But Do I Call It a Border?

My 2014 tea towel challenge quilt project has become larger.  I decided that the piece that I shared a little over a week ago wasn't done yet and that it needed something more.  I had a few ideas for the design of the border:

• Continuing the gray chains of the Star Chain blocks into a pieced border,
• Adding a few of the small Ohio Star blocks
• Using black & white prints to create a dark border to contain the quilt.

I made a couple stars and liked them.  I pieced a couple border sections from black and white prints with gray chains and liked them, but thought the border could use a random sprinkling of squares from the fabrics used for the stars (in colors from the balloon tea towel).  Fully committed to the idea, I cut many strips from black and white fabrics, sewed some strip sets and cut them up into 3-square units ... then I decided that, even with the addition of some colored squares, it was just too dark and constraining for this light, airy quilt.  

How I hate that feeling when you see how something is not working ... and how great is it when, once you edit your ideas and take it in a different direction, one that feels like you, the work seems so much easier/faster/better.

I'm not sure what I've added would correctly be called a border, but it was constructed as rectangle blocks, then long strips, like a border would be.

In addition to the stars, continuation of the chain, random colored squares, a few black and white squares were sprinkled in the borders.

This piece now measures 68 by 80-inches–much larger than I imagined my Tea Towel challenge quilt would be.

It occurred to me that by adding more traditional white, yellow and red borders, it could become bed-sized, but I'm waffling.  I also think it could be "done."

I'll leave it on the design wall for a day and see how I feel about it tomorrow.

Stop Overthinking It!

When I restarted my tea towel challenge with a new tea towel–actually a pair of coordinating tea towels–my mantra was STOP overthinking it.

I won't say that my tendency to think-think-think a project is the only thing that completely blocked me from moving forward with the fairy tale tea towel, but it was definitely a factor ... and since I am being completely honest, I find that I am still (over) thinking about the challenges of working with that one.

The mantra seems to be working for me and, at last, I have some Tea Towel Challenge progress of my own to share.

Followers of the Block Lotto will recognize the Star Chain blocks, which are this month's block for the Lotto, and will also see how the same quilt that inspired the Star Chain block design also inspired the design for this quilt.

I do hope that Céline believes that imitation IS the sincerest form of flattery.  I loved her Maisy quilt and immediately saw design possibilities in it.  Over on the Block Lotto blog, I suggested using large floral prints with the green Star Chain blocks we're making in a similar design, and when I started thinking about what to do with my pair of coordinating hot-air-balloon tea towels, I was clearly still thinking about the Maisy quilt.

Now, I find myself in that place that Laurina blogged about a couple weeks ago and I, too, am asking myself, is it done yet?

I may have fallen into old habits and be overthinking the answer to that question a little too much.  Some considerations are that since itt has turned into a bigger quilt than I imagined–it now measures 56 by 68 inches–maybe I should go for it and make it large enough for a bed?  One practical challenge to making it any larger is that I have all but used up the white-on-white fabric and since I bought the last of the bolt, I won't be able to find/buy more.

I'd love to know what you think: Is it done?  Does it need more and if so, what?

Tea Towel Challenge 2014 - The Show & Tell Linky

As you know, after making ZERO progress on my tea towel quilt, I've decided to do something else, in hopes of priming the creative pump and getting some new insight into my tea towel quilt.  I hope this approach will mean two finished tea towel quilts from me soon ...

I know I'm not alone in my month of tea towel stuckness.  But, while some of us struggle, others have made real progress.  So, for those who are making real progress, here's the Linky for the show & tell for your finished Tea Towel Challenge quilt.

Based on my own stuck February and that of others, I have decided to extend February's Linky for showing your progress and this one, for sharing finished quilts.  These lists are now open as follows:

In-progress:  February 1 - March 31
Show & tell: March 1 - May 31

Please add your links as appropriate for wherever you are in your tea towel journey.  All the Linked lists appear on the Tea Towel Challenge page.

