Bah. I just recalled that I have four quilts to bind and finish. Three of them are wedding quilts, between 18 months and 6 months late. And I have to get a move on with them!!
Dang and bother and blast and...
I admit, I dislike the binding and finishing part of quilting - not the result, which is always a quilt that makes me want to quilt-nap it - but the actual process of hand-sewing the binding together. My brain keeps telling me about all the things I could be doing instead of sitting here, creating callouses on my middle finger from pushing the needle through the fabric.
How do you guys reading this manage to do your binding and finishing? Do you watch a movie or a tv show while sewing? Do you listen to music? Is it peace-and-quiet time for you, or do you think of it as 'dead time' - time when you could be cleaning the kitchen, or sorting through your wardrobe, or reading a book?
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
WIP Wednesday, credit card CPR, and time
1. Sanctuary Kaleidoscope
The fabric to complete the Sanctuary Kaleidoscope quilt has arrived and I'll be doing some more cutting of kaleidoscope pieces on...Sunday? I have some time first thing in the morning, midafternoon, or last thing at night.
Once it's cut, the arranging and sewing should start. When I'm going to have time for this, I don't know, but I'm beginning to think I should set, say 45 minutes down for quilting in the evenings, complete with timer to bing me out of the zen. From 9:30pm, perhaps, until 10:15pm?
2. Supernova Quilt-Along
Colours picked, arranged, and cut.
Background fabrics cut. I calculated that I'd need (8) 3" by 5.5" strip and (8) 3" by 3" square for each block, which makes it (128) of each for a 16-block quilt.
Thankfully, I'm now working with yardage with a ~42" width instead of FQs - and I love my cutting template with the 0.5" slots for easy cutting of strips! One of the best quilting investments I've made of late!
I figure I'll leave the borders for the moment and perhaps deal with them later.
oh credit card, my credit card!
Right, so I bought 4 FQ Bundles from the Fat Quarter Shop. *coughs* At 20% off!
Three Kona Solid fat quarter bundles (Hot Spice, Flying People Eater, and Denim) and one lovely red and white/cream set that went by the name 'French [something]'. I came this close to buying a Kona FQB of Candy Corn (Sunshine Yellow!) and the pink FQB was just that luv-er-ley and pretteh, but I'm not a pink person most of the time and neither are my friends so it would not likely get used.
In addition to this FQB spree, I purchased four yards of Kona White Solids. The shipping nearly killed me and my credit card is still gasping. However, I got my bonus in March and it was very good and so the ccard will not be gasping for long.
I wonder if I can keep myself from buying anything else (other than the Kaufman Valley Of The Kings set that's due out in April-May which I am going to buy if I have to hock my house for it) for the rest of the year. I've bought much too much fabric this year, and I fear even 12 quilts are not going to use it up.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
thoughts and more thoughts
So, I spent a chunk of the weekend cutting and sorting for the Supernova Quilt-Along, and am debating the relative wisdom of increasing the quilt 'stars' to 16 blocks instead of 9 blocks. I like large quilts and I think I have the fabric for it, so...now it's just a question of making the adjustments appropriate for the borders.
And, uh, finding the time.
April is going to be One Of Those Months. The Winter Hockey Season has just begun, so I have a game on Sunday (open competition), a game on Monday (veterans' competition), and training on Tuesdays. I also decided that I would attempt Script Frenzy this year, in which I attempt to write 100 pages of script in the 30 days of April.
I have two short stories due in April - 1000 word minimums, then one short story due in the first week of May - 2000 word minimum. And I've offered to help with a guidebook for newbies to online interests that a friend is compiling.
Plus there's still that Sanctuary Kaleidoscope sucking floorspace in the lounge room, and which I'll need to have laid out and either sewn or sorted out by the time I fly out to Europe on the 6th May...
Busytimes.
Away from the 'why do I overbook myself like this' front and back to the quilting front, I've decided I need more solid fabrics. All these lovely quilters around me are doing wonderful, beautiful things with solids and patterns and I have lots and lots of patterns...but nary a solid in sight!
And, uh, finding the time.
April is going to be One Of Those Months. The Winter Hockey Season has just begun, so I have a game on Sunday (open competition), a game on Monday (veterans' competition), and training on Tuesdays. I also decided that I would attempt Script Frenzy this year, in which I attempt to write 100 pages of script in the 30 days of April.
I have two short stories due in April - 1000 word minimums, then one short story due in the first week of May - 2000 word minimum. And I've offered to help with a guidebook for newbies to online interests that a friend is compiling.
