Red Cross Quilt in Progress

Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been.

~Mark Twain

Quilting

The box of four-patch blocks is still stuffed so I'm making Red Cross as a lap quilt for myself. The crosses are a mix of exuberant Kaffe prints and quiet monochromatic traditional prints. Setting a few four-patches and leftover squares so check values. Good to go.

Red Cross layout

Several four-patches were larger than the others, four- or five-inch finished. A speaker at our guild last year cut the “pluses” more narrowly instead of reducing the four-patch sizes so I reprised her idea. Do you see them? I think they add interest. 

Red Cross top without border

Now to plan a border.

Reading

Ms. Evans has written an engaging novel about a woman who writes letters daily to everyone - family, friends, authors, and one person whose letters she never mails. It reminded me of Helene Hanff’s 84 Charing Cross Road. One of my book clubs will be reading this in the fall. Hooray.

Enjoy the day, Ann

Variable Star Wall Quilt

Only the weakest of people believe that love is the weakest of weapons.

Governor J. B. Pritzker

Quilting

My daughter called last week wanting two wall quilts to reduce the echoing of their stairway. The one from the second to third floor. They have an old house and the stairs are as steep as the pulldown ladder we use to access an attic. How did women get up these in long dresses?

Variable Star wall quilt

She likes very quiet colors like taupe. This one almost fits the bill and the top was ready to go. [plus, my granddaughter loves pink.} It was quick to quilt a spiral. I took more time on the binding including zigzagging the seams to give it more support.  

My quilts usually square up well but I also blocked this one to encourage it to hang flat on the wall. Finally I added a sleeve remembering to leave a space in the center and near the sides for the support brackets.

Quilt Specifics

Size: 46" x 46"

Block: Variable Star

Batting: Tuscan Rose 100% cotton

Thread: White Masterpiece cotton

Quilting: FMQ spiral

Approximate yardage: 4.5-5 yds

Reading

This is a book I might not have chosen but found tremendously interesting. It was a book club read. How grateful I am to expand my horizons by reading things others suggest and taking time to discuss them. 

Tom Standage hypothesizes that the development of civilization can be seen through the introduction of six beverages: beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea, and Coca-cola. Each was a catalyst for societal and technological change. Beer developed with agriculture through Coke's popularity from globalization. 

 

A fun and thought-provoking read. 

Enjoy the day, Ann

Larger Blue Cross Quilt

War is conducted for the benefit of the very few at the expense of the very many.

~General Smedley Butler

Quilting

The next {and largest} of the shirt quilts is finished. It's earmarked for my youngest. 

Most of the fabrics are also in the previous quilts: here, here, and here. 

Larger Blue Cross Quilt

This quilt was a good place to practice different free motion quilting designs. I've sewn all of them, just not recently. And it shows. However, a good wash shrunk and puffed the batting enough to hide many shortcomings. 

Quilting Detail

The back is the last of some fabric purchased for a dress. Lovely fabric but it was nothing I'd ever wear. This is a good place to use it up. The soft hand feels comfortable against my skin. 

Larger Blue Cross quilt back

The binding is more old shirt material since it's the only thing that blends with the old shirts on front. 

Quilt Specifics

Size: 59" x 69"

Block: Cross made without blocks

Batting: Tuscan Rose 100% cotton

Thread: Pale blue Masterpiece cotton

Quilting: FMQ or loops, orange peel, Greek key, bouquet

Approximate yardage: 8.5 yds

There are two more quilts - a toddler and a baby quilt. They've been donated to my guild's charity group. Someone else will quilt them but I helped make more tops this past weekend at our charity quilt sewing day. 

Reading

Evan Friss has written a lovely homage to the history of American book stores. He pauses at various stores highlighting the relationships with their customers, their efforts to instill passion for books, and their service as community spaces. 

Each chapter highlights a different shop from Ben Franklin's through Marshall Fields and the internet. A delightful read!

Enjoy the day, Ann

Long Time, No See, but Finally Finished

We should measure the prosperity of a nation not by the number of millionaires, 

but by the absence of poverty, the prevalence of health, 

the efficiency of the public schools, and 

the number of people who can and do read worthwhile books.

