part.
Aqua-Red Sampler – I need to lay the blocks out and put the piece together.
BAMaQG IRR – I have decided to quilt it and donate it to charity.
Octagon 9 Patch: It is ready to put together. I could have used it as leaders and enders for a number of different projects I have going. I didn’t, mostly because I have a lot I can use as leaders and enders. Not sure what I am waiting for. Do I want to lay out the blocks more carefully? I actually have a plan for it, so I should get on it. I should do a lot of things.
The Tarts Come to Tea: I still haven’t worked on this since April 2011, though, I did bring it to the 2017 CQFA Retreat as a potential project. It is still in a prominent location so I have easy access. I plan to bring it to the BAMaQG retreat.
Pointillist Palette #4: Fourth is a series of 6 quilts; needs tiny square patches sewn together. No progress.
Pies and Points from Victoria Findlay Wolfe class. No further progress. I did wash the background fabric I found when I went to Portland, so I am ready to cut. I need to focus on this and it is not up high enough on the list yet.
Self Portrait: started in 2006 at a class at Quilting Adventures in Richmond, Virginia. I am stalled on this again. Again, I didn’t capitalize on the excitement I got from my career counselor and now the feeling is lost.
Mostly Manor Lozenge quilt – Colleen is quilting it and I sent her the bindinga few days ago.
Thanksgiving tablemat – I started quilting this piece at the 2017 CQFA Retreat. I made good progress, but it isn’t finished yet. It will be another BAMaQG retreat project.
Theoretically, the Tarts Come to Tea is in the quilting process, though I haven’t worked on it in a while. See above.
Binding
Nothing at the moment
Hunting and Gathering
30 Something: I am still cutting 1.5 inch squares. I am pretty sure I have the 800 I need, but I am not ready to sew them together yet, so whenever I have a chance I cut more. It will give me choice when the time comes. I’ll have to think up a new name, too.
Blue Gradation Quilt: cutting 2.5 inch x 4.5 inch blue rectangles. It has to end sometime. I am just not sure I am ready.
Blue Lemonade: cutting blue, green, purple 2 inch squares. I used a lot of these squares for En Provence, so I will need to cut more.
Pink Gradation Quilt: cutting 2.5 inch x 4.5 inch pink rectangles
Spin Wheel: really not started, but supplies gathered. I probably have enough fabrics and just need to decide to start.
Windmill quilt: Still hunting and gathering. I am supposed to be cutting a variety of greys for the background. I bought a new template, so I should be able to get going again
Other
Stepping Stones #3 using the Macaron pre-cuts from Hoffman. I have all the fabric in pre-cuts and am just waiting for space (and desire) in my schedule.
En Provence upper right hand quarter – November 26, 2017
I added “Piecing” to the hashtags for this post. Immediately my mind revised that as ‘interminable piecing’. I don’t really feel tired of this project, but there are a LOT of seams and I am ready for this top to be finished. Good thing I made significant progress over the weekend.
The upper right hand corner is finished and this means that I have 4 rows of 3 blocks to finish. If I had 4 days free, I could finish the top by the weekend.
I have been sewing the border on as I go along. Using the ‘self-bordering’ technique makes the border much more precise in terms of matching seams. You also don’t have long seams to sew (and match) or borders to add once the center is done. I use this technique as much as possible. It makes my life so much better.
We had 24 people over for Thanksgiving, so there was no sewing Monday through Thursday while Thanksgiving prep was taking place. I was also working. I did, however, make some good progress over the weekend.
En Provence, November 24, 2017
I spent most of the day on Friday sewing. I even declined to watch a movie with the boys in order to sew. They needed some alone time anyway. More than half of En Provence is pieced and I am working on the upper right corner.
I got up and set about sewing pretty soon after that. I usually go for a walk before I sew to get it out of the way, but needed more resting time before I did that. The first thing I worked on was finishing the last/top row of the left hand side.
After coming back from my walk, I laid out the upper right hand side and started piecing. I was able to finish sewing a row and a half of that quarter. I would love to finish this weekend, but doubt that will happen. Bonnie Hunter’s Mystery Quilts require a lot of piecing, which is what makes them such great scrap quilts. Still, I have to sew a lot of short seams and there are a lot more to sew.
I started out late on Sunday with the piece above. I had finished chopping about a million ingredients for various Thanksgiving dishes and was delighted to find that I had some time to sew.
I had sewn most of the last row together, but had a few more seams, so I put those together and found, suddenly that I was able to layout the last row on the left half of this top. Shocking! I thought I had miles together.
I really don’t know why I keep being surprised by this quilt – how much I have sewn, how much I have left, how well it looks. Perhaps I should call it En Provence Surprise?
En Provence, November 21, 2017
I had to fold down the piece before I could layout the top row. I could have reached, but why? It would have been a stretch every time I sewed two pieces together or checked the pressing. I wasn’t up for it.
It is extremely gratifying to see the top row even if it is just laid out and not sewn yet.
Triple Star is at a stopping point until I lay it out and decide on a final design, so I used donation blocks as leaders and enders. I finished 2.5, which isn’t shabby.
