Returning To Quilting (and Blogging)

On Monday, I was asked to help begin the assembly of some pieced parts for what will become the Northern New Mexico Quilt Guild's 2016 raffle quilt.   I was flattered (and a little surprised because I'm not at all a perfectionist quilter).

It was the push I needed to return to quilting (and finally find the box with my favorite scissors, rulers and other go-to tools.)


The quilt pattern is a block-of-the-month pattern called Taos by Whirligig Designs (you can see the whole quilt about half-way down this page).  Here's how it looked when we were done with this step.

The organizers are changing the outer pieced border to appliqué–I volunteered to help with that, if needed, so you may get another peek in the future.

Since I was now reunited with my scissors and organized to travel, I caught up with the QOV Mini-group yesterday and made some progress on a scrappy star quilt I started last spring.

The end was in sight so I was motivated to keep going after I came home.  When the quilt top was completed, I realized that taking a photo wasn't going to be as easy as it was in my old house with it's long 1000 square foot studio.

On the plus side, I now have a deck, high enough to hang a big quilt–the only challenge being all the trees and vines in the back yard that could obscure a clear shot.

Block Lotto followers will recognize the stars with made-fabric centers (our April block) and the Many Triangles border (this month's block). The stars are a lot bigger (15 inch blocks) and the border is slightly larger (5 inches).   The completed top measures 60 by 75 inches.  I couldn't find my clamps, so you can't see it, but the scrappy blue triangle border goes all the way around ;-)

Updated to fix some grammar and punctuation and to join Angie's list for WIPS Be Gone. 

Design Walls and the End of the Month-Beginning of the Month Rush

Just about the only time the Block Lotto feels like work is during the few days at the end of the month-beginning of the month, when lots of time-critical things need to happen:

• Preparing the list for the drawing and getting the list and directions to whomever is choosing the winners ... or choosing the winners myself when no one volunteers
• Cropping and resizing all the block photos from the sneak peekers so they can be used in the virtual quilt
• Following up with the winners
• Preparing the mailing information and sending it out to everyone so that the winners can start receiving their blocks
• Posting the information for the new block
• Creating the block pattern directions (unless we are using a tried-and-true pattern on the web)
• Archiving the list of blocks made ... then updating the at-a-glance reference page with the new info

All but one of the things on the list are completed.  Yay!  Then I can sit back and enjoy seeing everyone choices in the blocks they make this month.  I love the way this month's virtual quilt came out–we're making a 6 by 9 inch rectangular variation of Bonnie Hunter's Maverick Star block.

You can find full-size versions of these virtual block photos in my Flickr photo set Tall Liberated Stars.

Things are also getting interesting on my real design wall.  The number of giant-sized flying geese made from small scraps has grown to 36.  It's almost time to play--arranging and re-arranging them and putting them all together.

The bonus is that I have been systematically cleaning all the usually-too-small scraps from my scrap bins. Win-win!  And I have some colorful distractions whilst wrapping up the monthly rush for the Block Lotto :-) 

Choosing the Next Project or ...

... how one thing leads to another.   I've been having a hard time settling on my project for my Lovely Finish for April.

When I read Barbara's post about her April Goals, I told her that it was a lot like was going on in my head at the moment. The pull of play and putting together another quilt in the style of Bloom and Cock-a-Doodle Tea Towel is strong, but I also liked the idea of more FMQ on the old Singer 301 to see if, with enough practice, I could develop skills on this machine.  And then along came the shoulds ... I felt I should pull out an old UFO and finish it.  After a couple days of thought, this is my compromise with myself–an old UnFinished Object that needs some design elements ... and quilting.

The Flying Geese top was put together and put away a few years ago. It's approximately 45 x 54 inches.   My intention was to add an appliqué section at the top and some borders.  

In the way that one thing leads to another, seeing my bird blocks (for the April Block Lotto) at the top of my design wall yesterday made me wonder how they'd work as a border for this quilt. I liked the idea of bordering the traditional Flying GEESE blocks with the BIRD blocks and my original plan for appliqué included some birds ... but looking at them together, I wasn't so sure.  Then, within minutes of uploading the photo to Flickr, a comment was added by Amy: love the birds at the top.  

