Coming Clean

You can edit a bad book but not a blank page.

Quilting

Things have been off around here since the end of August. Whenever one issue ends, another begins. So DH was sick, then gave it to me. Then he caught another infection, then I did. Mine led to vertigo which meant I couldn’t read or even sew much. 

Fortunately I’d almost finished the SING quilt. It just needed binding and a gentle wash. This is where the saying at the top of this post fits because I forgot to put color catchers in the wash and it bled. The black and white binding became black and pink. It took many repeated rinses with oxygen bleach, Shout, and detergent to get it out. And I couldn’t stand up long much of that time - just long enough to get it out of the machine, check the stains, and reapply products. 

Now that I’m better there are other quilts with issues. For example, Strippy Nine-Patch from 2019 had the same problem only worse. The solid red backing bled all over the light pink and white floral turning it dark pink. Oddly, none of the red set on the Kona Snow. It was so disheartening I washed the quilt once and put it away because our place in California had no room to lay out a quilt for drying. It ended up on the kitchen floor, sort of scrunched. 

This time I washed it with four color catchers which came out bright red. Repeated with another four. Then moved to the tub and soaked with oxygen bleach and even more color catchers. I put it in every afternoon, swished it occasionally, then let it soak overnight.

It’s not perfect but much better. The color catchers are only the lightest pink at this point. Hopefully a few more tub soaks will lighten the floral where some of the white shows again.

Shadow Star didn’t bleed but the binding shredded in the final wash. That happened once before when some black fabric completely washed away. This time, the binding shredded very neatly along the stripe. I cried and set it aside because of all the work removing the binding, straightening the edge, prepping new binding fabric, and sewing it on.  My guild has a show next year so this was the time to fix that. So now there’s a similar light blue binding. 

I’m still adding a sleeve and a label. I quit using labels years ago and simply sew my name in cursive on the finished quilt. 

Enjoy the day, Ann

SING Quilt

The sun will rise and set regardless. What we choose to do with the light while it's here is up to us.

~Alexandra Elle

Quilting

Tucked in a bag of scraps are several Coin sets in a variety of colors. I actually remember making these a couple of years ago. Now’s the time to use them in some smaller quilts. First up are the red and white leftovers from the Arkansas series and someone I know could use this.

SING quilt

The red and white look festive; the black and white binding reminds me of piano keys. Once I remembered it was in my stash, the choices below just couldn’t cut the mustard. The red and white stripe looks pink at a distance and the red blends into the background. 

The back is a lovely floral widened with {almost} the last of the red Coins.

Back of SING quilt

It’s almost ready to show to my friend. We’ll see what he thinks. 

Quilt Specifics

Size: 45” x 45”

Design: Coin or String quilt

Batting: Mountain Mist Cream Rose Cotton 

Thread: white Superior Masterpiece cotton

Quilting: spiral with walking foot

Approximate yardage: 5.5 yds

Reading

 After reading a review of Impossible Creatures I pre-ordered the book for my oldest grandchildren and another for myself.  Written for middle schoolers up, it’s a delightful read for adults, too. I’m already anticipating the sequel.

 

While visiting his grandfather Christopher discovers he guards the portal between earth and the Archipelago, the place where all magical creatures live as well as the source of Glimourie. Christopher joins forces with Mal, a girl from the Archipelago, in a desperate race to save them - and earth - from extinction. 

Enjoy the day, Ann

Another Racetrack Quilt

I don't want free healthcare; I want my taxes to pay for it, not war. 

I don't want money for nothing; I want a job that pays for my basic needs. 

I don't want a free place to live; I want affordable housing that costs no more than 30% of my income. 

I don't want corporations to be unprofitable; I want them out of the political election, regulatory, and policy-making processes. 

I don't expect elections to deliver the results I want; I want my vote to count. 

I don't want the wealthy to pay for everything; iI want them to pay for their fair share.

~Drew Jacoby

 

Quilting

My second grandson celebrates a birthday soon. Although he's crazy about trucks and cars, I've never made him a racetrack quilt like his older cousin. He's just the age to enjoy it. I've been collecting conversation fabric for a while and my sister sent more. Enough to make a top. 

Mostly the quilt is made of traditional Snake in the Grass blocks which have quarter-circle tracks on opposite sides. I add a few Plus and three-way intersection blocks to provide a variety of paths across the quilt. Last time I randomly sewed the units into blocks and then put them together. This time I laid many of the units out in an attempt to get a more complex roadway.

