Other Retreat Sewing

I've actually remembered what I was working on at my July retreat!

First, I finished (though I haven't yet trimmed the edges) my Autumn Bargello top:


I still need to find border(s) for it, and add them.  I started this quilt in roughly 2001 or 2002, in a class I took with a bunch of ladies I sewed with regularly at the time, at A Piece in Time, in Akron, Ohio.  At the time, I basically got the strip sets made, did a bit of cross-cutting, and set it aside for the next "ooooh, shiny!" project.  A lot of my UFOs date from those two years, when I took a lot of classes and belonged to both Thimbleberries Club and Quilt Sitters' Circle at that shop (which was only a couple of miles from where we lived at the time), and had projects piling up at an alarming rate.  Of course, I also have a fair number of UFOs that date back earlier than that.  2013 is going to be my year of making serious headway on all those lingering UFOs!

The next thing I did was to change gears.  I had another Bargello-in-progress with me, that I'd started in the late 1990s some time, at a shop called Hoops 'n Hollers in North Olmsted, Ohio.  The shop no longer exists, but in the 1990s I took a number of classes there, and belonged to Quilt Sitters' Circle, and collected a fair number of UFOs along the way.  So, I'd started this Bargello first, before the Autumn Bargello I'd just finished at retreat, above.  I only had a few of the strip sets made, and the rest were in pairs or a few in four-strip units.  I made the rest of my stripsets as Leaders/Enders while I was piecing the Autumn Bargello.  But then I decided that I did not want to sew another Bargello top right then, so that's where the "changing gears" comes in.  I decided, instead, to make these stripsets into a Trip Around the World quilt.  I got the four quadrants made, and made the center strips that tie it all together and make it work, but my seam allowance was apparently off on the center strips, as they were shorter than my quadrants.  So I still need to remake those strips, and finish putting the top together.  Here's a picture of one of the quadrants:

This is the top left, the way it's oriented.  Or, top right, as you're looking at it.  That pinkish square on the bottom left as you look at it will be near the center of the quilt.  Each quadrant is rotated 90 degrees, and there's a strip through the middle in each direction that continues the movement of the fabrics, and effectively makes the "points" where the fabrics change direction, from moving diagonally out to diagonally in.  I hope to get the top together soon, and maybe all that gibberish will make more sense then ;-)

That retreat, I also got borders added to three quilt tops.  The first is a Jelly Roll 1600 quilt, which is bigger than they usually are because I used a Noodle, which is something they used to sell at Hancock Fabrics, which had more than 40 strips in it, and I used them all.


The second top I added borders to was this one, which is a pattern called "Cake Walk," by Sandy Gervais:

I used another Noodle from Hancocks for the blocks in that one, and I used the leftovers for another "Jelly Roll 1600," which is of course smaller than they usually are.  In any event, it's the third quilt top I added borders to at the May retreat:


That was pretty good for one retreat, I think!

Thanks for stopping by to play!  Come back again soon.

Retreat Progress, Day 4

Yesterday (Thursday) was a productive day for me, even though it started out a little slow. Early on, I was pretty easily distracted, and had trouble staying on task with anything for very long. But later on, by the middle of the evening, I got back into the groove. I finished adding borders to my The Body in the Kelp Sampler. It's hanging sideways on a not-straight design wall here, so the picture looks a bit odd. But you can get the idea, at least.


Then I got the borders added to this quilt, which is blocks from a panel, which I cut apart, and added sashing and cornerstones to. I'm a sucker for anything with kitties on it, and anything with sewing notions on it, so this panel and the companion stripe I used for the border were just destined to come home with me.
I got the Yellow Brick Road blocks assembled, though I still have to add borders. The printed blocks here are from a panel by Teresa Kogut from some years back. Some of the fabrics are from the same line, others are from my stash. The outer border will be a stripe from this same fabric line.
I got borders added to this lap quilt. This will probably be donated to charity.
And I got borders on this lap quilt, as well. This one will also probably be donated. Today, there's more piecing in the works! More pictures to follow.

Thanks for stopping by to play. Come back again soon.

