Commentary about works in progress, design & creativity
The other day I talked about sewing rosettes together. I finally finished what I was doing and I think the section looks nice.
Sewing this corner together really makes me think about how to finish the edge.
I really don’t want to cut off any of the piecing I have done, though I know that will be part of the directions. In the photo above, I can see how finishing that red butterfly rosette would look a lot better. Then what do I do with the part right above it with the white star points?
I am still working on assembling smaller sections of La Passacaglia. I sewed some Month 13/14 together with some Month 11 rosettes that will end up in the upper left hand corner. In May and June I sewed Month 7 to M6 and 10, so this isn’t a new phenomenon. I tend to sew various rosettes together when I am waiting for the next BOM packet to arrive. I am trying to keep the sections small, so they fit in my giant box, but it isn’t working.
When I sew the rosettes together, I have make sure I am matching up the rosettes properly. This picture shows that some of the star points (see the purple with the small dots?) don’t work. At a point like this, I have to decide if I am going to change out a piece or live with it.
I followed the directions, and checked back to make sure. The purple dotted star point does not properly complete the teacup star. I changed it out.
In a way, this is part of the fun even though picking out stitches isn’t that fun.
I was able to finish the rosettes for Month 15 before the fabric for Month 16 arrived. These were not difficult and they didn’t take a long time. I am looking forward to receiving Month 16.
I am starting to think about putting the whole piece together and am considering the edges. I don’t want to cut off any of the piecing, but the rosettes on the edges are not complete. I am going to see whether I have enough fabric to complete the rosettes on the edges.
Friend Julie suggested I put solids on the edges. I could complete the rosettes using solids
While I waited for Month 15 to arrive, I sewed some smaller rosettes to Month 13/14, which will be in the upper left hand corner of the piece.
The pieces I sewed on to the M 13/14 are the smaller sections from Month 11. Since they were so small, I thought it would be a good idea to contain them.
I am now wondering whether I really want to cut off any piecing at all. That rosette in the corner with the chartreuse center might be better off being finished.Not sure I have enough fabric to finish all the pieces that are suppose to be cut off.
Nobody, including Pink Door has said anything about finishing. My book, All Points Patchwork**, doesn’t say anything either. Tula went over it briefly in one of her videos. Otherwise, I haven’t done a lot of research, but will need to do some. We are nearing the end of the project and some decisions will have to be made.
**Obviously, you should shop at local quilt shops. However, if you are too busy or can’t find what you need at quilt shops, I use affiliate links and may be paid for your purchase of an item when you click on an item’s link in my post. There is no additional cost to you for clicking or purchasing items I recommend. I appreciate your clicks and purchases as it helps support this blog.
The other day I mentioned that I had finally received the Month 15 kit. At the guild meeting the other day I cut out all of the pieces for Month 16. After the meeting, I basted them all as well. Fortunately, it is a light month.
We were supposed to use a piece of the cameo for a medallion in this month’s rosette, but I decided to use a flower instead.
Now I am ready to sew.
I finally received the La Passacaglia Month 15 kit last week! Yay! I am behind, but trying to get as much done as possible before Month 16 arrives.
There isn’t much to do this month, so I should be able to finish soon.
Gerre and I finally arranged a sewing day, which consists a lot of talking and eating with a little sewing thrown in. I worked on cutting out pouches for upcoming holidays and birthdays. I decided to make some small Moto Pouches, from Sew Sweetness Minikins Season 1, for the nieces as well as a large Hackney pouch Minikins Season 3.
Gerre worked on her Harmony & Light Quilt-a-long quilt. She bought the fabric bundle and her quilt is coming a long very nicely.
One of the things we talked about was her needing some handwork for some upcoming recovery time on the couch. I asked her if she had any UFOs. She does some hand quilting and I was thinking of big stitch. Instead she talked about an EPP project on which she was stalled. It was made with Malka Dubrowsky fabric. She brought it out and I was gobsmacked by the amazing design, the beautiful colors, her amazing stitching and how far along she was. Those hexies are 3/4 inch!
She said she got stalled at some point and put it away. I gushed about it, because I really like it and we talked about design. After I was done gushing, we talked about what she needed to do to finish it. She needs to make a center and finish the edges.
She said I gave her the All Points Patchwork book. She brought it out and we looked through to see if we could get some ideas for finishing the edges. In looking through it we found a hexie design that would be perfect for the center. We discussed different ways of finishing the quilt, like adding pieces to make the edges straight, cutting off the edges and appliqueing the edges to another piece of fabric.
I got really excited about this project and she did, too. It will give her something to work on and she will get a UFO completed. I can’t wait to see it finished.
Inchen Korea is the answer.
My La Pass package, which caused me so much drama for Sew Day is in Inchen Korea heading towards a military base.
Why?
Who knows. Pink Door has sent me a second package after a couple of inquiries. They also told me to go to the Post Office and ask them to help me. My local post office knows me and knows I am not a lunatic, usually. The helper, however, wasn’t very helpful and I got the boss. He said that they can’t do anything, because they don’t own the package. He suggested I tell Pink Door to issue an ‘intercept’ on the website and get the package sent back to them.
