Full Circle: An Appliqué Challenge

I was finally able to take some pictures of my finished Quilty 365 quilt - aka Full Circle.  The quilt was the result of a challenge from Audrey of Quilty Folk to appliqué a circle every day for a year.  My circles wound up being sort of a fabric journal of the year, hence the calendar-like layout.  

Since the majority of the quilt was appliquéd in 2016, there are 366 circles, as that was a leap year.  As I did the stitching, I also kept a written journal of the rationale behind each fabric choice.  

Local long-arm quilter Cindy Braiwick really outdid herself with the quilting.  She came up with lots of special patterns for the circles, which really added a whole 'nother dimension to the quilt!

Not every circle has fancy quilting, leaving some circles to speak for themselves.

My son David suggested the name Full Circle.  

The finished quilt measures 76 inches by 90 inches.

Lots of memories in all those circles!

Au Revoir April!

Greetings from New Orleans/South Louisiana, where new cases of Covid-19 have slowed and hospitals are less overwhelmed.  Still, our governor has continued shelter at home orders for an additional two weeks.  I'm thankful for that, however painful for our economy, because I don't want to see a spike in new Covid-19 cases and subsequent deaths.  Our local hospital (where my husband works) was hit hard by the virus and is still struggling to keep up with the patient demand.

This time of year New Orleans would be in the middle of festival season, specifically our beloved Jazz and Heritage Festival - fifty years young this year.  Of course this year's Fest was cancelled, but in the spirit of resilience, local community radio station WWOZ has been broadcasting previously recorded Jazz Fest performances, so we can have a bit of escape from day-to-day reality.  Jazz Festing in Place follows the timetable of the real fest, broadcasting from 11 am to 7 pm from now through Sunday.  Tune in via WWOZ.org if you need a little musical escape!

As for quilting therapy, I seem to be taking comfort in wrapping up UFOs.

This Sawtooth Star and Uneven 9-Patch quilt has been kicking around the studio for several years.  At this point, the quilt was just shy of being queen-sized, and I kept looking for fabric to add as a final, un-pieced border.  Earlier this month it occurred to me I just needed to add some additional Sawtooth Star and Uneven 9-Patch blocks, and the quilt would be the size I wanted.

I cut twenty-four additional blocks and stitched them up.  Then I removed two of the borders and added an additional row and column to the body of the quilt.  I made a few additional Flying Geese blocks for the outer border, stitched everything back up and soon had a finished flimsy.  

I also finished hand-stitching all 350-something inches of binding on my Full Circle quilt...and made a label.  Full pictures of the quilt coming soon!

I need to stop digging around in the UFO bins.  I pulled out this stalled project and decided it would be a quick finish, if I would just focus on it!  Lots of the small four patches were already stitched, so it was a matter of cutting more of the larger squares to make double four-patch blocks.  These are all leftover fabrics from my Grandmother's Choice quilt - so should I call this Grandmother's Choice Leftovers?

I've also been trying to do some hand-quilting on this Schoolhouse quilt every day.  I enjoy hand quilting, but I really struggle with trying to improve my stitches.   Practice makes perfect!

Gardening and yard work have taken up lots of my shelter at home time, too.  These shots are from the containers at our camp (note: we shelter in place at our camp, just like at home and the camp is only an hour from New Orleans).  We already have lots of tomatoes that are close to being ripe.  I picked quite a few of the jalapeños in the picture above, and made pickled jalapeños with them last week.  Mint seems to almost grow wild at the camp, and we use it for Mint Juleps as well as Thai and Vietnamese dishes.

At home, we demolished our 30-something year-old in-ground swimming pool earlier this year.  Now we have an amazing patch of lovely green grass (lower left pic).  Dear Husband built the rolling planters in the top picture, and I filled them with Knock-Out Roses, Agapanthus, and Bird of Paradise.  The round terracotta pot is full of basil - we've already made our first batch of pesto! The hibiscus bloom is from plants along the back fence, and the remaining pictures are the newly re-done front yard landscaping - lots of daylilies!

And now to wrap up the month with good wishes for everyone.  I hope you all continue to stay safe and healthy and take comfort in your stitching!

TGFT! (Thank Goodness for Fabric Therapy)

Good morning and welcome to Week Three of "Sewcial Distancing" and Fabric Therapy.  For all the times I may have felt guilty about my pile of UFOs, or the size of my fabric stash - right now I'm grateful to have both.

