Crossroads Baby Quilt 2

A lie ain't a side of the story; it's just a lie.

~The Wire (TV series)

Quilting

This quilt uses up all the remaining Crossroads blocks. Most of the background colors are organized into columns. Although many of them are dark, the quilt still works. 

Crossroads 2 baby quilt

The very last Crossroads block is on the back - just to move them all out. I thought it would be an easy back but had to paw through a lot of remnants to find a group that works with the block. The outer blue fabric is new this year. Yes, I still buy fabric.

Back of Crossroads 2 baby quilt 

The binding is a red and white stripe purchased years ago with the idea of binding "all" my quilts with it. That would have been a neat idea if I'd remembered it before it disappeared in the stash. There's quite a bit more. Where will it show up next?

Crossroads 2 baby quilt detail

There's no immediate use so this quilt begins rebuilding the Baby Quilt Stack - ready for the future.

Quilt Specifics

Size: 45" x 45"

Design: Crossroads

Batting: Mountain Mist cotton

Thread: Superior white cotton

Approximate yardage: 6.5 yards

Reading

The Buddha in the Attic
by Julie Otsuka

The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka is a novel that reads like history. Julie traces a group of Japanese picture brides from Japan to San Francisco where they first met their husbands. Many of the men misrepresented their careers. Women who thought they were leaving rural life became itinerant farm workers with their husbands. They bore children who embraced American life - the only one they knew. After Pearl Harbor, the families lost everything they'd ever managed to amass as they were sent to internment camps. 

Enjoy the day, Ann

Crossroads Baby Quilt

Attending to what we hate in common is too often all the rage (and it happens also to be very big business), noticing what we love in common, and studying that, might help us survive.

~Ross Gay

Quilting

Helping with Vacation Bible School gave me a very nasty summer cold. How did I forget all the germs little kids bring with them? Instead of quilting on Ocean Waves, I spent a week in bed with boxes of tissue and an assortment of medicines. Once over the cold, I still felt lethargic so decided to dig through my box of leftovers. And look what I found - more Crossroads blocks.

Crossroads quilt block

These were started in 2016 for a class with Sujata Shah which I had to miss due to a family emergency. Two years later I made more for a possible border {then changed my mind.}  Some were finally used on the Square Deal quilt. That is one of my favorite quilts - made of three sets of leftovers. I'd forgotten how many were left. There are almost enough to make two baby quilts although many have dark backgrounds. If I make two, I'll only need four more blocks. This seems to be a better project while it's so hot and I'm still worn out. 

 

The first layout doesn't work. There's a strong dark/light division down the middle. Remembering to use the camera saved me from this mistake.

After moving some blocks around, a better arrangement appeared. It's interesting how wildly different the widths of the roads are depending on what year I sewed them. Major highways and dirt roads. What can I say?

Crossroads baby quilt

The back is a lovely piece of pink on white hummingbirds that has been hanging around for years now. My sister gave me the pink fabric that widens it enough.

The binding is another remnant of a red and white print. It's always nice when stuff from my stash and leftovers combine so well.

Quilt Specifics

Size: 45" x 45"

Design: Crossroads

Batting: Mountain Mist cotton

Thread: Superior white cotton

Approximate yardage: 5.5 yards

As soon as the quilt was finished, I delivered it to a friend's new baby. Even when it's hot, a quilt is good to have on hand.

Enjoy the day, Ann

Sashing the Square Deal

Once the center {minus one block that kept falling down} was arranged, I started laying out a border. The darker border seemed to make more contrast but a single round lacks weight. A second round on the right creates better proportions.

Starting a border around the Square Deal block

With that start in hand, it was time to think about the sashing and inner border. The inner and outer blocks are different sizes. About six inches is required to get them to fit together. Black was too dark {forgot to photograph}. I next tried some narrow strips of Chinese Coins. {Surely you didn't think the last baby quilt used up all those skinnies.} Now there's no contrast; this is not the solution. Finally I realized the white design wall was trying to tell me something. I cut some mermaids printed on white. All the strips are the same width {and a bit larger than necessary} while I consider whether they should be the same or different widths.

Testing sashing and border fabrics

Making borders and sashing of the same fabric doesn't thrill me either so a different white print was cut. It has blue microdots although it reads white here. After trying it as a border, I decided it looks better as the sashing between the four quarters of this block.

Then I added Crossroads blocks on three sides.

Laying out sashing and borders on the Square Deal

The quilt must be repositioned on the design wall to finish the fourth side.

In the meanwhile, my family and I attended the State Fair of Texas. We went every year while my children were growing so it was fun to introduce a new generation to the Fair. Events have changed. We still enjoy the trained animals, the milking contests, and the beautiful jewel-like jelly competition. We watched pig races and performing rescue animals.

