Catching Up with Cassandra

 I've been following along with Barbara Brackman's latest appliqué BOM - Cassandra's Circle.  

I've enjoyed the accompanying Civil War history stories about Mary Chestnut (the Cassandra of the BOM title) and her circle of friends.

More importantly, I've enjoyed the appliqué challenges: learning different appliqué techniques, and improving my understanding of color and fabric choices for appliqué.

I finished block 8 yesterday (Cotton Boll), just in time for block 9 (Lost Love), published today.  I used freezer paper and starch to prep the appliqué pieces.  The pieces were stitched in place using machine appliqué - in this case, a very narrow zig-zag stitch and monofilament thread.

Since the design wall was empty, I did a quick arrangement of all the completed blocks.  Not a great photo, but it does remind me I need to use some more blue fabrics.  That's a perfect starting point for the Lost Love block!

Scrappy Catch-Up and Finish

 I've done a little work on Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks this month.

Our challenge color was red, and I made four red, scrappy 25-patch stars earlier in the month.

Since I didn't start the 25-patch stars (yes, I'm using a throw-back name) until mid-year, I've been working backwards through previous RSC colors.  My green scraps were a little limited, but I still have lots of time to balance out colors if needed.

I also dug up some additional red scraps to make some Easy Breezy Leader-Ender blocks.  These are fun scrap-buster blocks; I need to cut some more parts to replenish my leader-ender stash.

I was finally able to photograph a finished quilt that started as an RSC project.

According to my notes, I started this quilt in 2014, but I apparently didn't blog about it until 2017.  This represents just about every blue fabric (excluding reproduction fabrics) that has made its way through my stash in the past six years!

The quilt is destined for the bed in my guest room; it measures 88 inches by 93 inches.  I didn't follow a specific pattern, just made Variable/Sawtooth Star blocks and Uneven Nine-patch blocks until the quilt was the size I wanted.  The Flying Geese border added a few extra inches and a finishing touch.

Long-arm quilting by Diane D. Knott of Butterfly Threads Quilting.  I love how the double clamshell pattern worked out!

Some of you know I love the combination of blue and white.  Whether it's quilts, transferware china, or KLM houses (thanks, Barb!), I seem to gravitate to all things blue and white.  I figured this quilt was as much a collection of blue and white as anything else I collect, hence the quilt name.

Finishing this quilt was a great sunshine-y spot during the past crazy months!

Red Scraps and Schoolhouses

 Although the calendar says "September", the heat and humidity still feel like August!  We're under heat advisories for the long Labor Day weekend, so quilting is a good excuse to stay indoors - in the air conditioning!

The new month also means a new color for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  Red scraps are the focus this month, and I've already been busy cutting and piecing them.

I'm making 25-patch star blocks as an RSC project - trying to use prints instead of tonal or blender type fabrics.  I had to dig around a little to find just the right scraps.

Coincidentally, I finished up a red and white quilting project that started during last year's red RSC month.

The Schoolhouse quilt was finished in June, but I procrastinated on making a label for it.  I finally added the label last week and I'll be sending the quilt off to its new home when the holiday weekend is over.

I've made several quilts for my sister, and she always laments not having any large blank walls in her home where she can hang the quilts.  I keep telling her to just use the quilts, not hang them, but she insists they are "too pretty" to use.  (sound familiar?)

I figured if I made a wall-hanging size quilt for her, she could find a spot to hang it on the wall.  I even added a hanging sleeve! 

I had fun figuring out how to hand quilt the blocks, sashing, and borders.

 She'll be retiring next year after a career in education, so I thought the Schoolhouse pattern was appropriate!

I hope everyone has a safe relaxing weekend!

August Wrap-Up

It feels like August has been the month of scattered sewing efforts.  Plenty of projects worked on, but few completed.  Distractions aplenty - in life and in the sewing room.  I'm hopeful September will allow for more focus, and maybe fewer distractions!  Hahahaha!

One project I've spent numerous hours with this month the blue and white Variable Star/Uneven Nine-patch quilt.  

The quilt finished up at a generous 88 inches x 93 inches, so hand-stitching the binding has been a PROJECT.  Happily, there's only about 40 inches of binding left to stitch!  I will get some glamour shots of the quilt when it's complete.

