WIP Wednesday: the one with UGH

First things first. YUCK FLICKR, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE??? To quote a young friend of mine: I CAN'T EVEN.

I'm really kind of pissed off about the fact that it automatically lists the setting as 'embed' rather than 'HTML' - no, I don't want people to go scrolling through my Flickr, thanks.

Anyway. I guess one more thing that I'll have to learn to work around... *grr*

WIPs

Do You Know Where You're Going To?

Sewing HSTs together so they make perfect points!



I think I'm doing okay.



Aaaand the close-up!



More to come next week - I've been a bit lax this last week. Got busy, got sick, still busy and still sick.

Mondrian Dreaming

I've cut a bunch of squares, but there are even more yet to be cut. *sigh*



To Do

Ugh. EVERYTHING.



There's the 'hexies' block from Hexa-Go-Go: I'm gradually going to put together a 4x4 of that for a throw.

And there's the pieces of the Passacaglia Quilt I'm planning for next year's quilt show entry.

And of course, tape measure for determining about how large the show quilts were going to be (mostly guessing, seeing as they're not yet done), and gluestick for sticking together all the little photocopies of the Passacaglia pattern so that I could fit lots of them on an A4 sheet for printing out on cardstock and turning into paper piecing templates...

It never stops. NEVER.

How about you? Hopefully you're less frustrated/exasperated/exhausted than I! And have better WIPs in the bag!

WIP Wednesday: the one with serious Purple

This week has been rather less productive as work ramps up. With perhaps the exception of Saturday, when I had the Sydney Modern Quilt Guild meet-up, and then spent the afternoon putting together my Pantone Quilt Challenge 2014...not much movement!

Finished!

Pantone Quilt Challenge 2014
Darling Violetta
46" x 61"



Full post about it's creation is here.
It's not particularly spectactular when compared to the other quilts in the challenge, but considering I only even imagined doing this it three weeks ago, I think it's quite good. And another quilt done!

I really need to make a few more of these quilts - they're fast, they're pretty good stash-busters and they make excellent gifts for very little effort!

WIPs

Do You Know Where You're Going To?

That's this quilt:


Trimming HSTs is a painful and painstaking process at the best of times, and I find I can usually only do it when I'm at a guild meeting or watching television shows. And even that's difficult.

I got these done at the Sydney Modern Quilt Guild sew-in at Greta's Handicrafts on Sydney's North Shore.


Thank heavens they're done.

Now I just have to sew them all together so the points match. And perform appropriate math to piece it all together.

*maniacal laughter*

Yeah, not looking forward to that.

Mondrian's Nine-Patch

No progress. I'll cut up the squares over the next couple of weeks since this one is easy enough. Split Nine Patches: lovely and simple (although, again with the trimming and matching things up).

To Do

baby quilt

My bible study leaders from the last two years have just had their first kid, and I should really make them a quilt for him! Haven't met him yet, but that's not surprising - they're getting used to being parents, I'm good with giving them time.

Something modern, in Kona Ash and various greens, I think.

instagram sale

I need to start cutting up fabrics for an instagram sale - I think I'm going to make it ANZAC day (25th April), because that's an Australian National public holiday, and far enough away that I'll have time and space to actually get things cut up and sorted out.

Millefiori: Passacaglia

I need to start sewing these on the way to work. With three trains to catch and plenty of waiting time, it shouldn't be too hard to get my fingers doing these while my brain gears up for work.

--

What have you been doing lately?

Pantone Quilt Challenge 2014: Darling Violetta

I can't believe I actually decided to participate in this!

I was happily bumbling along, quite content to do my pattern testing, work with my solids, and get my 2014 Sydney Show quilts done...and suddenly my brain decides that it's time to do the Pantone Quilt Challenge 2014, a full two months after it's been announced.

My brain has amazing timing. A-may-zing

So I started picking out fabrics, basing it around Kona Violet, which was said to be the closest match, although the colour Pantone Radiant Orchid appears to be a little more pink than Kona Violet.



At first I thought I'd add to a bunch of blocks I made for a quilt-along back in 2011 (and which never made it off the ground) - and then I read the rules and noticed the "must be started in 2014" clause. Oops!

Back to the drawing board!

In the end, rather than putting together an actual pattern, I thought I'd just use my comfy 'fallback': The Dead Simple Quilt.

I don't know what else it's called - the title "Dead Simple Quilt" was coined by Lynne of Lily's Quilts for a quilt-along back in 2011 - but it really is dead simple! Pick a colour scheme, cut 5.5" squares from all the fabrics, lay out, and sew!

My personal preference is to add a thin contrast border, and a 2" (finished) squares border for a bit of movement at the station. But it's simple, it's effective, and it can be cut and completed in a day.

(I didn't do it in a day. I could have, but I didn't.)

Rough blocks, laid out on the design board for checking out.


Sewn into rows, strung in columns (to keep everything in rough order):


Sunshine yellow for the thin border - a nice bright cut of colour!


Finished by 9:30pm on Saturday night!

I was so eager to get the Challenge done that I kind of didn't have dinner until 10pm... Sometimes the quilting bug bites and you just gotta do it!

Anyway, it's complete and I took a square photograph in Sunday sun (which is less forgiving than incandescent light by night, alas, so ignore the wrinkles).


2014 Pantone Quilt Challenge
Title: Darling Violetta
Dimensions: 46" x 61"
I would have liked to quilt it and put it in the 'finished quilt' category, but this is already going to be a crazy week, so it's going to have to languish in the 'Just The Top' category.

