Right now?

  First the saga of that "snake in the grass" scrappy trips top that needed to be ripped apart.  Finally un-sewn, gently starched and pressed, and re-sewn correctly.....including the outer stay-stitching.   I find I am no longer in love with it, and not really wanting to finish it.  At least  not right now.  At some point in time for someone.....just not  right now.

   I toyed with the idea of Bonnie's new leader and ender block project, the Shoo Fly block.  I think I would enjoy it larger rather than the 4 or 6 inch version.    Since I am not in the mood to figure it out or do the math, I am passing for right now. 
    Are you sensing a theme in my mood....right now?   Maybe it is the heat and humidity, or it could be the summer doldrums that has me unsettled and unfocused.  When I get this way, I tend to return to a favorite pattern that I did enjoy.
   Looking into the stash closet, I saw a couple of partial packages of pre-cut charms squares in the batik basket.   I never buy those pre-cuts, so I am pretty sure, they were won several years back.  Then the floral fabric shelves are overflowing and need to be organized.  That means pulling things out and refolding or stacking.  So if I am going to handle things once, I am going to make it count for something.

  This is a scrappy quilt made by in 2014, and given away.  I always liked the movement  and variety in the pattern.  So with lots of 5'' squares to use up,  a plan came to mind.    Cutting squares and strips from lots of  floral fabrics, finding some extra batiks for narrow strips, I have been busy in between the ripping.







   I am only about half way thru the re-organizing  right now.  I have a few blocks to show for it.  And that is enough for right now to get me working on a project that I can enjoy.

   Happy stitching.

Blog Banner---From my archives

Rather than fending and answering a couple dozen emails, I thought it would be easier to re-post this from 2017.    I responded to a post by Kerry on the Quiltville Studio Group on FB and she mentioned my blog.  She had been inspired to make a beautiful version of Scrappy Trips in floral fabrics by my banner.  Others had questions....so here is a post that could answer many of them.
From July 2017.......

Insight:   Things occur and happen to direct you along the road 

you are suppose to take.  There are signs we can chose to ignore, 

but with advanced age I have learned to be more 

receptive to directions.  At least sometimes. 

   All of this to say......this has been a week for emails and questions....not just requests for patterns.  Questions are a good thing.  Questions ask for help, provide direction, point up details I have forgotten, and they let me know what readers/followers want to know.   So after 3 questions about the quilt shown in the blog banner, I think I needed to provide details.  A hunt thru past posts revealed a big lack of details.  I have no idea what happened about that.

   Trippin'  Thru the Flowers is from 2014.  I began working on this as a Let's Book It project in April/May 2014.  The pattern is from Bonnie Hunter at Quiltville.    She calls it Scrappy Trips.   It is a Trip Around the World variation.....many small trips in fact.  My version is based on value rather than one color.   So.....chains of value radiate around the center square creating diamond bands of value.   Doesn't that sound rich?

  Value......not color.  Value is the lightness or darkness of the fabric.   And the secret to a quilt with the changes in value like this is variety.  You can't have enough floral prints to chose from :)   

 Three things I use to work with value in a water color (or a scrap quilt) are

•  a value viewer (ruby beholder), 
• a design wall, 
• and a camera.   

Learn to sort your fabrics into correct value groups.   I use a ruby beholder viewer.  Additional tip....... Visit Exuberant Color for some good lessons... variety of value  ,  a lesson on value .  I learned great lessons from Wanda's blog, and there is no reason to create my version when she is a master at this.  

Design wall.....big, small, permanent or portable, it is so important.  I can stand back from a design layout about 8-10 feet and see how the values are working together.  In this design I wanted to  see distinct lines of dark and light.  I needed areas of medium value fabrics to blend to the dark and to the light fabrics.  

A camera....if all else fails, take a photo.  Look at it on the computer and amazingly, I can see where problems lie that need to be fixed.  Added tip....turn the photo into a black and white version and you will see instant photo based on value!

Back to the quilt............  

This is how the Scrappy Trips is put together.  4 blocks come together to make up the small trip around the world unit that you see.   If you read thru Bonnie's pattern, you will know that it takes 6 strips for each block unit.    So I had to make several variations for the variety in the full quilt.

   I laid out the strips according to value from dark to light before sewing them together.  It was important to be sure the dark and light fabrics were distinct and not too "mushy".   The lowest block on the left is just a little bit too mushy.  Compare it to the upper corner block that is diagonal to it.  Much stronger light in the center creates the radiating diamond.     So yes, I did have to do some planning--not too much--- to be sure I had light center units forming as well as dark center units.  

 And now a little further along.

   I got better as I went along....selecting fabrics to put together to blend and to have contrast.  

  In the pattern instructions, after you make sub-cuts you unpick a seam to join the rows.  The strongest dark or lightest light fabric was needed to run thru the center to get the pattern.  

