Category: Quilting in South Carolina

The online class I’m taking with designer Tara Faughnan kicked off October 1st with her improv block “Zipper.”

I immediately went down a rabbit hole, and here’s the outcome of many hours and some days of playing with fabric and “zipper” combinations.

Tara gave us a palette, but I wanted to pull my own palette, having had fun with that exercise with the “Summer Camp” mystery quilt. The guidance on the mystery palette was build your palette and trust it. I did add white and one more pale color along the way–as I wanted a more “sparkly” look. And, a deep mustard, but never used it. I found I had enough dark colors already for this project.

I am going to save this palette for November’s block–just in case I want to use this current piece as part of a quilt. It’s likely, however, to be a stand-alone little wallhanging–it’s about 27 inches wide–and the project may need some sliver trimming to make sure it is square–for which I’ll use a 24-inch ruler. I don’t really have a need for a big pillow, and I’d like to keep this project…around here. I’ll probably hang it somewhere upstairs in my studio.

If you want to see Tara’s beautiful Zipper projects, check them out on her Instagram page. It’s well worth the time. Meanwhile, the most astonishing blocks are showing up in our online community for this project. People are so, so creative.

And, Oh My Heavens! I do love this quilt. Something about it just strikes my fancy big time.

*Note that the camera and my manipulation makes it look not square–it is perfectly square.

This “Summer Camp” mystery quilt was designed by Bill Kerr and Weeks Ringle at the Modern Quilt Society–and back in the early summer I kind of stumbled on to online posts which had people choosing their palettes and making their first sets of blocks. I just could not resist joining in. No two quilts will be the same as we all chose our own fabrics, our own blocks, and our own settings (out of three choices). The MQS web page has a gallery of these quilts if you want to see others.

I quilted with a medium grey thread, using the Deb’s Swirls 14-inch pantograph. I wanted texture but not really intensive texture. And I had enough of this “Newsprint” fabric by Carrie Bloomston (Windham) for the backing. I thought it a grand choice for a very modern quilt. And I bound in the same “field”/background fabric I chose: Kona Juniper.

Here are some close-up pics of these very, very fun blocks.

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This quilt is my 216th quilt.

Now, back to Traverse, who has been waiting for me to sew down the Summer Camp binding so I can show it at next week’s Patchwork Gals meeting. The 12 wt. threads I ordered from Red Rock Threads for Traverse should come next Monday, so I’ll be able to do the row I skipped for the moment.

And it’s really cool this morning. I had to switch out my short-sleeve t-shirt for a long-sleeve t-shirt. I’m NOT complaining.

With one thing and another, I didn’t cook until early afternoon on Friday, so I ate a really late dinner meal (on porch with book!). I tried the convection feature on the new oven, but I’m not convinced the convection fan is working right, or at all. But the lamb rack was delicious nonetheless. So, I had easily-heated leftover food yesterday and for dinner today.

Yes, I like rare meat. Rare is where all the nutrients are. And, in the yummy meat fat, which gives me long, slow, steady energy. I roasted the peppers in the air fryer, cooked the frozen green beans in the microwave, and boiled the potatoes on the stove. I reserved my daily fruit for supper, but did have my after-dinner espresso, with raw milk and raw honey.

Yesterday was filled with small tasks, like the trip to Loews where I bought these beautiful cyclamens to replace the spent plant in that pot. (Yes, that pot needs to be scrubbed in the sink–a task for today.) I went back and forth with the red or the deep pink cyclamens, and settled on the red to pick up the red in the Croton Petra plant on the porch. I didn’t consider the red roses, but… It’s all good. And cheerful. And fresh looking.

Cyclamens are perennials. And they are fairly cold hardy. In the Mediterranean region where they derived, they bloom in the winter, die down in the spring, and come back in the fall. Pansies are great plants in the fall too, and Lowes was filled with them in so many beautiful colors.

Here is the Croton Petra plant on the porch–pink cyclamens would definitely fight with the Croton Petra. This plant is actually a tropical evergreen shrub, and outside it can get to be about three feet. They don’t like temps that go down to the 50s.

Tara Faughnan’s 6-month improv, creative block project (online class) started October 1. The first project is called “Zipper,” and I pulled this palette from my stash yesterday. Later today I’ll start playing. “Zipper” looks really fun–the block could make a nice pillow. Or, a block that gets put into an improv quilt alongside other blocks. The solids are more graphic, but there’s no reason someone couldn’t use prints if they wanted to do that.

