Hand Quilting and Four Patch Stacks, Notes and Log Cabin Blocks Settled In

One of the first block arrangements, not there yet.

The blocks on the far left side and lower corner were rearranged.

Log Cabin blocks backing.

I'm hand quilting my small butterfly quilt with pearl cotton #12.

Stacks of Four Patches, trimming and measuring going on this week.

My notes and scratch pad.

Happy Weekend!!

Summer weather and walks at the lake are what's happening here.

I've been working in shorter blocks of time, about 20 minutes, because it's too warm and I need to get up and cool off for a while. It's funny but when I'm piecing, pressing, trimming and digging around for more of this or that scrap of fabric, it can get hot. No air conditioning in this room, a fan yes, and I'm thankful for that. So to cool off I go down and out to the backyard and stick my feet in my grandson's pool for a while, nice.

And of course my blog friend, Cathy, is the one who wrote about breaking up work times into shorter  pieces and how that worked out well for her and she gets a lot done!

So this week I've been piecing and trimming On Point Four Patches. And making stacks of them, I like that. And since I've got the ruler and cutting mat out why not make stacks of other blocks for that other project I've been putting off?  

Also I finalized my Log Cabin block quilt arrangement that was stalled for a while. I had to keep asking myself, 'What is the intent here? Log Cabin blocks have something to say and just what is that?'  I decided movement was important and color could work that out.

I was thinking Log Cabin blocks mean houses (to me) and what if this was a city and you had streets and apartments and houses all lined up along sidewalks. So that helped me figure out the final placement so it made sense.

And my note/scratch paper pad! I'm a doodler at heart and spend a lot of time drawing and writing. It's a good way to unwind and plan I think. Are you a doodler?

So that's the news around the shire, where little feet are running up and down the hall.

Have a great week and I'll be by to visit.

Quilt 'Licorice Allsorts' Finish, Piecing and More Thoughts on Reconstructing

This week my HSTs and four patches in process.

Lady of the Lake Block, finished, @10.5" for my traditional sampler quilt.

My summer 2017 improv challenge quilt, 'Licorice Allsorts' is done!

Here's the back view, I pieced scraps for the strip.

Greetings from the Pacific NW!

 Where we have sun and clear skies. On a day like today we can see the Cascade Mts to the east and the Olympic Mts in the west and in the south is Mount Rainier, truly natural wonders!

And Happy Weekend to you.

This week I've been piecing/cutting etc. for about 20 min. then I get up and go and do something else for a bit then come back to the piecing/cutting work. My blog friend, Cathy , who gets an amazing amount of work/play done works this way and talks about it on her blog. It sounded like a good idea, so I'm trying it. I find I don't get as burnt out and my inspiration stays around.

Another of my blog friends, Debbie , has finished reconstructing a worn out vintage quilt and she's done a beautiful job. Visit her to see her great work. Talk about inspiring!

I've finished 'Licorice Allsorts' a summer 2017 improv challenge quilt. For a long time I didn't know what to name it, (I like to name my art quilts), and I didn't know how to finish it.

I had added a white border, photo in my past post, and I then I was stuck. I was looking through past photos of that quilt when I first started it, to see if that would give an idea.

Looking at the photos I realized the white border was not in keeping with the original intent.

Take off the border? Yep, I cut it off and unpicked the seam allowance left.

A sigh of relief!

Then another of my blog friends, I have a lot!, Queenie  suggested I name it 'Licorice Allsorts'.

Perfect, sweet and playful.

I used units/blocks of rectangles, squares and triangles to border the center medallion of 'liberated' rail fence blocks.

That's the quilty news from the shire.

Have a great week and remember to be thankful, it beats fussing handsdown.

And a smile makes you look years younger, for free!

I'll be by to visit.

Deconstructing and Reconstructing Butterfly Quilt and Thoughts on Hand Quilting and Must We Always Be in a Hurry?

My Pfaff Expression 3.5 sewing machine, intuitive and 'charming.'

My deconstructed butterfly quilt now being reconstructed!

The new backing fabric for my butterfly quilt, pinned and ready for hand quilting.

'Atmosphere' lights and 2018 cow/farm calendar with bits of color inspiration.

Hand quilting started with cotton pearl #12.

Seer Sucker black and white for new binding, think 'utility'.

My zipper pouch keeps my spools of thread, I like the texture and the utility look.

Happy Weekend! from the Pacific NW where we have warm temperatures and clear skies.

And I've been doing some rethinking about some of my projects especially after visiting Jillayne  and Karen , two textile artists extraordinaire. They do thoughtful beautiful work and get it done in a timely fashion. It's not that they exhaust themselves, I think balance is the word.

I had finished my small butterfly quilt a couple of weeks ago with machine quilting. And the more I looked at it the more I didn't like that machine quilting. Another of my blog friends was in the process of deconstructing a worn antique quilt with the thoughts of repairing and reusing the blocks in a new quilt.

If these people can take time to lovingly stitch and create and repair then I think I can do that too.

So I unpicked the machine quilting on my butterfly quilt, not as bad as you might think, and took the layers apart. I had used a thin batting, Quilter's Dream, and it was too thin, it didn't give the body I wanted. So I replaced that with Warm and Natural, much better. I also gave it a new backing. I had bought a yard of a black and white butterfly fabric just to use on this quilt but for some reason I had whipped up an improve backing and used that instead. So that improv backing will get repurposed.

And now I'm hand quilting with cotton pearl #12 and it looks like I wanted it to look.

I'm happy about that.

So my thoughts through all this are 'Why must we always be in a hurry?'

Is there some book deadline to meet? No. Are we in a contest to see who can punch out the most quilts? Not me anyway. 

Why do I stitch and quilt and blog? I enjoy it and reading about other textile/sewing/quilt artists' adventures and methods. Just have to clarify that once in a while!

My zipper pouch, black and white, made with quilted scrap fabric and 'made' fabric, I like looking at because it says 'utility' and 'useful' to me. I made it using MSQC's Zippered Pouch YouTube tutorial.
Good tutorial, easy to follow and you can add your own touches.

So I hope you take time to visit the blogs I've linked for some relaxed beauty.

And just be thankful, the best things in life are free.

I'll be by to visit!

  

Quilt Border Change, Liberated Piecing and Summer's in the Air!

Crocosmia in bloom here, gorgeous!

I learned to swim here when I was a girl, Steel Lake, Federal Way, WA.

Two more blocks of liberated piecing got done this week, another star and Log Cabin nine patch.

Astilbe blooming and a great big hosta in the back yard.

I took off the outer white border of my Rail Fence Medallion Quilt, it looks better this way. 

Hello, from the Pacific NW, Washington State!

Where we are having great weather, warm for a few days then cooler with clouds and showers.

There was a bar-b-que for the Fourth of July and the neighbors really out did themselves with their firework show in the evening, wow!

I got some 'liberated' piecing done, a star and a nine patch log cabin block and trimmed off the outer border of my Rail Fence Medallion Quilt with sawtooth borders. I was looking at photos of that quilt as I was piecing it and I realized it looked finished without that last white border. In fact it looked good that way, (My last post has a photo of the white border still on), so off it came.

And yep, that was the trick.

That's the news here in the shire. Where summer is keeping me busy and the days are long.

Hope you're enjoying your summer, and some of you I know are getting into winter and I hope you're staying warm!

I'll be by to visit!