Rosie Lee Tompkins

"Taxes are what we pay for a civilized society."

~Oliver Wendell Holmes

We had a three month delay in paying taxes here in the US. The new deadline is July 15. Tomorrow.

Chinese Coins

With so many little projects around the house there wasn't much time for quilting this week. Someone asked how to decide on the widths of Chinese Coin columns recently and here's what I wrote:

1. I plan the overall size (LxW) of the finished quilt because it helps me determine when I have enough columns and when to stop sewing onto a column. Believe me, column length is difficult to eyeball. I put pins on my design wall but you could masking tape your carpet or use floor tiles as a guide. Just something concrete to refer to.

2. Decide on a range (say 4-8") or pair of ranges (very narrow and very wide) as a guide because it helps determine how many columns you are shooting for. {50" wide/6" = 8 columns while 50" wide/ (8+2") = 5 PAIRS of columns. Only three 14" wide columns could fit in the same 50 inches.} You might still need extra columns in the end but this gives you an idea to aim for.

3. Sew the widest column(s) you want first because you will run out of strings. Just look at your outlined quilt size and consider what width looks "right" remembering you will trim and seam about an inch off the column. 

4. When that/those columns are finished, look at the strings that remain to figure your next column width.

5. There are usually enough tiny bits left at the end for one or two very narrow columns.

There are many examples on my blog because it must be my favorite scrap quilt idea. Just search for Chinese Coins or use this link where I did it for you.

Quilting

Despite all the issues of the pandemic, I did manage to see the Rosie Lee Tompkins quilt exhibit at BAMPFA. Just not in person. You can see it, too... until December 20. The exhibit opened just as California locked down for the pandemic so the museum kindly made a video tour. It's over an hour long so get your coffee ready first. The museum site includes a slideshow and links to their catalog but the video itself is also available on YouTube. Among the benefits of video {as opposed to in person visiting} are the ability to rewind and tour a site as many times as you wish.

Rosie is the pseudonym of Effie Mae Howard who lived in Richmond CA where Eli Leon met her. He purchased many of her quilts over the years and curated several shows that included her work. I have catalogs of three of the shows but believe there were at least eight including several, such as the 2016 exhibit at the Museum of California, that didn't have catalogs.

Catalogs of African-American quilt shows by Eli Leon

Upon his death, Eli donated most of his collection of 3,000 African-American quilts to the UC Berkeley museum including 500 by Ms. Tompkins alone. 

Projects Around the House

Still scanning and shredding. As previously mentioned the compost bin limits how much can be done each week. There is nowhere else to put the stuff. Currently six of twelve drawers completed. Halfway through although the tougher files are still ahead. More of these will need to be retained. Still, it's good to review what is in the files and put misfiled papers into their correct section. 

Covid

As we watch Covid ravage the US and see other countries actually dampen their outbreaks I realize part of the problem is the politicization of the pandemic. For the first time, politicians have pushed health care professionals out of the way as they rush to get their face before the electorate. They are not trained in public health and conflate their own agenda with medical facts. It has encouraged people to think the virus votes. I am appalled by the thoughtless actions of my neighbors and fellow citizens who somehow think it's a hoax/ they won't get it/ it's not too deadly. Read this short article if you find a 1% death rate acceptable.  

If nothing else consider the rate of infection among health care workers. It takes years of training to become either a nurse or a doctor. As they die off, who will be there to provide your healthcare?

Who else recalls one of America's major problems of WWII was that  malnutrition during the preceding decade of the Great Depression left many of our citizens unfit to serve? Are we really ready to write off another generation of working-age citizens? Do you want yourself or your family to be one of these people? And support them with all the extra care they will need over the years ahead? 

Voting

Our national election scheduled for November 3 is 112 days away. Help someone register and encourage everyone to vote. Vote 411 is a wonderful resource. Democracy requires the participation of ALL citizens. 