Plus there's still that Sanctuary Kaleidoscope sucking floorspace in the lounge room, and which I'll need to have laid out and either sewn or sorted out by the time I fly out to Europe on the 6th May...
Busytimes.
Away from the 'why do I overbook myself like this' front and back to the quilting front, I've decided I need more solid fabrics. All these lovely quilters around me are doing wonderful, beautiful things with solids and patterns and I have lots and lots of patterns...but nary a solid in sight!
Thursday, March 24, 2011
WIP Wednesday (a few days late)
(Okay, so it's Thursday night, but it's been a really busy week and next week is worse!)
I finally have the layout working for the Sanctuary Quilt!
Thanks for the advice and encouragement, Lee!
It's still a lot busier than I like, but the pattern is coming much clearer now. One thing I'll have to keep in mind when cutting and placing the rest of the blocks is that the darker and solid colours will become the visual anchors for the quilt, so I should use them very deliberately.
Also, I've run out of fabric, so I've had to order in some more yardage to complete it! These are all the wedges I cut laid out with some of the corners filled in - I'm thinking the final configuration will be at least 9 blocks by 9 blocks, which should be about 60"x60". I think I might make some borders for this, although I'm not sure exactly what, or whether I really want to go through another round of piecing.
That's unlikely to be finished before I head off to Europe in May, though!
---
I finally got my act together, picked my fabric and photographed them. The new phone is a little dodgy, so it's not a fantastic piece of photography:
I figured I'd use up some smallprint FQs I bought in a bundle aeons ago, as well as drag in a bunch of whites-on-creams that I have lying around. It should be a pretty, bright, classic quilt. Theoretically.
Now, the really tricky part will be actually quilting it before the deadline for the comp!
(And, crap-o-rama, I have to start working up my patterns for the Moda challenge thingy.)
I finally have the layout working for the Sanctuary Quilt!
Thanks for the advice and encouragement, Lee!
It's still a lot busier than I like, but the pattern is coming much clearer now. One thing I'll have to keep in mind when cutting and placing the rest of the blocks is that the darker and solid colours will become the visual anchors for the quilt, so I should use them very deliberately.
Also, I've run out of fabric, so I've had to order in some more yardage to complete it! These are all the wedges I cut laid out with some of the corners filled in - I'm thinking the final configuration will be at least 9 blocks by 9 blocks, which should be about 60"x60". I think I might make some borders for this, although I'm not sure exactly what, or whether I really want to go through another round of piecing.
That's unlikely to be finished before I head off to Europe in May, though!
I finally got my act together, picked my fabric and photographed them. The new phone is a little dodgy, so it's not a fantastic piece of photography:
I figured I'd use up some smallprint FQs I bought in a bundle aeons ago, as well as drag in a bunch of whites-on-creams that I have lying around. It should be a pretty, bright, classic quilt. Theoretically.
Now, the really tricky part will be actually quilting it before the deadline for the comp!
(And, crap-o-rama, I have to start working up my patterns for the Moda challenge thingy.)
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
WIP Wednesday: the Sanctuary Kaleidoscope
I finished the Moda Jelly Roll competition design. Now I have to put together instructions for it and photograph it. Easy peasy! (hah)
Which brings us to the quilt for April 2011 (we're ahead, I know; that's okay) - the Sanctuary Kaleidoscope.
I really like the fabric choices in this FQ bundle - Berry Sanctuary, I think it was called at Fat Quarter Quilting. So bright and beautifully contrasting!
The fabric stack:
The fabric spread:
This was my first attempt at laying out the pieces in a kaleidoscope:
That was just a starter to get the feel of the colours and fabrics and to work out how it was all going to fit together. And whether it was going to fit together.
Initially, I liked the strong patterns in the layout but then while sewing the blocks together, I decided I wanted to break it up more, which gave me this:
I'm not sure I like it so much now: the pattern gets too easily lost in the noise. It's salvageable - there's still have about half to two-thirds of the blocks to make - that's only 26 blocks there and I was hoping for an 8x8 block quilt (at least 60"x60") which means another 40 or so to go.
Redesigning with an eye to what I still have and what effect I want would probably be the best process to finding a good solution. Lay out the existing blocks and work with/design around those until I have something that maintains the shapes and colour blends, but still contains enough diversity to make it interesting for the eye.
I also need to be more careful when sewing - at least one of the blocks in there was supposed to be pieced differently and then I got my wedges out of order while sewing and it all went haywire.
