Tackling quarter square triangle units

It only took me two tries, but I figured out how to make quarter square triangle units the size I want them.  I still say that using quilting to teach basic math concepts would be a fantastic way to have students use math in a practical way. I have been putting off learning how to make these beauties because I was unsure how to keep them from getting all out of shape.  After a year and a half of making quilts, I think my skills are really improving.  I am still really looking forward to class with Gwen Marston next weekend to see how these things are really supposed to be done.

But I digress.  As I look at this mini now, I wonder how I can make the pink and blue solid pieces in the second border work better.  I like the brightness of them, and having a nice place to rest your eyes, but I am not sure my love of asymmetry works well here.  I believe I can make it work in the final border.  I just have to figure out how.  Don't you love the fussy cut corners on this border?  They are from the same KF as the center flower.

Tomorrow is going to be another beautiful day in the PNW.  My daughter and son-in-law are taking me out, with Tom, to a wonderful seafood dinner on the water at Salty's in West Seattle.  Until then, I will play in the studio.  I hope you moms out there are doing something equally as fun.  Enjoy your day.  Until next time, joyful quilting.

A couple of minis

Orange is the latest color for the weekly color challenge at 15 Minutes Play.  I had some leftover Sassy charm squares on my cutting table, so decided to make some fabric with them.  I really like the turquoise and olive with the orange.  I grabbed some orange batik for the flange and some Kona solid for the border.  This measures 8" x 12" and will be quilted and sent in to AAQI for my May quilt donation.  This little mini reflected how I felt yesterday in the beautiful sunny Pacific Northwest.

I was going to work on the improvirobin piece, but I was stumped as to what to add next.  So, I pulled some fabrics for a mini medallion quilt.  This is what I have so far.  It will eventually be 20" x 22".  For the next round, I am going to figure out how to make good quarter square triangle units.  So far, my efforts in that realm have been less than successful.  They say practice makes perfect, so I think I am in for a lot of practice.  First, I need to unsew the bottom border and turn it.  It is backwards and I think it will make me crazy if I leave it that way.  Wish I had seen it earlier.  Better late than never, right?

This morning, I have a meeting, then back to the studio.  What a beautiful day!  Joyful quilting, everyone.

Book Review - More Fabric Art Collages by Rebekah Meier

I have joined the Creative Troupe at C & T Publishing, and found a book I wanted to review to share with you. Before I started quilting, I was making art collages with paper. In a way, this prepared me to become a quilter. I found this book very interesting because it combines my love of fabric with my enjoyment of creating collage.

More Fabric Art Collage

Rebekah Meier

C & T Publishing 2012

122 pages

More Fabric Art Collage by Rebekah Meier is a jam packed overview of the art of paper and fabric collage.  From Chapter 1 – Tools and Supplies to the gallery at the end, Meier provides rich photographs of projects that showcase what can be done with cotton fabric, quilt batting, dryer sheets, tea bag paper, paper towels, crinoline, and silk.  She also explains how to incorporate non-woven fabrics like Lutradur, Tyvek fabric, and Spunbound in creating art pieces.  Tools and techniques are described well enough to help the new collage artist begin to explore options they may have overlooked before.  Meier gives good basic directions for small projects with most of these supplies throughout the book.  Her directions for using quilt batting as a basis for creating a tapestry with surface stitching, colored pencils, paint, and three dimensional embellishments caught my eye. While this is not an in-depth look at all the pros and cons of using any of the described tools and supplies, I appreciated finding this beautifully illustrated book with so much basic information on the subject of creating fabric art collages.

A finished top

It started with a larger piece of this.  You can see a bigger piece at the Rebels blog.  I cut it into smaller pieces and surrounded them with red and gold Kona solids. 

There were three birds in my piece of fabric, and I wanted to make sure they stood out.

Then, I found some Kashmir at Jinny Beyer Studio that I thought would be perfect.  I love the colors and design in this fabric.  I fancy cut the four corner posts in the outside border so they would all match, just for fun.

Then I put it all together, added a couple of borders, and I have a finished quilt top I really like.  One more top to add to the quilting rack.  I really need to stop building tops, and start quilting the ones I have. Hmmmm.

For the next two days, I will be with my sister in Bremerton.  I probably won't be posting unless I happen to go to a quilt shop or two.  One never knows.

Joyful quilting, everyone.

Making progress

Today, I played around with the units I had pieced for this quilt, added where I needed to, and got it all put together.  I know this would have been more efficient if I had done it all on graph paper first, but I wanted to enjoy the process of putting it all together on the design wall.  I like that it is not all square within a square and that there are surprises here and there.  I also really like the ways the colors are playing nicely and bringing out the design in the focus "ugly" fabric.  I decided, however, that it needed some more purple.  I can almost hear the rapid intakes of breath, "Purple with red?"  It will work.