Design Wall Monday, July 4, 2011

I've been really sporadic with my Design Wall posts (and indeed with any posts at all) lately, but I'm hoping to both sew and post more consistently going forward.

Today on my design wall there are blocks from a number of years back. They're for a sampler based on the novel The Body in the Kelp, by Katherine Hall Page. There's a sampler quilt in the book, which leads to various clues. So one segment of the Weathervane block, the Crossroads block, and the Winding Ways block are all a bit different. That's not a mistake, that's done because in the novel, the quilt has those differences. There is a mistake, though, in the Apple Tree block. Second one in, in the third row. The top right corner has two large HST units that need turned 180 degrees. I've looked at these blocks dozens of times in the years since 2001 when I made them, and never noticed it until now -- Grrrrr! So I'll be fixing that, and adding sashing and borders.



Thanks for coming by to play. Come back again soon. Stop by Judy's blog, to see what other folks have up this week.

(Almost) The Last of the Spring UFO Club Projects

Here are (almost) the rest of the Spring UFO Club projects I put on my list. There are two more which are up on my Design Wall, which I'll save for tomorrow's Design Wall Monday post. And there are two others that I don't have pictures of yet. One of them is at the house in Ohio. And the other is, um, shall we say "buried" in the sewing room. I'll have to pull it out, though, this next week. So when I find unearth it, I'll get its picture and post it as well.

This is another project from one of The Door Mouse's overnight classes. This is from a book called One Block Says it All, although I can't recall the author's names offhand. I think Juanita Simonich was one of them, but don't quote me on that. This is huge -- if I recall correctly, it's between 96" and 104" square. I don't remember which, but it's big. This design is called "Anniversary Star." I really like it a lot. But then, I like most of my UFOs, begging the question as to why they're not yet finished ;-)

This is a Marti Michell pattern called "Hexagon Pinwheels." I'd say the reason for the name is obvious. I did this one in a class at A Piece in Time in roughly 2002. Could have been 2001, but I don't think so. This is a throw size.

This is from a pattern called "The Jelly Maker's Cabin," by Kimberly Crenshaw. I had the strip sets made and pressed and sub-cut, and took it that way to a retreat, where I assembled the top as Leaders and Enders for sewing the borders on a LOT of other tops. If my arithmetic is correct, it should measure 52"x76" or a good sized throw. I really like this one, too.

This was a mystery quilt from (I think) Christmas Eve of 2008, from a Yahoo group I used to be a member of. Unfortunately, I can't recall what group it was now, nor any more of the designer's name than that her first name is Dorothy. I believe she called this design "Mosaic Tiles." It's hard to see, but the focus fabric and outer border is balls of yarn ;-) When it's finished, I'll take a closeup picture of that. This one's a twin size, and I just love the colors in it.

One of the quilt guilds I belong to did a beginning quilting class as part of their education offerings. To be supportive, and to see what I might not yet know, I took the class. I'd been wanting to do an all-neutral quilt, so I used this class as a way to incorporate that challenge. I see that at this distance, some of the blocks don't show up very well, so this is another one that will need closeup pictures when it's finished. The backing of this one has some leftover blocks and other fun stuff going on. I'll show that with the finished beauty shot, once I get it quilted and bound.
Check back tomorrow for my Design Wall post, and see two of the last four projects from my list. The other two will appear in random posts when I get pictures of them.

More Spring UFO Club Candidates

Here are some more of the UFOs I hope to complete this quarter, as part of the Quilters Knitting Spring UFO Club on Ravelry. Wish me luck!

First is a wallhanging from a class I took last fall at the Original Sewing and Quilt Expo in Kansas City, from Debbie Kratovil. It's a pattern called "Diadem," and I have to sew the pieced corners (which are all made, even though I only have a few in the photo) to the floral squares, then assemble the top, add borders, quilt and bind it. According to the pattern, it will finish at 40" square.



This is a small Christmas Bowtie quilt. It measures 13"x16-1/2" and the bowtie blocks are 3" square. This just needs quilted and bound, and a sleeve added of course. I made this in the winter of 2006-2007, when we were relocating to Missouri and I was in the hotel while DH was working, and didn't have a lot to do. It was productive sewing time for me then, but for some reason I never went ahead and finished it all the way.

