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: 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…

Turkey Tracks: Acadia Quilt

Turkey Tracks: May 12, 2014

Acadia Quilt

“Acadia” started as a leader/ender project–pioneered by Bonnie Hunter who now has TWO books of her own leader/ender projects. (Basically, you keep a pile of blocks near your machine while working on another quilt, and when you need to cut the thread on the primary quilt, you run through a “leader/ender” block instead.)

AND, I ve long had a yearning to make a red and green quilt.

This quilt is BIG, heavy, warm, and I absolutely love the way it came out. It’s built on the “Contrary Wife” quilt block, but I split some of the larger blocks into four-patches.

(My rug is out to be cleaned–hence the dark pad on the floor.)

I love the way the secondary pattern developed in this quilt–forming not only a trellis, of course, but squares inside the light squared an inside the trellis center with dark and light centers:

Here’s a corner and the inner and outer borders:

The back was really fun because I did not have enough of the wild green Kaffe Fasset floral I used on the back, so I used more of the bright red remnants I had and every orphan block I could find that would work in this quilt:

Here’s the backing turned to the front, and you can see the bright green binding:

I used a Kelly green thread and a pantograph entitled “Arcadia” from Urban Elementz. It has nice gentle curves and just the right amount of coverage for this quilt.

But this quilt is “Acadia”–no “r” added–after the famous national park just north of Camden, Maine.

Blog Readers’ Quilts and Quilting Information: Oh No! Kaffe Fasset Fabrics Degraded

Blog Readers’ Quilts and Quilting Information: February 6, 2014

Oh NO!

Kaffe Fasset Fabrics Degraded

I love Kaffe Fasset fabrics.

I love all of the Fasset books.

I love COLOR! And the Fasset fabrics are all about COLOR.

I’ve made many a quilt with Fasset fabrics and thought to make many more.

But I’m not buying Fasset fabrics any more.

Here’s why:

Fasset fabrics are no longer 44-45 inches wide, but are now 40 inches wide.

The price is the same. Or, more.

Most importantly, Fasset has changed to a cheaper griege, or the grey goods that get dyed to make the fabric. The quality of the griege is what makes a fabric sturdy. And you have only to look at some of the newer Fasset fabrics to see the difference. I just bought some polka-dot Fasset fabrics, and they are like gauze. NO WAY AM I PAYING $10 OR MORE DOLLARS A YARD FOR GAUZE. I don’t care how “pretty” it is.

I found the Fasset email address and wrote to calmly say why I would no longer be buying Fasset fabric. And I hope you take a look at the new fabrics, look at the quality and the width, and write him for yourself: www.kaffefassetstudio.com.

In addition, Amy Butler is part of the Fasset group of artists. I have refused to buy her fabric or her patterns for some years now. I believe that when you sell a pattern or fabric, you’re done. I do not believe you can threaten customers with law suits if they make something from your pattern or fabric and sell it, show it, or whatever.

And, yes, I shared in my email that I also refuse to buy anything of Amy Butler’s.

* * *

Fasset and Butler have gone too far.

They have become too greedy.

As customers, we have to protest and refuse to buy their goods.

It’s the only way to get them back in all their glory.

Turkey Tracks: “Blossom,” the wedding quilt

Turkey Tracks: May 13, 2013

“Blossom,” the wedding quilt

Daughter-in-law Tamara Kelly Enright and I wanted to make bride Ashley Malphrus (now White) a wedding quilt. The wedding was April 21, 2013, and it was gorgeous. The ceremony was held with one of the low country rivers as a backdrop–green lawns, big house, big white tent. It was lovely. Ashley and her mother, Allison Malphrus, had thought of so many thoughtful, sweet touches all during the wedding. I’m always in awe of that kind of thoughtfulness as I’m not good at it.

Last Thanksgiving, Tami and I picked out contemporary, colorful Kaffe Fasset fabrics–and Mainely Quilting shopowner Marge Hallowell cut us a big array of the Kaffe Fasset prints. With a “layer cake” design, one starts with a 10-inch square (in our case), cuts off four borders, which leaves a central square. Different borders are put onto different squares, and the result–after using these bright modern prints–is a very contemporary, colorful quilt.

I finished hand sewing the binding just before the wedding and mailed the quilt to Tami. It’s BIG, and I didn’t want to carry it on the plane. Tami and I delivered it the Friday before the wedding, as I didn’t want to have it at the wedding tent. I also wanted to explain that the quilt is an heirloom quilt, to be used and loved, but also to be cherished in the way of being a little careful with it.

Here’s “Blossom”–and it’s not a great picture of it. But you can see how big it is.

Here’s some blocks close up. I quilted it with a bright pink thread, and that is wonderful on both the back and the front. I used a “Sweet Pea” pantograph, but both sides are busy enough that you don’t really see the pattern. It will catch Ashley, some day, when the light falls just right on the quilt. I did the best job ever on the quilting.

Here’s the backing and binding–so you can see how they play with the blocks:

And here’s what “Blossom” might look like folded on the foot of a bed:

The name “Blossom” describes the quilt, yes, but it’s also meant to wish, for Ashley, that she blossoms with her marriage, that her marriage blossoms, that the blossoming creates fruit, that in turn, blossoms, and on and on and on…

Turkey Tracks: Quilt in Progress, September 2011

Turkey Tracks: September 18, 2011

Quilt in Progress

September 2011

Here’s a peek at the quilt I’m working on these days:

And, here it is coming together on the design wall:

This quilt is such a happy quilt. I’m so enjoying working with it–which hasn’t been often enough since I’ve been so busy processing harvest food.

The fabrics are all Kaffe Fasset prints, which I love. And though it can seem jumbled a bit at this stage, I’ve seen it made up, and I really like it. I bought the kit from Marge at Maine-ly Sewing in Nobleboro, Maine. She sells online too: http://mainelysewing.com/

It’s on Lucy the long-arm now, being quilted with lime green thread, which is looking quite pretty, and with a “sweet pea” pantograph. The backing is a lime green print I got on sale at Quilt Diva’s in Rockland. It has a linear print of leaves whose panels were QUITE hard to line up properly in order to get the right width.

I haven’t decided what to name it yet. Happy Quilt isn’t quite right. Layer cake isn’t either. It will come to me…

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