Tag: Then Came June

“SOLID SCRAPPY GARDEN” Quilt

Turkey Tracks:

Solid Scrappy Garden Quilt

What a fun project this leader/ender quilt has been.

It was inspired by the “Cottage Garden” quilt made by Then Came June. I loved that it was a kind of “cross” between a granny square and a trip around the world quilt project.

I started it to use up some of the solid stash I’ve acquired over the past two years—most of which have come from The Color Collective online class (Tara Faughnan designs/projects) given by Sewtopia. (There will be a season 3 starting this October.)

Basically, the way a “leader/ender” project works is that you set up a secondary project, different from your current one, and when you need to break your thread, you feed through a piece of your leader/ender project instead. Thus you are making two quilts at the same time. Quilter Bonnie Hunter pioneered this method, and you can read more about it on her blog, Quiltville.com. For this quilt, I set up a block at a time and kept the pieces where I could join them as I went along.

The backing was in my stash. But I purchased the soft coral solid (Bella) to bind the quilt, and I really like that soft punch of color around the edges.

I quilted the grid on my domestic sewing machine with a Sulky 100% cotton 12-wt. thread in a soft blue color—using a 90 Top Stitch needle. I did use a titanium needle as I thought that extra sturdiness might be good. I did put this thread in the bobbin as well. And I think this shiny thicker thread worked really, really well. I will definitely use it again. I’ve had this thread for a long time though, so I don’t know about color availability right now.

Note: I have had at least one comment on the blog cautioning about using a Titanium needle as if they hit the needle plate, they don’t break easily and can do damage. So, I suppose one must be careful not to put weight on the needle that pulls the needle out of line with it’s intended trajectory.

The secondary patterns are kind of cool. And fabric choices of light/dark can make some blocks kind of shimmer. Look at the picture of the whole quilt—third row down, far right block, to see the transparency that can develop.

Here’s where this quilt is going to live for the moment. It just makes the room sparkle. I love the block on the lower right. Hmmmmm….

Turkey Tracks: Social Distancing: Ongoing Sewing Projects

Turkey Tracks:  March 20, 2020

Social Distancing:  Ongoing Sewing Projects

I’m ok.

I hope you all are all ok too.

I am social distancing.  AC and I go every possible day to the woods, to the beach, and to the grocery store as needed.  I am connected to friends and family a good chunk of each day via technology.  Except for worrying about getting the virus in a serious way, about family or friends getting it and not faring well, and about my seriously diminishing stock portfolio, I am peaceful.  I am enjoying all my sewing projects.  It’s good to see ongoing planned projects getting finished.  And working with my hands is, as always, soothing.

I am reminded that life is what it is, that we have to take it as it comes, and we can do that with joy and purpose and some laughter, or we can just let it all overwhelm us.  That’s a spectrum, of course.  I’m sure I hit the highs and lows of it every day, but mostly I’m…ok.

Here are some of my ongoing sewing projects:

The Galactic wall hanging top is finished, layered, pinned, and waiting for obtaining some Wonderfil GlaMour thread—a rayon with a metallic strand—that designer Tara Faughnan used and loved.  Marge Hallowell at Mainely Sewing is going to carry this thread.  I am hoping she can mail me some.  I LOVE this quilt and this pattern.  Tara Faughnan designed it and curated the fabrics in THE COLOR COLLECTIVE online class by Amy Newbold’s Sewtopia.

I am also playing with a two-round smaller version with the extra fabrics I have.  I have no idea where this project is going.  Play without a goal is important too.

Here is Gumdrops—another Tara Faughnan project from The Color Collective.  The blocks are English Paper Pieced, and we learned how to use a cardstock that one’s printer would take to make the six different patterns.  I’m making a wall hanging with this one too—probably about 30 wide by 30-40 long, with three staggered rows.  I will, of course, move blocks around a whole lot more as each combo gets finished.  I hand sew at night while watching tv.

I’ll be layering and pinning the solid scrappy trip/granny quilt from Then Came June (Checkered Garden) today.  I want to diagonal grid quilt it on a domestic, but will pin it on the longarm.  I loved Then Came June’s version and thought it would be a good use for the solid scraps I have.  It’s bright and wild.  And maybe that’s it’s name?

I cleaned and oiled my serger over the holidays—and replaced the knives.  There’s a blog post on that project.  It’s running like a dream.  But I’ve been having so much fun with quilty projects that I have not circled back to making garments.  There is a pile of knits to be used.  I cut out two tops this week.  Here is the Linden Sweatshirt from Grainline.  I made this top a while back and wear it a lot, so will enjoy this one as well.  This top can be hacked to make other interesting tops.  There is a short-sleeved version as well.  I wear it both layered with a high-neck t-shirt and all by itself when the weather is a bit warmer.  This particular jersey knit is so, so, so soft on the skin.

