WIP Wednesday #17

Having finished my writing assignments, I've been very productive this week!

Apart from finishing my own personal quilt, I've made significant inroads on the Gothic Summer Sampler and the Octarine Batiks!

Gothic Summer Sampler


The Flower Garden Path
Not quite what you like to see in your garden, perhaps...

...but those bow skulls are really quite sweet!

The Mosaic came out beautifully:

Look at those HSTs! And the points that actually match! (Forgive me for being excited, I'm not known for my precision seams.)

And the paper-pieced Star...which worked out fine on the paper-piecing front, except for the part where I forgot to change one of the colours in Template B. Oops!

No way am I doing that again, though!

Then there's the Arkansas Traveller:

Yeah, I, uh, made a few miscalculations on how much fabric was actually needed for the pieces. Note to self: remember that the seams take up fabric, too!

And finally, the String Star!

I didn't do it the way Kate suggested because I wanted the full hexagon in the middle. Too late, I realised my error! Too late, I discovered the pitfalls inherent in piecing it this way!

*shudder* Y-seams. Horrible, horrible, horrible things. I never want to do them again. Ever. I mean it!

But the bow skulls do look awfully cute. (For a given value of 'cute'.)

I debated whether to introduce another colour, but I might stick with the (somewhat rather stark) palette of red, black, and white. And perhaps introduce a little alternative colours in the borders?


The Colour Of Magic
a.k.a. 'Octarine Batiks'.

Laid it out again, and am sewing the rows together now.




Still to bind
- Shaz & A's "Sunshine And Lollipops"


Planned Works

The Dead Simple QAL
- Mum's Imperial quilt (I should get on this first)
- Harvest Mountain Magic

My Quilt!

Okay, so it's just big enough to fit on a Queen Sized bed, so it's not a little quilt, but it's mine, all mine!



I got the design from Karla Alexander's book 'Stack A New Deck' - a very simple but effective 'stack-and-whack'. I picked the batiks because they were beautiful, vibrant colours that really jumped out at me.

IIRC, I picked most of them from a fabric shop in Alexandria, VA while visiting some friends in DC circa 2005, and it took me a couple of years before I did anything with them.

It was computer-design quilted in a tropical/hibiscus pattern by Joanne of Thirroul Custom Quilting, who does awesome work for me every time. And in spite of the fact that it hadn't been finished, it's been in use for the last two years, helping keep me warm in the chilly winters.

And here commenceth the quilt porn!





Two of my three finished quilts this year!


Both batik quilts - I know they're not 'fashionable' or 'modern' but I do hold a particular fondness for batiks. I sure have enough of them in my stash!

51st Post!

So I just went to my dashboard to put this post together and realised that this is my 51st post. Hurrah!

I only started blogging this year to keep up with all the blogs I was trying to read since I'd planned to make 12 quilts this year. I think I'm a bit behind right now, actually - only 7 quilts and we're coming up to September!

So, back to the Gothic Summer Sampler.



Does anyone else feel like it needs something else in there? A really strong, viscous purple, perhaps? Or a midnight blue?

Alas for I messed up the Star block. I forgot I had to change colours for the long triangle, and started doing the whites again. (It was even marked 'red' on the templates!)

I figured I'd just keep going anyway.

(ps. Tearing the paper off the pieced blocks is horribubble!)

I'm halfway through the Arkansas Traveller...just printed out the templates for putting my sewn-together diamonds on in fact!

--

Last night, I was weak and bought about 6 charm packs from Green Fairy Quilts. White, Cream, Black, and Rainbow Kona solids, a Lily & Will II, and a Riley Blake. $7 USD!



*coughs*

I've been thinking about HST quilts of late - the Warm/Cool HST QAL, and the Shattered Rainbow Quilt at Quilt Story. Such a simple block and yet so effective!

I'd like to do one with charm squares - actually, I'd like to do one with all-dark charm squares and call it 'the many shades of night'. I got the idea while laying out for the Gothic Summer Sampler - this pic.

Lots of darks, shading gently from absolute black to murky shades of blue and green and red. And possibly a design in there, barely visible to the glancing eye.

Life Contrasts: The Gothic Summer Sampler progress!

