Divide and Conquer

  It was last year when I purchased several pre-printed panels.   I made a small wall hanging as a daily reminder to me to have a grateful heart.    It resides on the pantry door and I see it often during the day.









  A couple of months later I put together another small wall hanging to use as a gift.   I used an accent color to frame the main part,  and added butterflies for an accent.
  That left a larger section to divide up or use together.  I knew I wanted to add a narrow frame around the next batch and blend with the 2'' squares of floral fabrics.








    The larger section got cut up after all.  I wanted to frame the two main portions for an added pop of color.  I had just a small bit of this purple for the 1'' border.    I love how it makes the purple in the printed sections stand out.
   I played around with  very irregular/asymmetrical blended sections.  I tried to keep the darkest to the corners so as not to detract from the center.   It worked to create the depth I was hoping for to give a more artsy feel.
  Garden of Praise is a wall hanging that is 33'' by 36''.



Today all were finished!  With the sun out  and no rain drops to spoil the photo taking process, we ventured out to the deck.    I wanted to have a photo comparison of the finished projects.

   
    Those large pre-printed panels can be intimidating.  They have inherently uneven blocks or sections, or the printing may be crooked.  You need coordinating fabrics to blend with the printed sections, and so on.   
   So this series for me became a Divide and Conquer idea.  Even though I used the same watercolor technique to enlarge each portion I cut out---the divide part--I conquered the designs by altering the type of layout.



   The two on the left are symmetrical  with the blended portion moving around the top one, and in the lower one just accented in opposing corners. 

  The two on the right are the ones just finished.  The larger one I discussed all ready.  The small one...is just that a small left over that just didn't fit into the other ones.  I couldn't let it go to waste, so using the leftover bits from the larger one, I made a small table top mat as a Blessing! 

      I still have the insanity during the pandemic quilt to quilt.  My hands and wrists need a few days to rest and recover before I tackle that.

   And one last look at the 4 in the series of divide and conquer.
  Happy stitching. 

A couple of finishes

   Remember the panel quilt I started last month?

   Finished with flange binding in red with black.  I thought it really set off the "stained glass" style border.
  Once I washed it, the quilt softened up and got all nice and cuddly.  It is not large, only 48'' by 58'' but enough for a personal throw.

  The quilted texture shows better here.  I only did a large meander in the center along with some free hand outlining of the main motifs like the barn, deer and some trees.  I added a few swirls in the sky for clouds.  The center section is also outline straight stitched along the first grey border stripe.






 
   In the stain glass sections I used a loop and curl motif, very much like the effect in glass blocks today.
  And that red dot backing.....it got washed twice  in Dawn before I put it on the back for quilting.  I can't tell you how long it has been hidden in the stash closet.   I washed the entire thing when finished with color grabbers.....yea!  No bleed.


Holiday Dreams is complete.






  And what else is lurking around here......a little walk down to the workshop to see if there is anything there. 


  Oh my.....a pair of lovely gifts I see.  Small candle holders for tea light size candles.
Sir Old Man has played around with these, being quite hesitant to attempt them.  The first ones he saw were made of simple pine and only held the plain tea tight, not like these in glass.  He claimed to not be creative.  Like I use to tell my students, don't copy: find your own voice.  It will be fabulous.







   He dug through his scraps of wood, glued some up and cut things out.  Sounds like a quilter's process, doesn't it?
   I ended up ordering the router bit that was large enough to cut the hole to fit the glass tea lights.  And I ordered new scissors for me....win/win!







  Sir Old Man added the final detail all on his own.  I think he found his voice now.  Sanding and rounding over the edges was good, but he went one step further.  He added another pass of a different router bit  to create a foot at the base with this relief edge.







Two finishes make you feel so much better!











  As for the iphone saga......It did require a 4 hour trip to the phone store.  But it was solved with a full re-load of the software! Thumbs up for Apple. 
   No new phone purchase required.  I now have to sort out all the apps I use and get logged back on to them.  I am deleting those unused.  And sorting thru the nightmare maze of passwords.  As for the big provider called ATT....2 surveys filled out with only 1 star review given.  I wrote my saga on both surveys and included details about the less than helpful guy at the store.   All of this frustration over a software glitch.  Technology the bane of our lives. 
I am heading back to the sewing room after this.  I need a breath of fabric and thread.
Happy stitching. 

