Guild Challenge....

This morning I made myself sit down and put the last border on my guild's challenge for the show this October.

Now don't get the wrong impression that I finish things on schedule...or even more misleading - ahead of schedule!  We were given the instructions/guidelines for the challenge back in September.  For this challenge we pulled three crayons from a paper bag and had to make a piece no smaller than 24 inches on one side that included the crayon colors plus white and gray.  We had to use at least three of a long list of techniques (I am using piecing, mitered borders and embellishments.)

My first step was to go through the stash and the scraps to find these colors.  A lot of them came from the scrap bags and the 2-1/2 inch square bins were some of the oldest bits of my quilting fabric live.

This mauve-y pink, gray-blue and dark green are not my usual color combination ..at least not in this decade!  Most of the fabrics in those colors are circa 1990!  Though there are a few from as last as 2009)  So with this stack of scraps I had to work on it quickly or the scraps would disappear again...though I am fairly sure not in other projects!  These are the types of quilts designed to drive quilt historians crazy in 100 years...and just to be really difficult I tossed in a scrap of circa 1900 double pink...

The saying in the center is on of my favorites.  Until a few weeks ago it was on my favorite coffee mug...which is now coffee mug shards.  (a victim of a cat chase that went over the couch and across the coffee table...it is what happens when you have three cats!)

It isn't my best but it will meet the specs and best of all it stands a good chance of being finished in time!  Finished is good.

Two very different finishes...

Can you believe it...two finishes this week!  First, I took my last stitch on the binding on my "Scrappy Obsession" Quilt (yes folks, it finally has a name.)  The pattern for this was in the second Material Obsession book hence the name of the quilt!

I am really happy with how this one came out.  Very bright and cheery!  And I decided I love check bindings!  Today I just have to make up a sleeve and a label.  (I'll get better pictures when I have the sleeve on...my DH isn't tall enough to hold all this quilt up on his own!)

My other finish was a quick one.  I made this top back in the mid 90's (anyone else remember these Laura Ashley fabrics!) ...it has been in the "to be quilted pile for a long, long time.  So it has moved on to the "to be donated" pile...It will make a nice quilt for the Ronald McDonald house here in Augusta...

A pet update - Brownie is doing well and has stolen multiple tumbler blocks from the design wall and put them in her own fabric stash behind the sofa.  Macbeth isn't responding as well to the meds...still sleeping a lot and needs to have the mat under him changed every few hours.  I was hoping that would be under control today...keep you fingers crossed....

Tumblers...

Today I brought both Brownie and Macbeth to the Vet.  Surprisingly they are more comfortable when the other is with them (otherwise Macbeth has to borrow one of the office cats to keep him company...)  The bad news it isn't like I planned it this way.

We are waiting on test results to come back on Brownie but though she hasn't been eating she has only lost a couple ounces.  She is back on picky cat food...(for that read expensive....)  She is so tiny even a few ounces makes a difference (6 pounds 2 ounces...)

Mac was put on antibiotics for a bladder infection.  We are also waiting on some more test results as he seems to be in a lot of pain and is really lethargic.

So I'm letting them both in the sewing room today.  Brownie has new basket near the window and Mac is sleeping on a quilt under the desk...that trip the vet has worn us all out.  (Except Dobby who just brought me a big live cricket...just what I needed!)

Feeling a bit too worn out to sew so instead I'm mindlessly cutting some Halloween fabric into tumblers.  I just got this tumbler template and the Halloween bin wouldn't close so....think if I take a row off of each fabric then they should fit.  Of course that means I'll have a shoe box full of Halloween tumblers to use as leaders and enders...bonus!!  Also I've made quite a little pile of 1-inch strips/strings to send Tonya for her stalled project...added bonus!

I sort of like how is coming along.  Think I need to add some more brights...as I looked at this I wonder - how did I end up with so many spider fabrics?

Southern food wonderings

One of the things I love about springtime in the south are the roadside farm stands!

We have had local strawberries for almost a month but the ones out now are really sweet...ate a dozen on the ride home yesterday!  The asparagus is also local and as close to the 'gras I had from the village farm in the Cotswolds as I've found here in the U.S.

