Successful weekend equals 2 tops!

  I got out and enjoyed some sun over our nice weekend.  Yet, I still managed to finish up those rows and join the sections of the blended 4 patch. 

  I had just enough fabric to add a 3'' border around the whole thing to give it a firm finish.  It now looks complete to me. 








  Confession to make......my final layout and sewing arrangement did not exactly match the screenshot on the post for the recipe.    My four patches are rotated in the outer round, but it works anyway!  I sure wasn't going to do any un-sewing. 
   If you are making this one, twist and turn those units until they land the way you like them. 






 

  Since the weather pressure was being kindly to me, Sunday afternoon was another sewing stint.  This time to add a border to a watercolor that I had added some applique to.    Those turquoise flowers enticed me to find a little bit of turquoise that I used as an accent flange around the center.  It's a folded 1'' strip and just barely noticeable.  Yet it makes any turquoise in the center just pop.  The outer strip of the border is a batik that has a touch of blue-ish spots in it.  I actually had to piece portions together to have enough.  Now it needs a good pressing before getting pinned for quilting. 
 
   I caught part of Angela Walters You Tube video session at lunch today.  She sure is down to earth and so inspirational.    You can always see the lesson on her channel.    She answered questions while doing heavy quilting on a pre-printed panel.  I learned a lot in the past from her and her feathers videos are great :)

   Seems the covid-19 has reared its head nearby here in South Carolina.  And the news has the world in a panic.  Best advice is to let common sense prevail.  After years of working in the laboratory and taking classes from CDC, I know the virus will mutate and our bodies will learn to fight off this new pathogen/antigen.  Antibodies develop over time and exposure, not because we get in a panic....not because we over buy mask, and toilet paper or hand santitizer.    This week began with a time change---nope, I did not forget it---- and has a super moon, and ends on Friday the 13th.  Now throw in the virus panic.   Help!   I am better and smarter than superstitions .....I will survive because I sew. 
Happy stitching. 

Recipe for the blended 4 patch

   I have been sewing a row or two at a time on the blended 4 patch.  I have two sections done....2 opposing corners, and the center band is in the works. 
    I have trouble calling it a blooming 4 patch as it does not explode like the 9 patch does.  This version is a little quieter :)  For those who asked how I was putting this together, here is my formula or recipe.

    This is a mock up done in EQ7.     I used 4 colors for this layout with the center color also as the outer color.  The basic technique is the same no matter how many fabrics you use.  There is one round of squares in the fabric, then a round of 4 patch units in the fabric from the previous round and the fabric of the next round.  So the 4 patch units are the bridge to blend the 2 fabrics.  Clear as mud?     

   I worked with 2'' strips because I have tons of them.  If you are using 2 1/2'' or etc. strips you need to do the math for sizes of large squares to cut.  The large squares need to equal the size of the 4 patch units.

Working from the center out, these are the rounds of units needed.

Fabric A---center.  This layout begins with 2 large squares.

A/B --------6 of the 4 patch units

B------------10  large squares

B/C--------- 14 of the 4 patch units

C ----------- 18 large squares

C/D--------- 22 of the 4 patch units

D----------- 26 large squares

D/A-------- 30 of the 4 patch units

A---------- 30 setting triangles plus 4 corner triangles.  *

*  I cut the setting triangles from a 3'' strip of fabric to avoid the bias on the edges.  The finishing corner triangles were cut from squares.  

Note:  For some of the large squares I did a cheat technique.  Because I was working with 2'' strips, I sewed 2 rectangles of 2'' by 3 1/2'' together to form squares if I did not have yardage to cut the wider width.  

I found that I got about 10 sub-cuts for the 4 patch units from each WOF strip.

From the wider 3 1/2'' strip I got about 11 each of the large squares.  Again....all this depends on your strip size that you are using.  

The layout...unfortunately...is on point.  So you sew those dang rows on the diagonal.  A tip from a comment by Left Handed Quilter helped a lot as I was sewing the rows.  I am sharing it, as maybe it will help others.  

Those dang diagonals keep me on my toes, too! Sometimes I sew (oversized) setting triangles to all of the end blocks first. I do one "side" at a time - with them all oriented the same way - and then put them back on the wall. When I'm done - I take them down - one row at a time - stacked in order - to sew. It works for me - LOL - ;))

This would be great in batiks or tonal prints.  Don't be biased by my florals! 

The size illustrated above is ending up 34'' by 38'' I think.  I do plan on a small border as I want a wall quilt over the sofa.  Fabric requirements for this size...
About 3/4 yard of each of the 4 fabrics. 

I have counted and recounted squares and numbers until I am a bit loopy.  I can't guarantee no mistakes,  but if one is found, let me know so I can stand corrected. 

Now I am off to sew the last two rows together.  Hoping the weekend to get the sections joined.  Happy stitching. 

Those dang diagonals

  That 4 patch experiment is on the wall ...sort of.  I made a first stab at sewing a few rows together.  Those dang diagonals are enough to make me crazy.  It does require my  strict attention to keep things oriented correctly.
  I am taking the block units off the wall--stacked in order---and direct to the machine. 

  You can see I over sized the setting triangles.  I would rather trim to size when all rows are together.

  I had several emails asking for a pattern.....I will put together a brief pattern with details about what I did for this.  Give me a few days.

  Now for the health update.  The evaluation went better than expected.  The results not so much.  Right now it is a ruling out  of things rather than firm diagnosis.  But the initial results indicate erosive osteoarthritis in the hands......rare inflammatory condition with little treatment except OTC for pain.  This is a whammy I did not expect and am not even trying to react because it will only make me cry.  Instead I am returning to the sewing room.  I will be back in a day or two.
Happy stitching. 

