Month: August 2024

“Make The Churn Dash Block Modern”

That was the challenge issued to members by our local modern group, the Charleston Modern Quilt Guild. There were no rules about how to make the Churn Dash quilt block “modern.” And no rules on what form one’s project should take. A simple one-block effort? A table runner? A quilt?

Here’s what I spent many happy hours this past month playing with and doing–after turning over ideas in my head and on paper for some months. My Vermont friend noted that the Tara Faughnan online “block playing” class that I did last winter–with my friend for company–was a factor in this top. I agree. For sure. I just did one block at a time–after the center block–and played with color and shapes. So many of these blocks totally surprised me. I’m pretty sure I could have kept going and making yet another block.

The Churn Dash block is a 9-patch block. There are 9 blocks in my top–so they make up a 9-patch top–and I set the blocks off-center and alternated the grey field fabrics.

I started with the center block, which is a recognizable Churn Dash block–only it also has the “Cat’s Cradle” block at the corners. (Thanks to fellow quilter Rick Sanchez’s demonstration for me of the ruler that makes this block so beautifully.) I love this “Cat’s Cradle” block.

Each block has a center at the center–except for the upper left, top row lime green block which has its smaller center displaced to the left. This block was the last one I made, so there was a progression toward not having the center at the center I can now see and understand.

Each block has the two-color side pieces that surround the “normal” center–but they take different forms (4-patch checkerboards, half-square rectangles, curves, and stripes). These units are often displaced in the 9-patch block. (I used Latifah Safari’s “Hurty” ruler to make the half-square rectangles and can’t wait to use that ruler some more.)

Each block has a form of the half-square triangle on the corners. Some are curved and some are Cat’s Cradle blocks and many are displaced to other spots in a 9-patch block.

I have pieced a backing from leftover pieces of the Carrie Blomton “newsprint fabric.” So I will probably load this quilt on the longarm soon. And I did make this top totally out of my solid stash.

I like, so much, the pantograph I used for the Prickly Pear quilt, but I wanted a version where the lines are further apart. So I talked to the very nice woman at Urban Elementz this morning, to get some help about how to order that panto in a wider size.

Now, to get the leader/ender quilt off the design wall…

LOL, I need 9 more blocks. And talk about scrappy!! It is fun though. I do now see in this picture the “out of order” block and will fix it later–a great argument for taking pictures and looking at them before anything gets set in stone. It will be 72-inches square, so a nice lap quilt.

It’s A Sunday Update

I made this 32-inch wallhanging project–in the Maria Shell style–which the modern quilt group’s Cathy Beemer taught to us during our monthly morning Sit and Sew. I’ve long wanted to play around with this kind of “Maria Shell” project, but never had the mojo to…just start such a project. And Cathy is brilliant about figuring out so many ways to combine fabrics in super creative designs that go well beyond the basics of this method.

I started with the lower left quadrant, which is fairly tame as I felt my way. And then I…launched. I hand quilted it with 12-wt cotton–Big Stitch quilting–I have quite a collection of colors now. The white in this piece really lightens up everything, but I wanted to knock back some of the brilliance in the lower right hand quadrant, so I did that with thread color. And I wanted to make that starter lower left quadrant look a bit more…developed…so I quilted it heavily to make it more interesting.

I had enough of this Ruby Star fabric for the back–and I’m a fan of using a print on the back when handquilting. BUT, BUT, my stitches have gotten so much better in consistency after taking Tara Faughnan’ online class on Big Stitch hand quilting.

I hung “Beemer’s Block” in my sewing room–over my cutting table, and it makes me smile every time I look at it. I centered it, so maybe there will be some more small pieces to join it down the road.

That will be possible since I just got this book, which was shown at the Patchwork Gals meeting last Wednesday morning:

I’m intrigued by many of the blocks Kelly Young has created here–with SCRAPS! Many of her ideas are one-block small quilts, BUT each one could be expanded into a full quilt. And many of her small quilts do have multiple colored/scrappy blocks that make up her small project.

