It Looked Fine From the Front...

Hint: If the machine sounds a bit off, it probably is.

Getting There

The One Block Wonder, at this stage, is a bit boring. Lots of short bias seams to sew. I have eight of the thirteen rows assembled. For a bit of light relief, I have loaded the Teddy Bears on the frame and will spend part of my time doing some creative doodling on it.


I'm thinking the black border will have to go. Maybe a gray similar to the medium value on the boxes would work better. I'll have to dye some though, because I don't have enough left of that piece.

Thrifty Day

These were my two best finds at the thrift store today. I love the square sushi plate. I don't know if I'll use the chocolate fondue set or give it away. It looks like it has never been used. maybe it's time for a fondue party.

First Row

I got the first row sewn together this weekend but that's about all I got done. It was finally nice outside so I decided to enjoy the outdoors. I sewed the first full patterned row because I'm not entirely sure I like the black for the border. There are many, many more seams to sew before this one is done.

Swimming Fish

One picture was too dark and one was too light so I went with the lighter one. The fish are fused on and now I'll go around them with gold thread since they are all outlined with gold. I just realized that the whole thing is far from square so I'll have to trim the right side off quite a lot. I'm still bothered by the bottom of the middle box. Maybe a flower or something there?

Help From Some Fish

I am going to hide the worst of my mistakes behind these cute fish. I'll back them with fusible interfacing and then hopefully, insert one end in the seam and handstitch the rest down. Maybe even a tiny bit of batting to make them puff out would be nice. The other method would be to fuse them. I'll see how turning the first fish works before I decide which method to use.

Sewing Multiple Boxes is Frustrating

The last strip on each side is not sewn on yet. There is a mistake on the lower corner of the middle box. The gray is too wide. There should be a small dark triangle there. The seams don't match very well. I may have to applique a lot of flowers or beads on it to cover the worst mistakes. It has been interesting but a bit like Paula Nadelstern's technique, it's just not me.

Tie Dye Shirts

My friend Jenn and I did some dyeing today. These are the best results.

Open Boxes Again

Sorry this picture is a bit blurry but it's cold and wet outside and I don't feel like trekking back to the studio to take a better one. I thought I'd use this piece for a bag but it's getting huge. It covers the whole middle of my ironing board and it's not done yet. It will match a bit better when it's sewn together but I may go back and re-do a couple of the first pieces that didn't fit properly. There are also some light spots on the green fabric that need to be colored or changed. I'll see if I have any paintsticks or markers that match.

Open Boxes

I have designed some open boxes using the method from One Block Wonders. The designing was difficult enough but sewing them is even harder. My seams are far from perfect (ever try matching angled seams?) but I'm not going back to re-cut them. I am looking on this one as a total practice piece. Hopefully, I'll get it all figured out and do a better job on the next one. If there is a next one...

Values

Here I have arranged it with the lights in the upper left corner to match the light on the boxes. I can already see some red ones on the left that have to be moved up higher. Then when you move a couple of them, some more look out of place...



This is the black and white version so I can check on the values. It's very hard, with such a busy pattern, to tell which blocks are darker and which are lighter. I want to make some more boxes to spill out into the border.
This is the second of many versions.

A New Layout

This is the latest arrangement. I put most of the boxes in the middle with lights around them and darks toward the edges. Then I saw that there was a hole in the upper left corner so I made some more boxes. I'm going to try darks near the boxes to make them more subtle. Then I'll try darks to one side and lights on the other. So many possibilities. I'll probably make some more boxes too, just because they are fun to do. I have some triangle graph paper to design some of my own ideas for boxes.

More Boxes

This morning I made some more complex boxes. I'll make a few more and then try to figure out how to integrate them into the overall design. I'll probably take down all the hexagons, sort them into colors and then start with the boxes first. This is the part I like the best.

Cheese

I have been experimenting with home-made cheese and yesterday I made Quark. Today I mixed in some extra ingredients. They are, from left to right, Ancho Chile cheese, Guajillo Chile cheese and herb cheese. They are all quite tasty. I think the chile cheeses may get stronger as they age a bit. I guess I need to make some crackers to go with them.

