Ta Da! Another top done

 

These two blocks were done for the Comfort Quilt Bee I am part of.  Making them was an interesting process.  They have quite a few pieces to keep track of and points to match.  I like how they turned out.  It would be interesting to have an entire quilt of these, but given how long each one took me, it will be a while.

I did, however, finish up the shirt quilt which I have officially named Prairie Fusion.

During the entire process, I kept thinking about pioneer women using the scraps of worn out clothes and left over from making new shirts and dresses.  I did a bit of that, but put them together in a more liberated way with the wonky crosses.  Thus the fusion part of the name, which Tom came up with. I also added some plain patchwork squares in two sizes just for variety.  The finished top measures 57" x 54".  Now I can add it to the growing pile of tops I have to get quilted. 

I have gathered fabric for a few backings, but still need more.  I am not that fond of working on pieced backings. I also need to get some thread.  These things are not in the budget right now, but I still have plenty of scraps and fabric on my shelves to keep making tops.  I even have some new fabric I have won in drawings but not used.  I was also recently gifted some beautiful batiks that I want to use.  They would be great for the ribbon star blocks above.  Hmmmm.

The next three weeks will be very busy, but I will try and get some quilting and blogging done.  In the mean time, I hope you all are enjoying your summer.  Joyful quilting, everyone!

Progress on the shirt quilt

I started sewing the larger blocks together in rows this morning.  The strip of two on the right is what I did, three times.  Then, remember those 2 1/2" squares I cut from scraps the other day?  I decided to make strips of those to separate the larger strips.  I didn't get further than making enough four patches to put on the wall for the first gap.  I will have to work on the rest on Tuesday.  I have Bella for the next three days, so won't get much sewing done.

Here is a detail of just a portion of this quilt.  When I started this project, I wasn't sure if I would really like it or not.  I liked the idea of using re-purposed shirts and scraps that would probably just stay in the scrap boxes if not for this kind of project.  Now, I am really happy I started it.  I think it is a happy quilt.  The colors all sort of sing to me.  I enjoy seeing the scraps from other projects I have worked on.  I have a piece of a favorite Hawaiian dress, something from a quilt that I gifted a good friend, an old shirt of mine, pieces from a quilt I made for Tom, and many more little gems.  Lots of the fabric is from friends.  I guess this will be sort of a memory quilt.  That is a good thing.  Tom would like it to be a little bigger, and I think I know what to do that will keep the same flavor, but keep me from getting bored.  Does that ever happen to you?

I do have a tip to share about scrap/project storage.  I am a big fan of salad greens that come in big plastic tubs.  We eat quite a lot of them, so I wash them out well and use them for fabric storage.  I keep scraps in them or I keep fabric I am pulling for projects all together in them.  They stack very nicely.  They are free, and I am keeping them out of landfills.

Have a great weekend everyone.  Joyful quilting.

Red and orange make a difference

I spent time yesterday cutting out all the squares I needed for this quilt.  About 20% of them are from the red and orange plaid shirts in the collection.  This morning, I made up ten of those blocks and added them to the mix.  They won't be this predominant in the finished quilt, but I think I like the overall idea.  Thanks to those of you who supported Tom in this idea.  Even with all my cutting yesterday, I still have a shelf full of blue shirt parts.  I cut all the small bits into 2 1/2" squares, so now I have quite a few of those as well.  They may make an appearance in this quilt in some fashion before all is said and done.  I really enjoy making quilts with no real end plan.  Just enjoying the process.

This is my July AAQI quilt.  It is 6 1/2" x 10" and is hand quilted.  If you look closely, you can see some of my hand stitching.  I love these rich warm colors together.  The little inserts of turquoise came from the same color in the small piece of Sandy Gervais designed Tranquility I have used. To see this line, check out this site.) It is the olive green with the orange, brown, blue and cream squares. I used to have quite a bit of this fabric, but I think this may be just about the last of it.  This was the first line of fabric I used to make a quilt when I got back into quilting a couple of years ago.  My chosen style and fabric selections have changed quite a bit since then, but I still love all the fabrics in this line. 

In these two projects, I have combined all kinds of patterns from very traditional shirting plaids to bark cloth to my favorite Jinny Beyer design.  I have thrown caution to the wind in the shirting quilt mixing solids, batiks, plaids, paisleys, and whatever else comes out of my scrap bags.  This goes against the voice in my head that tries to remind me that there is an order to the universe and I should be paying attention to it.  Sometimes I do, but not for these two.  Maybe next time.

The chickens are loving the warm weather as much as I am.  They had their wings clipped yesterday after Janis Joplin decided to see how high she could fly.  Doesn't that sound just like her namesake?  They are now content to munch on the fresh greens Tom gives them every morning when he lets them out of their coop.  I am enjoying watching them grow but wondering how long it will be before they start paying rent with delicious blue shelled eggs.

Joyful quilting, everyone.