Be well!

Take care of yourselves!

 

 

 

Turkey Tracks: Improv Inspiration

Turkey Tracks:  February 6, 2020

Improv Inspiration

When I’m stressed, I feel soothed when I am doing something with my hands.

Here’s what happened while the Impeachment process raged:

These blocks were inspired by our Mt. Battie Modern Quilt Guild’s challenge “Bee Inspired”—which itself was inspired by the quilters who make up the “Bee Sewcial” improv project.  (You can see their work on Instagram and the blocks for each completed prompt on Mt. Battie MQG projects on Facebook.)

My prompt turn will not come around until next November, but I had a workshop with Amy Friend on foundation piecing curves this fall.  And, I have two books which I love and used to play with making these blocks.  Nicholas Ball’s INSPIRING IMPROV and Sherri Lynn Wood’s IMPROV HANDBOOK FOR MODERN QUILTERS.  I have specified solids with clear colors—though some of the colors above are darker than I specified.

Yesterday I made myself take my sample blocks off the design wall.  But between now and November I can’t guarantee that I won’t return to this kind of play again.  It is kind of interesting that my prompt does come in November…

I have returned to putting binding on two finished quilts, setting up the Galactic and Gumdrops projects for The Color Collective online class I’m taking, and finishing up making blocks out of extra materials left over from other projects.  More on that later.

Here’s what’s on the design wall now:  Then Came June’s Checkered Garden Quilt made from leftover solids as a leader/ender project.

The blocks are 14 inches.  I don’t know.  I think this one needs to be 5 blocks by 6 blocks (70 by 84).  Right now it’s 56 by 56.  Thinking on this…   Hmmm.  4 by 5 would be 56 by 70.  That’s a good lap size too.  Will try that next.

And of course I’m still moving blocks around…

 

 

 

Turkey Tracks: Sewing Projects, November 2019

Turkey Tracks:  November 7, 2019

Sewing Projects, November 2019

Winter is my intensive sewing time.

The bed is the bedroom next to my quilting room is my project staging area when the longarm holds a quilt.  On the bed there’s a finished quilt top and its backing and binding fabric all set to go when the longarm is empty again.  There are garments—saved to sew in winter.  And, all sorts of other projects, from an EPP project, to The Color Collective blocks, to my own inventions.

Here’s what my design wall looks like now.  The top blocks are meant to use up the solids acquired for The Color Collective projects.  The 14-inch block is from Then Came June’s Checkered Garden Quilt, and I’ve written posted about it before now.  It’s a leader/ender project from Bonnie Hunter’s method.  The big blocks below it are the 20-inch Radiating Log Cabin blocks from Tara Faughnan’s The Color Collective Season 1, hosted by Amy Newbold of Sewtopia.

To the right are various projects—to include just playing with shapes with ideas garnered from a workshop with Amy Friend (curved foundation piecing) and from Nicholas Ball’s new book INSPIRING IMPROV, which I high recommend.

I think there is a flying geese project in the making, done with 6” wide blocks and bright colors.  And the Jen Kingwell “Glitter” blocks are ongoing and will probably wind up in an improv quilt.

Below, hidden are the improv bird blocks I’m making off and on.

My quilting life is very rich I think.

I’ve moved blocks around and around below, but I think I like this arrangement, so will sew it together later today. L Then I have to decide if it is a 60-inch wall hanging or a lap quilt AND how on earth to quilt it.  Hand or machine, for starters.

The “shapes” blocks are fun.  I’m going to cut the teal blue/green block on the right in half and see what develops.  These blocks will go into my Mt. Battie Modern Quilt Guild “prompt” quilt where other members will make blocks for me as well.  But, my turn will not come up until NEXT November as there are many of us in this challenge.  So there is plenty of time to play with shapes and clear colors over the year.

My Cotton+Steel “Slopes” quilt from Amanda Jean Nyberg is on the long arm now.  I quilt until I get tired, then stop and play with other projects.  It all gets done.

The winterizing outside is DONE, so it’s time to move into my winter sewing in earnest.  And we may get SNOW tomorrow.

I love the change of seasons and enjoy each and every one.

Turkey Tracks: How Many Ongoing Project Are There?

Turkey Tracks:  March 4, 2019

How Many Ongoing Projects Are There?

Some of stopped sewing long enough to count up ongoing projects we’ve started.

1.