Once I got the purple up, I spotted a wonderful piece of fabric in a stack for another future project, and pulled it to audition for an outer border.  I think it is just the right thing to pull it all together.  The red and gold really do match those I have already used, but it is hard to see in the photo.  Presently, the center is 38" x 40".  I would like it to be a little bigger, so I will add the 1" purple, and 4" of the plaid.  I hope to get this one put together and off the wall tomorrow.  I stopped work on it today to start another challenge project.

For the April challenge on Modern 8 Create, we were supposed to take a photograph of something around the house, and crop it to an interesting place.  I took this while I was at Willa's and have been making small sketches for a small quilt ever sense.  I didn't want the quilt to be quite so symmetrical, or brown, so . . . . .

I took my small piece of Kaffe Fasset Targets, figured out how to cut the yellow, and machine appliqued it all together.  I was going to try and piece it, but these curves were a bit more of a challenge than I was looking for.  I like the way you get to peek through the "fence" to see something fun and exciting in the distance.  I want to keep that feeling going as I add a bit more color to this piece.  It is going to sit on the wall for a little while longer until I can figure out the next step.

The sun is shining here in the Pacific Northwest.  The peas are very happy.  The strawberries have flowers, as well as the blueberries.  The lettuce is finally growing a little.  Our robin is making hay while the sun shines.  It is a beautiful day to be living here.

Joyful quilting, everyone.

Three Bee Blocks

There is nothing like a basic nine patch.  These were made for the Comfort Quilt Bee.  I was trying to grow my blue stash, but I discovered I am still very short on selection.  I need to work on that.

This block is for Stash Bee Hive 1.  I have not used wonky triangles before.  It was harder for me to do than I expected.  Sometimes, I still have trouble letting go of the "rules."  There is also a geometry problem of making sure the triangles are big enough to make sure they cover the corner.  I got lucky for the first few until I figured out how to make it work better for me.  Then, I got to make a wonky star.

I can't believe this is the first one of these I have made.  Fear had stopped me.  Now, I feel very comfortable with the process, and I like the look.  This is for Stash Bee Hive 2.  You would think with a name like Stash Bee, people would be encouraged to use from their stash.  Not so, for me.  This months leader requested "modern" fabrics in bright colors.  I don't usually purchase this genre of fabric, so I had to go in search of.  I found a charm pack of Sassy by Sandy Gervais to purchase.  Now, I have most of it left.  I think I may make a bunch of these stars up using the rest.  First, I have to decide on a background.  The Kona Charcoal is dramatic, but too cool a neutral for me.  I agree with Freddy Moran who says that red is a neutral.  I am going to go more in that direction.

Now that my bee blocks are done, I am going to work on the Improvirobin piece that has arrived, and the International Robin piece.  There are also several other things I want to get started on before the week is over.  It is going to be a smokin' time in the studio this week.

Joyful quilting, everyone.

A little of this, a little of that

I am still playing with the "ugly" fabric challenge.  I have the sashing on each piece, and I think I have the arrangement I want.  Now, I just have to make it all fit.  A little trimming here, a little adding there.  I plan on playing with the quilting by following the patterns on the focus pieces.  I need to get this sewn together soon because I have other work that needs to go on the design wall.

Bright yellow is the color of the week at the 15 Minute Play color challenge.  This is not my favorite color, so I don't have much.  A while back, I asked for some scraps for another project, and I still had little bits, so I cobbled together some fabric, grabbed some blue scraps, and came up with this.  It is a 7.5" square.  Willa asked me to take a photo of all the blocks I have created so far for the color challenges, so here it is.

They are all very different.  Sometimes, I wish I would have made a plan to make them more alike so I could create a quilt when the challenges are over.  On the other hand, I have been having great fun just enjoying the process of playing with the colors.  Sometimes, that is the most important thing.

Tomorrow, I have a training all day so I won't be in the studio.  I will be back on Sunday, then I have all week to play.  Bella will be with her other grandparents.  I am looking forward to hours of creative time.  Until Sunday, joyful quilting, everyone.

The baby chicks

Aren't they cute!  I am not really sure when they will be big enough to come home with us.  They are only a few days old in this photo.  This will be a fun adventure.

Joyful quilting, everyone.

Working on a new challenge

The first thing I did today was to finish my part on this round of the Improvirobin.  I really wanted to bring back more of the orange and dark blue, so I found this wonderful border fabric in Willa's scrap stash and created a piece of blue coral to applique on top.  This will go on to Willa for the last round before it gets returned to the original designer.  If you want to see the progress of all five of the pieces in this robin, go to our flickr page.