Tea Towel Challenge Update and March Goal

Earlier today, I included the Tea Towel Challenge among my February Failures. My ideas for a quilt based on the Fairy Tale Calendar Towel keep circling in my head, but just haven't come together enough for me to make any real progress.

This morning, I decided to follow my own best advice to myself and work on something else–in this case, another, less complex, tea towel idea. And, to give myself an extra little push, I'm making this project my goal for a Lovely Finish in March.

This pair of hot air balloon-themed tea towels were one of my purchases last fall, when I first started thinking about making another tea towel quilt and ended up collecting a few of them. 

They are new, 100% cotton, made in India and very VERY thin.  Backed with some lightweight fusible interfacing, I think they'll be OK.  In the last couple days, an idea for using them in a quilt popped and, this morning,  I pulled these fabrics from my stash as possibilities for the new quilt. 

Whether it's really because Mercury has been retrograde or something else, I've decided to extend the time periods in the linky tool for the in-progress and show & tell updates ... just in case, I'm not the only one who has been a little stuck in February:

In-progress:  February 1 - March 31

Show & tell: March 1 - May 31 

I am optimistic that by following my own best advice to my self, working on this new tea towel project will shake loose the ideas in my head for my first choice and I'll make progress on both projects ... stay tuned. 

Tea Towel on my Design Wall

The progress on MY tea towel challenge quilt has been non-existent.

But, a funny thing happened when I stuck it up on my empty design wall today ... some of the ideas that have been floating around in my head organized themselves and I think I know where I'm going now.  I suppose that is progress ... if only in my own head :-)

Others have made much progress.  It's been fun to follow the links and see where you're taking YOUR tea towel challenge quilts.

I'll be back to join the Linky Party when I have made some actual progress with fabric and thread. Please also share your progress sometime this month by blogging your progress and sharing a link at the bottom of this post.

This Linky list will be shared on the Tea Towel Challenge Page, too–it's the one stop shop for the challenge and contains the basic guidelines and all the Linky parties for the challenge.  If you have just discovered the challenge and the idea interests you,  it's not too late to grab a towel and jump in. If you're just here for the eye candy, going through the previous linky parties on the challenge page can be inspiring and entertaining, too.

Tea Towel Challenge - An Update

I've started looking in my stash for fabrics for my Tea Towel Challenge quilt.  Here are the candidates I've found so far.

I've asked everyone to check in this month with their tea towel/fabric choices.  Despite my love for my growing tea towel collection, I'm sticking with my first acquisition.   I was a little surprised by the colors when I saw them in person and didn't think I'd have anything like that in my stash ... but clearly I did.

If you've blogged about your choice of tea towel or fabrics you will be using, please add your link below.  You can also link to a photo from Flickr or other photo-sharing site.  If you don't have a blog, but would like a place to blog about your Tea Towel challenge quilt, let me know and I'll set you up on the Sophie's Friends blog.

It's Official - I'm now a Tea Towel Collector

It all started so innocently.  When I saw the Fairy Tale 2014 Calendar tea towel on Spoonflower, I knew it would be great inspiration for another tea towel quilt.   If you are reading this before 10 AM Eastern time on Thursday, you still have time to enter the drawing to win a Tea Towel bundle from Spoonflower (including that Fairy Tale one I love) as part of their 12 Days of Give-aways.

And when I blogged about another tea towel challenge, Moira sent me a link to an eBay auction for the Run Runner tea towel and I had to have it because it was exactly what I was desperately looking for earlier.

Moira wasn't the only one helpfully sharing links.

Grace left a comment with a link about how she thought I'd like a Paris-themed tea towel from Michel Designs because I had lived in France for a few years and ...  she was right. I did.

It is one of four tea towels that arrived at my house this week from Amazon.

I like the collage-y style of many of the Michel Designs items and had to have this Christmas themed tea towel, too.


