BRMQG Retreat -- my projects

Remember reading about the Baton Rouge MQG retreat at the River Retreat House over the July 4th weekend. In this post I highlighted some of the works my friends created. 

Finally, I get to tell you about the pieces I worked on. Admittedly, I played as much as I worked. So the end results won't be much, but nevertheless, here they are. 

I started with the Sugaridoo row that needed doing. I'd packed one basket just for that purpose. Honestly, I didn't like it but once I saw it with the rest of the quilt, I decided it fits right in. Of course I went with the improv option and then improv-ed more as I played. Sometimes I have three white strips, sometimes four. I did make one more to fill in that gap on the left, but for some reason, I didn't get a photo. Isn't the top looking good though? There will be separations between the rows. 

I brought a kit that I'd put together last year. It's as simple as a quilt can be: 8" blocks of various stripes and plaids. It took an afternoon of sewing to slam it together. Of course, I strip pieced it running two blocks through the machine like runner on steroids. I was grateful that the parts to my machine had come in and I had put them in place. Zoom! Zoom!

The plaid quilt was barely folded when I started another. This time I was working with lots of text fabric, some scraps and no one idea in mind. Naturally I kicked it into improv gear and let myself go. I got this far, having decided that I would include small pieces of green to break up the text chunks.

Then Glen decided to mess with me and threw in one of her blocks. I didn't even notice it, according to her, for quite a while. I was in the zone, man! But there was this nagging that something was needed. Boom! I'm not telling her but it think it's that tiny corner of teal that gave me the idea.

As luck would have it, I had a large scrap of teal that looks like it has strips of newspaper on it. Could it be more perfect?

So into the quilt wide chunks went. And basically, I built a chunk and found a spot for it. There was no rhyme or reason. Occasionally I'd look at the whole piece through the camera to get a clearer perspective, but mostly it was simple. 

In the end, I had three long pieces that fit together quite easily. But I do not like that line right down the center. Something will have to be done about that before it can be quilted. I have a few ideas and am open to suggestions. Please share them if you can think of something, anything. 

 

Sunday Quilt Inspiration: Sugaridoo Bernina QAL

Yesterday I told you that I've caught up with the Quilt-Along that Mettler Thread and Bernina sewing machines are sponsoring through the Sugaridoo blog. It's a fun QAL that you can join at any time. And it's also a beautiful way to be inspired. These are just a few of the thousands of photos on the QAL Facebook page.

Sugaridoo Bernina QAL

Have I mentioned that I joined a quilt-a-long back in November? I did. It's hosted by Irene of Sugaridoo Quilts and sponsored by Bernina. I suppose I got into it because it looked interesting and then also because my modern guild in Baton Rouge decided that it would be a great challenge since it appeared to be graphic, fresh, modern.

I didn't get started right away. No, I procrastinated until the entire QAL was about halfway through. Suddenly there were six blocks to make. Ahh, but a block is really a strip. An entire strip of about 12-14 blocks. 

You'd think I'd panic or just toss in the towel. No. No, I didn't. I just waited until a.) there were enough blocks/strips to see some headway, and b.) it became a do-or-die situation. 

Today I am completely caught up. Completely. And now I have to wait for the next block. See. There's that "I need something to do" problem.

Anyway, I chose to make my quilt using some of the indigo solids I've been collecting since I saw several antique indigo and white quilts at a show, I imagine. Wow! They looked great! 

Because I needed a third, accent color and someone at BRMQG suggested a yellowy mustard, which I happened to have plenty of, well, that's my accent. It's definitely a bold pop of color!        And there we are. I'm caught up with Irene, and you are caught up with me. So now, what about you? There are over 6,000 participants. Are you one?

Sugaridoo / Bernina Quilt Along ~~ fabric pull

At the last Baton Rouge Modern Quilt Guild meeting I decided to join in the Bernina / Sugaridoo Quilt Along. It was easy to settle on an indigo and off-white colors scheme. I've been collecting those indigo fabrics long enough. Someone suggested a touch of yellow, mustard perhaps. Hmm, mustard. Wait, mustard, I like that!

I wanted to post pictures of my fabric pull on Instagram (#sugaridooberninaqal #Mettlerthread), so I started by pulling out all the indigo pieces. There are more than enough. I guess I've been collecting for a while. I chose five to begin with. 

I'll add to them later if I need a little more variety or more yardage. Because, you know, I didn't read the instructions or measure the fabric. I'm going to do this in a Mary-is-retired style. Then I pulled out all the white and off-white pieces and this interesting "Zen Chic" for Moda, which has also been waiting for a great project. 

Then I dug around in the yellows for this fabulous deep mustard. It reminds me of my mom. She hated mustard. Kind of ironic, isn't it? But that's a story for another post. The fabrics in this picture are all in a separate container waiting on the first of the instructions. 

Here is a list of what is going to happen during the quilt along.

• 28th of November 2019: release of the first row pattern
• 14th of May 2020: half way giveaway to celebrate finishing the first half of your quilt
• 1st of October 2020: release of the last row pattern
• 29th of October 2020: instructions to assemble the quilt
• 26th of November: celebrating finishing our quilt tops with a BIG giveaway

That's a full year of commitment right there. I'll ask those of you who are also participating to help keep me on track and make me accountable. Well, do your best anyway. A kind reminder would be sweet and greatly appreciated. I plan to keep the project on the work table but you know, Mary-is-retired...

