FOTY 2019

FOTY 2019 Summer Squares
FOTY 2019 Summer Squares

I am moving slowly on gathering fabrics for FOTY 2019. It might be a small quilt! This slowness is because of working with the scraps for the strip and improv donation projects and also because of how long it is taking me to piece Flying Around.

Most of these are light and I know you can tell what I have been working on from what you see. This is sort of the beauty of the Fabric of the Year projects. I can remember the fabrics I bought and used that year. It reminds me of various projects and trips to great shops.

FOTY 2017 Finished!

FOTY 2017 Finished
FOTY 2017 Finished

After having to redo the sleeve (too long), I spent some time away from the half hexie project stitching away on the binding and sleeve of FOTY 2017. The piece is finished!

Others were able to see the skyscraper/tall buildings that I was intending when I created this layout. I am pleased that it is finished.

FOTY 2017 back Finished
FOTY 2017 back Finished

For once I also photographed the back. I know I have been slack on that lately.

Orange Strip Donation Top Finished

Orange Strip Donation Top: finished
Orange Strip Donation Top: finished

I finished the Orange Strip Donation top & back yesterday. It came down to finishing the back, which took longer than expected in a busy week.

My quilt holders were around so I was able to get some photos in a timely manner.

The blue is an unexpected choice, but I talked about it before, so I won’t go into it again. I kind of wish I had more orange strips so I could do a version with a white background. I don’t, though, so I’ll have to do that next time I get a plethora of orange scraps.

Orange Strip Donation Back
Orange Strip Donation Back

I used some odd oranges for the back. These are nice fabrics that I don’t think I will use for something else. I had a hard time curating the fabrics for the back as I really like 90% of the oranges I have left. I guess I had better use them for something if not for donation quilts.

Using up fabrics makes me wish I hadn’t stashed so much fabric when I did. On the other hand having so much fabric on hand means that I can put my hands on almost any color I need for any project. It also means I can make almost any quilt I want without going to the store.

Recent Donation Blocks

I have been remiss about posting donation blocks lately. I have also not been making the standard postage stamp blocks that my guild collects. Here are a few I have made recently.

Tuleberg Community Quilt Day

Tuleberg Finished Pillowcases
Tuleberg Finished Pillowcases

On Wednesday the YM and I went to Stockton to spend the day making pillowcases with the Tuleberg Quilt Guild. My mom is a member. She told me about it and since we haven’t had a chance to get together alone this month, I decided to go. When I found out the YM would be home, I convinced him to tag along. He wants to learn to sew, so this was a good opportunity to start.

It is a far drive for us, so we go there a little late and, after setting up, he went off with my mom to get something to eat. Is tarted cutting up fabric to make the first pillowcase and quickly realized that he wouldn’t be able to make a whole pillowcase on his own. I decided to do the cutting and have him sew.

YM Sewing Cuffs to Bodies
YM Sewing Cuffs to Bodies

It has been a long time since he sat in front of a machine, so this was a good decision. He carefully guided the fabric through the machine, encountering the stop and start problems of the feed dogs not grabbing the fabric, thread bunnies and backstitching. We used the pillowcase tutorial I have cobbled together from experience and a variety of sources. He chain pieced the cuff/body burrito together. I also had him turn the burritos inside out and do a little pressing when I got behind. By the end, the three of us were all working together to finish the pillowcases.

Mom working on pillowcases
Mom working on pillowcases

I brought some yard sized pieces of fabric I didn’t think I would use, but cutting bits out for other projects does help with this. Fortunately, I have realized this and started cutting up the side of yardage, so I have a chance of having enough for a body (yard sized length) and cuff (half yard sized length). Newer fabric is easier to use, but so far I still like it enough to not want to use it for community quilts/projects. I suppose that is something I have to work on.

As a team, we made 5 pillowcases in about 3 hours. This is probably a bit slow, but I do French seams so everything is enclosed and that takes longer. I don’t have a serger, so this is the best way for me to achieve my goal.

They also had an ice cream social, which was make it yourself sundaes and banana splits. I love banana splits and made myself a small one. They brought real glass sundae holders, which was really classy.