Enjoy the day, Ann

Adding a Second Sawtooth Border to the Spiderweb

Thanks for all the helpful comments. Your new ideas helped me clarify my thoughts. Being able to articulate them advances my understanding. Some suggestions might have worked better but I'm constrained by the fabric on hand. Running out of yellows {in addition to all the previous background fabrics.}

Several changes make me happier with this quilt. First, pulling some of the wider small triangles creates a more uniform narrow strip. Now it doesn't look so chaotic. More may come out. {There are probably enough leftovers for a new quilt. Sigh.}

I rotated the sawtooth borders so the yellow was on the outside. While it may look better against the toile, it's too dark against the applique vine. At least, it is for me.

Spiderweb quilt with Sawtooth border, yellow to outside.

I tried, without luck, to find something on hand for another narrow border. All the colors that might work are very short, not enough to go around. That worked for the vine border but I'm not ready to to carry it another round.

So I forged ahead with a second sawtooth border. This one is composed of 5" by 7.5" triangles cut casually around thirty degrees. The background fabrics are light greens this time. Even in this poor lighting, the color change emphasizes the yellows in the narrow sawtooth border while the size change balances the borders. And I like busy.

Spiderweb quilt with possible sawtooth borders pinned

Everything is still in rectangles but I feel more confident about sewing the borders. I'm more secure that I don't want another floater border. It would divide these into discrete rows which might make their improvisational character a distraction instead of a feature. Does that make sense? If everything was neat and tidy then floaters would highlight that aspect. Although scrappy, the spiderwebs are neat and regular. The color changes make your eyes move; the floater stops them.

The quilt fills the entire wall but the room is too small to take a full photo.


#AHIQChineseCoins

As soon as this is sewn I plan to pull fabric for #AHIQChineseCoins. I notice Julie's well into construction. What about you?

I've been looking over my Chinese Coins Pinterest board for a month now {Yeah, I started before everyone else} and several groupings come to mind. First is a "boxing" effect caused by using sashing fabric as some of the coins. Look at these examples.

Oldest is this 1930s Pennsylvania Amish quilt on this page. (The first link goes to a photo but the second goes to the site where it is published. The quilt is almost at the bottom but the entire article is enlightening.) She only used two fabrics. I see hints of both old Venetian blinds in an abandoned room and conversely, exotically folded fabrics such as Rami Kim creates.

Another 1930s example is this homespun Chinese Coins collected by Roberta Horton. (Again, first link = photo, second link = website.) The sashings are tan plaids. I'm not sure that any were used as coins but somehow there's a hint of "boxing" to me. And I admire the way the coins are all cut from plaids on the diagonal.

By using bright red sashing and a triple border, Jane Weston created a boxed feeling without using any of the sashing fabric as coins. The few, deliberately softer reds she chose as coins contribute to the "boxing" but I think the border is the biggest factor. Try covering up the border yourself to see what a difference it makes.

Finally, Summer Reading by Timna Tarr. By merely rotating her design ninety degrees she made the boxing effect into beautiful bookcases. {I love her color sense, too.}

Enjoy the day, Ann

Improvisational Sawtooth Border

While I like the vine border, the quilt doesn't seem finished. There is no more of the star background, the light blue gingham, or the bird toile. What to do? Try a contrasting color.

About a month ago, Nana suggested adding yellow, {a color she seems to love as much as Monica.} Yellow perks up against the aqua so I cut a bunch of improv triangles about 4.5" by  2-4", When sewed they trimmed to rectangles 4" long by a variety of widths.

Spiderwebs with second border layout

I'm not feeling the love. There are too many things going on here. The angles of the triangles are incoherent. Might work in a quilt with more improv but just looks odd on this quilt. This border is too narrow to be the outer border.

Thinking yellow might be the problem I cut some in pale green but don't like those any better. So it's not the color. It's really a size and angle issue for me.

Nothing is sewed except the individual rectangles. Timeout for thinking.


Enjoy the day, Ann

A Finish with an Easy Quilting Design

I finished the blue string quilt. These certainly are quick, easy quilts for toddlers. Not much to them; perfect for playtime, games, and spills.

Blue string toddler quilt

The binding is the light green I planned {and then discarded} for the green string quilt. It complements the bits of green in the strings.

Simple back of blue string quilt

A simple back. Of course, there wasn't enough of the larger piece but I had this eighth-yard remnant to finish it off.

