More Masks and "Favorite Fabrics" ~~ finished!

Do you know how good it feels to pick up a quilt top, quilt-bind-label it, and call it done? Yes? Great. I'm here to tell you it feels even better when said quilt top has been waiting, patiently, in a basket or bin or (gasp) plastic bag for longer than you care to remember. Oh yes! It's a wonderful thrill. I recommend it highly. My heart still does a little flip when I think of it. 

More on the quilt later. First let's get these masks out of the way. There are 15 in this picture, more or less. Eight will go to a friend who requested them. The rest, I don't know. Maybe I should have a few here in case we need them. Heaven knows, I am done with these things. Could it be more boring? Not for me. I'm kind of ashamed, really. But 50ish are all I can wring out of myself for now. Maybe after Easter if there's still a need I can make more. 

Now back to this finish. At some point I realized that the very pretty pieces of colorful, playful fabrics that I'd purchased at 
Lola Pink in Lafayette were becoming smallish scraps. It occurred to me that together they would make a pretty quilt. So I gathered up pieces Since they were literally scraps, sizes were varied, but showcasing the designs was important. Otherwise, what was the point? 

The sizes were not cooperative but finally I came up with this clean, modern design. The blocks are 3½", 5½" and 7½" each with 2½" white strips. Into the waiting bin the top went. And just like that, quilt tops are forgotten. They deserve better, so it's time to get them finished. 

I had this white linen with small navy stripes that was just large enough, so I figured it was meant to be. I should have used those stripes to my advantage, but no, I prefer to make things... challenging.

For no reason at all, I decided to use straight line quilting but to leave out the prints. Then after all that quilting, I realized that the largest blocks were too big to leave un-quilted. I added fleur de lis and lotus flowers to those blocks. It was a good opportunity to play with those two motifs, which I really like.

		Quilt Stats
	Name:	Favorite Fabrics
	Size:	54" X 58"
	Fabrics:	Various fabrics from stash
	Pattern:	My design
	Backing:	Linen from stash
	Batting:	100% Cotton
	Binding:	fabric from stash
	Quilting:	Straight lines w/ motifs in largest blocks
	Completed:	2020

Tell me what you think. I really like constructive comments. They help a person to access and grow. So yeah! Comment.

Ruby Snippets ~~ first finish of 2020

Yay! A finish and we're still in January! Of course, this is a top that I made last year, though I don't remember when, exactly. Anyway, I loaded it on the long-arm and away we went, despite the shoulder injury. 

We are getting the dreariest of weather this week, so going outside to take photos is not happening. That requires trekking through a mini-marsh of soggy grass and mud. These photos were taken inside on the living room floor while I stood on the coffee table, trying to avoid the ceiling fan. 

Ruby Snippets is made from scraps and large pieces of fabric. At some point I realized that there was a diagonal / angular thing going on. So I ended up cutting most of the already nicely stitched rectangles into whatever those long triangles are called. Maybe right triangles? 

Anyway, I paired those angles with neutral pieces and scrappy neutrals and filled in the holes with more neutrals. Some of the reds are intermixed with yet more neutrals and create a fractured, broken glass appearance. 

To make the reds more definitely angular, I quilted uneven straight lines at about 60 degrees, which follows the shape of the red. The neutrals I quilted in rounded or circular motifs to soften the hard edges. 

 I backed it with some of the linen that I've been using. This is a pale apricot color. At 60" wide, it was just a little too narrow, so I added this off-white flower linen that had been left from a previous project. I think there was an 8" square left after I pieced it in. Close, right? 

The solid color of the back shows the different quilting motifs much better than the busy front. Still, I like playing with different motifs and quilting improvisationally, so even if it doesn't show, I play.

In my mind this is the correct orientation for the quilt, but honestly because it's mostly square, it could be placed however one would want. 

		Quilt Stats
	Name:	Ruby Snippets
	Size:	62" X 65"
	Fabrics:	various neutral and red fabrics from stash
	Pattern:	my design
	Backing:	reclaimed linen from stash
	Batting:	100% Cotton
	Binding:	neutral fabric from stash
	Quilting:	Long-arm--round motifs and straight lines
	Completed:	January 2020
	AFU:	7½ to 8 yards from stash

And now, looking forward

I thought that while I'm thinking of what I'd like to accomplish this year, I'd take a look at what  I wanted to accomplish last year. And whether I managed to accomplish anything at all. Sometimes it seems that I did very little, but I know from this post yesterday that is not how 2019 went down. 

Back in January 2019 I wrote that I'd like to try to

• continue cleaning and organizing the studio
• finish the last piece in my Bipolar series
• continue work on the cotton series
• make a low-volume, neutral quilt for our bed
• keep going with the modern quilt guild and lean toward that aesthetic 
• teach at other guild meetings
• use up some scraps
• have fun with improv quilts 

The lines in blue are the ones I completed or accomplished in some way. The last piece of the Bipolar series is still sitting on the design wall. It may not happen. 

Connection #4 of the Bipolar series

Teaching at other guild meetings did not happen, at all! I think I'll make that my priority for this year. I'm off to a good start now that I've become a GSQA circuit teacher, but I haven't worked toward getting my name out where people might see it. Hmm, I would LOVE suggestions on ways to accomplish that. Please.

Otherwise, I like my goals from last year and will try to improve on those that are doable. Here are the new/old goals:

1. get my name out as a GSQA circuit teacher
2. send out letters and flyers to guilds in the state announcing my teaching curriculum and build a calendar for the blog
3. apply for national teaching gigs
4. continue cleaning and organizing the studio
5. keep going with the modern quilt guild and lean toward that aesthetic 
6. use up some yardage and scraps 
7. have fun with AHIQ improv challenges 
8. quilt and complete at least five of the tops that are in the "To Be Quilted" bin
9. help Marley with a few more projects

To See Such Fun ~~ finished!