Tuleberg Pillowcase display
Tuleberg Pillowcase display

The guild ended up with 121 pillowcases for the day, which I thought was a good effort.

Inspiration Lake Street

I spent the other day picking up FOTY 2017 from Colleen and having lunch with a friend. It was the kind of lunch where we solved the world’s problems.

Steps near Katherine Delmar Burke
Steps near Katherine Delmar Burke

On the way I drove down a different street and ended up at a dead end that continued up these stairs. Aren’t they gorgeous? It makes me wonder why we can’t, aside from the cost, incorporate this kind of beauty into new, modern building projects. I know there are a lot of reasons aside from cost, but it seems that seeing beauty in our daily life rather than an unrelenting landscape of depressing concrete would make the world a better place.

Evolution of Strip Tops?

If you have read for any length of time, you have seen the various color strip donation tops I have been working on.

I am really liking the way they are coming out, the slight variations I have explored and the way the shift in colors makes the top look different. Also, Tim’s quilting adds a whole additional dimension.

Julie Sefton's Inspi(Red) quilt
Julie Sefton’s Inspi(Red) quilt

My mind was slightly blown the other day when I looked a a post from Quilt Diva Julie. she covers a lot in her posts and I was just about to click away when I saw her quilt, Inspi(red). I love the little sparks of color that show up against the red. This quilt gives me another idea for these color scrap quilts on which I have been working.

Julie was kind enough to give me permission to post her quilt here. She writes “INSPI(RED) is the red quilt on the blog today with inserts that are the trimmings from the center strips of Luminous.   Inspi(red) is my own interpretation of a pattern named Bright Birch Trees by Amanda Jean Nyberg (Crazy Mom Quilts)”.

N.B. Crazy Mom Quilts is no longer being updated and some of the links no longer work, including the link to the Bright Birch Trees pattern. 🙁 If you are patient you can see the Bright Birch Trees image, which uses a variety of different colored backgrounds.

Thin Orange Strips
Thin Orange Strips

I never really know how images out on the web will hit me. I am so grateful that people are still posting on blogs and talking about their work. This quilt made me think of the thin strips of piecing that come out of the strips quilts after I trim. I can add them to larger pieces to make them useful, but they are little gems on their own and get lost, to a certain extent in the improv piecing of the larger donation tops where I mostly use them. Julie’s quilt makes me think of add them to larger blocks as a featured element in the block.

I don’t have enough in scraps to make the blocks as she has done, but I do have yardage that would be well used by people in need.

I don’t think I have enough orange to make a whole quilt in this design after I finish the Improv version. I’ll have to see. I have a lot of blue and pink scraps so those colors might be my test bed.

Apparently, I now have about a million more ideas for donation quilts. It is so great to have that outlet as I can try as many quilts as I want without my house being floor to ceiling with unused quilts!

Stay tuned!

Orange Strip Donation Top Finished

I thought I would finish this top before the meeting, but I didn’t. the last few weeks have been harrowing. Nothing bad. Just a lot. That means I haven’t taken much time to sew. Some, but not as much as I would like.

I did work on Sunday. I worked on Flying Around a little, fixed the sleeve for FOTY 2017, finished this top, worked on the Orange Improv Donation Top and started on the back for this piece. Not bad, but not as much as I wanted and not a lot to show here.

Orange Strip Donation Top
Orange Strip Donation Top

Still, I am pleased with this piece. I like the blue and hope it doesn’t overshadow the orange too much. Ever since working on the Wonky 9 Patch, I have been unconsciously looking for an excuse to use this color combination again. I am really glad Friend Julie and AQ reader Sherri mentioned it.

BAM Meeting

The meeting was Saturday and it was a raucous and fun meeting. Kelly was visiting and she came to the meeting to hangout. SIL #2 and I went to lunch with Kelly and Angela, so we had a bit of extra time to catch up. At the meeting, Kelly gave a slideshow about her life in Scotland. I forgot what a fantastic quilter she is. She showed some of her recent quilting and it is amazing.

We also had a great show and tell. Maria brought a two sided quilt, which had really effective quilting.

Tri Valley Modern Quilt Guild Charity Quilt
Tri Valley Modern Quilt Guild Charity Quilt

I loved the Tri-Valley Modern Quilt Guild’s QuiltCon Charity quilt. Alison brought it for us to see and the colors really spoke to me.