~W.E.B. Dubois

Quilting

Two years ago I sent this top to a longarm quilter. It's too large for me to handle anymore. She is a talented quilting designer but her machine had tension issues halfway through. Lots of tangled threads on the back, arcs of skipped stitches, etc. It seemed a mess. I cried and put it away. 

This year again sees me on a move to sort, repair, organize, and donate extraneous stuff. A kindness to myself, my children, and others. Someone can get some use from most items. So I've spent a few months unstitching, restitching, topstitching, anything I can do to get it in better shape. It will never be perfect. 

Finally it seemed safe to wash and dry. I soaked it for a couple of hours then spun water out on the gentlest cycle. It's been laying on sheets to dry.

Ocean Waves 5

By some miracle many of the tension issues are hidden. They aren't gone, but the batting expanded while the large stitching holes in the back shrank. Hopefully it will last longer.

The background is Kona Snow while the back is a wide white cotton. The winking colors make me smile. The same pale blue stripe is the inner border and binding. Batting and thread are unknown because they were chosen by the longarmer.

Quilt Specifics

Size: 102" x 102"

Quilt Design: Ocean Waves

Quilting: Free motion with wreaths, orange peel, and parallel lines

Approximate yardage: 15 yds(?)

Someone loves it and has asked for it. I feel better. 

Reading

The Great River: The Making and Unmaking of the Mississippi by Boyce Upholt is a comprehensive overview of the Mississippi River basin from its geologic beginnings through native settlement and especially the changes wrought by European settlers in the past 200 years. 

As a geologist I appreciated the explanations of the wide bends through the basin from Illinois south. Industrialization brought enormous inventions to remove snags, straighten those bends, and deepen the channels. Those events caused loss of fish, soil, and water quality. 

Now there are attempts to restore some lost ecosystems. 

Enjoy the day, Ann

Quilting My Stash of Tops

Freedom is not a state; it is an act.

~Representative John Lewis

Quilting

Since I haven't quilted in a while it seemed smarter to start with one of the smaller tops. This used the last of my shirt fabric. It looks good but the fabric stretched a bit so I needed a quilting design that doesn't cross any threads. Baptist Fan fits the bill although I haven't sewed it in a while. Good practice to get back in shape. 

Smaller Blue Cross quilt

The back is a yard of a paisley print extended with some blue from my sister. It was leftover from a back she made. Don't you love using up all the bits and scraps.

Back of Smaller Blue Cross quilt

The color of the crosses in truer in this photo.

Quilt Specifics

Size: 49" x 59"

Quilt Design: Cross made without blocks

Batting: Tuscan Rose

Thread: Pale blue Masterpiece cotton

Quilting: Baptist fans

Approximate yardage: 7 yds

Monarch Update

Those caterpillars were voracious. When the milkeed ran out, they ate butternut squash which is said to work for older cats. Of the original twenty, fifteen pupated. The others died, probably lacking proper nutrients. 

One of the pupae is ready to burst. The markings on the wings are visible through the shell.

Monarch ready to break chrysalis

If their casing was attached to the ceiling, the new butterflies clung to the shell for about a day. The ones whos casings fell simply climbed the wall when they emerged.

Monarchs, pupae, and caterpillar

I put a blooming salvia in their enclosure. Although several flew to the plant, I never saw them eat. A day later they started flying around the cage so I knew it was time to release them. 

Monarchs ready to release

Lavender, begonias, and clover are currently blooming in our yard but the monarchs simply flew skyward as soon as they were out of the enclosure. Hopefully they smell flowers in Hermann Park across the way.

Reading

Chris Sweeney has written an engaging biography of pioneering forensic ornithologist Roxie Laybourne. Working at the Smithsonian and the US Fish & Wildlife, she used her expertise in microscopic analysis of feathers to improve airplane safety, catch poachers, and convict kidnappers. 

Enjoy the day, Ann

Starting with the Sashing

Before mass leaders seize the power to fit reality to their lies, their propaganda is marked by its extreme contempt for facts as such, for in their opinion fact depends entirely on the power of the man who can fabricate it.

~Hannah Arendt

Quilting

Determined that those discarded yellow sashing pieces from the previous top are NOT going into the scrap bag. I decided to make a simple baby quilt. The sashing is very pale. In addition to soft yellow, it has pale pink and tan. 

