Turning the Page

After completing Wild Child, with all it's HSTs and blocks, I was in the mood for a simple quilt I could cuddle up with.  I had picked up these charming pre-printed blocks at my local reuse place, which has a nice selection of craft supplies.  I've never seen any pre-printed designs like these, and I liked the rabbits and cottages. 

I combined them with my favorite 4-patch blocks, some from charm squares from Debra, and some from stash fabric.  It went together fast and easy.

I treated myself to new fabric for a big floral border, and I've picked out a coordinating piece of fleece for backing and batting.  As soon as I get this pinned, I'm going to do some fast straight line quilting.  This is a nice switch from my previous 2-year long project.

Street Fabric

I've been doing a lot of walking lately.  I've enrolled in a program to get in shape, so in addition to going to the gym, I spend a lot of time taking walks around the neighborhood.

We've also added Sarah the Rescue Dog to our household, and she requires these walks too, so between Sarah and the get-in-shape plan, I'm spending lots of time cruising the neighborhood.

In my town it's pretty common for people to leave things they want to get rid of on the curb.  Lots of times it's just junk, but recently Sarah and I stumbled on a stash of Street Fabric.
 

Yes, it was spread out over the ground in a snarl, and yes, it had been rained on, but I recognized that it was the good stuff right away.

In this trove were fat quarters, half yards and even one yard lengths, in addition to some sewing remnants of quilt shop-quality fabrics.

 I scooped up as much as I could and carried the wet ball back to my house.  Yes, of course, I ran into a neighbor on the way, who was polite enough not to ask what that wet ball was that I was carrying in one hand, while holding the leash in the other.  The next day I went back and rescued the fabrics I missed the first time, and assured myself that I hadn't missed any.  After washing and ironing the goods, you can see what I took away.  Who knew I'd get more than fresh air and exercise for my troubles? It's like Santa missed the chimney, but got close to the house.

A Big Finish

Happy 2020, may the new year bring us health and creativity.  I'm celebrating the new year with a big finish: a king sized quilt I made for my daughter Allie and her husband Brandon that I worked on over the last 2 years.

The pattern is Bonnie Hunter's "Wild Child" from her book String Fling.  I made my quilt in a similar colorway as the one in the book because I happened to have a whole bunch of solid turquoise fabric.  In fact, I still have a bunch.  Lord knows where I got it.

 It was a lot of fun assembling the fabrics for this quilt.  Lots came from stash, but I also bought some novelties to reflect the interests of the recipients.

Under the pillow turn are portraits of Allie and Brandon's three cats.

Here is some math for this project:  112 x 96 inches, 168 blocks, 1680 half-square triangles.  Lots of matching seams (I did get better at it as I went along).  I was feeling brave and straight-line quilted it myself. 

The quilt has gone to live in its permanent home, where the cats are already sleeping on it, and the people are sleeping under it.  

 On to the next project...

PS.  For some reason, I don't get email notice of comments.  I'm trying to fix it.

Zippered Bags from Upholstery Samples

I felt moved to make some zippered bags from my upholstery sample stash.  The smaller ones, from 10 x12ish-inch pieces, I figure, will make nice gifts.  But my real objective was to conquer zipper installation and to make myself a couple of knitting project bags.  People in my knitting group have some nice zippered bags, which I know they've purchased.  When I see these bags, I secretly covet them, and then tell myself those infamous words: I can make that.

I overcame a mental hurdle when I realized that the fronts and backs of these bags do not have to be identical.  I wanted to use as much of these 10 x 12" pieces a possible, as well as to get a decent-sized bag, so I used different, but related, fabrics for each side of both the inside and the outside of the bag.  Because upholstery samples often include collections of related prints, this was easy to do.  The fabrics in these bags are not twins, but siblings, or cousins.

Another insight that came to me during this process relates to that awful paper that's stuck to the back of upholstery samples.  Sometimes you get lucky, and it will peel off easily, even in one big piece.  I realized I could live with getting most of it off, especially in the seam area.  I eventually accepted that I could live with paper residue even in the seam areas.  It's a little free stiffening.

I pieced together some heavy samples into this bag for a knitted shawl project.  It's about 10 x 14 inches and it stands up perfectly while I'm knitting, a real bonus.

 I pieced three fabrics for this oversized bag (about 20 x 16 inches) which I'm using to store a sweater project.

 

 Here's a peek at the pieced lining.

Some of my favorite tutorials for these bags are:

Pull-Ease!  How to Shorten any Zipper from your Stash by Blueprint
Sew Mama Sew's No-Stress Tabbed Zipper Pouch Tutorial
Jedi Craft Girl's My Favorite Zipper Pouch [tutorial] 

Happy Crafting!

