Autumnal Warmth

My hand is gradually getting better. We'd be further along if I hadn't hurt the affected fingers by trying to open our sliding glass door with that hand. You never realize how much you use your off hand until it's injured somehow!

The last thing I showed you were these four columns of scrappy Shoo Fly blocks on my design wall. My plan was to turn them into two columns for a strippy format lap quilt to donate to the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study.

My original plan was to tie together two columns of blocks into one wide vertical strip and then separate them with a whole cloth print. I actually had a plaid pulled out for that purpose. However, the more I looked at it the less I liked the idea. I thought about leaving more room between the columns of Shoo Fly blocks. I thought about spacing them evenly and just putting alternate (whole cloth) blocks between them. That would certainly make quilting straightforward. It would be boring though. Well... let's say "less interesting".

In the end I decided to make some six inch liberated stars for a fifth column of blocks. Had to scrounge around for background prints in the same colors I'd used for the Shoo Fly blocks but I managed. ;- )

Then the question became whether to use the plaid I'd originally chosen to sash and border the blocks or to find something else. (I'd show you the plaid but I lost some photos between the design wall and the computer somehow and I'm too lazy to go re-shoot them.) It took a couple of days of auditioning stuff from my stash and sighing over the fact that I didn't want to have to go shopping for fabric (shocking, I know) but eventually I settled on the batik you see between the blocks here:

In all my years of quilt making this may have been the first time I've mixed batiks with regular cotton prints in a quilt top. It was the perfect solution though. I also decided to mix the star blocks in with the Shoo Fly blocks instead of keeping them separate in their own columns.

Ta daa! A 40 x 48 inch flimsy:

I'm really pleased with how this turned out. It's so warm, even just flat on the wall! As much as I'd like to get it quilted and donated as soon as possible I think I'm going to let it sit for a bit. I'm anxious to get started on the quilt I meant to start before I made the mistake of stabbing myself. ;- )

Gentle Progress

My hand is healing well. The external wound is disappearing nicely but the internal healing is apparently going to take some time. Things are still tender and overall my hand is weak. I have been able to do some sewing though. In my last post I mentioned that I could make blocks from patches I've habitually cut from scraps. This first batch is mostly from the prints I used in my Crowns quilt:

The units below were made from squares and half-square triangles that finish at three inches for more six inch blocks for my Parts Department. I haven't found a name for this basic four patch but it is found as a component part of many complex blocks.

I also had some batik patches...

 And I found some quarter-square triangles. I used them to work up this twelve inch Ohio Star block.

By this time I'd pretty much used up my pre-cut patches. At least the ones I was willing to put together into a block! It occurred to me then that sewing blocks together into a top wouldn't be much more difficult than building individual blocks. I found these Shoo Fly blocks in my Parts Drawer that I thought would work together for a lap quilt. I was thinking a vertical strippy set as I put them on the design wall.

By this time I was ready to try some rotary cutting again and since I wasn't satisfied with a few of those blocks I cut new patches and sewed up new blocks.

Now the challenge is to find the right print to use to set the blocks!

Forced Hiatus

I cut my left palm pretty badly a few days ago. Not with a rotary cutter, as you might expect, but with a sharp kitchen knife.  I never have been very good in a kitchen. As the saying goes, I only have a kitchen because it came with the house.

Consequently my sewing activities have been curtailed for a while. I'm beginning to get bored now however, and am wondering whether I could at least piece some pre-cut patches together for blocks like this...

Or maybe I could just sew scraps together for crazy made-fabric blocks or liberated log cabins. In any event it will be long strings of chain piecing, Not sure I trust myself to pick up an iron yet. I don't want to get excited and open the wound accidentally!

Of course, there's a bunch of tedious sorting of papers, etc. that I could do...

Surely that wouldn't speed healing the way more fun activities would though, would it? ;- )

Late Summer

I had no intention of being absent so long. What can I say? Life got in the way.

I have been working on finishing up another project but I'm not ready to share it yet.

And the question in the back of my mind is, what's next?

I have a wall full of batik parts but no clue what to do with them yet. No particular inspiration either.

There's more to do for the Sketchbook Project. I could catch up my Bead Journal Project. The challenge project for the La Conner Quilt Museum is still in limbo.

Plenty to choose from... just no motivation... yet.

It will come.

Maybe a little retail therapy will help? ;- )



Done and Done!!

I have TWO new finished quilts!

You may remember this strippy string top that I made earlier in the year:

It is back from my long-arm quilter...

And ready to snuggle under...

With a good book. :- )

I've been calling it Reading Material but it may come to be known as The Library Quilt! It's roughly 52" x 74."

The other finish is my black and white Crowns quilt. I quilted this one myself, at home.

Below you can see the colorful binding and a bit of the back. I couldn't get a good image of the quilting stitches though.

They aren't anything special; I just straight line quilted in diagonal rows such that the black crown shapes are almost completely outlined. This is a square quilt, about 58" in both directions.

I'm looking forward to putting these quilts through the washer and dryer to fluff them up a bit. It will be a treat to wrap up in each of these briefly when they come out of the dryer!

And now that these are done, what will be next?