I think I need to think on it a little more.  (I'll finish my round on the Cotton Robin quilt at my house in the meantime.) 

I found this familiar-looking block folded in with the project.  It was another design idea for the top of the quilt.

This is my first ever drafted-by-me rising sun block.  It was a test block made before making a block for my Bee in Michigan.  It's probably 5 or 6 years old–funny how long that particular design idea has been with me, huh?

Whatever direction I take these scrappy Flying geese blocks, this quilt is my chosen goal for a Lovely Finish in April and my Show & Tell for Pat Sloan's blog.

I've Been Knitting

I've made some knitting progress this week–some of it while waiting for the tow truck and riding in the tow truck (until the sun set and I lost the light).

 

I'm not sure I'll add the pompom to the top of the hat which is otherwise finished–I'm thinking about making some icord and using it to tie the sides together at the top of the hat.

I may not make the fingerless mittens because it looks like it will take twice as much yarn to finish the cowl than the amount listed in the pattern.   (Don't you hate when that happens ... and you don't have any more yarn to account for the difference?)

It's what's on my needles today. Follow the link to the post on Patchwork Times to see what others are knitting.

Starting things ...

I made a trip to a local new-to-me fabric store yesterday and came home with the beginnings of two projects.

A tea towel for Victoria's Tea Towel challenge on 15 Minutes of Play. 

(After a couple weeks of looking for an interesting vintage tea towel in resale shops, I settled for this new one, based on a vintage design)

Some striped fabrics for my piece for the All About Me blog hop. 

These textiles are the inspiration for these two projects.  What comes first for you?  The design idea or fabrics that whisper, "use me?"

The Perennial UFO

This is an old photo, but that's OK, since no progress has been made since I last admired these blocks.

Whenever February rolls around, I am motivated to pull it out and put it up on the wall and work on it ... and yet it remains unfinished.

   

The word blocks were won in the Block Lotto three years ago. The wonky rose blocks were made by me and others from the block lotto community to help me get this quilt together and yet I haven't been able to make it happen . . . yet.

This is my February choice for a Lovely Year of Finishes, organized
by Melissa of Sew Bittersweet Designs and Shana of Fiber of All Sorts.

It's an ambitious choice for me–I have some other commitments for February that will also have to be finished, but ... I'm up for the challenge.

Four Little Quilts on the Design Wall

On my design wall today:

Three of four of these little doll-sized quilt tops have been waiting for far too long for their moment under the needle.  It feels like their time has come.  Sunday afternoon, I pulled them out of the pile and put them on the wall to revisit my original vision and think about quilting designs.

• The maple leaf quilt is made from 3-inch blocks from a block exchange many years ago on a quilting forum.  
• I made the wonky shoo fly quilt from off-cuts from some lotto blocks–I blogged about it here, three years ago. 
• The tall shoofly doll quilt hasn't been around that long–it was made last month from leftover triangles from the Holiday Lane pillow when I was prototyping the Tall shoo fly blocks for the January Block Lotto. 
• The mini-irish chain is a twin quilt that I made when I messed up the math and made too many blocks for a quilt for a friend, Double Trouble, and then saw the opportunity to make a version for myself. 

Maybe I will end up packing some (or all) of them away unquilted (again), but I am optimistic and planning to have four little quilt finishes soon.

I'm linking with Judy's Design Wall Party post today on Patchwork Times–go share whatever is on your design wall today and check out what every ones is doing.

Lazy Saturday Afternoons

After racing around running errands earlier today, I returned to a lazy saturday afternoon and evening in the studio. I know crockpots can make for easy meals while you're sewing away ... I am also a fan of sticking veggies in the oven to roast. Today, it was these tomatoes, eggplants and whole cloves of garlic, tossed with olive oil, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.

My dinner was loosely based on Giada de la Laurentis' Rigatoni with Eggplant Puree.  The roasted veggies were so beautiful and fragrant when they came out of the oven, I almost skipped the puree step.

