August Wrap Up

There was a list of things that I was determined to do this weekend and one of them was throwing up a quick quilting post. It's been awhile I know. I was working on this 'Worthy' quilt before we made the trip to Oklahoma and it seemed like something to post about. But then my husband upended all of our plans and we left for our trip earlier than expected. 

Starting to see where Worthy is headed

This has been a very slow project, started in November of 2023. Basically I took a stack of fabrics and started free-cutting triangles, ala Sujata Shah. In fact, the progress has been so very slow that I really never bothered to post about it after the initial start. I mean, what was there to talk about?

 The fabrics are very soft, muted and have quite an old fashioned vibe. I've been pondering them for a couple years, but every time I decided they weren't enough to bother making a quilt out of, there was just something that wouldn't let me toss them back into the fabric totes. I'm not even sure there's enough value changes to come off as interesting, but I'm gonna try anyway. 

This is probably about a third of the fabrics in the stack. It's not been the most fascinating quilt to work on, but as I said, it's still compelling for reasons that make me want to continue on. Forward ho! At this point I'm dithering over sewing this all together and then joining in subsequent piecing later {as I go} or.... waiting until I have all of the various strips piled together and then start fresh. 

Part of me wants to be brave and sew it together and just make the rest fit on and around. Ughh. You know how that can turn out. Possibly lots of regret and frustration. Much better to go ahead and take it off of the too-small design wall, be patient and come to terms with the fact that it's going to be awhile yet. I'm almost certainly going to end up crawling around on my knees, moving parts and pieces around on my design floor before anything becomes truly cohesive!

There will be more pink colors added in, more of the dark brown and also, more cream fabrics. I've even thought about expanding on the 'Worthy' block, perhaps adding in more applique in the form of a border motif. Something like that. I'm really, really liking the odd pairings and uneven rows of triangles. This definitely is not a quilt that wants to be perfect or even exactly aligned.

The goal is {for now}, taking each particular fabric as it comes and cutting it all up till it's gone. Really easy when there's just a small chunk of fabric left, but lots harder when it's a much bigger piece. I'm continually second guessing myself as to adding 'that much' of a specific fabric into the quilt. Am trying to quiet the admonitory voices in my head and just let creativity have full reign. At the end, my hope is to have a quietly charming and cozy {utilitarian-look} quilt that feels a little like it could have transported from the late 1800's. Ha! 

Needs some hand work before finishing

Though my goal was to have both of these quilts completely finished up by the end of August, life just got away from me. Again. Can't say that I'm surprised! Will have to squeeze in time to hand sew the binding on here pretty soon as one of the quilts is for a nephew getting married this month. At least there is serious finishing progress on both.

Applique border work

Have also been working on the hand sewing on these borders for Melon Patch Blossom. The middle part of the quilt has been done since late last year. You'd almost think quilting has become the lesser obsession in my life in the past year and you might be right. Family time has absolutely ended up being the top priority.

Ready for the next phase!

Finally got all the applique done on Bramble Blooms II-B. It wasn't complicated at all, so no real dragging of my feet. Just didn't want to take something this large with me on the plane! I get lots of looks when I'm working on my quilting in the airports, but rarely does anyone actually say anything. I wonder if it's like a houseguest once told me, 'Just makes me want to laugh! Quilting is such a grandma thing to do these days.'  My whole family was kind of looking at this man with their mouths hanging open. 

Seriously? Do you know how much money and time is spent on quilting these days? The incredible quilt shows that people can attend and feel inspired and moved by? Thankfully, I chose not to feel insulted. His grandma really was a hodgepodge quilter, quite artistic in other ways, but her quilting was strictly utilitarian and quite primitive looking. If he wanted to laugh at my old fashioned hobby, who cares? It brought her {and now me at this point in my life} lots of joy and that's really all that matters.

Sandwiched and ready for pins!