Pig races at the State Fair of Texas

 

The murals dating from the Great Depression were restored a few years ago - ready for a new generation to enjoy.

Mural from the
Hall of Varied Industries,
State Fair of Texas

These umbrellas shading a lunch site are new. Colorful day and night!

Umbrellas shade a lunch area
at the State Fair of Texas

VOTE! It's election day in the US. I wonder how different our lives would be if everyone was required to vote like Australians. Much more emphasis on the center; much less from the fringes. It sounds good to me.

Enjoy the day, Ann

A Border Ready and Waiting

I'm still working on the HSTs and came up with a great plan while putting the extra HSTs away. In the box were the Cultural Fusion Crossroads blocks that have been waiting over a year.

A dark block anchors each corner while the remaining Crossroads blocks were added in two possible values. They both look good to me. The one on the right needs a very strong border while the one on the left needs something else. The blocks won't fit together without some type of border or adjustment.

Dark and light borders around HST center

Compare the photos above with the one below which was an early version of Chinese Coins II. Even though the stars are about the same size as the triangles and the coins in CCII are narrower than those in HST, my Crossroads blocks changed appearance like a chameleon. They are spindly and fragile below but perfect with the HSTs. Like they were planned for this design. Why this works is something I need to study more.

Chinese Coins II quilt
with possible Crossroads block border

In other news, Color Study's binding is on. It should be a finish soon.

Binding strips cut,
then sewing to back first

A group of us visited the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles recently. Their exhibits included fifteen or more swing coats by Patricia Montgomery celebrating important women of the Civil Rights Movement.

Honoring the Heroines of the Civil Rights Movement:
Patricia A Montgomery exhibit
at The San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles

Construction is highlighted by the unfinished coat on the wall. The textiles and colors of each coat vary. They are embellished with quotes and photos celebrating each heroines importance. In a time when Helen Keller has been removed from Texas social studies textbooks, it's even more important to remember that women can effect change as much as men.

Strong People Don't Need Strong Leaders -
Ella Josephine Baker

This yellow coat highlights Ella Baker who advanced group-centered (grass-roots) leadership where people "directly directly participate in the decisions that effect their lives." One advantage is that the movement becomes important rather than a single charismatic leader. This idea led to longer-lived, independent organizations such as the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).

Enjoy the day, Ann

Inner Border Finished

The diamond shapes are four different darks: two purple, one black, and one navy. I like the variation although I was hesitant at the beginning. But what else can you do when there's not enough of any one fabric?

First border on CCII

Here's a close-up of the navy. It's hand-dyed fabric from India and colorfast. When the commercial fabric is this dark, it usually causes me problems so this is a welcome change. The fabric has a more textured feel and drapes well. That made me think about the mercerization and other finishing processes on many commercial fabrics.

Navy hand-dyed Indian fabric

Of course, now it  needs another border. I plan to try some of the ideas I posted last month... After a short vacation.

SFO had a new exhibit after we passed security: Games of Chance. I don't gamble {don't enjoy it} but found this exhibit of the development of coin operated machines quite interesting.

The first automatic-payout, three-reel machine was invented in 1898 San Francisco by Charles Fey. Customers couldn't calculate the payout percentage because only three symbols of the Liberty Bell's 1000 combinations showed at a time. More advantage to the house.  Charles also added bell sounds to his machine, a move copied by almost every other manufacturer since.

Liberty Bells are permanently commemorated with a historic marker at Battery and Bush. I've seen the marker and laughed at what people memorialize.

Liberty Bell mechanical game

The exhibit continued with games involving dice under glass bells {which looked like something in a physics lab}, wheels made like bicycles,  and elaborate enameled machines.

War Eagle and Horn of Plenty
enameled slot machines
with a bicycle wheel of fortune machine

The exhibit culminated with life size one-armed bandits. Frank Polk carved the cowboy in the 1940s, possibly as a self portrait.

One-armed bandits from the 1940s-70s

Enjoy the day,  Ann

Chinese Coins II: Inner Border

One of the issues with waiting a while to take the next step is that you become accustomed to the {unfinished} look. It happens with houses as well as quilts. I've dawdled so long that I started to think this quilt needed dark on the outside. Not what I wanted.

So I finally started making an inner border for Chinese Coins II using hourglass instructions from Cultural Fusion Quilts by Sujata Shah. I cut my squares a bit smaller though. Even at this stage they lighten this quilt beautifully.

Adding an hourglass border
to Chinese Coins II

The next big surprise is how much fabric it takes. I rarely have large amounts of any fabric but cutting five or six-inch squares uses it up quickly. Consequently, almost every side is composed of different fabrics.