This picture was just me trying to be a little bit funny. This is what's done so far on Triple Chain, which was a Strip Club project I got from A Piece in Time. All the strip sets have been sewn, and a few have been pressed, but none have been cross-cut into segments yet. This is totally scrappy, and I believe it's going to finish to queen size. I'll probably keep this one, though I'm not sure yet.
This is another mini quilt. This was the result of a class at the Original Sewing and Quilt Expo, though I don't remember for sure what year. I'm thinking it may have been 2006 or 2007, and I think that year I attended the show in Cleveland, OH. But I'm not positive about either of those things. When this is finished, it will end up belonging to one of my teddy bears. I collect teddy bears, or I did -- I feel like I have enough, now. Anyway, I've decided that all my bears need to have a quilt or an afghan (which others might call a dishcloth) of their own. This one measures 16"x20-1/4" and also just needs to be quilted and bound and have a sleeve added.
This was another class project from the Original Sewing and Quilt Expo in Kansas City in October 2010. This was another class with Debbie Kratovil, who is creating the patterns for the Gee's Bend quilts for Wyndham Fabrics. This class, though, was Improvisational Quilts. So, in the style of the Gee's Bend quilts, but not following a pattern. We learned some techniques and just played around. These are the units I've got so far -- the smaller ones still need to grow some, and I'll need to make some more units. This is just for fun, and will probably end up being either a wallhanging or a quilt for one of my large bears. Probably not big enough for a human to cover up in it, in other words.

That's this batch of projects, pictures and stories. More to come, today and tomorrow, and probably spilling into Monday.

Thanks for coming by to play. Come back again soon.

Spring UFO Club

The Quilters Knitting group on Ravelry is doing a challenge every quarter of this year, to motivate and support each other as we all work on our UFOs. As a part of that, I needed to make a list of the UFOs I want/plan to complete between April and June. I've erred on the side of caution, and included a lot more than I had to. We had to list at least 5, but I've more than quintupled that amount on my list. I'll share pictures and some info in a series of posts.

This first one is a Colorwash Trip Around the World wallhanging. It measures 39"x42" and just needs to be quilted and bound. I did this in a class at a sewing machine dealer in North Olmsted, Ohio -- there were six of us who often sewed together and who all took this class together. One of the group bought the fabric and made each of us a kit, except for the inner border fabrics. So there are five others who have a similar project with the same fabrics, except they all did the heart version, and I did the Trip Around the World version. I'd like to get this one finished for my mom for Mother's Day this year.
This was a mystery design from Creations Sew Clever, called "Sedona Stones." This is about a double bed size, at 85"x95". It's hard to see the fabrics in this one, but they're sort of Victorian or shabby chic, pink roses and a grayish green accent. I'd like to finish this one for my aunt, for her birthday in late June. I don't know why, but at some point it just occurred to me that she might like it. She's a quilter, too -- the only other one in my family.

This was a design that was created by Sandy Heminger of A Piece in Time for the summer "picnic" mystery for the Quilt Sitters Circle in the summer of 2004. This is huge, at 95"x108". This one will be for me, whenever it's finished. I just love this design -- there were so many different fabric choices, and every one of them looked good in this design. I love the woven effect.

This is a Thimbleberries pattern called "Jacket Plaid." It's in two books, one of which is North Bay Christmas. I don't recall what the other book is, but I think it's something like Cozy Cabin Quilts, perhaps. This one is also quite large, at 87"x96". This one will also be for me, unless some other worthy recipient expresses an interest.

This is further along than this now -- it's a completed top with borders, and I have the binding made and a backing fabric pulled and batting cut. This is another Thimbleberries pattern, sort of. In the book North Bay Christmas, there's a pattern for a table runner, called "December Stars." It's only three blocks. I don't really use table runners, and decided I wanted a quilt instead, so I made twelve blocks. I also changed the colors from two greens and a gold to burgundy, gold and brown. As a result, I've taken to calling my version "November Stars," since it's much more autumn-y than Christmas-y. I'll post a picture of the completed top in another one of these posts, and I'll share the measurements then.


That's the first batch! More to come. Thanks for stopping by to play. Come back again soon.