Another hand-stitching project that's gotten attention this month is Flamingo Hexies.  I took stock of what blocks/fabrics/colors were already made, and made a plan for wrapping up the quilt.  I cut and prepped lots of new blocks, so I'll have them ready and waiting to be stitched.

I got distracted by a mini charm pack that I received as a gift earlier in the month (Le Pavot by Sandy Gervais).  I had seen this table runner pattern on Nell's blog several years ago, and thought it would be a perfect use for the charm pack fabrics.  

I used some Moda Grunge (Vanilla) I had in my stash, and cut 2 inch strips for the setting, which is based on Bonnie Hunter's Dancing Nines quilt pattern.

I was ready to layer the finished top using batting scraps and backing fabric from the stash, but I didn't have enough batting scraps to do the job.  This is on hold until I can get some appropriate batting.  Did you know some batting manufacturers make table runner sized batts?  I believe I will be giving that a try!

Don't you have a stash of worn-out denim jeans just waiting to be recycled into something new and useful?  I decided it was time to attack my stash and start a utility quilt for one of the beds at our camp.  I'm keeping it simple with Rail Fence blocks.  This will be a long-term project, something I work on when we're at the camp.  I haven't decided if it will be quilted or tied. 

I procrastinated on the August block for Barbara Brackman's Cassandra's Circle BOM.  The appliqué prep work is almost finished and I will wrap things up by stitching all the pieces by machine.  It's been awhile since I've done any machine appliqué, so it will be good to put that skill to use.

Another distraction:  my local quilt store posted a picture of this new fabric on Instagram, and I knew I needed to have some!  I have no plans for it right now, but it will join the other Hawaiian-style fabrics in my stash.

And now I'll wrap this up with good wishes to everyone for a safe, healthy, and stitch-ful September!

Scraps and Hurricanes

 

OK, I've weathered a lifetime of hurricanes, but I've never seen TWO storms in the Gulf of Mexico at the same time!  

As my friend Karen (@kareylou on IG) said: "Who had double hurricanes on their 2020 bingo card?!"

We are making the usual preparations, but the storm situation is very fluid.  I don't think we will have an accurate forecast for the storm tracks until Sunday evening or Monday morning.  The waiting is the hardest part!

In the meantime, fabric therapy helps.

The Rainbow Scrap Challenge color for August is purple, so I found some purple prints and stitched up some 25 Patch Stars.

From a distance, this print looks more like pea soup, but it's definitely got some purple!

Since I didn't start the 25 Patch Stars until the middle of the year, I decided to work backwards and pick up some of the previous RSC colors.  

I also pulled out an RSC project from 2019 - Ring of Stars.  When I finished all the rainbow scrappy blocks, I wasn't sure if I should add the border as given in the pattern, so I put the flimsy away to marinate.  

I brought out the quilt top this week and after laying it out on my bed, decided the border was definitely needed.

The border is made of partial block sections.  I finished up the sections yesterday morning; now I just need cornerstones for the four corners of the quilt.  Solid fabric squares would work, but maybe mini stars would look good, too.  More fabric therapy!

Dawg Daze of Summer, Chapter 2020

This is the time of year I'm usually the headmistress of what I lovingly call Doggie Day Care.  

My two sons rely on me to help them care for their dogs in August, while they are traveling for work and/or recreation.  In addition to their dogs, we had two dogs of our own, so there were frequently four large dogs at my house for several weeks.

This year, there is only one dog - McKenzie, our lab/golden mix.  Covid-19 restrictions kept my sons' dogs at home with them, and my older dog, Bailey, died last December.  It's been a quiet month so far, but McKenzie does love having all the undivided attention!

After putting the final stitches in my Grandmother's Choice quilt, I found myself (temporarily) without a hand-stitching project.

Out came the flamingo hexagons!  I've been using Barb Vedder's Hex Vex pattern to make flamingo-themed hexies for a couple of years now.  I'm getting close to having enough hexies for a wall hanging, so maybe this is the year this project will get finished.

