Something Old, Something New?

I inherited thirty of these blocks from my mother-in-law.  I really don't know whether she made them herself, or whether she also inherited them from another quilter at her retirement home. They've been stored in my closet for 25 years, because, to put it in the nicest terms, they were never my taste.  But now that I've enjoyed creating settings for my orphan blocks, I thought I'd give these a try.  Can I make something I like out of something I'm not crazy about?

The block is apparently called Sunflower, but the multicolored fabric selection has created something that looks more like a pinwheel.  The fabrics are 1970's calicos, I think.  I find I like both the block and the fabric more than I did years ago:  there is more movement in the block than I used to think, and while the fabric patterns look very dated, the colors don't.  That bright aqua is very trendy, for example.

I also have quite a bit of respect for the maker.  The design was pieced and then hand appliqued to the muslin.  Interestingly, she used dark brown thread.  It seems like an odd choice, but it works.  There are no stitches visible at all on the right side.

The blocks are currently about 13 1/2 inches, but I will trim them to finish at 12 inches.  It's good that there is a bit of extra, because the placement of the pieces is not entirely even.

My goal for this project will be to keep the vintage charm, and yet give it a slightly up-dated look.  I can emphasize any color I choose: there's lots of red, but the yellow and the aqua pop as accents.  I'm thinking about an alternate block design, which will make the quilt larger than the twin size it would be with simple sashes.


I do have some of the original fabric which I can incorporate, but I'm not too sure about that.  Too much, probably.  There's also lots of muslin intended for borders; that is a definite no!

One question:  Should I cut away the muslin from behind the applique?  If I'm going to do that, I should do it before squaring the block.  What do you think?

Another Orphan

Here's my second quilt created from blocks just lying around.  I started with the five pieced blocks, three of the small maple leaf blocks, and some of the brown and ivory strips I put in the sashes.  I pieced the nine patches and more strips.  

It would have been much easier to make a solid blue border, but since I didn't have a large enough piece of blue, the piano key border was the solution.  This is unquilted, making two of these projects to quilt.  I will do the quilting, reluctantly, but I think my next new project will be to see what I can do with some hand applique sunflower blocks I inherited from my mother-in-law.  Stay tuned.

Meantime, I'm packing up my elephant joke quilt to send to the Lancaster AQS show.  If anyone is going to that show, I hope you'll stop by and say hello to it.  I wish I could go, but it won't happen.  

January Thaw

Seven years ago, in January, 2006, I posted my first blog post.  That would be impressive if I had continued the process all this time, but of course I have been very erratic in the last year or so.  I'm not sure why that's true, and I won't bore you with my self analysis, so if there's anyone out there still reading, here's what I'm doing.


Charity quilts from orphan blocks:  this one is made from the half blocks trimmed off when I straightened the edges of the Athena's Puzzle quilt I finished about a year and a half ago.  I commented on this procedure here.  I think I like this scrap version about as well as the original, and it feels good to salvage some lovely fabric.

Here we have a collection of random blocks.  The alternate blocks and the corner stones came from another batik quilt, even older than the Athena's puzzle.  Why I had so many left over, I don't know.  It must have been one of those counting failures I'm prone to.  By putting the last four in the border, I used every last one!

This quilt was so much fun to make that I'm not sure whether I will stop to quilt it, or go back to the orphan block box and try for another one before I lose the momentum!

Is It Fall Yet?

I began this fall wall hanging about a year ago while staying at my sister's house taking care of my mother. Now here it is, finally finished. It became a UFO because I didn't finish it before it became out of season and because I didn't like the way I quilted it.

It's no longer out of season, but I still don't like the quilting. However, it will have to do--moving on.

Because I brought this with me to bind while away, I had to put the Alzheimers piece on hold for a while. Back soon I hope.

This is my first attempt at using the Blogger Mobile ap, so please forgive the terseness and the poor photograph If this ap works well maybe I can use it in thw future

A Little (very little) Work in Progress

I've started work on a small quilt for Alzheimer's Art Quilts.  It's been a long time since I made one, mine have all sold, and I felt like it was time.  I decided to quilt the background before doing the applique this time, and finished this square spiral, which I hope will complement the design.   Back tomorrow with more to show, maybe.

My flamingos did make the Hoffman traveling exhibit again.  They will be in Group C, which goes to the Mid Atlantic show, among others.   This makes a seven-time streak, which pleases me quite a bit.