I pulled what I had and it wasn't much. Most of the pale pinks were only 1/8 yard cuts; too narrow for the centers. So they are the triangles while the centers are tan.

Now there are two more quilt tops in the queue. I need to take a break and quilt them up.

Variable Star baby quilt top

The star points are simply flying geese so I tried a new-to-me way. Four-at-a-time flying geese. Here are a few explanations of the technique. 

While it was very easy, accurate seam allowances are essential. Mine were a smidge too wide and the geese ended up 1/8" short. Grr.

My friend, Sue Bianchi, has created a timely and engaging quilt that compares the level of concern each US state takes in the care of their residents. She's written an explanation on her blog. I hope to see this art piece soon.

Reading

Sangu Mandanna has a new book about witches. Sera Swan was one of the most powerful witches in Britain until she raised her beloved great-aunt from the dead after a heart attack. Now she runs an inn with barely enough magic to keep previous housekeeping spells going dreaming of getting her full power back.

Enjoy the day, Ann

Pink Cross Baby Quilt

We have flown the air like birds and swum the sea like fishes but have yet to learn the simple act of walking the earth like brothers.

~Martin Luther King, Jr.

Quilting

I have a shoe box of four-patch blocks that I've been making as leader/enders recently and also saw someone is starting a four-patch challenge or QAL. That motivated me to pull it out and organize them. Currently there are over 200. Many are three-inch but some are four-inch blocks. And I need another baby quilt. What to do? 

There are some bright pinks in my stash so I decided to make a Red Cross block. Here it is laid out with a choice of Kona Snow or light yellow print sashing. No brainer for me: Kona. {I made that brilliant decision after cutting the yellow. At least it's ready for a second baby quilt}

Two sashing choices

They are eight-inch blocks making the top close to forty inches. A simple border will keep it baby-sized.  Here are my choices. I planned to use one of the pinkier pinks and post them with blue but the purply-pink on the left popped the blocks better. It's enough darker that a blue post doesn't look right. 

Border choices

The border fabric is about 43" wide and is cut WOF. If I'd sewed the borders the "regular" way like Courthouse Steps, there wouldn't be enough. So again, I sewed partial seams. Each border needs only the inner width and one side. Just enough to work. 

Pink Cross baby quilt 

Perhaps it should be called Pink Cross instead. 

Meanwhile eight monarch caterpillars have started to pupate. Good thing; there's no milkweed left. I'm giving them cucumbers but while the older ones seem to be eating it, the smaller ones aren't. Who knows if any of them will make it? 

Monarchs pupating

Even these will be lucky to survive after molting. I plan to get some flowering plants since very little remains in the garden and another hard freeze is predicted this weekend. {My begonias may bloom because I covered them.}

Reading

Tim Cook passed away last year, one of Canada's most prominent and respected military historians. Although much of his work focused on WWI, he wrote an excellent book on the efforts of Canada and the US fighting fascism - The Good Allies: How Canada and the United States Fought Together to Defeat Fascism During the Second World War.

Canada entered WWII years before the US and worked tirelessly to protect the North American continent from invasion as well as supporting Britain in their darkest hours. 

The Good Allies by Tim Cook

It was enlightening and educational to read history from the Canadian view. 

This week I also rewatched Argo about the Iranian hostage crisis. Remember the signs we had thanking Canada? How sad that we allow one person to destroy in one day a mutually benefical relationship developed over 100 years.  

The book on which the movie is based more truthfully records Canadian efforts and the escape via plane. The movie has to have an exciting escape scene at the end that did not happen. It also downplays Canadian work despite the risks. That goodness they have strong moral character. 

Enjoy the day, Ann

String Hatchet Quilt Finished

Give people what they need: food, medicine, clean air, pure water, trees and grass, pleasant homes to live in, some hours of work, more hours for leisure. Don't ask who deserves it. Every human being deserves it.

~Howard Zinn

Quilting

After a long break, this string Hatchet quilt is finished. I didn't want straight lines on this quilt nor a motif in the central squares. Eventually I chose quarter circle expanding ripples. Straight lines or even free-motion quilting would have been much easier. 

Many thanks to Patty and Gayle who donated green fabrics when I ran low. What a surprise to receive those packages in the mail. The alien-over-crossed-scissors strip came from Patty. The binding came from Gayle. Lovely {and permanent} memories can be included in quilts. 

