Thursday, May 19, 2022

The Next Quilt

 I mentioned in a (fairly) recent post that one of our nephews is finally getting married and that I had undertaken to make a couch quilt for the happy couple. I had a couple of Scrappy Trip blocks made at that point. Since then I've made more.

I also made a 10" heart to insert into one of the 15" Scrappy Trip blocks.

My patches begin as 3" squares. For the heart I had to cut a few 3.875" half-square triangles. 

When I put the blocks on the design wall I discovered another pair of hearts I hadn't planned on!

Do you see them, stacked one on top of the other? 

I have filled in around the heart with more of the neutral prints. You'll see that when I've finished assembling the top. 😉

Sunday, May 15, 2022

Scrap Happy in May

I don't have much to show this time around. This is probably the sum total of my scrap blocks to add to the Parts Department:

A 6" (f.) Hole in the Barn Door block and some stray flying geese. I did manage to piece a back for the latest Parts Department Quilt though. Recently I have been buying yardage for quilt backs as I really struggle to piece a back for some reason. The larger dimensions required throw me for a loop I guess.

The fabrics used have been in my stash for over 10 years, maybe as much as 25 for the central portion. Not scraps in the general sense of the word but they obviously weren't going to be put to use any other way.

James did an open meander to compensate for all the activity on the front of the quilt.

Actually, that red stripe might not be all that old...

The quilt top definitely qualifies for Scrap Happy Day. It all came out of the Parts Dept., which is made up almost entirely of blocks made from scraps. 😁

The next step is to trim off the excess batting and backing and find something to use for binding. Who knows, that could end up being a scrappy binding! 

Scrap Happy Day is open for anyone utilizing their scrap materials to make something new and useful or beautiful. It originates with Kate and her friend Gun in Australia and Sweden respectively. Participants share their scrappy adventures on the 15th of each month (in their own time zone). It's an inspiring trip around the world to visit every blog!

KateGun, Eva, Lynda, Susan
Birthe, Turid, Cathy,  Tracy, Jill,
Claire, Jan, Moira, Sandra, Chris, Alys,
Claire, Jean, Jon, Dawn, Jule, Gwen,
Bekki, Sunny, Kjerstin, Sue L, Vera,
Nanette, Ann, Dawn 2, Bear, Viv,
Preeti, Edith, Debbierose, Carol


Tuesday, May 10, 2022

What Happened to the End of April?!

It's true: time flies whether you're having fun or not. I have been busy with happy things but the last couple of days have been a challenge. I may have mentioned that Luna has begun having seizures this year. (Or was it the tail end of last year?)

 

The vet put her on phenobarbital in an effort to keep them under control. It seemed to be working, up to a point. Then suddenly she had five seizures over the last 24 hours and three in the 12 hours prior to that. They are very stressful to witness, to say nothing of the lack of sleep involved and cleaning up afterward. You must know they don't occur during the hours I'm awake and alert. We have increased the dosage and so far have been without another event for over 12 hours. The poor dog is now blind and practically deaf. We have no idea how old she may be because she was a rescue. Fingers crossed we still have a few good years with  her. I won't be getting another pet. I'm just not able to be the responsible pet owner I want to be anymore. 

On a happier note, I have begun a new quilt project. The youngest of my nephews is finally getting married. They won't be getting a bed size quilt, nor will it be ready before the wedding takes place. Nevertheless it sounds like they will be pleased to have a couch quilt in colors the bride suggested. Or as close as I can get given differences in perception. 😉

She originally sent me a picture of a low volume quilt. The next photo she sent featured colors very similar to the starry quilt I just made.

Which apparently I need to get a picture of in its' finished state! Instead of more stars I have decided to do another version of Bonnie Hunter's Scrappy Trips quilt. It's a process I'm comfortable with and can be worked up fairly quickly. I have also decided to have a go at a more low volume palette.

The original palette suggestion was ivory, tans, and sage green. The second photo was more teal and ivory and included shades of cinnamon. The teals in my stash were too bright so I've chosen to tone down the green overall and focus on the cinnamon instead. 

There has been some hand stitching since my last post, and the completion of the secret project (except for binding). In addition, James had the opportunity to do some quilting for a friend of one of my SIL's. 

This liberated log cabin was hand pieced long before liberated patchwork became a trend. Strips were pieced together to get the desired length, bits were added to corners to make it fit to the next block, and blocks were chopped in half. The outer border was sewn on with apparent disregard for any kind of consistent seam allowance. James used a handmade template to help create the fan quilting - all of his quilting is hand guided, not panto or computer generated stitches.

I don't know who made the embroidered label on the lower front corner.


 It will never be a square quilt but I trust it will be cherished for the family history built into it. It's pretty obvious that the fabrics came from a variety of sources. We've identified everything from pajamas to curtains and tablecloths. It's a true time capsule!