Also, several of the men in our neighborhood are going to build a little portable library kiosk that will go next to our big mail kiosk. You know what I mean–you see them everywhere now. So… Debbie Jeske, of the A Quilter’s Table blog recently posted about the little library kiosk near her (or her’s–I forget). She put one of her small quilts behind the display of books, and one day she noticed it was gone. So she put in another one. Hmmmm… Was it synchronicity that I got exposed to this book of small scrappy quilts this week???

Prickly Pear is off the longarm–I quilted it all yesterday afternoon. The new panto, New Wave, gave it awesome movement and texture. Thank you Wendy Curry (a longarm quilter who lives in Thunder Bay, Canada.)

I’ll use this same panto on the local modern group’s “Make the Churn Dash modern” challenge I’ve just finished–but more on that quilt later as it deserves its own post. I’m making a pieced backing for it now.

At our last Sit and Sew, Cathy Beemer shared this quilt top–made by cutting up a panel and adding her own, fabulous additions to the squares she chose to use from the panel. Wow! This top is a whole new way to think about using panels. She, too, was responding to a challenge–this one from the Cobblestone quilters.

Cassandra Beaver recently posted this quilt in her blog–The (not so) Dramatic Life–a blog which I highly recommend following as she teaches a lot of methods along the way. Isn’t it AWESOME. Note the mixture of machine and hand quilting. She has a whole post on how she made this quilt if you are interested.

Cassandra did a very recent blog post on the “Feed Sack” fabrics from back in the day, highlighted at the big quilt museum in Lincoln, Nebraska. It was fun for me as I spent a chunk of time this spring and summer making quilts using “feed sack” reproduction fabrics collected about 20 years ago.

Outstanding Upcycling: Vintage Feed Sacks That Made Sewing Affordable

It is very cool here these days–with days in the 70s and 80s. This coolness so didn’t happen last year, LOL. We’ll likely get an Indian Summer of hotter weather, but that is ok too. I have increased my walking now–2 miles the other day and more short walks too, off and on, around the neighborhood.

We do need rain, so I’ll water the new roses out front this morning. Maybe I’ll “jinx in” one of the thunderstorms that have been promised all week.

So, now, we’re off to a whole new week! Enjoy this day and this week to come!

Clouds, Rope Bowls, and A Catchup

It was 73 degrees here when I made my morning coffee. People are out walking–children going to school, dog walkers, and just people out and about. They are all wearing long sleeves this morning.

That coolness SO did not happen last summer. So a big welcome to La Niña and her cooler, dryer weather.

With the advent of “cool,” I am switching my walk to the mornings now, as it is getting darker earlier in the evening. I like to sew from mid-afternoon most days to just after 7 pm. And then I walk my mile and come home to the supper I usually prepped at the same time I cooked my noon dinner. But for the last week, I’ve been walking in the evening dusk, with the lights that line the big road I walk, on. It’s nice, but…

A few days back when I emerged from the house to walk, we had this amazing cloud highlighted by the sunset. It looked so fluffy that I felt that if I could reach up and touch it, it would feel like spun cotton candy. It looked good enough to eat.

Here’s a wider picture. All around it was clear sky. So, I think, this kind of cloud is probably due to living along the shore.

The next evening, the fluffy clouds entertained me again. This one probably held some rain, but we didn’t get any. And, again, the sky all around it was clear.

These clouds are a moment of gifted joy. And I loved taking the time to admire and contemplate them–rather than just barreling into my walk pace.

My monthly meeting at Patchwork Gals was this past Wednesday. A local quilter who belongs to both of my quilt groups (traditional and modern) demonstrated how he makes rope bowls. His bowls are gorgeous, and his presentation was first rate. Rick has a longarm business, is a terrific quilter, and is just the nicest person.

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August 5, 2024youtu.be

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I am going to Walmart today to get some rope…

Oh no!!! But I must try to make a rope bowl.

