Turkey Tracks: That Special Moment in Quilting

Turkey Tracks: May 2, 2015

That Special Moment in Quilting

I spent most of Friday quilting a quilt on Lucy the longarm.

And by Friday late afternoon took the quilt off Lucy:

I was VERY pleased with the sort of mustard gold thread color I used as it worked really well on the front and the back:

I trimmed the quilt, sewed on the binding, and am now spend my nights sewing it down:

I cut up all of this quilt’s scraps–so that “the decks are cleared” so to speak. And THAT is the special quilt moment–and it’s so special because it’s time to let other projects emerge, to let my imagination dance, to move on into the quilting future.

Fabrics for a new and much needed purse:

The pulling out of fabrics all folded together for another long-planned quilt:

And the return to the quilt blocks that call to me often, often:

Oh my goodness! Quilting is so exciting!

Turkey Tracks: “Octagons: Blue and Orange” Quilt

Turkey Tracks: April 23, 2015

“Octagons: Blue and Orange” Quilt

I’ve been working on a series of paper pieced color studies: opposites on the color wheel–red/green, blue/orange, and purple/yellow.

These opposites really “pop” the two colors, don’t they?

Here’s the latest: octagons separated by squares.

I saw a smaller version of paper pieced octagons with squares some time last year. So I ordered the paper templates–not quite realizing that these patterns are measured by the size of each side, not the overall size of the octagon itself.

Then, LOL, I have to tell this on myself–it took me some time to realize that in essence this octagon is just a “snowball” block–only the separating squares are not part of the octagon itself–forming the square when each square block is pieced to the others. Boy did I feel silly when the light bulb went off.

I used pearl cotton to quilt. Orange in the middle and blues in the borders.

Then I went mad with buttons–but had so much fun. (I like the geometric shapes that the quilting lines formed.)

Here’s a corner:

And here’s the first quilt in the series–to remind you–where I used Lucy Boston honeycomb templates.

Both quilts are hanging in or just outside my quilt room.

Turkey Tracks: “Foxy Blue” Quilt

Turkey Tracks: April 2015

“Foxy Blue” Quilt

It’s official. “Foxy Blue” was delivered, by SIL Maryann Enright, last Sunday.

This BIG quilt (97 inches square) does not photograph well in its entirety. It’s much more subtle than the light/dark the camera is picking up.

The focus fabric is a Foxglove pattern–thus the name.

I wanted to make a low-impact quilt, Kaffe Fasset style, and to use my blue 2 1/2-inch squares. (I have a whole BIG box of these squares left.)

I chose a batik backing that works really well. It sort of glows. And a sort of seafoam binding. You can also see that I mixed hourglass/broken dishes blocks into the borders, which gave, I think, a lot of visual interest.

Here’s a good shot of the focus fabric.

And one of the movement in the quilt.

The corners. I used a pantograph called Hyancith Grande that I’ve had for some time. It’s by Patricia Ritter. And I used a low-contrast thread. The quilting came out really well.

Another view:

And another:

The middle is comprised of the stash squares, with no attempt made to order them in any way in terms of light and dark.

It’s a beautiful quilt…

Love, too, the bits of purple foxglove that punctuate the quilt.

Turkey Tracks: “Scrappy Streak” Quilt

Turkey Tracks: April 20, 2015

“Scrappy Streak” Quilt

It occurs to me that I never put finished pics of this quilt up on the blog–though I finished it back in the winter–and am enjoying using it so much.

I apologize for the rug, but it would take two extra people to hold this quilt up for viewing…

I love the graphic nature of this very simple quilt–and it was made with the leftover (now small) pieces of the 2 1/2-inch strips that I used to make the big log cabin and the Bonnie Hunter “scrappy trip” pattern (free on her blog) this past winter. I am loving having these quilts downstairs. They are so colorful and welcoming and so much better than the old dog blanket that used to protect the couch. (The dogs do bring in a lot of mud, especially in mud season.)

I got the backing on sale at, I think, Marge Hallowell’s Mainely Sewing in Nobleboro. And I quilted with my clam shell groovy boards. (This traditional quilt pattern does not fare well with pantographs–at least not in my hands.)

The red border fabric is from a piece I’ve had for over 12 or more years. Ideas about quilts change over the years, and I no longer wanted to make the quilt for which this fabric had been purchased. So… It’s brilliant in this quilt.

Here’s a final view of the graphic nature of this quilt:

Quilts like these three quilts all made from my 2 1/2-inch fabric strips remind me over and over of other quilts I have made. Invariably, seeing a fabric from another quilt makes me smile.

This quilt is No 113 and was finished probably in February.

Turkey Tracks: April Update

Turkey Tracks: April 13, 2015

April Update

Where does the time fly to?

I am never sure, beyond the certain knowledge that it’s moving really fast…

As you can see from earlier posts, I’ve just returned from an exciting few days of classes and viewing at the April MQX show in Manchester, NH–with friend Gail Galloway-Nicholson.