Other news:  I had pieces of both big toenails removed because they tend to grow in along the side of the nail bed.  As surgical procedures go, this is minor, but a pain (literally) nonetheless.  It's been over a week now, and they're still very nasty.  I will spare you pictures of that!  Just a little complaint to throw into the mix...  Otherwise things are good.  Thanks everyone who came to visit after my long time away.

After long silence...

I'm back to post my Hoffman Challenge entry for this year.

This year's fabric with the giant pink and lavender roses is not my style, so when I tried to imagine what else the flowers might like, I came up with feathers.  The shape and color of the flower suggested a flamingo body, and I took it from there.  The design is my attempt to capture the look of a vintage travel poster.  It was rather simple, but seemed to take me an extremely long time to do, perhaps because of lack of commitment.  This was my first attempt at free motion quilting on a contest entry, and it's not too bad, I think.  I don't have detail shots, but if you click, you should be able to see.

What else have I been doing?  I've made several charity quilts and am working on some Alzheimer's pieces.  I've also been traveling--we spent three weeks in China and Korea, and will be going to Spain in the fall.  I've also been to Missouri to stay with my mother and sister, and will be doing that again soon.  So life is busy, just not on the sewing front.

Project Linus Completed

I love the way this turned out so much that will be hard to part with it for Project Linus. I wish I had a baby in the family to give it to. If anyone else want to make one of these quilts, the link is here.  You don't have to make 15 blocks.  A row or just one is good too, and although the picture in the magazine shows the blues as all being the same, mine are not, and I think it looks fine.

We have about six inches of snow on the ground here, with more coming down,  a good day to stay inside and sew.  It's the first snow day of the winter, and I'm enjoying it!

A New Year

Happy New Year.  It's been a while.  Household work and Christmas and other activities have kept me out of the studio and away from Blogger.  I hope to be back.

I did make my mom a birthday card,

and yesterday I had a lovely afternoon.  I fired up a Glee marathon through Netflix streaming and worked on these cute blocks for Quiltmaker's Project Linus quilt.

I've made one of these several times in the past and have enjoyed it.  I'm not sure this time though; there's a bit too much paper piecing for my taste, so I may just finish a few blocks.  If I do continue, here are my fabric choices.  Love them!  That may keep me going.

Also on the schedule is the Hoffman Challenge.  I do have an idea, and need to start sketching, and I need/want to make some more pieces for the Alzheimer's Quilt Initiative.  All my previous ones have sold.  Incidentally, the January auction is underway, and the quilts are very good this month.

Looking Up

I'm feeling more cheerful about my work since the last post for several reasons.  One is shown below.  My daughter-in-law took the Athena's Puzzle quilt home when they visited last week, and here you see it in use. What could be better!

I finished the scarf.  The color combination in this outfit is not the best, but you get the idea.  This was fun, incredibly fast, and satisfied any knitting urge I may have had.

And finally, I learned that my joke quilt has been accepted by Road to California.  Entering this seemed like a long shot to me; I thought the quilt's uniqueness would be in its favor, but the quilting isn't up to the super level that seems to be expected everywhere.  So the email was a happy surprise.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!  I did lots of cooking yesterday, and am cleaning today, but not too strenuously.  

What I've Learned Recently

1.  Sometimes less is more.  I like the way this charity quilt turned out with minimal quilting.  With the polyester batting, it should be enough.

2.  How to make an ugly quilt:  Throw in too many, too bright "accent" blocks.  Oh, well on a dark and stormy night it will be just fine.

3.  I can still knit.  I just discovered this novelty yarn, called Marina Glitz, and thought I could manage a scarf that requires only eight stitches.

You pick up the loops on the top of the web and knit them, and the result is this ruffly scarf.  Although it's a bit trickier than I expected, I have finished half of the skein in two nights of TV watching.  It might be tempting to make more for gifts, but most colors seem to be out-of-stock in all the web sites I checked.

Ho Hum

Must get motivated.  Must get motivated.

This will not help much.

Here's the latest Hoffman Challenge fabric.  First off, fabric with roses is not my style, but the other problem is the disappointingly sleazy quality of this fabric.  It looks more like a Walmart knockoff than a Hoffman--the weave is coarse, and the colors don't have the usual sharp definition. At $10.50 a yard the high cost of cotton is really hitting home.  To be fair, there seems to be a white over print over the images which may have something to do with the blurred look, but the general effect isn't very successful.