When most of the pieces were arranged, I didn't like the color placements. Much rearrangement followed. 

I'll spare you the many, many attempts but here's one. 

Eventually, it was better. I sewed it together. Glancing over while walking down the stairs, I saw a problem. See the closed circuit?

Unsewing and resewing followed. Next I stitched in the ditch along each side of the roadway then stipple quilted the ground.

Since I wanted a slightly larger quilt, I increased the length of the outer blocks this time because a separate border didn't seem like a solution. In hindsight, this may not be much better although it gives children a place to sit while moving their vehicles.

The back is this darling roadster print by Alexander Henry. 

Quilt Specifics

Size: 53" x 53"

Design: Drunkard's Path or Snake block

Batting: Warm and Natural

Thread: Superior white and yellow cotton

Quilting: Stitch-in-the-ditch and stipple

Approximate yardage: 5.25 yards

Reading

Sue Black has written an informative book about forensic anthropology and how she identifies bones. She pulls cases from her long career with legal and  educational institutions. Like the best professionals, she makes details intelligible to the general public. 

Enjoy the day, Ann

Crossroad Blocks into a Baby Quilt

The hardest job kids face today is learning good manners without seeing any.

~Fred Astaire

Quilting

Yet another set of crossroads blocks. They've made several borders for me... like my Bramble Blooms 1 and The Square Deal {which I kept for myself}. The collection of 25 became the center of a baby quilt.

Crossroad quilt blocks

The green fabric has seven lengthwise repeats separated by a wavy brown line. It's visible on some of the borders below. They gave me the idea of adding a dark inner border. It was too severe but adding a third border in light green helped. However, the four blue cornerstone blocks do not. Out they went. 

Next the spiral quilting commenced. Now that I have the technique mastered, it's my go-to for baby quilts. I happily cross any and all patterns. Echo quilting shows well on prints while the prints themselves still hide quilting imperfections. There are few starts and stops - only when the bobbin thread runs out. I always bury threads so prefer to have a minimum of them to contend with.

Without interruptions the quilting is finished in two days. If something comes up, it can take much longer though. 

This simple quilt has three outer borders: a very pale green, a black with multicolored dots, and a wide flower garden on chartreuse. The dark border looks irregular but that's the remnant of the wavy line in the border print. I hadn't mitered corners in a while. There's no attempt to "match" the design but I find mitering and inset seams easy to do although the sewing is a bit different. Here it's a better solution than sewing the border like courthouse steps. 

Crossroads baby quilt with flower garden border

The binding is a diagonally printed red and white stripe also used on Bramble Blooms #1. 

The back used up most of three leftover fabrics. {Do I ever really use all of any fabric? Even when I think so, there are frequently small bits and strings in my scrap bag. They are a joyful find since they recall previous quilts and the lovely people they were given to.} 

Notice how the spiral quilting shows well on the lighter blue but disappears on the other prints.  

Quilt Specifics

Size: 44" x 44"

Design: Crossroads blocks with border print

Batting: Mountain Mist Blue Ribbon Cotton

Thread: Superior green cotton

Quilting: walking foot spiral

Approximate yardage: 3-4 yards

Reading

Tiya Miles' book, Night Flyer: Harriet Tubman and the Faith Dreams of a Free People is an engaging read. Most of us know the basics of Harriet's story but Tiya uses her skills as a historian to show her faith, her deep understanding of the natural world she lived in, and her relationship with other enslaved women whose memoirs and speeches encompass some of Harriet's. Tiya's work shows us how to excavate the lives of people who left few written and legal records - the circumstance of many people throughout history. 

Enjoy the day, Ann

The Last Wonky Stars

You never know who is right but you always know who is in charge.

Quilting

I've been helping my kids so this post is late. Here's the final wonky stars with two larger slab-center stars. There aren't very many but this layout might work with two simple borders. It's just not too exciting at the moment. 

There was just enough dark red to make the inner border a funny width { I think it was 1 7/8".} Then I pulled a white print to fill out the star border and cut it to fit. The outer border was a bit more problematical but a black and brown batik seems to echo the inner border and relate the more beige/yellow star backgrounds with the more white/brown/grey outer border. What an improvement to the "ugly duckling" start.