Also out now is rhubarb.  I tried grilled rhubarb last night for the first time.  Sounds crazy but it was wonderful! (I heard about it on NPR as I was driving into the farm-stand ..kismet!)  I just wiped the rhubarb with a bit of olive oil, sprinkled with a bit of sugar and put it on the grill with the  plank salmon.   Served it with a spinach salad with strawberries, spiced pecans and feta.

But this blog is supposed to be about quilts not food!  Last night I sewed the binding on my front side of my Material Obsessions quilt.  Today I have already hand sewn one side down to the back.  Only three more sides to go!

Question...when you make a quilt from a book or a pattern do you use the name of the quilt from the book or pattern or do you give it its own name?  Not sure which I will do with the quilt.  It isn't as if a name jumped out at me while I was making it....have to figure it out before I can make a label!

And here is a photo of a new addition to the livingroom couch...a min-Macbeth!  This pillow is made in Edinburgh by Crafty Things using Harris wool.  So far the cats have left it alone (though I did catch Dobby eyeing it suspiciously yesterday!)

Sorting tops...

At any given time I have 40 plus quilt-tops waiting to be quilted.  One of my goals this year was to get that under 30.  I'm doing that through a combination of donating and finishing...and of course not starting any new projects (ok...fewer projects!)

As part of the finish effort I've been making backings and matching them to quilt in the "to finish pile."  After getting a backing they move into one of three piles: send off a long arm quilter; machine quilt myself'; or hand quilt.  Obviously I'm being very selective what goes in the third pile as they one takes the longest!

When fabric goes on sale is when I buy backings for my quilts.  Rarely do I buy a specific back for a specific quilt so there is a lot of sorting matching go on!  Last week during a local "mother's day sale" I found some great fabric for less than $5 a yard!

I also found a special case...I brought my Charleston Baskets to the long-armer to have it basted!  Then it goes into my hand quilt pile.  I don't like pins when I quilt in the floor hoop but my left arm isn't strong enough right now to baste (and who want to use all that great hand sewing time for basting!)  So when I was reading Bonnine H's blog the other day it reminded me that she bastes on her long-arm...so I'm giving it a try.  It may mean that the C.B. isn't ready for the October show but it is more important that the quilt turns out the way I want it to.  As far as backing for this quilt...I thought I wanted a red and black fabric...instead I ended up with a red, yellow, black, green and blue fabric with lots of leaves.  Some things just can't be planned!

I did drop off two others to be long arm quilted.  It is a little nerve racking to hand off a top to someone else but I am sure she is going to do a wonderful job!

                                                                        Carnival Corn

                                                       Ribbon Candy (in-process...)
So both Ribbon Candy (B.H.'s Smith Mountain) and Carnival Corn are out the door.  I hope I get to put binding on them this summer...at least before the show in October...and hopefully not the night before they quilts get turned in for the show!

Now off to work on machine quilting another around the world quilt....

On a binding roll and a new to me!

I'm trying to stay focused on my 2013 list so last night I started work on my next set of bindings.  The first is my Material Obsessions quilt.

I auditioned lots of fabrics.  I really thought I was going to use either a red or bright green but in the end I liked the look of this blue check the best.  The color may be neutral with this quilt but the checks cut on the bias have a great texture.  They are right up there with striped bindings in my book!

Also I got a "new-to-me" quilt in the mail.   If you have read this blog for any length of time you know how much I love a cup of caffeine...coffee, tea, hot chocolate...whatever!  So I have wanted a cup quilt... preferably vintage for quite some time.  Now I have one!

This came from Oklahoma and was made in the 1940's.  The quilting is a bit primitive but I like it!  Of course having so many fabrics and that much red what isn't to like!

May Mystery Quilt Finish!

Not even the middle of the month and I have a finish on the calender!!! (and already cat tested and approved!)

With a little help from a friend I go the binding on my Orca Bay...this is a big quilt!  I really like the black binding on it.  Usually I like a pop of color or a stripe on the binding but the center of the quilt is so busy that I used and almost solid.  Orca Bay was Bonnie Hunter's  Mystery Quilt in 2011 (?) ...not recent but not too long ago!

BTW...if you are a Bonnie Hunter fan you want to be at my guild's show this October 11 and 12th!  Bonnie used to be a member of our guild (before she moved up to North Carolina) so with her permission we are doing a display of quilts made by guild members inspired by Bonnie!  Looks like we will have over 30 quilts as part of the display!  And yes, my Orca Bay will be one of them.  Think we will have at least one of her last four mysteries!  Our show is at the North Augusta Activities Center, 100 Riverview Park Drive, North Augusta, SC  29841.