Next up in the hoop is Gold Crossroads. It's been finished up since about 2021. It's part of the 'Circle Game' quilts where I'm taking the cut-out circles from behind other applique and incorporate it into a brand new quilt. My latest Circle Game quilt top was Good Vibes. I already have fabric stacked up for the next one in the series and ideas for that and one more after that! Gotta love series quilts! They're a great next-up quilt when you run out of other ideas or are stalled with indecision.

Happy, happy mail!!

I also had this wonderful gift sent to me from an online quilting friend. This awesome box of fabric was waiting for me when we returned from our trip! Very generous and so sweet of her. Am always more than willing to mix brand new-to-me fabrics into the stash totes and see just where things might perk up a little. It must be my month because I was also able to buy a little fabric with some birthday money and also a recent surprise from the Tip Top Jar! Quilters are the best! While I am having great fun digging through all the older stash fabrics, there has most definitely been totes that are starting to seem quite, quite dreary. Always more exciting to throw in a few newer pieces occasionally to see what might start to spark and take on new life.

Okay, that's it for a what's happening around here on the quilt front. Lots of projects, ideas and stacks of fabric, but not nearly enough time to get it all moving and grooving. For all the Bramble Blooms QAL folks, will probably not dive into the last border prompt for a couple weeks or so. Lots of little things that I want to make forward progress on first, including hemming a couple pair of thrifted jeans. Darn it, when you're 5'2", the jeans rarely seem to come in the right length....

Hanging In There

We're mostly doing fine, just feeling headachy and stressed. Very thankful that so many of the people we know and love have been able to return already to an intact home. Today though, the fires are a few miles away and across the Columbia river. Much closer than we can possibly be happy about. No evacuation notices for our little town just yet, but it could come. Uggh. I've got a file box of important papers ready just in case, but nothing else. We're just tired. Weary. Sick that this particular fire was started intentionally. Some people have mental health problems, that's all I'm gonna say.

4-Block Tulip Medallion

In an impulsive move, I decided that there really should be something hanging up on that little design wall of mine. There needs to be something to look at and consider whenever I come into the quilt room. Something that doesn't take me having to pull it out of a tote just to look at. Decisions are hard right now. Even the silliest of ones.

All the pieces were cut using a small template

called a 'Mini Dresden' I picked up at Walmart

So  out came the 4-block Tulip quilt project. You know, the boring blocks? I'm making these pieced sashing strips to frame them. All the blues were cut strictly from the scrap bin totes and so the straight of the grain isn't always exact. I'll deal with the foibles of that later. Eight more sets to go and then I'll have to figure out the inner strip color and all the cornerstones. Probably gonna be applique there. I mean, why not?

Trying not to man handle them too much!

I've also been plodding through the steps to bring the T blocks to completed quilt top phase. This isn't a particularly inspiring quilt top, but all of it has come directly from the stash totes or a cut-up plaid shirt or two. It's kept me busy in a totally non-pressure way. 

Vintage T quilt top is completed!

In this quilt I focused on 'old tired oranges' and found some success with using up some languishing bits. Like I said in a previous post, the color palette was found in one of my favorites of my dads well-used plaid shirts. I'm pleased to say that another of his cast-off plaid shirts has also found its way into this very quilt. I've had it for a very, very long time and never found a good use for it until now. Seems rather fitting. And yes, he's still alive. Mom and dad both are, though getting more fragile with every year it seems. Much better to make this sort of quilt now than later when I would cry buckets, right?

Loving this green fabric so much...

I changed out the fabric on the plus block below three different times. Or was it four? Don't know why I even bothered as eventually this quilt will probably be used as a comfort quilt. Or not. There is that sentimental attachment after all! Some of the smaller orange rectangles are pieced as are the longer orange strips. It's all make-do and somehow sort of sweetly old fashioned. I don't love it, but I'm happy with the simplicity and {un}pretentiousness of it all.

It may not be special, but it's keeping me busy...