Quilting and binding details
of Blue String toddler quilt

Finally, a close up of the quilting and binding. I eyeballed 1.5" spacing between narrow rows that mimic flat-fell seams on jeans. The idea came from the sashing of this old t-shirt quilt.

Quilt Details

Size: 40" x 48"
Design: String quilt on paper foundation

Batting: Mountain Mist Cream Rose 100% cotton

Thread: DMC fine embroidery blue cotton

Quilting: Walking foot on a domestic machine

Enjoy the day,
Ann

Maria Shell Workshop

Last week Maria Shell led us in Abstraction of Place (now named Abstraction through Color, Pattern, and Repetition.) After showing slides of various projects, Maria had us choose fabrics and walked the room helping us push our color choices. Then she demonstrated some of her techniques for abstracting, which involved looking carefully at the object or scene.

Maria Shell demonstrates construction techniques

This was the most amazing part of the workshop for me. I've never had anyone explain how they abstract an image before.

This two-day workshop was a treat. Everyone brought their own ideas. Many were natural: flower, shrub, hillside, path. Others were man-made. For example, Jan chose a skyscraper. What did I choose? Well, baseball has started again. It's spring training now. So I chose some photos from ATandT Park, home of the San Francisco Giants.

2014 Baseball World Series,
Game 5 - SF Giants vs. KC Royals

I'm using these fabrics to represent the crowd.

Some fabric choices for the crowd

Here's what I had by the end of class. It will take a while to finish. The triangles are about two inches high; the quarter at the bottom is for scale.

Triangles representing fans in the stands

I'm thinking and sketching some ideas to make this top. It will be a challenge to construct an abstract foreground.

Stephie Boon at Dawn Chorus Studio just started a series, "How Long Does it Take to Make a Quilt?" and chose me as her first interviewee. Her thoughtful questions and journalistic skills make me sound so decisive and organized. In the next few weeks she talks with Kaja and Audrey. Take a look at the series and another look at Stephie's amazing work.

Enjoy the day, Ann

Improvisational Quilts in the Bay Area

The computer died again. Fortunately, the maker decided to replace it this time. Unfortunately that will take a week or two.

I've been sewing daily but took time out to see Eli Leon's exhibit at the Museum of California in Oakland. Yo-Yo's and Half Squares: Contemporary California Quilts is a small but delightful exhibit of quilts Mr. Leon purchased at various East Bay flea markets. Most were purchased as tops; he had a quilter who finished them for him. Focusing on African-American quilters, he amassed a spectacular collection that partly inspired Sherri Lynn Wood's work and current book. As as side note, many of the quiltmakers originally hailed from Texas and the South, moving to California in the 1960s and '70s.

Many of the quilts were denim. What fun to see blue jeans incorporated with their pockets and welting. Kaja's recent finish reminds me of them. Some quilts were velvet; they had a surprising depth and shine. Photography was not allowed at this show but Mr. Leon has a website well worth visiting.

Outside the gallery was L'Atelier by Lucien Ladaubt. Notice anything?

L'Atelier by Lucien Ladaubt
at the Museum of California, Oakland

Yep. She's sewing sideways! Lucien had a successful art and fashion business so he should have known better. What was he thinking? This painting highlights the workers who created the gorgeous clothes in his murals on the circular staircase at Coit Tower as well as those at the Beach Chalet in Golden Gate Park.

This weekend I'm pulling fabric for a two-day workshop with Maria Shell. She will guide us through abstracting a favorite location or place. Friends heard her speak at a SAQA convention last year and others took workshops. It will be such fun!

Don't forget out next improvisational and utility quilt linkup is this coming Tuesday: here or at Sew Slowly.

Enjoy the day, Ann

Seam Line Variations in Improv and AHIQ #3 Link Up

A frequent comment about improvisational quilting is whether or not rulers to use rulers. Tami and I discussed freehand cutting at a book study. Offhand I can think of four ways to seam; each is a different combination of cutting and sewing.

1. Ruler cut; matched edges.
This is traditional quilting. Do you think it isn't improv? Think again. Many well-respected improv quilters use this technique in some part of their work. (Admittedly, most frequently to square up a freehand block.) Gwen Marston and Sujata Shah come to mind.