Oh, and surprisingly grateful for social media, too.  Instagram has been a soothing escape from all the pandemic news/noise.  I have been trying to post there more frequently, mostly to let friends and family know I'm still doing OK (a.helman on Instagram).  My family also uses GroupMe, a group text messaging app, to stay in touch and check up on each other.  The governor of Florida has decreed travelers from Louisiana must be quarantined for at least two weeks, so I couldn't visit my family even if I needed to.

Do your UFOs speak to you?

This batch of swap blocks started calling my name early this week.  I came across the blocks as I was digging through the UFO bin, looking for a different project.  That night, as I was falling asleep, the blocks started making very insistent noises about getting assembled into a flimsy.  

What could I do?  Out came the blocks and soon they were arranged on the design wall and ready for assembly.  This might be one my oldest UFOs, as the blocks date back to 1998-1999.  The block exchange was between the members of the Treadle On mail list - Treadle On being a group for folks who collect and use vintage and antique (non-electric) sewing machines.  

The blocks actually cover two swaps; the first used reproduction-style fabrics, the second used novelty fabrics relating to the block maker's geographic location or other personal interests.  Not only is it a fun catalog of fabric prints from that time, but each block is also inscribed with the maker's name, location, and type of sewing machine.  The blocks are from all over the U.S., Canada, Australia, and Europe.  The oldest sewing machine dates to the mid-1880s!

I also have an appliqué block I plan to use as the quilt label.  This was my prototype block for a Sunbonnet Sue quilt put together by the Treadle On leader, "Captain" Dick Wightman.  I called the block "A Sewing Machine Named Desire", inspired by Treadle On members' constant hunt for that antique sewing machine that made their heart go pitter-pat.  My appliqué sewing machine is embellished with gold embroidery, including the name "Desire" and a crescent moon and stars (Crescent City being a nickname for New Orleans).

On other fronts, I made 350-something inches of bias binding and attached it to the Full Circle quilt.  I will try to stitch on this a little each morning - avoiding TV news and maybe binge-watching more Outlander.

Christmas prep department:  I put my AccuQuilt Go to work cutting Christmas trees and holly leaves.  I found a bargello table runner pattern online - Dec la Table - and since I had appropriate fabrics already in the stash, decided to give the pattern a try.  I've been wanting to make a bargello or Trip Around the World style table runner ever since I saw Diane D Knott's Mardi Gras table runner!

I didn't follow the exact instructions for the table runner, as the pattern in written to be done quilt-as-you-go style.  I just made the flimsy, then cut out some Accuquilt shapes instead of using the designs in the pattern.  I haven't fused the shapes in place yet.  Plus, I wanted to use metallic thread to outline all the appliqué shapes, but my metallic thread stash is not to be found (I think I pitched them all in a fit of cleaning; all of the threads were old, so probably not a great loss).  If anyone has any metallic thread recommendations, I'd love to hear them!

And now I've spent way too much time in front of my computer, so it's time to move.  I hope everyone is doing well, practicing good health routines, and not running low on toilet paper! 😃

May: 17ufosin2017

Time for another 17ufosin2017 report.  I missed last month's link-up, mostly because I posted my only progress for the month as a link to Audrey's Quilty 365 wrap-up post.  

I'm so glad I pushed myself to assemble all those Quilty 365 blocks into a top - otherwise I'd probably still have a basket full of blocks 5 years from now!  My son came up with the name "Full Circle".   I don't have a timetable for the quilting, but it will happen eventually.

Another of my 17 projects for 2017 was to simply add borders to a scrappy RWB quilt that has been in the making for a year or two.  

The photograph makes the border look very dark, but in person it's a great frame for all those red, white and blue fabrics.  At some point later this year, the top will get quilted and gifted.

Once the red, white and blue quilt was off the design wall, I started pinning up these Sawtooth Star and Uneven 9-Patch blocks.  I've had the blocks made for several years, so it was a priority for me to get them assembled into a top this year.  I still have a lot of stitching to do on this project, but 17ufosin 2017 will help keep me motivated!

Last, but not least, I finished hand-stitching the binding and label for one of my Austen Family Album quilts.  It was gifted to my sister just this past weekend.  I think she liked it!

That's all my progress to date.  It's been very satisfying to check off projects on my 17ufosin2017 list, although there are still some very large projects left to complete!  Meredithe has a linky party over at her blog, pomegranate and chintz, so do check out all the other ufo progress.

Quilty 365 Loves Full Circle

I really wanted to have a great outdoor picture of my Quilty 365 flimsy hanging from the railing of our deck in all its circular glory.  Unfortunately, for two weekends in a row the weather was uncooperative and I missed my chance for a full-length picture.  I guess now I'll wait until the flimsy is quilted and try for another beauty shot!

