Nine Blocks

I finished piecing Tuesday at 5pm and then tried to arrange them on the wall in some sort of logical order. But the finished block size should be 33" square and they are all larger than that, to allow for shrinkage when quilting, so this is merely a quick and dirty view.
As I look at them on the computer I can see that there are three yellow-y, two green, two lavender blue and two mixes. Unless I made every block the same it can't be expected that they would mesh in an orderly fashion. However I fully believe the finished quilt will look fabulous on the bed. I am basing this on something I saw from Anthropologie (I think) that was all sorts of multicolored scarves sewn together in a riot of color and pattern.
You can bet that I will be rearranging them multiple times after they are quilted to find just the right arrangement.
Even tho Dave definitely didn't want this to be his quilt, his room and bed are painted bright lime green so I think I will put this on his bed for pictures.

 
I made two more yellow-rich blocks and am even considering unsewing the big orange/yellow one and toning it down. I could, I might, we'll see.



I actually ran out of yellow prints. I know this never happens to you, but don't forget I am a newbie with prints. Our tornado destroyed quilt shop, Sew Be It, has rebuilt and is having a GRAND Re-OPENING on Saturday, so guess what I'll be buying?

3 to Go

I reconsidered the color scheme, eliminating the purple-blue and red blocks and went with lavender, lime-yellow and aqua. I am much happier with this softer combination, which is more bedroom-y. My 96" square board isn't going to be big enough!

What about our breakfast?

5 1/2 of 9

Merrily we sew along...

I find myself wondering if I am making more than one quilt here? When one thinks of decorating doesn't one think "I'd like a nice blue quilt or a nice yellow quilt" NOT "I'd like a great big quilt with huge blocks of contrasting colors that don't coordinate with anything else in the room". As I made the lime block and the aqua block, I thought how nice a quilt an analogus color scheme would make. So it may continue to become something I had not initially planned. This is so often true in my quiltmaking experience.

So from this point on, I will consider that I could have three quilts started here. A Red quilt that includes orange and pink and magenta, and a Blue-Purple quilt that includes darker blues, greens and violets. This may mean adding some prints to my small collection to add oomph to the scheme.
Surprisingly I have a bunch of lavender blue hand dyes and prints and this start will include many of those. I think this will look good with the aqua and lime blocks and then I may make a few blocks that reiterate all those combos. It doesn't bother me that my initial plan has gone astray. I am LOVING the process.
 


And in the kitchen it has suddenly become homemade breadmaking time. The mornings are so cool that turning on the oven is no biggie. Crunnnnnch!

And the basil continues to provide us with a reason to have a garden. Despite drought conditions this Mediterranean native is thriving and delicious pesto continues to be on the menu.
++++
On Saturday we had my b-i-l's birthday party to attend and I thought I might include a little gift for my sister. So I posted 6 of her quilts on my Flickr page and watched as the accolades rolled in. Just a little encouragement to get her thinking about dusting off her sewing machine.  See this Set.

Two of Nine

 
After another busy morning, I was able to get into the studio and get crackin'.
It turns out that all the delays and waffling about the design were 'meant to be'.
Initially I was making a new quilt for Dave's bed and when I told him, he suggested I shouldn't.
Wha?
With the dawgs sleeping with him half the time and their not very clean selves most of the time, (not to mention dawggie warfare) it seemed to Dave that the quilt would be ruined in a short time.
HE WAS RIGHT.
But but but, I wanted to test myself on a really big quilt. Go ahead, he said, and just offer it for sale.
OK. I am happy it turned out this way. My new plan is to make a big ninepatch layout with each of the blocks finishing at 33" square to make a 99x99" queen size quilt. The log cabin blocks will alternate warm colors with cool colors and will be centered or off centered, for variety. Lots of prints will be used, as well as solids and hand dyeds.
This somehow made the design so simple and yet full of pattern.
With my new set-up, I have my stack of like colors/prints in the particular colorway and I can sew them together and press them without getting up. It almost seems too easy. Just the way I like it!


