Avaland's 2016 Projects

Edited: Adorable grandson, Oliver, now aged 12.5 months.


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What I'm working on now:

I've finished enough multi-color scrap squares to put together another twin-sized quilt. They sit waiting in neat little piles.

Which got me thinking about doing a scrap quilt in New England autumn colors. It will be an oversized lap quilt, about 6 x 6 ft using 196 5 1/2 inch scrap squares.

The bed in the guest room became too small so the work-in-progress sits in the doorway under and in front of the wall o' books (and yes, I do walk across it). This is the best kind of puzzle as I try to transition colors (or not), move the eye from place to place, and see what I can get away with. There is all manner of fabric prints in here from banana prints to sock monkeys, strawberries to roses...and so on. Only about 45 more squares to go. I have been spelunking through every corner of the studio trying to find interesting prints in yellows and oranges...may have to make an emergency trip to some quilt shop or another....



Since I took this photo this morning (from the library ladder!), I've added another 10 or 12 squares.

I'm having my knee replaced on February 10th, so stockpiling things to work on, I suppose.

Oooh, I LOVE it!!

I need to get in gear and make a new thread for the year...

That is absolutely gorgeous! That kind of colorwork is so incredibly pleasing to the eye.

>2 scaifea:, >3 mabith: Thanks. Here are all of the blocks. The last half dozen had to be custom made so-to-speak, to fit specific "holes."

That's a great looking quilt. I'm in awe of people who can do those scrappy kinds of things. I tend to over-analyze where each fabric needs to go and whether each piece looks like it goes with the others. I do have a couple of scrap quilts going - well see how they come out.

>4 avaland: Your quilt leaves me almost breathless! It's very lovely.

>5 dudes22: I will be interested in seeing them!

>6 Lyndatrue: Thank you. That's exactly how the autumn here in New England leaves me, so exactly what I was going for.

As I said elsewhere, sunlight on the forest floor in autumn, Lois. This one will be a real beauty.

Again, simply gorgeous. You have such a great color sense.

>8 tiffin:, 9 Thanks. I think it's the first time I've wanted to capture an emotion.

Trying to finish up some random lap quilts. The one on the right was an experiment to see scraps sewn and cut into something OTHER than squares would make anything interesting (I really didn't have much of a plan, and had to make my own 10 inch hexagon template). Top is done as of a few minutes ago. The one on the left needs another 24-36 inches of scrappy strips added. This twas a sewing tangent I went off on after being fascinated with the pattern in one single 6 inch scrap square. This should teach me that I don't have to act everything out. Will probably keep the hexies and donate the strippy one. Will probably quilt both myself on my machine.



I have at least UFO quilt tucked away in a pizza box that probably wouldn't take much to finish, and another random few small ones that were things I did to fill time in between "more important" or perhaps, "more intentional" projects.
But also, they must remain squirreled away as I need to clean things up so I can start my daughter's quilt (scrappy chevrons in columns, her choice)

Oh - I really like that hexagon one. The solid black really makes the blocks pop. Looks like lots of scraps in each hexagon too! I really should work on reducing my scraps this year.

>12 dudes22: Be careful. In your effort to reduce scraps you may create so much more (and like it)!

Inspired by Amber's post, I thought I'd post my "studio" space in three photos. We bought this house not quite two years ago now, so I had the benefit of planning more or less from scratch (I can't tell you how many decades I laid out patterns for one thing or another on kitchen tables, beds or the floor, so, I've done my time) and the benefit of having children grown and no one to please but myself (and, I suppose, the hubby). The first thing I did was remove the carpeting and put in a hard vinyl floor.

The bookshelves here came with the house. I am not OCD BUT these stacks look particularly good because I had to rearrange and tidy the after the mess I made making the squares for that Autumn quilt (and believe me, they were a mess!) That wooden thing in the foreground left is the water rower in its upright position which is not supposed to be there. The fabric is stacked by color but other shelves have florals, Asian, Fassett, Aboriginal, holiday, novelty/kids/brights...etc. There's a shelf of leftover batting pieces. I do adore playing with fabric.



This room, btw, is a back corner of the house. It's a bit cold these days. I have insulating shades I've yet to install, and a little space heater. From my seat at the machine I can see the birds at the feeder out of sight in the photo, and sometimes deer in the woods. The column shelving in each corner comes from Lowes or Home Depot (about $80 for each one?) A long length of pine bridges the two and I install cup hooks underneath for hanging things. Here you can see the bins of scraps I play out of. The dummies haven't been used for quite a while. I found that orange corduroy jumper at Goodwill recently and thought, "I'll make something out of it..." I like looking at it.



Finally, the back wall (the door is in the corner behind the water rower (see the bookshelves beyond?). So, the Kaffe Fassett gridded flannel stapled to the wall. Table on wheels that I've had for some time now. Metal shelving from either Uline.com or Home Depot. Small bureau holds mostly craft stuff. In the far left corner there are three long plastic file boxes which contain all kinds of patterns, all the way back to keyhole dresses and low slung, wide bell, bellbottoms. I used an old pants hanger to hang various small UFOs or finished pieces (there's another old pants holder on the back of the door with more). Pizza boxes with UFOs, various bins (somewhat mislabeled these days), and other equipment. The plastic bin in the foreground on top of the wastebasket is the stuff for my daughter's quilt which I will post later.



I would have liked to have twice as much room, but we have books also.... My husband's space needed are quite modest in comparison. Amazingly, I have every bit of my sewing and craft stuff in this room. That was the goal.

I should also mention that we recently had the overhead lighting replaced and a new circuit brought into the room. The light on the sewing machine dimmed and the fan slowed down every time the iron cycled. I sew a lot in daylight and with the Ott light near the machine. I think the next addition may be a portable air filter. There is a lot of cotton dust in the air when I'm playing with those scraps (makes me sneeze) and I can't help but think of the Mill Girls in the 19th century tending two or three looms with the air full of cotton....

That is a fabulous space, Lois. Talk about A Room of One's Own!

>16 lauralkeet: Exactly. And if it were TWICE as big, I'd have a nice big cushy chair and a footstool in there....

>14 avaland: Great space! I already take up too much of the house with my books. But I sure love those fabric shelves.

>18 labwriter: Oh, books, that's another story altogether. When we moved in we put some serious thought into where and how the books would be displayed, and we decided to invest some of the money we made from the house sale to accomplish this (rather than lining every wall with bookcases).

This is a wonderful centre of creation, Lois. Well deserved! I'm still at the working on the kitchen table and bed stage of things.

>20 tiffin: You deserve a creative space...although I'd worry about the up & down to a basement room.

I just stitched together four leftover pieces of batting to make a piece large enough for the hexie quilt. I plan to simply quilt that with some straight stitching and thought if I could get it done in the next two weeks, I'd have another quilt to bind during knee recovery. I would still like to get the scrappy rows quilt tinop done and out of the way before surgery in 2 1/2 weeks. During recovery I figure I can just make more scrap squares until I'm ready to start this:

My daughter, Larissa, is getting married come Labor Day weekend this year. Since I escaped the job of making her wedding dress, I said I would make her a quilt. She picked out strips and squares and fat quarters from my stash and then told me she wants the quilt it to look like the pattern in this fabric:



I've picked up some nice buttery-colored Kona cotton for the background (her color choice) and have been playing around trying to make the chevrons from 2.5 inch strips or 5 inch squares. I'll probably make templates eventually. I've told her that I don't think her plaids are going to work...



She wants a queen-sized with pillow tuck and generous overhangs so, yeah, a big quilt. Might not get done for the wedding.

I've usually seen chevrons done with half-square triangles. Or could you do it similar to a French braid? That would avoid templates.

Oh, I love the sewing space and the quilting projects and, well, just everything here!

>22 avaland: I love that pattern! Do you know a book called Plaids & Stripes: The Use of Directional Fabric in Quilts, by Roberta Horton? I had a ball making a plaid & stripe scrap quilt for my son using that book. It might be a help.

I'm kind of liking the chevrons in plaid, Lois. But then I'd like anything in plaid.

>23 dudes22: Betty, those shown were cut from strips and squares using the angle markers on my cutting ruler. The templates would avoid having to measure each time.

>24 scaifea: Thanks!

>25 labwriter: I am familiar with this book! I'm not sure it would be a help in this case but I'll keep it in mind.

>26 tiffin: The red plaid seems ok but the pink one doesn't. The difference is that the red has a simple and very symmetrical plaid, the pink is more complex and no matter where I center it, it will look off center. But knowing that, I'll continue with the ones I think might fly.

>27 avaland: Lois, I honestly like the pink plaid with the off centered look. But that's just me.

>22 avaland: That's going to make for a lovely quilt!

I'm amazed that you have bookcases not filled with books. ;-) I have other containers for my crafts!

I love love love your Autumn colours quilt. It is just beautiful. The colours are gorgeous. One day I might be able to produce something that lovely. I can only hope.

