Shattered

Another project took "cuts" in line and demanded my attention before I could get back to the Arkansas Cross Road borders. I've been reading the blog of hand quilter Gretchen, and while that will never be my sandbox, I really appreciate the beautiful work she does. The more I'd read, however, the more I wanted to get back to quilting the vintage top I'd been working on while visiting my mother (waiting for her to wake from her naps). I was hand quilting using a large but portable hoop, but had discovered another fabric that had shattered. I'd auditioned some fabrics and thought I had a plan for replacing at least one of the squares.

Those Flipping Corners

I'm back in my studio! I realized a few days ago that I had been suck[er]ed into (by a friend's overwhelming enthusiasm) a project that was Too Soon and Too Much, so I asked that we pump the brakes on that until after the holidays. There was no need to dive headlong into things right this minute--which we were doing--and everyone else agreed. Big load off my mind, and lots of time freed up as a result.  

My pile o' squares, after their Big Adventure in Wisconsin, weren't content to going back to Leader-Ender status when we got home.

Finishing and Pondering

First, the finish:

70" x 91"

Just another Sewing Sunday

I've been wondering lately: why don't we use the term "sewyer" to describe our craft/hobby/skill set? I usually use "sewist/maker", but the -yer suffix is used to describe people who saw wood, people who make bows, people versed in law. Shall we start a movement?

I was moved to start pinning another quilt sandwich yesterday. In my "pile" of frankenbatts (all both of them; I got bored with that project and did something else rather than make more) I found what seemed, on paper, to be the perfect size. But when I did a dry run the edges fell short in several places, so I had an impromptu frankenbatting session right then and there, sewing a couple of long, thin batting cut-offs to two sides.

Radio Silence

I hadn't meant to stay quiet for so long, but although I've been busy, I haven't had much to point to and exclaim, "TA-DA!"

This morning I put the final quilting stitch into Sugar Skull. I'd decided on diamonds in the white strips, which meant straight-line quilting, which meant my Brother 1500 on the "dinner" table.

December banner

Got the last stitch in my mother's walker banner before 2:30 this afternoon.

Lunch break

He's much better at How Not to be Seen when he's in the sewing studio.

A hurried shot because he knew he'd been caught.

October banner

The last stitch went in this afternoon and it's ready to go to my mom tomorrow.

I "pigma'd" the stems of the apples. There was a LOT of pen work on this one!

New start

It's funny how other ideas filter in once the troublesome parts of a current project are resolved. I finished all the feathers and added some cross-hatching to the dark borders around the appliqued blocks in Hubris. Currently it's wadded up and stored on the table of my Viking mid-arm, ready to be finished up with a cone of King Tut "Sphinx" thread over all the neutral fabrics. Haven't decided on a design yet, but after all the feathers, anything is doable!

Yup, my studio is as crowded as it appears. The Guest Room used to hold a goodly portion of all this, but it's actually being used by a guest (our youngest son) at the moment!

Reality Check

Yesterday morning, while waiting in line for the voting doors to open, I gave some thought to the next quilting projects that were clamoring loudest for my attention. My mother's quilt was nearly done, so finishing the hanging sleeve and binding would be a matter of a day or two of hand sewing. To the top of the list it went.

My brother's quilt weighs heaviest on my conscience, so I spent a peaceful 15 minutes (still in line--I was very early to the polls) considering various background fillers for the area around the appliqued border. I'd been stuck on that for some time now. Spoiler: it's going to be 1" cross-hatching.

Today, while Mom's quilt was in the wash, I pulled out my brother's quilt so I could start marking the cross-hatching lines. To my dismay, however, I was greeted with this:

unburied threads as far as the eye could see! I last worked on this in March; my departure for Oregon was abrupt and unexpected back then--I must've just folded it up and thought no more about it until today.

Lessons Learned and Final Thoughts

Yep, a little breeze, but it was a bit wavy on its own too. 35" x 53"

I finished this on Tuesday? Wednesday? Blursday? Regardless, I handed it over Wednesday afternoon so it could get to Houston and be entered in the Silent Auction being held during the Competition Weekend for Region 10 of Sweet Adelines. I had no desire to be there in person, but I was there in fabric.

Sunday Sewing Spree

Sometime between posting yesterday and waking up this morning, it occurred to me that a new mother with a new baby doesn't need something big. She needs lots of smaller, nearly identical things, so when an epic case of projectile spit-up occurs, Thing 1 can be tossed into the wash and Thing 2 brought in to replace it.

