Design Wall Monday

I have another wall with various projects layered on it.
Do you remember this post when I showed a variety of projects that I wanted to complete by the end of January?

All of the projects are done (quilted and bound!) with the exception of the blocks on the left side. But,  they are put together into a quilt top and I've started the quilting. Unless something comes up that means I can't sew, that should be done in a couple of days.

Here's the wall today.

 
You can see that quilt I mentioned earlier is the bottom layer. I can't show the entire quilt yet because it was being done to test a pattern, but I love it. I was thrilled to find what I consider to be the perfect backing too.

I don't think I could have found any better fabric for this! I'm making a table runner out of the "oops" blocks and these two tree blocks will be included. I'm a happy girl right now.  :-)

The quilt that is on the right side is made from 2 1/2" strips. It's actually not mine, but that of one of my students. I was going to quilt it for her, but she had some issues with it laying flat and I really wanted to see what happened so I offered to fix it. I found the problem and am now reassembling the quilt top. Yes, I know that is a lot of work and that I didn't have to do this, but I really was stumped as to what happened. Her 1/4" seam allowance was perfect and her pressing was good. I found the problem and it had to do with cutting the ends when it was time to add the next strip. The cuts were not always straight and when the next piece was added, the seam was not straight, even though it appeared to be because the ends lined up properly. 

This did not happen every time a new strip was added, but it was enough that it caused problems. I'm thrilled that it was a pretty easy fix. It was just a bit time consuming to rip apart all the seams, but even that was educational. I tried a couple of new methods of ripping and I like that. 

Working on this has helped me figure out a better way to teach this quilt and many others that use strips. It's also helped me determine the best way to fix the problem so it can be finished and not tossed in a bin and forgotten. So, I'm glad I offered and that my student let me do this. I only have ten more strips to add (nine, after I sew on the one that is pinned to the top), so this should not take long. Yippie!

The purple mini quilt on the left is the insides of what will be a 12" Hoop Quilt. The fabric below the quilt will be the binding on the outside of the hoop. 

I decided I wanted to make a Hoop Quilt that reminds me of Mardi Gras. This one will be 18", and here's the center of that. I could not get a good picture, but the blue fabric is actually purple. I'm going to love this!

These fabrics are all left over from making a bunch of new Stacking Pop Ups that I made this weekend. 

Aren't these fun? They make great gifts and are easy to make. The second one from the left  and the smallest one on the right provide a better picture of the purple fabric. You notice that I've collapsed the yellow pop up in the picture below. I did that so you can see how they work. 

These will eventually make their way upstairs into the guest rooms, which will be fun, because the black dot fabric is glow in the dark.  :-)  In the mean time, they will go to Chestnut Ridge Sewing Center for class samples.

What are you working on today?

Check out the quilters eye candy at

Judy's Small Quilts and Doll Quilts

and

Beth's Monday Making 

Wayward Transparency Quilts Completed

I loved making these two very different versions of Wayward Transparency. I participated in a quilt along (QAL) with the designer, Yvonne Fuchs, the Quilting Jetgirl and found the pattern to be very well-written and easy to follow. Along with the other QAL participants, I learned a lot about fabric choices, transparency, and some tips for cutting fabrics and piecing units. 

There are two size options (68" square and 48" square) and of course I had to make both.  :-) When I first saw Yvonne's quilt, I knew that I wanted to make the larger, on-point version; and I knew exactly which fabrics I wanted to use. I posted about those fabrics HERE.

I had seen one of Yvonne's samples made with prints,  and then she wrote a blog post about choosing fabrics and I was all set. No questions. I knew I would like the combination. 

Yvonne also wrote a very helpful blog post about evaluating fabric contrast.  Actually, it was a photo tutorial that was wonderful and very well-written. I was pleased to see that she used my fabric choices in her post. I have to admit that it did make me feel even better about my decision. 

These fabrics...

turned into this...

Because the fabrics have fairly busy designs, I decided to use an all-over design to quilt this.  

Here's the back of the quilt. It's light brown in color and reads almost solid. It's Stonehenge - A Stitch in Time by Deborah Edwards for Northcott.

Here's a close up. It's quilting rulers!

Here's a better picture from the web, since mine isn't that good. 

As I said, I made two of these quilts. The second one was made using solid fabrics and not set on point. One of the coolest things about this quilt, is that there are four blocks that measure 24" each, and only difference between the two quilts is that the larger one is set on point and you add setting triangles. 

Well, there is also the fact that you have options on not only your light and dark fabric placement, but the layout of the four blocks as well. It was really fun to see the variations of the QAL group. 