Wonky Stars Medallion baby quilt

That print of birds in winter was a gift from my sister and reminds us both of our grandparents. They had a bird feeder that attracted loads of cardinals. What fun to watch them.

A diagonally printed stripe for the back with spiral quilting again and this baby quilt is also done and gifted. 

Quilt Specifics

Size: 40" x 40"

Design: Slab-Center and Wonky Stars

Batting: Mountain Mist Cotton

Thread: Superior white cotton thread

Quilting: walking foot spiral

Approximate yardage: 3.5 yds

Enjoy the day, Ann

Bramble Blooms II QAL

Habitually creative people are prepared to be lucky.

~E.B. White

Quilting

Remember all those months ago when we divided our fabric into three stacks? It's been a while since I looked at the others and I couldn't quite recall everything in them. Last time I was inspired by the white fabric with pastel circles on it. This time I'm driven to use this little bird print remnant from our darling sister who passed away almost a decada ago.  

There is so little that centering the design in each block isn't possible. Also, the shortest length is 5.25" so that will be the size of the squares.  I managed to cut seven squares and one is a bit funky. 

Audrey used X blocks for her center but there are loads of those on my outer border. I skipped four patches so that seems a better place for me to start. There's a shoebox of squares that have been aging on the shelf. I mixed some of those with some stash. Despite wanting to make 4 or 16-patches, these will have to be nine-patches. But there's no reason to make them match. Here they are set as "semi" four-patches.  And it's not working. 

Thinking it needed cooler colors, I tried again with blue and green squares but didn't like it much better. 

Finally, the penny dropped. It needed the darker colors to be O's instead of X's. I added an outer round with cream alternate blocks. 

Success. And fun. Of course, there's now a bunch of orange squares in that shoebox. Somehow it never empties. 

Reading

In Tokyo, an enigmatic librarian researches just the right books to resolve the problems of each patron. Plus she gifts each person with an hand-felted ornament that relates to their issues. Charming story and another look at modern Japanese society.

Enjoy the day, Ann

Those Leftover Stars

Oh, for a book and a shady nook, either indoor or out.

~John Wilson

Quilting

We lost power during Hurricane Beryl for five days. After trying to keep some food in an igloo and on the counter, eventually I dumped it all. We still have canned goods and a few restaurants are open near us. We had water the whole time which helped a lot. Although I knew we’d lost power {and therefore air conditioning} I kept trying to turn on the fans. So silly.

Remember those leftover stars used in the corners of BB1? Now that they are resurrected from the depths of the closet, I wanted to use them up rather than reinterring them. I can't remember exactly why I made them but they were supposed to have wonky points. They still look good to me. 

Anyway, this baby quilt is pretty straightforward. The yellow centered stars are grouped in the center. Scattering them was another option. Didn't work as well and I forgot to take a photo. The posts are a lovely red print with large yellow flowers. Cutting a large scale print so small makes random color movement across the quilt. 

Now it needs a border. Digging through the stash brought up these possibilities. Neither works although the yellow print made the backing and binding. The light colored binding looks better than expected. I usually go with a dark binding as a final frame for the quilt. I'll have to try it again. 

 

So brown sashing and the red plaid border were purchased at the last store closing specifically for this quilt. {Oh, joy! Reducing the stash is finally working.} Of course, now I have leftover fabric from both of these new purchases. 

Red and Yellow Wonky Stars baby quilt

I thought briefly about fancier quilting but went with the spiral. The echo quilting aspect shows well on busy patterns. It's also easier on my arms. 

The quilt is already gifted. And there's still a few more stars left. Let's see what they turn into. 

Quilt Specifics

Size: 41" x 41"

Design: Wonky Stars

Batting: Mountain Mist Cotton

Thread: Superior white cotton thread

Quilting: walking foot spiral

Approximate yardage: 3.75 yds

Reading

During this slow, hot summer I've been rereading a variety of books on my shelves. Helen MacInnes {adult spy novels} for one. The other is a teen/young adult series by Suzanne Collins that starts with Gregor the Overlander. She wrote this before The Hunger Games. It's such a favorite I've given copies to my oldest grandchild, too. When Gregor's baby sister falls through a grate in the laundry room he follows her into an entirely unknown world with inhabited by giant cockroaches, bats, spiders, and rats who are about to go to war.

Enjoy the day, Ann

Jane Sassaman Workshop Projects Finished

I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he would spend less time proving he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority.