And another finish! This little quilt is a 62 inch square of pink and yellow scraps to be given away this weekend. 

The pattern is Amanda Jean Nyberg's from her book No Scrap Left Behind. (The link goes directly to the QAL.)  I made another quilt (here) during her June Quilt Along in 2017. 

I made several changes with this quilt. Mostly I turned everything into  4½" blocks and then sewed those into strips. The center sections create large four-patch blocks, the cornerstones are made of broken dishes blocks and finally I made the 4½" strips in to square blocks and didn't worry about which way they got turned. 

My original version of this quilt
following Amanda Jean's directions.

Nope, wait. One more difference is that I didn't use the on-point setting. Hmm, is this still Amanda Jean's pattern? I'm not sure, but it was definitely inspired by her design.

To quilt it, I decided to use some of the curvy medium-sized motifs that are such fun to drop in. They are smooth and easy and, if I keep them large enough, are easy to see and appreciate. The quilt should be really soft and wrinkly when it gets washed. I haven't washed it because it's going to its new home this weekend after the church fair. We will have a silent auction, which I agreed to run, so I decided to add a quilt to the mix. (More on the fair and the silent auction early next week.)

For the back I used a fuchsia linen and some lighter, wide pink strips left over from previous projects. Every bit of fabric came from my stash or scraps. My latest roll of batting came in just days before I loaded the quilt, which was great timing. 

The title To See Such Fun is from a line of the "Hey Diddle, Diddle" nursery rhyme, so this quilt goes into that series. I just couldn't resist the title because everything about the quilt is simply fun.

		Quilt Stats
	Name:	To See Such Fun
	Size:	62" X 62"
	Fabrics:	4½” pink strip scraps, 4½” yellow scraps
	Pattern:	Inspired by Amanda Jean Nyberg QAL
	Backing:	Pink cottons and linens from stash
	Batting:	100% Cotton
	Binding:	Pink scraps from stash
	Quilting:	Mid-size curvy graffitti motifs

Oh, the LINK UPS!

The Scrappy Camper, who has her first linky party today. Good luck, Amy!
Alycia Quilts - Quiltygirl blog for Finished Or Not Fridays 

My Quilt Infatuation for Needle and Thread Thurdays

Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Can I Get a Whoop Whoop?

From Bolt to Beauty for Beauties Pageant

Sunday Quilt Inspiration: Herringbone

I've been pressure-washing around the house. Today the concrete between the back door and studio. Yesterday the patio bricks. It's amazing how much dirt and scum has built up since the last time I did this chore. Having a wet, muggy winter does it. We struggle with mold, mildew, and spores here. It's the downside to the green. So while we have azaleas, roses and other plants in bloom, we also have oak, pecan, and grass pollen. 

Not my patio--it's too perfect!

Anyway, I've been cleaning. As I was washing each brick one at a time, I was thinking about how much I like our old brick patio. We laid it ourselves, after reclaiming the brick from an old, broken chimney. 

The house had been dismantled and the land owner was happy to have us haul off the bricks. There's no knowing how old the bricks are but suffice it to say at least 50 years--25 on our patio.

I chose to seat them in a herringbone pattern for no particular reason, except that (according to Richard) it was the most difficult. 

At the time I was in love with old patterns, especially herringbone, paisley, houndstooth, glen plaids, and toile. It made sense to choose a pattern that I liked since I'd be looking at those bricks for a while. 

So how about taking a look at some herringbone patterned quilts. You'll notice that they make for great scrap usage.

A good place to see more herringbone quilt is on my "heart, quilts" board.

A Touch of Teal ~~ Finished!

I've had this little pink top sitting in the quilt queue for a while now. It had everything needed for a finish: backing, batting, binding. 

"How easy and quick would this be?," I wondered. "Quite easy and especially quick," I answered. 

So I loaded it and thought about quilt motifs. I wanted, as Richard loves to say, "Quick, fast and in a hurry." 

While quilt my last quilt, I stumbled upon a motif I like that is fast and pretty. It has the look and feel of a pantograph, except that it changes at random rather than repeat in a set pattern. It's kind of the best of both worlds: I get to enjoy the randomness but also have a pattern so it doesn't take long to come up with ideas. I can play a little with the motifs as I go along, and the openness of the motif quilts quickly.

I picked out my favorite motifs from One Big Finish, enlarged them and stitched them in in my usual, graffiti manner. All of the motifs have curves and wiggles to contrast with the straight lines of the Chinese coins pattern.

The backing was just a little short but I really wanted to use it since it has a pink, girly look that goes well with the front. It also has these small little teal flowers mixed in with the large pink and peach ones. How perfect is that?

To make it long enough, I just added a strip of hot pink on the top and bottom. Of course, I didn't have the sense to center the quilt top on the bottom, so the strips are not balanced, but I still like the quilt and the back is pretty awesome anyway.

	Quilt Stats
	Name:	A Touch of Teal
	Size:	35" X 46"
	Fabrics:	scrap fabrics from stash
	Backing:	scrap fabrics
	Batting:	100% cotton
	Pattern:	Chinese coins
	Quilting:	graffiti quilting w/ variety of motifs

The entire quilt was made from scraps and yardage from the stash. I made it back when Kaja and Ann had their AHIQ Chinese coins challenge. I can't find the original link to the challenge, but go to this link and scroll down to the labels which you'll find interesting.