More Tops Going to Alycia

Here are some more tops that are going into the package(s) I'll be sending to Alycia, to be finished and given to wounded service members.

This first one is a design called "Timberline Lodge," from A Piece in Time. It's nearly twin sized at 59"x83". This one should be completely gender-neutral.


This is a Turning Twenty, from a kit I got at Creations Sew Clever. I just made this last summer or fall. It's no doubt more female-oriented, between the pastels and the florals. It measures 64"x80".

Here's another version of the "Square Dance" pattern from Creations Sew Clever. This, too, is more feminine because of the florals and the colors. It measures 63"x76".

This is a Puss in the Corner. I made this in a class at A Piece in Time in approximately 2001 or 2002. We were doing quilts based on the titles of books by Earlene Fowler. This was (I think) "Irish Chain." The border fabric is a paisley, with the red and green in it plus some purple and a screaming bright cheddar gold. I love it, but I think it's probably another more feminine quilt. This one measures 68"x84" which is between a twin and a double, to me.

Here's one that's pretty gender-neutral. Maple Leaves in autumn colors, with a leave print border. This one's also quite large, at 71"x89". I made this as a class sample in 1999 when I was teaching basic quick-piecing techniques.


There's one more top to be included in this shipment. I'll show that one in the next post.

Thanks for stopping by to play. Come back again soon.

Tops Going to Alycia

Here are some of the quilt tops that I'll be sending to Alycia, to be given to wounded service members. I hope to get this box sent off by the end of next week.

This first one is a terrible picture of a throw (56"x76") in a design called "Love Knot," by my friend Peg Bingham. We did this as a guild mystery in about 2001, and I've had the top completed since at least 2004. The background is a purple fabric with a sort of Jacobean floral design in it, so this is one that will likely have to go to a woman.

This is a design called Jellystone Park. I can't recall the name of the line I used for this one. It's 70" x 80". I'm not sure if this one is gender-neutral enough or not, really. The outer border is a paisley, and there's some pink in it. I know some guys who wouldn't think anything about that, but a lot of others who would. I've got to work on more guy-friendly stuff to send to Alycia next time ;-)

Here's one that's pretty guy-friendly. It's another design by Sandy Heminger of A Piece in Time. She calls this one "Almost No Intersections." This one is nearly a twin, at 60"x84".


Here's another version of the same design, in brushed cotton plaids and stripes. Thie one has more blocks than the first, but no border, and it measures 60"x74".

This is a design that was originally a mystery quilt, by Creations Sew Clever. This one measures 55"x74", and again because it's got a fairly large amount of a floral fabric, it probably will need to be for a woman. It's called "Argyle Sox."


Blogger only lets me upload five pictures at a time, and I find it frustrating to try to go back and add more photos to a post, so I'll do another post or two with the rest of the tops I'm sending to Alycia.

Thanks for stopping by to play. Come back again soon.

For the Boys (and Girls) in Blue (and Green, and Camo)

Do you know about Alycia? She's committed to getting a quilt to every wounded service member who crosses her path ;-) I've been wanting to help her with that goal for some time, and I'm finally getting some things sent to her. I've got 5 or 6 completed quilts I'm sending her, as well as a number of tops that she'll need to quilt or have someone else quilt.

First, here are the finished quilts I'm sending her. This first one ended up sideways, but it's a rail fence throw, with safari animals in the border. My friend Sally quilted it (she was looking for practice quilts when she bought her Gammill with Statler Stitcher a while back) with an allover design with animals -- tigers, elephants, and more. It's perfect for this quilt!



This next one is a large throw or a twin. The pattern is Take Five, and it's all in browns and pinks. This one will no doubt have to go to a female, but the sad reality is that women who are serving in the armed forces are getting wounded too, so I'm sure it will go to someone who will enjoy it. My friend Sally quilted this one as well.


This next one is flannel, and it's oh so snuggly! This one is a pattern called "Chain Link," by Creations Sew Clever. My friend Sally also quilted this one. It's a nice throw size.

This is another pattern from Creations Sew Clever. This one is called "Square Dance." This is a largish throw size. This was also quilted by Sally.