Not that it's going to be anything special, mind you - have you seen the entries? Now I feel almost embarrassed for putting in something so homely!

Still, homely or not, my sister took one look and asked, "How much do you want for it?" She has it in mind as a gift for her ballet instructor, who loves violet.

The title Darling Violetta comes (to my mind) from the band who played the themesong from the Joss Whedon show "Angel". Very turn-of-the-century pop culture, I know! Incidentally, I've never actually listened to any of their other music...

WIP Wednesday: the one with lots of modern!

A busy week!

Finished!

This quilt top has been in the 'to be quilted' pile for at least a year. Possibly two. It was made in a quilt-along with Anne-Marie of GenXQuilters and I've always intended to quilt it myself.

I was just hoping to make it a little more detailed than it ended up...




But it's done! I have the binding; I just have to sew it on. "Just."

Better pictures with front and back once I have the chance to take decent photos. (Which requires me, a camera, and one other person in the room all at the same time. This is not actually an easy thing.)

WIPs

I've been trying to get enough of these two projects together to enter for the Sydney Quilt Show, and most of what I've managed is concept and layout. Hopefully that will be sufficient for them?

They're both modern, but because one can only enter one quilt per category, I'm going with the 'Art Quilt' and 'Modern Quilt' categories.

Do You Know Where You're Going To?

This is my choice for the 'Art Quilt' category - HSTs with Reese Scannell shot cottons and Kona Stone background: the arrows will weave their way around the quilt, leaving big empty spaces suitable for quilting.


I'm going to have to seriously improve my quilting before doing this one! Look at all that lovely empty space!

But before then: mathematics will be necessary to line everything up properly! That's going to be a pain. I can feel it.

There were alternative layouts, but I didn't like them as much:




Mondrian's Nine-Patch

This one started off as this collection of fabric choices:


And has slowly been coming together.





I'm planning to enter this one in the 'modern' category as an example of a traditional block (the split nine-patch) with a modern twist (a fabric that serves as the 'background').


Another concept idea:


I think this layout was a little too random for me.

Not sure if the blocks bordering the quilt are going to get used in the end. I sewed them up because I wanted 'bits and pieces' blocks as an example, but I think they might be almost too sketchy to be suitable for the quilt. I'll see how they look when I've got enough blocks to make a decent sized quilt.

But at least this one doesn't require any special mathematics!

The seed idea came from Sewlio Designs - her Mod D9P, the tutorial for which is here at St Louis Folk Victorian.

To Do

1. quilt more quilts (or get more quilts quilted) - I have a ridiculous backlog of quilt tops, many of which still need backing. And I need the practise!


Sydney Modern Quilt Guild

Sew-in this Saturday at Greta's Handicrafts Lindfield, from 10am til 2pm! Going to start on my Millfiori quilts. :)

What have you been doing this week?

WIP Wednesday: the one with terseness

A terse post. There are some crazy weeks ahead!

WIPs

Starting with the 2014 Show Quilts

Symphony in Scannell Solids


HSTs made and cut and ironed:


Now just to lay them out and sew them together!


But trying to work out a design is difficult!



I'll probably take a bolt of fabric over to the parentals and do some layouts on their loungeroom floor. It's good for that - lots of space and light and a dual-level space so I can get some height and get a good look at it.


Planned Improv

I'm seriously questioning my choices here: doing this is going to be really really difficult!

Ah well, we soldier on...

Two 'moons' made!


I have a background in mind for this section, as well as a blend into the next. Whether I have time to do it in the next few days is another matter!

Pantone Radiant Orchid Quilt Challenge

Two weeks to get a top done and things are not looking hopeful.


It's only going to be a 'Dead Simple' quilt - basic squares with a few leetle surprises in it!

Purchases!

Half-yard bundle from knottedthread! (I've forgotten the fabric line, but it does look pretty!)


And the book of Millefiori Quilts by Willyne Hammerstein


So what do your WIPs look like?

Linking up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced. I should start looking at other linky parties, shouldn't I?

weekend things: show quilts and shot cottons

So, now is probably not the time to suddenly decide I want to join in on the Pantone Radiant Orchid Quilt Challenge being run by Play Crafts and The Windy Side.

Entries are due by the 21st March.

That's just on three weeks.

First thought - use this opportunity to get rid of some old blocks:


Then I realised the challenge has to have been started this year. *pouts*

So, new tack!


Pick some fabrics and do a Dead Simple Quilt...with a few little surprises in it. That's the theory, anyway. The reality? We'll see!

Sydney Quilt Show

The date for entry of quilts for the show is 15th March - ten days!

We only need to show an example of what we're going to do - have the layout and the design, kind of thing.

Quilt 1: Symphony in Scannell Solids

Reese Scannell is the Australian-made version of Oakshott. They're not as good at marketing, but their fabric is quite lovely.




The background is Kona Stone, and it turns out to have a kind of warm beige-ish look when paired with saturated colour.

The design is going to be pretty simple in the end, lots of HSTs and a basic pattern, with the rest of the quilt a negative space:



That's the easy one. At least until it comes time to quilt it, then all that negative space needs to be filled in...

Quilt 2: Planned Improv

This one is going to get messy. As in...really messy.

I did a basic design idea, but I don't know that it's actually achievable!


But I did start some piecing last night:


These are going to be two of the 'moon' pieces, which would be set into drunkard's path blocks - although I'm not sure about the one with grey in it. It looks kind of like I've pieced a '10' unintentionally!

I might have to rethink this idea. Especially since I have only really one week in which to get a layout done - it should really be sent off before the 15th. *sigh*

That's not going to be fun...