One evening I couldn't settle and finally went scrounging for a new fabric pull to cheer myself up. Funny how melancholy it looks with only blues, greens and blacks being represented, ha ha. Not so cheery after all unless you're a quilter. Then you probably understand.  Guess it will be a moody Judy sort of quilt if/when I ever cut into the fabric and give it a go!

I also have given the quilt room another good tidying up in the past week. Had a lot of fun opening up all the smaller totes of fabric stacks and also gave all the simmering stacks on the counters a good long look. Nothing went promptly back into the stash totes, so I'd say there's still some potential there in each and every one. In fact, my heart actually did the little 'pitter-patter' thing just imagining a couple of these worked into a quilt design. Couldn't quite bring myself to actually cut into anything this week, but ideas are slowly bubbling up in the back of my conscious. I can feel it happening.

A new stack of fabric to think about...

Finally found a window to watch an episode of 'The Quilt Show' featuring Sujata Shah and Freddy Moran. You can find the link over at The Root Connection though time is running out to access it for free. Am so glad I took the time to watch this as both quilters are long time faves of mine. Really made me aware {once again},  of how much I NEED a source of creativity in my life! Especially right now. Wowsers. Some nights it's all I can do to pick up the hand quilting hoop and stitch part of a hoop. The thing is, no matter how difficult it seems to be to get started, I always, always feel so much better afterward. Crossing my fingers this publishes properly as our Internet has been very erratic this past week. So there you go, another post from Debbie Downer desperately trying to keep her chin up. Things could be much, much worse and we're thankful they're not. One day at a time!

 

Here We Go Again

It was way past time for the Bullseye Medallion to get another border. I've been itching to get the red border on as the fabric just feels yummy. Only waiting for available floor space to properly lay things out and take a 'whole' quilt look!

The red border to Bullseye Medallion

My son {who has had the adjacent space next to the quilting room} finally moved out just last week. It only took him a month after he started talking about it and so I've been so {im}patiently waiting on him. Not that I wanted him to move out especially, but because I have been longing to have a clothes-free floor to lay out quilts. He is still eating dinner with us most nights during the week so this isn't something to be terribly upset about. He's just living a block away!

Trying to plan things out in the usual space...

Awhile back while digging through the applique-parts-and-pieces totes I happened to stumble across these leftover basket handles from a much older quilt. They seemed like a lovely element to try and add into this particular project. So very glad to find them and put them to good use. You know how I am with the orphaned and abandoned bits!

Always a piecing or applique unit to each round

For whatever reason, it was absolutely no trouble at all this time, to keep to the stated goal of having each border finish out at 5". Usually there is an internal debate that happens while I rebel against 'ridiculous' constraints. Ha  Might actually be the quilt that stays within the self-determined boundaries!

Love that the focus is on fabric

I'd say that I was finding my groove with the simple piecing efforts and primary focus being on the fabric and color rounds. Then I started in on the yellow border. Hmm... This one looks like it's gonna be a little bit harder. That's what I get for feeling like I had it all figured out. The quilt is currently 55 1/2" with three borders left {yellow included} to go. Adding all those borders will make it approx. 85" finished. However tempting it is to stop at the red border {and call it good}, 55 inches really isn't a good size for me. Plus, when have I ever backed down from an interesting quilting challenge?

So determined to use this old yellow plaid!

Next up in the hoop is the Playing With Scale #2 quilt. I guess technically, this one shouldn't even be in the running for getting finished quite yet. I like to work on the oldest quilts and then move forward, but as usual, that order does and can get changed around according to the slightest of whims.

Playing With Scale #2 getting sandwiched and pinned

This quilt is small, colorful and more importantly, requires zero marking. Sometimes that's really all that counts when making the decision about which one to favor!

A lot of spiky bits

I can see already that this one is going to go really fast. Every time I hand quilt a quilt top with strippy units it makes me fall in love all over again. There's just something very sweet about the old time 'utility' look to improv. strip piecing. Must do more!

Such a joy to see this one in the hoop!

