Penny's Single Irish Chain

I must be done with this top. I can't decide what else to do with it. Since I haven't much fabric for a decent border or more blocks it will stay like this.  I have more muslin, but available muslin doesn't mean I have to use it. I like it well enough the way it is and was thinking of just backing it for a summer quilt, though it wouldn't quite fit the bed at 66" x 72". Perhaps if it could have talked it would have told me to make it bigger. I'm so glad my things don't tell me what to do though it is nice when they make suggestions. Now if only I would pay attention. . .

As I look at this I am almost sorry I didn't arrange the colors to blend. I was so undecided, but decided to just get on with it and start sewing. As I began to stitch the blocks together I felt I was doing something wrong. It was hard to keep myself from rearranging them but eventually I had so many together that I wasn't about to undo all that work. Like the rest of you, I'm still waiting for someone to come up with that gadget that you can program to remove stitches for you that were made in error or just cause you  changed your mind.

The 1930's fabric I have left for the Bin Bust will make one or two more small quilts. It's pieces already cut in 2 1/2" x 4 1/2" rectangles and assorted strips. I have plans for the rectangles and one of the quilters at Studio 3 is interested in the strips.  I kept out a few pieces for binding a few quilts. And then I can declare the Bin's Been Busted. That will motivate me to get on with the next one! Cool!

What I've Done

I've been playing on my wall. It's sure more fun than climbing the walls! I've made a bunch of the Penny's Irish Chain blocks and now I need to decide how I want to arrange them.  I thought I might like them placed in a Rainbow fashion rather than Randomly. It really helps me to decide when I see a photograph of them. I'm sharing the photos here but for kicks, I used the "auto contrast" setting in Picasa on the one photo. That feature doesn't usually deepen the tones so much. Which do you like rainbow, or random? I thought I was done piecing the blocks but when I put the blocks on the wall I found I still have plenty of 6.5" squares cut and since I have the scraps I may as well make more blocks.
 

I've also finished the quilting on "A Good Bet". I still have threads to tie-off and need to trim and bind it.

I've also planned the quilting for the next quilt to be finished. I wanted some simple diagonal lines similar to the way most antique quilts were finished. I also wanted to plan them to be as continuous as possible. Then I thought the diagonal lines alone are kinda boring. So I added a classic design.  I think the motif with four petals is called the teacup flower. What do you call it?

Feeling Moody

We have about 6" of snow on the ground. Hard to measure since so much of it was blown around and drifted so much. At any rate, it is enough to keep us out of the woods.That is fine with me cause I'd rather quilt when it is so cold outside.
I've made some progress on my Irish Chain blocks at Studio 3. I hope to finish them by the end of the week.

 I finished these1930's blocks and arranged them on the wall. I still need to cut the muslin for the sashing and setting triangles but I am kinda bored with it now so I think I will pack it away for another day. I think the Bin Bust challenge from the Stashbusters group should have included an incentive to bust the bin. I typically get tired of these fabrics before the top is done. It would be nice to find someone to take them off my hands.

 I am in the mood for quilting on the longarm but the sun is finally shining so I won't go do that till the sun goes down. I hope the mood lasts all week! I've got half a dozen quilt tops lined up ready to quilt, a few for church and a few of my own.

I have waaaaaay too much church fabric here and I find it overwhelming. I picked through it again and pulled out a big boxful to take  back to church. I'll ask the ladies there for suggestions - other than pillow cases. I'm leaving here 2 tubs of novelty prints. 1 tub with extra big backs and tops ready to quilt. 2 tubs of scraps already cut to size- including random strips for string quilts and log cabins etc. And another tub of coordinating fabrics for future kits. Somewhere in the mix is quite a pile of orphan blocks too. It seems I plan and organize and push that stuff into piles more than do any sewing with it. And we have 5 tubs of fabric at church too. They hold flannels, homespuns and pieces for quilt backs. My goal for the rest of winter is to ignore all those tubs and focus on using my own fabric. I could use a good challenge. Wish me luck.

Sitting Pretty

I've finished the Sitting Pretty quilt made as part of my 1930's Bin Bust. I don't find the green sashing and cornerstones completely offensive. I am still not really keen on the quilt though. Someday I hope to quilt it up and be surprised at how lovely a quilt it is and how the quilting really enhances the image.

