Wednesday’s Wall

I’m currently working on three different sampler quilts (not to mention last year’s, which I still need to piece), and I oddly have the blocks up on the design wall for some reason (I’m usually good about putting them into their proper locations), so I took a (bad) photo.

One is with the Sew You Want to Quilt group, focusing on Amish blocks (I use the term loosely, based on research) in our own choice of colors. I have a few of those done, although I am still behind on one block from early February.

The other two are monthly Saturday Samplers (well, one is on Thursday nights) at the two closest LQSs. For those unfamiliar with the Saturday Sampler concept: you pay a registration fee ($10-15 seems standard) which covers a kit of the fabric for your first block at the first meeting. From there, if you continue to bring your completed block from the previous month to the next meeting, you continue to get the kit for the current month free of charge. If you can’t make it to the meeting, you typically have to purchase the missed month’s kit. Some shops give you a discount on the first kit you miss, some give you one free pass, some give you an incentive to finish the top before the next cycle starts, etc. Some give you all the individual pieces cut out, some give you strips and squares to cut and chain piece, some just give you chunks of fabric to cut everything out yourself. My two shops each have their own quirks, and sometimes the rules and procedures even change year to year.

Even though I’m not absolutely in love with the fabric choices and styles of either, I do greatly enjoy the social aspect—an hour each month to meet up with other local quilters, learn what the shops have to offer in the coming month, and see the creativity of everyone in what they bring to show and share.

I’m going to have to get creative with layouts for 12″ blocks though, that’s for sure!

Shakespearian Bars—An English Interpretation

Posted in Quilting

After I posted this top back in January, I went a bit incommunicado about it, as I decided to submit it to the Great Lakes Seaway Trail “Beauty of the Byways” show this year. I finished it with nary a minute to spare, so I don’t have many photos of the details, nor of it hanging, but here’s an overview.

Shakespearian Bars Front — “Shakespearian Bars—An English Interpretation”, Rachael Arnold, February 2013, 52″×58″

Each submission to the show must have a story:

While some say you should travel a byway to see the “simple life”, my journeys on byways around the country have been for the opposite reason; sometimes I need a break from the repetitive, “simple” driving of the Interstate System and long to see the complexities of agriculture, forests, seaways, rivers, and hundreds of small towns. Driving on Ohio’s Amish Country Byway may find me slowed by a horse and buggy, but the leisurely pace gives me time to admire the rows of corn in fields or meadows of flowers along the road.

The piecing of my quilt is not intricate, but to call it simple belies the involved process of creation—from choosing the colors of fabric and thread, to the complexity of each stitch holding the three layers of cotton together. It is plain, but sometimes the monotony of life’s daily bustle calls for slowing down and enjoying the “simple” complexity that you can find when you turn off the more often-travelled path—whether it be a break from quilting projects of many pieces to work on something inspired by the Amish or taking time to drive along a byway and admire the sights.

The pattern is mine, but it is strongly influenced by quilts made by Amish women in Pennsylvania and across the Midwest in the late 19th Century, now in museum collections.

The title comes from the color scheme, one I found for yarn somewhere on Pinterest. They called the scheme “Shakespeare”, so I ran with that. It’s “an English interpretation” because English is what the Amish call non-Amish. The colors are Kona Coral, Kona Regal, Kona Hibiscus, Kona Moss, and Free Spirit Citrine.

The back is another Amish-inspired composition using the purples from the front (Regal, Hibiscus) and Moda Bella Thistle. It’s a little off-center, but not crooked, so I call it a basting win. Considering that I cut 7 of the 12 pieces incorrectly when putting it together, I should also call it a miracle.

Shakespearian Bars Back — “Shakespearian Bars—An English Interpretation” (Back), Rachael Arnold, February 2013, 52″×58″

I hastily applied a handwritten label to one side, but once I get it back, I’ll put a better one on.

