Month: February 2007

San Francisco Quilters’ Guild Show 2007

Here are some photos from the 2007 San Francisco Quilters’ Guild Show, which is this weekend at the San Francisco Concourse. I was pleasantly surprised. There were a lot of quilts and it was a good quilt interlude in the midst of the winter. They seem to have the lighting thing worked out, so it didn’t look dismal. I was also pleased to see that people in the SFQG use color unlike the entries in PIQF, many of which were so depressing.


These are the fabrics I bought. I may use the stripe for the binding on Thoughts on Dots.

My favorite booth was Custom Woodworks by Jeff. I bought three Creative Grid rulers (8″ square, 9″ square and a yard stick ruler) from him and coveted a cutting table with a pull out ironing board. He does beautiful work.

I was also thrilled to see Jennifer of Pumpkin Seed Quilts and Textiles. She a booth there and is trying to see what is next now that the shop is closed. I bought a big piece of the turquoise and grey border print from her.

The Center is Not the Center

It occurred to me this morning that I seem to be working with patterns that create not obvious secondary patterns. Spiky Stars was the first (that I can identify), the Pineapple and now the Cross Block.



In Spiky Stars, the center of the blocks seems to be where the X of color is. Perhaps, in and artistic sense it is. However, in a technical sense (making the block), where the legs of two colors join is the center of the block. See below:

I have made an effort to outline the block in PSP, but Deirdre and DebR are more proficient, but you will get the idea.

The Pineapples are the same way.

It is a little difficult to see the secondary pattern at this point in the process. It is not the black square, which is actually the center of the block. The secondary pattern will become dominant as I make more blocks and as I put the corners on each block.

And now the Cross Block:

I wonder if this phenomenon has some deep subconscious psychological meaning or if it is a message from the depths of my mind? I think I am just trying to create interest. Worth pondering, I suppose.

Quiltmaking is a Journey Not a Destination


I found this quilt somewhere, drafted the block and am now trying to decide if there is a color layout scheme that I prefer. I don’t remember where I saw the quilt, which is a shame because I would like to document it better than “I don’t remember.”

There are two color layouts for the Cross Block quilt that appeal to me:

I like this one because the circles really stand out and you can really see the fabric. I don’t like the way I would have to plan out a bunch of the fabrics in advance (like Spiky Stars, which worked out well in the end). The other thing that bothers me is the half blocks on the edge. On one hand, they look unfinished. On the other hand they could comprise a self bordering technique border, again like Spiky Stars, that is so effective.


In the option above, the blocks would be a lot easier to piece. The crosses really stand out, which is nice, in a way. It looks a lot less interesting than the one above…a lot more regular.

So, does this count as another project or a way to get some more sewing done when I am not at the machine? Quiltmaking is a journey and not a destination, so does it matter?

What Could Be Better Than Red?*

From the inspiration department:
Big Chill Fridge. They come in a number of different colors, much more interesting than stainless.

The above are two blocks I made for group quilts. I sent them off today as well as made them! I know it is Friday and I never sew on Friday, but I was hitting the deadline wall and just had to do it and send them.

*Blue is always better than red during football season, but we are not talking about football season here.

Am I Really Cut Out for Strip Projects??


The Pineapple project requires lots of strips. I am not sure I am cut out for managing such supplies for this project. They are everywhere and I can’t seem to find good combinations of strips. I have seen curtain rods that people have set up on which to hang their strips, but I don’t have anything like that at the moment. Bleah!

Still, I soldier on and I seem to be making progress. I finished the strip part of the second two blocks. I still have to put the triangles in the corners, but will do that later.

The Pineapples Progress

I have made some progress on the Pineapples. I am working on them in between everything else so I don’t feel guilty about starting a new project. Yeah, yeah, I know guilt is not productive. Above is the first bits of the second two blocks.

I have made more progress on the second two blocks. I am about 3 rows away from finishing. One thing I did differently in the last few rows is add new backgrounds. the size and spacing are different from the background fabrics I have been using. We will see how they turn out and if you think they scream “INAPPROPRIATE.”

I also added some fabrics with smaller dots. In these photos they look like tone-on-tones. We will see if I use them again.

Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Although rain is forecast for later, the sky is blue and it is very warm outside. Despite all the weird weather we have been having, today things seem back to normal as we always have a week or so of warm weather in the middle of February. I can remember sitting out on our fire escapes as an undergraduate, sunbathing in mid-February with the other girls with whom I lived.

As a result of my renewed good spirits I have finished the back of Serendipity Puzzle. As seems to be my way lately, the thing has turned out to be a monster. Not as monstrous as Thoughts on Dots or the Nosegay, but larger than my design wall, which, in my book, moves it into the monstrous category. It makes it hard to take photos of these quilts!

Sometime in the last week or, perhaps, last weekend I put rickrack on the border of the quilt.


As I mentioned, I thought the quilt needed something and this is what I came up with. Deirdre actually suggested rickrack “or something.” I had some rickrack, but not enough to go around all the way. I used two different colors rather than buying more. I think it looks fine. The only irritation is that I pulled the rickrack a little too tightly as I sewed it on, so the quilt puckers a bit on the border. I thought about unstitching and then decided against it. If the quilter can’t make it ok, then I will unsew it and do it over. Live and learn.

Still I am pleased. I feel like I have made progress.

Making backs is such a bear! I know now why people buy 108″ backing fabrics. As you know, I have two more to go and was going to have a marathon, but I think I will make a few blocks, work on the Pineapples, perhaps work on the QA challenge and rest a bit. I am looking forward to making the back for the Nosegay despite the fact that it, too, is a giant, as I want to get all of those 1930s fabrics into a project, so I can use the bin for dots (or maybe stripes). I know I can easily buy more bins, but my shelves are full of bins, so buying more bins would do me no good since they would just be dumped on the floor with everything else that doesn’t have a home.

So, the fog came in, but it didn’t get cold, then it went out again. Now it is cooling off a bit. It doesn’t look like rain clouds, but I would rather have rain than fog. Have a great evening!

Incremental Progress


I put the first white/background border and the cornerstones on the piece last night and this morning. Intermittently, I have been working on the back. I may have mentioned that I am using some of the leftover fat quarters. I am mostly not using the stripes, because they will be good for the Stars in Stripes quilt that started out as a test that I will probably make into a quilt. It is pretty far down on the list.


This is a secondary pattern that I saw after I put the first border on this morning.

Finalizing Borders?


This was my original idea. After I put it up on the wall I wasn’t sure.


I then thought about just putting a smallish border on with the white background fabric. The size would be the same as the sashing size (1.75″ finished).



This morning I looked at the blue and white borders again and added the cornerstone (fussy cut to display a flower motif) and decided that I like the combined look. There is something about the blue that finishes the quilt. I also noticed that the blue makes the various blue fabrics in the quilt stand out a bit more.

I have to say that I got such a feeling of joy when I was scrutinizing this quilt and looking at the Pineapple Blocks. I think joy is a good thing and will go with the blue and white layout.