Here’s our favorite quilt from this show–and I’m sorry that I did not get the quilter’s name.

I can appreciate the glorious work in this quilt, but for myself, I shy away from trying to make something with so, so much work in it. I prefer a quilt that can be used and loved and washed. Thus, I was much more drawn to this Bonnie Hunter quilt–Texas Tumbleweeds–done in a different colorway than what Bonnie did:

Bonnie Hunter is part of the American Patchwork and Quilting Magazine’s 2015 4-patch challenge. And as you know, I’ve been making these “Bonnie” blocks right along. About 10 days or so ago, Bonnie showed how she was going to set her blocks. Bonnie used aqua, and I’ve chosen a limey green:

I’m working on the Coastal Quilter’s UFO challenge–due in May–so I’m making these blocks as a kind of leader/ender project at the moment.

And waiting to see how Bonnie is going to set them…

Look what I found along the front walk way today…

Snow drops! Aptly named…

Turkey Tracks: Mid-March Project Update

Turkey Tracks: March 21, 2015

Mid-March Project Update

Ironically, today is the first day of spring.

And it is warmer, but it’s also snowing outside.

Though it’s wet and dreary, my heart has been warmed by Kathleen Nixon’s visit for my birthday.

She was to have come yesterday, but the storm grounded flights, so she arrived bright and cheerful at noon today. We had a sushi lunch at Mr. Wat’s, a coffee at Zoots, and will have what will be a wonderful dinner at the Hartstone Inn (thanks to Gina Caceci). Tomorrow we’re going to a special showing of the uncut version of LAWRENCE OF ARABIA at The Strand in Rockland, Maine (where we’ll have some POPCORN). Afterwards, we’ll have an early dinner at Mirandas in Rockland–a favorite place for both of us. I have to let her go on Monday, but will take her down to Portland and will do some errands on the way home.

I have been working on the big quilt this past week. It just needs one more border:

Which is almost done:

This is a VERY BIG quilt…

Here are some close-ups:

AND this one, which shows how much of my focus fabric I’ve been able to use:

It’s interesting and inspired by Kaffe Fasset’s low-contrast style of quilting. AND by the American Patchwork and Quilting Magazine’s low contrast “quilt along” of last year.

This year their challenge is to work with four patches–and the above quilt actually uses a lot of four patches. BUT, I am much more intrigued by the four-patches on point that Bonnie Hunter is making for her part in the magazine’s challenge. So, these patches have become my current leader/ender project.

I have no idea how Bonnie is going to set hers, and I’m hoping she will do a “reveal” on April 3rd, the end of the challenge. If not, I’ll open my EQ7 quilting design program and get to work.

Here’s a close-up.

I have 20 blocks done now, but truthfully, I could just disappear from the world and sew these fun blocks until I drop.

Remember that I have a whole box of two-inch squares that need using…

Maybe I’ll do a marathon session and sew these into light/dark four patches…

Meanwhile, the chickens are out every day now and hang out at my quilting room windows where they try to talk to me:

Barb Melchiskey challenged our group to complete one UFO for our May challenge meeting. I have a handful of planned quilt projects all folded up together. This one is at least nine years old:

And it’s pretty fabric that I still like:

It wants to be a quilt for a male person…

And I have one in mind…

So, I will start it when the big blue quilt is…quilted.

Happy spring everyone!

Turkey Tracks: Low Contrast Quilt

Turkey Tracks: March 9, 2015

Low Contrast Quilt

The scrappy low-contrast quilt is coming along.

This quilt is inspired by Kaffe Fasset, who often works low-contrast with lush fabrics, and by Bonnie Hunter’s scrap system.

The little blocks are from the 2 1/2-inch scraps. I am using a focus fabric I thought would blend with the many shades of the blue blocks.

The right border is almost finished and will go on today.

And, then what? It’s 76-inches square now, and I may call it a day. But I’d like it to be a bit bigger–say 10 inches. I may go out to one more 2-inch border and an outer border of the little squares. Don’t know yet…

Here’s a close-up of the outer border blocks:

I used the Companion Angle Ruler to cut these block pieces–as Bonnie Hunter recommends. And I LOVED how easy it was and how beautifully the pieces come together.

Turkey Tracks/Quilting: It’s Snowing! Again!

Turkey Tracks/Quilting: February 25, 2015

It’s Snowing! Again!

And, for now, it has stopped, after about five hours or so…

Here’s the view from my kitchen doors and through the windows of the lots and lots of snow we have–higher than my window, higher than my height:

Through the open door–you can get some perspective on all that white by looking at in relation to the top of the door the snow shovel, which is more than two feet off the ground:

The paths leading off the deck–I can’t see the hot tub anymore. The stakes on the hill (you can see their tops) are five feet plus tall.