I do have an idea, but I'll need to get motivated to start.  That seems to be the hard part for me lately.

Happy Halloween

The Interpret This! door revisited.  What Photoshop can do with a basic quilt!

Seasonal Work

I hardly ever make something in seasonal colors.  It's tempting, but I know that by the time a piece is done the season will be just a memory, and I'll wonder what I was thinking.

In the last few weeks I've done so much driving through the countryside drinking in the early fall colors that I couldn't resist.  So here's what I'm working on.  It's an attempt to capture the colors of early fall, September here, when the landscape is still mostly sun-bright green with accents of yellow and gold from the fields of soybeans and the Spanish Needle along the road.  The bright red comes later.

The maple leaf block superimposed on the split nine-patch is one of Judy Martin's ideas, and it seemed to give the effect I'm after.  I deliberately kept the value contrast a bit fuzzy in places so the colors are mixed as they are in nature.The border will be random-length strips of the dark green.  The piecing is almost done now, and while I won't have it quilted before early fall is a memory, it's been surprisingly enjoyable to work inside on the the colors that I love outside.

I've also loved paying attention to the piecing.  Working on a succession of fast pieces has been fun, but it's satisfying to try making the triangles match exactly rather than just come "close enough".  Craftsmanship can be its own reward,can't it.

Ouch!

Well, at least I don't spread conspiracy theories!

Guild Shows and Charity Quilts

I've been involved with two guild shows in the last month.  The first one is the South Bend-Mishawaka guild show in the Mishawaka main library.  I've written about it before; it's a beautiful venue, and lovely show.  It's free for everyone, and draws both casual library goers and people who come specifically to see the quilts, including men.  How many men do you see at a regular show unless they come with their wives?  But there are always men at this show, not all just by chance.  They always have stories about their mothers, grandmothers, aunts, and their quilts--all handmade. of course.  "No one does that anymore."  I wish I had a good answer to that--I just bite my tongue.

Some quilts from the show:

Grandpa's Fruit and Vegetable Garden by Helen Mao, striking from a distance and the fussy cuts are charming.

Simple Gifts by Virginia Heitman.  Virginia adapted a pattern to make the quilt rectangular; it's hand appliqued and machine quilted.  I love her fabric choices: the colors are so bright and clear.  (A softer colored version showed up in the second show, hand appliqued and hand quilted.  These men are wrong.)

The second show, held by the Niles, Michigan guild, is a full scale show, with vendors, refreshments, member boutique etc., and is a major fund raiser.  Anyone who has worked on this knows how tough it is, but this year seemed very successful, judged on the number of people and the money raised.  Here are a few of my favorites from that show.  I wasn't at all systematic in the pictures I took.

 This quilt is strikingly different from anything else in the show.  It's a Gee's Bend quilt.  Did you know there are kits for Gees Bend Quilts?  Talk about ironic.  But I thought the lively machine quilting is in the same improvisational spirit as the original quilts, even though it may seem wildly inappropriate at first.

This is a beautiful Star of Bethlehem pieced and quilted by Joan Duval.  I would have liked to see it do better than second in the category.

These two wildly different quilts are made by the same person, Linda FunNell.  I hate Sunbonnet Sue ordinarily, but I love this one.  Those perky pinwheels in the sash give it life and movement that's usually  lacking; and the mariner's compass quilt was stunning.


So much has been going on that I haven't been able to think about anything very creative, so I have pieced three charity quilt tops, and quilted, but not bound, two.  I've found that watching recordings of the Daily Show and Stephen Colbert while doing brainless sewing works really well.  Today's schedule:  Dancing with the Stars!

When Easy Isn't

While I was out of touch this summer, I missed the big blogosphere discussion of "modern quilting" and the Dumbing Down of Quilting.  If you missed it too, just google that phrase and you'll find all you need to know.  The two terms aren't really synonymous,  but they became joined in the on-line discussions.

This topic is relevant to my experience with Athena's Puzzle.  Athena's Puzzle is a Blue Underground pattern designed by Janine Burke.  These patterns would seem to fit under the umbrella of Modern Quilting: large pieces, straight lines, emphasis on fabric choice and color rather than intricate piecing.  I like them, and I also like Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr's designs which have similar characteristics.