>31 judylou: I'm sure you will, Judy! Just keep at it and don't be afraid to take risks and experiment!

Echoing the comments on your Autumn colours quilt. I especially love the way green is worked in. Often it seems to be ignored for fall and yet it is an important part of it all; it's what we measure the seasonal colours against.

>33 SassyLassy: Thanks. That's exactly right. And I love the way you put it.

>33 SassyLassy: "Like"

Got home from the hospital on Saturday and each day gets a wee bit better. I did a little sewing of the quilt binding one day in the hospital (and it opened up a nice conversation about quilting with one of the women passing through my room one day) but mostly I wasn't up for much (seemed I got interrupted repeatedly anyway). I've since finished it.

I'm getting around just fine with a walker, but am more tired than I anticipated (actually, I hadn't anticipated being tired, I anticipated not being able to get around well). I'm hoping to get back in the sewing room very soon, if only for some basic sewing of blocks together. Still, I have either a nurse or PT who comes each day, then I must exercise 3 x a day, ice 6-8 hours a day...etc. so time is shorter than I expected. And I should not operate machinery if I'm on the heavy duty pain pills. LOL.

>36 avaland:
I must have missed that you were having surgery? I had both of my knees replaced just after Christmas and I would have thought that would be the best time for cross stitch ever, but I found I had little interest in anything, even reading, for several weeks. Thankfully, it does get better! Don't push yourself too hard. Your body knows... :-)

>36 avaland: So glad to "see" you safe at home. It is the brain fog/tiredness that seems to be the worst after surgery, but congratulations of finishing the binding and another project. Reading may be another matter, but what a great excuse to catch up on mysteries, lighter fiction and rereads!

Here's the finished lap quilt. This was a UFO top from over 10 years ago. I wanted to try a strip pieced Irish chain pattern that was in Quilts from the Quiltmaker's Gift, but of course I deviated and didn't do it all by the rules. I did go on to make a queen-sized Irish chain with bright squares but a white background. My daughter raffled that for the American Lung Association a few years ago.

>37 dkhiggin:, 38 I didn't anticipate the tiredness nor the amount of painkillers needed to do the PT. i actually resorted to Lamaze breathing at one point in yesterday's session (I think statement that must date me)

That's cute! Whenever I make a baby quilt, I also give The Quiltmaker's Gift aa part of the gift. I love the illustrations in that book. And if I give a quilt for a second baby, I give The Quiltmaker's Journey with it.

>40 dudes22: I've give the first as a gift but not the second. It makes a great gift, especially with a quilt!

>36 avaland: Recovery becomes a full-time project: exercise, ice, rest, repeat repeat. All the best to you.

>39 avaland: LOVE that Irish Chain with the black background!

Glad you're home and recovering, but sorry it's a struggle with fatigue and pain. PT always seems to be hard, no matter why it's needed. Hopefully improvement comes quickly, remember with painkillers taking them before you start something you know will hurt is more effective than after or during the exercises. (Though also make sure your physical therapist knows how painful it is, our bodies all heal at different rates and the 'usual' course may not be what your body needs.)

The lap quilt is gorgeous!

>39 avaland:
I did the exact same thing in therapy yesterday! I was being discharged, so the therapist was really pushing my bending and straightening... Breathe, Debbi, breathe!

>40 dudes22:, >41 avaland: My mom made twin-sized bed quilts for my daughters many years ago. We had fun shopping for the fabrics together and I loved the way the two quilts were similar and yet different. She also gifted a copy of The Quiltmaker's Gift. I'm not sure whether that came with the quilts, or at some other time. You've brought back some fond memories.

Healing takes a lot of energy. Therapy takes a lot of energy. That doesn't leave too much energy for the things we would like to do. But you sound like you are doing so well. While in hospital I attempted some cross stitch one night. I then had to pull it all out the next night. So back to Candy Crush I went. LOL!

I somehow missed that you were having surgery, too! I'm sorry for the tiredness and hope it passes quickly - and that the healing goes quickly, too!

Thanks for all the good wishes. It gets better a little every day. Today, I put on my winter jacket and took a walk outside with Ms. PT (at my request. I just really wanted some fresh air!) I just have to get over the reluctance to take more pain meds. I've just never thought of pain meds as a preemptive thing.

>45 lauralkeet: Awwwww.

>46 judylou: Yeah, my hand stitching is a bit off, but it's not a gift so I'm letting it fly as is (I am by no means a perfectionist).

I'm working on binding the second quilt and had to shuffle into the sewing room and sit at the sewing machine, use the pedal with my right foot (the surgical leg) and fix a line of sewing I did previously (and the earth did not stand still) Woot! After this binding, I have the squares to assemble for two of those scrap quilts (a general one and the Autumn one).

Bandage came off the incision today. And, out of curiosity, I put shoes on (I never wear shoes at home). Exciting, eh?

Finished binding this lap quilt which is more generous in size than the last. I'm sure I've posted photos of this while in process. The quilting was simply and hastily done (and a bit wobbly in places).

This started only as me wondering what a scrappy conglomerate would look like in a different shape besides square, so I chose a 10 " hexagon. I made up a cardboard template and started making the hexagons--with no plans what to do with them after! As I've said before, this should teach me not to act out everything that pops into my head.

Ha ha, I said it up there in msg 11. 😋

>49 avaland: Wow! Oh wow! I love this quilt.

Re pain meds (full disclosure, in one of my lives I was an RN): You need to stay on top of the pain, and take the meds before you rip-roaring-for-sure need them. They will work better, you will move more, and ultimately your recovery will go better.

Those must be some pretty small scraps if that's 10". I love the look with the black. It's really striking.

>49 avaland: Oh, that's gorgeous!!

Those bright scraps with the less common scrap-shape and the black, absolutely wonderful!

Oh yes. Keep taking those pills. Even when you don't think you need them. I stopped too early. Then had to go back on them again and suffer while they were taking hold.

Thanks, all. Good therapy.

I think the anticipatory pain therapy idea has finally sunk in. It's a different way of approaching things certainly.

Yesterday I sat at the sewing machine and stitched two rows of 13 blocks and then sewed the rows together. I tried the pedal with my right foot first but found it bothered my knee because the pedal tends to roam (and I was also attempting to use the knee pedal for lifting the presser foot...). So, I changed over to my left foot to finish. Not up for any marathons but a little bit a day should be doable.

Most of us are pretty wary of pain meds (maybe especially when we have crafting/reading to do and don't want muddled brains) but unless you're on pure morphine or under anesthesia they definitely don't work as well as we think they should. Glad you're able to be stitching some!

Beautiful quilt. Glad you are getting back into your quilting gradually. You'll eventually make it back up to full speed.e

Today, perhaps out of boredom, I start playing with some of my multitude of 5" squares, making 2-patch, 4-patch units and trimming a single 5" square to 4.5". There is a pattern here using two different units of 9. I'm playing a bit fast and loose with it.

I tried using a white-with-blue bits square for the ones that in this photo are a very pale blue batik. Clearly J didn't think the former worked. Not sure what I think about the pale squares either (and that's all there are). I also need to old a bit more with the 4 patch squares maneuvering the ones with lighter squares more strategically.

I've thought of doing the pale squares in black or a blue solid. It's supposed to suggest diagonal columns running through the design...again, I'm playing a bit loose with it.

I don't want things too scripted, if you know what I mean. Thoughts?

Hmmm. The pale squares are too pale, me thinks....

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Some alternatives. 1. Light prints 2. Light blue solid (these are not exactly the same color, had to take these from an old package of sample Kona solids as I didn't have any light blue solids in the stash)

These squares are supposed to work with the small 2.5 inch squares to "suggest" a diagonal pattern through the quilt but I've chosen to use light prints (mostly) in the 4x4 units to tone it down some.

Too white = stands out too much? Too blue=blends in too much? Would another shade work? Light prints = also blend in too much?

Maybe it needs to be more off white? (Those first squares are a white with hint of blue batik)

Maybe the light prints would look ok if I had more of a sampling to show?

Hmm, I think of those I definitely like the light prints best. Maybe a light grey that leans toward blue would work better than the very light blue or off-white?

To answer your question about the large white squares: they are what hit my eyes first and foremost, leaving the variety of blues and mixes to fade into the background somewhat unseen. The subtleties of the various blue patterns then gets lost, and they are very pretty, so should be seen. I would experiment with some cousins on the colour wheel, the greens, and perhaps even complimentary colours like oranges (but quiet values, not punch you in the nose ones). Or maybe with a light chambray kind of blue? Or Kaffe Fassett's "aboriginal dots" in blue? Or one of his "spots" prints?

The solid blues as the large squares make things duller, at least to my eye. I do think you need a bit of contrast, just not as emphatic as the white.

Another alternative might be to encroach into the whites with some blue triangles, creating a shimmering effect (see Jenny Bowker's Shimmering Triangles quilts).

Greens with blues make a water effect for me, which I love. It depends on where your imagination is going with this!