• Cut pieces with a ruler
• Match the cut edges
• Sew a quarter-inch seam

2. Free cut; matched edges.
Offhand, this may be what most people call improv.

• Cut pieces without a ruler
• Match the cut edges no matter how they wiggle
• Sew a quarter-inch seam

3. Ruler cut; unmatched edges.
This is a possibility but I don't think I've ever seen it done. The seams can move like matched edges of free cut strips.

• Cut pieces with a ruler
• Do not match the cut edges
• Sew at least a quarter-inch seam

4. Free cut; unmatched edges.
What is this? Just because it's cut a certain way, doesn't mean that's what is wanted. This method smooths out the irregularities. A seam can appear to have been ruler cut if done carefully.

• Cut pieces without a ruler
• Arrange the pieces to smooth out wiggles on the edges
• Sew at least a quarter-inch seam; it may be wider in some areas

Here they are 1-4, left to right, from the back. Look carefully to see where the edges match or not. Because seams are pressed to the dark, the uneven edges don't show well on the last one. I pinned them back to give you a better view.

Back views. Left to right:
1) Ruler cut, matched edges.
2) Free cut, matched edges.
3) Ruler cut, unmatched edges.
4) Free cut, unmatched edges.

And here's what they look like on the front. Notice how the seam line of #3 ruler cut, unmatched edges mimics the look of #2 free cut, matched edges. Similarly, #4 mimics #1. These are only one example of each. I emphasized the waviness to illustrate the seams; there are many different ways to cut them.

Front views. Left to right:
1) Ruler cut, matched edges.
2) Free cut, matched edges.
3) Ruler cut, unmatched edges.
4) Free cut, unmatched edges.

Improv is about choice. Frankly quilting is (or should be) about choice. Cutting and sewing decisions affect the appearance of your quilt. I believe we should follow our own inclinations rather than rules imposed by others. It's one thing to read and discuss; you are still responsible for your own choices. Blindly following dictates from others lessens our confidence and creativity.

Most of us quilt for pleasure. Are you having enough fun? This Subaru commercial expresses the joy we should feel when we quilt. (Google 'Subaru painting easel' to find it on your own.) Don't you wish we all experienced as much drive to create, excitement during the process, and contentment with our results as this man enjoys?

InLinkz removed because the site was hacked.

Enjoy the day,
Ann

Another String Improv Quilt: Rail Fence

You probably realized there were {a few} extra string sheets from my previous quilt. Actually, there were enough to make an even larger quilt. Fortunately, that first one sparked several ideas for future quilts. String 1 reminds me of Chinese Coins with long bands of similar colors and all stripes pointing in the same direction. I want the stripes to point in both directions in String 2. What's an easy way to do that? Rail Fence.

Improvisational Rail Fence quilt

Although it's one of the most common string quilt designs, I'm sure recent examples nudged my consciousness. Sujata Shah has a delightful quilt along of her version of this pattern. I made one as a graduation present for my youngest.  Earlier this summer I saw Drew Steinbrecher's Line Study #4. Wow! Gloriously clear colors with stripes pointing in both directions... like a rail fence. Bill Volckening shows a rail fence from 1975 on this post. Plummer Pettway of Gee's Bend created this version she called Crazy Quilt documented by Auburn University. It's frequently listed as Roman Stripe but looks like rail fence to me.

First, I laid out most of the leftovers to get an idea of size. Sherri suggests this in her book, IHMQ, as a great way to determine approximate amounts of fabric. Many of these are already cut into pseudo-squares but some are still long sheets.

Leftovers from Improv String 1

Then I moved some sections. Basically a rail fence at this point. I want to experiment by varying block sizes more.

Beginning String 2

As usual, I started sewing sections together in rows from the top left. Wrong move. The quilt becomes columns. That worked for the previous quilt but not this time. Section lines can be hidden by building up several distinct areas. Sherri (Daintytime) mentions this in the Floating Squares score as does Amanda (Crazy Mom Quilts) in Scrap Vortex. So I went back and put some smaller pieces together, building larger and larger sections. Sometimes two small blocks join to one larger block.

