Unconventional 'Uneven Thirds' Improv Modern Quilt; Medallion Style, Binding, 'Origami' Quilt Magic

I started 'Uneven Thirds' with these center blocks, my design and colors.

Here the first border is sewn on, second borders, half square triangles, in process.

Binding is sewn to front and pinned to back, 22" x 24".

Back of 'Uneven Thirds', Kona cotton solids and a print.

Hand stitching the binding down with a Kona cotton solid red.

I started sewing the Cathedral Window rows together and I like the 3-D effect here.

Center points are tacked down, 3 rows of four squares or 4 rows of three!

A print square, is laid down and the solid sides are folded over and pinned, ready to be hand stitched down.

Hello from Rancho Palos Verdes!

Where we have clouds, wind and rain off and on.

The Pacific Ocean is stormy and grey.

This week I'm slowly getting back into gear. It was a good change to slow down and relax.

I got the binding for my "Uneven Thirds' small quilt sewed onto the front and I'm working on hand sewing the back down. I like the red binding, a thin line of red to bring the whole statement to a finish.

Sometimes I think about doing a fold over finish, it's kind of 'artsy', but I like that thin line of color to  

frame my quilt and define it.

I think 'Uneven Thirds' is very 'unconventional and unexpected' as in Sujata Shah's challenge to make an unconventional quilt in the style of the quilts found in Unconventional and Unexpected; American Quilts below the Radar, curated and authored by Roderick Kiracofe.

Then I made progress on my 'origami' Cathedral Window project. It does remind me of origami but with cloth. I enjoy the 3-D look of the squares and points and I'm in no hurry to finish because I like looking at it unfinished.

That's what's happening at the ranch where it's winter on the coast.

And I'm remembering to be thankful.  

I'll be by to visit.

Modern 'Bright' Sampler Flimsy, Cathedral Window Step Two, Happy January, 2019 New Butterfly Calendar

I had to take advantage of the brightness outside, Bright flimsy, 74" x 84".

Top finished in December 2018.

Close up of colors and fabrics in my Bright Sampler.

Cathedral Window process, step two. Three squares lined up, ready to pin.

And the touching points are pinned, the fold is the sew line.

The seam is done here, the points will be laid back down to be tacked.

The three squares are sewn together and the four points are tacked down in each center.

Another finish in 2018, my City Sidewalks modern quilt, 30" x 30".

And the back of City Sidewalks, hand quilted.

Happy New Year! my new butterfly calendar 2019.

Happy January 2019 from Rancho Palos Verdes, CA.

Where it's sunny and cool.

Now I get to use my new butterfly calendar and see butterflies when checking the date. I've been looking forward to that.

And I've got step two in my Cathedral Windows process briefly outlined here. I think you can get the main idea, there are other tutorials that go into a lot more detail on YouTube. I'm making a Cathedral Window project that will have 4 rows of 3 squares. More progress to come.

I also posted photos of my 'City Sidewalks' Modern Quilt, a finish for 2018, and my 'Bright Sampler' flimsy finish 2018. Lots of quilters have been posting 2018 finishes so I thought I'd jump in with two of mine, more info on them can be found in previous posts.

I'm not spending too much time looking into the past but I'm sure looking forward to the future!

I plan on participating in a few new challenges going on and I'll be posting the progress.

That's the news from the rancho where I'm 

remembering to be thankful and I'll be by to visit!

Traditional Bright Sampler Quilt Flimsy Finish, Queen Mary Tour, Happy New Year Almost Here!

My traditional sampler quilt with final border sewn on, now 74" x 84".

Final border is about 10" wide.

We toured the Queen Mary in Long Beach after Christmas.

There was a Carnival cruise ship at dock loading passengers.

Hello from Rancho Palos Verdes where....

It's almost the New Year, 2019!

We had a Merry Christmas with family and good food. I hope you too enjoyed your Christmas.

And best wishes for a Happy New Year!

Before Christmas week I managed to sew the final border onto my Traditional Bright Sampler Quilt, inspired by a free sampler block of the month in 2018 by Piecing the Past Quilt Shop , they called it  'Times of Refreshing.' It now measures 74" x 84". Then I went on break and unplugged my sewing machine.

Christmas week we toured the Queen Mary , a retired ocean liner, maiden voyage 1936, docked in Long Beach, CA. There was a lot to see, models, historical info, a skating rink, restaurants, and Christmas lights and decoration, etc. There were cruise ships at dock loading passengers too. We got lots of walking/exercise in.

Beautiful scenery.

That's the news from the rancho where the holidays are being enjoyed and I'm staying in relax mode.

How about you and yours? Are you still on holiday?

I'll be by to visit!

Quilt Basted, Clover Thread Trimmer, Long Beach, Border # 3, Rejoice!

Cathedral Window square ready for what I call step 2.

Another square in process for my Cathedral Window project.

I ordered Clover's thread clippers, perfect for trimming stray threads.

'Uneven Thirds' machine basted.

Long Beach and San Bernardino Mtns in the background, 9th St. San Pedro, CA.

This week I worked on 3rd border for my sampler.

Rejoice!

Hello!

From Rancho Palos Verdes where we have sun and cool temperatures.

This week I had time for piecing the 3rd border for my traditional quilt and putting together more squares for my Cathedral Window project. Putting together borders are tedious for me but I like the look so I put the effort in. I think part of it is that I'm almost done and so I get impatient.

I'm going to get my Cathedral Window squares all to what I call the second step and then I'll post the process of sewing the squares together and adding the color insert.

Also this week I machine quilted my 'Uneven Thirds' quilt and it did not turn out well.

It's small and even though I had pin basted it, it didn't quilt flat and had puckers.

So I unpicked all of it and machine basted it in a grid to get better stability. 

It will wait until I've recovered my bravery.

