1930's Scrap Quilt finish

I'm happy with posting all these finished projects!  This quilt *may* have been done in 2016--it was certainly well used over the course of this year.

 Last appeared on the blog in June 2016; I had just finished piecing the back at retreat and dropped it off at the long-arm quilter.

Jayne is such a wonderful quilter!  This is the 3rd quilt she's done for me, and I don't think I said much more than, "Please do something in line with the nature of the 1930's timeframe."  She created an amazing border treatment of feathers and waves in the scrappy-cream negative space.

I didn't really love my pieced back, but the quilting really improved its likabiliity.  And has not diminished my using the quilt this year.  It's one of my favorites for napping on the couch.

Successful scrap quilt!  Made from someone else's cast-off scraps, even.  And made entirely from stash, including using up all of a 20+ year old piece of background fabric.

Thanks for a great 2017!  More completed projects need to show up on the blog, and more in-process reporting should happen as the backlog of the unblogged gets sorted through in 2018.

See you next year.

Grandmother's Fan Pillow finish

Look, another finished item makes it into the blog!  This was one of my goals to finish in March, and I had to confess that I still hadn't finished it by July.

I used a pre-printed muslin backing to make the Grandmother's Fan block from an assortment of blue fabrics that were leftovers from making another pillow (not yet blogged).  Probably my favorite aspect of this pillow was the Man About Town background fabric from Northcott Studio.  (I have since purchased another big length of it--too versatile not to have more of this.)

This same fan was previously seen in pink fabrics, from a challenge block I made in January.  I also have a few more of these fan blocks made up, in Japanese indigo fabrics.  And I have yet more of the printed muslin, just no plans for it...

Meanwhile, loving this finished pillow!

She Likes It! Christmas Quilt Unwrapped

Now that the Christmas dust has settled, and the shredded wrapping paper gone to the bin, I can happily report on the largest quilt I've ever made: she likes it!

Here is the inspiration.  A painting from her house, that her husband said encapsulated the kind of art she likes.

Also, "her favorite color is purple."  These are the fabrics I pulled.

And I put them together pretty much in that order, using a variation on Elizabeth Hartman's Metropolis pattern from her book Modern Patchwork

One quilt "block".  King size.  Purple?  Check.  But not quite in line with the inspiration artwork.  No problem, this quilt has 2 sides, I'll just make it reversible!  And so, I moved far far away from my comfort zone...

Bought a giant swath of stunning fabric: Discovery Tree, from Frond Design Studios (whose mission is "to keep hand-designed art in fabric") and started playing around on my design wall.  My main concern was how to let the fabric be the star--not cut it up into blocks and lose all its fabulousness.

I had one repeat of another Frond fabric, Metamorphosis Hurricane, so I worked to insert one of its motifs into the fiery party.  And I was off and running!

"Running" is not quite the right word for it.  Despite using a free-form, improv cutting and piecing technique, I was tortured about every cut and placement.  I spent hours deliberating over which fabrics to insert, as I gently pried apart the flames to inject variety and break up the five repeats within the main fabric.  Used two different colors of Moda Grunge fabric along the top and bottom, but continued the set-in bits of color there as well.

So worth it!  The look on her face, the squeals of "I can't believe you made this for me." And, "How did you manage to keep this a secret for a whole year?"  Yep, Christmas joy, right there.

Thanks for reading along this far.  I have a tendency to gush over my completed projects.  It's the main reason I started blogging: to track my finishes, and to tell a complete story with each quilt.

Since this is such a big finish, I'm linking up with TGIFF



hosted this week by Kathy's Kwilts and More.  Follow the link to see some other amazing December finishes--I think many of us have been keeping mum on Christmas projects.

To Cathy. Love, Alla

Textures: I Ruff You

I am in love with textures lately!  (Okay, maybe always, but I'm working on a couple textured projects, so it's only natural to highlight textural elements.)

The shop has a panel that will stitch up into a children's book.  (One of Sandra Magsamen's Huggable and Loveable book panels.)  I happen to have a soft spot for children's books--especially those made of cloth. (see some of my previous book makes here and here)

So I stitched it up!  But I had to add a few embellishments.  You know, just because.  On the front cover, I couched down a striped cord for the heart/balloon's string.

On the page with the words "10 tiny fingers and 10 tiny toes", I stitched on buttons from my big ol' button jar: ten of 'em!

I appliqued a matching eye patch on one page, made from KraftTex (a washable paper that feels and looks like leather).  Oh, and can you see the french knots I added to the dog's ears?  Black-on-black doesn't show up so well in photos...

What goes around the outside of a Valentine heart?  Well, I used rick-rack instead of lace.

 

I just used good old Perle cotton to stitch around some of the words pre-printed on the panel.

 And finally, the doggie on the back cover was missing a tail!  Can you imagine?  So I stitched up a little felt tail.  Much improved.

What do you think?  Are you a fan of cloth books?  Any favorite textural elements that the kids in your life really like?