 

Slow Start

My usual modus operandi is to enter the studio directly after blogging and get started. I can always get dressed later, but a nice momentum is begun when I don't get sidetracked with fluff like dishes or laundry which of course can always wait.
But the dogs really needed a bath, so I figured I would put off my own grooming knowing I would be sopping wet after they were washed. But first the dishes needed to be done and put away or risk having them pushed off the counter by unwilling furry bathers.The frisky wigglers made a sopping mess, and the kitchen floor got a good bath too which was followed by Dave washing most of the first floor. That led me to do the same upstairs, and then decide my mountain of laundry was next.
Delayed momentum.
It was after ten when I finally got into the studio and then made the decision that all the scraps in all the boxes had to be reorganized by color. The 'plan' which keeps changing is to do groups of color and include both solids and prints, so gathering them is necessary. And I have all those new solids to cut strips from and add to the mix. I am still about to return to that today.

Because Dave isn't driving, thank heaven, I can't send him off to take the trash to the dump, or run over to the store and pick up stuff, and then he needs me to pick up his meds down the mountain, and the dogs need flea preventer at the vet, so there are many more momentum interruptions than before. It's an adjustment I am willing to make. My schedule is developing a new normal.

....and of course I have changed my mind about what this quilt will be about 50 times, and now can't put my finger on what I had decided last night, with a great sense of finality that allowed me to sleep without further designing. It musta been something safe and boring, so today I'll begin again anew.

Design and Construction

It's time to tackle a larger quilt, a queen size. I keep saying how much easier this quilt as you go method is, and it needs to be experienced on a really big project. It was always having to quilt a huge piece that stopped me. Three of my finished queen quilts were hand quilted. By me. Imagine that.
I am thinking queen size because we have a queen size bed (lots of quilts already made for it too, but still...) and it would have a home when I make it.
The standard size for a queen is 80x100. Whew. But really that is only 20" bigger per side than the ones I have been recently doing, so I should stop being a wimp.
Instead of the usual design approach, I find myself thinking first of the construction of the thing. Here are a few of the ideas for constructing the quilt in sections.

I know they aren't exciting as schematics but each of the sections will be interesting fabric and will constitute a big design, I hope.
One of the things I have noticed in making the last three is that it need not be extra complicated piecing that makes the work sing, but bold color and lots of space for the fabric to do the visual work of the design. With the second schematic I am breaking up the work into 20" panels divided into three sections, which will be quilted separately and joined with narrow connector strips. In this way the straight line quilting can be varied from vertical to horizontal or if I am really brave, spiraling circles. Woowoo.
I keep remembering back when I started to make quilts (1981) when the focus was on difficult blocks with lots of points having to meet. Now with the Modern Quilt Movement I am seeing so many SBE designs (simple but elegant) and not only are they more approachable, but they are calmer and less focused on the "Look what I can do" aspect. I want this to be fun and relaxing, no stress please.

My order from Joann's arrived yesterday, and I was surprised at the pale almost neutral stuff I ordered besides the brights. There might have to be a SBE in soft tones in my future.
I am over the moon about the threads. So perfect and organized and easy to find. Hurray!

The Lady Loves Red

Some time ago I made a shawl and sent it off to this lady, Miss Lucy. Her caretaker, Joan, sent me this wonderful email which I thought you might like to see. I am so inspired to knit again!!! (after a day of quilting).


Dear Melody,
Ms. Lucy loved the shawl and wore it almost nonstop ever since I gave it
to her. It fit her perfectly and didn't slip off her shoulders. She even
slept with it on because of congestive heart problems, she slept
partially reclining in a recliner) and swore she was finally warm.  Of
course, she loved the fact that it was red red, red, her favorite color,
and it went with most all of her wardrobe.  Sadly, we lost her in March
at 102 and 2/3rds years of age.  She went the way she wanted to go, here
and fully functioning one minute (peeling an apple to eat for dessert)
and was gone with a heart attack the next minute).
One of her pictures from her nude modeling career (she started modeling
at 101 years of age) won 2nd place in an international competition and
is due to be displayed at an exhibition in Rio de Janeiro next month!
Thanks again for the gift of your talent and time in making this for
her. It brought her great pleasure.
Joan Pottinger
PS Because of all the snow we had this winter, she had cut back working out with her trainer at the gym to only one day a week, but she used the exercise equipment room at her residence daily..

Dreamsicle

Dreamsicle
Hand dyed and commercial cottons, machine pieced and machine quilted, 63.5x82"

My new setup made finishing this quilt so enjoyable. I made the drops (side panels), quilted, attached and bound it all,  finishing at 8pm. So happy! After looking at these photos I realized that I don't have the quilt centered on the bed...the design is centered but the one side is hanging longer than the other. Details!
I am crazy about this straight line quilting, which we at the bedspread factory called channel quilting. Whatever it's called, it certainly makes the quilt lie flat, and so neat.