I’m out of handwork for the moment, so I found a knitting project that I left unfinished. My fingers like to be busy at night. The Prickly Pear quilt is on the longarm, waiting for me, so I’ll have that binding to sew down soon.

I promise to post quilty pics soon. There are several finished projects and a leader/ender that is almost done. It is taking up way too much room on the design wall now.

Meanwhile, I’ve been saying goodbye to the two grandsons–the oldest will be 21 in a few weeks. They are now both back at their universities. The five remaining grand girls are busy, busy with the start of school and their fall athletic endeavors which involve various mixtures of tennis, lacrosse, and volleyball.

It’s been a really good summer for everyone I think.

And we may get some rain today, which unless it is 24 inches in a week, is a good thing.

Bits and Pieces, August 9, 2024

Tropical storm Debby is swirling to the north of us. Or what is left of her is doing…something. She seems to have broken apart more or less.

I woke to 77 degrees this morning. In August. In Charleston, SC. Wow!

I have not walked for 5 days, except for the tour around our neighborhood to see how our drainage was holding up. I was thinking to walk yesterday afternoon as the sun came out, but, this:

And when this cloud dumped its rain and moved north, the sun came out. But it was going to be followed shortly by another band of clouds like this one. So I just kept sewing as I was not going to risk walking a half-mile or more away from the house, only to get suddenly drenched.

It rained in the night too–and there was fierce lightening–so there is another 3 inches in the gauge out front this morning. Right now, the gauge has collected 23.25 inches of rain since Monday, but we got a bit more rain than that as the gauge overflowed in the night one night. And today we will have some thunder storms.

EVERYTHING is wet! I won’t even think about putting the back porch back together until all is dried out. And I miss my time out there during my noon dinner.

BUT, I’ve had some really fun sewing these past few days. Two new rulers came in the mail: Deb Heatherly’s Cat’s Claw ruler (thanks the demo shared by Rick Sanchez, local longarm quilter Stitch with Rick, at our last Sit and Sew) and Latifah Safari’s Hurty Ruler for half-square triangles. Both are so much fun.

I could EASILY go down a rabbit hole with the Hurty ruler. (This picture had to be taken on a slant due to where the blocks are on the very full design wall.) I pulled some fabrics at random and just played with no intention for anything. Just play. The “A” side of the ruler makes a LEFT side straight edge (these are 4 by 8 blocks). The B side makes a right side straight edge. I started with the A side, but realized I really like the look of the straight edge on the right AND that putting the two choices together makes a big triangle and a bigger diamond AND that putting blocks on their side is kind of fun–either in a quilt of half-square triangles or on a border.

I’m also obsessed with making blocks that are riffs on the Churn Dash block–so here are more half-square triangles–4 inches finished–that surround the center square.

You can see the Cat’s Claw blocks in the red Churn Dash on the bottom of the design wall below–at the corners. Making these Cat’s Claw blocks is so much fun as each effort makes TWO of them.

I made myself STOP playing with the Hurty ruler’s bigger blocks–that’s for another day. But I have 8 orange smaller blocks cut out for the next Churn Dash “riff.” That will happen today. (I have no idea how these blocks will work out–they are for a challenge in the modern group that is due at our November meeting.)

Prickly Pear only needs one more row–and I’m working on the triangle rings for that final row now. I have the backing and binding made and know what pantograph I’ll use to quilt this handsome and very modern quilt, thanks to a consult with master longarm quilter Wendie Currie, who lives in Thunder Bay, Canada. I also have enough fabric left (as I had to order more for the field fabric and for the triangles) to play with the alternative arrangement, which is also fun.

The scrappy leader/ender on the left is growing–it will be 7 blocks wide and 8 long, so will finish around 63 by 72–a good lap size. This kind of quilt is meant to be USED and to be cuddly. The two bins of 3.5 inch Cotton+Steel/Ruby Star Society squares ARE going down–but there are a lot left. Next I’ll try something like all one-color darks in a specific color (9-patch again) alternated with blocks of the light colors.