It’s quilted in a charcoal thread that I had leftover from the Cyclist quilt; many sources on Amish quilts say that their quilting was done in black at that time, so I chose to use a dark thread rather than matching to the colors of the quilt.

Pellon Nature’s Touch in the middle gives it a nice drape and warmth factor. I didn’t wash it before the show, but can’t wait to do so once I have it back in my hands.

The binding is wide and non-mitered—another nod to the Amish tradition. I chose Hibiscus, as I wanted to put it next to the Regal as a way of giving the inner pieces more contrast. In certain light, the Hibiscus and Regal photograph very similarly to each other when they are in different areas of the quilt.

It’s also Moof approved, but I’m starting to think he’s just a sucker for soft quilts on wood floors.

I don’t think this is the last of my experiments with color schemes and Amish Bar quilts!

Salvage Into Small Bag

Posted in Crafting

Every project has a story, but this one is more dear to me than most. It starts with a sewn tube of fabric that once contained cardboard, used to stiffen the base of a Vera Bradley bag.

Said bag was a gift to my youngest sister (Kaite) from our grandmother, who passed away last summer. It came into my possession via our other sister over Christmas—it was the only part of the bag that survived the fire that destroyed most of their possessions right before Thanksgiving.

Unpicked, it measured about 8.5″×16″, and miraculously had two full centered repeats of the main pattern. Perfect for a small zip bag with a boxed bottom, when paired with a mottled brown lining fabric from my stash and a couple of hardware pieces.

The dumb luck of the repeats meant that I was able to cut a matching front and back, making awesome matching patterns in the seams. I struggle to do this when I have a lot of fabric to work with—I’m still in awe that I managed with such a small amount of fabric.

It’s hard to imagine that this bag’s fabric started life as an odd little flat insert in another bag, but I hope its new life suits Kaite well.

I’ll find out soon… I’m on my way to pick her up from the airport as this post goes live!

Upcoming Quilt Show: Beauty of the Byways

Posted in Quilting

If you are looking for something fun to do in the Central/Northern NY area this month, consider taking a trip to Sacket’s Harbor for the Great Lakes Seaway Trail annual quilt show.

This year’s theme is “Beauty of the Byways,” allowing for a wide variety of quilts inspired by the national byways. The show will also have two traveling collections on display—one collection from the 2012 Hoffman Challenge traveling show and another from the Route 66 traveling show. There are so many quilts that they’re spreading them over four historic buildings in the village!

The show is open for two weekends: March 16–17, 2013 and March 23-34, 2013 in Sacket’s Harbor, NY.

You can learn more about the show and the Great Lakes Seaway Trail on their website and their blog.

I’m doubly excited to visit this year, because not only do I have a quilt in the show, but my little sister is visiting me and is going to go too! See you on the 16th!

Repro Swapping

Posted in Quilting

Proper photographs of the full block sets I made eluded me, but we’ve now swapped three full sets of Puss In The Corner/Uneven Nine Patch blocks in the LQS swapping group.

My January set had these fabrics:

These comprised my third set, which we swapped last weekend:

All told, we have 60 of these blocks, which will finish at 8″

We are also doing one final swap for this project in May—a mix of piano key blocks and Ohio Star signature blocks for a border.

Though it’s not a quilt I would have done on my own, I’ve really enjoyed playing with these fabrics, and love the scrappy result. Here are some of the finished blocks on the wall:

I haven’t decided on a final layout. The swapped blocks and upcoming border swap will allow for a twin-sized quilt on their own. I’m considering building out borders to make it a full-sized quilt, but we’ll see.

It will be a fun top to finish this summer!

2012 In Review

Posted in News

Considering that we’re a day away from March, it is probably a bit late for a review of last year. But, since I found this in my drafts and find it helpful to refer back to, I’m publishing it now to motivate me to do even more in 2013.

Quilt Finishes

I had a goal of finishing 10 quilts in 2012. I didn’t make it, but I’m happy with the ones I did finish.