Undaunted, here's an indoor shot of my year's worth of circles.  There's not enough room in my studio to get a straight-on picture, hence my reliance on the deck railing.  The blocks are made up of 30 circles and the sashing is a gray cross-hatch fabric.  The final flimsy measures 77 inches by 90 inches.  I have no plans for quilting just yet, but all those circles definitely send subliminal messages about circular quilting!

Since the last time I blogged about the quilt, I added a final row with the last seven (I added one extra) circles.  

My son David suggested the name after he heard the story of our year-long quilting project and my written journal describing each fabric choice.  I used my computer and printer to get the letters to the size I wanted, then used freezer paper to cut the shapes.  A few dots of fabric glue held the letters in place while I hand appliquéd them.

I folded the quilt on itself so I could get a better shot of the bottom.  Every time I take this quilt out to work with it, I tend to get lost in the memories stitched into each circle.  It was an amazing and fun project and I'm tickled pink to have stuck with it for the entire year!  Sharing the project with a diverse group of people made it special too.  Seeing the breadth of interpretations each month was always inspiring!  Many thanks to Audrey for providing the spark and to all the stitchers who played along!

March: 17ufosin2017 Progress

My Quilting Muse must have taken a Caribbean vacation this month.  I have not had much motivation to work on any quilting projects, be they new or old.  I did make a little progress on my 17ufosin2017, so maybe seeing that progress laid out here will help inspire me!

My Quilty 365 circles are almost a flimsy.  I stitched all the 30 circle sets together with a narrow, light gray sashing.  I have 7 circles that didn't fit into the block scheme.  My plan is to add another row of sashing on the bottom, then a narrow row of the 7 circles and some words.  The gray sashing will get repeated on all the outer edges of the quilt.  I'm not sure if that will complete the flimsy - the quilt hasn't spoken yet.

I made the continuous bias binding for my Austen Family Album quilt and attached it.  However, I have yet to pick up a needle and start stitching the binding to the back of the quilt.  

March also found me stitching up another batch of string blocks for the Spring Clean quilt.  I now have 2 completed blocks - only 7 left to go!  I've been working on the string blocks on the weekends we go to our camp.  In the interest of speeding things up, I brought home all the strings so I could make blocks on weekday evenings after work - great therapy!  

Having the 17ufosin2017 challenge has helped with the quilting motivation, even if that doggone Muse went on vacation!

February: 17ufosin2017 Progress

First item to report:  A Finish!  

All I needed for this finish was to complete the hand stitching on the binding.  Completed that today while recuperating from the flu and watching Mardi Gras festivities on TV.

The quilt was an attempt to use up a large portion of my purple and gold fabric scraps.  I still have a lot of purple and gold fabric (scraps and yardage), but that's OK, purple and gold are the school colors for Louisiana State University and there will probably be other school quilts in my future.

The back of the quilt features a purple bandana print.  Now that it's finished, it will go to my youngest son.  He asked for the first LSU quilt when he was in college - even designed it - so it's only fitting he gets a quilt made from some of the scraps from his quilt.

Now it's on to binding the next quilt in the pile/on the 17ufosin2017 list!

Next up:  Another Finish!

I have had this Joanna Figueroa pattern for over a year, and the fabrics (not hers) longer than that.  I put this project high on my 2017 UFO list hoping I would get motivated to finally turn the fabrics into a tote bag.

I was able to finish the medium-sized Feed Sack in early February.  The result is as cute as I expected, but for the next bag I think I'll make a few changes.  The outer pocket is too small to hold much (see the top picture of my iPod peeping out of the pocket).  The pattern included directions for a matching (half-round) inner pocket, but I didn't make that.   The next bag will have a deeper outside pocket and one or two inside pockets as well.  I already have the fabrics cut for the large version of the bag, so maybe I'll have that to show next month.

OK, that's enough with the Finishes.  

I've been working on assembling my Quilty 365 blocks.  I grouped the blocks into sets of 30, so they resemble calendar pages.  The last seven blocks (I made a few more than 365) will get spread out across the "bottom" of the quilt.  

I can't fit all the sets of 30 on my design wall at one time - here are the other 6 sets.  I'd like to get this to the completed flimsy stage by the end of March - wish me luck!

I'm still finding Meredithe's challenge inspirational and I'm excited to see what progress the other participants have made!