The colors were becoming mushy as the section sizes increased. A lavender-and-white-stripe home decor fabric and three darker blues from the discarded set increased the value range. Some strata are too long; I plan to cut them. Others, I left whole. To mask long fillers, Sherri suggests strips pieced from multiple fabrics (IHMQ, p. 29.) Amanda uses a similar method to equalize larger blocks. Pre-sewing a few pieced, skinny, filler strips might keep me from adding overly long pieces. {Didn't I say that last time?} Where to find some...

Adding lavender and white stripe

The paper pieced remnant below was my first attempt at an inner border on the watermelon string quilt. It didn't work there and it doesn't work any better here. Oddly enough, the only place it has fit is the Round Robin quilt - cut into three parts.

Leftover paper piecing as a possible filler strip

Another dive into the scrap bag brought some string-pieced triangular crumbs. I made them a few months ago, thought they were ugly and tossed them in the bag. Not only do they fit here, they also are those pieced, skinny, filler strips needed to join larger sections.

Reworking the layout; adding pieced triangles

The final scrap of a sawtooth border print only works because of the other triangles and the added blues. It's on the right. Do you see it?

Sewing sections together

I love, love, love different stripes. Especially red. Some of my striped fabrics are printed along the warp, others along the weft. In both cases, I cut across the fabric width (weft-wise as it were.) It might have been better to cut across the stripe whichever way it fell. Something to consider.

Kaja's post this week suggests starting an improv quilt with a single shape. What are your fabrics suggesting to you?

Enjoy the day, Ann

Improv String Quilt Pieced

I was more restrained with the final two string sets for the String Score. About half the sheets are Group 1 (blue/green) with a quarter each Group 2 (red) and Group 3 (light). Colors overlap between groups but each single fabric is only in one group. The widest sheet was 40". The others are 15-20" wide. They were very manageable although I pieced them to get sections long enough for this quilt.

Improv String 1 finished

Last month I decided to empty the scrap bag. I've been pulling from it for two years and there was a growing bunch of really dull pieces in it. {The swash zone of leftovers.} As a last attempt to use everything, I string pieced some twelve inch blocks (like those used in this quilt.) There weren't enough to make a top and the dark ones were particularly ugly. The light blocks had possibilities here. I sewed three together in a row (12" x 36") then cross cut them and sewed those into the lights. Some of the print fabrics are indistinct, especially when sewed next to each other. But when strong colors/patterns alternated with a light fabric, the crosscuts draw the eye in another direction. Hmm.

String sets with crosscut sets inserted

Perhaps more of the string should have been solid. This style compares with Trip Around the World. Adjacent large scale fabrics blend together and lose the design - strings in this one, squares on the diagonal in Trips. (This idea could be a future string variation: soft or strong lines based on the type of print used.)

Eight sections cut for this String quilt

Here are the eight sections of this quilt. I liked those crosscut inserts so much I finally added the vertical blue strip to utilize the last of them. Stripes and plaids add life to the sheets. The striped fabric really pleases me. I'd like them to run in the other direction, too. (The crosscut inserts do that somewhat but they are much more subtle.)

Sherri wrote that the seam line is stronger (more apparent) than any color in these strips. But when I first laid the light and green sections together I thought they were too similar. So I cut a few medium blues from the discarded group and used them to join parts of the shorter sheets. You can see them in the third column from the left. They actually caused these sections to blend more. Compare them to the columns on the right.

Sections were pinned together
before cutting along the sewing line

The long sections were butted against each other with as little overlap as possible. The sections moved while cutting along the future seam line so I pinned the overlap as a cutting guide. Cut slowly to avoid nicking your scissors with the pins.

Possible vertical inserts

The previous post about this quilt is here.

Enjoy the day, Ann

Improv String Quilt: A Beginning

Ah, pride goeth before the fall! I've made several string quilts over the years including a queen size Strips and Curves so this one should be a breeze. How hard could it be? [Pretty hard as it turns out.] This quilt frustrated me all month until I finally just started cutting. After all, this is a learning experience and we are meeting to discuss this score in a week. What's the worst that could happen? More pieces for the scrap bag.