Thrift Shop Find

This is a set of tube turners. Apparently they can be used to turn tubes of fabric. They could come in handy for making purse handles or flower stems for appliques (not that I ever applique, but I can never resist a gadget). Judging from the instruction book I think this set has been sitting around in someone's sewing room for quite awhile.

Hexagons are Done

I have done all the hexagons and made a couple of boxes. The next task will be to make some more boxes and then start re-arranging the hexagons. I have to decide if I want it light in the middle and dark at the edges or to shade from light to dark, side to side. Or I could go for something completely different. Now the fun begins.

Hexagons

I have been sewing hexagons. I have about thirty more to go and then I want to make some boxes to put among them.

Quilt Show

Sorry this picture is a bit blurry but it's the only one I have of one of my favorite quilts in the show. I love the different blues and I have always been a fan of black and white. It is done in three pieces so it looks like curtains over a window. It was made by Marilyn Stuart Stothers who is the featured quilter this year. The one below that is cut off in the photo is also hers.

Quilt Show

I went to our local quilt show this morning but forgot my camera in the car. I may be going back tomorrow and will get pictures then. The fabric above was from the vendors area. I have been searching for fabric with characters that would fit in the doorways of wonky houses and these just fit the bill. I love the musical cats the best. The other cats will look great in the doorways too. I'm not sure about the insects but I couldn't leave it there.



These fabrics are from local designers who had quite a few quilts in the show. They had a booth selling their lines of fabrics and also kits for the quilts that were in the show. They are called Blue Meadow Designs and have had their patterns in several quilt magazines

One Block Wonder Book

I went to a memorial service in Stonewall (about 2 hours away from where we live) and after the service I dropped in to see their quilt shop. I had often heard that it is a good one and it did not disappoint. I held back on the fabric quite well, only buying two half yards but I couldn't resist this book. I just started a new one block wonder quilt and this one is full of great ideas. How could I resist?




I tried to get a better picture of this quilt but it always came out blurry. Carmel may recognize the fabric because I made her a quilt from it a couple of years ago. The next time I go to Australia I'll bring along one of those dragons from the leftover fabric and applique it on the border.

Version Two

Here is the second version of the bag in fabric that I like. I used piping on the edges of the pockets instead of flaps. When I was cutting it out I forgot that I was going to make the bottom pocket deeper so that will be a change on the next one. I love the sunglasses pocket on the gusset near the top. This one also has an adjustable strap. I'll tell you how I like the shape after I carry it around for a few days. It's supposed to be ergonomic. We'll see.

Prototype Bag

Here is the first version of the bag from the pattern I bought in Santa Fe. I'll change a few things on the next one, especially the fabric which looks too military for me. I used it because I didn't want to waste good fabric if it didn't turn out well. I do like the size and shape though, so I'll be making another one soon.



This side called for a long strip of velcro under the pocket flap but I find that makes it too hard to open. Next time I'll make the pocket deeper and just use a small spot of velcro or a magnetic snap. I like the sunglasses pocket on the gusset near the top but I'll make it a bit deeper the next time. It is fine if the glasses are not in a case but it's too short for my case.
Now I just have to get rid of some junk so it won't be so heavy.

Fabric Shop

Of course, I couldn't leave Santa Fe without shopping for some fabric that would remind me of that wonderful place. My favorite is the black one with the Kokopeli design. I bought a couple of yards of it. There may be a bag in there.


Speaking of bags, I couldn't resist adding to my bag pattern collection. There were some samples of this one hanging in the shop and it really appealed to me. We'll see how it turns out.
I hear by the news that we narrowly missed some huge tornado weather down south. Another reason I'm glad to be home!

Home Sweet Home

We got home this afternoon after a couple of very long driving days. The highlight of the return trip was a stop here at the National Quilt Study Center in Lincoln, Nebraska. I was so impressed that there is such a huge building entirely dedicated to the study and restoration of quilts. I could have spent a day there but we were getting eager to get home so we only spent an hour or so.