And today I have to…cook. Hamburger is defrosting–for air fryer patties likely. An easy meal that will product leftovers.

Low Country Drainage Systems

Debbie gave us a break most of yesterday afternoon and much of last night, so I went out to explore in the early afternoon, alongside many of my neighbors, many of whom were walking dogs that had been penned up inside for a long time. My back yard neighbor was really worried about the creek/bioswale running through our property rising up to a level that would come into her house. I wanted to see how all the drainage systems here were working–as this type of Low Country drainage is new to me.

There are two big ponds at the front entrance of this property–the fountains in them are decorative, but the ponds are there to capture rain water. The one on the left is very full–you can see that the drainage platform in the front of the picture is now covered with water. But the steep sides still have a ways to go before overflowing would occur.

**Note that these ponds are also tidal, so at high tide there is much more water. When I went out, it was low tide. ***Many of think that the bigger fish, otters, and alligators travel around via these drainage pipes/platforms and culverts.

Here is the entry pond on the right, and it lies adjacent to the wetland that lies between the property and the road outside the property. That road is much higher than the wetlands that line each side of it–so the road functions kind of like a levee. Drainage culverts run underneath the big road to channel water…elsewhere.

You can see that the wetland is full of water, which is how it functions. On the left is the culvert that runs under our entry road to the wetland on the other side of the entry road.

Out on the big road, there is a big culvert draining water from our property. This big culvert is the tail end of the creek/bioswale that runs through our property. There is a network of other smaller drains all along the road that channel water from the wetlands to the other side of the big road.

Our neighborhood has a LOT of depressions that are “dry” ponds until we have a storm. There are about six or seven of these depressions scattered about the property, and a few hold some amounts of water all the time. This one is by the mail kiosk is usually dry. Now it drains into the creek/bioswale on its far side.

Here is a little video of the creek/bioswale that is worrying my neighbor–from a point where it leaves the property. The head of the creek/bioswale is on the other side of the road where my house is located. You can see where the creek runs under that road.

And here is a video of the head of the creek/bioswale, which has water coming from the wetland that stretches across one side of our property.

Here’s the big back pond, and you can see it has very steep banks, and can take more water. The drainage platform is not covered back here.

***Note that all the ponds are treated by Mt. Pleasant environmental people. They install tiny fish that eat mosquito larvae.

Today we have gotten more rain, but much of Debbie is out to sea right now, where she may get bigger and more organized again. Who knows? The wind has picked up a bit as well, which may move her along up the coast.

In any case, we will not be done with Debby until Friday at the earliest.

Meanwhile, we are…dry inside our houses.

Tropical Storm Debby

…is hanging out over Charleston because she has “nowhere to go” given a weather “high” to the north and northwest that keeps her stationary–and will keep her stationary for some days to come unless some wind develops to move her up the coast.

Meanwhile, while I’m writing, torrents of rain are falling as the bands swirl around over us.

Saturday night we had a thunderstorm that dropped 1.75 inches of rain. Since then the rain gauge has shown 8 inches of water–but it overflowed last night, so there was more. And now there is steady rain, which is often heavy.

A tornado touched down on Isle of Palms last night–where both of my sons live. It damaged a house and took out power lines, so one son does not have electricity at the moment. The electric company has promised to return power very soon now.

The other son and DIL are driving back from the Jersey shore (3 girls) and are about 5 hours out now. Right now they can get back to their house on IOP and they do have electricity. Flooding in this stationary storm is a big issue. If they can’t get home due to today’s rain, they will stay with me.

I took out all the saved chicken bones in the freezer on Sunday and made a huge broth–the packets of bones were taking up way too much room in my small freezer, so it was time.

