Boxes O’ Fun

For those of you who have been totally confused as of late in regards to where I am coming up with all the funky blocks, I will try to explain a bit.

For those of you who haven't been following, here are some pictures:

http://quiltedtimeposts.blogspot.com/2013/02/four-more-batik-art-blocks.html
http://quiltedtimeposts.blogspot.com/2013/02/four-more.html
http://quiltedtimeposts.blogspot.com/2013/02/peace-love-and-haight-ashbury.html
http://quiltedtimeposts.blogspot.com/2013/02/nine-more-in-no-particular-order.html

This is my treasure trove from which I am working. Some pieces are constructed from strips of fabric cut at gentle angles, then randomly sewn back together again. Some are crisscrossed again with more strips of fabric.



This is a box of small squares cut from those larger pieced units.



These pieced strips are leftover from a previous quilt. Most of you will figure out which quilt without too much trouble.



These are random log cabin blocks made from leftover strips.



This is my big, overflowing box of batik strips—sort of the glue that holds all the other goodies together in whatever order suits my fancy on a particular day. Great for stress relief and certainly more productive and healthier than some other choices.

Nine More In No Particular Order

Peace, Love, and Haight Ashbury

 

My first composition with my stash of partially finished art blocks reminded me of the bright tie-dyed colors of the 1960s and the neighborhoods that helped make them so popular. I was a little young then to fully understand the politics and social issues that fanned the flames, but the psychedelic colors certainly caught my eye. Nowadays when I sit in quilting circles with demure grandmothers who reminisce about once living free and riding on the back of motorcycles, it makes me shake my head. I wonder if at that young age they ever imagined where life’s road would take them.

 

Cranky Quilt

There is nothing like doing a project backwards and nothing like diving in without thinking things out. Sometimes I am so eager to get a glimpse of a final result, though, that I put the cart before the horse. Then again, it seems that it doesn’t matter how long we are quilters, there is always something new to learn, and there are always unexpected bumps in the road for us to gracefully overcome.
Case in point: I love the randomly placed concentric circles of quilting on my Vivid Imagination quilt but should have done a lot of things prior to beginning those circles to make the job a whole lot easier.



The first thing would have been to spray baste this quilt as well as pin baste it. The quilt is large--over 80 inches in length and width—and the layers tend to shift with the added weight. The majority of the pieces in this quilt also have two sides cut diagonally across the weave of the fabric, so they stretch and distort easily underneath the walking foot.

Certainly a stabilizing grid of stitching would have also been preferable to immediately starting in with stitching the circles, but at the time, I really was against stitching in the ditch with the exception of anchoring the two borders. After much thought, I have chosen to add a gently curving grid over the interior surface of the quilt, which will have the added benefit of shooting a arc or two through the open middles of my randomly placed circles.

Below you can see one of my planning lines.



I have found that spray starching and pressing a specific portion of my work prior to my quilting it has a lot of benefits. It smooths the layers of the quilt sandwich and allows the walking foot to move over the surface without so much drag. That does require that I temporarily remove some of the pin basting so that I can get the area pressed nice and flat.

My friend, Wendy, has introduced me to Dee’s Best Press and has me very impressed. It doesn’t leave the flaky residue like traditional spray starches.



The smooth surface also makes it easier to draw planning lines. Once my planning line is drawn, I replace my pin basting on both sides of the line, going with the grain of the fabric and square seams.

Here is my plastic template and the various marking tools I have used on this quilt. The variety of fabric colors has required that I use several different types and colors of disappearing markers and chalks to make the lines visible. I made the template myself from a gridded piece of transparent plastic.



A slow and tedious process to be sure, but I think the remainder of the circles will go a little easier with the support of the stitched grid lines.

Quilting is definitely not for sissies!

Four More

Actually, this is about four blocks and two halves. The four whole blocks are to the left and in the center. The halves are on the right side. I am not sure about keeping the checkerboard in the mix when I decide upon a final setting for all of the blocks—about 25, I think. The checkerboard was just something I found in the treasure box with all the other art squares. There is another one in the box as well.

Meanwhile, I am having fun.

Four More Batik Art Blocks

Last night left us with a dusting of beautiful powdery snow on the mountains that surround our San Joaquin Valley. The air is clear and cold. Inside, I am happy and toasty as I piece these bright blocks.

Ice Kachang Revisited

 

One of my fellow bloggers, Elaine, asked about the progress on my Ice Kachang quilt—the one that seems to be reproducing blocks. I had previously asked readers’ opinions about potential settings and got some valuable advice. Most said that they preferred the more straightforward simple pattern of alternating the warm and cool colored squares. Although I tend to lean toward the complicated, I had to agree with their suggestions. I had also initially planned to put the blocks on point, but the overall pattern created by the fabric strips shows up better if the blocks are simply put in traditional rows.