This one is half log cabin blocks, in bright batiks and black. This was a design created by Sandy Heminger of A Piece in Time in Akron, Ohio. We used to live about 4 miles from that shop, and when we did, I took a LOT of classes there. That's when I really started accumulating UFOs! This is a large throw or almost a twin size. I quilted this one, with a fun meander-y design in bright variegated thread.

This is a throw made from fabric with Australian aboriginal designs. The orange is a shot cotton by Kaffe Fassett. My friend Sally quilted this one, too.



Tomorrow I'll show you some of the tops I'm sending to Alycia in the box(es) I'm packing up for her. Thanks for coming by to play. Come back again soon.

March UFO Challenge

Well, the first two months' UFO Challenges have come and gone without my completing my projects. Well, I DID finish the top for my February challenge at my recent retreat, but not until March 2, too late to call it a "finish" for February. And I made progress on the January one, but didn't finish it either.

Here is my UFO for March:

It's a bargello. I started this in either 2001 or 2002, I think. It was in a class at A Piece in Time, when I used to live near there. I have all the strip sets made, just have to cross-cut them and do the layout and sew it together. Well, then I'll have to decide if I want a border on it, find an appropriate fabric if so, and add that as well. But it's early in the month, so I'm optimistic.

I'm also hoping to go back and completely finish the January and February UFOs. We'll see. It's certainly in my plans, but I'm so easily distracted....

Thanks for stopping by to play. Come back again soon!

Tops Completed at Retreat

I've got photos of some of the tops I completed at retreat that I'll show today. There are still one or two I need to get pictures of, but it was raining here yesterday. All of these just needed the last borders added to them, so finishing this many isn't as impressive as it might otherwise sound ;-)

Once again, my lovely photo assistants are Celeste and Julie.

First is a nice twin size top, a mystery from Debbie Caffrey called "Chip Off the Old Block." I didn't really get enough contrast between my blue and green fabrics -- in real life these seem a lot closer in value to each other. It measures about 64"x88" .

Then there's another mystery quilt, this one is called "Sedona Stones," and was from Creations Sew Clever, in Chillicothe, Ohio. This is a double bed size, at around 85"x95".

Then, yet another mystery quilt. This one, as far as I know, doesn't have a name. We did this as our Quilt Sitters Circle summer picnic mystery in 2004 at A Piece in Time. I'm pretty sure it was designed by the shop owner, Sandy Heminger. This is really big, at 95"x108".

Finally, a Thimbleberries pattern called "Jacket Plaid." I also did this one at A Piece in Time -- it was the Thimbleberries Club project one month, back in the days before the club was quite so organized as it is now, with a year-long project each year. I think I probably started this one in 2001 or 2002, though I don't remember for sure. We used to just decide what Thimbleberries pattern we wanted to do as a club project each month -- which led to me having a LOT of Thimbleberries patterns started, but not finished. This one is also big, at 87"x96".

Can you tell it was windy outside when we were trying to take these pictures? The girls had a bit of a fight on their hands on occasion, just getting the tops to stay still long enough to have their pictures taken.

So now I have four more to add to the "needing to be quilted" stack. Or rather, not "stack" but "totes." Yes, plural -- I think I have two, maybe three, large plastic totes of quilt tops that need to be quilted. Probably about half of them have the backings already prepared. I think that may be my next project I tackle, preparing backings for the rest of them. Then, I think a quilting marathon is in order.

Thanks for stopping by to play. Come back again soon!

A New Adventure

Well, I've finally decided to do it. I've resisted starting a blog for a long time, but decided it's the best way to share pictures of what I've been working on with friends and family. I can't guarantee I'll post every day, but I'll post when I have something to say, or something to show.



Here's a photo of my most recent finish. This was from a series of classes I took at a shop in Akron, Ohio, A Piece in Time, when I lived near there. Probably about 2001 or 2002. The class was based on Billie Lauder's piecing shortcuts, and was called "Trick of the Month." So, because I'm so original in naming my quilts, this is called Trick of the Month Sampler.








Some leftover bits got used on the back, to make it a little bit more fun.

I'll have some more finishes to share soon. For now, thanks for stopping by. Come back any time.