1812 Quilt Challenge Quilt
Tula Does Up the Walls in Pah-ree
Tula Leftovers
Ruffled Baby Quilt
Cyclist
Impressions Baby Quilt
4 Cuddle Quilts from 1 Jelly Roll (I’m counting these as one, but if you count them individually, that is 10 for the year!)

Sartorial and Costume Projects

I finished some things to be worn. Not all for me.

A Wrap Skirt for Thomas Knauer
A Tunic/Dress for me
An 1812 Ensemble which I still haven’t photographed or blogged about

Crafty Things

I made quite a few small projects. Here’re some of my favorites.

Samplers, Meetups, and Exchanges

I participated in some swaps and samplers that will go on into 2013, as well as a monthly EPP sit-and-stitch.

Fails and Projects I Got Bored With or Ignored For Too Long

These are my guilty secrets. The projects that I started and then just stopped for some reason or other (generally to work on something else). These are my goals for 2013.

2011: Miniatures Heart Nine-Patch—I haven’t touched for two years.
2011: Organic Spins—I made some progress, but I want to finish it by this September. I have everything I need, I just need to finish appliqueing and quilting.
2011: Drunkard’s Compass—needs a lot of work.
2012: Witches’ Bubble Brew—is partially pieced, but needs a lot of applique.
2012: Double Wedding Ring—is not going to be a DWR, but I do want to finish something with the rings that are complete and the remaining fabric.
2012: The Steampunk Costume—is never going to be finished with the original plan, but I’d like to do something with all of it.

A Resolution

I wish I could say I am going to focus on finishing up those fails and boring projects instead of starting new projects in 2013, but that would be a huge lie, knowing myself.

I just shipped off a quilt started and finished this year, and have another brand new top completed. I also started a new sampler, a new SYWTQ group project, and have already failed at completing a Tiramisu during the sew-along.

However, I do resolve to finish at least one quilt top before starting anything new after quilting the aforementioned top. And I resolve to finish Organic Spins before my guild’s show in September.

There. It’s in writing. Now to start doing it.

Saturday Sampler Q4

Posted in Quilting

Here we are almost two-thirds of the way through Q1 of 2013, but I’ve finally finished my 2012 Saturday Sampler blocks. In my defense, I missed December’s meetup because of our trip to MO, so I didn’t get the block until the end of January.

To recap, this is a monthly block meetup at my LQS. Every year, they choose a theme for the 12 monthly blocks, and 2012’s was “Road Trip.” We meet up the last Sat. of the month, learn how to make the block, and are given precut strips to complete it with. They chose to do this one out of batiks. In April 2012, I showed you my first three Saturday Sampler blocks, in July the second set, and in Octber, the third set. Here are the final three.

In October, we traveled up to Connecticut…

…which was my first experience with flying geese. There are a few points lost in there, though.

In November, we went all the way down to the State of Georgia…

…I’m happy to report that no points or souls were stolen.

And to finish up the year, we traveled back up the east coast in December, landing on the Road to the White House…

…and I only had to unsew one section that I mistakenly chain pieced to the wrong row.

Although I don’t have a photo, I have the rest of my top fabrics (the black texture from P&B’s Downtown collection, a white batik, and a yellow batik) and a layout all planned out, now I need to get to work on it.

I mentioned in July that I have a label planned, but now I’m hesitant, because I’ve seen how the other labels I’ve printed at home have held up (or rather, how they haven’t). I need to make a Spoonflower order soon, though, so I may add that in. We’ll see.

No promises as to when you’ll see the finished quilt. Sometime this year, I hope.

I’m doing the Saturday Sampler again this year. I’m not sure that the theme has a name, but it is very different from 2012. Look for a quarterly report in April!

Finished Top

Posted in Quilting

The retreat last weekend was amazing—something I definitely plan on doing again. It was about 48 full hours of sewing, eating wonderful food, and a little bit of sleeping. I came home Sunday and promptly ended up with the Sinus Plague. So, after a day of work which I don’t much remember on Monday (after work, I was in bed at 6, with a slightly awake break for dinner around 8), and a day in bed yesterday, I feel almost human again.