After trimming a few squares I realized only the height needs consistency. The width can be anything. So I started trimming one direction 4.5" but kept as much as possible in the other. Don't get excited; at most this is a quarter-inch. Every little bit helps.

Sujata recently posted photos from a class where many students used the same simple hourglass shape in their medallions. Take a look here.

Enjoy the day,  Ann

Spring Cleaning

Perhaps because of all the pollen this year, I've taken to spring cleaning with a vengeance. All the pillows have been washed; furniture moved, dusted, and polished; drawers are being emptied, sorted, and restocked. I've even reorganized my fabric boxes. And look what I found: a collection of squares cut for a class last year with Sujata Shah. That was when my family life went to pieces so I didn't take take the class and forgot about them. An easy project to sew this week and part of my plan to build a Parts Department a la Freddy and Gwen.

Fabric for Crossroads blocks

By the end of the day I had these completed.

Crossroads blocks

#AHIQtwoblocks continues Tuesday. CCII/Stacked Bricks needs a border. Might these work?

Possible Crossroads border on CCII

 

The Xs aren't beefy enough to suit; they look wimpy compared to the stars. But the lighter backgrounds give me some ideas. Although these blocks don't work here, more fabric choices have emerged.

I pulled out my stash and set each piece on the top. This is my go-to method to ensure every possibility is tried. Purple is a possibility or perhaps blue?

After a couple of hours, here are the best choices so far.

Fabric possibilities for the next round

Some fabrics might be good colors but are the wrong print. For example, that whale fabric is a wonderful color but the print doesn't work with this quilt. Well, perhaps I'm wrong. {Won't be the first time.} Think seastars rather than celestial stars. There are starfish on that print that could match the red stars.

Testing some light fabrics.

Lavender and white print choices

None of these makes my heart beat faster when placed against the center. I'm going to try more lights tomorrow. If nothing works, a shopping trip may be required.

Enjoy the day,
Ann

Tilting at Hawaiian Windmills

Look what my quilting sister made. I guess she liked the windmills I made from her donation fabrics because she's making one from her leftover Hawaiian fabrics. (That smartie buys these gorgeous prints whenever she vacations there.)

Hawaiian windmills with matching blades

And her second layout.

Hawaiian windmills with random blades

Here' how she finally pieced it.

Hawaiian Windmills with sashing

Enjoy the day,
Ann

Don't Leave a Puppy Home Alone All Day

You know what happens when you do, right? That puppy gets into everything, making a big mess... and is usually so proud to show you her results. In this case I was the puppy. Yep.

While visiting my quilting sister (QS) in Colorado this summer she foolishly left me home alone with the lame excuse of work. So I cleaned a bit, read a bit, then noticed the stack of fabrics she'd set aside to donate. According to QS, they didn't go together. Hah, says I.

I'd previously sent her a copy of Sujata's Cultural Fusion Quilts but... she hadn't started on any. Of course! She needed an example. I started cutting. By the end of the day there were 120 squares and some blocks were sewn. Over the week I finished sewing all the squares and suggested she sew it into a philanthropy top. QS gave me the snake eye. Where's the gratitude? Into my luggage they went. Last week I sewed them up. It's major clean up/clear out mode at my house.

Rocky Mountain November quilt

They look well together, IMHO. The fabrics remind me of late fall in the Rockies: the bright foliage is gone, some snow, blue skies and lakes, brown and evergreen hillsides. This has been my recurrent point -  your fabrics will go together. You already curated them when you bought them.

Rocky Mountain November detail

Because of the size, it's now a Veteran's quilt. Thanks, QS.

Quilt Details

Size: 90"(H) x 75"(W)

Pattern: Windmills from Cultural Fusion Quilts

Enjoy the day,
Ann

Cowboys Quilt Finished

The Cowboys quilt for my son's former roommate is quilted and bound. Next week I hope to deliver it to the recipient who lives on the West Coast. Hooray! Here's the previous post with information about making the top.

Cowboy Fireworks quilt

The quilting doesn't show as well in the straight on detail view as in the low angle views that follow but you can see the variations of the quilting lines better.

Cowboy Fireworks quilt detail

Originally I planned to use the darker blue thread for quilting. Too dark. The white is too light. But the medium blue is just right. Funny. I always try to get light and dark fabrics (since we tend to purchase mediums) then drive myself crazy thinking I will need to change threads frequently. But I'm finding that medium threads blend better across all those fabrics.

Thread choices for Cowboy Fireworks quilt.

This was my third attempt to use the lovely YLI 40/3 variegated thread in Seamist. My machine hates it - even when it's only in the top and not the bobbin. I finally switched to Sulky Blendable 30/3 variegated thread. It's a similar range of blues. Cindy Needham told me thread sizes vary by manufacturer and I certainly agree now. The Sulky should be heavier than YLI but in actuality, they are the same thickness. What a puzzle. There are so many threads to use that I can choose another. (YLI makes some of my favorite threads; this is the only one I've ever had issues with.)