This being said, are these patterns "dumbed down" and overly simple?  If people think that, they're being deceived.  The question is who is doing the deceiving.  Is it the designers and the marketers who want to sell a "simple" pattern to beginners, or is it the beginners, who are kidding themselves.  Some patterns undoubtedly are simple, but some are not.

 For example, Athena's puzzle is a "simple" courthouse steps design with the colors arranged differently from the original; the sewing is simple, the fabric layout is tricky at first.  (The directions are good at this point.)

But after the piecing, we get to the finishing, with those chopped off blocks producing bias edges.  Chopping off is supposed to be the simple way to give that clean modern look, I guess, but it isn't.  Trimming those edges is not child's play, as I found out.  There are no guidelines in the directions at all about how to line up the ruler to make sure the edge stays straight, and judging from the tools that are sold, I bet some of those modern quilters don't "get" 45 degree and 90 degree angles.  Secondly, if the quilt is finished like the sample with those bias edges bound, isn't it going to be very wavy?  How about a warning to handle those edges carefully.  A border might be a better option, but measuring and sewing the border so it doesn't wave is tricky too.  No guidance is given.

A truly simple version of this design would have traditional setting triangles, with or without a border.  But that wouldn't look as "modern", and probably would scare off some beginners.  So I guess my point is that Modern Quilting isn't necessarily dumbed down quilting, and quilters who want something simple need to be very careful in the pattern they choose.

Oh, Woe!

I finished the top of the Athena's Puzzle quilt and started on the final stage.  The blocks in this design are set diagonally, but instead of using half blocks or setting triangles, the top is made in a series of staggered rows, and then half the outside row of blocks is cut off to make a straight edge.

There's lots I could say about this method, but that's another post, maybe.  Anyway, doing it correctly requires careful alignment, using the 45 degree line of the ruler, and a careful quilter would probably make a chalk mark first.  I made a few chalk marks, decided, "Oh, I can do this," and started to cut.  You guessed it... I aligned the ruler with the wrong seam allowance and before I knew it, three blocks were spoiled.  While I was moaning about this, my husband walked by and made the worst husbandly comment, "What are you going to do with this quilt when it's finished?"

"I'm going to throw it in the dumpster!  Maybe I'm going to throw it in the dumpster NOW!"

"Oh, dear."  And he went to wax his car, probably a good decision.

And hour later, one block has been turned, one replaced (the three extra blocks came in handy), one pieced, and the edge is cut straight.

On to the border.

Now she likes it.  I don't.  But I guess it won't go in the dumpster.

Smackdown Quilt Completed

Here we are--my version of I Spy a Four Patch, by Bonnie Hunter.   It was good discipline for me to sit down and finish a quilt in an assigned time; often I diddle and dither and wander away to do something else.  I hope that some child likes this, and I'm sure Debra's quilting will improve it.  Here's a link to Debra's blog where you can see her Smackdown quilt.

August Quilting Smackdown

Debra Spincic is organizing another quilting smackdown to make quilts for local veterans and their families.  You can read about it on her blog and on Barbara's.  Barbara explains the pattern recommended for this month, and Debra will explain the procedure.  You don't even have to use that pattern though.  I'm going to do I Spy a Four Patch, one of Bonnie Hunter's patterns from Quiltville.com, because I cut out the pieces and pulled the fabrics some time ago.  This will make me finish, I hope.  I'll cut strips for the four patches tomorrow and sew this weekend.

Think about joining in.  It should be fun.

Finally, a Quilt Post!

I finished the blocks for the Athena's Puzzle quilt (in fact with my usual inability to count, I made three extra), and have laid them out on the floor.  It's difficult to deal with something so big; not only is the design wall too small, but so is most of my empty floor space.  I made a few adjustments in the arrangement of blocks after the picture, but that's as good as it's gonna get.

I intended the gold blocks as an accent, and wasn't sure that was a good idea when I began the layout.  Now I like them.  The other problem is the blocks that are so much lighter.  In a perfect world I wouldn't have made those, but the goal here was to use fabric on hand, so they're there, for better or worse.  It feels good to have this progress made; I hope to start sewing blocks together this afternoon.

I tried to take a classic Cat Helper shot, but Florabelle is too ladylike to do anything so crude as walk on the quilt blocks.  She just watched from a polite distance.