Blue Scarf...

Sometimes it feels good to work on some of the smaller projects.

A few years ago I made several pieced scarves...saved one and gave the others to sisters and friends at Christmas.  I'm not sure why but this blue one was never finished.  Guess I was through my scarf phase!

 It has some great fabrics (including some hand-printed indigo and men's suiting) in it though so I decided to finish it up and give it to the American Quilt Study Group for the silent auction in September.

And good news...the machine part of the binding on Orca Bay is done...now I just need to put a movie in the DVD player and get to hand-stitching it down.  Definitely could have this big project done by the end of May!

Squaring up blocks

The most terrifying step in quilting is the final squaring up of applique blocks....

A long time ago I made 16 Baltimore Album blocks...the third one I squared up I cut it one inch too small...there was no way I could make the rest that size.  The whole project went into the UFO pile for at least a year...

So today when I had to face squaring up and trimming down the applique blocks for my guild's donation quilt I  did it very, very carefully.  First, I find this easier to do either on my own or with only one other quilter.  I need to focus and I don't focus well in groups!  Second I write everything...every little measurement down...and I keep that notebook with me for the duration.  I've though that I should get some notebook to hang around my neck...maybe next time!  The phone is to call a friend if and when panic sets in...

Next I prep my cutting board...this means moving all fabric off of it, a quick dusting, a check of the rotary cutter blade and making sure I have a ruler large enough for the blocks.  Since I am starting with the center medallion this mean a long ruler!  Also, my really large square ruler (20+ inches) broke during out last move...these blocks finish at 17 inches and I don't have a square large enough so I'll be using this ruler for everything.

Next...sit down for a cup of tea....

Then press the blocks using a bit of starch or sizing.  I want them to be really flat and stable since I will have to re-position them at least once on the cutting board.

More tea...and something with sugar....like a cranberry nut muffin!

So no photos of the actual cutting...remember what I wrote at the beginning...I need to focus!  But I got the center square and the four corner hst blocks all squared up and sewn together (34 inches square!.)  Phew.  It worked...must have been that great Yorkshire tea!

Thoughts on the 30's...

I had a couple of folks email me about the fabrics I used in my Scrappy Trip Around the World.  (Just a "programming note:"  If your comments are set to no reply it means just that.  I can't answer your questions with a return email!)

I had a large collection of 1930's reproduction fabrics.  One of my all time favorite is Judie Rothermel's that represented countries from around the world.  That was sort of what sparked the quilt.  (btw...if anyone has any of the Pink Paris Eiffel tower or the Orange Middle East fabric shown in the quilt above..I just used my last little bit of it and am looking for more...)

However I used a lot of non-reproduction fabric and that is what a few of you were curious about...

I did it because the 1930 quilts that I really love are first scrappy and second don't read as strictly pastel.  Generally this means some 1900 or dress making fabrics slipped into the mix.

For instance this is a top (photo above) I made years ago that became a UFO...love the fabrics but not inspiring.  Too pastel and flat for me.  Also, since most of the fabrics are busy you don't really notice any of them...and some are really fun!

Just adding a bit of fabrics that allow the eye to rest sparks the quilt up a bit...

Then I started seeing this in antique and vintage quilts...

This is a "nice" Quilt...the fabrics within the block are fairly flat but the solids set them off.

This is an "exciting" quilt-top (granted this is only my opinion but as it is my blog...)  The variation in patterns really draws your eye to the novelty/specialty fabrics in this top...

This was the first time I'd ever seen fabric celebrating Cab Calloway and other Jazz Musicians! (the blue and the maroon fabrics

Here is another quilt-top from that time period that inspires some of my fabric choices...

So now when I make a 1930's inspired quilt I try to add some fabrics that are either solid or read solid.  I don't put too many "star" fabrics next to each other (maybe I'll start calling them "diva" fabrics since they "want to be alone...")   And I look for fabrics that will add texture (stripes, checks, chevrons  polka dots) which don't usually come in the 1930's collections but do show up in the 1903's quilts.

Think that answers the questions.  Remember that is just my approach...you do it the way you like when you make your quilt!  (that is my only rule!)