These were some of the other settings I auditioned:

http://quiltedtimeposts.blogspot.com/2013/01/still-auditioning-settings.html

Next I had to find fabric for a border or borders. I thought my stash should have something in it, but NOT. About the same time, I happened across so very bold multi-colored batik at an online store called Web Fabrics. I believe this zany beauty is made by Island Batiks. I know. It’s wild. I will try not to use too much. It just reminds me of all the goodies that are sprinkled on Ice Kachang.

http://quiltedtimeposts.blogspot.com/2013/01/ice-kachang.html

I will probably use the turquoise batik in the foreground for a very thin outer border and/or the binding.

On Saturday I just happened to see this perfect fabric for the backing. It is called Dapples and is by Westminster Fibers. Scattered over the top of it are the quilt blocks that I found hiding in a basket yesterday. I had wondered where all of the pink and oranges ones had gone. I will probably have enough to add another row to each side, which will bring me up to 10 X 10 blocks. Still on the small side since the blocks are only 4 X 4”.

So instead of this one being finished first, Ice Kachang will have to wait for Rainy Garden Windows. It’s already sandwiched and about half of the ditch stitching is done. If you look closely, you can see all of the safety pins.

Thanks to everyone for their generous advice.

The Secret Life of Squares

Today was one of those rare days that greeted me with a mild sense of dread. I had put things off long enough. My studio was in desperate need of attention. There were so many storage boxes sitting on the floor—most open and half empty. Some were overflowing with supplies for projects that were waiting to get started. Then there were those boxes of fabric that needed to be prewashed. Fortunately, the weekend has been a sunny one, and I have kept my clothesline busy drying the freshly laundered fabric.

Funny things always happen when I clean and organize my studio. In fact, I am almost certain that some things might have a life of their own in there when I am not about. Sort of like the toys that talk to each other in the Velveteen Rabbit.

Today I found a big box—the kind that holds 10 reams of copy paper, 500 sheets each. Inside was a treasure trove of pieced art blocks. I think I made these about 18 month ago but lost them in the deep recesses of my studio when I got busy with other things.

 

The squares simply needed to be trimmed. An occasional block needed a strip of fabric sewn along one or two sides to bring it up to the desired 10 X 10”.



That sent me hunting for orphan fabric strips. Slim pickings since I have actually been using them up. I searched the little basket that held the leftovers from my Rainy Garden Windows quilt—the little quilt that came into being because I had so many Ice Kaching squares left over.



Holy moley!!! Look what I found in that basket. More Ice Kachang squares!



I am beginning to suspect that my quilt squares are having babies.

Signs of Spring

 

 

 

 

 

Switched at the Nursery

 

Seriously? The tag at the nursery said that this plant would produce Brussel sprouts. Looks like a cabbage to me. Beautiful, but a cabbage.

Take a closer look. I have six of them, and each one is about a foot across.

This is definitely broccoli. No questions there.

Zee could care less. This is the first warm day in a long while, and she is doing her best to enjoy it.

Every Little Bit

The last several weeks have seen me toting my lattice cube blocks back and forth to work each day. I eat my lunch very quickly, then hand piece for 25 minutes or so. Generally I only get one or two inset seams accomplished during that short amount of time, but in the long run, those precious moments add up. I hadn’t been paying particular attention to how many blocks I had made, but I was fairly certain that I was getting close to finishing the required nine blocks.

This afternoon I got them altogether and laid them out in one place.



I was amazed. Only about 1 1/2 blocks to go! Kind of reminds me of a favorite quote:

It has been my observation that most people get ahead during the time that others waste.Henry Ford

Frozen in the Land of Perfection

Since this is my year to pull my almost finished wall hangings out of their designated places of waiting, I thought I had better take a look at this one and figure out why I stopped working on it in the first place.

I expected to see all kinds of stitching that needed to be removed.

This is all I found: A pinwheel block that had been pulled off kilter while I was top stitching it. See, I even marked it neatly with a safety pin. That’s my reminder to myself that something is in need of correction. Many times when I am debating whether I have actually made a mistake, I just attach a safety pin and just keep on sewing. Most times when I go back to look at it a few days later, the stitching in question is just fine. Just the perfectionist in me rearing its intolerant head.

Correcting that little bit of stitching was not the only thing that was rubbing me the wrong way. I had put two battings in this quilt—a very thin Hobbs cotton batting for stability on the bottom and a thin layer of polyester for a puffy effect on the top. An added benefit of the cotton batting on the bottom is that it eliminates the obnoxious tendency that some polyester battings have  to roll beneath the walking foot and make ugly tucks on the back of the quilt.