But first I am on to other things I am sure to enjoy more. The sashing and  Union Square blocks are all together. I used 4 1/2" strips for the sashing without cornerstones. I thought it would be a very fitting treatment for blocks made with my 1800's scraps since blocks were frequently sashed that way back then.

 Now I am auditioning triangles for a pieced border. The triangles I am showing are from my scrap box. I am only using them to see if I want to use this size. They work for me so I will plan to work on the pieced border at Studio 3. I think I will be able to get all the triangles I need from the same box of scraps I  took over there a few months ago.The same fabrics used in the blocks. Sometimes it seems it doesn't take much fabric to make a quilt.

Tonight I am prepping another quilt of mine for the longarm. That means choosing the quilting design and any preliminary marking and then pinning and rolling it on the poles. Actually I just have the border left to decide on. Before I am done with that one I hope to have the quilting for the next one planned and ready to go.

We have had some nice winter weather this week so I took a few hikes. I'm glad for the wintertime cause to me it means quilting time. In warm weather I have a hard time balancing my quilting time with my outside time. Sometimes the days seem so short. Does that mean in the end I will feel like life is too short?

Shuffling projects

I've been merrily chiseling away at my stash of 1930's reproduction fabrics. Cutting a little here, sewing some there.  I even put aside the Civil War bin bust at Studio 3. For a while. Now I am in the middle of several projects. 

Today I worked on these blocks at Studio 3. Then when I got home I dug around for more fabric to make even more blocks.  I couldn't find all I was looking for till I remembered the small collection of authentic 30's scraps I have. I found 6 pieces that I can use. No pink in this project.

Yesterday the gals I quilt with were stressing out over life so we didn't get together. We  expect things to be back to normal next week. Tuesday Lucrecia wanted to get together before she leaves for the rest of winter. So together we worked on some blocks for a Square-in-a-Square comfort quilt.

Monday I went to the Burlington Quilt guild meeting to here a program by Carol Butzke on the use of Cheddar Orange in antique quilts. She brought some fabulous old examples. I am not sure that I am "flamboyant" enough to use that vivid orange as a background color in a quilt, but those quilts are sure goregous. A bonus to the evening was running into an old friend there. She has recently retired and joined the group. We are going to have to get together to do some sewing or maybe even some quilting.

I've been shuffling projects back and forth between home and studio 3. There are some steps I'd just rather do without distraction and sometimes I want my bigger flannel wall. I still have a picture or two more to take of stuff I've done recently, but the wall is still busy! So you can see, I survived the holidays and I am too busy quilting to even notice that it is winter.

Just not a Favorite

I have made 9 Sitting Pretty blocks and even though I think they are pretty, I just don't like the blocks in these fabrics enough to make anymore. This size works for me. I think I will add a 3-piece sashing and call it done.

I've been cutting away at my 30's fabrics for over a week. I have planned 5 quits in all. I may not have enough fabric to border things the way I might like but I will worry about that later. I haven't cut into all of it yet so I can tweak my selection as I actually piece the top. I thought I might be tired of these fabrics by now but I am not. Maybe it really depends on the pattern cause I like all the others I started, especially the one I showed last. I will plan to sew a few of them right away the others will
just be kits waiting for next fall I guess.

I took a break from all that cutting last night and got another comfort quilt quilted. We are expecting a light snowfall overnight and already I got a call from a few of the gals cancelling. That is only disappointing cause that means we aren't using up that old stash. In a dream the other night I won the lottery and one of the first things I did was toss that old stuff and replace with new. Kinda surprised that I didn't dream that I hired gals to get the old fabric sewn into some warm comfort quilts. I know a few ladies in particular that would join us if we had a better selection.  Oh well. I can dream, can't I?

Continuing a Tradition

No doubt about it. 2014 was a good year for me. At first I wasn't too impressed when I reviewed my quilting accomplishments till I remembered I also self-published a new book. As you can imagine, a book is a major undertaking, but the work doesn't stop once it is published. Work continues with promoting it.  I am pleased with the response it has received in some areas and as usual I am baffled by how different it can be from one area to the next. In other words, some shops won't even look at it cause they can't figure it out by looking at the quilts (Or so they have told me) and others have sold several dozen. Go Figure. I'd be happy to entertain your suggestions for promoting it.