This weekend is either going to be the Weekend Of Working It All Out, or the Weekend Of Sitting In A Blue Funk Wondering Why I Do This To Myself. I have Sunday mostly free at least...
Which brings us to the quilt for April 2011 (we're ahead, I know; that's okay) - the Sanctuary Kaleidoscope.
I really like the fabric choices in this FQ bundle - Berry Sanctuary, I think it was called at Fat Quarter Quilting. So bright and beautifully contrasting!
The fabric spread:
This was my first attempt at laying out the pieces in a kaleidoscope:
That was just a starter to get the feel of the colours and fabrics and to work out how it was all going to fit together. And whether it was going to fit together.
Initially, I liked the strong patterns in the layout but then while sewing the blocks together, I decided I wanted to break it up more, which gave me this:
I'm not sure I like it so much now: the pattern gets too easily lost in the noise. It's salvageable - there's still have about half to two-thirds of the blocks to make - that's only 26 blocks there and I was hoping for an 8x8 block quilt (at least 60"x60") which means another 40 or so to go.
Redesigning with an eye to what I still have and what effect I want would probably be the best process to finding a good solution. Lay out the existing blocks and work with/design around those until I have something that maintains the shapes and colour blends, but still contains enough diversity to make it interesting for the eye.
I also need to be more careful when sewing - at least one of the blocks in there was supposed to be pieced differently and then I got my wedges out of order while sewing and it all went haywire.
This weekend is either going to be the Weekend Of Working It All Out, or the Weekend Of Sitting In A Blue Funk Wondering Why I Do This To Myself. I have Sunday mostly free at least...
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Supernova Quilt-Along
Joining the Supernova Quilt-Along over at Freshly Pieced! The last quilt-along went so well, I think I'll try this one! And I certainly have sufficient stash for it!
Hopefully it doesn't go into May, because I'm probably not going to finish it if that's the case.
WIP Wednesday tomorrow. The nightmare that is the Sanctuary Kaleidoscope to be displayed...
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
A Nation On The Rails - Quilt #2, 2011
Quilt Top #2 2011 - the red, white, and blue rail fence - is complete! And we're only halfway through Feb!
And completed!
Showing the complete lay of the quilt - with the cat in the background!
If I did it over again, I'd do it slightly differently, I think. A couple of the solid blocks in the centre break up the movement more than I like, but the overall effect works.
Does anyone have ideas for a name for it?
I like naming quilts.
eg. this one is named 'cathedral windows':
That's not the design, but that's the quilt's name.
Right now, this quilt is "railfence in abstract", although I'm thinking perhaps 'Mondrian on the Tracks' except that Mondrian is a lot more square and linear and more colourful. On the other hand, 'A Nation On The Rails' might be an appropriate commentary for the times, perhaps?
I haven't named the postage stamp quilt yet either:
I'm thinking either 'The Penny Patches' (after the Penny Black, which was the first stamp issued by the UK), or 'That's A Lot Of Letters!'.
Showing the complete lay of the quilt - with the cat in the background!
If I did it over again, I'd do it slightly differently, I think. A couple of the solid blocks in the centre break up the movement more than I like, but the overall effect works.
Does anyone have ideas for a name for it?
I like naming quilts.
eg. this one is named 'cathedral windows':
That's not the design, but that's the quilt's name.
Right now, this quilt is "railfence in abstract", although I'm thinking perhaps 'Mondrian on the Tracks' except that Mondrian is a lot more square and linear and more colourful. On the other hand, 'A Nation On The Rails' might be an appropriate commentary for the times, perhaps?
I haven't named the postage stamp quilt yet either:
I'm thinking either 'The Penny Patches' (after the Penny Black, which was the first stamp issued by the UK), or 'That's A Lot Of Letters!'.
Monday, February 14, 2011
life went crazy; so did the rail fence
So, my life the last couple of weeks has been kind of crazy.
My little kitty - fur-shedder, despoiler of quilt layouts, and all-around general dark matter on any quilting project I happen to be working on - got really really sick, resulting in a complete loss of appetite and a weight loss of 0.5kg. Which, in a cat who weighed only 3.5kg to begin with is a lot of weight.
For a while, I was worried that she'd never sit on one of my quilts again.
In and out of vets, appointments, blood tests, and medications later, she's stable and healthy and kicking like crazy. Hates medication like a big hater-y thing.