I am very happy with both the quality of the fabric base in their  all-cotton tea towels and the color printing on them.

There were two more tea towels calling my name as I surfed the web. They are a pair of balloon-themed designs.

I love the design, but I am less satisfied with the quality–they are also 100% cotton, but seem to be printed on something more closely related to cheese cloth than the usual fabric used for tea towels. I don't think they'd hold up functionally, but with some fusible interfacing, they'll be fine in a quilt ... and I think the poorly sewn hems will be easy to un-sew.

 

Only time will tell if I move from being a collector of tea towels to a quilter who makes a series of tea-towel inspired quilts.

Check out the link list on the Tea Towel Challenge 2014 page to see how others are expanding their collections and winnowing down their choice.  While the challenge doesn't actually start until January–giving everyone a few more weeks to shop, decide and commit, there's been a whole lot of planning going on.

How about you?  Inspired by a tea towel design?  Want to play along?

This and That and Some Work in Progress

The winner of the Fairytale tea towel–my giveaway in the Blog Party is Tammy.  Here's what she said about what she collects:

Tammy, it's on it's way to you.

When I cut the tea towel yardage from Spoonflower yardage, to share with Tammy, I had the same experience that Glen blogged about here this morning.

Upon a closer look, the colors were quite different that I thought.  The shades of brown are much warmer than the grays I imagined I saw in this print.  I'm surprised, but actually happy to work with the ACTUAL colors.  Another detail I didn't notice until I saw the print in person is that the text in the background is FRENCH. I love it!

Yesterday, the snow stopped, the sun came out and I thought it was a good day to go out and about. I can't believe that winter is here, but it's hard to deny when the landscape look like this.

During the snow storm, I had pulled some flannels out of my stash and put together a quick quilt using the December Lotto block, using white and red solids and a green tree print. I did some quick math based on how much of the white flannel I had.  I didn't make a decision about borders until the blocks were made ... then I decided it needed a narrow white inner border, so a trip to JoAnn was on the list of errands.  I noticed that their "deal of the day" included "50% off All Batting" ... I didn't notice, until I double checked when I was in the store, that it was a "web exclusive."  I wasn't the only one that missed it ... apparently quilters had been asking about it in the store all day long.

After a break for lunch–there are turkey tamales under all that cheese and green chiles on that much bigger than expected plate–I braved a quick trip into the grocery store.

 I could tell that the frenzy to collect ingredients for Thanksgiving delights had already begun.  I was happy to pick up what I needed and to get away from all those distracted shoppers wielding grocery carts.   While I was standing in the cashier's line I remembered the knitting needles I needed and forgot when I was at JoAnn.  Michael's was nearby.  I wasn't sure if they sold knitting needles, but they did and even had the size and length of circular needles I need.  Yay!

I braved a trip to the big box store and told myself that now, I would have no reason to have to shop until weekend was over.  I was a little surprised to see a display of an 80-inch TV with many boxes of them at hand–ready for Black Friday ... has that really become the norm?  I cannot imagine a room with a TV that large in it looking like anything but a movie theatre ... but who knows? Maybe I'll decide I "need" one one of these days.

Once home, the flannel fabric went into the washer.   This morning, I cut the strips and finished the top.

Here's a sneak peek - I'll share the rest after the December lotto block is announced on December 1. For now, it's my secret work in progress`.

Tonight, I'll be piecing a back and getting ready to finish this big snuggly flannel oversized throw.  It will be 80 inches square--big enough for two ;-)

Torn Between Two Tea Towels

If you are looking for my Giving Thanks Blog Party Post and Giveaway ... it's HERE.

 

A number of people have shared with me that they're looking through their tea towel collection to make their choice for the 2014 Tea Towel Challenge.

While my own collection is only just beginning, I have narrowed down my choice to one of two: the Fairytale calendar I posted earlier and this vintage  Arizona-themed tea towel.