Light blue prints or slightly deeper blue batiks?

Another alternative might be to pick up on the smaller squares with the contrasting colours (look orange or pink on my screen) and arrange them so that they are "random diagonal".

I love the fabrics you have assembled here and know you will make something spectacular.

Good to hear about your knee progress.

I am not especially good with color stuff but agree with >64 tiffin: about the way the large white squares standing out too much. Seems to me more of a size thing. The smaller lighter squares look fine with the blues.

>63 mabith: I was thinking that I hadn't tried a gray blue yet.

>64 tiffin: Interesting ideas. I have some greens and purples (both of which lean towards blue) in the scrap pile to incorporate anyway, so I'll give that a think. I agree about the solid blues, too stagnant, imo. Nothing much special about this collection of fabrics (although you are only seeing part of the selection); I just pulled all of the blues, and some of the green/blue and blue/violets out of the 4 of 5 bins of squares.

>65 SassyLassy: Bits of pink. I did wonder about a slightly darker shade of batik, but I didn't have one to try (amazing! I will have to remedy that!)

>66 lauralkeet: 'Tis true about the size, but where the color of the squares is fixed and when it is quilted, it should all blend nicely.

Thanks for the feedback. I'll play around some more.

Purples would be nice and would give a kind of twilightish effect.

Another try with deeper shades of batiks. I don't have enough of either to fill all the square spots.

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And here is the pattern were I to use a white or off-white solid. Much more dramatic, of course, but I was hoping for much more subtlety and I wanted to use the blue scraps. Someday I'm going to do this with natural muslin and multi-color scraps but that's not today😛

{photo removed}

I think I may go with light prints or the batiks (and maybe not all the same but within the same range), the same ones as in the 4x4 squares. I've rearranged the 4x4s a bit since the first photo and it might work. I just have to buy more...

Weirdly, I can't seem to edit the message above but but in reference to my last comments above, I was referring to the prints in #61. Will try a few other things, tho.

I prefer the mix in #69. The blue squares seem to make the pattern flow better.

Thank you all for your input. I have decided to scrap this pattern entirely and have fallen back on a pattern I did a few years ago that uses some of the same pieces, plus 6.5 inch squares.

Will post photos momentarily.

You can see the pattern more easily in this scrap holiday quilt I made (apologies for not rotating the image). If you look in a corner you can see that each 8x10 block is made up of 1- 6.5" square with 3 - 2.5" squares and a 4.5" square with some combo of 2.5" squares or 2.5 x 4.5" rectangles.



And here's the beginning of the blue quilt. This pattern allows me to showcase some lovely prints that were too strong for the other pattern, yet also allows me to reuse some of the units already made up.



And, yes, I've added some blue-greens, and blue-violets to give it a bit more character and variety.

I like the new pattern and the addition of the blue-greens and blue-violets. Very nice.

Oh, yes, lovely!

That will work. I really like the blue-violets and how they are working.

Those arrows. IS that another project you are working on? I like the colours.

>77 judylou: If you mean the chevrons on the left, then yes...sort of. My daughter wants a quilt that looks like the fabric print in post #22. She went through my stash over Thanksgiving and picked out fabrics from the piles on the shelf and various bins. Those that are hanging there are my attempts to see if I can make them from 2.5 inch strips and 5 inch squares. It's going to be another of those precision projects that I have to construct from scratch, so I've put it off for a while.* Doubt it will be done by her wedding in September.

*She may be coming up to visit later this month when the school she teaches at has spring break.

Progress! This pattern works up easily and is rather addictive. Here's slightly more than half of the blocks, not in any final arrangement but out on the floor nonetheless. I have a few blocks where the large square leans more towards the purple coming....

(one of the advantages of having a library ladder is to be able to take better photos of quilts on the floor!)

Those blues are gorgeous! I like the pattern, too.

I really like the addition of those purple tones. Another thing I really like is the circles and swirls within the squares. It will be wonderful.

I also really like your holiday quilt... so cheerful in the middle of winter.

That library ladder does have that additional benefit, but don't spend too much time on the floor until your knee is healed.

>80 labwriter: Thanks.
>81 SassyLassy: Yes, those prints provide a lot more movement, don't they?
I actually sat in an office chair to place these on the floor (although it doesn't wheel across the carpet very well) to avoid too much bending over-type knee stress. And I only went up one rung on the ladder.

The new blue design is looking great!

>79 avaland: Love all the blue in the quilt!

Did you know that this thread is now in the top 20 in hot topics? What a passionate group!

Good to know you're not getting carried away with the knee.

My knees have never felt so young. :) Though I have gotten stuck in bathtubs due to my own physical issues. Definitely not a fun feeling.

>85 SassyLassy: LOL. Knee surgery is hot! And we read books! I was listening to Juliette Stevenson read Middlemarch on my iPhone today while the PT was doing that electrical thing and ice combo to my knee.

The blue quilt pictured above in #79 has now been completely assembled. It's about twice the size of what is pictured. I have only to finish assembling the rows of the multi-colored scrap quilt (3rd of its kind), and wait for the backing material that I ordered to arrive before I can send it off to the quilter. Will post pictures when the two are completed.

Perhaps I will tackle my daughter's chevron quilt next, but she'll be here around the 30th so I may wait in order to be sure she hasn't changed her mind!

Otherwise, I have more than a few ideas to play with.

Note: knee is doing well. I walked up and down some stairs recently like a normal person! (it was amazing!) I still do about 2/3rd a mile in walking and 15 minutes now on the bike at L3.

I'm liking the harmony in the blue quilt much more now. The big white squares were too *biff sock pow*. This is more like a starry night now.

Thanks, Tui. I like it much better than the previous incarnation.

Both twin-sized quilts were mailed off to Carla the Quilter today! The autumn quilt still sits on my table partially assembled, haven't touched it in two days....

>88 avaland: Glad your knee is improving. Mine is acting up. I've had to wear my knee brace the last couple of days. It's off at the moment, but I probably need to put it on while sleeping. I tend to turn it if I'm not wearing it then.

>88 avaland:; >91 thornton37814: Knees! Who knew? If it ain't one thing, it's another. I'm sending you both healing vibes for your knees. Mine are both good now, and I pray that they stay that way. It's funny, I used to wonder when I was 30-something who would help me crawl around on the floor to pin my quilts when I was 80-something. Then I hit my 60s. But what I didn't know when I was 30 was that there are work-arounds to crawling around on the floor. Ha.

>91 thornton37814:, >92 labwriter: Thanks for stopping by. The knee is fine. I walk over a mile (on a hill) and can use the stationary bike for 25 minutes. I'm looking forward to adding more distance and time to both of those in the future. I have only two PT sessions left. It's been 7 weeks today since surgery.

I finally got the "October Fever" quilt* together and ironed (the latter is a little crazy-making because of the 100s of seam edges on the backside). I fussed over an appropriate backing material, and was set on a batik but couldn't find one I was happy with... But...while shopping I figured I could get three other backing pieces for the same price as a batik one, so ordered 3 from Hancocks at Paducah. I like to have a few on hand anyway. If none of three seem appropriate, I'll see what I can find elsewhere.

I also have something in mind for the machine quilting that will require a few different threads, so that's another mission I'm on. Usually I'm not this fussy about the quilting but this quilt means something different to me than most of the others.
.
Other than that, when my daughter okays—once again—her choices regarding the chevron quilt** when she stops by this weekend, I will begin that in earnest.

*shown in message # 4
**shown in message # 22

In the meanwhile I have a 6 ft table in the family room covered in soil-filled, black plastic trays awaiting my seeding of them (I would be embarrassed to tell you how many kinds and varieties of flowers I'm planting this year.

I thought I might tackle a sample piece for the chevron quilt (see #22 above, which btw is a fabric print not a quilt), after cutting the templates last night. So, using some scraps...



Conclusion? The precision needed to be applied here, using this scale, may tip my sanity over the edge, especially when one considers that each column would be roughly 9 feet long! Mind you, I am the queen of fudging, but there is little room for fudging. I've even thought about how I would do it if I paper-pieced it. She wants a large queen-sized quilt (meaning: generous overhangs and a pillow tuck).

I enjoy a challenge usually, but not sure I'm up for this. I think I will have a chat with her and see what comes of it.

Ooh, goodness, the chevron quilt on that scale would be a very hard task. What about making the chevrons jumbo sized so there are fewer pieces in the end?

I thought about that, Meredith, but a lot of the fabric she picked out from my stash is small pieces and strips, so I drew it up based on 2.5 inch increments.

I will look at the fabric pile again and see how much would be eliminated by doing that. I also think that the seams detract more than I would like although I know from experience the quilting takes the focus away from them.

>94 avaland: Wow. That does look pretty challenging, Lois.

>97 lauralkeet: I don't give up too easily, so I did a prototype in the same scale using some of the actual fabric she chose.