Sheila's 3D Flowers
Sheila’s 3D Flowers

Sheila is a new member and she is showing some amazing work. She showed this vase of flowers. The flowers are made with Peltex so the petals are 3D. they look really great. Her woven background reminded me of my 3 woven quilts. Her woven background is much more controlled than the weaving in my pieces.

Almond Rhubarb Cake
Almond Rhubarb Cake

Finally, I brought this cake. It is a recipe from Allrecipes.com that I saw on Friend Julie’s website. I am always saving my rhubarb for pies, so I used cranberries and blueberries. It took a long time to bake – maybe 3x as long as the directions say, but when it finally finished it looked delicious. It wasn’t as sweet as some cakes I have made. I brought it to the guild meeting and only brought home one piece. Sue wasn’t there so my cake didn’t have to compete with her delicious brownies. I am pleased it was mostly eaten.

Another Chicken Dinner

I feel so lucky lately. I won at the Fair and yesterday I won a prize at the guild meeting.

July BAM Raffle Prize
July BAM Raffle Prize

Every month there is a very generous raffle prize given out. I haven’t ever won, that I can remember. I never expected to win.

I am pretty pleased with the items, especially the book, because it has some patterns I have gotten out of magazines. Now they are all in one book. It’s great! The colors aren’t really mine, but they aren’t horrible either. And I like the little pouches and portfolios.

July BAM Raffle Prize - open
July BAM Raffle Prize – open

Lynette is the genius who puts together the prizes. She is retiring at the end of the year and I have agreed to head up a committee to create the raffle prizes. I have some ideas. With a team I think I can do it.

It’s All About Orange Right Now

Orange Improv Journal Cover
Orange Improv Journal Cover

Because you have seen the Orange Strip Donation Top and the Orange Improv Donation Top in progress, you know that it is all about orange around my house right now.

As I rummaged through my orange scrap bin, I found a shard that was really great. It was made from some of the same fabric as my Fresh Fruit quilt. I decided that it would make a perfect journal cover for my AQ business notebook.

Orange Improv Journal Cover -inside front cover
Orange Improv Journal Cover -inside front cover

Since I had a big shard already, it didn’t take long to make as I use a really basic version of the tutorial. I used interfacing and no flannel for the inside, so it came out very slim. I am trying different things to find the best way to make the edges of the journal cover easy to sew through. Without anything (like batting) in between, the maker is already sewing through at least 8 layers and that doesn’t even take the seams from the piecing that might hit the edge. I don’t know about your machine, but that is a lot of layers through which to sew.

Orange Improv Journal Cover -inside back cover
Orange Improv Journal Cover -inside back cover

I still haven’t quite figured out how to center exactly what I want on the front. I did a pretty good job on this one, but would have preferred to have more of the front inside cover on the front.

 

Orange Improv Journal Cover -whole cover
Orange Improv Journal Cover -whole cover

Orange Improv Donation Top Start

Orange Improv Donation Top start - mid July 2019
Orange Improv Donation Top start – mid July 2019

While I was vacillating about the sashing color, size and fabric for the Orange Strip Donation Top, I still needed some leaders and enders. I started in on the Orange Improv Donation Top.

This part of the project is also coming out quite well. I am starting to think that I pick my oranges carefully and they go together well.

I really like the orange dot at the bottom of the left hand photo. However, it really stands out in real life. I might have to use smaller bits of it, so it doesn’t dominate.

Orange Improv Donation Top start 2 - mid July 2019
Orange Improv Donation Top start 2 – mid July 2019

The top piece (in this post) is about 8 in x 10 in right now. I have some sewing to do to get it to a larger size.

The smaller piece will be added on to the larger piece when it gets to the right length or width to fit. I am at the point now where I make smaller pieces fit together to attach to the larger ones.