From panels to tops

   Working away and making a huge mess in the sewing room.  I will have to take a few days next week to get things back in order.

 
  First up......from Panel to top is the seasonal throw.  The color is not good on the outer border....it is all in gray tones.  It reminds me of looking out thru a window with stained glass around it.  I have the red dot backing cut, washed and pressed.  Ready for pinning to quilt.  The binding is cut and ready to stitch together. 
   It may have taken a couple of design tries to get this one figured out....but I feel it was worth it. 

  In between putting this one together I worked on more of the wonky courthouse step blocks.....I have strips everywhere. That's the part that I need to clean up before going further.



  Second panel to top.....this is a small wall hanging.   When the inspiration hit for this one 2 days ago,  nothing would do until I started.  I mean I could not concentrate on anything else.
 With all the crazy madness going on in the world I find it too easy to fall into the  habit of being bitter and angry.  I am here, I am alive.  I am able to do things, and I can think for myself.   I need to focus on all the good things I am....all the things to be grateful for.   I want to begin each day with a grateful heart.

The center was part of a pre-printed panel I got in North Carolina.  Surrounding this sentiment with my floral squares was natural.  Combining two things I love.....words and flowers. 
  Right now it is pinned to the design wall.  I will decide how to finish it off once I get the seasonal top quilted. 







       This morning was the day......for shopping for new chairs.  The air cylinder took it final gasp on my sewing room chair, and Sir Old Man had been practically sitting on the floor in his office chair.   I tried researching them on line and realized, I needed to sit in the chair.  I needed a higher one for the sewing room.  If I sit higher and have the correct 90 degree angle for my arms, I do not get a back ache. 
   so after sitting in almost every chair in the office store, we found one.  Just one, and of course it was the pricey $$$ one too.  With a name like Tempurpedic of course it is.  Lol.  I sit high now :)



  It was so nice to be out and see the trees with some color.  Freeze warnings tonight so the leaves will disappear quickly now.  I had to pull out my wrist supports again.  I am grateful to have them  when the inflammation gets bad.  Of course, I have been over doing it.  I will take the weekend off.  Stay warm and happy stitching.   

New month with a project

  I turned the calendar over to a new month and I am shocked to see how little I have to show for the last month!  I worked on a few small things but nothing to completion.  So, to remedy that I have been quietly working on a seasonal quilt.
  When we went to NC for apples and upholstery fabric for the window bench for Sir Old man,  I saw so many beautiful panels there.  I will admit to being a panel or pre-printed snob over the years.  LOL.....it came back to bite me as I came home with several different panels.

 

   These pre-printed place mats were just waiting for me.  And they were on the clearance discount table.  As far as I am concerned you can't beat blue and yellow,  and the design is done.  I just have to finish and quilt.  There is a strip of smaller designs too that could be turned into mug rugs to match. 







   Then I saw a small  section of six of these panes.....also on the clearance table.  I thought they would be good for a table runner maybe.   Or just maybe a small throw.  I have been looking for inspiration on Pinterest as to how to set the blocks together.    A plan is a good thing to have in advance.  Read on and you will understand.

  This is the seasonal project I have been working on.  The center print is a winter scene that is very retro in design, almost a 1950s style print. 
  First thought.... I could surround it with log cabin blocks.  I won't even show you how bad an idea that was.
  Second thought.....border it with a braid strips of mixed blues, grays, gold, and red.  I even got so far as to sew two sides on when I realized I was hating it!
  So after unsewing and sweating it out a bit, I decided that simple is best.  I went with the stained glass look.  Or I should say the random stained glass look.  The inner border is mixed colors and sizes, and the outer is all in grays with a stray smaller block mixed in to make things fit. 
   I learned that my math skills are very rusty.  Every time I tried to figure out the sizes for the sections, I came up with something different.   So I just cut, and fitted and fudged where needed.  A whole lot less stress that way.  If you are looking for perfection, it left for better places. :)   I have 2  last sides to add and then I can look for a backing.    I might just manage to get this done before the cold settles in here. 
   Happy stitching.