It went together better, but I'm still not liking it. The larger of the butter-colored spaces are mistakes, as the spaces in the fabric print are all the same. I reduced the spacing between columns to 2 inches instead of 2 1/2. And I've placed some extra unsewn pieces above and below just to look at it. Bleh. I'm really hoping to convince her to come up with something else.

Just tell her it isn't making you happy to do this pattern, to choose something else or let you come up with something yourself. I don't know about you, but my creative juices dry right up when someone directs me.

>99 tiffin: that's a good point. And if she isn't a quilter herself, she may not have that sixth sense for what will work and what won't. If it were me, I'd rather we agreed on color scheme and allowed the design to emerge through the creative process.

>100 lauralkeet:: that's it exactly.

I'm thinking this pattern is very similar to the French braid pattern. It also has that up-and-down motion to it. And you could still put solid strips between the braids. I've got a book I could lend you, although I'm sure you could find plenty of patterns on the web. And it goes together much easier than chevrons.

Thanks, all.

My daughter and I have had some back and forth*, and I've tinkered with things a bit. I spent some time drawing it out on large graph paper (I adore graph paper!) in hopes of coming up with a three-column block (using right triangles at the edges), but no combinations of chevrons really made that possible.

So, I've decided to go for it. I know, crazy, right? I do like a challenge and the more I've played around with it, the more comfortable I've become with it. I've calculated that I need 16 chevron columns that are 108" long and 17 narrow, butter-colored columns. All the chevrons, would you believe, are cut from 2 1/2 " strips, so we are using a lot of my strip stash she picked out along with fabrics I'll have to cut. She has a certain palate of colors and chose prints that looked "old-fashioned" to her, or otherwise appealed to her, and some solids.

I've eliminated chevron #1, the smallest ones seen in #94 above, but have created a larger one, now #4. This one will be used sparingly.

All the butter-colored spacer chevrons will be the same size, #2's.

Last night I went through the pile of strips she picked put and laid them out in readiness for being cut. I had to eliminate a few prints because of the direction, and some of the plaids aren't going to work. Today, I'll cut strips off the other yardage (if I'm not outside drilling drainage holes in my pots, pans, mugs and other ceramics that I use as planters! Beware the siren call of nice weather...). Will post when there is some progress.

in between working on this, I've been constructing more of my scrap squares. I'll soon have enough of those for yet another quilt, but have no one in mind for it. Could donate it, I suppose.

-----------------
>99 tiffin:, >100 lauralkeet: It certainly put a damper on the creative juices, but I would rather make something she will use than something she'll stick in a closet somewhere. There's a lot of quilting that is very left-brained stuff, and it's always a good exercise to stretch oneself so when you do have the inclination to run free you can mechanically do the things you envision.

>102 dudes22: Betty, I know the pattern you mean. I once did a table runner in it after seeing it in a quilt shop somewhere.

*she did suggest making the area of the chevron columns smaller and putting large borders on the quilt, but I've mostly outgrown borders and prefer all-over patterns these days.

OK, using the actual butter-colored background material and some of her chosen fabrics, here a few column pieces in a mock-up:

{photo removed due to posting more recent photos}

It did not take as long as I thought it would to assemble the columns, although I did have to pick out the seams and redo that red plaid (I put one of the sides in upside down). I've sent this photo to her and we'll see what she says...

That was quick: "Ooo looks good! Needs some yellow!" (I had to pull quite a bit of the yellow prints she picked because the tint was too close to the background; but I'm sure there is more in the pile)

Out of random curiosity, would it be more or less time consuming to applique the chevrons on the light background? The new sample columns are looking good!

It's very quiet as it stands, so yellow will perk it up. Good luck!

>105 mabith: Hand applique would be much, much more time consuming, and I think fusible applique would be too tedious.

>106 tiffin: Thanks. I think it will work out.

Oh, I'm loving the chevrons! Wonderful!

I like that - I think the wider solid stripe was a good choice.

>108 scaifea:, >109 dudes22: Thanks. I've think I've nearly cut out all the print/solid chevron pieces, but need to cut the background ones. I'm going to assemble segments of four or five chevrons leaving the seams open on either end. Then I'll assemble the 108" columns from the segments.

Now she wants to use the quilt at the wedding. No pressure, ha ha (it's Labor Day weekend)

Yikes! But who needs sleep anyway?

>110 avaland: I'm loving this discussion of the quilt you're making--wants to use the quilt at the wedding. Haha. You've found a good plan for your quilt. Yes, who needs sleep? If my DIL-to-be told me she wanted to use the quilt at the wedding, I would have a meltdown. I might anyway. I was just informed on Monday that August 21 is the big day. Oh good grief.

I'll come back later today and post a visual update on the chevron quilt. Turns out, as these things often do, that once I do a bit of hand-wringing and whining, and then settle down and do the math, things become more mechanical. It seems, though, I always underestimate the background fabric needed on these self-designed projects. Must order more butter-colored Kona solid.

My daughter would like me to use POLY for the batting because she wants to use their down comforter under it. I use Quilters Dream cotton "select" most of the time but will use poly for children's quilt that might be washed a lot. We used a quilt I made on our bed, but use the down (Fake) comforter over it, as needed.

I went through most of the fabric and fabric strips my daughter picked out and cut out the chevrons. I decided it needed a bit more of one thing or another so added more. Then I set about cutting out a yard's worth of butter-colored chevrons. After that, I sat and stitched the butter ones to the others until I ran out. Then I cut more. It's been tough to estimate exactly how many I need, but it's somewhere around 250.

I took my plant seedlings out to the porch and am using the 6 ft table to sort the chevrons roughly by color and size. Here are about 1/2 the chevrons. (ha ha table display also includes a box of parts to put risers on my water rower. It was put up there out of reach of my grandson, who really would rather touch an electrical outlet with his wet finger....)



Without telling her (yet), I'm slipping in one chevron each of fabric from: 1. her 8th grade graduation dress 2. a dress I made her as a little girl 3. a maternity dress I wore when I was pregnant with her and 4. a late 50s or early 60s dress my mother made & wore (and then salvaged the fabric when it went out of style). The fabrics fit in with her picks, more or less, and it adds a wee bit of meaning to the project.

I can make the chevron columns soon but will have to wait for more butter Kona cotton to arrive from Hancocks @ Paducah before I can put the columns together. I also managed to find some extra, extra wide backing fabric.

I'm sure she'll be very glad to have the bits of personal fabrics. That's such a lovely idea.

The personal touch is so nice. When my niece got married, I made her a table runner from white handkerchiefs from aunts, grandmother, etc. (Back when handkerchiefs were actually used.)

>114 avaland: I absolutely love the fabrics you're slipping into the design. A variation on "something borrowed, something blue" in a way, no? And it adds more than just a wee bit of meaning, IMO. It makes it priceless.

>117 lauralkeet: I hadn't thought of it that way, but I guess it is something like that.

>116 dudes22: I have a decent-sized bucket of family needlework, but no handkerchiefs, though I have picked some up here and there to use in quilts.

>115 mabith: Thanks, Meredith.

Oh, wonderful idea with the personal fabrics! Very cool.

Wonderful update on your daughter's quilt. I have some fabric left over from my wedding dress that I'm going to use "somewhere" on the Double Wedding Ring quilt I'm making. I so wish I had some of the other things you mention. You're making great progress!

Took a break from the quilt/s to make this little hat for my grandson. The first prototype was too small, and this one he will surely outgrown in a week.



The reversible bucket hat is a free pattern you can download from HERE (pdf download is on the site). I had to add chin straps for him (he's just turning a year old, so he still pulls hats off), so this one is not really reversible.

Note: the first hat was too small because—silly me—I assumed the seam allowances would be the standard 5/8". They were 1/2"! (gosh, these modern youngsters have no respect for tradition...LOL)

Ohmygosh, so cute! It's so fun to make things for wee ones, no?

>122 scaifea: Indeed. I made a lot of clothing for my three back in the Plasticine period (LOL).

But, it's back to those chevrons today!

More progress. Here are all 16 chevron columns (I also have a spare), all a bit unfinished at top and bottom, but laid out here so I can check whether the same print ends up next to itself or whether another print looks awful...etc.

These columns will have two inch sashing between them. I am waiting for another order of the butter colored Kona solid because when I started this project I had no clue how much of it I would need. Turns out my first order was just enough for all the butter-colored chevrons.



I will extend them beyond the top and bottom margins, staggered, and then trim them. At least that's the plan!

I cant believe how quickly you've made so much progress.

Agree on the progress, wow! That will be so gorgeous. I love the look without the sashing too.

Impressive. will be so happy when I'm ready something like this.

>125 dudes22:, 126 Once I cut most of it out and started, it became more mechanical and somewhat obsessive, perhaps because it's not a pattern I picked. And I have done a fair bit of picking out of seams and re-sewing (got to match those plaids!)

>127 shesinplainview: Thanks. You probably have the skills now if you had a pattern. It's just one template that I made in three sizes.

That is an amazing amount of work! It is going to look awesome!