I had a half-dozen blocks already prepped for stitching, so I finished those up and cut some additional blocks.  The fun thing about making these blocks is the more you play with the fabrics, the more ideas you get for fussy-cutting and fabric placement.

Another quilt project came out to play this week:  the "Lego" quilt.  This has been an on-going project for several years - a way to use up lots and lots of 1.5 inch scraps.

I needed four more blocks to be able to construct a 7 x 7 quilt.  I already had enough strips pieced for the blocks, I just needed to assemble the strips into blocks.

Then assemble the blocks into rows, and the rows into a quilt top.  I posted a picture of my progress on Instagram, and my sister said, "That's a lot of sewing!"

The flimsy measures about 70 inches by 70 inches at this point.  One more row would make the quilt a rectangle instead of a square, but I don't have it in me right now to make seven more blocks.   Maybe I'll feel differently at some point in the future.

At the beginning of the month, I changed out the quilts on display in my house.  It's difficult to get good photographs, as the interior of my house doesn't have a lot of natural light, but I did want to show of my newest quilt hanger, built by my Dear Hubby.

This quilt is a sentimental favorite, with friendship blocks from members of my Florida quilt guild.   The blocks date to 1997, but the quilt wasn't finished until 2006.  It was the subject of my first blog post!

  

Finely Finished: Grandmother's Choice

As July wound to a close, I put the finishing stitches in a quilt that has taken eight years to reach completed status.  On the other hand, the subject of the quilt - women's suffrage - took an equally long time to come to fruition in the United States!

Grandmother's Choice was a block of the week project created by Barbara Brackman to recognize the years-long struggle for women to win the right to vote.  The BOW started well before the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment (June 4th, 1919) to illustrate the time and effort involved in passing that simple amendment:  

The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.
Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Most of the fabrics used in my blocks were from a collection called "Alice's Washday Blues" by Blue Hill Fabrics.  I wound up adding lots of other fabrics, but Alice was my inspiration.

I wasn't gung-ho on sampler quilts when I started the BOW, but I learned to appreciate the fun of making just one block of a particular pattern.

I finely (finally) finished the quilt by using simple sashing and two borders - narrow and wide.  

The long-arm quilting was done by Diane Knott of Butterfly Threads Quilting.

Finished size:  84 inches by 84 inches.

The label features one of my favorite prints from Alice's Washday Blues.  

The label also includes the date the 19th Amendment was ratified by enough states to become law:  

18 August 1920.  I guess I finished my quilt just in time!

As you may recall from civics class, Constitutional amendments require approval by 2/3 of the states in order to become law.  In 1920, Tennessee was the approving state that put the 19th Amendment over the threshold.  Interestingly, my state, Louisiana, rejected the amendment in 1920 and did not (belatedly) pass it until 1970!  If you're curious about when your state approved the 19th amendment, you can find out at this National Park Service website.

Scrap-Busting Block Bonanza, Round Two

I managed to stay focused on using up blue scraps for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge again this week - and there now seems to be a little wiggle room in the storage drawer for blue fabric chunks and yardage.  

Most of my stitching time was spent on putting together blocks for the Irish Chain quilt I started last week.  I started stitching the blocks into rows, but only made it through three rows before I was distracted by something else.  The rows stitch up easily, so it shouldn't take much longer to turn this into a flimsy.

As I was working on the chain blocks, I used some other bits to put together a few of Bonnie Hunter's latest leader-ender challenge blocks.

I'm still in block experimentation mode.  I wanted to try this variation on our old friend the Variable Star block.  I found a nice-sized chunk of this dark blue fabric with silver metallic sparkles, which made a good practice fabric.  This version finishes at 12 inches, but it would be easy to increase the size to 16 or 20 inches - which would be perfect for a pillow!

Another version of the Variable Star block involves flipping the fabrics for a negative image.  I think this would be much more interesting with some variety in the background (in this case, white) fabric, but I was being lazy and just grabbing fabric that was already out.  These blocks measure 6 inches, and again, could go together in different multiples to make pillow covers.  Yup, I'm still thinking about Christmas gifts!

So much for working with blue scraps this month.  Next week will be a new RSC color and new inspiration will surely follow.  More Rainbow Scrap inspiration can be found at the weekly link-up!