Nevertheless, two battings can be a pain to get through. I was feeling so sorry for myself that I just hung the quilt up on a wall rack in the back bedroom and ignored it for a couple…..er, YEARS. I had decided that I was the only goofball on earth who used two sheets of batting on one quilt. Should I take the whole thing apart and start over?

Better think a long time about that.

Tuesday evening at my dinner with the Sewful Sisters, Corey answered my question without even knowing it. One of the quilts she brought along to share had two battings: One of cotton for stability, and additional wool batting on top of that to lend a sculptured effect to her lovely quilting.

Wow, I felt better. I took my quilt off its rack, and everything looked so much better. I can do this.

Thanks, Corey.

Corey Makes Chicken Adobo for the Sewful Sisters

The Sewful Sisters met this evening. Attendance was good since we knew we were going to be treated to a home cooked meal. Corey, one of our members, cooked rice, chicken adobo, and a stir fried noodle dish. Truly delicious. Sorry, no pictures of the food. We ate it all.
Corey is also an excellent long arm quilter. She is the lady who is sitting in the middle. Corey made this quilt using the French General collection. She even mastered that 10 minute block that we were all having such a difficult time understanding how to make.



This is a close-up view of her quilting:



This is a wine themed quilt that Corey also brought to share. This one has a lot of custom quilting on it. Beautiful work!



Corey and our hostess, Lois, collaborated on this one. They called it a minimalist quilt, which I hadn’t heard of before. Corey pieced the simple blocks of Kona cotton fabrics together. Lois machine appliqued various sea motifs here and there. Corey is going to quilt it with a wave inspired design. We look forward to seeing the finished product.



Lois has also been busy finishing the last of the small seasonal quilts that she hangs on her front door. One for each month. They are adorable!









Lois has also been busy making a summer weight quilt for her king sized bed. She foundation pieced the blocks on fabric, sewed them together with sashing, then added a muslin backing—no batting. The foundation squares act as a stabilizer and a very thin batting. The result is a great lightweight quilt. This one is definitely attractive as well.



Thank you, Corey and Lois, for a wonderful dinner. Good food, awesome quilts, and fun friends. It doesn’t get any better than that.

Rainy Garden Windows

 

When it is raining in my beloved garden, I snuggle up inside and quilt. I have my sewing table positioned so that I can see the birds and flowers in my garden as I sew. This weekend was beautiful outside, however, this little quilt demanded my attention. It will be about 35” X 35” when it is quilted.

 

Really Buzzing Today

 

It is not unusual to have a block or two left over when a quilt is all stitched and done. But how about 40 and counting? Once I finally decided upon a layout for my Ice Kachang quilt, I still had a small mountain of leftover pieced blocks. Some were already framed with sashing—After all that work, I had decided not to use them.

That meant one thing: Another quilt was in my future.

I started out yesterday evening with a basic plan. Nothing in stone. I placed the framed blocks around the outside edges, then filled in the middle with all kinds of 4-inch batik squares that I had cut for other projects in the past and decided against using for one reason or another.

My first plan did not involve putting sashing between the blocks. The audition didn’t really inspire me, though.

By then It was late in the evening, and I was too tired to go any further. So I stumbled off to bed, disappointed. I was tempted to pick everything up and put it all away until I actually had a firm idea of where I was going with the mess.

Things looked a little better this morning-especially when I raided the fabric I had added to my stash during the post-holiday sales—stuff that I hadn’t planned on using quite so soon. I guess I knew what I was doing when I bought it, because I found just what I needed.

I cut sashing strips of a multi-colored watery batik. I used a pink spotted batik for the cornerstones and the outer sashings and borders.

And yes, I do use a dressmaker’s grid to lay my blocks out on for smaller compositions.  I have been known to push two together for larger quilts. They keep everything square, and if I get in a bind and need to put things away,  I can pin the blocks to the cardboard and fold everything up for storage.

This is how far I have gotten today. Almost all of the vertical rows are sewn together. I am not sure that I will do anymore this evening. Pretty wiped out, but happy.

By the way, I still have about 25 more blocks left.

Forward to the Past

This morning six childhood friends and myself met for brunch. It was the first time we had all been together in one place since the early 1970s. The choice of venue was appropriate: The Padre Hotel was originally opened in 1928 as a luxury hotel and restaurant, but had fallen into disrepair over the decades. About ten years ago, it was sold to new owners, remodeled and refurbished at great cost. In 2010 the eight story high hotel reopened with every bit and more of its former grand style. There are now several eateries there at which to dine nowadays. We chose the Brimstone, which is on the ground floor and offers brunch on Saturdays and Sundays.

From left to right are Maureen, Vicky, Cindy, myself, Nancy, Robin, and Teri. Our waitress was very sweet and kind taking pictures of all of us with a total of seven cell phones and cameras. She was very well rewarded with an awesome tip.

What a wonderful reunion!