Aqua Wishes

I managed to do some serious depleting of my aqua and teal colored scraps for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge this week.  I don't have a big collection of blue-green fabrics in my stash, despite several years of stash enhancement for the RSC.  That sounds a little backwards, but you gotta have stash in order to make scraps, right?

This week's scrappy block was Windblown Wishes from Diane Knott's Scrap Quilt Secrets.  These are fun blocks to make and I look forward to having a pile of rainbow-colored Wishes at the end of the year!

In other news, I have been assembling my Quilty 365 blocks more rapidly than I thought possible.  I started assembling on Monday evening and I'm halfway through already!

I decided to set them in chronological order in sets of 30 - kind of like a calendar page.  The RSC color of the month often influenced which fabric got chosen on any given day, although apparently not often enough you'd be able to guess that month's color by looking at my blocks!

My plan is for narrow, neutral sashing between the 30 block sets.  Right now I'm auditioning 2 different gray fabrics.  The one on the right is a Riley Blake Blender and it's a bit on the taupe-y side.  The gray on the left is a Grunge fabric from Moda and definitely reads as more of a true gray.  I'm leaning more toward the Riley Blake right now...

17 UFOs in 2017 Report

Is it already the end of January?  The month has been crazy and I'm glad I had plenty of quilty therapy to help keep me sane!  I've given attention to a good number of my 2017 UFO projects, but most don't have a great deal of visible progress, so I'll just pick a few to focus on.

My Bind-A-Thon has slowed a little this month.  This is quilt #5 of 5 that started the Bind-A-Thon back in late November.  I'm about to turn the corner and start hand stitching the 3rd side of this quilt.  When this one is finished, there are 4 additional quilts in need of binding by the end of 2017.

I need to get started on assembling the Quilty 365 blocks if I'm to have anything to show for Audrey's final linky party in May!  I originally thought I would set the blocks on point, but after doing some math, I realized I didn't want a quilt that large (over 100" x 100").  Back to the design wall.  I'll be thinking about this one for the next little while...

I did enough knitting on the Nae shawl to convince myself I need to purchase more yarn in order to finish.  Usually I over-purchase yarn for a project, but not this time.  Fortunately, the yarn and colorway are still available online, so getting more shouldn't be a problem.  I'll wait for the new yarn before I continue, so I can mix the two yarns and avoid an obvious demarcation between skeins.

 

Close to a finish here!  I've got all the parts and pieces done for the Fig Tree Feed Sack bag, just need to stitch everything together. 

Last, but not least - a completed flimsy.  This was kind of a cheat, because I only needed to add the final border.  Adding this top to the UFO project inspired me to "get 'er done!"  The Maverick Stars were a Rainbow Scrap Challenge project.  I was inspired by Julie Sefton's "Just Wing It" quilt to use some string pieced alternate blocks.  And the selvage Square in a Square blocks were inspired by Diane Knott's book, Scrap Quilt Secrets.  After all that piecing, the quilt was a little short on size, so I looked for some great fabric to add a final border.  The picture doesn't do it justice - it's a gorgeous magenta batik!  This one isn't high on the priority list for quilting, so I'm calling it finished for now.

That wraps up my January 17 UFOs in 2017 progress report.  I'm glad I joined the project - it's really motivating me to stay focused on finishing! 

Quilty 365 Loves Halloween

 

October's Quilty 365 circles had a lot of Halloween influence!  Here they are, laid out to mimic October's calendar page.  I started making circles for Audrey's project last November, and as of October 31, I've completed 362 circles.  I thought I might sneak my last few circles into October's post, but decided to wait and officially finish in November.  Maybe I'll even have time to do some block layout before it's time to post November's results!

As always, I tried to have my daily circle reflect something that was going on in my life - even if it was only a weather update.  Since my memory ain't what it used to be, I've been writing snippets about each day in a journal, as well.

 

The weather this October has been unseasonably warm.  There have even been some record-setting temperatures during the past 4 weeks.  I'm ready for boots and sweaters, not more sandals and t-shirts!

 

There were lots of events to commemorate this month, too.  Birthdays, vacations, homecoming football games, Important Baseball Games and even a quilting trunk show and workshop.  Sadly, the entire state of Louisiana mourned the loss of the beloved LSU football mascot, Mike (VI) the Tiger.

 

And where would October be without Halloween?  It has always been my favorite holiday!  I love collecting Halloween-themed fabrics - maybe one of these days I'll actually make a Halloween quilt with them. 

I'm linking up with Audrey's Quilty 365 post for October.  I haven't checked it out myself yet, so I'm looking forward to seeing lots of fun circles!