All quilts should look like this after quilting. Why didn't I learn how to make quilts like this 20 years ago? I could have oodles of them by now.....

More Quilty 365, A Finished Quilt Top and Some Lovely New Fabric

Wowsers! Very fun to have so much interest in Quilty 365, which ironically is going to be 366 days, but hey, whatever. A circle a day for a year. That's the main thing that concerns us crazy quilters! I'm hearing lots of very creative ideas from those getting started and that feels very exciting. I'm touched by those who are making this a very personal journey too. Bravo to you for taking it to the next level!

Day 10-12

I thought it was interesting when blue was the chosen color for two days running. I almost edited my choice {had it returned to the scrap bin already} when I thought 'what makes me think I have too?' It's a blue day and that's that. Aghhh! It's entirely too early to start trying to 'fix' my quilt so it might, could, should possibly look better.

Finally got my gorgeous winnings from the Art Gallery blog! Their stuff is a little bit on the modern side for me, but I keep falling in love with the florals especially. It's part of what makes quilting so interesting, don't you think, to mix fabrics from several genres all into one quilt? I do so hate to be put into a box with the lid firmly stuck tight. And winning fabric is just about as sweet as it gets!

My winnings!

The timing is interesting too, because all these floral baskets below are made from an Art Gallery fabric I fell in love with about a year ago. In an effort to try something different from my normal border type choices, I chose to make the fabric the centerpiece in some sweet little basket blocks. You know me and those basket blocks. Like peas in a pod.

Summers End baskets

Which uh.., is sort of the point. I had all these olive green fabrics lurking in the totes forever and could not ever settle on a decent idea for using them up. Yep, it sure is a strong looking green quilt and my lovely floral fabric is just a bit overwhelmed. A tad more than I expected really. That's what I get for pushing the envelope on which green fabrics should be included. Me and and my enthusiasm for working straight from the stash!

Sewn into a top

I think I went a bit too far with the brownish looking greens too and then I had the bright idea of adding in some celery green and blue baskets as well. For interest and spark. {And to keep the boredom factor way down.} There is the slight issue of making the same block over and over. And over.

A closer look at the baskets...

I love the quilt from a distance, from waaay across the room, so that's good. The little pink baskets stand out better and look very friendly. Up close though, they get a little lost in the busyness of the floral print and the different background prints make them compete for attention. That's not so good.

A finished quilt top

I won't say it's an epic fail because I can see myself loving it draped across my lap. {And I still love that floral fabric to pieces.} So it's just not a standout quilt. Yet. Maybe the quilting can still save it? lol

A Bit of Inspiration

Every single time I wear these striped socks, quilty ideas flash through my head. Blink, blink. 'This could be a really great quilt!'  You know us obsessive quilter types--always making everything about quilts. So I finally went digging through the totes to see what could be done with my version of these particular colors.

Inspiration is everywhere....

Hmm... not bad for a half hour playtime! Then I started flipping through books and pattern binders... Talk about a time killer. I wasted a couple hours figuring out that while I really want to make a couple super, duper complicated quilts 'some day', the time is not now. Nor with these fabrics. Focus, girl, focus.....

Time to put the thinking cap on....

I have something a little more playful and um.. fast? in mind. So for now they will sit on my counter and every now and then I will glance longingly at them and think hopeful thoughts. Unless of course I steal enough fabrics out of the stack to make things look really pitiful, which will then cause me to hurriedly stash them back in the totes. Or maybe I'll get a big brainwave just a few seconds before I go to sleep, on the night before I leave town, early in the morning, for vacation. 'Cuz that has definitely happened before. And... you never know, they could actually be made into a quilt some day too. I might actually get an idea, time and motivation all at once. Stranger things have happened before.*wink  In the meantime I'm enjoying looking at my most recent fabric stack. What about you? Do you ever make little stacks of great {might actually be a quilt someday} fabrics?