I know it is all En Provence All the Time on the blog these days. It is what I am working on except for gifts, which I am not working on enough and can’t show at the moment any way. You’ll have to bear with me for the time being.
I counted up blocks and rows and units again and found that I am farther along than I thought. It all started when I noticed that I was getting very short of the quarter triangle units. I carefully counted and found that I only have to piece two more rows on the top to finish one whole half of the quilt.
Or so I thought.
Really, I have to piece two blocks top to bottom for the right side. I was shocked that I had so little left to do. I had been sure that I had an equal number of blocks to piece for the right side as I had on the left. I don’t know how I got so turned around, but this is great news! I thought I would never finish piecing this quilt. Yet, I had already done so much.
As a treat, I decided to see how the piece would look once it was stuck together. Sort of.
Merged En Provence Left Half
I put two images together. There are slight differences in lighting, and the bottom is folded up, but you still get the idea. I am thrilled.
I saw another version of the pattern on Instagram. It is by Sylvia, Sommerschiebe. I love how round this circles ended up.
I had an unexpected day of sewing on Sunday. Mom and I were scheduled to visit her quilt show, but she was called on to act in her Presidential Duties at her church. I was sad not to see her, thought glad to avoid the 2+ hour each way drive. My long commute has prevented us from getting together regularly and that is hard. Mom and were able to catch up for a few minutes on the phone and that was nice.
I sewed instead. I sewed A LOT.
Triple Star n.14
Triple Star n.15
Triple Star n.16
One of the projects on which I made progress was the Triple Star blocks. I have made all the blocks called for in the pattern. After taking Sarah’s class on Saturday, I have a different idea of the layout and may need to make more to get the right balance.
The pattern calls for a straight set – 4 down, 4 across. After Sarah’s class, and after thinking about the layout of the Stars #3 Donation quilt, I want to do something different, more interesting.
Triple Star Potential Layout
I did a quick layout with three quarters of the blocks, which resolved my uncertainty. I like the asymmetrical idea, though I realize that I may need a few more blocks for the upper left and lower right hand corners.
Even if this particular layout (definitely without the toes) will not be the final layout, I am on the right track. Using Sarah’s technique, I be able to cut exactly what I need to put it together.
I made a little progress over last weekend, after fixing my Oops. I was able to take down the bottom quarter of the quilt top and put up the pieces for the top left quarter. In addition to the three rows you see in the image, I have two more rows to sew to complete half the quilt.
I know I am getting ahead of myself, but I am excited to see the progress of this quilt. It is really a lot of piecing. The result is fantastic, from what I can see so far, but it is taking a long time to piece.
The half rows I am piecing have 75 units to sew together to get the 6 block half row. I say units because I have already pieced the units together. Each blue star has 32 pieces and each pink star (not the border blocks) has 24 pieces. I am glad the units are all pieced, I have to say.
I was hung up on the Triple Star project because I needed to cut a few more pieces. I couldn’t seem to get to it. It seemed like a good thing to do over the weekend while I was home fighting off a cold. Wielding a rotary cutter isn’t always a good idea when taking cold medication, but in this case, all the cold relief was minor.
I got the pieces cut and was back in business making Triple Stars in between putting En Provence together.
Triple Star n.13
Triple Star n.12
I finished n.12, which had been in process for a few weeks. I was also able to finish a second.
I am finally making progress on this project again. Three more blocks and I can put the quilt together.
I really feel it keenly when I can’t sew, so I think I am posting every little bit of progress so I don’t seem like a slacker in my own mind.
Triple Star #11
This is the most recent star that I have made.
Due to some cutting errors I repurposed some of the pieces to other uses in the Triple Star. This means I have to cut more before I can make much more progress on the rest of the stars. I have one in progress and am sewing as much of it as I can, but I have to cut.
As much as the flippy corners method is a pain, I do like the look of the Friendship Star in the center.
I have been writing about En Provence and the Triple Stars a lot. They are the main projects, though I slip in other sewing here and there.
My design wall doesn’t have a lot on it at present, though I thought it would be interesting to show you how I work with a smaller design wall and a larger quilt.
Off hand I don’t know how large En Provence will be. I am doing the large version, so I am sure those of you who have made it know. I am not, usually focused on sizes. Regardless of the final size, it won’t fit on my design wall after a few more rows and columns.
Design Wall, October 15, 2017, annotated
1 – En Provence. I am working from the left bottom corner up towards the right top corner. This is the usual way I put a quilt together, because then I can be sure that, at least, the bottom will be on the design wall.
2 – En Provence fold. I fold the quilt and cover part of the quilt I don’t need to see right at the moment. Since I am working on adding a column on the right, the middle part isn’t needed, except for reference right now. (You might have to enlarge the photo to see the fold.
3 – Triple Star. This is my reference block.
4 – Triple Star. This is my current block in progress, n.12.
The last design wall Monday was back in March. Take a look at that post to see my progress. I am linking up with Patchwork Times, uh Small Quilts and Doll Quilts, the new hosting site of Design Wall Monday. Since I haven’t posted a Design Wall Monday in awhile, this is the first I have heard of this.