I am waiting for more garment pattern tracing paper to come on Tuesday to finish tracing a tunic pattern I want to make–it is meant to go over the gorgeous leggings DIL Tami gave me earlier this summer. I tried two local stores for this paper, but neither had it. I wanted a top that could be layered and that covers my bum.

I did get the binding on “Summer Camp” yesterday, and I halted on Traverse to hand sew down the binding so I can show it at the next local quilt meeting. Traverse is pouting on the hassock, but I keep reminding her that I’ve ordered two spools of Aurifil 12-wt thread from Red Rock Threads to go in that lavender-ish bar you can just see at the right edge of this picture. (One of the two colors ordered will go well with that fabric and will be added to my 12 wt threat collection.) I was working on the row below, with the orange-ish elongated hexagons set on the gold/brown fabric, and it is coming out nicely.

I really love this “Summer Camp” mystery quilt.

Later today I’ll walk in this lovely cool weather, and I’ll do another round of watering the grass and plants. I’ve been watering every two days as it is so, so dry. And I do not see any rain in sight. I play my music while walking and sing along. When watering, I “Zen out” with the music and the hose–stopping only to visit with neighbors who stop by to indulge in short visits.

What a fun, fun project “Summer Camp,” the Modern Quilt Society’s summer mystery quilt has been.

Here she is, all quilted. I did find time to trim her after I took pics, and she is now waiting for her binding to be installed. Later today?

I wanted a pantograph that would give me some texture and curves, but not be too, too intense. I think this one worked well: Deb’s Swirls at 14 inches. The medium grey thread worked well too–on both front and back.

I spatchcocked a chicken and roasted it in the new oven the other day. Oh my! It cooked in the time it should have cooked and created a nice crisp skin on top. What a difference. It’s clear that the original oven was broken in many ways that impacted its operation, including that it just didn’t get hot enough.

I cooked both the collards and the potatoes in water on top of the stove. There is, also, an apple cut up off to the side. And a freshly made espresso to have with the apple.

I enjoyed this meal on the porch with a book in hand.

I finished quilting the last row at the bottom a few days ago. And I started the other side with that row of X’s and pink squares, having finally figured out a way to quilt that row without overwhelming the colors in the pattern–which has been my goal for this quilt.

Here’s a close-up of some of the rows.

And here’s the bottom row. I wanted something with a pattern, not just a straight line. And I didn’t want a dark navy because as I said, I don’t want the quilting to stand out so that it draws the eye.

That’s a size 6 Tulip embroidery needle and 12-weight Sulky cotton thread. I have colors in both Sulky (petites, which are inexpensive, so one can acquire lots of colors) and Wonderfil on hand. And I’m learning to bury my knots in seams as I can as the Artisan Cottons in this quilt (shot cottons) don’t like knots pulled through the fabric. The knots can throw a run so easily.

I think the Sulky is a bit thicker than the Wonderfil, but both are lovely. I’m sure Auriful 12-wts would be too.

Well! How fun is this quilt?

Super fun.

This mystery was designed by Bill Kerr and Weeks Ringle of the Modern Quilt Studio. No quilt in this mystery is going to look identical to anyone else’s quilt.

We all chose our own palettes while considering our field/background fabric—and there were really helpful videos for all the steps along the way. I’ve quilted for decades, and my current quilts are now numbering in the low 200s. But I learned a whole lot from Bill and Weeks with this quilt.

There were 6 weekly releases of blocks—and each week we had 4 sets of 2 blocks to do, BUT we would chose ONE of the two blocks in each set to make.  In each set of two blocks, one block often would be more complicated than the other.  So there was a nice range of difficulty.  Sometimes there were extra blocks we all did—or maybe we also had to manipulate further an earlier block. We made something like 20-30 blocks each week.

There was, also, a choice of three sizes of quilt to make and three different ways to create one’s final top.  I chose the middle one.  I was tempted by the more difficult one, but kept coming back to the one I did. And I love how it came out.

Those participating had a closed Facebook group where we could talk–and I so enjoyed the support, but also the fun–the sense of humor–that permeated this group. There were lots of posts describing which “cabin” they were currently in, that ranged from enjoying after-quilting eating/drinking pleasures in the “party” cabin to someone presently occupying something like the “thinking too hard” cabin. On and on it went and often sent me into chuckles of amusement.

The pattern for Summer Camp will be for sale on the Modern Quilt Studio web site–and you can also see there the other assembly versions and the quilts others have made.

This quilt is the second mystery quilt Bill and Weeks have designed. You can see the first one (“New Day,” made last winter) on their web site. That pattern is for sale now. And there have been hints that they will do another mystery quilt.