Here's my smaller version, set in a rotating - almost flying geese - layout. I REALLY like this layout!

I quilted this one in a continuous spiral and I blogged about it HERE. 

Here's a link that Yvonne has set up to show the many variations created by the QAL participants. It truly is eye candy and I know you will enjoy it!  

I've had some correspondence with Yvonne about making other versions of this quilt and changing the sizes so I can offer classes.  I learned a lot during this QAL and know that many of my students would benefit from this as well. I've not only made what I consider to be really nice quilts, I gained a lot of confidence and knowledge in the process. I want to pay that forward. I'm really looking forward to next month when the pattern will be available commercially. 

And speaking about paying it forward, did you see my post yesterday about Scott Fortunoff and The Sewing Revolution? Scott has already given away 72 sewing machines and there are more available. Check out my posts HERE for more details. This isn't a scam. This is for real and you too can be a part of paying it forward. 

Design Wall Monday and The Sewing Revolution!

I'm later than normal to get this posted, but at least it's still Monday.  😋

I had other things on my design wall and even more planned to go up today, but I got a call last night from a very good friend who asked if I had a masculine-looking quilt that is predominately either blue or brown and very simple in design for sale. We talked a bit more and I found out that her father is quite ill; and, in her words "will soon begin his final journey." She is an only child and her mother passed away two years ago. My heart is breaking for her!  

She will be heading home to Oregon on Wednesday evening and would like to take the quilt with her if at all possible. If you know me or read my blog for any length of time, you know that I will do anything to make that possible! And she will NOT pay for this. No way!

I started to look at my quilts and was just not feeling that anything was right. So, instead of sending along a random quilt that I've made with no specific purpose, I pulled some jelly roll strips and sewed this together. These strips are from a pack that I raided a year or so ago to get specific fabrics. I can't remember what line it though, which makes me sad because I'd like to give credit where credit is due. 

I sent a picture to my friend this morning and she thought it would be perfect. Her dad spent most of his career working as an engineer and loved straight-forward and linear designs. And, he has always loved blues and browns together. I was so happy that I had these fabrics! 

Yes, it's very simple, but I think it's perfect. I'll quilt it this afternoon and hopefully get the binding on tonight. My goal is to deliver it to her tomorrow evening so she can concentrate on other things.

I have always felt that quilts are very powerful objects. I was once told that a quilt is a fabric hug from the maker, and I couldn't agree more. Not only can quilts be therapeutic for the receiver, but for the giver as well. I spent a lot of time "talking" to my friend and her dad while piecing this last night, and I'll continue to do so during the quilting and binding stages.

Here's the backing fabric I chose.

I'll take pictures when it's complete and post them. 

Be sure to stop back tomorrow because I'll be posting pictures of my two Wayward Transparency quilts. 

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Since I've been talking about giving, I want to tell you about something in which I'm involved and hope you get involved as well. 

Scott Fortunoff, president of Jaftex has been giving away free sewing machines. He is working very hard to get, what he calls The Sewing Revolution rolling big time. As of Saturday night, 72 new machines have been given away and there are more available.

Seriously people! There is no catch to this.

Scott recorded this short video back in Sept. when he started the giveaway; and it's worth watching to help understand the purpose of the giveaway and what you need to do if you want to try for a machine. 

Check out his blog post today to learn even more about this. 

Get involved and be a part of this movement!

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Check out what other quilters have on their design walls today.

Go to Judy's Small Quilts and Doll Quilts

and

Beth's Monday Making

Friday Finished and More

As I stated in my last post, my sewing time has been limited due to some dental issues. I'm feeling better; but with more work being done earlier this week, and more to come in the next couple of weeks, I'm still kind of a mess. Even with that though, I've been successful at doing some sewing, just nothing that requires a great amount of thinking.  😀

A couple of weeks ago, I posted a picture of what looked like a very messy and crowded design wall. I've been working on those items and am happy to say that I'm being successful at finishing some things.

I completed the binding on my 24" version of the Tartan Terrace Table Topper and I like how it looks. Not bad for using scraps to test my math skills.  😉  I think I might make the larger version too. It's pretty easy and goes together quite quickly.

I also quilted and bound my larger Faith Hope Love wall hanging. In the past, I've generally made three individual wall hangings and I've always liked them. (I think they make great gifts, especially wedding gifts.) I've only made one other single wall hanging before, and I wasn't in love with it. I followed the pattern instructions, but felt like everything was too close together and cramped. I made adjustments and this is a bit larger (44" wide x 23" high) and like it much better. 

Here's the backing I chose and I'm very pleased with that! 