I didn't have any pasta in the house, so I sliced up a couple of small zucchini into faux angel hair using the newest tool in my kitchen arsenal, the spiralizer.



I warmed up the zucchini with some of the sauce in a couple minutes.  I realized after the fact that I forgot the parmesan cheese in the recipe and didn't miss it ...

After a bowl of roasted veggie goodness with a glass of chardonnay,  I'm ready to return to the design wall and my Saturday night sew-in.



Tonight I'm working on my January pick for Melissa and Shannon's Lovely Year of Finishes, this table topper made from a couple of last year's lotto blocks from April and December.

If only we'd made those Hot-Crossed 9-Patch blocks in May, then this combination could have been a May-December Romance ...

What is it about October?

With October comes Socktober, Octoberfest, Blogtoberfest and other events, ad nauseum.

I am a little bothered by some of the "it's October so I must blog every day even if I have nothing to say" posts, but the pretty Sockober knitting I am seeing in blogland has prompted me to pull some sock yarn out of my stash, along with an old, straight-forward pattern.  After two days of TV knitting at night, I'm one sock done, one to go.

 

The yarn is Classic Elite Yarns Alpaca Sox; the 60% alpaca yarn is so soft, I can't wait for the first cold day I wear these on a test run ... but first, I need to finish that second sock.

The basket is intended for stitching (notice the clever rod for holding thread spools, but it's also right-sized for small knitting projects (and easily put on a high shelf or in a drawer or closet to keep the curious cats at bay.

Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed ...

Something old, something new
Something borrowed, something blue
And a silver sixpence in her shoe.

This phrase popped into my head earlier this week and I realized that besides being a a wedding tradition to ensure a happy marriage, it also is a way to categorize my current set of quilting projects and plans.

SOMETHING OLD

Stephanie from Loft Creations invited quilters to join her in finishing Project in Progress in 2012 and  being part of her no rules, loosely connected, group of quilters supporting one another through the year as we finish up projects appeals to me.  


 First up for me is a project to use some flannel plaid  strips that were cut before I left Michigan three years ago.  I've pulled them out, pressed them and,  after seeing the solved Planet Patchwork New Years Day mystery, decided to make a plaid flannel version of Chips and Strips.  Here's my progress so far.  


SOMETHING NEW

I put together a few crazy quilt blocks for others, I've never made one of my own.  I joined the crazy quilt journal project and have joined Debra's Tuesday Stitchers.  Most of the group will be following along with Sharon B's Take a Stitch Tuesday on Pin Tangle.  Some are also part of the CQJP.

SOMETHING BORROWED

Julie has organized a round robin and group blog, The Cotton Robin.  I'll be borrowing the quilt projects from three quilters and add rounds and help finish these quilts.  I cannot share photos of any info about my center block because the identity of each quilt's owners is a secret that only Julie knows.

I added a twist and made two center blocks and two quarter yards of fabric.  I'll be making a quilt of my own based on the same center and fabric and am looking forward to seeing how my two "twins separated at birth" look when they are reunited this summer.


SOMETHING BLUE

 I know . . . when you look at this button or think about the RED & white quilts from the Infinite Variety show in New York last spring, you might not see "blue" . . . but *I* did and am making the blocks for this interesting project using Indigo and Civil War inspired reproduction fabrics.  The quilt was inspired by the Infinite Variety show and designed by Gay Bomers from Sentimental Stitches and Brenda Papadakis (author of Dear Jane), who are revealing the directions in chunks, twice a month on the website, Just Takes 2.  

Here are my first six blocks. 

 

SIXPENCE IN MY SHOE?

I don't know what the quilting equivalent to "sixpence in my shoe" could be . . . perhaps an original block for this year's Block Lotto to ensure prosperity and continued success?   

I launched the Block Lotto as an activity on a quilting forum TEN YEARS AGO.

We've moved to blog land and continued to grow each year–last year we made almost THREE THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED blocks.  We've also outgrown the limits of group blogs on Blogger and my biggest Block Lotto project this year will be working on a new home for us ... though I also want to make a sampler quilt from this year's 9 inch blocks.

In the meantime,  anyone can join the fun--here's my four blocks for January.