Tag: INTENTIONAL PIECING

Turkey Tracks: Quilty Update March 2018

Turkey Tracks:  March 8, 2018

Quilty Update march 2018

I am working on a Traveling Quilt right now.

And I’ve almost finished quilting the Tula Pink 100 Modern Quilt blocks on the long arm.  By later today, maybe, I’ll make and attach the binding.  I’ll finish up the binding at night while watching tv.  This quilt is all Cotton+Steel fabric, which I continue to love.

(I am still watching PROJECT RUNWAY, regular and All Stars, but have almost caught up.  I find the creativity in these programs to be endlessly engaging.  AND, a friend suggested I take a look at SISTER WIVES (The Brown family) on The Learning Channel.  Oh my.  I am fascinated with this program.)

I spent some time trying out these large selvage blocks.  They are a riff on Amy Friend’s “Circuitry Quilt” in her INTENTIONAL PIECING.  Mine are larger and, for the most part, using busier neutral fabrics alongside.  The blocks are subtle.  I’ll mix in the purple blocks I’m working on now.  I think I’m looking at a warm and a cool quilt, but who knows.  Time and more blocks will tell.

“Valse Brilliant” is coming together.  The secondary patterns are emerging.  I’m working on the third row now.  And that upper right corner piece.

This block is a leader/ender project, with a center of “made” fabric from my bags of crumb fabrics–for the most part.  I now have 30 block centers of the 63 I will need.  making the centers is total play for me, and as such, very peaceful and soothing.

Betsy Maislen is working at her “Long Time Gone” blocks.  She’s now finished her set of churn dash blocks:

Look at those fun centers.  The churn dash block is my all-time favorite block.  Well, ok, alongside New York Beauty.  And any kind of square in a square. And…  Face it, I just love to piece blocks.  I am so looking forward to making these little guys.  They are…smallish.

Now I only have “On Ringo Lake” (Bonnie Hunter’s 2017 mystery quilt) to quilt on the long arm.  I have several leader/ender projects going, but I am beginning to see my way clear to start the neutral/vanilla quilt I want to make with my Cotton+Steel fabrics.  I despaired about getting the project pile down, but there is only a foundation pieced tree block I designed in Amy Friend’s workshop with Coastal Quilters left to do.  AND, LOL, a whole lot of knit fabrics to sew into delicious clothes.

And she persisted…

 

 

Turkey Tracks: Bag Obsession–June 2017

Turkey Tracks:

Bag Obsession–June 2017

Here are two more bags made with the pet screen.  Yes, I am bag obsessed.  I’d like to make a few more that are 16 inches or so as those would store a 12-inch block project.

The little green bag is in my “traveling” kit and holds thread.  The big one is, right now, empty.  It may wind up being a gift.

I kind of feel like I’m living out of the cold frame these days in terms of food.  I’m so enjoying the fresh, fresh, fresh lettuce.  I’ve reseeded the cold frame and I noticed this morning that the seeds are sprouting.  BIT, the days are getting hotter too, which does not bode well for tender lettuce and greens.  The sprig on the left is a garlic that seeded itself into the cold frame.

I seeded this cold frame last fall and covered it–after replenishing the dirt and laying the worm castings on the top.  A raised bed is ONLY as good as the dirt inside it.  You can grow pretty things, but they will not have the nutrients you need.

Look at the blush on this particular lettuce variety.   So pretty.

I am quilting the Big Star quilt–made with selvages:

I quilted the selvage pieces on the long arm and pinned the charcoal pieces before taking the quilt off.

Now I’m using my Janome 8900 to quilt the charcoal pieces.  This machine is new, and I do love it.

A friend here fixed my sewing machine table so that I can pull it out and use the back leaf to support a quilt.

This quilt is NOT perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but I’m learning the intricacies of the Janome 8900 (wide throat space) and enjoying being able to lay in a grid on a quilt.  I don’t have the skills to do that work on the long arm.  In any case, this quilt will be functional and fun.  You can READ it.

I color sorted my selvages and am now making rectangles–using a pattern by Amy Friend, “Circuitry” from her book INTENTIONAL PIECING, but I’m making the rectangles bigger.  I’ve done blue, aqua, red, and yellow and am working on purple.   Here are the yellows:

I’m not worried about lining up the selvages perfectly straight as selvages are kind of funky anyway.

I’m plotting which fabrics to use for my next bag project:  a fabric “thread catcher” bag for my “traveling” kit.  I actually sew rather a lot with friends, so my traveling bag is always packed and includes everything I will need.  I only have to grab it, my project, and my machine, and I’m good to go.

I hope you’re enjoying your summer!

 

Turkey Tracks: July 2016 Quilty Update

Turkey Tracks:  July 19, 2016

July 2016 Quilty Update

The design wall craziness is getting bigger–which means some projects are close to being finished.

I still have not quilted the blue/neutral quilt on the long arm.

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Amy Friend’s design–“Tell Me A Story” quilt–is ready to have the block papers removed, the blocks sewn together, and the border attached.

You can find this pattern in Amy’s book INTENTIONAL PIECING.

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The block count that four of us are making for a fall “improvisational” quilt that will include blocks from all of us is growing.  Here are some of my recent blocks.  We are each making four blocks of anything–one to keep and three to give away.

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Here’s one of Becca Babb-Brott’s set of blocks.  (She has an Etsy store, “Sew Me A Song.”)  She made these when we sewed on Monday at her house.

How fun are these!!!

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The summer is going by sooooooo fast!!

But I’m SEW HAPPY.

Turkey Tracks: “Tell Me A Story”

April 24, 2016

“Tell Me A Story”

WARNING:

Amy Friend’s blocks in her quilt “Tell Me A Story” are addictive!

(Her book, just out, is INTENTIONAL PIECING and her blog is http://www.duringquiettime.com)

She can’t resist them either–and the new ones she is making are on Instagram and the blog.

Here are my first ones–made yesterday afternoon, where I spent some sewing time just playing.

The idea is to make some connection between the fussy cut center of the block and the borders:

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I chose a soft salmon/peach color for my background…

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I don’t know how this block center got “turned.”  I make take it apart and recenter it.  Not sure if that is possible though…

I like the Indonesian fabric with the tiger…

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I’m not sure I can resist making a few more of these blocks this afternoon…