The back was purchased online for a summer dress. When it arrived, it looked nothing like the online photo so it's been sitting in a box for several years. Not quite the same tones but it does include both pink and green. 

Here's a detail of the quilting. I started by making an arc 30 inches from the corner then quilted on both sides. It seems to make an easier progression.

The background fabric has also been in my stash for years. More than I care to remember. But it's delightfully showcased in this quilt. The original plan was to make the centers from a single square each but.... Each half hatchet was paper pieced and those papers grew over time. It was much, much easier to sew accurate HSTs to the sides and trim the Hatchets than the reverse. Occasionally I'm smarter in my old age. 

Quilt Specifics

Size: 64" x 80"

Quilt Design: Hatchet variation with strings

Batting: Mountain Mist Blue Ribbon Cotton

Thread: pink Superior Masterpiece

Quilting: Quarter circle with walking foot

Approximate yardage: 9-10 yds 

Previous posts: 

1. Beginning

2. Sewing Hatchets

3. Finished Top

PS: I recently read about Happy Noon Year celebrations. That's how we're doing it. A lovely lunch in daylight and bed just after sundown.

 

Happy New Year!

Ann

Blue and White Shirts

A pessimist, they say, sees a glass as being half empty; an optimist sees the same glass as half full. But a giving person sees a glass of water and starts looking for someone who might be thirsty.

~G. Donald Gale

Quilting

I started my blue and white shirt quilt saga years ago before DH himself retired. Whenever he retired a shirt, I checked it over and kept it if it was in good shape. I soon realized they are almost all blue or white. All solids or very calm prints. Recently more came from my sons and a few from a resale store nearby. Despite admiring Kaja's work incorporating shirts and other found textiles into her work, I never actually made anything with them.  

Eventually I planned a simple checkerboard. Unfortunately I chose the lightest blue shirt to pair with white. It's just too pale for my taste. And too difficult to sew the fabric.  

Instead of making a large throw it will be a baby quilt and that's only because I hate to discard all that work. Plus someone will like these pale colors for a newborn. 

Did I mention how hard it was for me to work with these no-iron shirts? Since I had already deboned a huge pile of shirts I decided to cut them into 4.5" strips. That seemed narrow enough for the fabric. And there they've sat for the past year until Nann showed her Gator Party. 

This was a way to use them. I cut my own rectangles from the strips. 

They are still too quiet so I dug through my stash for a few large scale blue and white prints that might be a man's shirt. Polka dot, autos, and a darling Japanese rabbit print. 

Next I pulled a bunch of leftover solids from my bins to add teeth, and whipped this out. It's adorable. The solids add some punch. My daughter requested the throw. Hooray. But I won't start quilting until the weather changes. It's still in the upper 90s F (mid-30s C) here. 

Now to plan backs for both, baste them, and wait for cooler weather. 

There are more strips, of course, but now I have another idea. 

 Reading

Another enjoyable Japanese coffee shop book. This shop is run by cats and only appears sporadically. 

Enjoy the day, Ann

String Hatchet Top Finished... Perhaps

I wanted a perfect ending. 

Now I've learned, the hard way, 

that some poems don't rhyme, 

and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end.

Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking a moment 

and making the most of it, without knowing what's going to happen next.

~Gilda Radner

Quilting

This top has taken a long time... partly {or mostly} because I've been gone so frequently this summer. However, it's finally done... perhaps. I think I'd like a border of random green scraps and a second border of lights but there's no more of this light. There was just enough background fabric to eke out the narrow border. 

String Hatchet quilt top

While I was inspired by my boring, dull leftover strings and my previous Hatchet quilts to make this, last week I found a photo of Sue Fox's quilt. My goodness, they look similar. Like Kaja at Sew Slowly, Sue makes many quilts with found and recycled fabrics - something I want to try. That's how I found her. 

It's always fun to see other people doing similar work. I don't feel so odd.

Speaking of recycled fabrics, I’ve been saving family shirts for years. Husband, sons, and occasionally purchased at the resale store. Almost all are blue and white. Recently Nann made a quilt using similar shirts and I decided it’s time to put mine to work, too. Several quilt blocks are running through my mind but one will look like hers. So cute and… I have loads of solid scraps, too. Perhaps this will use both up. 