Would I make another mystery quilt with Bill and Weeks?

I’d be tempted. For sure.

The Charleston regional quilt group is The Cobblestone Quilters, and yesterday morning I went to meet them–having joined online a few days before Saturday. The doors open at 9 am, and the meeting is from 9:30 to late morning and is followed by a lunch a member can purchase–or just attend with one’s own lunch. Classes can and do happen in the afternoons.

The CQ quilters meet in a church in Hananan, which is west of Mt. Pleasant and about a 25 minute drive. The WAZE app took me there without incident–though just as I got on the 526 interstate highway, the heavens unleashed a gully-washer downpour of sheets of much-needed rain.

I had made contact with the CQ membership chairperson online, and I met her immediately as I came through the door. And she introduced me to nearby gracious lovely women who, in turn, introduced me to other gracious lovely women. To say I was welcomed is an understatement.

This group of about 75 members is super well organized. The large room was lined with all sorts of tables filled with events and activities for members to participate in or just enjoy–each manned by member volunteers. This group does a lot of community out-reach, from making donation quilts for various charities to supporting another group’s filling and packing Christmas boxes for lonely sailors who arrive in the Charleston harbor over the holidays. Next time I will do a better job of taking illustrative pictures. I was kind of in shell-shock at the amount of goodness I saw displayed I think.

The large room was filled by the time the meeting started. And I started feeling a bit woozy with all the chemical smells that a packed room with lots of people causes me to have. But I made it through to the break before knowing I had to take Benadryl or I had to get some fresh air. The worry here is whether I can drive safely if I don’t make a change. So I made my apologies and, regretfully, left.

Why didn’t I take pictures of the part of Show and Tell I did see? There were amazing and gorgeous quilts of all kinds displayed by these excellent quilters. I have definitely found a great quilt group. For sure.

There are two Cobblestone “splinter groups” that meet here in Mt. Pleasant later in the month: the Patchwork Gals meet monthly in the morning at the Wando Library, about which I recently blogged; and the Indigo Quilters meet in the early evening not far from me. I met women who go to the Patchwork Gals at the CQ meeting. I will attend both of those meetings later this month.

Note: In my Northern Virginia regional quilt group of 20+ years ago, now called Quilters Unlimited, the small groups that met outside of the regional guild meeting were called “bees.” And in Maine, actual local groups formed that were group members of the Pine Tree State guild–like The Coastal Quilters that met in Camden, Maine. Our other group in Camden, Maine, The Mt. Battle Modern Quilt Guild, which I helped start , belonged to the Modern Quilt Guild, which is a different “parent” organization than the Pine Tree Quilters Guild.

So, I came home energized, but sad I had to leave early, and hungry–and to find that my neighborhood did not get more than one drop of rain. So, today I will need to water outside.

I took “Bonanza” off the longarm early evening last night.

And, WOW, she is beautiful.

I called her “Bonanza” because she is made with leftover solid scraps from my fabric stash. The backing was there too–bought two years ago with birthday money from my younger son and his sweet wife. I would also like to say that “Bonanza” was inspired by designer Tara Faughnan’s recent work with half-square triangles. She has a new pattern out featuring them–which you can see on her web site.

I am fascinated with the secondary patterns that emerge with the use of light/dark half-square triangles. And that’s how this quilt got to be 83 inches square.

Here’s the backing:

You can see how the colors support the quilt top:

The pantograph, sewn in light grey thread, is “Bayside.” I wanted a pattern that would just lay down solid coverage that wasn’t too intense. “Bayside” is always a good choice.

Here’s a pic of the texture Bayside provides.

And here’s the quilt from another angle. The light is not great in the room where my longarm lives–especially when it is getting dark outside. But I have great light on my longarm from its light bar. And I can drag in other light if needed, but so far, I have not.

I am going to bind in the same dark “midnight” blue/purple used (Kona Nightfall) in the sashing. I have enough of this fabric in my stash, and I’ll cut and make that binding today–after I trim “Bonanza” on the back of the longarm. I’ll likely go ahead and install the binding as that will stabilize the edges of this quilt.

Meanwhile, the Summer Camp mystery quilt blocks are going up on the design wall. When I get them up I’ll let them sit for a bit so I can move around blocks as I see what needs moving. I’ll prep “Happy’s” backing (the quilt from hell) and put her on the longarm to be basted for hand quilting. And “Red Positivity” awaits her turn on the longarm–so named by a blog reader who noted the plus signs in the middle of each block.

As summer draws to a close, my summer quilty work is also gradually finishing up. It’s been a good summer.