Book Review: Dessert Roll Quilts

Dessert Roll Quilts: 12 Simple Dessert Roll Quilt PatternsDessert Roll Quilts: 12 Simple Dessert Roll Quilt Patterns by Pam Lintott

I have a dessert roll of V&Co Confetti. One morning I got a bee in my bonnet wondering what to do with it. I went online looking for patterns, then had a brainwave that the library might have a relevant book. I looked at a local library catalog. I was able to check out a Kindle book early on a Sunday morning from my kitchen while wearing my bathrobe. It was awesome!

This book is basically a project book. There are 12 projects. The work, however, starts with the table of contents and a brief introduction. The introduction covers what a dessert roll is (roll of 5 inch strips). The authors explain that most of the patterns use one dessert roll and some background or border fabric. They also remind readers that the requirements of each pattern are clearly stated. The book also includes recipes for baked goods, because, apparently, working with these 5 inch strips made the Lintotts hungry. 😉

“Getting Started” follows the introduction. The authors state, again, the definition of a dessert roll and remind the reader, which I appreciate, that you can always cut ‘pre-cuts’ for yourself. Take a look in your fabric closet (or shelves) and select a group of fabric you like, then cut your own. You can do it! They also state that the patterns assume your 5 inch WIDE strips will be 42″ long. This is good to know if you are using FQs or something else.

Seeing as how The Quilt Room is in the UK, the authors address the Imperial vs. Metric dilemma. They provide some information on converting from Imperial to Metric. The Imperial vs. Metric section is followed by the 1/4 inch seam allowance discussion. The discussion is a short paragraph pointing readers to a seam allowance test at the back of the book.

Pam and Nicky use Creative Grids rulers, which they discuss in the “Tools Used” section and later in the back of the book. Any ruler will work as long as you are familiar with how to make HSTs. If you don’t know, check out my Triangle Technique tutorial. This tutorial makes 8 HSTs at a time and includes a chart (be sure to download it), so you can make a set of HSTs almost any size.

There is a CYA section, which includes quilt sizes, information about diagrams, washing and something called “Before You Start”. All of these ensure that the authors can’t be blamed for reader mistakes IMO. If you have made a few quilts, skim these, but I am convinced you already know the information.

After the basic information listed above the projects start. There are a selection of very basic patterns, including Weekender and Orange Squeeze. Other patterns look harder, but the directions seem to be clearly explained. I didn’t make any of the quilts, but I looked at the patterns pretty carefully.

Each pattern has a lifestyle image of the quilt and an image where the quilt is laid flat, where readers can see the whole quilt. The patterns are several pages long (remember I was looking at this on my computer and phone and there were no page numbers, so YMMV). The pictures of the quilts are excellent and I thought various steps for making the quilts were illustrated appropriately and well. Most of the patterns show pictures of the quilt projects made up in alternate colorways. In at least one pattern there was also an alternate layout. For example, Afternoon Tea shows an X layout for the pattern, but also has a diagonal set in different colors and fabrics at the end of the section.

Pam and Nicky provide ‘Vital Statistics’ for each quilt. This provides the block size, sashing size, number of rows, etc. This is very helpful information when making a quilt.

I don’t agree with their method of putting most of the quilts together. You know, if you have been reading my blog for very long, that I like to ‘chunk’ quilts together to keep them straighter and to give myself a better chance of matching up seams along a whole row. Seventh Heaven, for example, is a quilt that could definitely be chunked together. Remember: you don’t have to follow the exact directions for a quilt from beginning to end. If you know of a way to put a quilt together that works better for you, then use that method.

There are some bold color choices as well. The alternate colorway for Orange Squeeze uses a fabulous violet for the background.

I really like the Afternoon Tea design. It is another lozenge quilt and I have a soft spot for them. I also like the Orange Squeeze alternate colorway. I might use if for a different quilt, though, such as the Pavlova pattern. Marmalade Cake is a design I would consider making. The blocks are a bit large for me, but I could downsize it and make the overall pattern repeat more. I also like Seventh Heaven, another lozenge quilt. I guess I’ll have to get back to that shape at some point.

There are a few patterns including Marmalade Cake and Paradise Quilt that show the Creative Grids non-slip Multi-size 45/90 ruler. Looking at the images, it is easy to see how to use this ruler. I have a Fons & Porter Half & Quarter ruler to make HSTs as well as the Bonnie Hunter Essential Triangle Tool, so I don’t think I can justify buying yet another ruler that does the same thing.

