I feel like Tigger....

.... because bouncing is what Tiggers do best!

I have been bouncing....from one project to another.  Starting with these beauties -- from fabric we bought in Houston.....

 ....to playing with some of my 1.5" squares.....

 ....to making a charity baby quilt from donated flannel strips.....

 ....to another charity baby quilt....

 ...to playing with my yummy pink fat quarters that range from the palest of pink to an orange sherbert to a deep deep pink.

So, I haven't finished anything (yet) in the last two weeks -- but I've played with lots of fabrics, patterns, and used up some scraps as well as finally cutting some fabrics I've loved.  Who knows what this week will bring.

I hope you are finding time to play with fabric -- whether it's bouncing like Tigger or devoting yourself to a single project until it's done.  It's all good!

Keep piecing, Jan

Quilts Beyond Borders

Have you heard of this organization?  It is remarkable and was founded in 2007 by delivering 230 quilts to orphans in Ethiopia.  Since that time, they have sent over 2,600 quilts to Ethiopia, Haiti, Japan, Thailand, Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, Uganda, Burundi, Cameroon, and Russia.  Currently they are working to send quilts to the Forgotten People organization that services Arizona Navajo people living, in many cases, without electricity and running water. They are cold.  This is shameful!

Whether you prefer to donate your charity quilts locally or globally, you have to admire their Mission Statement:

To provide quilts to children in need, especially orphans living in under-served areas of the world where the warmth of a quilt is needed at night.

I don't have permission to share "before and after" pictures from their brochure that shows spartan bunk beds lined up side by side (the children appear to have to crawl into (or up to) their bed from the foot.  There is no room between the beds.  The "after" picture shows wonderful colorful quilts draped at the foot of each bed.

If you've ever been to a major quilt show, you know the charity organizations' booths are normally at the very last aisle of the quilt exhibits.  They are not in high traffic areas -- by a long shot.  While in Houston last fall, we walked by the QBB booth and were drawn to the packets of fabric, finished quilts, and a few items for sale.  In reading their brochure, this was the paragraph that drew me in and led me to sign up to make a quilt (or quilt top) within the next year:

More than 140 million children in the world today have lost one or more parents.  Sub-Saharan Africa is the home to an estimated 50 million orphaned children. More than one in three orphans will have lost  a parent to AIDS.  In Ethiopia alone, there are currently about 5 million orphans.

I was all in!  It was reaffirmed when I read that besides their school uniforms, this will be the only personal possession of many orphans.  Heartbreaking!

This is an organization that makes it as easy as possible on us quilters when it comes to donating.  You can donate unwanted fabric.  You can donate a quilt top (42"x48" to 42"x60").  You can donate your long arm quilting.  You can donate $15 which pays to send 6-8 tops to a volunteer longarmer.    They will also take frequent flier donations, publicity, researching grant opportunities, and sales of quilts for fundraising.

Seriously -- you don't have to send a finished quilt.  These three tops will be going to a longarmer next week along with some leftover scrappy binding.  

I know many quilters are called to serve and donate locally and I understand and admire that.  I make two small baby quilts for the local hospital every month.  A small church quilting group I belong to is making pillowcases (with members furnishing pillows) for local children who are removed from their homes and put in foster care.  I know many of you make quilts, layettes, and pillowcases for local organizations.  What I don't always understand is the position that it's "either - or".  Why can't it be "both" with the generosity of quilters being spread locally and globally?

I am not looking for an answer because this is a personal matter.  We quilt for so many reasons - creativity, gifts, inspiration, peace, energy, fulfillment, art, healing.....I suspect we rarely need to quilt to keep our families warm these days.  But there are opportunities throughout the world help keep others warm.

I would encourage you to see if you have a quilt top (or quilt) you've fallen out of love with or fabric you are tired of or scraps or a pattern you want to try -- to look at QBB's website and see if you feel moved to help them out.  Postage to ship it is the only expense.

This very simple brick quilt is their recommended pattern (3" strips cut across fat quarters) and these are the fabrics that I picked up from their booth.  The two Scrappy Trip Around the World tops (pattern by Quiltville) are from my 2.5" strip bin that exploded when I opened it.  It's certainly more under control but I have enough 16" strips to make at least one more.  The smaller strips are being subcut for another Cross Quilt.  I need to get something in my quilt room under control!

Even if you don't donate to this wonderful organization -- I would suggest you look at their website for a reminder of why quilters are special and we should all be proud to use that title in describing our art.

Keep piecing!  Jan

Thank you, McCall's

Free is good right?  At least free quilt stuff is good.

I've just had a chance to review the new Free Modern Quilt Patterns from McCall's Quilting and McCall's Quick Quilts and once again, the generosity of publishing companies comes through.

This 10 page booklet is available here at no charge and includes three different patterns, good instructions and plenty of detail about how much fabric you need.  One just happens to be a throw sized "quilt as you go" which I have done periodically and really like.  There's something so satisfying about the quilting being done when the piecing is over.  It won't work for all patterns, but it certainly does in the one here.