They couldn't be much more different.  Moira sent me the link to the eBay auction for this one.  It is EXACTLY the kind of thing I wanted for the previous challenge on 15 Minutes of Play.   I hope Moira didn't love it because as soon as I saw it, I had to have it.

I noticed a couple things when it arrived.  The cloth must have been woven on a very narrow loom--there are un-hemmed selvages on both sides of the 17-inch-wide tea towel. The top and bottom edges are hemmed.

Before it arrived, I had thought about cutting out some of the motifs and appliquéing them onto my quilt, in the style of broderie perse, but the fabric is quite loosely woven from thicker threads than I expected.

The fine printing is impressive, especially given the coarse, loosely woven nature of the fabric.

Whichever tea towel I choose for the challenge, I see two tea towel-inspired quilts in my future ... unless Moira tells me that she really wanted this one ...  because as much as I love it, I'm also feeling more than a bit guilty about grabbing it for myself.

I've asked everyone interested to blog and link their commitment.  This is mine.

The 2014 Tea Towel Challenge and How I Became a Collector

Welcome to my blog stop on the Quilting Gallery's Giving Thanks - Quilter's Blog Hop Party.

I am thankful for the support of quilting friends and strangers and the way interesting things happen when you share a little idea on the great big internet ... which is how the 2014 Tea Towel Challenge began.


It was this post on the Spoonflower blog and this lovely Tea Towel Calendar design by Julie that got me thinking about how much fun I had using a tea towel as a design element in a quilt earlier this year and how maybe I should challenge myself to do it again.

Then I began to wonder if anyone would like to join me. I sent email to a few quilters and casually mentioned it near the bottom of a blog post last week.  The response was very encouraging ... and then, the great tea towel hunt began.  My email has been filled with messages containing  links to beautiful tea towels, new and vintage and announcements of, "I've found my tea towel" and "My tea towel is here."

Although I had already ordered the fairytale calendar, I found myself wanting more and bidding on eBay auctions ... which is how I became a tea towel collector in spite of myself. All my tea-towel orders arrived, in one fell swoop, yesterday.

And that's how my tea towel collection began.  It includes some of Julie's Fairytale yardage which I will share with the winner of my giveaway for the Blog Hop Party. To enter the drawing, leave me a comment by Saturday night and tell me what you collect–either by intention or ... accident. If you are a No-Reply blogger, make sure that I have a way to contact you if you win. I love this panel as a Tea Towel, as an element in a quilt or maybe as a tote bag. I'll choose a winner on Sunday.

If you're wondering what happens when you make a quilt from a tea towel, here are two wonderful quilts made by two of the challengers from earlier this year.



Read more about Tea Towel Tess (on the left) here:  Tess Waits No More.  Miki's quilt for her pink-loving daughter, Bella, is blogged here: Update on my Tea Towel Quilt.  They started with two very different tea towels and made two very different–both fabulous–quilts.

If you are inspired to join the challenge and make a quilt from a tea towel, I hope you will follow along and share your project.

I have put together some suggested guidelines, a timeline and a few check points ... and a blog badge with a handy link back to my Tea Towel Challenge 2014 tab that contains all the basic information and will track our progress.

Suggested Guidelines

1. Your quilt must include a tea towel–it can be new or vintage.
2. The colors in the tea towel determine the color palette for your quilt. 
3. Try something new. Since this one is defined by you, it can be anything and is an opportunity to add your own personal guidelines to the challenge.

Timeline & Check-ins

End of 2013 - Decide to participate, blog your commitment and join the linky list below.
January - Tea towel and fabric selection
February- In-progress report
March - Finished project show & tell


Are you in? Blog your intention, link back to the Tea Towel Challenge 2014 page (or add the blog badge) and enter your link below.

Remember: to enter the drawing for the Fairytale Calendar tea towel, leave a comment. To join the Tea Towel Challenge next year, ALSO join the linky list.