   So many Scrappy Trips became Trippin' Thru the Flowers.   And  then became my blog banner.......as it speaks dearly of the floral fabrics I love.   The blended values  remind me of shadows  in the garden in the evenings.  Movement can be strong and still gentle and that is what this quilt says to me.  

Happy stitching.

UPDATE:  After a few more comments and emails I realized there was a beginning section not detailed.   So I am adding a few more details here.    This is one of the stratas I used.    The strata is 6 fabric strips about 13'' by 2''  that are sewn together darkest to lightest in this example.  The blend might run  from very dark to light medium, or  dark to medium to light.  It will depend on your fabric selections.  

  When the strata is sewn into the tube and the sub-cuts are made,  The darkest fabric should be the bottom left corner of your layout.    Again, the technique for sewing is found at Quiltville under the free tab.  It is the fabric choice that makes this version different.  

Between the rains

  I glanced out the office window as I was answering emails and saw a swath of yellow blooms.  These are large, very large daylilies called Buttered Popcorn.  Isn't that name just the best!     I had Sir Old Man separate them last fall and plant them all alone the front walkway.    They are quite prolific bloomers.









  He had to tie up the gladiolas near the window that are just coming into bloom.    We have had 2 '' of rain in the last 2 days, and more  coming.  So I am afraid the these stems will be beaten down or broken soon. 









  On the design wall......
I unearthed a hidden UFO.  Well, not really a UFO, just a very long term project.  Anyway, I found about 20 of these block units while Sir Old Man was in Alaska.  I sewed most of them into 4 block units to create the small Trips Around the World unit. 
  Once I got them up on the design wall, I started sewing up more of the strata units of 6.   I have shared this many times.....from Bonnie at Quiltville.  It's the Scrappy Trips around the World.
  So this is what I have been sewing when I found a few minutes.   I like the very scrappy nature of this, and it is just fun stitching.  I probably need another 20 or so blocks for a large size.  So I will just keep going on this long term one. 
  Thanks for all the wonderful comments on Sir Old Man's project.  He was floored by the response. 
Happy stitching.

Scrappy Trips anyone?

  It is always nice to get email from followers.  And even better when they share their version of a project that I inspired.  Just this morning I had an email from Nancy with a photo of her version of my "Tripping' thru the Flowers"----the one I use as a banner photo. 

Made by Nancy and shared at Stitchin'  Therapy

  Nancy said she has just recently retired and got going on this.  Didn't it turn out great?  I love her border fabric and how it just pulls the blues out of the center.  Just fabulous and exciting design.  I like her very clever borders too.  Thanks, Nancy, for sharing your finish with us.  

  

   My post with details for Trippin' thru the Flowers is here.    Links to the original source, Bonnie Hunter at Quiltville, and some details about my version.  

   It's a rainy day here, so no photos from my finish yet.  I plan on making a label today at least.  Yet viewing Nancy's quilt inspires me to play a bit with floral fabrics......wonder what trouble I can get into?

Happy stitching.  

Another inspiration photo

  I love getting emails from like-minded quilters -----who love floral fabrics.

Cynthia sent a photo of her recently completed water color quilt.  Look familiar?

 Scrappy Trips is done in floral fabrics.  The pattern is available at Quiltville under the free tab with a full tutorial on the block.   Cynthia was careful to keep a very light and a very dark fabric next to each other when laying out the strips for piecing.  That is how she achieved the distinct design.

  I have explained this before, but once more for new readers.  This pattern is made in blocks that look like a large Trip Around the World.  The block is strip pieced and made up of 6 different fabrics.  When you look at the quilt, the distinct "block" you think is the pattern is really made of 4 blocks.  Here is the link to my post   that explains it in more detail. 

  I asked Cynthia is she had a large floral fabric stash or had she been on a big buying spree.  She acquired the floral fabrics from searching----wait for it--- thrift shops!  She used  curtains and sheets she found there.  What a super way to create a stash for this project!    And she did a really great job on the quilt.  She says this is the first of many more watercolor projects to come.  

  I am delighted to share these photos from others.  It  inspires me to keep at it.  And I hope it inspires and motivates you to jump in and try a project you love.  

Thanks for a great start to a very warm week.

Happy stitching.  

Blog banner quilt is Scrappy Trips

    I have been quieter the last few weeks, slower too.  I had debated on resting a longer while from blog posting and not really starting anything new.   I wasn't going to close my blog, but I did feel I had repeated myself so much that I was boring.

Insight:   Things occur and happen to direct you along the road 

you are suppose to take.  There are signs we can chose to ignore, 

but with advanced age I have learned to be more 

receptive to directions.  At least sometimes. 

   All of this to say......this has been a week for emails and questions....not just requests for patterns.  Questions are a good thing.  Questions ask for help, provide direction, point up details I have forgotten, and they let me know what readers/followers want to know.   So after 3 questions about the quilt shown in the blog banner, I think I needed to provide details.  A hunt thru past posts revealed a big lack of details.  I have no idea what happened about that.

