Remembrance

In honor and memory of our Veterans, our heroes. 

Making Triangle Units

     There is something very freeing about easy piecing.  Just let the machine hum along and your mind wander along too.  Before I  knew it I had put together about 2 dozen cobblestone blocks. Now, I have no plan right now for the cobblestone blocks, but I will continue to accumulate them and develop  a future project for them. 

    The thing that was exciting was the flash of memory that  I had.  A while back, I mentioned the Olympic banners  that look like quilts.  I want to do a banner or maybe a series of seasonal banners with that same look.  I had  thought about several methods.....diamonds and strips, squares on point,  and  equilateral triangles, even just fusing and top stitching pieces down.  But it did not come together in my head until I remembered part of  a tutorial I had run across a few months ago on the 60 degree triangle.  At the time I first read it, I thought  "Too confusing, and  all those triangles!"  

     I will digress here to explain my aversion to triangles....or small triangles at least.   A  few  years ago, I participated in a mystery quilt at guild.  Things were going well, until the "red herring" clue came up in the 3rd or 4th month.  The instructions were  to sew about a million little triangle cut offs into 1 1/2 inch half square triangles, and then turn them into 2"  pinwheels!   Well, I did some of them---about a dozen pinwheels---and decided that was enough.  I figured I would just substitute a plain square or larger HST in the mystery quilt.  Fast forward to the end------the pinwheels were NOT used in the quilt at all.  Yep, I was furious about it.  I  knew that was the last mystery I would do and the last time I would deal with a quilt with so many small / tiny / miniature pieces, especially if they are triangles.   


    So I went looking for the tutorial to give it a second chance.   Kim Brackett at Magnolia Bay Quilts   has  added to her tutorial on the 60 Degree Triangle.   It is now in 3 parts  for making large units of 60 degree triangles.   I did spend a while copying and pasting  to a document to print  for reference.  

  These are a couple of the units  I  put together without having to cut lots of triangles.  I am working with strips and a few cut angles to begin with, and adding and cutting until I get a large enough size.  Sometimes you lose a point  or need to add a small corner piece, but I am liking it so far.    Her technique results in a very scrappy look.....and I think it will work for what I want to do.    Guess I will be making triangle units this weekend.....
 Happy stitching.  
  

Heads Up...part 2

Quilted, and bound, and awaiting a label. 

 I ended up having to use a jeans needle on this one for the free motion quilting, especially around the leaves at the bottom.  Just too many layers I think.  At the bottom, I used a darker thread and up and down spikes to mimic the leaves for quilting. 

 For the rest of the quilt, I just created a background of flowing lines a la McTavishing....sort of.  And swirls around the entire thing for a border.  The outdoor photo shows the quilting better.

This ended up 35" and 42"....it is going over the love seat in the great room.

 One more to go to finish up the summer projects.  And finally, the weather has "cooled" to normal!  We should have a week of 80's----I will take them.  I've been following Bonnie Hunter's blog....she is in Alaska and I am so jealous.   Maybe next summer.

Happy stitching. 

Catch up day

I haven't gotten much sewing done in the last few days, as my brother has been here.  So today is a catch up day. 

I had  2 emails with  questions about the "angled border" on  the cobblestones.   "How did you  do it?" and "How did you measure the lengths of the strips?"   So I thought I would give  better details here on what I did.

    I selected the fabrics I was going to use for borders.  On the right side I wanted a lot of light and a small amount of dark at the bottom.  I had a short piece of the medium (middle print) that I joined to the light strip. I joined those 2 fabrics just as  I would do when joining binding strips on the diagonal. 

This photo is from a quick binding tutorial, so the fabrics are not from this project, but the technique is the same.  The key is to remember to sew from the upper left to the lower right....corner to corner.  Draw a stitching line if you need to.  Cut the extra corner off  leaving 1/4" seam, open and press.   

  I then added the bottom piece in the same manner.  To keep the diagonals going in the same direction, be sure to have the previously joined piece on the bottom.  I had not cut the top or bottom piece to a specific length before joining.  I knew I wanted extra length on the ends when joined.  I used my "slip and slide" method to determine exactly where I wanted the diagonals to be.  

   Slip and Slide:  Place wall hanging on the design wall.  Place the border to be added next to it.  Determine placement by slipping it up or sliding it down.  In this case, I was most concerned with where the light angle was positioned.   Once I figured it out--- marked with chalk or pin on both the wall hanging and the border piece.   Then measure.....the wall hanging to determine the length of the strip you need for the border.  ( You need to keep everything equal, so measuring is important.)   Then pin the border in place--right side to the wall hanging matching the the placement mark.  Measure and mark the border to the correct length.   Sew, easing in if needed. Then  cut off the extra length at the top and bottom. 