A friend who hand quilts thinks it would work beautifully for her so I've passed it on.

I considered quilting very straight lines since the blocks are squared up before sewing them together but decided free-hand straight-ish lines fit better with the free-hand cutting of the pattern. I started sewing lines about 2-3 inches apart and came back and filled in until it looked done. Spacing ranges from 0.75-1 inch. The quilting didn't look good while I was sewing (with my nose very close to the lines) but I really like they way it looks on the finished quilt. So... don't put your nose right on the quilting lines and you should like it, too!

Here are the quilting lines as I was sewing.

The planes on the back of Propellers and Planes were such fun I've decided to try to work harder on the backs. Usually I find large rectangles of fabric, sew them together and call it done. This time I made a simple medallion of the pieces instead. Continuing one blue border to the edge looked interesting.

View of the back of Cowboy Fireworks

Blue remnants made great binding, cut 2.25 inches, folded in half and attached by machine. I've started pressing the binding after I sew it to the back (and before attaching it on the front.) It certainly makes it easier to wrap the binding properly.

Quilt Details

Size: 68" x 85"

Pattern: Peppermint Pinwheels from Cultural Fusion Quilts

Batting: Mountain Mist Cream Rose 100% cotton

Thread: Sulky Blendable 30/3 variegated cotton

Quilting: Free-hand channels

Look what I saw early this spring! For the past decade egrets have chosen to nest in the trees on this street. Who knows why. It's the furthest from the shore of any colony. The rookery is home to about 20 percent of the egrets in the Bay Area. Closing the street to cars provides greater safety for the birds because any younglings that fall (or are pushed) from their nest can be rehabilitated by wildlife personnel.

Egret nesting closes a road in California.

Last week when I walked by again, these lovely birds were busy setting up house. You wouldn't want to park on the street; they protect their nests by pooping - smelly and acidic. I stayed on a cross street that is not closed. No bird poop conditioner for me, thank you very much.

Egret landing in a tree near their nests.

Although they are elegantly graceful and snowy white, their voice is not nearly as attractive. They make an odd gobbling sound. Oh, well. I can't sing on key either.

Egret flying.

Enjoy the day, Ann

Tiger Stripes Finished

In the Just in Time inventory management system, products are made as demand requires. Usually my quilts finish shortly before the event... sometimes very shortly. My quilting style mimics modern business management! Who knew?

Tiger Stripes quilt for an LSU grad

I sewed the binding the evening before we left and buried threads on the way. And so it goes.

My son is quite accustomed to my odd sense of humor. He mentioned two college chants, "Hold that tiger" and "Geaux Tigers", that are now quilted into the rails.

Tiger Stripes, detail showing
"Hold that tiger" quilted in cursive.

After pin basting, I used my walking foot to quilt close to the seam lines on both the purple and gold sides with 50-wt Gutermann thread. Two more lines were quilted in each purple rail. I alternated rows of a phrase with simple lines on the gold rails. His name, university and date were quilted with a small free-motion zigzag at the end of one of the rows. My name is on another rail.

Tiger Stripes, detail showing
"Geaux Tigers" quilted in cursive.

I bound it by machine using a double-fold binding cut 2.25". The binding was sewed on the back with a 3/8" seam then pressed, folded over the front, and topstitched close to the fold. This method works well for quilts that will get lots of wear.

Here's the previous post about Tiger Stripes.

We saw a new exhibit at the airport: Life and Style in the Age of Art Deco. Fortunately we had time to study everything, including these colorful paper fans.

Fans from Europe and USA

Look at the heels on these shoes by Beauty Co.

Black and gold shoes from Shanghai by Beauty Co.

Geometrically patterned electric appliances by Royal Rochester were my favorite display. Pluggable pieces include a coffee percolator, samovar, and waffle iron. Wouldn't they look lovely at the breakfast table? And the food would stay hot. Beauty and usefulness perfectly combined.

Royal Rochester electric appliances
in porcelain and chrome.

Speaking of breakfast, we enjoyed one at Brennan's. I had a cup of seafood gumbo to start. It might not be breakfast for most of you, but oh, how I've missed it.

Brennan's bar, New Orleans

You can find quilt patterns everywhere. This is the tile in the women's room.

Tile at Brennan's

Then we walked around the French Quarter. Off the main thoroughfares, the streets were empty and clean. I guess we were up too early for most people.

Painted facades in New Orleans French Quarter

This was one of the small fountains in the area.

Lion fountain in New Orleans French Quarter

In the afternoon we drove to Baton Rouge for graduation... and quilt presentations.

Enjoy the day, Ann