In March, we were given another piece of "ugly" fabric at Rebels for another challenge.  Of course, I thought the fabric was quite wonderful.  I thought I posted a photo of it in the blog, but I can't find it, and of course I have cut it up now.  In the photo, it is the fabric with the gray background and the colorful flowers and birds.

When I was in Virginia, I took it with me to quilt shops to see what I could find to go with it.  I knew I wanted to cut it into blocks showing off the different motifs.  At the Jinny Beyer Studio, I found the wonderful red paisley-like fabric that I thought was perfect with it.  In the Old Country Store, I found three colors of Kona solids that I knew I wanted to use.  I decided not to use any purple solid because I thought there was enough in the print.  This is what I have so far.  The long gold and red pieces are just there for audition sake.  I wanted to make sure the colors worked as well as I thought they would.  I still have some layout decisions to make, but I think this is the general direction I am headed with this piece.  Each of the blocks will be bordered with the gold, the red, or the green.  I haven't done a quilt like this before, so I am enjoying the challenge.  Maybe I will even get this one finished by the last week in May when the challenge is due.  That would sure surprise everyone, including me.

Did I tell you all that Tom has decided we are going to go into raising chickens so we can have fresh eggs?  We have purchased four Americana (?) chicks that are being raised by someone who knows how to take care of teeny tiny chicks and today we are going to meet them.  I will try and post photos tomorrow.

Until then, joyful quilting everyone.

A few minutes to make a block

I only had a few minutes to play in the studio today, so I decided to work with the peach challenge at 15 Minutes Play this week.  I thought I had plenty of peach fabric, so I went to the shelves and started digging.  I was surprised to find I really didn't have much.  These are the fabrics I found.

I loved that the cotton linen piece had peaches on it.  I started with that in the center.  I decided to stick with just the peach fabrics this time, and not bring in other colors.  Each of the fabrics come with their own extra colors.  After building the rounds with this interesting group of fabrics, I decided to square it up to 12 1/2". 

My sweet little peach square.  A taste of summer.  The light colored shapes in the middle round are birds.  Such fun.

Joyful quilting, everyone.

Friday in the studio

Blue painters tape is my friend.  I have debated several different ways to quilt this little doll quilt, and finally decided on cross hatching.  I am not the queen of straight lines, so I dug out my trustee painter's tape and created a grid.  I could have used a fabric marking system, but have not had success finding something that I like.  I thought the magic blue pen that goes away with water that is all the rage would be the thing, but I get so frustrated trying to get it to really go away.  Usually, it takes three times with water before it stays gone.  Anyway, the tape works great for straight lines.  I used the fantastic, fabulous, wonderful walking foot that my fantastic, fabulous, wonderful sister gave me for my birthday, and the quilting was done in no time flat.  Just quilt one way, remove the tape, lay the tape in the other direction, then finish the quilting.  I have the binding on and ready to sew down this evening.  This little fun piece will head for parts east this weekend.

This is the other thing I finished today.  It is for the Stash Bee.  It is supposed to have perspective, but my husband thinks the rows of pink flowers going off into the distance are just confusing.  I had great fun creating this windmill house.  The blocks are all different kinds of houses.  I think this will be a fun quilt.

I have two more things I have to get in the mail by Monday.  One is done, and the other is almost done.  Then I can work on my April challenge from Modern 8 Create, this weeks Peach color challenge at 15 Minutes Play, and the piece for the International Robin.  Of course, there are May bee blocks, the May doll quilt, and my H2H quilt to finish by the end of next month.  I am also taking three days of workshops with Gwen Marston in the middle of May.  Another fun month to look forward to.  As long as I keep working on these small pieces, I don't add to my growing pile of quilts that need quilting.  I really need to get that stack done.  I also need to clean the studio!  So much to do, and so little time.  What's a quilter to do?

Joyful quilting, everyone.

The Avocado Challenge

I am really enjoying the weekly color challenges over at 15 Minutes Play.  It is fun to play with a color just for the sheer fun of seeing how it works with others without having to think of a big project.  I love seeing what everyone is doing with these colors.  Some people are making the same block each week with the intention of putting them all together at the end of the 12 weeks of challenges.  Some, like me, are doing something different each week.  This week, the color is avocado.