The patterns are followed by a ‘General Techniques’ section. Within this section is a ‘Tools’ subsection. The authors talk first about mats and rotary cutters, then tell the reader their favorite rulers are Creative Grids. They show, what they consider, their basics. The Lintotts say you need the Creative Grids non-slip Multi-size 45/90 ruler. With the Vital Statistics section and my Triangle Techniques tutorial, you will not need that ruler. Still, buy it, if you think it will help or, like me, because you love specialty rulers.

The ‘Seams’ subsection goes over the quarter inch seam allowance again and is followed by a ‘Seam allowance test’ subsection. The latter is a useful trick and will let you know where you are with your seam allowance. It also gives basic tips on how to fix any problems.

The ‘Pressing’ subsection is also useful. Pam and Nicki go into a lot of detail on pressing, especially pressing strips. I like the way they describe pressing strips. The section includes other subsections such as ‘Pinning’, ‘Chain Piecing’, ‘Removing Dog Ears’, ‘Joining Border & Binding Strips’, and ‘Adding Borders’. The Borders subsection talks about mitered and straight borders. The information is pretty good for mitered borders. It doesn’t really go into keeping your quilt square when adding borders, so look that information up somewhere else. A couple of paragraphs on quilting and a section on binding, with illustrations, are also included.

The end of the book talks a little about some common questions, backing fabric and labels.

If you need a project book, there are some interesting projects here. I liked a couple of the patterns. I also liked that the patterns included alternate colorways.

View all my reviews

Various & Sundry 2019 #7

I always start out with these posts thinking I won’t find anything, yet I do! Here is another supersized V&S for your reading pleasure!

Fabric, Notions, Supplies & Tools

Edgestitch has an interesting and terrifying article about organic cotton. Terrifying as in how it affects topsoil and what the ramifications of not paying attention to it will be. More bad news for our planet. 🙁

If you want an easy way to add a zipper pocket to any bag project, you need Sara Lawson/Sew Sweetness’ new Acrylic Zipper Pocket Template (and Ruler). Slip pockets are not difficult and they can be very handy, but the measuring can be a hassle. Sara’s video shows how to use the new template to measure and mark for the slip pocket quickly and easily. It is also reasonably priced at $15 in her shop. It is definitely going on my Christmas list.

Studio Kat Designs has dotted and striped zippers. I am buying some of these next time I need zippers! They are awesome.

If you are confused about what to bring when a class list says to bring a BSK, AllPeopleQuilt has a list of items that should be included. I mostly agree with them, though I would add WonderClips and some hand sewing needles. Where I disagree is with the rotary cutting ruler. 6″ x 24″ is commonly thought of as the basic quilt ruler. I have one and do use it regularly, however I don’t use it every day. My go to ruler for almost every cut is a Creative Grids 4.5″x6.5″. Larger rulers are great and useful, but too unwieldy for small cuts. If you can only buy one ruler, I recommend a Creative Grids 8.5″x12.5″. this won’t help you much with long cuts, but it will be easier to handle when cutting 2.5″ squares and other small pieces. My other favorite ruler, which I use a lot and sits on my cutting table is the Creative Grids 3.5″x 12.5″. If you can buy a bunch of rulers, buy the 6″ x 24″, 4.5″x6.5″ and the 3.5″x12.5″. You’ll be set for awhile with these rulers. Also, you will find things you need to expand your BSK. I have paper scissors, a mechanical pencil and various other things. Collect your BSK in a travel kit so you can grab and go. As you expand your quilty life you’ll get duplicates of things and be able to keep one set at home and one set ready to go to class or Sew Day or a friend’s house.

Pink Door Fabrics has a great selection of bag hardware, including some rainbow finishes.

Friend Julie did a review of the Chaco Liner on her blog.

Maker’s Mercantile has some beautiful collections of Renaissance Ribbons for your embellishing pleasure. Among the options are sets by Sue Spargo, Amy Butler and Tula Pink.

I read recently that BLOCKBASE IS SOLD OUT! OMG! I love that software. It works with my EQ software and I don’t have to draw most blocks that I see and want to use or play with. Barbara Brackman, who announced this, also asked what could be done to improve the software. If you have ideas, let her know. You never know what might be added if you stick your oar in.