A Little Break From the Normal Routine

Last Friday we left town and headed down to Eugene, Oregon to attend a couple of graduations.  It's the first time we've been able to get that far south in well over a year.  So much fun to hang out with family and enjoy the good times together!

More bow-tie blocks to add to the finished pile!

I had a post all prepped and ready so I could post while I was gone (cheating!), but I didn't exactly want to announce our absence to the entire world.  My intentions were to re-stock my hand-work bag before I left town, but somehow that fell by the wayside and I just grabbed what was ready to go.  Yeppers, that worked out just fine as I managed to piddle away at my bow-tie blocks here and there until I completed 19 more blocks.*big smile!

A little bit of fun...

On the next to last day before we left town, I talked my husband into taking me to two quilt stores.  I am so fascinated with new fabric that if my husband hadn't been napping/reading in the car outside, I probably would have maxed out all of my credit cards (which wouldn't take much these days).  Can you just imagine the buyers remorse I would have had? Eek!  I have been feeling seriously deprived of late.

The first store I went to in Springfield, Oregon is called 'Something to Crow About'.  It's a very lovely store that I've been in and out of for about 10 yrs. whenever we chance to be in the area.  Normally I head right over to the homespuns and grab whatever is new, but this time I spent most of my time drooling over the reproduction fabrics in an agony of indecision. There is never enough money....

The next store my husband took me to in Eugene is called 'Piece by Piece'.  I've only went one other time almost two years ago, but it is a fabulous store if you want modern fabric.  So much eye candy that I was dazzled once again and I'm not 100% sold on modern fabrics if you know what I mean.

In both stores I stuck to the fat quarter selections and only bought according to 'in the moment love' instead of looking at a list of what I might happen to need.  Today I finally had a chance to look at what I bought and play with it up next to some of my stacks-of-lovely-fabric-intended-for-future-projects.  The ten fabrics I laid out in front are ones that key in very well at least one of those stacks! Some of the fat quarters are the exact piece of fabric that makes the whole entire stack of fabric sing!  Isn't it amazing how that happens?  Honestly, I just bought what it felt like I couldn't live without.  Yay for the early anniversary present!  Can't wait to play a little more after I get this stuff washed up and put where it belongs.

Lots of Little Steps

Getting a finished quilt together is often a series of many, many little steps for me.  If I'm restless and afflicted with the can't-stick-with-any-one-thing syndrome, I'll jump from project to project like a grasshopper trying to find the perfect leaf to munch on.  As you can see below, for once I actually remembered to take care of the excess fabric behind the applique!  With hand quilting, this can be a frustrating detail to overlook.

Cutting the excess out from behind the applique....

I am not good at sewing on curved pieces.  Have I mentioned that once or twice before?  Slowly, patiently and with much resoluteness, the background pieces are being added onto the Big Star blocks.  It's a big project for me--one that needs not be rushed through.

Sewing on the background fabric to some of the Big Stars.

And then there is the eye candy.  The potential.  The endless possibility of something wonderful and unique. Playing with fabric is (by and large) what it's all about with quilting, right?

One stack reminds me of the brilliant fall colors.  The other one
has some funky green fabrics that are really stretching my imagination....

I love to stack fabrics together and play with them off and on for a few months, adding and subtracting as the whims determine.  Since I don't have a lot of money, I can't just go out and buy everything I want necessary for the next new project. Besides, it can be unexpectedly charming to mix in old impulse buys with a fresh new fat quarter or two!

And another fabric stack with less coral and more pink,
less gold and more subtle yellows....

Fabrics absolutely need to marinate and simmer for awhile before I dare cut into them.  It helps to be very sure of the fabric/pattern combination I've dreamed up too. This stack of browns, creamy whites, tans, blues and reds below has been very interesting. Honestly, I've totally given up on this particular mixture of fabrics once before and then later had to go digging them out of the totes again! Something tells me this combination could be quite the satisfying quilt for me.*sigh  I said for me.  Probably not for you though. lol

And yet another.....