I originally started to make the small log cabin block in the upper right. As I was building it, I decided to make two of them, thus the one in the lower left. Then, I decided I wanted to join the two somehow, and thought the avocado marbled fabric would work. It needed something to break it up, so I cut and sewed some diagonals here and there. Then, I remembered some avocado linen table napkins I purchased at a garage sale to add to another small quilt I was working on. Where were they? After looking through a few project boxes, I found them. (Note to self: Label project boxes) I liked where it was heading, but didn't like the shape, so I used more of the napkin fabric to create top and bottom borders. Too solid. In came the strip made of scraps from the diagonal pieces. As it is now, it is about 18" square. I think it will be come a mini quilt with hand quilting and bead embellishments and some embroidery on the solid strips, for sure. At the rate I keep making these challenges bigger, by the end, I should be making bed quilts. Who, me?  The queen of nothing bigger than a lap quilt?  Hey, it could happen.

I am spending the afternoon, on this very rare sunny day in the Pacific Northwest, doing some hand work to finish up some projects.  Later, we are planting peas and a tree with Bella to celebrate Earth Day.  I hope you are all enjoying your Sunday.  Joyful quilting, everyone.



Playing catch-up

Bet that got your attention!  This block, and the next two, were created by an extremely talented quilter I know, Sharon M.  She is one of the very talented people who are in my International Robin group.  I get to play with Sharon's faces first in the robin.

This is the smallest one, but I love the way she peaks from behind the leaves.  She looks as though she is just about to smile at something she sees.

I think she is the youngest looking.  Not showing in this photograph are the leaves as they extend past the edge of the background so they can lay on the next piece to be put on.  All of these blocks have this quality.  Each face is hand painted by Sharon.  The final name for her quilt will be Gaia, who was the primordial Earth-goddess in the ancient Greek religion.  It was from Gaia that all the other gods were born.  I don't remember reading anything about her in my ancient Greek history classes in public school.  I did some research about her the other night.  I am not sure how I will put these three blocks together yet, but my intention is to stay with the theme established by the name.

This is the piece I am working on for the ImproviRobin I am part of.  I am the second to last person to play with it before it goes back to the person who started it.  I have this much on my display wall.  I cut the blue coral piece to see what I thought, and Tom thinks I should add more in the various colors found in the other fabrics that are used.  I am going to fuse whatever pieces I do add and do some machine applique in buttonhole stitch.  The colors look really washed out in this photo, but I assure you they are much more vivid.  This is a very fun piece.  I raided Willa's stash to find the border fabric I am using.  Thanks, Willa.

Finally, I have been working on other Bee blocks that are due by the end of the month.  I still haven't figured out how to do a decent Bishop's Fan quilting on the doll quilt, but I will keep at it.  I am almost finished with the lilies quilt.  I have one Stash Bee block done and have another one to do.  I did finish the comfort bee blocks today.  They are really calming, so that was fun.

Fortunately, I have two days to play in the studio before my days with Bella start. 

Tomorrow, I have a guest post over at Confessions of a Fabric Addict.  Hop on over there to see how to make the quilt I made last year for H2H.

I think that is it for today.  Thanks for stopping by.  Joyful quilting, everyone.

Another great day in the studio

I got quite a bit done on my long list of things I need to accomplish in the studio this month.  Tomorrow, I have guild meeting and I am to bring the BOM pattern for the next month.  This meant I had to make a sample to show.  There are these Granny Squares all over the blogosphere these days.  I thought they would be fun and easy as a BOM.  Quite a few of the members of this guild make American Hero quilts (similar to Quilts of Valor, only local), so I decided to go for the Red, White, and Blue.  I hope the lucky winner gets enough of these blocks to create a good size quilt.  I also had to prepare the Presentation Block for the meeting.  That was a much easier proposition because I already had samples.  I just had to write up the directions.

I also created this block for the Ochre challenge at 15 Minutes Play.  I posted the fabric on Saturday, but got to build the piece today.  To read more about it, please stop by my post at 15 Minutes Play.  I like this block quite a bit and am going to use it as my center in the International Robin that is just starting.  You can see what others in the group are doing at our Flickr page.

In addition to these, I quilted the lilies quilt, added the binding, and am now ready to add embellishments.  I know it is kind of backwards, but this will work best for me at this point.  I also put all the units together, and photographed each step, for the mystery quilt I am doing for the guild.  I have to put them into the direction sheets I am creating for each step.  If I could ever figure out how to embed a PDF into my blog, I would post them for you to follow along, if you were so inclined.   Sometimes, technology gets me.

On a completely different subject, I want to share that I have now released 40 pounds!  It is pretty funny to put on my good pants and have them fall down around my ankles once they are buttoned and zipped.  Twenty more pounds, and I am getting new pants - and shirts, and a dress or two.  Just thought I would share.

Tomorrow, I start my three days with Bella, so I won't be back again until Friday.  Until then, joyful quilting everyone.