Beth Hayes' editorial introduction asks the question "what is a modern quilt"and I'll let you read her answer.  What I personally think is important is that "modern" isn't necessarily synonymous with "easy" or "fast".  Clearly some are -- they are huge pieces of fabric sewn together with a bold look.  But I'm not sure that's the norm as we're watching "modern quilting" evolve.

I do not consider myself a "modern quilter" but I have been influenced by the simple (but not simplistic)  use of fabrics and colors in the last year or two.  I do like the bold lines and the visual impact.

So, if you're looking for triangles or strips, or squares -- then you may want to look at Free Modern Quilt Patterns -- there are great instructions for creating fun quilts!

Whatever your preference, I suspect you agree that free quilting stuff is good....and creating is a blast!

Keep piecing, Jan

Harder than you think...

Remember the first time you went in to a quilt shop to "pull" a quilt?  I suspect most of us go in with one idea and come out with a completely different palette.

That is the case with this quilt top.  My-niece-the-athlete asked me to make her a batik quilt.  Seems easy enough to say yes to that.  But I had a few stipulations, knowing this young woman as I do.  SHE had to pick the fabrics.  SHE had to pick the pattern.  SHE had to lay out the blocks when they were done.  And, SHE will have to choose which quilting pattern SHE wants before this goes on the long arm during my next trip to Chicago. To say she is a woman with strong preferences would be a slight understatement (wouldn't it, doll, if you are reading this?).

Prior to starting the decision making process, she had been drawn to all the bright and geometric quilts I've made -- particularly those with white sashing and small blocks.  She spent hours and hours looking at jelly rolls in batiks, various color palettes and slowly began to narrow down her preferences.

That's so easy until you walk into a quilt store with about 200-300 bolts of batiks and everything flies out the window.  I had taken Cozy Modern Quilts by Kim Schaeffer since we obviously needed to know what the pattern was before we could go any farther. Her book has a lot of very geometric and striking designs and the minute my-niece-the-athlete saw this pattern, one decision was made.

Now the fabric.  That process took a little longer -- like hours longer.  She pulled bolts, we looked at bolts, we added, we took away, we closed our eyes, we opened our eyes, we added more, we took away more, we talked to other quilters in the store and ultimately -- SHE decided on the fabrics and the sashing.  And we were done.  At least with that part.

She did a fabulous job.  I went into the store thinking I was going to be working on a "knock-your-eyes-out" bright quilt.  I left the store with beautiful, soft, calming fabrics that have created a very different feel when they have all been put together.

There is a LOT of sewing in this quilt.  The 90 blocks each have 21 pieces in them (sashing finishes at 1") and then I sashed the left side and top on each block as I went.  I did not want to trust getting all those little 1" square sashing blocks out of alignment for my geometric girl!  It worked and the blocks pretty much lined up with minimal "scootching" required.

While I love this book and am about to start a new quilt from it out of my beautiful pink FQ bundle from my-niece-the-quilter -- I urge you to read it carefully and work out the pattern in your head.  I've fussed a bit before that the quilts are all reduced to minimal steps and without caution, you can over cut.  I actually was able to do a little bit of strip piecing on this quilt by thinking it through and speeding up the process just a tad.  In the end, this quilt is 7.5' x 7.5'.  It's not a small quilt and mis-cutting batiks would have made me very very very unhappy.    As it was, my waste has been minimal.

I hope you have someone in your life that loves your quilting and wants to share in it in some way!

Jan

Transitions...

I love this quilt top.  I love everything about it...

• the fabric...
• the colors...
• the randomness...
• the journey...
• and that the top is done.

I have talked about this quilt and what it represented in my Quilting as Therapy post as well as this one.

This past weekend I decided it was time to get all the four patches out and put them on the design wall. It was so fun! If you haven't been on this journey -- the blocks are 2.5" (finishing at 2") and the sashing is 1" (finishing at 1/2").

Lots of pinning. At every single intersection.

Lots of ironing.

And a reminder of why I do so love all the different shot cottons.  They sparkle a bit more than homespuns -- but of course, not nearly so much as silks.  That's a dream for a different day (or year!).  This had a blue and peach in the warp and weft - and it changes color depending on the light.

When I was putting this together -- I just started sewing (after LOTS of cutting).  I tried to be as random as possible and not over-think the color placement.  I basically sewed up every square I had cut and here is my waste.  Eleven of the sashed 2.5" squares, 3-4 partial strips that were cut so far off grain that I couldn't bring myself to put such crooked squares in the quilt, and a tiny bit of Aurafil thread.  This top required almost a full spool of Aurafil -- that gives me some perspective on how much sewing this little beauty actually has in it.  It has done exactly what I needed for various periods of transition in my life in the past two years.

And finally -- as I was heading back upstairs this morning (after taking a picture in 16 degrees!), the light coming through the beveled window in the front door caught my attention.  I threw the top on the steps, stepped back, and let the fractured light and prisms dance on the fabric.  Oh my!

I hope you are working on something that makes your heart sing!

Jan

Win-Win!!!!