Hmmm...  Could it be my next forever project?  It's so fun to have these stacks sitting around my quilting room teasing me while I'm working on the tedious details of a UFQ.  The theory is, if it's right out in the open, eventually my mind will hit on what the missing element seems to be.  Oh well.  It seems we all have a method to our madness!

The Baby Quilt is Done Too

My 'Retro Baby' quilt that I started last year is just waiting on a label.  This would be the first time I've made a quilt almost entirely with solid fabrics.  I admit, It was uncomfortable for me.  I didn't completely enjoy it and obviously I just had to add in a printed fabric.  Now that it's over and done with, I can say that I learned a lot and I'm not nearly as scared of solids as I once was.  In fact, it's really kinda cute, isn't it?

Lil' 'retro baby' is all done except for a label

 I love the back, although I know that I just chunked a fat quarter together for the additional length without any regards to trying to match it up.  That makes it better in my book.  I like the casual-ness of that tremendously because I think it helps me look like I don't take myself too seriously.*wink

And the back....

 Some progress was also made in the quilt room this weekend after I got all my grocery shopping etc. done with.  I ended up skipping my daughters track meet (and my sons baseball game) to come home to get some time in on my 'Broken Dishes Part Deux' quilt.  I was making some real headway until one of my fat quarter fabrics took my mind off into never-never-land and I got a little bit sidetracked from my cutting goal.....

More lovely scraps for the scrap bin....

Just a little.  I'm not good with real light fabrics and I have to constantly remind myself to even buy them.  You know like, my eye doesn't even acknowledge their existence in the quilt stores until they practically fall off the shelf into my arms.  So it's intriguing that I've been seeing finally noticing a certain style of quilts on blogs from places like Holland, the Netherlands, Australia, and England that rely on a preponderance of light fabrics.  Most of the ones I adore then add in a red fabric to accent and brighten the quilt which makes for a very charming, yet kind of old fashioned look that I am in love with right now.  Maybe because it's Spring?

Hmmm, do you think it will work together?

Selected Fabric Stash Revisited

This color combination doesn't mean much to most people, but for me, it's a challenge because I NEVER use gray.  Ever.  Although, now that I look at the pictures, it becomes obvious to me that somehow I have managed to weaken the gray with a browny gray.  Which means I'm actually working with taupe. Groan.....  

Revisiting a stash of hopefuls--because this intrigues me.

Adding in the bright prints in the wrong proportion--OBVIOUSLY.

Getting my ideas down on paper and doing the calculations.

I'm a planner.  I like to know where my quilt is going before I make my first cut, even if I'm pretty sure it won't actually get there in one piece.  (No pun intended.)*wink  Sometimes it takes me ages to make up my mind and occasionally I even dump a selected stash of fabric into yet another quilt altogether because, lo and behold, it's a color palette that I seem to be working on all over the place.  So I guess what I'm telling you is that I'm also a plodder.  A planner and a plodder, that's me.  Getting quilts sewn together one little stitch at a time.

Trying to Find the Trigger

This is something I've been looking at for a little while now, wondering if it's time to cut into.  I do this.  I slowly gather these piles of fabric that I pull out and play with, sometimes draw up or select a pattern for, and generally just dream about the possibilities.  There are several little stacks of these in my quilt room--always.  And therein lies the problem.  If I cut into the fabric, I lose possibilities.  What if I'm wrong?  What if I can't capture the best part of  this fabric combination?  Sure, this particular set is a little on the dark and dreary side, but sometimes I LIKE to wallow in dark, moody fabrics.  (Hello, It reflects my life so completely every now and then.  *Hint, Mr. Oppressor, please resign, so America can get back to work?) I also figured out that there is usually some particular color that I'm focusing on, quilt after quilt after QUILT AFter quilt! oftentimes without even realizing it until I lay the quilt tops out side by side.  I know, I'm slow.  When I figure out what the trigger is that allows me to finally start cutting into my fabrics, I'll let you know.  It's probably a hormone imbalance.