  So I hope this is clear and  I will tackle the watercolor questions tomorrow. 

Happy stitching.

Heads Up

Update to the cobblestones on the design wall:

I added a border to the leftover cobblestone blocks....except at the bottom.  I'll add that after the applique.  I wanted the border to focus the light source. I used several strips joined on the diagonal to get the effect I wanted.  The diagonals just seems to naturally move the eye to the center.  The bottom will be dark, like the bottom piece on the sides.  Sometimes, I get lucky and love how it turns out!

   I promised applique.....machine applique,  of course.  The subject has to reflect the heat we are enduring this summer.  It's back  for at least another week of high 90's. Very little can withstand the temps that we are having.  A few cosmos and cone flowers are surviving it.  I have some late season day lilies that are dark red, and small this year.  So I took some artistic license with them for my applique.

 

A marathon session of fusing and the daylilies are seeking the light source.  I used steam a seam 2 for the fusible on this one.  It has a tacky/sticky feel to the pieces and makes it easy to move the appliques around to determine placement.  And it really sticks!  Be sure of position before fusing.

  I had a rough sketch I was working from, but the placement never seems to match my sketch--no matter what I do.  And right now I am debating on adding some extra stems or adding buds to a couple of the long stems.   And then lots of stitching and some thread painting.....the fun part!

  Remember to get your browser updated....blogger is going to be up graded tomorrow.  And the Wantobe a quilter giveaway begins August 1.....don't miss out. Click the sidebar button for details.

Happy stitching.

Do you use Leftovers?

I am not a fan of "leftovers for dinner", any more than I like leftover blocks from a quilt.  They only take up space and rarely get used.  At least, by me, they rarely get used. 

   I was sorting the piles on the work table and putting away the batiks.  Yikes, guess what I found.  More cobblestone blocks.  Hard to believe I had discarded these when putting together  Cobblestone Lane, but I did.   So, I decided to re-purpose them into a background piece for some applique. 

Not all the sizes matched, so I   had to do some sacrificial cutting to make things fit into rows.  I also needed to add a few filler strips to have the rows the same size.

I am auditioning a few different fabrics for the first border.  I am going for a blended look...so lighter at the top and  darkening down the sizes to the bottom.  I'm not satisfied with the right side at all....so more work to be done there.    I'll leave it on the design wall to ponder on while I get the applique ready to add.    

  And what to do with strings?   I found a good many of those too.  With the price of fabric going up, I couldn't throw them away.   Some are straight, most are crooked on one side, a few are only an inch wide......I decided to sew them together...no matter what.  I have a plan for them....and no, not a journal project, or an art quilt.  This will be a useful item, I hope, when finished. 

Insight:  Fabric is expensive.  Leftover blocks and strings = $.  Find a reason or way to use them.   Somehow... that means I saved money!

Happy stitching. 

Cobblestone Lane

Cobblestone blocks finished.....bound and labeled. 

    This is a small lap quilt, about 46 " by 55".  Just right for me!  Of course, it's way to hot to use it now.  Can't you tell by the drooping hydrangea leaves?   But it will be perfect for this fall....

The label turned out great.  I found a graphic of cobblestones and used it for the background.  I call it Cobblestone Lane.  In the College Park area of Orlando, where I grew up, there are still the old brick and stone side streets.  When I shared an apartment with Pat, we would ride bikes (for exercise!) down Elizabeth Street to the lake.  Bump, bump, bump all the way.

Quilting was just simple wavy lines in a grid on this one.  I used variegated  YLI thread for a change since I was not doing free motion quilting. 

Thanks to Wanda for sharing her original design for the cobblestones.   It's a great project to use those scraps.

Stay cool, and happy stitching.

Some florabunda blocks

The batik cobblestones came off the design wall.....time to get it squared up.  I was trying to decide if I wanted a border on it or not.   I think not.  I want to use this as a lap throw.  It is 48" by 55" and that is just about right.  Adding a border just seems to detract rather than add anything to the over all design.  I'll just save that strip for something else.

  So put on your sunglasses....for a quick peek at a few florabunda blocks I put together last night while watching TV.   :0)
 The blocks go together quickly once you get the 4 patch units and HST ready.  So I am pressing units today and stacking them up for sewing.

 
These blocks are really a good showcase for all my florals.  I can't wait to see how it will develop as I make a few blocks with softer  and more muted values.  Right now, it makes me remember cruising through Steak and Shake in Winter Park in Doreen's yellow mustang.  Heavens, that was a long time ago....here's to the Summer of Love!