With that jog to my memory, instead of a 40"x60" toddler-sized quilt, I decided to make 2 baby quilts: a 30"x40" using a 3x4 setting with the ten 9" segments (trimmed to 8.5" squares),

and a 30"x50" using a 3x5 setting with the fourteen 6" segments constructed yesterday. If you're any good on your fingers, you've figured out that I need to make some more squares!

A Finish

I've shown plenty of shots of the front side of my T-shirt lap quilt, so here's the back after its wash and dry.

Cat because...cat!

This is the thread I used in the bobbins for my quilting: King Tut "Joseph's Coat". On the top side I matched the thread to the T-shirt color.

The keyboard fabric that wasn't quite dark and wasn't quite light in my hubris project was just right cut into 2" strips for a bias binding. I cut hand-sewn bindings at 1-3/4", but I knew I'd be machine sewing this one down. The extra width is just enough to comfortably fold over the seam line, and with the matching teal thread in the bobbin, the stitching barely shows in the top border.

I'm so looking forward to Winter when I can pull this lap quilt out and enjoy the snuggle!

Straight Quiltin'

It took 3" on the Viking quilting machine to demonstrate that I chose the wrong machine for my needs. What I wanted to do first was stitch 1/8" from the seams (to secure the seam allowances), but I simply cannot eyeball a straight line using a little round foot!

So the Brother 1500 was threaded up with some matching teal, and the first, anchoring quilting lines were laid down:

One of the first things you learn when studying electricity and electronics: V/C=R

After quilting all the teal, I changed to black thread and did some easy straight-line outlining in some of the black blocks.  Today I'll move back to Viking which, with its FMQ superiority, is the right tool for the job.

For a change, Wraith didn't spend yesterday curled up at my toes while I quilted. He had his primary mission to carry out: All empty boxes must remain empty, and he will ensure this with his catness.

Sashings/Backings: Redux

When last we left our intrepid quilter, it was with this virtual layout

and a battle cry upon her lips: "What I really need to do now is get serious with a ruler and the starched pieces."

So that's exactly what I did next, finding all the actual widths, creating new puzzle pieces, narrowing the vertical sashings, and extending blocks where needed. The outcome of that virtual design play:

To the cutting table!

Hubris Project cut&paste

With one project in the binding stage and another in the basted-ready-to-quilt stage, it's time for me to turn to my Hubris squares and get those into a top.

With so many variations available in the pattern I've decided upon (middle right in the book photo above), I figured the old-fashioned method of playing with bits of paper would be the easiest way to figure out a good layout to showcase these applique blocks. Because they'll trim down to 18" squares, I had already done the math to resize the log cabin blocks from 12" to 18".

Vintage repairs

I last blogged about this in May and June 2019, and its turn has finally come around. I gingerly took it down from the hanging rack and carefully opened it. Two shattered squares had already been replaced, probably back in Spring 1998, and another square removed as well as a shattered maple-leaf block.

Hot topic

Ironing--my least favorite step. In retrospect (take note, Current Self!) I should've ironed each strip/row when I completed it. But I didn't, and now I'm working through all 13 rows and 10 columns of this beast.

Because of the top's size, I've moved my ironing board into the dining room. There's simply not enough room in my sewing room for a large ironing project. I'll tell you what: if you want a good idea of the over-spray area generated by a can of spray starch, iron in bare feet on a tile floor. All will become clear (and very, very sticky).

Because I've moved my ironing board into the dining room, it's at a lower height than is comfortable so my back starts to ache quite quickly. I could only deal with half the top before calling it a day and surrendering the best seat in the house to Wraith. At least he's confining himself to the soft towel.

Or not....

I don't do yoga, but I can only imagine it was inspired by cats. Would this be the Flexible Feline position?

The Comfortable Cat pose?

QAYG layout

Thursday last I had the day and evening to myself (all-day classes keeping The Loud out of the house and busy teaching), so I had the luxury of trimming up the 99 QAYG blocks on the dining room table (bar height and bigger than my usual cutting area, so it's more comfortable) and planning a layout.

See the light blob in the upper right quadrant? He's planning mischief!

I decided to group the prints to make whole squares, and let the flannel/fleece side of these blocks fall where they may.

Wraith helped.

Outsmarted

I thought I was being so clever, covering my WIP (or more accurately, WW2BIP [Work Waiting to be In Progress]) with towels while it was on the quilting table, so that the cats wouldn't get their hair all over it.

"I laugh at your silly notions!"