Two more blocks done! Fairly simple ones today - mostly HST work while watching Sense and Sensibility (BBC series - Part III: very enjoyable, although I still retain a soft spot for the Emma Thompson 1997 version) and Inception (awesome movie, and one that you can watch several times because it's so wonderfully intricate and layered).

If I stop and think about it, that's quite a contrast in viewing options - like quilting a Summer Sampler in black, red, and white to make it 'Gothic'. Or like playing hockey and going out for a beer with the girls at the pub, but also enjoying coffee and banana bread while quilting in a local cafe.

Contrasts.

Like the blacks, reds and whites in the Mosaic block!



This Flower Garden Path block, however, is neither floral, nor reminiscent of the garden!


I found the fabric with the bowtie skulls on it at Spotlight (like a JoAnn's Fabric, only Australian) and bought a metre of it. Some of it will almost certainly get used on the backing, because I'm unlikely to use it for anything else! :D


I think that tomorrow will be spent mastering paper piecing and The Star. I won't try more than one block on a day when I'm paper piecing - too complicated!

WIP Wednesday #16

Thanks to my stepdad, his new Blu-Ray DVD player, and his desire to watch 'The Sound Of Music' on Saturday night while we were over there for dinner...can you guess what song I've got in my head? *points at the number on her WIP Wednesday*



Once again, an exceedingly unproductive week, quilting-wise.

Partly because I bought new bookshelves on which to keep my fabric collection (now how am I going to keep it all free of dust?) and partly because I've been writing like a crazy writing thing.

Don't ask.

Anyway: to start with - a WIP, although not the usual kind!

The Sorting Of The Stash
(Like 'The Taming Of The Shrew' but with less screaming. Possibly.)



I have a question if you're reading this: How do you sort your stash?

Because I tend to sort by type and style of fabric, with some exceptions for precuts. I have several FQSs that I want to keep together (eg. RK Jewels Of The Nile, Riley Blake's Pirates, and Lumiere De Noel by French General), but I also have 'the batik collection' and 'the FQ solids' collection.

And then there's the 'probably backing' collection, which are usually fabrics of which I've bought anywhere between 3-6m thinking they'd be good for backings or borders or...

Help? Organisation isn't my forte. I'm good at planning to be organised, but actually organised? Somewhat beyond me...


Kaleidoscope QAL.

Still doing the backing of the kaleidoscope QAL. I had to tidy it up so I could bring in the new shelves, so I've still got to sew the last section on..


Crooked Summer Sampler (at Freshly Pieced)



First two blocks made!

The West Virginia Star


I went with the black background, and found this gorgeous scarlet batik with white hearts on it. The cracked wax pattern left on the hearts kind of look like the heart is breaking, doesn't it? Perfect for a gothic quilt!

The Greek Cross


This one, I'm wishing I'd gone with a white cross on a black octagon with red corners. But it still looks pretty stunning, I think.

There's a part of my creative psyche that's scolding me for such pure, saturated colours. 'More movement! More colour!' I don't have any red fabrics with small colours on them yet.


The Colour Of Magic

Also known as 'Octarine Batiks':


Hasn't moved since the last time I posted about it, but I'm going to start piecing it again.


Binding
- My quilt. (90% done!)
- S&A's quilt. (Needs binding put together and sewn on.)

WIP Wednesday #15

This has been a singularly unproductive week.

I only have three active projects right now:

1. Kaleidoscope QAL back



I haven't done all that much with this in the last week since my focus has been on a couple of writing assignments due this week and next. Mostly, the work was putting together the purple section, and then deciding on the fabric for the other end. I'll hopefully have some time to cut and sew all the sections together this weekend.


2. My own bedquilt!

This project has been sitting around for a very very long time. I finished it around 2008, got it quilted, and somehow never got around to binding it!

I figured, seeing as I'm doing all this binding for other quilt projects, I should finish my own, too!



This pic was taken at the August meeting for the Sydney Southern Cross Quilters' Guild - the first Saturday of every month they meet at a pub down the road, chat, eat, and work on their crafting projects!

The quilt pattern is from Stack A New Deck by Karla Alexander, and is one that I love using for Batiks - it looks so scrappy-quilt, but it's really not!

I'll post some finished pics...once it's actually finished!