And is quite happy to flop down on mummy's current projects. Which mummy does not mind at all right now.
Current project: The Rail Fence In Abstraction
Starting with the fabrics:
Cut into strips:
Then strip-sewn into rows and cut into blocks. (I don't think I have pics of this section of the process.)
A test layout of the blocks, just to get an idea of how it would look:
I decided against doing your standard tri- or quad-colour layout, and instead went for something a little more complicated:
And the final pic of the top cometh tonight after I've ironed out the seams. I'm not 100% happy with it - those big chunks of solid in the middle of the quilt are bothering me but I'm not minded to rip the whole thing up and redo.
I'd lay it out slightly differently next time, I think.
Next project: my entry for the Moda Jelly Roll competition.
And then the Sanctuary quilt for Agam Darshi, which is probably going to be a long and painstaking quilt to put together...
My little kitty - fur-shedder, despoiler of quilt layouts, and all-around general dark matter on any quilting project I happen to be working on - got really really sick, resulting in a complete loss of appetite and a weight loss of 0.5kg. Which, in a cat who weighed only 3.5kg to begin with is a lot of weight.
For a while, I was worried that she'd never sit on one of my quilts again.
In and out of vets, appointments, blood tests, and medications later, she's stable and healthy and kicking like crazy. Hates medication like a big hater-y thing.
And is quite happy to flop down on mummy's current projects. Which mummy does not mind at all right now.
Current project: The Rail Fence In Abstraction
Cut into strips:
Then strip-sewn into rows and cut into blocks. (I don't think I have pics of this section of the process.)
A test layout of the blocks, just to get an idea of how it would look:
I decided against doing your standard tri- or quad-colour layout, and instead went for something a little more complicated:
And the final pic of the top cometh tonight after I've ironed out the seams. I'm not 100% happy with it - those big chunks of solid in the middle of the quilt are bothering me but I'm not minded to rip the whole thing up and redo.
I'd lay it out slightly differently next time, I think.
Next project: my entry for the Moda Jelly Roll competition.
And then the Sanctuary quilt for Agam Darshi, which is probably going to be a long and painstaking quilt to put together...
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Sanctuary Fabric collection!
The Sanctuary collected by Patty Young has arrived! And it is beautiful!
Stacked up.
Fanned out. (I suck at fabric porn, I know.)
I admit, I was expecting a warmer yellow than we got, but it's a nice cool contrast in the midst of it all.
This fabric is definitely going towards a quilt for Agam Darshi (Kate Freelander in Sanctuary).
Now to pick the quilt type for it! I'm thinking of the kaleidoscope block done up here as World In Stitches' 'Under The Sea' quilt. I want that flow and meld of patterns from one block to the next, with the choice of colours emphasising the circular patterns than on the square block itself.
I also received two Moda Jelly Rolls with the Sanctuary collection: Central Park and the Bella Solids in Snow. They're being used to create a quilt for the Jelly Roll Dream competition. Although I've started making my blocks and I'm not entirely sure I like the colour choices. It feels too light (and sunny), while the other one of this quilt type that I made had more oomph.
Well, we'll wait until we're done. It'll be nicely dramatic, and I have a recipient already in mind for it.
Stacked up.
Fanned out. (I suck at fabric porn, I know.)
I admit, I was expecting a warmer yellow than we got, but it's a nice cool contrast in the midst of it all.
This fabric is definitely going towards a quilt for Agam Darshi (Kate Freelander in Sanctuary).
Now to pick the quilt type for it! I'm thinking of the kaleidoscope block done up here as World In Stitches' 'Under The Sea' quilt. I want that flow and meld of patterns from one block to the next, with the choice of colours emphasising the circular patterns than on the square block itself.
I also received two Moda Jelly Rolls with the Sanctuary collection: Central Park and the Bella Solids in Snow. They're being used to create a quilt for the Jelly Roll Dream competition. Although I've started making my blocks and I'm not entirely sure I like the colour choices. It feels too light (and sunny), while the other one of this quilt type that I made had more oomph.
Well, we'll wait until we're done. It'll be nicely dramatic, and I have a recipient already in mind for it.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
postage stamp quilt: finished!
It is finished! (Well, the top, anyway.)
One postage stamp quilt. Signed-up 3rd January, finished 30th January. Fastest turnaround time I've ever had in a quilt, I think!
The finished top!