Not quite a Blooming 9 patch

  I found parts for a Blooming 9 patch that was started about 4 years ago.  Once i put them up on the design wall, I knew it was more than I could tackle.  The size of the top with 8 or 9 fabrics would be far too large and too heavy for me to try to quilt on the Tiara.  I may pass them on to someone else or just do a basic 9 patch.  For now they are in a box.

    Instead I thought what about trying this technique as a 4 patch and in a smaller size strip.  So, a little figuring and cutting and I determined I could come up with a small wall hanging at least.  I pulled 5 fabrics and played around with the idea.

  I laid a section out on a display board to see what was happening.   It is not easy to determine how things will play together until the blocks are made.   I was mainly working with a stash of strips I had already cut at 2''. 
   I thought my center fabric on the right was dark enough, but once things were laid out....I was wrong.   I thought the contrast  was too "mushy" rather than blending.  Luckily it is only a few blocks to remake.

  I had extra strips cut that I had not used, so I pulled the darkest piece to replace the original center fabric.  Now this is only 4 fabrics.....the center and the outer fabric being the same.    I like the second arrangement better.   I think I like the strong contrast this time.    So for now, I will work on getting this assembled.  It is one of those on point designs I hate to sew together.....another good reason to keep it on the small side. 









  And a new mystery project from Carole at From my Carolina Home.  She just posted the second clue.    She included a tutorial in this clue for a different way to make some 2 patch units.  Her first post talks about the fabric selection and sizes and she has a good chart for every size project to make from this.  So, check out The Twist!  I haven't started yet, but I plan on making a smaller project from this mystery.
  Happy stitching.

A pair of wall hangings

  A pair of small wall hangings kept me busy over the weekend. 
  The first was simple and plain until I added the trio of butterflies. I found a few of these ready to fuse in place.  Some matching thread to zig zag down the edges and I was happy with the results.  With the warmer days right now, I long for spring.
   The binding on this one was leftovers I found in the scrap bin.  Both were the  flange binding but I simply joined them and pretended it was the same all around. 









 
    I also took a close up photo of the corner.  I get a lot of questions about my fabrics and  where I find them.  I have an assortment going back 20-25 years so don't expect to simply buy a couple of fat quarters for these projects.   You can see the fabrics are an mix of size prints, as well as different values.  A large scrap of fabric can yield a lot of 2'' squares, so you don't need much really.    So study this photo and hopefully that will help.



  The second one is part of the pre-printed panel I bought last fall.  The little bit of watercolor blending in the border is just fun for me.  It would be a good way to try your hand at this. 
  I just worked in one upper and one lower corner to frame the design.  A neutral tonal floral finishes off the border. 
   You can see I also added a few more butterflies....I just could not resist. 










   And I found space to work in a few feather motifs  for the quilting.  It has been quite a while since I tried feathers, I was glad to see I still had the touch for them.  The rest of the quilting was curls and loops.










  A nice pair for spring.
Happy stitching. 

Valentine's Day

  Dropping in to say Happy Valentine's Day!  Sharing a favorite wall hanging from 2013.

   And to let everyone know I am still hanging on.  It has just been a painful month.  Some days I have trouble holding a coffee cup.   When the weather goes thru such drastic changes in 7 days, it plays havoc on my body.  It was 70 degrees on a Tuesday,  On Thursday the rains began and stayed until we had over 6 inches of of runoff forming rivers in the yard and streets...etc.  Winds and tornadoes happened on Friday.  And Saturday we turned cold and.......... and snow happened.    Don't you love my Metalbird  on the post?  It was a Christmas present!




   That was last week, which leads to this week and more rain....lots of it.  On the good/better days I try to get to the sewing room for an hour or so.  It has taken a while but I managed to get those pre-printed place mats done.

   Today I hope to work on an older small water color wall hanging that I found in a box of blocks.  I think I must have used it for classes at one time.





  So one final wish, and hug for a sweet Valentine's Day.
This candle mat was made several years ago from scraps and parts.  I love mixing the variety of red prints.

  Happy stitching.

Wonky Courthouse Steps

 
  Off and on during the last two weeks I worked on joining the multitude of wonky courthouse step  blocks.  From my stack of 80 completed blocks came a top. 
  These wonky blocks  are from Bonnie Hunter's tutorial and I sure enjoyed building them.  The strip widths vary and not all seams are straight like the strings, but they all came together.  . 

   And anything goes here.  Close up you can see the odd mix of fabrics. But the above full view just shows a dancing top full of color.   

I really thought I would eat thru the scraps and strings.....but still more strings lie in wait. 
  I did a stay stitch around the entire top to keep seams from popping and things from stretching.  I now need to find backing, or sew odd bits together or if all else fails....order backing for this.
   This was a perfect project for me ......dealing with the extreme pain in my hands and joints.  Such that the doctor is referring me to a rheumatologist  to see if they can determine another course of treatment.  I agreed but am very doubtful they can help.   Even so this will be my first project for the year. 

  This morning's emails brought a wonderful note from Andrea who blogs in Australia.    I don't follow her but she found my blog and the Chandelier Bead blocks I did posts about .   She was asking to use the block pattern for Friday Night sews for her guild.  She said many of the members make blocks and turn them into charity quilts.    I was thrilled to agree and so glad she even thought to ask.  I am hoping some of these blocks get turned into quilts for the bushfire victims there.  It is just horrific what they are dealing with. 
  Happy stitching.