3. Crooked Summer Sampler

So I'm part of a 'Crooked Crafting' swap, where people endeavour to make oddball and unusual crafty things. Many of the women in the swap are into 'alternative' genres - goth, the occult, and horror...and some of us just like being a little bit different!

I decided I'd go the Summer Sampler QAL...in blacks and reds (with a dash of bone and maybe some grey):



This is the current thought on the colour scheme:



The Kona Solids on the left will be the 'background' colour of the block, while the scarlet, black, and bone batiks on the right will be the other parts of the blocks.

That's the theory, anyway! We'll see how it turns out in execution.

As an alternative, I'm wondering if I shouldn't order some Kona Black and make that the 'background' of the blocks and then use the batiks and solids as the other parts? One can always do with more Kona Black...

Gothic Summer Sampler: Alternative Quilting

So...I joined a 'Crooked Craft Swap' on one of my forums - a forum that has a large number of people who are into alternative lifestyles.

The idea being that sunshine, flowers, and cute kittens are fine, but wouldn't it be cool to make something that was a little...left of centre?

Like a scene of zombie bunny carnage instead of a sweet little bunny pillow. Or (in my case) a quilt in the colours of black, white, and red.

For this, I figured I'd use the Summer Sampler Series at Freshly Pieced, Swim, Bike, Quilt, and Fresh Lemon Quilts.



I'll start just as soon as I have the back for the Kaleidoscope sewn together. I haven't had a chance to do anything on it yet - the weekend was madcrazybizay.

WIP Wednesday #14

I figured I should start numbering these. :)



Not a lot of progress this week - mostly finishing the borders on the Kaleidoscope quilt for Don't Call Me Betsy's QAL:



Colour is slightly yellowish because I took it on my smartphone camera.

Since I'm trying to piece together the back, I'm almost certainly not going to get it done by the due date. Just don't have the time right now.

Some shots setting up the back:

A block:


Most of the back fabrics laid out:


The purple will go all the way to the edge, but I'm trying different fabrics for the middle section to see how they work out.

Then it's just basting, quilting, and binding and then it's done!! (Okay, so maybe I'm never gonna do this again - it's just too much effort!)

I'm going to present Kate and Chris' quilt tonight at bible study: hope they like it!

WIP Whatever!

Did I mention I liked the colours in this? Because I really really do!

Planning the kaleidoscope QAL borders:


And the actual borders:


I couldn't match the cream in the kaleidoscope blocks perfectly, but it's fairly close.

The batting is purchased, the back is planned. Unfortunately, I just don't have the time to complete it before the 4th. I'd have to sew every day from now until the 4th and I have some deadlines that need seeing to. No cigar.

A pity; I was looking forward to actually completing a quilt from go to whoa without handing it off at any point. It's been a while.

finished
- Chris and Kate's wedding quilt: Forest Chain

other UFOs
- Octarine Batiks
- Batik String cushion covers
- Shaz and Drew's wedding quilt: Sunshine and Lollipops (to be bound)

To Do
- Mum's quilt
- Scrappy Mountain Harvest (those fabrics have been sitting there for forever!

I have a Fabric Friday post for tomorrow - boy, do I ever!

And uh-oh... I just went and looked and the Fat Quarter shop is having an 8-day sale...

Another Finished Quilt!

Two finished quilts in July! Two!

*whoops*

This is a very conservative Double Irish Chain for my bible study leaders who got married back in December 2009. They've been my study leaders in 2010 and 2011 as well, so it's a good gift to give them.



In the original plan, the 'double chain' was going to be the white/brown/gold fabric. Except that I miscalc'd when putting it all together, and it ended up as the 'single chain' fabric, which blends the dark green with the green-and-gold-flower-print. It still looks fine, but I keep thinking that it's not quite what I envisioned when I bought the fabric...

I've had the quilted quilt for at least four months now, and have been putting off binding it (like with the last quilt I finished - the Batik boxes). But with the encouragement of a RL quilting friend, and the cheery helpfulness of a local coffeehouse, I've been sitting down and finishing these babies.

It feels goooood.

And now I can wrap it and take it along to bible study tomorrow night! :)

I have a fabric post, but I might let that wait for Fabric Friday.

I'm going to submit this for the Gen X Quilter's Summer Fair Quilt And Recipe Show:

WIP Wednesday

started
1. The binding on Kate and Chris' quilt.