~E.B. White

Quilting

Jane Sassaman is a fabulous teacher. While I would have preferred to take a week of classes from her, even one day was great. She shared details of every step to complete a quilt in her style from design to construction to quilting. This was the sample I made in class. As Jane told all of us, enjoy the process; this is not an award-winning quilt. That freed me up to absorb as much of her technique as possible. 

Quilt Specifics

Size: 18" x 30"

Design: Mirror Image Applique, Jane Sassaman workshop

Batting: Mountain Mist Cotton

Thread: Superior cotton 12-wt and topstitching threads in various colors

Quilting: Walking foot

Approximate yardage: about 3 yds

When I returned home, there were so many leftovers - each already prepped with interfacing - that I decided to make something to use them up.  The peach background was the one fabric I too to class but didn't cut. That became the background by default. I gave the bright yellow to classmates; it turned out to be a good color to add pop. And I lost most of the light green. I guess I dropped it on the way out. 

There were some big chunks of purple and black but the greens were already long, narrow cuts. 

Quilt Specifics

Size: 18" x 18"

Design: Applique, original design

Batting: Mountain Mist Cotton

Thread: Superior cotton 12-wt and topstitching threads in various colors

Quilting: Walking foot

Approximate yardage: about 2 yds

My zinnias are flowering profusely and the butterflies are frequent visitors. A giant swallowtail comes by for every meal currently.  

Enjoy the day, Ann

Bramble Blooms 1 Quilted

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.

~William Arthur Ward

Quilting

How grateful I am to Audrey for hosting the Bramble Blooms QAL. Having done one myself I know how challenging it is to plan for students with varied skills, to explain each step, to answer questions, and to simply get it all together. I adore applique but don't do much so this QAL was the prompt I needed to try it again. Thank you, Audrey!

Not only that, but I used many of the last color group in my old stash - pink/coral/orange. Most other colors are seriously depleted; I can purchase some new fabrics {although I'm trying to be more selective.} What was that acronym? SABLE? No longer a problem for me... as long as I don't go wild replacing it.

Another part of my plan to use everything is to try to finish each quilt as it's made. This was a bit difficult with the Jane Sassaman workshop one month and a visit by Sujata Shah the next. 

Sujata stayed with me before speaking to out guild. We became friends in California; it was delightful to have her visit here. Lots of time to chat, sew, share ideas, and cook.

Here's the final quilt with a more restrained color scheme. 

Bramble Blooms #1 QAL

The first border is leftovers - Coins and wonky stars. Not exactly what Audrey suggested but they turned up and fit better than anything else.

The second border uses QSTs of a variety of coral/pinks and whites. It's stitched-in-the-ditch along the edges then I came back and sewed a diagonal from point to point. The white strips on either side came from an old shirt. 

The center area is spiral quilted. I purchased two-and-a-half yards of pink for the back - a privilege since most of my fabrics are used up {or in the stack for BB2 & 3.} 

Years ago I quit putting labels on the back. Even with archival ink, too many of them faded over the years. My sister offered to embroider some but I usually prefer to free-motion sew my name and date using a narrow zig-zag. You can hardly see it since I usually match the thread to the fabric; however, that green shows up on the back so people know it's there. 

I intended this narrow red and white stripe for multiple bindings but it sat in my stash for years. Because it's so narrow, the fabric looks pink against red borders. Since this border has reds, corals, and pinks, this was the place to use it. Only three more yards left. Haha. 

Finally, here's a visual review of the outer border. As you can see I have a plethora of crossroad blocks. I pulled many colors for the first attempt but decided it took attention from the center. 

Next I pulled all the  "dark" and"blue" backgrounds out. This version is quieter but still too loud {IMO.}

Looking back at the first photo, you can see I pulled more blue and dark X's out. The finish suits me but that doesn't mean it's what you would choose. Isn't it great that we can all follow our own tastes. 

Quilt Specifics

Size: 59" x 59"

Design: Medallion with applique center based on Bramble Blooms QAL

Batting: Mountain Mist Cotton

Thread: Superior pink, yellow, and white cotton threads

Quilting: Walking foot and free motion

Approximate yardage: 7 yds

Prevous posts:

1. Pulling fabric and starting center background

2. Adding flowers to the center of the medallion

3. Continuing center flowers

4. Center finished

5. Border ideas

6. Pulling leftovers for the first border

7. Choosing the zig-zag border

8. Crossroads border

Enjoy the day, Ann

Workshop Leftovers

I think of each life as a flower, as common as a field daisy, and as singular.