I pulled fabric, divided them into three piles and started cutting the first group. Soon I recognized some problems.

Original fabric groups

Much of my fabric is less than forty inches wide. Some are fat quarters; others are leftovers with "interesting" holes. I sewed short lengths together but ignored how long they finished (36 to 60 inches).  This mistake created a very uneven bottom that made it hard to judge how long the next strip should be. Eventually I went back and cut all the strips a more uniform length.  It seemed like a minor point in the book, but it made sewing the strips so much easier. Next time I'll decide on a length before cutting strips.

Part of Group 1

I'm not sure if Sherri created wide string sheets but I am wary of them. The very wide string sheets created for the Strips and Curves quilt quickly became long and unwieldy. This time I limited sheets to 40" or less (by the 40" width of fabric for a length.) My experience with Floating Squares taught that reserving some fabric components makes it easier to put them together in the end. I hope shorter sheets will both make it easier when they are cut across and increase the diversity of the strata. Each smaller sheet can be rotated or sewn to the others in a different order. A few single strings are left to join these smaller sections as needed. [We'll see how this works. I haven't reached that step yet.]

As pairs of strips are sewed together.
I pinned them on the wall to keep them neat.

My other problem is simple math... and the fact that I didn't do any ahead of time. This is freehand cutting but still I want forty inches of strips. Forty strips are needed if they finish 1" each; twenty strips if they finish 2" each; twenty-nine if they finish 1.5". So 20-40 strips should be enough. How many were cut? Over 150 of this first group alone. [This is how I always end up with large quilts.]

I've decided to divide the second set of fabrics into two subsets and discard my original third set (the blues and greens at the bottom). This time I'm going to count.

Two sheets of Group 1 fabrics

As usual, my fabrics range from the 1990's to last week. The green, yellow and brown print to the right of the beige and white plaid (about eighth from the left) is the oldest. I used the tiniest amount to make shoes for my sons in this quilt. It's been in the stash ever since because... I have no idea. Time to use it up.

Enjoy the day, Ann

Floating Squares Improv Top Complete

I put nine Flying Square blocks together. You can see them; this is a nine-patch quilt. Not exactly what I wanted but a good first top. It's scrappy and fun.

Floating Squares quilt

The individual blocks are too apparent. Sherri Lynn mentions creating some long strips from blocks. I didn't pay attention until this was sewn together. Having some reserved squares from a block helps when a long strip is needed. They mask the seam line and increase the random effect of the tops. Next time I will actually save some from the start rather than scrounging for the one that didn't pair up.

See the long piece of light blue filler at the top left? Once I replaced it, the seam is less obvious.

Also, the blocks don't need to finish to any specific size. While mine aren't the same, I did actively work to use all of the two fabrics in one block. That means I used more filler to reach a square. Next time, I'll leave them as two or three small blocks if they don't easily make one large block.

This was the original ninth block. The stripe fabric and the small scraps add interest. The  arrangement of the squares and (minimal) filler is much improved. Why isn't it in the top? It was too quiet. So I replaced it.



Enjoy the day, Ann

Cowboys, Pinwheels, and Presents

Patricia Belyea emailed me last Friday that I'd won an Okan Arts giveaway. Look what arrived Monday via Priority mail! Patricia graciously inscribed the book so I have a permanent memento of her kindness. I'm so thrilled to own Sherri's book. Guess what I'm doing as soon as I finish the roommate quilt? The scissors are comfortable, fabulously sharp and cut like a dream. Thank you, Patricia!

Improv Handbook for Modern Quilters by Sherri Lynn Wood
and a pair of Kai scissors from the Okan Arts giveaway.

Roommate 2 is a Dallas Cowboys fan so my son suggested using their blue and silver team colors. Blue abounds in my stash because I've been intending to make a blue and white quilt for ages. At least some of them are the correct blue (although I stretched it quite a bit.)  The centers are the most silvery of my greys. While not my first choice, they fit the color scheme and should make this man very happy.

Again I used Sujata Shah's Cultural Fusion Quilts. Several quilters have made this design. Julie at QuiltDivaJulie has a very colorful version. Don't these versions inspire you to try your own?