Meanwhile, I’ve been quilting, quilting. It’s always fun to pull a quilt off the long arm and see how the quilting is working over the whole quilt for the first time:

For this very traditional quilt, I used a traditional clam shell quilting pattern done with groovy boards:

The soft green blends with the backing, which is not shown here.

These three scrappy quilts I’ve made recently are brightening up the downstairs sitting room so much.

I’m sewing down the binding on the streak of lightening quilt at night now–but am so drawn to the hand sewing project with the octagons. Those scraps are on the yellow table. And here’s what it’s looking like now. I put in some side triangles last night:

I think I’ll applique this piece when it’s done–to a set of borders–so this will be the center. But, who knows?

I think I’d like the octagons better if they were SMALLER. But, you know I love small pieces for the most part in a quilt…

Turkey Tracks: “Grand Illusion” Finished

February 21, 2015

“Grand Illusion” Finished

Here she is: Bonnie Hunter’s 2014 Mystery Quilt, “Grand Illusion,” inspired by the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, Michigan.

You may recall that Bonnie gives out her colors in early November some time. We all scramble around picking fabrics and getting ready to go. Then she releases the first “clue”–which is the making of the quilt’s first set of units–on the Friday after Thanksgiving. (Why on earth do they call that Friday “Black Friday”?) After that, we are off and running at the pace that each of us can manage. Some times we fall behind, some times we take months to finish the quilt, some times we finish it about a week after Bonnie releases her version–the “reveal”–sometime between Christmas and New Year’s.

I finished mine this week. And I will say up front that I need better pictures of the whole quilt than I have. I’ll get some at our next quilt meeting (we’ve had to cancel both the January and February meetings due to the Maine weather) when friends will hold her up for me.

See the secondary pattern that forms around the turquoise square? See the big blue star? And the diamond that outlines it with the darker pinks?

Here’s the main block in my quilt–surrounded by the green/white/black sashings

Here’s the very cool border. ( I love how the yellow is working in this quilt.)

Here’s the backing fabric–which I think is an INSPIRED choice for this very contemporary quilt. I found the fabric at Fiddlehead in Belfast, Maine.

Bluebirds, bicycles, and daisy’s–both in the bicycle basket and, larger, in the background. The fabric also has a very French feel to it…

I quilted with a warm yellow, using a Daisy pantograph from Anne Bright called “He Loves Me” at 10 inches.

Here’s a view from the front of one daisy:

And one from the back that as chance would have it, kind of overlays one of the white daisies:

It’s an awfully cute quilt–especially for a teen age girl.

(Wild-haired dolly will soon be going to her owner, who will be 2 in April and probably reeling from the shock of a new baby.)

Turkey Tracks: Streak of Lightening Quilt

February 20, 2015

Fun Fiber Projects in February

How’s that for alliteration?

And. oops, this one published before I wanted it to. It was meant for tomorrow…

I finished Bonnie Hunter’s 2014 Mystery Quilt, “Grand Illusions,” and will show that on a separate blog post. It’s a spectacular, exciting quilt and was so much fun to make.

Look at this big red border! This scrappy streak of lightening quilt top is done. It will go on the long arm later today. Remember that this quilt top has come entirely out of my stash and from the leftovers of two other scrappy quilts that I am using in my downstairs tv/sitting room.

I’m working on another hand-sewing quilt: octagons.

I am playing around with the opposites on the color wheel. This one is blue and orange. Remember the Lucy Boston quilt I did was two more opposites: red and green.

Here it is again:

Purple and yellow may be hexies…

Who knows?

This year, American Patchwork and Quilting magazine has issued a challenge to make quilts with 4-patch blocks. Bonnie Hunter is one of the quilters–and you can go to the magazine’s web page and get the complete list. The current magazine has all sorts of gorgeous pictures as part of this challenge. Remember last year that their challenge involved low-contrast quilts–or, “tone it down” is how I remember them phrasing the challenge.

Anyway, Bonnie is doing something mysterious with this kind of block, put on-point, and which starts with 2-inch squares. Here are two I have made, and I love them!

Look at my 2-inch square box. It definitely needs to be cleared out…

So I will be making 4-patches of light and dark, regardless of what I do with them all. Four-patches are endlessly useable. So this will be a new leader/ender project.

I am also playing around with blocks for a low contrast quilt–in more of the Kaffe Fasset mold–color drenched, I hope.

I didn’t want that central set of blocks to have any order to move your eye around… Or to line it up–in the way alternating light/dark squares would do.

It’s a work in progress, and I am having fun playing.

You can see the backing for the streak of lightening quilt on the long arm…

	celiamalm on Happy Birthday Soup
	celiamalm on Spring Garden Time
	louisaenright on It’s A Sunny Sunday
	Tracy on It’s A Sunny Sunday
	Andrea R Huelsenbeck on Yeah! The Improv Quilt Is Off…

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