Happy to say that I managed to get this done this week.  This top went together like a charm!  I mentioned in this post last week that I was using Wanda's Cross Quilt tutorial from her Exuberant Color site.  If you do what she says (and you have a design wall), this goes quickly and is pain free. I will definitely do it again and am thinking this may be a great project for those 2.5" strips I keep planning to cut from the men's shirts that are calling my name.

I also had the opportunity to shop a guild member's stash and I have to say, it was a bit awkward (for me -- probably not for her).  This woman has had her home on the market for two years and her family is in Ohio - children and grandchildren.  I think she has been widowed about six years and she wants to get closer to her family.  Who can blame her for that!

To her credit, she is lowering the price of her house one more time, planning to downsize, and is leaving Kentucky.  I applaud her!  One of the things she had to do in order to make this work is get rid of a LOT of her fabric, her quilting books, some batting, thread, patterns....

So on Saturday, she opened up her studio to our guild and we responded!  All fabric was $3/yard and her "yards" were generous.  She sold in increments of half yards and rounded down.  Some of the 1 yard cuts I got were almost 1.5 yards.  Fat quarters were $1.00 and easily more than FQ in many cases.

But, it felt a bit uncomfortable to be digging through stacks of fabrics.  I almost felt like we should be saying "may she rest in peace".  She, on the other hand, showed no remorse, had cookies for us, and was moving the fabric that would get her "home."

I got this stack of peach/orange fabrics for $15 and the cuts range from scraps to half yard cuts.  I was trying to be deliberate in choosing fabrics in colors that I don't gravitate toward -- orange, purple, and pink.  I made progress!

Look at these!  These are neutral charms and were $2.00 -- along with some odd cuts.  Who could pass that up?  Or a bag stuffed full of 2.5" and 2.0" squares for $1.00.  Seriously -- I have lots of squares but these needed a home!

The good news is -- she was pleasantly surprised with how much she sold and is hoping to sell the rest tomorrow when she opens up her studio to a different guild!  I wish her luck.  And, lest any of us worry about her, she has three full cabinets of fabric, books, and kits that are moving with her -- not to mention her Innova.

As far as I'm concerned, this was a "win-win"!  I hope you have had a wonderful week full of fabric surprises!

Jan

No Sew Week....

Sort of!

I decided to put up my machine this week and focus only on handwork: applique, cutting fabrics, organizing fabrics, and even knitting.  My primary goal was to finish the second block from Kim McLean's Lollypop pattern!  I'm thrilled to say that this block joins the first and I now have two of 16 complete.  That's a little overwhelming and makes me wonder what on earth I was thinking when I decided to appliqué this "wowser" of a quilt by hand.

In checking my pictures, I actually laid this block out last spring and had only stitched the trunk and two bottom leaves.  So, I was able to to complete it in about five days of on-and-off stitching.  The real question is do I want to put aside my piecing to focus on this quilt alone.  The answer is NO!  But I do need to pick up the pace.  Block #1 was also worked on during the Australian Open - last year.  One block a year is not a good plan when you are about to be 63!

Laying these blocks out is the hardest for me.  Fabric goes everywhere and decisions take forever.  I'm thinking I'll layout two blocks at a time to see if that provides more impetus somehow.  It will at least minimize the number of times I make such a mess.  Prepping blocks and making circles is an all day process once decisions are made.

So, no sew week was a success just because the block is done!

I was also able to repurpose the sub-cut batik jelly roll from my-niece-the-quilter.  I have been wanting to make a Cross Quilt and use Wanda's tutorial.  Check it out at Exuberant Color. (Thank you, Wanda.) It took me a minute (or two) to internalize the second row of crosses but I think I have it down.  Time will tell.  Since I have very few batiks and no consistent color palette, I am able to add a few crosses from my stash but most will be from the jelly roll.  I'm looking forward to getting the whole quilt laid out and starting to stitch it next week.  Lots of seams so I am very grateful for my larger design wall.

I was also sure that I would cut up a lot of the shirts that you see on this shelf.  These are all men's shirts --most of which are compliments of Log Cabin Quilter.  The smaller cuts are sleeves that we've shared when friends were cutting up shirts and they are stacked two deep.  My goal was to just cut them up into 2.5" strips (or smaller).  Ha!  I have cut a few but not made a dent in them.  Not a dent.  They may be like rabbits and multiply over night.  And I love them all.  I want to use them.  But I need to make them more usuable.  That didn't happen this week.

Finally - there was a little knitting.  I'm working on my first pair of socks on one needle.  This is a stay at home project.  Managing two skeins of yarn is a bit tricky for me right now.  So, I keep a single sock on needles for travel.

This sock has been to Toronto, among other places, and this week went with us to Lexington (about 2.5 hours away) when I took my machine in for a one day service.  Obviously, I am not a fast knitter!

There isn't time to sew today -- but there will be tomorrow (I hope).  I'm looking forward to turning on my machine, listening to her hum, and playing with fabric -- all the while enjoying both Lollypops on my design wall.

I hope you have had a great week and done all kinds of fun things!

Jan