First thing yesterday morning I took Dave out to breakfast and over to Walmart to get another gas can, which I call thinking ahead on his part. He needs to have gas ready for the rider mower and the ATV and a second can is a good plan. While I was there, I came upon this red iron and knew that it would be just the thing for the new arrangement. One of you darling readers asked me how I place the machine and ironing station for maximum efficiency. I replied that I was still trying to work that out, after all these years. I think the answer is two irons and now I know this is a good idea.

I dragged out my rarely used ironing board and set it up near my machine. I cut all the pieces that I intended to sew and brought them to the machine and as I seamed, I pressed. I did this seated and swiveling in my wheeled chair. Wow, what a revolutionary change.
My main iron (the same one only gray) is at the cutting/ironing/worktable. That's also where the rotary mat and cutter are located, so close to the table with all the fabric. I think pictures would explain this better.

The main worktable with adjacent fabric table and then the machine with ironing board. You'll notice I still haven't changed the hanging plastic shoe organizer next to my table above. Turns out it is doing the trick, keeping everything I need handy, yet out of the way, and best of all visible!

By the way, I took the advice of another fine reader (who???Can't remember, shame on me) and sewed the binding on the back and folded it forward, topstitching it down. So simple and just as lovely as any binding I have ever seen.

This picture also shows a joining strip and a tiny dawgie paw on the right edge of the pic. The backing fabric is vintage Jan Mullen. I bought a whole bolt at a moving sale for $5. Really.

A Series of Remarkable Events

Saturday morning I awoke to find that these sandals were mine, won on Ebay for $.99. Are you kidding me? No one else even bid on them. Could it be the color? Imagine them with hand knit socks. O you thought they were for summer wear, ha!
$5 shipping and still a bargain.

And then I had to wait until noon to see if I would win the auction for the stereo I wanted for my bedroom. I have this exact one for my studio tunes, and they aren't made anymore so when I saw this on Ebay, I really wanted it, and only it. I have a Creative Zen mp3 player and all the new stereos are fitted out for Ipods, so I needed one that would take an audio cable connector to make my player work, and this one does.
I was bidding against another person and I was sure he was going to snap it up at the last second, but he didn't out bid me and I still got it for half the original price. Yippee! Such a happy girl.
Then I hurried over to the Three Black Sheep Shoppe for their gala grand re-opening and for our knitalong, which was taking place amidst the wine and cheese and all the festivities. I filled out the door prize ticket and wouldn't you know it, I won a prize. A Free class, some Eucalan wool wash, and some special tape to help follow knitting patterns line by line. Woowoo! I augmented the prize with some yarn, I confess.

And then Sunday I grabbed Dave before he got involved in any other project and got him to my studio, promising that assembling my table would be fast and easy. Sorta.



O I CAN'T TELL YOU WHAT A HUGE DIFFERENCE THIS MAKES!!!!
I am sooooo happy that I have finally got a real machine-set in the table set up.
Funny that I had to wait until I was all retired to get myself one of these. A BIG DUH.
Several have asked about this table. I found it...ON EBAY of course. I did a search for Janome tables and found some that were kinda expensive and some that were pretty cheap and this one that was just right, Goldilocks. It is made for Janome's so the hole is cut perfectly for my machine.
Whenever I post pictures of my sewing set up I get lots of questions about the big table and the drawers underneath it. The table is very old, from a resale shop and the drawers are Alex from IKEA, and I love them.


It has a drawer! and my one semi-complaint was that the tray that holds the machine is attached with these big sharp threaded bolts, and I immediately scraped my bare leg on it, as I knew I would. So I wrapped it in batting and Bluetaped it so it is padded.
And THEN I realized that my chair was still at the too high height of the previous set up and I lowered it and of course now my leg isn't anywhere near that sharp bolt. Double Duh.
++++
The Continuing Saga....
The destroyed axle of the wrecked truck was removed and replaced with a new one and Mike, our hired man, drove it away.
Yes, AWAY.
 He and Dave made a deal. Mike had a Honda ATV, a death trap if ever there was one, and he traded it to Dave for the truck. Dave will use the four wheeler for carrying around logs and bags o'dirt and mulch etc. and of course for driving it up and down the mountain, but not on the road. If he kills himself, at least it will be at home.
We are also selling Dave's '04 Mercury Sable and a lady is coming to see it and I may pay her to take it I am praying she buys it.
I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

And now your Daily Dawgs