   Trippin'  Thru the Flowers is from 2014.  I began working on this as a Let's Book It project in April/May 2014.  The pattern is from Bonnie Hunter at Quiltville.    She calls it Scrappy Trips.   It is a Trip Around the World variation.....many small trips in fact.  My version is based on value rather than one color.   So.....chains of value radiate around the center square creating diamond bands of value.   Doesn't that sound rich?

  Value......not color.  Value is the lightness or darkness of the fabric.   And the secret to a quilt with the changes in value like this is variety.  You can't have enough floral prints to chose from :)   

 Three things I use to work with value in a water color (or a scrap quilt) are

•  a value viewer (ruby beholder), 
• a design wall, 
• and a camera.   

Learn to sort your fabrics into correct value groups.   I use a ruby beholder viewer.  Additional tip....... Visit Exuberant Color for some good lessons... variety of value  ,  a lesson on value .  I learned great lessons from Wanda's blog, and there is no reason to create my version when she is a master at this.  

Design wall.....big, small, permanent or portable, it is so important.  I can stand back from a design layout about 8-10 feet and see how the values are working together.  In this design I wanted to  see distinct lines of dark and light.  I needed areas of medium value fabrics to blend to the dark and to the light fabrics.  

A camera....if all else fails, take a photo.  Look at it on the computer and amazingly, I can see where problems lie that need to be fixed.  Added tip....turn the photo into a black and white version and you will see instant photo based on value!

Back to the quilt............  

This is how the Scrappy Trips is put together.  4 blocks come together to make up the small trip around the world unit that you see.   If you read thru Bonnie's pattern, you will know that it takes 6 strips for each block unit.    So I had to make several variations for the variety in the full quilt.

   I laid out the strips according to value from dark to light before sewing them together.  It was important to be sure the dark and light fabrics were distinct and not too "mushy".   The lowest block on the left is just a little bit too mushy.  Compare it to the upper corner block that is diagonal to it.  Much stronger light in the center creates the radiating diamond.     So yes, I did have to do some planning--not too much--- to be sure I had light center units forming as well as dark center units.  

 And now a little further along.

   I got better as I went along....selecting fabrics to put together to blend and to have contrast.  

  In the pattern instructions, after you make sub-cuts you unpick a seam to join the rows.  The strongest dark or lightest light fabric was needed to run thru the center to get the pattern.  

   So many Scrappy Trips became Trippin' Thru the Flowers.   And  then became my blog banner.......as it speaks dearly of the floral fabrics I love.   The blended values  remind me of shadows  in the garden in the evenings.  Movement can be strong and still gentle and that is what this quilt says to me.  

Happy stitching.

September is a wrap

   September felt very busy, but looking back I did not have finishes.   We were gone for the first couple of weeks, so......progress counts, doesn't it?

Two scrap projects underway are still in progress.    The scrappy project for Let's Book it from August has grown and looks so much better because of the extra variety of fabrics.  I assembled the completed blocks into 4 patches, using 2 dark paired with 2 light or medium blocks.   That will keep the values scattered and running on the diagonal line.  I probably need about 24 more blocks before putting this one together.

  A stack of 62 blocks for the Carolina Chain.  These are only 6" blocks, so I will need to keep on adding scraps to get the 120 blocks I think that I need.


     




  The small watercolor is off the wall, fused and under the needle.  I have had a very hard time locating gridded interfacing locally.....and on line the price has jumped dramatically.  So who needs those lines, anyway.  I purchased regular interfacing---lightweight---and drew a couple of reference lines on it myself.  Then just fused away.





 The blended Many Trips is pinned and ready to quilt....progress at least.   This will be my main focus for October....get this one finished as I want to use it in the trunk show in November.  And then there are all the quilts to pull out and get ready for that program.....and a class to teach.  So light plans, will give me time to breathe, relax, and plan.   Happy stitching.    
               

Let's Book it in June

  End of June and I just got the May project put together.   I added a single strip of floral fabrics to finish it off.....but I am thinking I need one more round before I get it quilted.












 Here is the post where I started this Book It project.  Quite a change from where the idea began!













  I made a start on June's project......it is from my "someday file", just a page torn from a magazine of a few blocks.   So no directions, or pattern available, and that is why it has never made it to the worktable. The caption called it "Many trips", but no other details.    I decided to try a few blocks using the Scrappy Trips  from Bonnie Hunter technique and see what happened   I started with several stratas of floral fabrics arranged dark to light.  These are then sewn into a tube and sub-cut again.  Bonnie has a great tutorial on the technique, so see her tute for details.


 



   Here are seven blocks that I completed so far.  Yes, I know it looks like a watercolor.....what else would you expect?   I am a broken record.
 
   Since I did not get very far this month, expect to see this one again for July.   What's in your "someday file"?

 Linking to Vroomans Quilts for Let's Book It.