In the mean time, I’m on a wicked crunch to finish quilting the Amish quilt by Monday morning-ish (so I can mail it), and to make a sampler block by Saturday at 11am.

I did quite a bit of quilting for the Amish quilt while on the retreat (and a bit of un-quilting, unfortunately), but when I needed a break, this is what I worked on (shh, it’s kind of a secret, and you’ll have to forgive my hasty photo):

I’m so happy that my notebook scribbles turned out to be a great quilt top. Now I just have to figure out how to quilt it. It’s going to have a Minky back, so I don’t want to do anything too dense. The ladies at the retreat with me suggested circles; I like that idea. But, there’s still time to ruminate considering the timeline I’m on for other things.

The best thing about that quilt is that I still have plenty more fabric to make something else. I do love it so.

Treating Myself to a Retreat

Posted in News

First, the grand total of my recent completed projects, Valentine Mug Rugs made of mystery-fiber pinkish fabric and a charm pack of Bliss that I honestly don’t remember buying (I have a charm pack purchasing problem):

Forgive the shadows, I’ve been binding at work over lunch, and get some really interesting light in my cube.

Actually, there are eight of them in various stages of being bound (I proved with this project that I cannot bind by machine with any proficiency at all. At. All.), all with slightly different blocks on the left.

Have I mentioned Urban Threads yet? I can’t get enough of their embroidery designs. That’s where the “Make Things” crest came from in the above project.

Hint: if you ever want to get me a present, a gift card to there would be splendid.

I’ve also been quilting the Amish bars quilt I posted about a month ago. (No new peeks until I finish it, sorry.)

We solved the electrical woes I mentioned in my last post, but I haven’t managed to put my sewing room back in order after I moved it all around so I could use the other outlet. I did get the giant box of trash out and new shelves built, though: baby steps.

This weekend, though, I’m going to a small quilting retreat hosted by a semi-LQS at a semi-local B&B.

I still haven’t packed, so I’m not sure what I’m going to be working on. Definitely the Amish quilt. I’ll also be piecing the top for a project that I can’t show you until it’s delivered (March?).

I’m thinking about taking my Miniatures Nine Patch pieces, which haven’t seen any work time since I posted this back in Feb. 2011.

And maybe my 2012 Saturday Sampler blocks (December’s still isn’t complete, but I also have all the other fabric for the top now). Is it gauche to take a sampler from another LQS to the retreat?

Then there is the EPP-project carrying bag that I started in November, but stopped once I got to the lining part and never went back to.

I have a star block that needs finishing by Monday—maybe I’ll take it, or finish it up before I leave. I have some swap blocks that need making before the beginning of March, so perhaps those.

In short, I really need to Make Things, and I have a lot of things partially made. And then I need to Blog Things, but that will hopefully come after said making.

February 26: Here’s a shot of all eight mug rugs before I packed them up. I did end up figuring out how to sew binding via machine on four of them, with the help of Steam-a-Seam basting. Not perfect, but I was out of time! The blocks all finished at 4″ (the rugs themselves were 5″×9.5″).

Including the binding and a charm on the back of each, I used all but four of the charms in the pack (with very nominal cutting waste of some).

Foto Freitag

Posted in Crafting

It’s February. Wow! January flew by and I accomplished less than half of what I hoped.

I hope to get back to posting more often now, but I still have a to-do list a mile long from January. Not to mention that my studio is in disarray thanks to an electrical problem that leaves me one (non-grounded) outlet. For reference, today’s photo is a Christmas present for 2012 that I finished this morning before work.

Having made six of these bags now, I think I have all the kinks worked out. Now I just have to figure out how to condense the time frame (it takes me about 3 hours to cut, quilt, and construct) into a two hour class. Good thing I have until May to figure it all out!

Enjoy your weekend!