Dog Star Quilt

 This quilt began with a pile of 3" dog blocks that Debra sent me so I could piece a top that she would finish and donate.

I happened to have a stack of 3" squares already cut, which was good since I also have had some wrist pain recently that I know comes from rotary cutting and knitting (all the fun activities). 
 

 

Each individual block is a 4 x 4  16-patch and 10" square finished.  I thought it would make the dogs pop more to make them the center of stars in the quilt.  I was one dog short, so one block has a red star with no dog.  The corner dogs are not "stars" as I made those before I hit on the idea of the stars. You might notice some cat fabrics sprinkled in among the light fabrics.  

As it turns out, while I've been making this quilt top, Debra found the perfect dog fabric for the border, so this one will go back to her for completion, and then it will be donated.  This part of the quilt is about 50 x 60"so the finished quilt will be about twin sized.

20-inch Scrappy Star

 Debra sent me a link to a scrappy star block.  What sparked my attention was the ring of small squares around the center.  I decided to make a jumbo-sized version and to make it even more scrappy.  This is my finished block.

I made my center from small squares, since I had a stack of 3" squares that I already cut.  In the inspiration piece the center was made from one fabric.

The half-square triangle blocks are 5.5 inches square.  I make my HSTs by pressing one square diagonally down the middle, then pairing two squares right sides together.   I then stitch 1/4" on either side of the pressed line, and then cut and trim.  You could start with 6" squares, though I used 6/5" squares since I had some of those already cut, and also I'd rather trim to size.

I'm very happy with the results.  I can foresee making a quilt top from these big block.  After I finish my current project, of course.

Remember to compost your trimmings.  These will decompose very nicely in my garden bin.

My Greenleaf Dollhouse Camper

Last fall I got the bug to make another miniature project, (here are some posts  that include my 2009 dollhouse project) and I had seen some cute travel trailer kits on line.

  I ended up buying one from Greenleaf:  the kit includes pieces you pop out of pre-cut pieces of wood, and you sand, paint, and glue the thing together before decorating.  The kit was not complicated, though the directions are very minimal.  Unfortunately, I warped the thin pieces of balsa that are supposed to form the roof by trying to wallpaper them, so my camper is "open air."

Of course, the best part of the project is decorating.  I wanted a pink and aqua decor.  Recently I finished up this project, and got to assemble all the little details I'd collected.

I imagine this space as a cozy get-away.

 I think this seating area needs a few more items: some books and maybe a plant or two.

 Here are the pillows I made next to my ipad keyboard for scale.  This kit is 1:12 inches.

I also dispensed with the wheels and trailer hitch, instead I perched it on some clearance napkin rings.  My camper is all about the interior.  

Progress Report on the Big Scrappy Quilt

I've been working on my king-sized scrap quilt.  This pattern, Wild Child, is from Bonnie Hunter's book String Fling.  I've experimented with various methods of making the many (1440 to be exact) half-square triangles that this quilt will require.  

 

Cutting strips and sewing them together along both long sides, and then cutting the half-square triangles, as illustrated above, has proven to be the fastest and most accurate method. I just line up the center line on my 2.5 inch square ruler with the seam line, and then cut.
 

When I make the light blocks, I'm going to reduce the scrappiness of the background fabrics going forward.  This pattern is already very busy, so a more controlled palette of cream fabrics will make the quilt a little more controlled and increase the contrasts.  

While I'm sewing I often listen to free audio books on from  Librivox.  They have an app I've downloaded to my phone, and they have a catalogue of titles read by volunteer readers.  All the books are in the public domain, so they are mostly classics.  I've enjoyed listening to novels by Thomas Hardy, Edith Wharton, and the Brontës.  I'm currently listening to Willa Cather's O Pioneers!  While I sew, my mind can be anywhere, time traveling among people of the past.

Vest + Vest = Cowl

Once upon a time I started to knit this stranded vest from a Kaffe Fassett pattern.  Unfortunately the pattern was written for flat vs. in-the-round knitting, and I soon gave up.  Oh, and then there was the 3-color stranded knitting...I was out of my league.
 

I saved this piece of knitting because there was no way I would rip out something I'd sweated over so much.  Plus, I love this Persian Poppies pattern, which is very typical of Kaffe Fassett's style.
 

Recently, I ran across my aborted project, and feeling inspired, I felted this holey thrift store cashmere vest, and then carefully cut some pieces the same dimension as my knitted piece.
 

 

I then slip stitched the two pieces together and voila: 

 

a cowl!  I promise, my expression notwithstanding, I'm very pleased with the outcome.