Deconstruction occurs nightly during the news. It’s taking much longer than expected. 

Reading

Sara flies from Sweden to visit her pen pal Amy but arrives in Iowa the day of her funeral. The residents of Broken Wheel insist she stay at Amy’s house for the remainder of her vacation. Then she opens a bookstore to connect people with some of their favorite books. 

I wasn’t sure I’d like this but found it charming.

Enjoy the day, Ann

A New String Quilt Idea

The first casualty of war is the truth.

~Aeschylus

Quilting

Since I've made so many Four-letter-word quilts, I'm down to pretty dull and dark colors in my scrap bag: black, brown, greens, with a few purples and reds. I've been wondering what to make with these when I was reminded of the Hatchet blocks. What if the blocks were made of strings and split between light and dark sides?

These first pieces were made last summer but I found them in the orphan box. 

They look well on the pink and grey print background. Time to make some more. Now it’s hard to find dull strings in my scrap bag. 

Eventually I pushed into dark/bright purples. Those two in the top left are too bright. For one I added some duller strips but simply deleted the other. 

When I completely ran out of greens, I added light browns and tan. They look okay but the green is better. A small shopping trip is in order so this is turning into a longer term project.

At some point the background pieces must be cut so I'll know how large I can make this quilt... Hopefully, lap size. 

While my family’s visiting, we saw the new Pixar movie, Elio. What a treat! Hopefully you can find time to see it, too.

Reading

Max documents several groups efforts to stop the Holocaust including Orthodox Jews in Switzerland. 

Enjoy the day, Ann

Blue Melon Patch Quilt Gifted

What makes a movement Fascist is not ideology but the willingness to do whatever is necessary - including the use of force and trampling on the rights of others - to achieve victory and command obedience.

~Madeleine Albright

Quilting

Quilted, washed, dried, and gifted. Melon Patch looks very traditional. The corner octagons give the overall quilt a bit of curve. I considered a pieced border but know this quilt will be tucked in on the sides so chose an easier plan. 

Diagonal lines with a walking foot make the quilting in the center. I started with SID along the Melon Patches then infilled with parallel lines.

And eventually finished by quilting midway through the octagons. That was enough. 

A wave is FMQ in the dark border and a half feather in the outer white border but I forgot to get photos of those. 

The back is a blue plaid from Michael Miller. I bound the quilt with more of the same blue as the inner border. 

Quilt Specifics:

Size: 64” x 81”

Quilt design: Snowball or Melon Patch

Batting: Hobbs 80/20

Thread: blue and cream Superior Masterpiece cotton

Quilting: Walking foot and free motion

Approximate yardage: 13 yds

Reading

When I couldn't find a readable copy of this book I listened to an audiobook. Denise writes about the development of the our Thanksgiving holiday, the search for community, and the joys of family and friends.  The book may seem out of sync with the time of  year but the topics are always pertinent. 

Enjoy the day, Ann

Blue Melon Patch Top Complete

A pessimist, they say, sees a glass as being half empty; an optimist sees the same glass as half full. But a giving person sees a glass of water and starts looking for someone who might be thirsty.

~G. Donald Gale

Quilting

Because I knew this quilt would be counter-paned and have a light outside border, I cut all those pieces first. They are the largest; the others can be cut from the remains. I rarely use one fabric for all the background. Although I calculated what was needed several times, I still got it wrong. That entailed a second trip in the rain to my LQS {which is now 30 miles away} to get more before it sold out. Again I calculated how much was needed. Fortunately I added another yard "for good measure". Only 24" left. I guess I needed that good measure. ;)

The Melon Patch block looked good 

 

but the first layout was less than inspiring.

That seems odd since the carpet and the counter pane blocks are very similar shades. Once those were added, the quilt looked much better. Now it’s ready to quilt.

Grandson1's choice of a very simple, quiet quilt means this quilt looks old-fashioned (or is that classical?) to me. I'm still pondering how to handle the borders. Fortunately I won't get to that for a couple of weeks... or more. 

Reading

The Goodbye Cat is a collection of seven short stories by Japanese author Hiro Arikawa. I especially enjoyed the second tale about a manga artist whose adoption of a kitten teaches him to parent his own newborn.  Phillip Gabriel is a masterful translator. Imminently readable. 

Enjoy the day, Ann