We took time on Thursday for a little sightseeing and drove south to San Pedro where there's a good carwash. We could see the San Bernardino Mtns and they had a light dusting of snow on them.

Now the Christmas Cards are mailed out and maybe I'll make up some sugar cookies.

That's the news from the rancho,

 where we are Merry and Bright and remembering to be thankful.

I'll be by to visit!

More Fancy Quilt Stuff Cathedral Windows, Blog Friends' Sewing Projects and Sun Along the Coast

This is my first try at 'cathedral windows' and I'm making more.

This is the first part of my cathedral window process, started with 7 1/2" sq.

Folded in edges 1/2", press.

Folded in half, press. 

Fold in half again, press. The press lines are guides.

Then fold in the corners to center, press.

All corners are folded in. Now fold these corners into the center and press.

Fold the last corner in and press. These squares will be sewn to other cathedral window squares. That's part two, next post.

Looking north from Palos Verdes, Ca, across the Santa Monica Bay, toward Malibu, where the wildfires burned out of control a couple of weeks ago.

North Los Angeles, there were surfers in the small cove below.

Hello from Rancho Palos Verdes! 

Where we have clouds, wind and light rain.

Last week there was a stretch of mild weather and sun. I managed to get some photos of North Los Angeles and the Santa Monica Bay. That's the view I see driving into 'town'.

Last few days I've been working on more Cathedral Window blocks, a little here and there.

I'm in no hurry, this is for fun, 'tis the season to be merry!

I enjoy the hand work. It reminds me of when I learned to sew. 

I learned to sew when I was 14, and I loved it. First I sewed an apron, then a blouse, then a jumper etc. It was everything fun, color, fashion, the excitement of process. I kept sewing for myself and then for my little ones as they arrived. Then things got busy and all I had time for was dreaming about projects. And time passes and the art quilt thing got hold of me and still has me.

As I was saying I like sewing, the planning, the process and Cathedral Window blocks are that to me right now. 

I have blog friends who also like to sew and I love their projects. Julie @ justjulielou recently made a gorgeous dress. You must see it! She's made a lot of other projects too, beautiful finishes.

And Bernadette Banner has enjoyable videos on You Tube  showing her historical costume projects.

She hand sews most of her work. Her attention to detail is amazing. Her enthusiasm is catching.

She's just finished an historical reproduction of a dress fashioned after a garment in a painting in the Washington National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC . Then she went into the gallery and made a video of the garment next to the painting with her sister modeling it. Brilliant.

How fun is that!

And that Friends, is what's happening on the rancho.

Where I'm taking time to be thankful and merry.

Hope you have a good week, I'll be by to visit!

Quilt Sampler Progress, Holidays on the Coast, Scott Hansen's 'Reykjavik'

My traditional sampler quilt with second border.

Clockwise turn.

It's starting to look like Christmas around here!

Hello from Rancho Palos Verdes!

Thanksgiving was wonderful, family and good food.

And the Christmas holiday is right around the corner, that came fast.

Today I finished sewing the second border onto my traditional sampler quilt. One or two more borders to go, I want it to be full size, now it's 53" sq.

I'm still reading my current favorite books, 'East Meets West' by Patricia Belyea , full of great improv and color use ideas. And Kaffe Fassett's newest book, 'Quilts in America', full of beautiful quilt photos.

Simply Moderne  quilt magazine, fall issue, by Quiltmania Inc. is an issue worth having. There's an interesting article on Okan Arts: artisan quilts and Japanese textiles

And Scott Hansen of Blue Nickel Studios has a fabulous quilt featured, 'Reykjavik", directions are included! You've got to get that issue, it's that good and nobody's paying me to say that.

That's the news from the rancho, where we're remembering to be thankful and getting excited about Christmas.

What's my favorite part of Christmas? Well, one of my favorites, is listening to a children's choir. The lights, the happy voices and faces are so heartwarming, a slice of heaven. 

What's one of your favorites?

I'll be by to visit!

'Uneven Thirds' Small Improv Quilt Design Progress, Thanksgiving Week, 'Quilts in America' by Kaffe Fassett and 'East Meets West.'

'Uneven Thirds" borders laid out.

Borders sewn on, approx. 22" x 24".

Rancho Palos Verdes coastline, looking south from Terranea Resort.

Path along the Pacific Coast, I take my walks here.

Yesterday I stopped at a scenic park, along the coast, next to the Trump National Golf Course, north entrance.

Looking north from the scenic park. We live on that point ahead in the fog.

Hello! from Rancho Palos Verdes, CA.

Where it's been foggy and misty the last couple of days. Today the sun is shining through the mist. 

This is Thanksgiving week and we'll be sharing a good meal and enjoying family.

My mom and dad would always tell us on Thanksgiving, 'We have a lot to be thankful for.'

And we do, good times, bad times, there is always something to be thankful for. Just turning your thoughts that way lightens the load.

This week I finished borders and made up corner blocks and sewed them all onto my improv small quilt, 'Uneven Thirds.' I enjoy the design challenge, taking a center medallion or theme and going out from there. 

I work small because I don't have a large design room all to myself. Every time I need to sew or cut or iron, I need to set up and then when I'm done I need to tear down and put it all away. I've worked at a fabric store teaching quilt block construction and it was the same there for me. I had to set up the class before it started and then tear down, put away everything when it was done. So I've had to do this before and I'm quick at it.

And I'm still reading 'East Meets West' by Okan Arts owner, Patricia Belyea  and getting 'improv' inspired like crazy.

I'm also reading through 'Quilts in America'  by Kaffe Fassett, the quilt photos are stunning.

Two books I highly recommend and again, I'm not being paid to say that.

That's the news from the rancho, where I'm remembering to be thankful.

I hope you have a good week, and I'll be by to visit.