Happy stitching.

A few rows of Cobblestones

  Four rows sewn and one more is ready to add.  Can you tell I am still practicing with the camera? Russ got out the tripod for me and gave me instructions for setting it up. I was just so tired of taking fuzzy pictures!

 While I had the tripod set up, I took a few shots of the design wall.   I re-arranged a couple of rows--vertical rows-- so that the sizes were mixed up.  My blocks are cut either 5 1/2", 6", or 6 1/2" wide.  The length varies for each one....that's why they don't quite line up AND I don't have to worry with matching seam lines.
                                                                                                            











This is a close up of the bottom edge....see the next one to be added is about  one inch short?  No problem, I'll just add a strip to make it fit.
See the bottom of row 1 and row 3....they have  an extra  strip added.
I think of it as a fudge factor.  Add it to the top or insert a strip in the middle of the blocks to make it fit.   Just like wedging in an extra stone in the walkway of cobblestones to get a tight fit!
   Forgive my attempt at humor.....I typed fudge, thought of chocolate, and feel a craving coming on. 
Happy stitching.

What's on the design wall now?

  

 Nature abhors a vacuum, just like I can't abide an empty design wall!  Yes, the yellow and floral blocks will get there eventually, but for now they are just strips and  4 patch units.  I have the triangles to cut before I get the blocks rolling.

  So out came the box of batik cobblestones,  inspired by Wanda's creations, that I have been working on---off and on--for about a year.  She did a series of small quilts using her cobblestone blocks and also strips.  I was fascinated by them and started on a box of batik scraps I had.  I was surprised at how many I had put together from left over pieces from projects.    Batiks always amaze me because no matter what you put in the mix, they just seem to work well together. 

  Anyway, I am just moving them around and trying to balance out the colors and values for now.  This throw will  probably end up about 45" by 60"!   A nice size from just scraps.  That's a great serendipity.

Happy stitching. 

Day 4 Cabin Fever

I am so over the "oh, snow is so pretty".  This is what we are dealing with on Day 4.....ice shards!  And everything is still covered.  No more snow, for me.  I may have to become a Florida snowbird next year.   Forgive my rant, as cabin fever has set in. 
   Tomorrow I am breaking out of here, and heading for groceries.....I need some chocolate!

Enough white....how about some color?  

 I worked on an on-going, put aside project.....

the batik cobblestones.  I got  a stack them  pressed today and started trimming them to a couple of consistent sizes.   I love the way the batiks blend and the colors work together.  And these are from leftovers and scraps from projects.  I haven't cut strips from my stash at all for these, and the box is still about 1/2 of the box  full.  So I have lots more to put together. 

 Happy stitching.

One Fabric quilt blocks and cobblestones

Friday night was Bee night and I made a big dent in piecing the one fabric quilt blocks...finally the 25 blocks are completed.  I even got the smaller ones pieced that will be cornerstone blocks in the border.   The top photo shows a few  of the blocks.  The rest have to be squared up so I can begin sewing them all together. 

This is very much like the 4 patch swirl technique, except you cut large triangles--corner to corner--rather than cut squares.  I did not "fussy" cut the fabric so the blocks are not perfect swirls.  I decided I would be happier with more blocks and less waste and could stand the imperfections.  In the second photo  you can see the fabric I chose to use.  It was a "show special" and the 3 1/2 yards was all that they had.  And as it is I may have to very creative in the border to have enough fabric. It should end up about 45 inches square, I hope. 

I have been following a blog called Exuberant Color for a few weeks.  Wanda is a prolific quilter and has an amazing sense of color.  I spotted her series that she called "Cobblestones" done in batiks and have read all the posts.   Since I have just completed Autumn's Carpet done in batiks, I have a box of  batiks scraps and pieces that I could not toss.  So....a new scrap project has begun to use those odd pieces.  This will be on-going for a while as I expect  a lot more scraps from the french braid quilt I will be doing in batiks too.  So here's a photo of a few of those that I have put together.  They are not squared up or trimmed to any size yet.  That is what is so great about this technique.  Start with what ever size square or rectangle you have, and add strips around it log cabin style.  You will end up with several general size blocks when you square them up.  So each row could be a different size block.  And the blocks will probably end up staggered when the rows are joined.  A very scappy effect.  Anyway, I think this  will be a great project at night for the featherweight.  No thinking or planning, just stitching. 

Tomorrow I will begin the preparations for Thanksgiving dinner.  I like to get a few things done ahead of time and stash them in the freezer so I don't cook all day Wednesday and Thursday.  Rosemary bread is the plan for tomorrow.  And then a little time for stitching.