~Mary Oliver

Quilting

There were so  many leftover pieces from Jane Sassaman's workshop that I simply had to make a second top. This time I decided to sketch an idea that wouldn't be symmetrical. There was only one prepared fat quarter uncut so that was my background by default. The colors are off in the photos but it's peach.

I pulled all my leftovers out and looked them over. There weren't many mirror-images left but there were some large blobs. I decided to create a bouquet a coneflowers. Since there wasn't enough to make cutting mistakes, I first drew the main pieces on construction paper, cut them out, and played. Once they fit the space, it was time to cut from fabric. About half the paper has been replaced in the photo below.

One mirror image was cut in two, thinking it would make stem and leaf combination. The "leaves" just got in the way. Adding them separately worked better. 

 

There still seem to be just as much fabric leftover but no more background fabrics. Perhaps I'll make a third top some time. 

Reading

Emma Southon focuses on 21 "women of the Roman empire" and revises history by focusing on ordinary lives of people mostly considered unimportant by their society. She begins in 750 BCE with Tarpeia, who convinced her Sabine relatives not to slaughter the kidnapping Romans. Because, you know, blood is thicker than water and they were now all relatives through the newest offspring. 

Her stories continue through Galla Placidia in 414 CE, the daughter, wife {twice}, and mother of Roman emperors as well as the wife of Ataulf of the Visigoths and eventually a co-Augustus.

My favorite may have been Julia Felix, a successful businesswoman who left written records on the walls of Pompeii. 

The British title is The History of the Roman Empire in 21 Women.

Enjoy the day, Ann

Jane Sassaman Workshop

I have one share in corporate Earth, and I am nervous about the management.

~E. B. White

Quilting

For years I've wanted to take a workshop with Jane Sassaman and finally took her one-day class, Wings and Wedges. Basically, Jane machine appliques using interfacing to strengthen her pieces. This class focused on mirror imaging. As she said, this is not a piece to enter for awards but rather a way to learn the technique. 

I had some ideas before class but forgot them and simply cut a few of the suggestions Jane sketched. Then it was just putting them together. First attempt.

Second attempt with leftovers on the bare table. I liked this better and moved it to the background fabric.

And here's where it ended.

While it's not great, I have a much better understanding of Jane's technique. A wonderful class. 

My own rules were to use fabric on hand {except for the interfacing.} You know, I'm still trying to use up stuff. Most of these solids are leftovers from my quilted jacket. Turns out, I had to purchase several spools of thread, too... some of which I'm still waiting for. {Sadly, the two fabric stores closest to home are closing this month. Now it will be a long trip to my "nearest' LQS.}

I signed up for the class months ago and prepared the fabric back then. It took most of a week to get it all interfaced and prepped. That was fortunate. Texas has had wild weather the past few weeks. While we didn't flood or lose power, many of our neighbors did. That's where most of my focus has been. Things were settled enough to attend the workshop but I would never have been ready if I hadn’t started so early.

Reading

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi imagines a small Toyko coffeehouse offering clients a chance to travel back in time... as long as they remain in a certain seat and return before their coffee cools. It appeared to be individual vignettes but Toshikazu weaves them together beautifully. 

Enjoy the day, Ann

Final Border for Bramble Blooms 1

Life, though it is a gift, is not a privilege.

~Ross Gay

Quilting

Audrey's linkup encouraged me to push on BB1 but it's still not complete. Here's the second round, a pink zig zag. All those points took way too much time and didn't all turn out as well as my usual work. But I'm pressing on.

These are leftover Crossroads blocks from a class with Sujata Shah. {There are still more. Sheesh.} I love them as a border but it may be too bright. 

So I made a few more. {And this is how I end up with miscellaneous piles of leftover blocks.} Some haven't been trimmed because the border needs some coping. 

And this is where it sits today. 

Mostly I've been working in the yard. The zinnias are coming along.

I found a solar fountain sprinkler and created a temporary water feature with an old melamine bowl. The basin needs to be wider so I'll keep looking.

My son helped put the new glider chairs together. Acutally, he did the work and I helped hold a few things. Now we have a place to sit and enjoy the flowers and pollinators. 

Enjoy the day, Ann