Patterns, Projects & Tutorials

Gretchen is a master at finding Quilt-a-Longs. She has mentioned two new ones in her recent blog post, The Struggle is Real. The sewing will be well on the way by the time you read this, but that doesn’t mean you can’t start the process later. The first is a QAL by Christa Watson using her Color Weave quilt pattern. I have seen a couple of other designs that have a similar look, so this stripe kind of look must be popular. If you have jelly rolls or an Accuquilt 2.5″ strip die, this is a great pattern. The second pattern is by Joanna Figueroa of Fig Tree Quilts and does homage to crochet granny square afghans. It uses her Crochet pattern (no crochet involved!). It is a great design.

I have become accustomed to wearing an apron when I cook. This isn’t natural for me, but after ruining a few favorite t-shirts, I trained myself. Now I find aprons fun to make and great gifts. I found a list of free vintage style apron patterns on the Betty Cooks Lightly site. #19 on the left is hilarious looking – slightly flirty, or maybe tarty, but sort of fun also. There are a couple I would like to try. I need to try the apron patterns I have, however, first.

AllPeopleQuilt’s recent newsletter had a nice list of gifts for your sewing buddies. Since it is July, I thought you might be starting your holiday gifts. Some are reused from previous lists, but one might catch your attention so take a look.

I have a dessert roll of V&Co Ombre confetti fabrics. I want to get a dessert roll in the new colors as well, but am not sure what shop has dessert rolls. I have been looking at projects using dessert rolls (5″ x WOF). I found a great sampler on the Moda blog. I don’t think it is really what I want to make, but I love the variety of block sizes and might just be put off by the colors. How would it look in my colors?

Need some Jelly Roll Patterns? U-Create has some great designs. The fabric has a lot to do with the way the quilts look, I know. Remember: you can cut your own 2.5″ strips, if you don’t want to buy a jelly roll. I highly recommend this!

I came across a Bonnie Hunter block, Straits of Mackinac, that I adore. You can find in a post of hers from 2016. The quilt pattern is in her latest book, String Frenzy. I am put off my strings, but I think the /block/quilt could look very nice with scrappy fabrics and no strings.

I have a dessert roll (pre-cut) and have been looking for pattern options. I ran across the Project Jelly Roll page, which has a lot of resources, if you are a fan of jelly rolls and other pre-cuts. They are big on National Jelly Roll day and inform visitors of the exact date frequently.

Kevin the Quilter is hosting a two color quilt summer sew-a-long. Clue 1 was just posted and the Introduction is also available. I think this is more than a sew-a-long, but also a mystery quilt.

Bonnie Hunter has a new leaders and enders challenge for summer. You can find it on her free patterns page. I haven’t been to the free patterns page in awhile and was amazed at how many patterns live there! The 2019 Leaders & Enders challenge is Shoo, Fly, Shoo! The original post went live on July 4th. Bonnie Hunter amazes me. She has the most amazing patterns. I’d love to know how her mind works.

In Between Stitches has a super cool Block of the Month program called Summer Moon. The information on the In Between Stitches website was a little confusing, so I did a general web search and found, from the Jolly Jabber blog, that it is an actual Block of the Month program. However, I got the impression that there is also a book, so I went exploring. This is another Its Sew Emma book/Block of the Month extravaganza like Farm Girl Vintage, though Farm Girl was by Lori Holt and Summer Moon is by Carrie Nelson. I think I like it because of the fabrics rather than the actual design. There are blocks that are similar in the various Its Sew Emma projects. All the blocks are blocks I could do without buying a pattern, but the fabric selection is awesome. Also, I love samplers.

Remember I said I love Samplers? Well, I just got the news that Barbara Brackman is hosting a quilt-a-long. It is called the Daredevil Quilt-a-long and it is a sampler with a secondary pattern. The fabric requirements and some other info has been posted, but it officially starts early in August. She has a couple of options for purchasing the patterns in her Etsy shop. I have often thought a magazine called “Really Hard Quilts” would be great. There are a plethora of easy, quick and fast quilts out there, but nothing, or few, challenging patterns. Companies are afraid to scare quiltmakers away. This quilt-a-long will challenge you. It is not for the faint of heart, but you can do it.