These look like fireworks rather than flowers or candies. When my children were very small, we sat on Galveston beach for an amazing show by an Italian firm. It was the first time I saw lavender colored fireworks. They were so beautiful!

Cowboy Celebration quilt (61"x76.25")

Since the Cowboys incorporate a Lone Star in their logo, it became the center for half of the blocks. Directions for cutting perfect five-pointed stars can be found on this site about Betsy Ross, the person credited with creating the Stars and Stripes. These were too perfect for me; I cut them shorter and a bit more unevenly.

Pinwheel before adding a star or circle center.

The stars are fairly large so I appliqued simple circles on the other blocks. The diameters of the circles vary depending on where the wedges start. In my opinion, this adds to the explosion effect.

Machine applique using a blanket stitch

Harriet Hargrave's Mastering Machine Applique has been on the bookshelf for years and... I finally tried it! Not great but not too bad. She has several methods for creating points; I tried them all. We'll see how well each holds up in the wash.

Machine appliqued star point. 

On this star the point is turned under then each side is turned under and trimmed. This point isn't as sharp as I'd like but felt safest since it has seam allowances all around.

I need to make a back, sandwich the layers, choose some free-motion quilting and bind it... by next week. Better get busy.

Enjoy the day, Ann

Tiger Stripes

My youngest graduates from LSU in Baton Rouge soon. Hooray! Their colors are purple and gold and their mascot is the tiger. So you'll never guess: he wants a tiger striped quilt in purple and gold.
Here's the top. This idea came from Sujata Shah's Cultural Fusion Quilts. I've certainly enjoyed her book; she has a great sense of design and color. It's a wonderful way to "tiptoe" into improvisation.

Tiger Stripes quilt (68"x85")

This zigzag layout looks like tiger stripes to me.

Barb at Fun with Barb made this same design in a delightful combination of red, black, and cream. Take a look.

I've been consciously purchasing yellow fabrics when I find them so there was quite a bit in my stash. I also chose to push into dark gold (almost orange.) But there was a dearth of purple. More shopping required. Two of the new purples have fish on them (one of my son's hobbies.)

Purple and gold fabrics.
You can see one light purple with fish.

Here are two other layouts I considered. In the lefthand layout all the rail fences march up to the right. The light blocks are in a slightly different arrangement in the righthand layout.

Two possible layouts for Tiger Stripes

This has me thinking about tigers, a frequent topic in high school literature classes. Who could forget William Blake's poem (or at least the first stanza?)

Tiger, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

Or the limerick by Edward Lear, William Monkhouse or Anonymous (your choice.)

There was a young lady of Niger
Who smiled as she rode on a tiger;
They returned from the ride
With the lady inside,
And the smile on the face of the tiger.

Did you read The Lady or the Tiger by Frank Stockton? I did and I still think she pointed to the tiger's door. What's your opinion?

Shere Khan in Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book was always scary. A man-eater. Last week I watched Earth, A New Wild - Episode 1: Home on PBS which advances the theory that we need to coexist with wild animals for the good of the planet. Part of the episode discussed Bangladeshi tigers that kill one person every day on average. Because people rightly fear these animals, they limit trips into the forests. So the tigers are protecting the mangroves that protect this nation of millions from typhoons.

The grizzly bear was the top of the food chain in western North America until people arrived with rifles. How would this continent differ if they were still around?

If you're not yet tired of tigers, check out these recordings of Tiger Rag (also known as Hold That Tiger) on YouTube.
When Art Tatum first performed this fabulous jazz standard people thought he had a second person helping on the piano.
The Mills Brothers sang in close harmony. I love the way this quartet created so many sounds a cappella.

Enjoy the day, Ann

Improv Curve Quilt Finished

Here's the final photo of my Curved Improv quilt. It was in the guild quilt show last weekend.

Improv Curve quilt

Because the sides are definitely not straight of grain, I wanted a straight edge binding. But the circle at the bottom needed bias binding. So I used bias on that curve only and switched to straight of the rest of the quilt. So far so good. I think it helps stabilize the quilt and minimize waviness.