Mid-month Check-in

"Forgiveness is important when you're trying to do something every day." --Abby Glassenberg, from the While She Naps podcast

It's more than halfway through the month of December, how is my 31 days of blogging coming along?  Well, dear reader, you have probably noticed that I have not written a blog post every day.  Yup, that happened (or didn't happen, really).

Pro's and Con's: what have I learned so far?

1. As of this post, I have published 9 blog posts in December.  This is more posts than I had in the entire year before December.  So... essentially going from not-blogging to somewhat-frequently-blogging.
2. The app on my phone no longer supports my blogging.  So I don't have the option to quickly snap a picture or 2 and have a simple blog post that way.  I should probably download one of the paid apps for this purpose--the photo step really tends to get in the way of quick posting.
3. On at least 3 occasions this month, I have been at a place where I consciously chose to sew instead of blogging.  If I get the chance to choose sewing, that will almost always win.  So how do I structure blogging so that it doesn't actively compete with sewing?  Hmm, something to think about...
4. Even Cheryl Sleboda, the lovely hostess of this 31-day challenge, has missed a few days.  December daily anything is HARD.
5. Perfectionism really gets in my way.  Always.  I have 29 draft posts in "partially completed" form, that could become published blog posts.  If only I didn't need to: take the picture, edit the picture, find the link, mess with the formatting, etc. etc. 



Hand sewing beats blogging?

6. My posts tend to be looong wordy.  True daily blogging would require shorter posts, with less emphasis on them each being a work of art.

These seem like valuable lessons.  I think embarking on new adventures and taking on challenges can provide those lessons in ways that clumping through life in my normal manner would not.  Have you learned from a recent challenge?  I'd love to hear about it.

Medicated

At some point, probably while I was busy not-blogging, I started taking medication for my ADD.  I am a little sheepish about admitting this publicly, because I was trying so hard to manage my symptoms without resorting to pharmaceutical intervention.  I saw the stimulant meds route as a failure of my willpower, or some other such nonsense.

I think I first entertained the notion after the 3rd time my therapist said, "Are you sure you haven't tried any medications for managing your ADD?"  (Um, I'm pretty sure I would know if I had been on meds for this...)

So I tried a prescription.  Very low dose.  And within a month, my therapist fired me as a weekly client, because most of the source of my frustrations and depression turned out to have been due to  dealing with the way my brain processed the world.  So that was a win.

But it's not all rainbows and bunnies.  I still struggle with my brain wandering off in random directions (see recent blog post, for example).  I am still incredibly slow at doing things.

I have major needs in terms of executive functioning of my brain.  These needs are not addressed by the meds.  As one of my HS students once said of ADD medications, "It helps me to focus, true, but it doesn't help me figure out what is important to focus on."

And so it goes.  Much better in some areas--I can leave a task half-finished because of an interruption and often come back to finish it--but no better in others.  Some days I am sad that I need to take a daily medication in order to "feel normal".  But then I spend some time in the presence of another adult with un-managed ADD, and I feel so bad for them.  I know what pinball game is going on in their brain; I am grateful that the meds allow my brain to have stepped away from that game.

Tutorial: HST 101

HST: half-square triangle, the basis for many quilt blocks

I know about 8 methods for making HST's.  Some of them involve special rulers, specially marked papers, or other tools to simplify the process.  I have my two favorites (a tool and a paper product), but I can and do use others--they each have their pro's and con's.

This tutorial will show the most common method for making TWO HST units.

The math

finished size of HST unit + 7/8"

Cut two squares of fabric this size (coordinating fabrics, contrasting fabrics, or focus fabric + background fabric).  For example, a 2" finished block will use two squares that are 2 7/8" by 2 7/8".  This measurement allows for the diagonal seam allowance, and will result in TWO HST units that each measure 2 1/2" on a side (and will finish within a larger quilt block at the desired 2")

Steps

1.  Marking
On the wrong side of one of the fabric squares (choose the lightest fabric for easier drawing), draw a line along ONE diagonal.

You may use any straight edge/ruler for making this line.  Similarly, you may use any pen/pencil that will make a narrow line; the line will be within your seam allowance and will not be seen.

Alternatively, a tool called the Quilter's Rule Quick Quarter can be used for this marking step.  If you use this tool (very brief video here from Connecting Threads on YouTube), you will mark not only on the center of the diagonal, but along each of the edges of the tool.  This marking should be done in pencil.


2.  Stitching
Place your two fabric squares right sides together, pinning if you wish.  (I pin here because I am cautious when sewing along a bias, and don't want any chance of distortion.)
Stitch 1/4" away from each side of the line drawn along your diagonal.

If you used the Quick Quarter tool, these 1/4" stitching lines have been drawn by you already.  Simply stitch along the drawn outside lines.

3.  Cut and press
Cut apart your square along the center diagonal line.  Open the two HST units, pressing the seam allowance to one side (usually toward the darker fabric, unless your pattern advises otherwise).

Want more HST techniques?  I have written about a couple other techniques here and here (these were not meant to be tutorials, but do include some details)

Can you learn a technique from just pictures and text, or do you need a video tutorial?