Ohh, join me and let's have fun. I'll gladly post your progress if you help to remind me. And yes, I did sign up for email reminders. But again, I'm doing this in a Mary-is-retired style. A nudge, just a nudge, please.

March Guild Meeting

Mrs. Marilyn showing her quilt top.
Each month she shows us how much she's added.

It's the first Monday of the month. That means a Cotton Quilters' Guild meeting. Which means a crazy morning of gathering up stuff, printing stuff, making and organizing a plan, wrapping door prizes, and any other duties I can remember and need to do.

Don't ask me why those things are not done before the morning of the meeting. It's just how I roll. I don't have an answer. 

Some of the Kaffe fabrics that Mrs. Marilyn is using

The meeting went well, except that only Mrs. Marilyn had a show and share. Even I didn't, because the Harley Davidson quilt has gone to Baton Rouge. 

Today we started a block-of-the-month (BOM) for a row quilt. I decided to keep it simple: choose three colors or fabrics, make five 12" blocks using my directions, and in six months we will each have a quilt top that measures 60" X 72".

A bad closeup of Mrs. Marilyn's EPP top

Today I showed and explained the log cabin block. Directions are fairly straightforward, but there are several ladies in the group who do not quilt unless the rest of us push them. So we're pushing.

I have several other things going on right now. One is that I ordered and received a Sew Steady table top for the Bernina. It's huge! Much bigger than I expected, so I'm going to move the machines around in an attempt to make using it somewhat easier. I love it. 

I broke the original piece that came with the machine, and it's getting too wobbly to use. In the picture below, you can see that the bed of the machine is very narrow--great for sewing in tight spaces, like a sleeve or on baby clothing--but a disadvantage with strip piecing. 

You can also see that the table is clear. It's like looking down through glass, so I should be able to see the scissors, rippers, etc. in the space that they seem to migrate to. I had to make a few adjustments to the table height so that there's no bump when sliding fabric from the table to the machine bed. Now that I've got it smooth, the table is a great addition to the Bernina.

Lastly, here are some photos I took in nearby fields of these yellow-flowered weeds that bloom every spring. The yellow flowers are tiny, maybe half an inch wide, yet they completely cover the ground.

This first picture is beautiful because of the contrast in the blue of the sky and the yellow of the flowers. I literally took the picture from inside the truck when Richard slowed down a bit. The tree wouldn't get out of the way, but now I like having it there. :)

I took this picture today. Both are from the same field, but from different angles. In this picture the flowers cover the ground, which inclines just enough to see more of them. I had to share these; I appreciate how beautiful God's work is. Weeds that will be plowed under in a few weeks are astonishing if only we look around. 

Don't just smell the roses, look at the wildflowers. 

Pin It Weekly #138

It's cold here.  Well, not this cold.  Cold enough, though. Wet, miserable cold.  Gusty, windy, chill-to-the-bone cold. 

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We don't have ice and snow.  We don't get much snow, but ice comes along pretty often. I mean, not like this. Thick ice...that's not much of a problem. If we want to skate, we have to pay an ice rink. 

So the scenes from On This Winter Day by Nancy Prince and Linda French, which won “Best of Show” at the 2014 International Quilt Festival in Houston, Texas, are not at all familiar to Louisianans. 



We mostly just complain about the cold, look at beautiful art of cold, and cuddle under quilts when we think it's cold. 

I can't imagine that anyone cuddles under this beauty! If you'd like more information about the quilt, visit Bernina's We All Sew website. The quilt was made on a Bernina 830, so the site showcased it on the 20th. The quilt makers explain quite a bit about their amazing quilt and how they achieved the details. A must read!

Bernina Dahlin'

Have I ever told you about my sewing machine?  No, really?  I can't believe that I call this a quilt blog and haven't even introduced you to the main attraction!  Well, without further delay, meet my Bernina 440 QE.

 

And because Bernina wrote up a pretty good blurb, I'll just copy/paste and move on, okay?
 

The BERNINA aurora shines with a multitude of innovative functions that make sewing and quilting even easier: Free Hand System (FHS), BSR functionality and a wealth of freely variable stitches give your creativity wings, while the optional embroidery module lets you upgrade the aurora to a full-fledged embroidery machine in the blink of an eye. A computerized sewing machine that grows along with your skills and experience, and that sets no limits on your imagination. 

Thanks to its intelligent features, the BERNINA aurora offers maximum sewing ease: its adjustable sewing speed, simple stitch selection, built-in needle threader and practical extension table guarantee perfect control over your sewing project and easy operation.





Sewing, darning, neatening, the ultimate precision-sewing of zippers and buttonholes: the BERNINA aurora impresses as a reliable all-rounder for a multitude of techniques, and can be upgraded entirely according to your wishes – e.g. with embroidery module and software, the extra-large Mega Hoop for embroidery, or the practical magnifying-glass set for highest-precision work.

 

Bernina happens to also have a great website with creative ideas and patterns. I recommend it just cause everything is so cute!  I wish I could say I've used, hence tested, the patterns, but you know me well enough to know that I never follow a pattern from start to finish.  They mostly serve as inspiration, so while I can say I've used them and, yes, they are cute as the dickens, I can't vouch for their accuracy. 

While the photos above are from the Bernina website and not of my personal machine, my baby looks exactly like these.  I do love her: she runs extremely smoothly, makes beautiful stitches, and does everything I could want plus a little more.  

 

What about your machine?  Share please, via comments.  I'm always curious about other people's sewing machines and like to hear how much we love our machines!