It's the scrappiest quilt-top I've ever made - usually, I select specific fabrics and the pattern is very organised. But the decision to use a range of light-coloured fabrics rather than a single fabric or several identically-shaded fabrics makes it look very scrappy - like it was made from lots of little odds and ends.
If you look at some of the other quilts in the quilt-along, you'll see what I mean.
I didn't have time to put together all the in-progress posts while I was making it, so here's some catch-up along the way!
The cut strips laid out in blocks, but not yet sewn together.
The cut strips laid out in the overall quilt pattern, but not yet sewn together.
Finished blocks.
I got 50 quilt blocks out of the strips, and it took 49 to make the quilt-top - 7 rows of 7 blocks. It's a pretty big quilt, too - about 70"x70", and visually busy.
It's also the first quilt top I've finished that doesn't automatically have a recipient. So I could save it for a rainy day, or gift it out to someone. I was going to auction it off for the Queensland floods, but I've donated to the flood appeals for Queensland, Victoria, and put an equal dollar amount in to Medecines Sans Frontieres for international medical aid. So maybe I'll save this one for a rainy day?
Although I do have a friend I promised a birthday quilt to back a couple of years ago and never got one done for her...
One postage stamp quilt. Signed-up 3rd January, finished 30th January. Fastest turnaround time I've ever had in a quilt, I think!
The finished top!
It's the scrappiest quilt-top I've ever made - usually, I select specific fabrics and the pattern is very organised. But the decision to use a range of light-coloured fabrics rather than a single fabric or several identically-shaded fabrics makes it look very scrappy - like it was made from lots of little odds and ends.
If you look at some of the other quilts in the quilt-along, you'll see what I mean.
I didn't have time to put together all the in-progress posts while I was making it, so here's some catch-up along the way!
The cut strips laid out in blocks, but not yet sewn together.
The cut strips laid out in the overall quilt pattern, but not yet sewn together.
Finished blocks.
I got 50 quilt blocks out of the strips, and it took 49 to make the quilt-top - 7 rows of 7 blocks. It's a pretty big quilt, too - about 70"x70", and visually busy.
It's also the first quilt top I've finished that doesn't automatically have a recipient. So I could save it for a rainy day, or gift it out to someone. I was going to auction it off for the Queensland floods, but I've donated to the flood appeals for Queensland, Victoria, and put an equal dollar amount in to Medecines Sans Frontieres for international medical aid. So maybe I'll save this one for a rainy day?
Although I do have a friend I promised a birthday quilt to back a couple of years ago and never got one done for her...
Sunday, January 23, 2011
fabric post! Under The Australian Sun
Under The Australian Sun by Leesa Chandler for Robert Kaufman fabrics.
I have to say, I have a yen for Robert Kaufman fabrics. They're a very weak spot of mine, and this set is no different!
Plus: Australiana! Perfect for a quilt to send overseas and remind you of our sunburned country!
Right now, I'm trying to work out what to use this in. And when I'll have the chance.
I've also ordered the Patty Young 'Sanctuary' fabric collection. Too much fabric, not enough quilts!
I have to say, I have a yen for Robert Kaufman fabrics. They're a very weak spot of mine, and this set is no different!
Plus: Australiana! Perfect for a quilt to send overseas and remind you of our sunburned country!
Right now, I'm trying to work out what to use this in. And when I'll have the chance.
I've also ordered the Patty Young 'Sanctuary' fabric collection. Too much fabric, not enough quilts!
Friday, January 21, 2011
fabric eek
So...I just bought some fabric for a quilt for Agam Darshi, appropriately named "Sanctuary Fat Quarter set in Chocolate Berry, with three yards of Sherbet Aromatherapy for the backing.
...
I have a pattern and everything worked out for this quilt: we'll see how it goes. Perhaps it could be our February or March project?
...
I have a pattern and everything worked out for this quilt: we'll see how it goes. Perhaps it could be our February or March project?
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Because my life, other than the typical work stress, is very boring.
So, it's been a busy week what with one thing and another.
After reading about how someone stuck in Nebraska during a snowstorm used the time to make friends and quilt, I'm wondering if I should start learning how to do these hexagon quilts.
I've always seen them as a little too fiddly - plus, hand-sewing? How quaint!
But I'm beginning to see how hand-sewing would be good for occupying your hands while your mind and mouth are otherwise occupied. ie. discussion and conversation.
I'm not about to give up writing, but it's nearly impossible to chat and write at the same time, and sometimes I'd like to be in a conversation (that isn't online) while my hands are otherwise occupied. And when I'm in Europe later this year, I'm definitely going to need something to occupy my hands while I'm chatting with people. There'll still be retreat-and-write time, but I also want to socialise as well. Just a little bit. I can always fall back on retreat-and-write if things get hairy!