Scrap-Busting Block Bonanza

I've been digging through the blue chunks, strips and scraps this month to fulfill the Rainbow Scrap Challenge for July: dark blue.  

I have an abundance of blue fabrics of all types and sizes; revisiting them this month was enough to create a desire to do some serious scrap-busting.  I've played with several block patterns, looking for good candidates to use up lots of scrappy chunks and bits.  I haven't completely decided on a plan of action (I find it hard to stay focused on anything for long these days), but I've had fun playing!

One block I played with is called Wishing Ring in my resource book (501 Rotary-Cut Quilt Blocks by Judy Hopkins).  I started with the large size, trying to use up bigger scraps of fabric; it finishes at 10 inches.  Maybe it was the fabric choice, but I didn't love the 10 inch block, so I tried the smaller size (finishes at 7.5 inches).  I'm putting this idea on the back burner for now, but will probably return to it at some point.

I started making these blocks as a prototype for a much larger version of the block I was mentally visualizing.  I pulled some 2 inch strips to cut for the HSTs and 1.5 inch strips for the center parts.  After making a couple of these, it occurred to me they looked like a Bonnie Hunter pattern.  Turns out I was making Little Monkey blocks.  

I may keep making these as an RSC project, but I really want to try making a larger version, maybe something in the 10 - 12 inch finished size.

Speaking of Bonnie Hunter, I also made a few Carolina Chain blocks with dark blue scraps.  This block has been a leader-ender project for me for the past year or so.  I have more than enough blocks to make a quilt, but I don't have a complete set of rainbow colors yet, so I'll keep making these a little longer.

Now here I may have found something that will keep me occupied for a little while!  I found a big chunk of scrap fabric with blue and white seaside scenes.  They're the perfect size for the center of an Irish Chain alternate block.  There's enough fabric to fussy-cut 20 or more of the vignettes, and I have some other fabrics I can use to fake it if I need to.  The Irish Chain blocks go together quickly using strip piecing, and I have lots of light and dark fabric combinations to use up.  This could be the Project of the Week!

For more scrappy quilt inspiration, check out the Rainbow Scrap Challenge weekly link-up.

An RSC Finish and Quilt Nostalgia Comfort

Yay for quilt finishes and sunny days and doggos!

This was a Rainbow Scrap Challenge project I started in January, 2018.  My goal was to use reproduction fabrics to make these quarter log cabin blocks, although they were inspired by a quilt from Modern Log Cabin Quilting.  My final version measures 84 inches x 84 inches.

It was fun picking out repro fabrics to meet the monthly RSC color challenge.

Diane Knott did the long-arm quilting for me.  I hand-stitched the binding in air-conditioned comfort while binge-watching an old, favorite TV show.  Thank goodness we have modern conveniences to make our quilting easier! 😃

I'm sending the quilt off to my former neighbor and all-round good friend, who has moved to Texas to be nearer her family.  We had a lot of adventures together, and I miss having a "partner in crime"!

And speaking of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge....

I haven't been doing much to bust my scraps lately.  I decided I wanted to tackle some of the print fabric scraps that don't seem to make it into my RSC quilts.

For some reason, I was inspired to look back at some of my early quilts, and consult several of my early quilt resource books.  After much consideration, I decided to go for this block (again). 

The block has many names, but the first time I used it in a quilt, I was following a design called 25 Patch Star from Lap Quilting with Georgia Bonesteel.  Her books have always been a great resource for traditional quilt blocks, and even included full size templates for the block components - you know, back in the day before we cut our fabrics with rulers and rotary cutters and stitched them with sewing machines!

I decided I liked the comforting idea of revisiting this quilt block and promptly used my rulers (especially the Easy Angle ruler for the HST blocks) and rotary cutter to prep some scrappy strips.

The RSC color for July is dark blue.  No problem finding plenty of scraps to fill the bill.  I still have a couple more blocks cut, but not sewn.  I'm having so much fun, I may have to work backwards and fill in the previous month's RSC colors.  

Are you feeling the need to make nostalgic or comforting quilts during this crazy time?

Linking up with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge weekly scrap party.