I told Pink Door, but haven’t heard back, so for now I am still waiting. I think I will start sewing the rosettes to each other. I have to do something and I am sick of knitting.
I finally finished the combined Month 13 and 14. This is a large Rosette, like Month 1/2. I did not finish Month 13 before Month 14 arrived, but since they ended up as one rosette, it was ok.
I started out putting Month 13 together using the Hearts & Cones method, as mentioned, that I learned early on in the process. I wasn’t able to sustain that technique with the Month 14 pieces, but having any straight lines is a good thing.
I really like the center, which is cut from the main Parisville Deja Vu print. I did not use the faces as Pink Door suggested. I used the bows, because I love that motif. I wanted the bows to be the stars. The curls and some of the ship hairdo came along for the ride, creating a really pleasing, fussy cut center.
I have a few days before Month 15 arrives, so I am catching up on some binding and may be able to finish the foot part of my sock.
Some time ago I wrote a post about the Flatback Stitch. I read it over the other day and I think everything is still true. My techniques have evolved since then, however.
One thing I do now is anchor the joins before I stitch the whole seam. This lines up the corners so patterns match and corners are smooth.
I still hold the pieces together with either Sew Tites** or WonderClips**. My favorite SewTites at the moment are Sew Tites HD**. They are stronger and easier to use with multiple layers. The magnets are strong so I have to be careful not to catch my fingers in between the two magnets. Otherwise they work really well.
Next, I take a few stitches where the corners of two different pieces line up. As I do this, I keep turning the piece over so I can make sure the corners are still in place. Then I go back and stitch the seams between the two pieces together.
This can be a bit challenging when sewing a giant rosette together! Still securing the joins helps keep long seams in place until the whole thing can be sewn together.
My seams are lining up really well using this method. I feel like my pieces are lined up more precisely.
**Obviously, you should shop at a local quilt shop. However, I use affiliate links and may be paid for your purchase of an item when you click on an item’s link in my post. There is no additional cost to you for clicking or purchasing items I recommend. I appreciate your clicks and purchases as it helps support this blog.
Progress on Month 13 continues. Aside from continually having to go back and cut more pieces, this month seems easy.
I think using the Hearts & Cones method makes the process seem easier.
I keep having to go back and cut more pieces because of the shift in the BOM shipping schedule for Month 13. Because this month included Parisville, Pink Door could not ship as normal. My practice is to wash all the fabric, then cut and baste at Sew Day (first Saturday of the month). I couldn’t do that this time, so I cut and basted some pieces so I could be ready to sew in the evening while hanging out with DH, then I would go back and cut more for the next night. I got off track and, apparently forgot to cut the rest of the star points.
Recently, we took a long weekend and visited Lake Tahoe. Our nephew was getting married. We tacked on a few extra days to make it a long-ish weekend. The YM flew in to see his cousin get married. That means we got to spend a few days with him as well. It was really great to have more than a day to catch up and get more of a sense of how our YM is doing.
I wanted to take La Pass with me on the trip so I could work on getting Month 13 finished. Month 14 had been shipped and I needed to get back on schedule. As shown, my pieces were in hearts and cones, so I needed a bag that would keep them flat during the drive and general chaos of travel. I also needed space for my Sew Together Bag and my Inside Outside Pouch, which contain various tools and supplies for La Pass. Eventually, I landed on the Without a Trace/Take a Stand Tote. Since I fixed the zipper and sewed the zipper tab closed, I have been looking for a use for it.
Unlike my trip to Portland earlier this year, travel was much easier with the rosette not yet sewn together. I keep working on combining the smaller pieces into larger sections. Once each rosette is fully complete, it is a bit of a hassle to transport until I remove the papers.
It was a bit of a tight squeeze, but worked. I am really pleased!
We had a social meeting day this month. Most of the Board was out of town and it was assumed that a lot of members were as well. I invited the people from the Pink Door La Passacaglia (with permission from the Board) for two reasons. One to give them a chance to meet up and also to introduce some new members to the guild. Only one lady, Courtney, showed up. She lives in San Jose and is actually not a quiltmaker. She is only doing La Pass, which I think is really interesting.
The meeting turned out to be the same day as my knitting class so I rushed over from knitting for the end of the social. It was hair raising, a bit.
Courtney is on Month 4 and firmly with Team Turtle. She helped me lay out my La Pass, which was fun. It was fun to see it laid out and see how it is coming together.
We identified a couple of minor problems, which I noted and will fix when I have time.
I was glad Courtney came and I hope to see her again.
I am making good progress on La Pass Month 13 using the Cones and Hearts method.
I am pretty much using the fabrics provided so far. I did contemplate using different pinks for the outside pentagons (not shown), but decided just to go with what they sent.
I cut the large cameo print differently as, like the animals, I don’t want people faces looking out of my quilt. Also, I really like those pink bows.
Month 13 arrived the other day. I am so excited to finally be able to get going.
Pink Door sent an entire yard of the cameo print! Lindsay and I were speculating on how many bolts of that print they had to buy to send everyone a yard of the fabric. Many bolts!
I snapped the photo and dumped the fabric in the washer. I did forget to wash the small piece of striped fabric, but I have some that is already washed so I’ll still be able to cut and baste the fabrics while I collect more fabrics for washing.
Now to basting!