I am still plugging away at cutting up my 1930's bin. I decided on the pattern I will do using the
2 1/2" strips. Since my design wall is busy at the moment, I arranged a few pieces on my ironing board in half a dozen different ways and decided on this pattern.  I am sure I saw it somewhere before. It is actually 2 blocks and 2 blocks in reverse. It will be easier to see once I cut and sew some background, but this is enough to remind me what I am planning on.

 In between all that cutting I quilted a few comfort quilts with a lazy meander and finally added the border to my first Studio 3 Sampler. I didn't find anything suitable for an inner border and if I had I would have had to add cornerstones to the borders cause It was a tight fit. As it was I had to redo two seams in the borders cause the 1/2" seams used up the extra 3/4" I needed in length.

I hope everyone is looking forward to this new year. I hope to continue quilting and blogging and working on the brush in the woods and planting more native wildflowers and  everything else I enjoy. It would be great if we met at your guild or a quilt show. Sharing our quilting with each other is important no matter how we do it.

Tiny Bits

Years ago I made this baby quilt with some leftover bits from other projects. I always thought I'd make it again only bigger. So then why when I began sorting through my bin of 1930's did I toss a handful of 1 1/2" wide strips in the trash????

 I dug those strips out of the wastebasket when I hit on the idea to make this Single Irish Chain variation.

 
 After the pinwheel quilt that used so much muslin, I was looking for something that would use more and larger pieces of the prints.  I just might like this one well enough to keep. And I will still have
1 1/2" bits left to make the 9-patch.   I am also planning on a Courthouse Steps with the pile of 1 3/4" strips that were there. I also need to decide on what to make with the 2 1/2" pieces. Then I went hunting for a pattern to use that will include the solids. I will put that away for a comfort quilt project at church. If I get these others done soon I will be satisfied with what I have "used up" and also be sick of the 30's prints till next winter.

I've not just been making plans. I have begun cutting and sewing too. I am kinda down to the bottom of the box so want to proceed with cutting carefully so I don't have more crumbs leftover and not enough of what I need.

 I'd like to get downstairs and get some quilting done, but my arms are a bit sore. We've been working a few hours here and there in the woods cutting and stacking brush. I guess the quilting will have to wait till we have snow.

I finally got the Scrappy Crazy 8's quilt on the wall to photograph. Let me know if you want the pattern.

Parading Pinwheels

My first top for the 30's Bin Bust Challenge is done. I went with the double wide sashing cause it is faster and I am not keeping this one. Yes that means I don't really care about it. I'm happy to use up what I did, though I'd rather use more of the 30's prints than the muslin.

This will be one of the next 30's quilts I work on. I want to plan several, so as I cut, I can handle a fabric fewer times.  In other words If I cut a 3 3/4" strip from a piece and have just a bit left over, then I will cut the leftovers into what I need for a second or third quilt like a 2 1/2" strip. I will do the same with the strips. When I cut the 8 triangles I need from the strip, I hope to have something planned for the rest of the strip and cut it right away. My way of staying on top of the scraps.

I've got a bunch of vintage Christmas cards and love this Santa. Happy Holidays everyone!

Let the 1930's Bin Bust Begin

The scrappy Crazy 8's quilt top is done, I just haven't taken it's official picture yet. My excuse is that  I got wrapped up in the Stashbuster's 1930's Bin Bust.  The first of the 1930's scraps I wanted to deal with were the left-over pinwheel blocks that were supposed to alternate throughout in this quilt.

I had a few more triangles to use with them so I've come up with two possible settings for them.
My first thought was with doube wide sashing like this, but use up a bunch of the prints for the sashing. That was awful. I didn't think I had enough of any one print to use till I remembered the comfort quilt fabric. Since this project is going to that cause anyway I felt free to use a hunk of theirs for the wide sashing. There is just enough - I think.

But I also considered setting the blocks on point like this. the setting triangles could be the same print as the sashing print above or anything except more muslin.

 Our comfort quilts are made in  all sizes, but we are usually asked to make them as big as we can. So I will go with the first layout. I was hoping to get to that this afternoon but the family has other plans for me. Imagine that.
If you are not a Stashbusters Yahoo Group member you can still join in the fun of the challenge of emptying a bin of fabric from your stash. The idea is to use up a collection of one type of fabric in your stash that you are not so interested in anymore.  Next on my list will be Thimbleberries. Unless I can find someone to buy them.