I can't believe that I'm saying this, but I think I want to make yet another version of this. I envision more spaces between the figures and making it longer - like twice as long. I've sketched some quilting ideas for those extra open spaces and think that I'd like this as a bed runner. I'll keep you posted...

Buried underneath a bunch of smaller projects on that design wall was this Patty Cake Quilt. The top was complete when I posted that pictures but I was debating on what I wanted to do for the backing.  

Here's what I decided. I took the scraps from piecing the blocks and what I had left of the background, and pieced this. I'm happy with results. 

This is actually on the frame waiting for me to feel good enough to quilt it. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that happens today, but won't be too disappointed if it doesn't.

I'm stitching the binding down to the last side of my large version of the Wayward Transparency This should be done tonight and I'll post pictures of both of my versions. I really like this quilt and am so happy I participated in the Quilt Along with Yvonne of Quilting Jetgirl. 

I used some of the same fabrics from my Wayward Transparency quilt for this Zen Table Runner, which uses a Curvy Log Cabin Ruler. This is quilted and ready for binding. Since it's not very large (18" x 52"), I should be able to get this done tonight too. Yay!  I pulled some of the binding back and clipped it to verify that I liked my dark brown binding choice. I do! 

Here's a close up of the quilting. I used a simple meander in the blue and then freehand quilted repeating half circles in the dark areas. In retrospect, I really should have used my walking foot for this. I did that on the first one and since this one is for me, I was feeling a bit daring and decided to try it freehand. I think I was over-confident in my skill level because there is some unequal spacing between the lines on many of these. Good thing I had matching thread! I pieced the backing from left over fabric and will show that when it's all quilted. (Yikes! The uneven quilting lines really show up there!)

Also on that design wall were blocks from the pattern testing I did for Rachel Rossi. The top is done and I'm deciding on backing so I can get busy quilting it. I can't share it yet, but will do so when Rachel gives the go ahead. I like how it turned out and can't wait to show you!

I guess that I better hop off of here if I want to accomplish everything on my list. Oh what should I do first.....

I'm linking up with Sarah over at Confessions of a Fabric Addict. If you need inspiration or want to see some really neat quilting stuff, be sure to check out Sarah and the others who link up today. 

Humor is Important!

We all know that most of us would rather laugh than cry any day, right? Well, I try to see humor and the positive side to everything, because quite honestly, nobody really wants to hear me complain. (Don't get me wrong. I do my fair share of complaining. But, I am trying to make a concerted effort to recognize that I'm doing it and stop immediately.)

There are times that my humor and positive thinking just plain drives Jack crazy. He's been known to call me Positive Polly just to let me know that he knows I'm trying to point out negativity to him but that he's not quite done with it yet.  :-)  We always laugh about it, especially when I refer to him as Negative Norm. (So maybe we are a bit immature, but it works for us.)  

Along with the positive thinking, I've pretty much always known that I have a pretty high pain tolerance too, and I'm happy for that. Well, the last few weeks I've been struggling with a few dental issues and they've culminated into extreme pain, a very swollen face, and an emergency root canal yesterday. There's still more work to be done, but that won't happen until next week. To say the least, I'm not been feeling very well. Not even well enough that I felt like sewing at all. You know it's bad when that happens! 

So what's my point you ask? Jack has been so good with helping me and doing things to make me laugh. Just this morning, as he quietly left the bedroom (so I could sleep a little longer), I saw him bend down like he was picking up something. Look what I found when I got out of bed.

I also found a note that said "I know you feel like the house fell on top of you, but trust me; I don't think you are acting in any way like the Wicked Witch of the West."

I laughed out loud! Of course THAT hurt; but it was so worth it. 

I hope to sew later today or at least tomorrow. Until then, I won't have anything new to show.  :-(

Design Wall Monday

My design wall probably looks like a mess to you right now, but to me it is organized and there is a plan in place for it all. 

These are all projects that I want to will complete by the end of the month.

The small hexagon table topper is done except for a little more hand stitching. That will be done tonight. This is a half size version of Tartan Terrace, a pattern by Doug Leko of Antler Quilt Design in his book Winterlude. I have a friend who asked for my help in reducing this from 48" square to 24" square. Of course I needed to buy the book to do that, and I'm so glad I did. The book contains 18 patterns featuring the fabric collection "Forever Green" by Holly Taylor for Moda Fabrics. I really like all of the patterns and can easily see myself making at least eight of them, if not more.

The blue and brown table runner (Zen Table Runner, made using the 8" curvy log cabin ruler) needs to be quilted. I have the backing and binding is already made for this. (That's hanging on the left side by the houses.) This is the second one of these I've made and I gifted the first one before taking pictures. 😞 I'll quilt this on my Bernina and it won't take long. Perhaps I'll layer this tonight and get started on it. 