I have, uh, also signed up for a quilting cruise in late August next year. From Port Canaveral, Florida through the Caribbean. (B1 and B2, do not mention to the parentals!) *coughs* And maybe when we get back on the Sat, I could sneak over to Dragon*Con in Atlanta for a few days? *coughs*
Okay, so I'm missing the years when I could take two months of vacation and travel and see people and go places and conventions and stuff like that. I miss that. A lot. And being able to see and stay with my friends all over the world!
--
In other quilting news:
The strip-sets for the postage stamp quilt-along (at ps. i quilt) have been sewn together, after much cursing and assorted grumping and several instances of running out of bobbin thread[1].Most of it ws done while watching The Losers movie so I could write for the DW community's Ante Up Losers ficathon, which I have completed but am far from satisfied with. However, there's another two weeks before the archive goes live, so I have time in which to expand, expand, expand!
1. Seriously, why don't machine makers just create a second place to put an entire 100 yard spool of cotton and run that into the underside of the machine? It would make so much more sense than having to separately fill this little bobbin with about 20 yards of thread...and then run out in the middle of sewing a seam. Bloody annoying.
We were asked to take the strips and sort them into 16 sets of five strips - 8 sets of light-dark-light-dark-light, and 8 sets of dark-light-dark-light-dark - and sew them together.
And here they are!
These are laid out in a chequerboard, rather like the way they're (probably) going to end up in the quilt. But it looked pretty staid like that. So I arranged them differently and took another photo!
Much more visually interesting, don't you think?
I also took a close-up of the fabrics, so it's easier to see the individual designs on the batiks. The range is mostly Hoffman's Bali Pops, although there are...several others in there. I no longer remember the fabrics, and this is a stash-buster quilt for me, so nothing matches, per se. But it all goes together in the end, when you look at it as a whole quilt and not just focusing on the little fabrics.
(Still, there's something in me that envies the lovely clean, sharp white strips and the brilliant colours of the fabrics being used by the other quilters in this quilt-along. It's just fabric envy...
The light-dark-light-dark-light side of the circle:
The dark-light-dark-light-dark of the circle:
I really really do love these batik strips. Batiks in general are wonderful IMO - those lovely fluid colours, vivid and bright, and some of them exquisitely detailed! The next update to the postage stamp quilt-along is due on Tuesday (my time), and I'll probably spend the next few days after that madly trying to get that step done.
But until then, I have FREE TIME! (Sort of. I have other writing projects to do, porn battles to write and prompt for, and kinkmemes to get down and dirty with!
--
The Rail Fence
I'm doing this at the same time as the postage stamp quilt. I'm not sure how long it will take, or whether it will work, or how well it will turn out. But it's such an easy pattern, and these materials were made for each other, so it seems sensible to use them! (Although I could probably have done another Double Irish Chain with them, but still. This is more interesting, I think.)
The fabric:
A detail of the fabric:
The blue is a very dark blue - very saturated, almost black. And there's nearly as much of it as there is of the white, and about 1/3 less of the red. But that's okay, I think I've worked all that into my cunning plan...
The first strips cut and sewn together. It's not going to be a standard "rail-fence" quilt. The fabric will be cut as though it's a rail fence, but the colours won't make it look like a rail fence.
Actually, I'm not sure that this is going to work out well. It might turn out crap. I hope not, but looking at it now, I'm wondering just a little bit!
Finally, I have my friend Suds' wedding quilt in my hands at last! All quilted and so very pretty! Although now I have to do the edging. Handsewing again...
Ah well, project for the end of Janury, perhaps?
So, it's been a busy week what with one thing and another.
I've always seen them as a little too fiddly - plus, hand-sewing? How quaint!
But I'm beginning to see how hand-sewing would be good for occupying your hands while your mind and mouth are otherwise occupied. ie. discussion and conversation.
I'm not about to give up writing, but it's nearly impossible to chat and write at the same time, and sometimes I'd like to be in a conversation (that isn't online) while my hands are otherwise occupied. And when I'm in Europe later this year, I'm definitely going to need something to occupy my hands while I'm chatting with people. There'll still be retreat-and-write time, but I also want to socialise as well. Just a little bit. I can always fall back on retreat-and-write if things get hairy!