When the broth cooled, I drained off the liquid and put it in the refrigerator. Yesterday I made the soup–and the broth had jelled so beautifully into consommé. The soup is DELICIOUS! So I’m ready if my son’s family comes here–and if not, I have food so I can “play.”

My noon dinner today–eaten inside, of course. All the porch cushions are inside the house to keep them dry.

Here’s the design wall right now: there are THREE projects on it. How fun is that?

On the left is the snuggly scrappy leader/ender quilt–it will get wider and one more row longer when I finish the 4th row of Prickly Pear on the right. The third row will be done today. Making the triangle rings takes time and I need 16 more.

On the bottom, I’m playing with “modern” Churn Dash blocks and the new Cat’s Claw ruler that came in the mail. These 2 blocks are 12 inches. I love playing, and goal is to see how I can make “modern” alterations to the Churn Dash block. It’s a challenge…from the modern group. And I have no idea where it is going.

And the hand-sewing (Big Stitch) project is coming along. It will be a wall hanging upstairs–it’s 32 inches square. Cathy Beemer taught us this Maria Shell method in our modern group’s monthly Sit and Sew. She made a whole quilt of these blocks with four quadrants, and I am in awe of that effort.

Now it is almost 1 pm. There are 3 more inches of water in the rain gauge. Folks here are worrying about the dry ponds filling up now, and the creek is about to overflow, which would impact my back door neighbor. Low tide is coming up, but the overflow water just does not have a place to go.

If the lull persists, when I’m done with lunch I’m going to take out my hearing aids, wrap up in my raincoat, and go out for some pictures.

That would be learned behavior from my father… He always wanted to investigate how deep the snow had gotten, or how high the tides were, and so on. And he always took us with him when he went out into the elements.

A Hitchhiker

I went out mid morning to water the roses and plants on the sunny side of the house as we have not had rain for some days now, and my phone chirped that the doorbell just rang.

The Drift roses I ordered had arrived, a day earlier than expected. The BIG tall boxes (about 3 feet tall) were on the front porch. But I was ready with sand and compost and set in to plant the roses immediately.

The roses were beautifully packaged, and the plants were so healthy and pretty. Each rose pot was covered with a plastic bag to conserve water, and there was packing around the top of each pot to keep the dirt inside. Plus, the plants had bamboo stakes set into the pots to keep the box from collapsing around them. (Please note that I tried my best for weeks to find these plants locally.)

The only problem I discovered was that the nursery sent White Drifts, not Popcorn Drifts. Both are white, so I shrugged and started planting. By noon I was dripping wet with sweat, hot, exhausted, and so dirty I hesitated to even come into my house. Each of the holes formerly occupied by the Encore azaleas that went to son Bryan’s shade had to be dug much deeper and wider and lined with the sand and compost.

The clay! The clay! It was just solid clay. And interestingly, the clay was damp, not dry, but we’ve not had rain in some days, so that’s the “bathtub” effect that was likely also impacting the Encores–along with the heat. Holes in clay like I have here creates a bowl that will hold water that will rot plant roots, especially after a lot of rain. So the holes for a plant have to be big and filled with sand to help at least a little with the drainage. Even too much compost can sit in the water and rot the roots.

One of my neighbors is Chinese, and her mother does not speak a word of English, except for counting 1 to 5 on her hands. She is a love, however, and often gives me big greetings, big hugs, and sometimes walks with me. At some point she came over with a broom and swept up all the planting dirt and debris on the driveway.

When I went to water the first rose planted, on the far right, a big frog hopped out of the middle of the plant and ran for cover in the liriope stand on the other side of the sidewalk. It was a hitchhiker from the Florida nursery who had nestled down in the center of the plant beneath the paper wound around the plant’s stem to keep the dirt in its pot.

Welcome Hitchhiker!

There are bugs here for you to eat!

Here’s the hitchhiker’s plant:

These Drifts will spread out and repeatedly bloom for much of the year, stopping only in the colder winter months.

So, one problem solved, and for today, there are no outside jobs to do.