>129 dkhiggin: Thank you, I hope so!

Great progress on your quilt. It's going to be a beauty.

>131 labwriter: Thanks!

It's fascinating to me to see the quilts being made. It's a real learning experience for me.

Here is where the chevron quilt project currently stands. The butter-colored background fabric finally arrived yesterday so late in the day I started attaching the sashing to each column.



This view is a bit warped from the angle the photo was taken (it's about 9 ft long), and the coloring looked a bit yellow due to the room lighting (tried to edit that in Photobucket), and of course the sashing has only been sewing on the right side of the chevron columns (so the chevrons look larger on one side than the other)—except for column one. But you get the idea.

Only 9 more columns to go before I start sewing these together. I did a fair bit of unpicking of seams before I considered the chevron columns finished. Took out a chevron or two that were too bright, moved a few others around a bit...etc.

I think the quilting will bring it altogether beautifully.

That's really starting to come together. And I think the color arrangement works well.

>134 avaland: That's going to be an amazing piece when you're done with it. Heck, it already *is* amazing. That sound you hear in the distance is me, applauding.

>135 dudes22:, >136 Lyndatrue: Thanks. It's been an interesting, sometimes challenging project. I hope it's not too amazing or it will be hard to give away!

I had better start picking out some movies to watch because this will be the 4th quilt the quilter will have, which means 4 that will come back for me to bind! Wah!

Maybe I should do something easier, like something from a pattern, next....

I'm so amazed by this whole process. I'm not in a place in my life where I can do this right now. My crafting has to be on smaller projects due to the room in my house and lack of funds. I have most of my supplies now and just need to work on the projects but I can see myself trying quilting someday. Especially with such great mentors, such skilled and talented teachers.

By supplies I mean for needle-felting, paper projects like flowers and drawing, painting,etc. crocheting, knitting, mixed-media. So many supplies, so little time...

I went back and read over the process you have gone through on this. All I can say is wow! I would be so touched if somebody made this for me. Just fabulous!

I love that sashing. Your quilt is really coming together--it's beautiful.

Thanks, all. I finished putting it all together yesterday and carefully trimmed the ends squaring it off using the vertical columns, giving myself 2 extra inches just in case. And in the end the quilt measured 4 inches smaller on one side than the other!!! I was completely baffled as to how that happened! So, I had my husband help me spread it on the floor and got out a laser level and fudged both ends and re-trimmed.

Net loss was 2 inches. The quilt is now only 106" instead of 108" Will call the quilter later today and see if she can take it.

...I was completely baffled..." I hear your pain. I suppose it's cruel to say, but it is good to know others have trouble squaring up the sides. Still, 4 inches is a lot to fix. And nice that your husband can help you figure it out. Mine would be rather baffled, himself.

>143 dudes22: I knew you would sympathize! It's good that I gave myself that 2 inch initial margin, because it reduced the net loss to 2 and not 4 inches.

The chevron quilt has been mailed off to the quilter and I won't see it again until mid-July. Meanwhile, cutting all those chevron pieces created tons of very small waste triangles, too many to throw out without guilt. So...

I began pairing them up and stitching them factory-style, then pressing and trimming them to 2.5 inch squares....and well, this is where they are going (photo is actually on its left side, rotate it right in your mind):



I actually like this better than the chevron quilt pattern! I'll be happy if I can get a 4 x 4' lap quilt out of this, but I think I may need to cut & sew more to have enough (and when I do, it will be one of the speedier methods of mass production).

What a great way to use up your scraps. I love the look.

I like that a lot. Do you press your half-square triangles to the dark or press them open or does it depend on how you will be putting them together? I hate trying to put them together when they're pressed to the dark, even though that is what is usually recommended.

>146 lauralkeet: Thanks, Laura. It's a simple pattern I"ve thought about doing with much larger squares. Perhaps this is a prelude.

>147 dudes22: Thanks, Betty. I've pressed them to the dark sides. One would think that I would have thought that far ahead but I didn't, so we'll see what happens. I only need 1024 squares to make this 4 X 4. LOL.

Neat!

>147 dudes22: Just a bit more on that... last evening I sewed 36 of the 2 inch squares together, sewing 6 vertical columns of 6 squares, pressing seams alternately up and down, as one might expect. Sewing the columns together went well, but that seam is a bit bulky so I pressed open a few of those seams. It does seem to be less bulky than pressing to the right or left.

Honestly, sometimes I think I must be at least a little crazy.

Yes, that's what I've found. Like those two bottom blocks in the picture, which is why I asked. I try to decide based on what they are being attached to, if I can figure it out ahead of time.

Yesterday Purl Soho posted about their Little Peaks Quilt and I was reminded of this discussion about using small pieces. This one is made up of 600 tiny triangles.

>152 lauralkeet: OK. don't laugh, but just before we moved from Westford, I cut a zillion little equilateral triangles from 2.5 inch strips—I think it might have been therapy of some kind. I sewed some together but most are in a couple of gallon storage bags. And the pieces I sewed together ended up in one or more of the scrap quilts. We'll see how this one goes, maybe between the current one and the Little Peaks Quilt I'll be tempted to get them out again!

>151 dudes22: Thanks for mentioning pressing them open. Wonder if I would have thought of it if you hadn't. I also decided to put it together as blocks.

>153 avaland: why am I not surprised ... :)

>153 avaland: I think it might have been therapy of some kind

Ha--I know what you're talking about! In the year 2000, I bought a kit with 2000 different scrap fabrics. I cut those into triangles, and the quilt (in my mind) that I have planned for it is beautiful. The scraps I cut are in--gallon storage bags. Where does the time go?

>153 avaland: - Now I don't feel so bad about the quilt I haven't finished that I started in a class in 2002. It's on my list to finish this year.

ETA: I think we all might need some therapy...or is this our therapy?

>155 labwriter: What size triangles did you cut?

>156 dudes22: Come now, don't we all have UFOs? I have several smallish ones stored in pizza boxes (new, clean ones, of course).

Speaking of needing therapy, the work on the quilt in #145 progresses. It is both tedious and addictive. I've decided to aim for 36 blocks of 36 squares, slightly more than I planned for, but I may give out earlier. I work on it in short stints as it bothers my neck and hands. This design wall is only 22 squares wide, and I have it laid out to 30 vertically, at the moment (because I may extend the left and top sides another block....



I'm already yearning for something bigger to work on.

Lately, the tedium is overtaking any fun I'm having putting this little quilt together. I have 16 of 36 blocks assembled and two complete rows sewn together. I think I may have audibly groaned when I made that calculation this morning. I try to do some every day. It's going to be a fairly stiff little thing: so many seams in so small a space.

I know your pain. I recently finished the Kaffe Fassett Round-the-World quilt from the latest books, with 1500+ 2 1/2 squares!!! It was a beast.

Whew! That's a lot of blocks. I can't say I'd like to do all those 1/2 sq triangles. And all those seams. You could just quit now, put it together, and call it done.

So many blocks! It looks gorgeous though.

>159 catarina1: Funny you should say that, because I've come across more patterns lately using 2 1/2 inch squares that I've earmarked over the years. 2 1/2 inch squares finish a full 1/2" larger than what I'm working on.

>160 dudes22: I've been tempted, but I am trying to reduce/eliminate the UFOs, so I don't want to add to them.

>161 mabith: Thanks. I have no idea what I'll do with it, but I'll persevere.

*whew* I was way behind here and finally caught up. The chevron quilt is going to be a beauty. Well done, you! And I like your postage stamp variation, although I think it would drive me nuts. Fiddly widdly. You sure put a lot of effort and love into your daughter's wedding present. I love that there are fabrics in it which have real meaning for her. Can't wait to see what kind of stitching the quilter uses to make it into a work of art!

I needed another quilt to work on to alternate with the one noted in #157 (which has 3 complete rows now...only 3 more to go...). Anyhoo. Here is the first block of Oliver's new quilt. The fish print is a Laurel Burch design. Finished, the fish square is 4 x 4 inches, and the little red squares are 1 x 1, which should give you an idea of the scale. I did the one block to check whether my colors are okay.



I should note: this is a pattern from Quilts from the Quiltmaker's Gift (The Quiltmaker's Gift is a children's picture book). I made a quilt for my sister using this same pattern back around 2005; however, I reworked the dimensions so the center square could be a 5 X 7 rectangle. In the center of most blocks were photos of her pets and all the puppies she has raised for the Seeing Eye program. Here's a photo taken of one block (meant so I could remember how I did the photos. She sent me a digital photo and I put it in Photoshop, added the year she had the puppy, the dog's name, and the Seeing Eye logo, before printing it out on fabric. And these are the colors I came up with for "puppy colors." (the fabric colors in this photo are very dark, though the photo seems ok!)



Besides the fish quilt, I had one or two others percolating in my head. I did make 6 sample blocks (5 inch blocks) for another quilt, but didn't like the results, so I scrapped those and will rethink.