This is the dedication at the door. I'll post more about our trip tomorrow and show the fabric I bought. Right now I'm off to eat home made food! Yay!

Santa Fe

Here is a shot of one of the amazing adobe buildings of Santa Fe. Of course, this afternoon I found a quilt shop and bought a few fabrics that remind me of Santa Fe. Tomorrow we leave for Oklahoma City. More driving...

Our Trip So Far

We are in Santa Fe after two days and a bit of driving. The most exciting part of the long ride through ND, SD, Neb, and Kansas was probably this semi that had been blown off the road by the high winds in South Dakota. The scenery all the way down is beautiful if subtle and the huge skies are amazing.
Santa Fe is a wonderful place. We walked around in the historic area and checked out the Native Art Museum (I forget the actual name of it) but then retreated back to the hotel to cool off a bit. We are not used to this kind of heat yet.
Hopefully, I'll take more photos when we go out again later. In a couple of days we head off to Oklahoma. More fun...

WBW Encore

A couple of people asked what my original fabric was like for the One Block Wonder quilt. Here it is with a few more blocks made. It's hard to fail with such fabulous fabric to start with. The book I'm using is One Block Wonders Encore by Maxine Rosenthal. This is my third quilt using this method. I also have a few boxes that I didn't use on the other two quilts so I'll have a head start on this one if they match well enough.

One Block Wonder

I started a new kaleidoscope quilt a couple of days ago. I wanted some mindless sewing but I did some mindless cutting and cut one strip an inch too narrow. No worries. That strip will find its way into some other quilt and this one will be a bit smaller. The sewing on this type of quilt is mindless but the arranging is endless fun.
We are leaving for a bit of a road trip in a couple of days. We will be going to Santa Fe and then across to Oklahoma City. Once we do what we need to there we may decide to go to Paducah, depending on how tired of driving we are at that point. If our timing is right we could end up there during their big quilt show. We'll see what happens.
We are lucky that a friend was willing to house sit for us. It's a lot easier to get ready if you don't have to close up the house and find someone to check it regularly.

Ready to Quilt

Yesterday I added the border. The best thing about this border fabric is that I got it at the thrift store for $1.50 and there is enough left for the backing. It's just barely wide enough so I might add a strip of pink or yellow down the middle because it's better to have at least two inches extra on either side when pinning it to the frame. There won't be enough of the green for the binding so it will probably be dark blue like the inner border.

Prize

Today I went to the post office to pick up a parcel and this is what I found in it. This is a giveaway that I won from Beth at Bzyqltr.
There are some gorgeous fabrics here and a couple of packs of really cute note cards. There is also a pattern for a Christmas wall hanging. Maybe I should start on that one right away. Lol.
Thanks Beth.

The Border

I found this fabric in the Thrift Store last week and I think it goes perfectly as a border on this piece. The pattern on the fabric is very similar to the light green in the middle pinwheels but on a larger scale.

The Value Version

Here it is in black and white. I'm thinking this is it.

Or This?

Or this...

It still looks better to me with the white sashing...

The Options are Endless

I tried organizing the pinwheels by color and value with different colored sashing between. I also tried switching the second from the bottom green strip with the second from the top dark blue strip. I still prefer the white sashing but I may try them on point to see how that works. Of course then I have the problem of what to put between the blocks...
Luckily, I find this the most fun part of quilting. It will be up on the design wall for a few more days while I play around with it.

Red Sashing

I tried the red sashing and I have to say that I'm not crazy about it. I also tried moving the blocks so the sashing is thinnner and I still don't like it. It just seems to overpower the blokcs. I think if it is red it would have to be about the same with as the white part of the blocks. I may try that but first I'll audition some softer colors.

Simba Visits

I have started making some wonky pinwheels as described by Gwen Marston in Liberated Quiltmaking II. I am using the strips I won last week. I will soon have to decide what color I will use for sashing. It will have to be a solid but I have no idea what color to use. I'll be auditioning fabrics once I have a few more blocks done.



Simba has come for a visit this week while his family is away for spring break. It's nice to have him around again.