I have, uh, also signed up for a quilting cruise in late August next year. From Port Canaveral, Florida through the Caribbean. (B1 and B2, do not mention to the parentals!) *coughs* And maybe when we get back on the Sat, I could sneak over to Dragon*Con in Atlanta for a few days? *coughs*
Okay, so I'm missing the years when I could take two months of vacation and travel and see people and go places and conventions and stuff like that. I miss that. A lot. And being able to see and stay with my friends all over the world!
--
In other quilting news:
The strip-sets for the postage stamp quilt-along (at ps. i quilt) have been sewn together, after much cursing and assorted grumping and several instances of running out of bobbin thread[1].
1. Seriously, why don't machine makers just create a second place to put an entire 100 yard spool of cotton and run that into the underside of the machine? It would make so much more sense than having to separately fill this little bobbin with about 20 yards of thread...and then run out in the middle of sewing a seam. Bloody annoying.
We were asked to take the strips and sort them into 16 sets of five strips - 8 sets of light-dark-light-dark-light, and 8 sets of dark-light-dark-light-dark - and sew them together.
And here they are!
These are laid out in a chequerboard, rather like the way they're (probably) going to end up in the quilt. But it looked pretty staid like that. So I arranged them differently and took another photo!
Much more visually interesting, don't you think?
I also took a close-up of the fabrics, so it's easier to see the individual designs on the batiks. The range is mostly Hoffman's Bali Pops, although there are...several others in there. I no longer remember the fabrics, and this is a stash-buster quilt for me, so nothing matches, per se. But it all goes together in the end, when you look at it as a whole quilt and not just focusing on the little fabrics.
(Still, there's something in me that envies the lovely clean, sharp white strips and the brilliant colours of the fabrics being used by the other quilters in this quilt-along. It's just fabric envy...
The light-dark-light-dark-light side of the circle:
The dark-light-dark-light-dark of the circle:
I really really do love these batik strips. Batiks in general are wonderful IMO - those lovely fluid colours, vivid and bright, and some of them exquisitely detailed! The next update to the postage stamp quilt-along is due on Tuesday (my time), and I'll probably spend the next few days after that madly trying to get that step done.
But until then, I have FREE TIME! (Sort of. I have other writing projects to do, porn battles to write and prompt for, and kinkmemes to get down and dirty with!
--
The Rail Fence
I'm doing this at the same time as the postage stamp quilt. I'm not sure how long it will take, or whether it will work, or how well it will turn out. But it's such an easy pattern, and these materials were made for each other, so it seems sensible to use them! (Although I could probably have done another Double Irish Chain with them, but still. This is more interesting, I think.)
The fabric:
A detail of the fabric:
The blue is a very dark blue - very saturated, almost black. And there's nearly as much of it as there is of the white, and about 1/3 less of the red. But that's okay, I think I've worked all that into my cunning plan...
The first strips cut and sewn together. It's not going to be a standard "rail-fence" quilt. The fabric will be cut as though it's a rail fence, but the colours won't make it look like a rail fence.
Actually, I'm not sure that this is going to work out well. It might turn out crap. I hope not, but looking at it now, I'm wondering just a little bit!
Finally, I have my friend Suds' wedding quilt in my hands at last! All quilted and so very pretty! Although now I have to do the edging. Handsewing again...
Ah well, project for the end of Janury, perhaps?
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
postage stamp quilt along - creating strip-sets
So: I've joined in with the ps. I quilt January quilt-along, for which we're making a postage stamp quilt.
The reason it's called a postage stamp quilt is because it's made up of tiny little 2"x2" squares. LOTS OF THEM.
Traditionally, one makes a postage stamp quilt out of scraps. And probably sews all the squares together individually. Did I mention that there are LOTS OF THEM?
Luckily, the quilt-along isn't going to be sewing individual squares together - we're going to strip-piece it!
First step: picking the fabrics for the quilt. I'm using a few batik jelly rolls that I've got lying around. One set of 'darks' and one set of 'lights'.
I would have preferred to use a solid white print for the pale strips - the blogger at ps. i quilt is using white solids - but I don't have any to hand and I don't have the time to order any in. So this set is going to be light-and-dark batiks and I can hopefully swing it so it provides sufficient contrast in the main body of the quilt.
First task was to separate the strips into sets of five: 8 sets of dark-light-dark-light-dark, and 8 sets of light-dark-light-dark-light.