Media & Online Groups

I’m still thinking about blocks. It doesn’t help that I get an email about vintage blocks every time Barbara Brackman updates her blog. I mentioned Barbara Brackman’s Encyclopedia of Quilt Patterns blog a few weeks ago. It is also called Cloud of Quilt Patterns. In one of her posts was a link to Moore about Nancy blog, which is a Nancy Cabot Sew-a-Long. It hasn’t been updated since 2014, as far as I can tell, but it has interesting blocks and the author gives guidelines on how to make them. The Nancy Cabot Sew-a-Long blog mentions the 101 Patchwork Patterns site, which has even more blocks!

I did not know that Sewing with Nancy had quilting communities and online groups.

Karen K. Buckley is in a fight about her scissors, which are the best, and the ripping off of the design.

The Guardian has a story about Faith Ringgold. Please support The Guardian.

Have you heard about Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal?

You may have seen my recent book review on Handmade Getaway. The co-author, Karyn Valen, has a great website called MakeSomething.ca. I like the pattern she shows using Flying Geese. It isn’t a difficult patternand the use of fabric is fantastic. I especially like it, because she cuts them using an electric Accuquilt! i would love one of these, but I just don’t have the space to leave it out. I don’t think I would want to hide it away as I do with the hand crank version I have.

History

Barbara Brackman talks about Gloria Vanderbilt’s patchwork interior on a recent blog post. She makes a comment that it was the 1970s with regard to the variety and quantity of prints. I see a correlation to present day. Riots of prints are used in quilts today. I am no exception. However, in the famous quiltmaker department Kathy Doughty has a gallery full of quilts using many prints. Kaffe Fassett also uses a lot of prints and color in his quilts.

Barbara Brackman (again!!) mentioned The Business of Folk Art exhibit in NYC on her blog recently. There is a book that goes along with the exhibit. The post mentions the Honstain quilt, which is in the collection of the International Quilt Study Center, but on display in New York right now. Brackman writes that “this sampler quilt dated 1867 that has the reputation as the most expensive antique quilt ever sold ($264,000 in 1991).” She has a lot of interesting history about the quilt in her post. It is worth reading.

Other Artists

In a recent comment on my Thinking about Blocks post, Ronni mentioned her Barn Block Alphabet project. She has a tag to relate the Barn Block Alphabet posts together. I am a little unclear on what the purpose of the project is, though Ronni does talk about her love for blocks in the comments. She has a number of products at a Society 6 shop.

Marianne Fons and Liz Porter will be inducted into the Quilter’s Hall of Fame. Marianne has a post about their start and how they became quiltmakers household names on her blog. I don’t like what F&W/The Quilting Company has done to Love of Quilting, but I like the way they teach and provide guidance for quiltmakers.

Doing Good

Covered in Love is collecting 12.5″ red, white and blue star blocks for charity quilts this summer. Any star pattern and as many or as few as youw ould like are welcome.

Exhibits & Shows

QuiltDivaJulie posted about a recent exhibit featuring the color blue. I love her Plus blocks at the top of the post. The quilts are unified by the size and the primary use of the color blue. It is interesting to see the variety of blues in the various quilts. There are also a variety of styles represented.

Flying Around Returns Again

Flying Around - mid July 2019
Flying Around – mid July 2019

In between a lot of work (actual work, the kind I get paid for) and work on the Orange Strip Donation Top, my main project for the weekend was Flying Around. I had a goal of getting the borders on the top part of the quilt finished. The left hand side was easy compared to the right. The right side was difficult, but the border is off the design wall. It’s really annoying how often this problem affects me. I know I should make smaller quilts, but my ideas make it impossible.

The top center is looking a bit weird and I am trying to decide if I need to rip it out. I am thinking that I can move the section right above the blue Friendship Circle up and add some more Flying Geese to connect the ones already there.

Friend Julie talked to me about the piece on Friday and that really helped. Sometimes getting an idea of what others are seeing is a good thing.

Keep in mind as you look at this piece that much of it is not sewn together, so it looks a little weird.