Although the curve sections look may look like they are uniform width, that's not quite true. For each curve I started on one side or the other stitching parallel with a walking foot. Then I echoed that curve until I ran off the section. That side has quilting lines that run into it. This is probably the first quilt that I did NOT stitch-in-the-ditch. It was pretty scary to start quilting without the stabilization ditch quilting provides but it turned out well. Sometimes we need to try something different.

Because of the improvisational nature of this quilt, a few tucks developed. Each time I re-stitched some of the blades (by machine or hand) to re-flatten the quilt top. One of them appeared while I was quilting. That was a new experience but wasn't too difficult to fix.

The thread is Aurifil 50/2 cotton in beige, pink, green, blue, red and grey. The batting is Mountain Mist Blue Ribbon Cotton. The back is the same two fabrics as the binding. The quilt finished 50" by 58".

When I had trouble deciding how much to trim the sides of this quilt, Lara B. suggested cropping photos to test different amounts. That was a great idea. Here are some of those examples.

This first one has a bit more taken off the sides than the finished piece. Although this is my favorite view, I simply couldn't bring myself to cut off so much of the top.

First possible crop
of Improv Curve

 I wondered if cropping part of the large circle would make the quilt more active.

Second possible crop
of Improv Curve

Or if the blue circle would be missed.

Third possible crop
of Improv Curve

Here are links to previous posts about this quilt (in reverse order.)

1. How I Finally Sewed the Curves
2. Curves Continued
3. Curve Quilt Progress
4. Curve Quilt

What Sherri Lynn Wood wrote about her Mod Mood quilts here inspired me to try this process. I'm so glad I did!

Enjoy the day, Ann

Windmills

Oops. What happened to the New York Beauties? They're still on the design wall because...

While reorganizing my sewing room some fabrics kept insisting they would look well together. So I pulled Sujata Shah's wonderful book, Cultural Fusion Quilts, and read the instructions for Windmills again.

Although she suggests WOF cuts, several of my fabrics only made one or two squares. It just adds to the diversity.

 Improvisational Windmills 60"x60".

Here are a few blocks in progress. Don't they remind you of dad's old ties?

Improvisational Windmill quilt blocks before trimming

I plan to make the back from leftover fabrics and blocks.

Linking up with Scraptastic Tuesday which always has wonderful ideas linked.

Enjoy the day,

Round Robin Improv Quilted

Next in the queue is the Round Robin Improv quilt from a workshop with Sherri Lynn Wood. Several anonymous people worked on this top which I think turned out beautifully.

 The technique is one of the scores in Sherri's upcoming book, The Improv Handbook for Modern Quilters: A Practical Guide for Creating, Quilting, and Living Courageously. Her book is coming out next month but you can purchase it early at QuiltCon. See her post here.

Round Robin Improv quilt

Someone added the lovely fabric with large dots. This inspired my choice for the red and black sunflowers on the left side as well as the appliqued circles. All the circles are leftovers from Propellers. How lucky is that?

Originally I tried this little wavy zig-zag stitch several others quilters have used. The thread is a softly variegated 18-weight cotton. It seemed to pull the quilt a bit tighter than I expected. The reason shows on the back. The bobbin tension is much too tight.

Machine quilting with very bad tension.
The bobbin thread is much too tight,
pulling the top thread through the quilt
and creating eyelashes.

Several samples later with no better results, I changed to 50-weight Metler cotton in grey-blue (#0789.) Random straight lines with a walking foot cover the quilt. I considered following the flare of the patchwork but decided I wanted more uniform widths across the quilt. I started quilting about two-inches apart then came back and filled in. This keeps the quilt better aligned. The "cross angle" didn't look good when the spacing was wider; however, it improved tremendously with closer quilting. It's not as close as matchstick; more like channel quilting.

Round Robin Improv quilt detail

Remaining decisions:

1. Would you keep the quilt edges like this or straighten them out? 
2. Would you choose a regular wrapped binding or knife-edge binding that won't show at all on the front?

Previous posts about this quilt:

1. The day of the Round Robin workshop here.
2. In progress plus a link to all the quilts from the workshop here.

Enjoy the day, Ann