I have told myself that I can't work on the fish quilt unless I have sewn together at least TWO of the 36-small square blocks!

>158 avaland: - >160 dudes22: - I must have misunderstood when I posted my comment. Those WERE all the blocks in your picture. I thought you still had 20 more blocks to make 1/2 sq triangles for. Still a lot more triangle squares than I'd want to do. After reading post #164, I now understand.

Look forward to seeing the fish quilt done (I think I have some of that same fabric). Had to study the two blocks to see the pattern in both.

>165 dudes22: I was a bit fussy about the focus print and scanned through fabrics on quilt shops.com until I found something I liked. I imagine this one will see Oliver through until he's 8 or 9.

Carla, the quilter, has finished my three quilts (the Chevron quilt, the blue quilt pictured in #79 and a twin-sized scrap quilt) and are mailing them back to me. This now means that along with work on the three very different quilts I'm working on, I have 87 linear feet of binding to sew on (!!!)

--I have 9 blocks left on the quilt in #157. I was assembling a block a day for a while, but I've backed off on that a bit.
--I continue to make progress on my grandson's quilt in #164 (I keep looking at it and thinking how terribly uniform it looks!)
--And I'm working on scrap blocks for another crazy scrap quilt. I have 160 of 221 or 304, depending on the size I want to make. I work on these when I just want to play around.

Meanwhile, I've taken Jinny Beyer's giant (heavy) book of quilt patterns to bed with me each night, spending my last waking hours of the day putting sticky notes on way too many pages. Just dreamin'

I actually don't mind sewing on binding. You've been really busy. Look forward to seeing the finished quilts.

>168 dudes22: Hiding from the hot sun.

I browsed through this thread again. I'm always in awe of the work you do! All the pieces are so well thought out.

>170 lesmel: Thank you for the kind compliment, although I'd admit that not all the projects are well thought out beforehand—sometimes there is some catching up to do!

Here's a visual update on my projects. I don't think I've EVER had six projects going at once, but I started the second three after the other three had been sent off to the quilter.

Here's a photo of the little half square triangle quilt before I fixed the one block that was put in upside down. Remember, this one got started because there were so many waste triangles from the chevron quilt.



I think it will have a small inner border of a medium-dark blue, but I've not decided any further.
-----
Here is a segment of three rows of Oliver's quilt sewn together. The blocks have been sewn into rows but the rest of the rows have not yet been sewn together. It will have two borders.



-------
My other project is another scrappy quilt like this twin-sized one, which just came back from the quilter. You can see her quilting on the backing. I just sewed the binding on but have done the hand-sewing yet.



Another which arrived back from the quilter is this blue twin-sized quilt. It's hard to see the quilting due to the prints. This doesn't have the binding on it yet.



and finally, the chevron quilt for my daughter:



It also does not have its binding yet. She thought she might like a navy binding, but I'm thinking it will be too dark. Will look for something at the Vermont Quilt Festival this weekend.

They're all really wonderful. I like that your quilter put hearts in the chevron quilt. Quite a nice idea since it's for her wedding.

They all look great, but I especially love the half square triangle quilt.

They are all so beautiful!!

Beautiful work, Lois.

Oh, gosh, they're all so lovely!

BTW - have a great time in Vermont. Wish I could have gone.

Thanks, all.

I'm already up here in Burlington, Betty. Going to do the quilt show tomorrow afternoon and evening.

so lucky!

I look forward to seeing some photos from the Quilt Show. Being such a novice at all of this, I lobe getting ideas from you more experiencec quilters. I have a box full of waste triangles from other projects that I have kept. Now i know what to do with them. I will add it to the list of projects i want to do.

It was really difficult, but I had to drive by the quilt show on Saturday as I was in Montpelier at the Green Mountain School Rug Hooking School and was driving home, knowing if I stopped to see quilts, it would be fatal for my committment to be half way home by early afternoon. I thought I could view it vicariously through photos here. Did you get lots of new fabric?

Your quilter's work complements yours beautifully.

>182 SassyLassy: I did think of you this weekend as there were two women rug hooking at the Shelburne Museum. I had a nice chat with both of them. There is also a special exhibit at the museum of Quebecois quilter/artist Dominique Ehrmann. Her three-dimensional stuff was interesting (it even interested my husband).

Having not been to the Vermont Quilt Festival before, I think I underestimated how big it was. When I got there in the afternoon, after doing the Shelburne, I was completely overwhelmed. I made a point of seeing all of Ruth McDowell's quilts (largest exhibit of her work ever) and skimmed the other offerings. I was really tired. So much the same for the vendors. I did buy a few pieces*, but I really had a tough time thinking with the noise and crowds (15,000 people they told me at registration).

Hubby was reading in a corner of another building and ended up buying a ticket to McDowell's lecture/retrospective that evening. I managed to revive somewhat by 7 pm and we both enjoyed her talk. She's drily funny. She is why I made a point of getting to the festival this year. I will plan better next year!

*I had spent quite a lot recently on a going out of business sale for a quilt shop I used to frequent in Acton, Massachusetts.

The Vermont Quilt Festival sounds amazing!

>183 avaland: That's reassuring to hear about the crowds. That was a large part of my decision to keep going as I thought once I even got to the parking lot, it would be overwhelming. Picturing hordes of tired quilters and vendors is quite a sight. Lectures would have been good though. Restocking the stash is always a good thing, no matter how much or how little.

I have only ever taken one quilt class and that was a private lesson on machine quilting and I showed up for it and realized I had forgotten my sewing machine. So I asked her to give it to me as a lecture. I did go to two different "open sew" sorts of things, which I quite liked, but I worked on design in one, and hand sewed some binding in the other.

True about restock. Plus, we must stockpile in case of emergency.

I think I will plan to go to the Vermont Quilt Festival next year but stay for the weekend and spend at least a whole day there. Now I have to convince all the rest of you to show up, too!

I have finished binding the two twin-sized quilts shown above, and am about a third of the way around the chevron quilt. I've put all of the fish blocks together for Oliver's quilt and contemplating the border (which I think will just be a simple blue one). The half-square triangle quilt is ready to be ironed (I wonder if I can get a machine quilter to touch that...it has so many thick areas)

re: thick areas - that's the "problem" with `1/2 sq triangles when there are a lot of them. My "problem" quilt had a lot of them and there are some areas that are kind-of thick.

>187 dudes22: Perhaps if I quilt it myself and maybe do stippling that avoids all the corners... but I'll check with one of the quilters I use because my brain is already full of new ideas...

>186 avaland: Vermont Quilt Festival...
I would totally be in. Although I have a genealogy trup in the works for next year, too!

>189 lesmel: Keep it in mind! We'll have to book early.

Wedding quilt is finished (except for a label). It actually fit in my washer, but I only half-dried it in the electric dryer (too big, really). I spread it over the livingroom couch last night to let it finish drying. The 2nd photo seems to get close to the butter-colored background's actual color.





I'm glad to have these projects done and out of the way. Oliver's quilt and the half triangle square quilt are ready, more or less, for a quilter. Once I decide on backing and then iron them. This now leaves me open to executing one of the gazillion ideas running rampant in my head.

The chevron quilt turned out so beautifully! It seems like you've been having a very productive crafting year, thus far.

>192 mabith: Thanks. Does seem so. My daughter's wedding is Labor Day weekend, so things in the studio should slow down soon :-) I haven't figured out what I'm wearing. I've sent for some Liberty of London samples from B&J's Fabrics in NYC. Might consider making a tunic top or longish, casual dress (it's an informal wedding lakeside in Maine).

>191 avaland: It's breathtaking! My grandmother would compliment you on it. Let us know when we can order them from you (*ducking*).

It just has that old fashioned quilt look to it.

That's beautiful and your choice of binding sets it right off. Timeless, which is just right for a wedding.

Informal lakeside in Maine sounds wonderful.

In addition to the sheer beauty of the quilt, I'm impressed you finished it so far in advance of the wedding. I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with the Liberty fabrics.

It looks great! I was going to mention the binding too! The dark color really complements the quilt.

The chevron quilt turned out GORGEOUS. What an amazing heirloom to eventually pass down.

It really is striking. I can only hope that one day I can produce something as beautiful.

Oh, gosh, I love it!

Been playing over the last few days. I decided to cut a 5 inch square from every Kaffe Fassett fabric I have (not including the others in his group: Jacobs and Mabley). And just when I thought I'd done them all, I remember the UFO "diamond" quilt pieces in the pizza box, where I discovered more fabric squares and a few diamonds cut from fabrics not previously found. There is about 116 here (there are a few squares from the same fabric). And I still have 6-10 not even on the board, and probably won't be (too light...came in a pack that was on sale, I think). Photo will post on its side (despite rotating it on Photobucket!), but you get the idea.



Here's a close-up. I find his print sensual and exhilarating. Like other fabric designers he produces "collections" meant to go together, but for 20 years now I have bought pieces of whatever fabric of his caught my eye at the moment. A portion of the fabrics I have have come from a print on sale or clearance, or pieces in a scrap bag I may have bought...etc This is how I end up with odd colors.