I only had about 60 strips in the previous pic, so I had to raid my yardage stashes for more - and, moreover, for more vivid prints. I'm just not a fan of browns, browns, browns, purples, and, ooh, look, more browns...
I had some trouble with the relative values of the quilt - what the eye sees as dark vs. what it sees as light. Some of the fabrics that were in the 'dark' roll were actually 'light' values and so didn't contrast enough.
Enter the red-light filter to help reduce the colour and give us a better idea of the 'value' of the prints! (You can buy these at quilting stores, but, you know what? I made these with black cardboard and cellophane. So much cheaper and easier than getting myself to a quilting store.)
As you can see, most of the fabrics are pretty distinct from each other. There are one or two that might cause problems but on the whole, they won't be so noticeable.
Next up is the nasty, picky part: sewing all these strip sets together...
I'm thinking of auctioning off the finished quilt for the Queensland floods. I mean, it'll be a month or two before it's actually finished, but still...
Also, presently putting together the red, white & blue rail fence. Pics to go up tomorrow.
The reason it's called a postage stamp quilt is because it's made up of tiny little 2"x2" squares. LOTS OF THEM.
Traditionally, one makes a postage stamp quilt out of scraps. And probably sews all the squares together individually. Did I mention that there are LOTS OF THEM?
Luckily, the quilt-along isn't going to be sewing individual squares together - we're going to strip-piece it!
First step: picking the fabrics for the quilt. I'm using a few batik jelly rolls that I've got lying around. One set of 'darks' and one set of 'lights'.
I would have preferred to use a solid white print for the pale strips - the blogger at ps. i quilt is using white solids - but I don't have any to hand and I don't have the time to order any in. So this set is going to be light-and-dark batiks and I can hopefully swing it so it provides sufficient contrast in the main body of the quilt.
First task was to separate the strips into sets of five: 8 sets of dark-light-dark-light-dark, and 8 sets of light-dark-light-dark-light.
I only had about 60 strips in the previous pic, so I had to raid my yardage stashes for more - and, moreover, for more vivid prints. I'm just not a fan of browns, browns, browns, purples, and, ooh, look, more browns...
I had some trouble with the relative values of the quilt - what the eye sees as dark vs. what it sees as light. Some of the fabrics that were in the 'dark' roll were actually 'light' values and so didn't contrast enough.
Enter the red-light filter to help reduce the colour and give us a better idea of the 'value' of the prints! (You can buy these at quilting stores, but, you know what? I made these with black cardboard and cellophane. So much cheaper and easier than getting myself to a quilting store.)
As you can see, most of the fabrics are pretty distinct from each other. There are one or two that might cause problems but on the whole, they won't be so noticeable.
Next up is the nasty, picky part: sewing all these strip sets together...
I'm thinking of auctioning off the finished quilt for the Queensland floods. I mean, it'll be a month or two before it's actually finished, but still...
Also, presently putting together the red, white & blue rail fence. Pics to go up tomorrow.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
quilting 2011
All righty, so I've joined the ps.i quilt blog's quilt-along project for January - a postage stamp quilt. Which I'm slightly terrified of, because, whoa, all that sewing!
Still, there's no time like the present! I've chosen my fabrics - a mix-n-match of a number of jelly rolls I've had hanging around for a while and which were going to go into a log cabin quilt. Which I'm still doing, it's just going to take a bit more time!
Anyway, these are the fabric I've chosen to use from my stash:
(Hopefully that shows up: I'm not sure about how to post pics on Blogger yet.)
Right. Worked out how to post pics on Blogger. Most counterintuitive blogging interface I've yet worked with. Ugh.
Still, there's no time like the present! I've chosen my fabrics - a mix-n-match of a number of jelly rolls I've had hanging around for a while and which were going to go into a log cabin quilt. Which I'm still doing, it's just going to take a bit more time!
Anyway, these are the fabric I've chosen to use from my stash:
(Hopefully that shows up: I'm not sure about how to post pics on Blogger yet.)
Right. Worked out how to post pics on Blogger. Most counterintuitive blogging interface I've yet worked with. Ugh.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
testing some html
Not sure how this blog will take to HTML: bold underline italic strikethrough
something larger
I'm thinking of using this blog for my 12 quilts in 2011. I don't know if I'll have time to detail the ongoing process of the quilting but...we'll see.
Seriously Enjoying Life
something larger
I'm thinking of using this blog for my 12 quilts in 2011. I don't know if I'll have time to detail the ongoing process of the quilting but...we'll see.
Seriously Enjoying Life
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)