The Faith Hope Love wall hanging on the right, behind the table runner, is also ready for quilting. Unlike the others that I've done recently, this is one piece instead of three. Like the Zen Table Runner, the quilting will be easy on this and since it's small, I'll quilt it on my Bernina. I have yet to decide how I'm going to bind this, but I'm kind of thinking about a black binding or a scrappy one, using the fabrics in the body of the quilt. I'll decide after I quilt it.

The Patty Cake Quilt  top which I showed last week, is now complete and I decided to not add any more borders. I've got the backing ready for this and hope to get this quilted by the end of next week. The only fabric I have enough of to use for binding is the teal (first complete block in the top left corner), and I think I'll like that. Of course, like I usually do, I'll wait until it's quilt and make my final decision. 

And finally, I've got a handful of the blocks for the Rachel Rossi pattern testing up on the wall to help me decide fabric placement for the remaining few blocks I need to make. (This is not all the blocks, but just what I needed/wanted to see to make my decisions.) I'm loving these blocks and the fabrics I'm using.  

What are you working on today?

Check out the quilting eye candy at 

Judy's Small Quilts and Doll Quilts

and

Beth's Monday Making

Pattern Testing Progress

Remember the fabric I posted earlier this week that was earmarked for testing a pattern for Rachel Rossi?

While I can't show you all the blocks I've made so far, I can show you two of the four large bare tree blocks I've made. 

The blocks are paper pieced and so easy to make. Besides being easy to make, they're fun to look at too. They're pretty much representative of what I see when I look out my windows - bare trees (birds are in some of them) and lots of white stuff - snow!

What these blocks don't show you, are the freezing temperatures we've been experiencing the last week or so. It was -6 this morning and that didn't include the wind chill. I feel like we are having a heat wave right now because we are at 8 degrees; and while there's still a bit of wind, which is biting, the sun is shining and it's beautiful. Of course it helps that I'm inside right now where it's warm and toasty. I'm enjoying a bit of sewing time and I hope to complete a few more blocks from the pattern before I have to start supper. 

I'll post more pictures in a couple of days. I've made some adjustments to my fabrics - added some and replaced others, but I still really like the fabric line. I'm please with the progress and can't wait to show you the entire quilt. 

I've got some binding that is ready for the hand stitching and I may step away from this project to work on that tonight. I do enjoy sitting on the couch working on a binding while Jack is reading or watching TV.

Design Wall Monday

Happy New Year !

May 2018 bring you love, peace, joy, prosperity, and lots of time to be creative.

I also hope that in 2018 you find yourself excited about things, just like Sadie did during her school Christmas concert. I want to find joy in the little things in life and rejoice about them. I want to rejoice whole-heartedly and not worry about what others will think of me. Be proud of yourself and your accomplishments!

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I almost forgot that today is Monday, which means I should be posting a Design Wall Monday post. (Gee, I didn't even drink last night, so I can't use that as an excuse.)

I do have something on the wall to share. The pattern is called Patty Cake Quilt by Eleanor Burns and I'm using a Sun Print 2017 Layer Cake by Alison Glass. For the grey background squares, I'm using Aged to Perfection - Vintage Tiles by Maywood Studio. 

I saw a smaller version of this made by a friend and fellow guild member Judy and; and I loved it. I knew right then and there that I was going to make one. Here's Judy's quilt. (Sorry for the bad picture.) Can you see why I fell in love with it? I love her fabric choices.

I decided that I wanted to use stash for my quilt and since I had the Layer Cake and enough background fabric, I was all set. The pattern offers instructions for four different sizes, but of course I wanted a different size. I'm maing mine in a 7 x 9 layout and I'm not sure if I'll add more than the first border, which will be a the grey background fabric. (Judy's quilt does not have borders.) 

I'm working on a pattern testing for Rachel Rossi and here's the fabric I'm using. I can't show you much yet, but I promise that I'll be able to do so soon.

The fabrics on the left side are from All a Twitter by Hoffman Fabrics.  Those eight fabrics are actually fat quarters that are all together in a continuous panel. I love that idea! I chose the carnation version, but there is a teal version called Sprout. Even though I wasn't planning to do so, I purchased all of may fabrics for this at M&E Quilt Shoppe. I went to the shop to look for the wavy lines fabric or something similar and fell in love with this combination. They have both of the colorways for the fat quarter panels, as well as other fabrics from the line.

What are you working on today! 

Check out the quilting eye candy at

Judy's Small Quilts and Doll Quilts

and

Beth's Monday Making