So, I've been wondering if I could get all my collection—with its vast range of colors and saturations—into one quilt. It's unlikely, but playing with his fabric is so much fun. Have thought about borders and half square triangles....



...though I don't like putting "barriers" between his fabrics and the smaller pieces take away from some of the larger prints. Thoughts?

(there are a few of his fabrics I did not cut i.e. his "roman stripes")

Oh, beautiful fabrics!
I don't know how keen my eye is for such things, but I like the full squares better than the triangles, I think.

>202 scaifea: Me too. Maybe I'll just arrange them to my satisfaction (probably will never be truly satisfied) and then just sew them together.

I have thought about using a variety of square sizes...these are all 5 inch squares. And I've thought about using the pattern in #79 above. But I don't want to cut more unless I'm fairly certainly it's going to work. I've been whittling away at some of these fabrics so there isn't all that much left of a certain number of them.

I think these would look good in the pattern from #79. You might even be able to fit a few of those 1/2 sq triangles in. Although I like the ones with the light rather than the dark. I think they don't interfere as much with the Fassett fabrics. But not too many.

The black on blue is rather striking, but I like the squares rather than HSTs.

All the options look nice, but my favorite is definitely the full squares. I'm a big fan of color and pattern heavy stuff.

I'm beginning to think that there are several quilts here. BUT...the full monty...the trippy all-fabric choice might have to be done first so I have them all together so I can look at them when I need to (sounds pathological, doesn't it?)

I've since added a few 9.5 inch squares to the mix and it looks interesting. >204 dudes22: You may be right, Betty. That pattern uses 2.5 squares, 2.5 x 5 rectangles, 4.5 and 6.5 inch squares. Perhaps I can scale it up.

Gorgeous fabrics. I think I agree that even though the blue/black combination looks very effective, the fabrics shine better with nothing between them. I would love to see it done with a few different sized squares/rectangles too. Can't wait to see the finished product.

I haven't done a thing in the studio in weeks! I do have to put a label on the chevron quilt before the wedding, and make some balsam sachets my daughter wants to put in the bags for her wedding party.

I've been shopping for an outfit for the wedding (designated "casual spiffy") as it will be at a rustic lodge lakeside in Maine. I've also been working on Ancestry.com entering my paper records first and then verifying and expanding it with all the digitized records now available. I like a good puzzle so it's hard to pull myself away from it.

And the summer has been so brutally hot and dry (we are in a severe drought here) and I've been hiding indoors more. I'll get back to sewing in September.

I always feel a little "guilty" spending time inside in the summer after I've waited and whined all winter about how cold it is. And there's so much yard work to do. Hope you have success in finding an outfit.

Sachets made, label made & pinned on (will stitch it while I'm sitting lakeside next week), outfit found.

>210 dudes22: I detect a little late August coolness coming in....

>211 avaland: I admire you being so far ahead of the big event next week! All the best for it.

>209 avaland: I have been sucked into genealogy and it is such an addiction. Also frequently beyond frustrating. I'm still a bit annoyed at relatives who didn't fill out forms correctly and lax census takers.

I survived the wedding (it was fun, and probably the most comfortable wedding I have ever been at), but other things have come up. The weather is turning cooler and I'm starting to think of quilts and other indoor projects....

>213 mabith: I think I've gotten used to the censuses, and creative spelling of names, the overuse of the same name over and over and over again with families. Some of my nitpicky annoyances are putting graphics of Victorian women on one's female colonial ancestors, and likewise, graphics of 18th or 19th century ships on 17th century immigrants. And all manner of Mayflower and Salem graphics for people not involved in either (the passenger list for the Mayflower is readily available online, as is a nice wikipedia page for everyone involved with the Salem witch trials. Oh, and people who perpetuate other people's errors because they don't want to search sources themselves. LOL.

Will catch up on the threads soon!

A photo from the wedding:



and an update on adorable grandson, here at 16 months at the wedding.



If you notice the garland under the tent...yes, that's my scrap fabric she used (and yes, I made sure to get it back) to alternate with the fir, spruce and pine cones.

Comfortable is ideal for a wedding! Did your grandson partially steal the show at the wedding? So cute!

>214 avaland: I'm even a little annoyed at my grandmother for not putting her full name on the wedding license. It said FULL NAME, Grandma, not "the middle name you like best and your last name!" One side of my family is very well documented but the other is a mystery. I did have the excitement of turning up FIVE marriage licenses for my paternal grandfather when we only knew about two... It was surprising and yet not at all surprising (they are all definitely him, since most list his parents names as well). I really enjoy having the information and exploring the unusual names, but it does make me feel somewhat crazy. Favorite name of the moment, a female relation - Thankful North.

Lovely wedding photo. Flip-flops? How great.

He is so cute! The wedding couple look cute too. Glad you had a lovely time.

Gorgeous wedding photos! Thanks for sharing!

Apologies for being away so long! I drove a friend to the emergency room about 3 weeks ago and took her home later on the same day. Another friend took her back later than night and it turns out she has terminal cancer (4-6 mos) so it's been somewhat more stressful of late. The weather is turning cooler and I'm looking forward to quilting as an excellent restorative and centering activity (and last week I went away for a few days which was helpful)

>216 mabith: While Oliver is a show-stealer, there was no way my daughter was going to let anyone steal the show from them :-)

So why is the other side so difficult? Are they more recent immigrants? Are you saying that your grandfather was married 5 times?!?!? Wow. I escaped being directly related to a man named "Hatevil Nutter" who was the 2nd husband of my direct ancestor. So when she got married again, I guess she became just another nutter. LOL.

>217 dudes22:, >218 judylou:, >219 scaifea: Thanks, all!

So, on my little excursion 200 miles to the north of me, I passed at least 4 quilt shops on the way up, including the large "Keepsake Quilting" (perhaps you get their catalog?). Passed is the key word here. I suppose I was just not in the frame of mind to shop.

I still intend to put together the Kaffe Fassett quilt (idea shown in #201). I'm going with 5 inch and 9.5 in squares. Some of the prints really need a larger square to showcase its pattern. But to put this together I really need to do it on the design board first, and that means the board (which is the wall between two windows) needs an expansion. I will get another 2.5 yards of the gridded flannel and perhaps a 4x8 piece of rigid insulation or thin plywood to staple it to.

Meanwhile, there are a few more impressionistic scrap quilts I might like to do, similar to the autumn one I did (show in message #4). I saw some great sunsets in August, so maybe that.

>220 avaland: No recent immigrants anywhere in my family tree! Pretty much every line we've traced came over in the 17th century (including an original Jamestown settler). I think it's more because I'm just relying on official stuff to get me back to where other people have filled in information. Censuses are pretty useless before 1850 and some states (West Virginia is one, but most of my family isn't from here) have put loads of searchable records online and some haven't. I realized I should have just asked my genealogy-interested aunt about the one side sooner, and she does have the family Bible from our surname line which was started as a record in the very early 18th century. And yes, married five times! He was born in 1900 and didn't marry my grandma until 1947, but that's still a ridiculously high marriage rate (and I'm not convinced he got officially divorced every time). I think part of me just enjoys looking at the old records and seeing the changes in the information required more than actually family knowledge.

Hatevil Nutter! That's amazing! You have to have a sense of humor with that last name, I'd imagine. My new favorite family names are man named Barcelona Chard and a woman named Experience Howland, the first of four generations of women named Experience. I kind of love that.

Hatevil Nutter is the best name I've ever heard!

No interesting immigrants in my line. My Mother's parents were ten pound poms and my Father's came from Scotland pre WW1. So that is pretty boring!

I'm totally jealous of all you with your family histories! My grandfather escaped Russia (technically Ukraine but back then it was all Russian Federation) as a small child, with his 6 siblings, both parents dead, so we really have zero info there. My grandmother, I'm not sure, I know she was born in the US but either her parents, or one generation further, were immigrants, also from Eastern Europe. On my dad's side, I know next to nothing. My great grandmother I think came over from Hungary, along with her husband, who died on the young side. And on his mom's side, who knows, that part of the family was never communicated with in my lifetime, I think barely at all in my dad's, either, I think possibly when he was little, somewhat? I know nothing of her background other than I'm pretty sure it's also an Eastern European mix but I don't even know how far back.

I'm enjoying the genealogy discussion. Like "mabith", I have no recent immigrants in my family. All were here before the Revolutionary War. My Amish lines (about 1/8 of my ancestry) are the most recent immigrants with dates ranging from the 1730s to 1750s.

>223 .Monkey.: It's definitely some relative privilege to be able to pretty easily trace back even to the mid-19th century. I'm really lucky with my maternal grandmother's side, as we have a fair number of photographs and paintings as well. I mainly got into it after the last of my grandparents died (only two were alive when I was born), just to hang onto them a bit. Admittedly I'm 80% sure all four would think I was very strange for being interested at all.