I was in pretty good shape until I got involved in Sewtopia’s Color Collective project with blocks and solids designed by Tara Faughnan.  (Amy Newbold owns and runs Sewtopia.)  For heaven’s sake, google “Tara Faughnan quilts” and you will be blown away, as I was.  She works in saturated color and solids.  (Tarafaughnan.com)

The first month’s block was the circle; the second, the cross.  I combined them as clearly I got obsessed and couldn’t stop making them.  Note the two projects at the top of the design wall.

This top is done now, and I absolutely love it.  I’ve found, in my stash, a backing I like a lot, and I will buy a binding.  I’m thinking of doing some hand qulting with size 8 pearl cotton.  Here is the top all together.  It glows.

2.

Above the big project on the right is a row of 14-inch blocks, made using scraps from the solid projects and from my solid stash. I saw this block used in a quilt made by Then Came June called “Checkered Garden Quilt” and using Alison Glass bright fabrics in the Road Trip line.  I fell in love with it.  (Here is a picture: https://thencamejune.com/products/road-trip-checkered-garden-quilt.)  This block has been called “part Trip Around the World,” part “Granny” block.

Here’s the next block cut out and ready to go and waiting in the adjacent bedroom—sitting atop my Traveling Quilt.

3.

Above left is the start of the “Slopes” quilt by Amanda Jean Nybery of Crazy Mom Quilts.  The book is NO SCRAP LEFT BEHIND.  I am cutting the dark Cotton+Steel fabrics—a few a day—for this quilt.  I’m using leftover 1 1/2-inch blocks combined with leftover solid pieces for the row of “little” pieces near the top of the quilt.  I might do more than one of these rows.  Who knows?  Not me.

4.

I have a bird quilt project going and have made three of the big blocks and one of Jen Kingwell’s “The Avenue” of trees blocks.  I’ve been saving bird fabric for several years, but I’m choosing only the artist-types for this quilt.   I want to use in an improv style.

The 9-inch tree block is bigger visually than I thought for some reason.  Inspired by Tori Manzi’s recent tree blocks on our Mt Battie “Bee Inspired” project, I’ll probably group these in lines and make them in seasonal colors.  This one would be “spring.”

The I’m thinking this will look like a MUCH BIGGER version of this little quilt I made in a Timna Tarr workshop.

5.

My Sunday Morning Quilt is done and getting its binding.  Cheryl Arkison is the designer, and it’s in the book she did with Amanda Jean Nyberg called SUNDAY MORNING QUILTS.  The thread color I ordered arrived.  My go-to grey just didn’t work well on the backing.  This quilt is the “cool” to the “warm” herringbone quilt I finished not long ago, designed by Victoria Findlay Wolf and in her delicious book MODERN QUILT MAGIC.  See previous blog posts for that quilt.  Both of these quilts are LUCIOUS!  And both are totally Cotton+Steel low volume fabrics.

 

6.  My “Wild and Goosey” quilt is once again on the back burner.  Bonnie Hunter designed the block.  I have all the sashing cut, and the design I want to do for it all planned.  I’m sure I’ll need more of the little blocks though.

7.

Right now I am working on the “parts department” improv quilt.  See the earlier post on this quilt project.

8.

There is the EPP “36-Ring Circus” project.  This one is slow as there is a big learning curve.  That’s ok.

9.  There are more pillows from a method shown by Anna Graham of Noodlehead projects (HANDMADE STYLE) in the works.  This project is one of two from Mt. Battie Modern Quilt Guild.

10 and 11.

There are TWO blocks to make as part of the Color Collective class.  The fabric for the first one is all washed and ready to go.

12.

Here are the FIRST blocks for the Mt Battie Modern Quilt Guild’s challenge “Bee Inspired.”  These blocks were made for Donna Strawser, whose prompt was “Mid-Coast Maine.”  You can see the individual blocks better on the Mt. Battie Facebook page or on Instagram.  Thirteen quilters each made one of these blocks for Donna, and she made one for herself, so 14 blocks.  Mine is the white winter birch trees at dawn.  Tori Manzi made the four trees at the bottom, by season.  They really need to be seen lined up together, a you can on FB or IG.  Donna will now set these blocks into a quilt and will bring it back to show us at some point.  I will need to make a block for our next Bee Inspired event in April:  “Dark and Light” for Vicki Fletcher.

I really, really loved this block I made and might do another version for one of the pillows:

13.  I am gathering bits for a Rice Bowl bag or two.  See earlier post, but the designer is kzstevens and the pattern is in her Etsy store.

14.  I want to make a little sewing folder like friend Megan Bruns showed me the other day.

So…

That list is not actually too bad.  In any case, I’m having so much fun, even though I’m not getting as much time as usual, due to the needs of my boyfriend, AC Slater, who will be 1 year next month.  He’s a crazy man and has me visiting the dog park daily, as the snow and ice are pretty risky on the wood paths.