That's a very old pic of the raw quilt top. It's since been quilted. It's coming along a lot faster than one for Owen and Megs I finished earlier this week. I think it's because this backing is pure cotton. I think that the backing for Owen and Megs' quilt was polycotton. Will have to warn them about that.

2. String Block cushion cover:



Made from scraps leftover from trimming the "Cathedral Windows Quilt" I made for Rachel L in 2007, and the corresponding quilt I made for myself in 2008.

3. Batik 'coins' cushion cover:



Also made from the scraps of those two quilts. The black works really well as a background - but I think the fabric could be a problem since I think it's a polycotton blend. Oops?

4. Don't Call Me Betsy Kaleidoscope Quilt - Colour Attempt #2



The change in colour scheme has totally enthused me about this quilt. Given how cold, rainy, and grey Sydney is right now, it's very much needed!

A pic of the layout:


The current state of play:


It's a bit of a mess, but hey - WIP, right?

A focus on the blocks that are actually sewn together.


Look at those points! I don't think I've ever had anything match up so perfectly before!


I still have all the pieces I cut for the original colour scheme - I think I might mix it all up and see how it works. Perhaps with some golds and patterns to move things along?

What I Did On My Weekend

Saturday:

Went to North Sydney Produce Markets:


I mostly buy meats from the Produce Markets - specialised meats that are hard to find elsewhere, since the local butcher doesn't always carry them.

Sorted my quilting scraps and found a bunch of batik strips left over from when I trimmed my Cathedral Windows several years ago! (I need to make another Cathedral Windows quilt, really.)

Made my first string quilt blocks with the batik strings.


Turned them into a pillow cover:


Realised the pillow cover was too small for the pillow, and used more batik strips and black fabric to make a bigger pillow cover:


Sunday

1. Went to Kazbah for their breakfast tagine. Tagine was delicious, but restaurant service was very bad.
2. Bought three winter knits for under $100.
3. Bought supplemental fabrics for quilt along, and batting for the back of my Disappearing Harvest Quilt.
4. Put together a colour scheme for the Kaleidoscope QAL Take 2:


5. Played hockey. Drew 1-1 when we probably should have won. Discovered that I play better when I'm challenged.
6. Went to church and got an unusual sermon on a non-literal interpretation of 1 Corinthians 14 - the gift of prophecy, and the gift of tongues.
7. Helped out with church dinner.
8. Cooked delicious baked ginger-and-soy marinated chicken on a bed of brussel sprouts lightly cooked in butter, garlic, and white wine. (Highly recommended meal.)

finished quilt! and Blogger ugh

I just spent the last 90 minutes jiggling Blogger to display my new header properly - by which I mean, not off the page, approximately centered, and with the blog body and the widgets column correctly aligned under it.

What a bloody circus! And I'm a computer programmer by trade, too!

Anyway, I now have a header that actually displays a few of my finished quilts - since it is a quilting blog!

Which brings me to my next finished quilt!



It's 18 months late, but at least it's done. Poor Megs, probably wonder if she was ever going to get that quilt!

Just in time for the worst of winter, perhaps?

--

I've picked new colours for the Kaleidoscope Quilt-Along:



The colour values aren't so dark this time, so I'm hoping it'll fit the pale fabric better.

kaleidoscope argh

So I laid out a few blocks this evening to get a feel for the colours of the quilt.



I don't like the colours. Maybe because the pencils I used to colour in the plan were more saturated and so, brighter. I thought it would be okay.

It's not.

This quilt is speaking to me, but all it's saying right now is MEH.

*wonders where to now*

Working Wednesday

Alliteration is such an amusing thing for my small mind!

First, the scarf for Tina:


Made from the Tea Rose Home Five Fat Quarters Scarf. I changed the pattern a bit because I couldn't find a fifth fabric that matched the others.

It's a bit modern for my tastes, but hopefully Tina likes it. If not, I can always make her another, more classically coloured one.

Also, a churn dash block for the 2011 Birthday Block swap on LJ and Flickr:


Very late June birthday. And July is a rather complicated one with flying geese and HSTs all over the shop! That's definitely gonna be a challenge.

I also sewed about 20 corners to kaleidoscope isos. More later, perhaps.