>224 thornton37814: I go back and forth whether that means our ancestors were adventurous or were leaving behind debts/trouble in the old world (or just youngest sons who weren't getting any land)...

>221 mabith: Experience Howland, 1668-1734, is my 7th great grandmother twice over. Two of my Mayflower lines :-) My line continues through her daughter Priscilla Bearse and diverge into two lines with two different great grandchildren (Increase Robinson & Elizabeth Robinson). So, are we distantly related? hee hee. My tree is avaland

>222 judylou: It might be more interesting than you realize.

>223 .Monkey.: Sounds like a similar story I heard from Nickelini, might have also been the Ukraine although I can't remember for sure.

>224 thornton37814: I think the few of mine that came later, is was around the same dates as yours. Most who arrive early 18th century were Irish, Scottish or "Scotch-Irish."

Ha! I think anyone with ancestors in the US that early is definitely related a dozen times over. And yes, Experience Howland would be my 10-greats grandmother through her daughter Rebecca, assuming that's all accurately entered anyway (this is information other people have entered, not stuff my family have personally traced). Rebecca is the one who married into the Chard family (giving us an Experience Chard which makes me wonder if chard was commonly grown then and in that area because that poor girl!). The Mayflower line certainly explains why there's so much detail filled in for Experience Howland's forebears anyway.

>227 mabith: The Amish lines are really interesting. I drive genealogy software crazy sometimes because I'm descended from three daughters of one couple. With a previous software, I got a "loop" error message.

>228 thornton37814: I bet! Those systems aren't designed with typical past life or closed communities in mind. On one maternal line we've got a lot of totally confirmed late births and that always puts up a flag (my great grandmother was 44 when my grandma was born, for one).

>227 mabith: When I need to use information from other trees, I immediately search for the sources to confirm it. That very early era is well-documented, though. I also have lines that go back to John Howland's two brothers, Arthur and Henry, who came after the Mayflower. I have come across some ordinary names like that...as if one took the names of the things around them rather than, say, their craft (i.e. cooper, sawyer...)

Do be careful with other's information. I have seen a lot of bad information carried from tree to tree. OTOH, I've carefully picked a factoid from someone else and it sometimes triggers a more productive search. But I've learned , for example, that one may never find out which of the three birthdates is the actual one.

Maybe that makes you my 9th cousins, twice removed. LOL

>228 thornton37814: I sympathize. The four lines through and to the three brothers is just one example of my crazy-making. Another is four connections to the Towne family (two of three sisters executed at Salem) and to Salem in general (particularly the accused side).

>230 avaland: Oh yeah, I'm not putting it in our actual family trees or anything. I don't have an Ancestry account so there's only so much I can do on my own (especially since disability will always keep me from doing in-person research). Though checking on some dates and sources I'm pretty certain about the line leading old Experience Howland. I think my uncle is going to add me to his Ancestry account soon though.

>230 avaland: Well, I'm another who is related to you. Off hand I can't remember exactly how many "greats" ago, but my maternal grandfather who was born in Maine is descended from Arthur Howland, a Quaker rather than a Puritan. From my records he arrived in the colonies about 10 years after John, who was on the Mayflower. My genealogy files are in a mess right now. I had intended to get them organized this year. And now I have less than two months to get that done!

>230 avaland:, >231 mabith:>, >232 catarina1: Did you know there's a genealogy group on LT? http://www.librarything.com/groups/genealogylt

>231 mabith: That would be terrific if he added you as an editor to his account.
>232 catarina1: There were quite a few Quakers in my home state, more than I ever imagined. I haven't been noting religion on the profile but there are a fair number on the tree.
>233 lesmel: Someone has told me this. I will have to look into it, but it might take away from my time with the dead people :-) My participation on LT which was once so broad has become quite narrow.

I still haven't been doing any sewing, and I'm still waiting for two quilts to come back from the quilter. Binding those might nudge me back into the studio (but then I have a wallpaper job to do, need to hang some curtains...etc)

I've been back in the studio recently, warming it up, so to speak. I cut up some shirts I got at Goodwill and sewed the scraps (mentioned below) together so they can be used further.

Both of my quilts which have been with the quilter since July finally came back and I've bound the smaller of the two. You probably remember this one. This is about 54 x 54 inches and the 1296 squares are 1 1/2" finished.



A couple of close-ups. The label says "Partially made from leftovers from Larissa and Jason's chevron quilt." I did have to make up more squares mostly to give the fabrics a bit more of a mix. The leftovers from this quilt have been sewn in strips and thrown in the scrap buckets to be included in my crazy scrap quilts.





Larissa is going to want this one also, but I think I'll keep it for a while. I think I might join a quilt group and, well, I have very few quilts here at home to show for my 35 or so years of quilting.

Very nice. 1 1/2 in HST, oh, my! I just did a quilt with 2 1/2 squares and thought that was difficult. What did you use for the white/cream? A Kona solid?

I love that pattern. It is on my list of quilts to make in the future.

I do remember this from earlier. I've seen a few quilts on Pintrest lately that make me think I might try a HST quilt sometime in the future. As a matter of fact, while I was packing in my sewing area the other day, I came across a bunch of Thangles in various sizes. I think I bought them a loooong time ago for some project or other. I like the quilting that you had done and that label is great too. I need to label a few of mine.

Oh, gosh, I love that one! Beautiful!

Such a gorgeous quilt. You definitely need to keep more for yourself!

>236 catarina1: Thanks. Yes, it was a Kona solid, "butter." That is also what was used with the earlier chevron quilt; however, when I ran out of it and then picked up more from a local store, I was a bit dismayed that the newly acquired yardage did not match. But then, I just ran with it anyway.

>237 judylou: Thanks, Judy. It's super simple. I might be inclined to do another but with larger squares (LOL) and perhaps a more varied collection for the "light" solid.

>238 dudes22: Thanks. I didn't do the quilting, btw.

>239 scaifea: Thanks, Amber.

>240 mabith: Thanks! I'm not sure where I'd put them though.

Oliver's 2nd quilt, nicknamed "the fishy quilt," is done. This one is twin-sized, about 61 X 82. The pattern is from the book Quilts from the Quiltmaker's Gift,"* and is the same pattern as one I made for my sister (although I altered hers to accommodate 5x7 photographs). The quilting itself is a kind of zigzag type pattern. The fish print is from Laurel Burch.
*The Quiltmaker's Gift is a lovely children's picture book by Jeff Brumbeau.





With the binding of the last two quilts, I seem to be coming out of my quilting funk. I took the leftovers from the leftover quilt from the leftovers of the chevron quilt (LOL) and sewed all those little blocks randomly together and have tossed them in the scrap piles (notice the plural "piles" there).

I was randomly flipping through an old scrap quilt book and came across a few "wild goose chase" quilts that were interesting, so I picked up a paper piecing pattern on line (after debating with myself whether paper piecing would be 1. faster 2. more accurate....etc. Every time I do paper piecing I have to get used to it again, and this time was no exception. The blocks below are 6.5 x 6.5 with 4 making a 12 x 12 block. The piecing & paper removal is a bit more time-consuming, but probably more accurate (or neater). I'm using random small scraps where I can (most of it) and the light pieces are quartered 5" squares, and the large triangles are halfed 5" squares (using my 5" squares is the least wasteful).



I'm not sure I'll work on this continuously, but it's something I can do in between other projects.

Looks like this will be a very vibrant quilt, and those points are rather perfect! I very much like this pattern, but have never attempted paper piecing. It is a technique that I might have a go at one of these days.

>243 judylou: Thanks, Judy. I went with the paper piecing as I doubt my points would be that great without it! I timed a block: it takes me (now) about 20 minutes to make one, if I don't make any mistakes. Looking at these blocks, I think I need to add some "boring" prints. I'm allowing solids as "geese" but otherwise I stick to prints. Oh, what a mess I make rummaging through my buckets of small scraps though!

I should probably decide what size quilt I'm making at some point.

I love the book "The Quiltmaker's Gift" and give it with every first quilt I give. If the family has a second child, I give them the second book "The Quiltmaker's Journey" with another quilt.

Having just finished a paper pieced quilt top and removed all the paper, I think I would not use that for a flying geese pattern, but that's just personal preference. I think the small prints in the geese are "boring" enough. I like the bigger prints in the corners.

>245 dudes22: I'm really trying not to overthink the fabrics, except not to put too many of the same colors in the small triangles of one 6.5 inch square. It took me a square or two to settle on a stitch length of 1.2 (close enough to make it easy to tear off, but not so close that the paper comes off before I want it to!

Here it is with 8 squares (2 blocks)

That's going to be boldly awesome!

Whoa, I love the fabrics! I agree that it's going to be awesome!

>247 mabith: Boldly awesome...I like that! thanks.

>248 scaifea: Thanks, It's just more or less random stuff from the bins and buckets (aforementioned bins and buckets are getting out of hand so I clearly need to produce more and acquire less).