March Monthly Mini (and other things)

Before I get to my March Mini,  I should show you what else I've been working on.

I finally finished my 2015 Summer Sampler from Temecula Quilt Company. Finished the top, that is. I still haven't figured out how I'm going to quilt it.

I had a lot of fun making this, especially interpreting and drafting out some of the blocks from the original inspiration quilt. (did you notice I actually performed a tiny bit of applique?!) You can read a little about my process here.

The background blue is Evelyn's Homestead, by Betsy Chutchian.

I also finished a give-away quilt, which I just now found a home for.

 Very simple quilting, by machine

This will now go to my client's husband, who has terminal cancer. I will deliver it her tomorrow, probably in some parking lot, we'll both go home and shower, and she'll launder the quilt before giving it to her husband.

OK, now for my March Montly Mini, made from fabrics gleaned from an old quilt top

After quilting and trimming, it was looking like this. I realized too late, it really needed a border, as a thin little blue binding wasn't going to do it any justice. So I figured out and installed an extra wide butted binding, made to look like a border.

The binding/border extended the size of the quilt, so I made sure to fill it in with perfectly fitting strips of batting. Unconventional I'm sure, but it worked. 

I hand quilted in the ditch between all the logs, then across each block. I'm really happy I got to show off these wonderful, quirky fabrics!

This was the last of this versatile print (what do you call this? its not really a toile.. ) which you've seen on the backs of other small quilts of mine, and at least one large one. Too bad the picture is blurry, but you get the idea. Label to appear soon, I promise!




This is one of those "shaded" shots, to better show the effect of the quilting.

I would dearly love to wash and dry this little beauty, but I already know those reds are real bleeders. I know because I pre-soaked them in (Retayne?) thoroughly washed them, then gave them another good soak with a little white vinegar, rinsed again, then blotted them out to dry. I thought they were good to go until I put my hot iron over one of the blocks, and it bled into my ironing board cover. Like, a LOT.

So, I'm afraid to wash it. And I'm wondering if there's a way to get the crinkly look without actually washing. Cold water? I might do an experiment with some scraps and see.

Meanwhile, don't forget to check out Wendy's blog to see all the other mini quilts for this month!

love,
Sandy

Sew-cial Distancing

I learned a new phrase today: "sew-cial distancing", coined by my friend Tracey, referring to the many of us in California who are refraining from social contact right now, for health reasons. If you live in California or Washington State, or New York, you know what I'm talking about.

Those of us that are quilters are blessed in that we have something to keep our hands and minds busy for many hours at a time, during the long (potentially) boring days ahead.

What better time to get started on the somewhat daunting project of deconstructing this vintage top I recently picked up at the Bargain Garden at our quilt show.

Picking the seams apart was out of the question, so I set about cutting the blocks apart with my trusty Ginghers, and then separating the logs with my rotary cutter. Mindless work, but it ate up (several?) hours, then it was done. Resulting in this:

And then this:

Organized, usable strips of a bunch of really cool vintage fabrics!

That accomplished, I started playing around. What does one do with strips? The first thing that came to mind was a log cabin.

I spent most of the day yesterday composing and sewing twelve little log cabin blocks, and when I was finally (mostly) happy with them, I sewed them together into a top.

 .



I have just enough of this blue floral for the back, assuming I don't end up putting borders around it.

I'd like to hand quilt this. If I start soon (and my fingers hold out) I could have it done by the end of the month!


love,
Sandy

*update: As of tonight, Santa Cruz County is on lock-down.  All businesses must close, except for those considered "essential". We are being told to "shelter in place" ie stay home. Officially this stands until April 7, but my feeling it will last much longer. My advice to those of you in areas that haven't been hit yet is to stock up now, before the stores run out of everything. But please, do not hoard. You can't even get toilet paper around here, let alone disinfectant wipes. Word to the wise...

Catching up on a few things

We've finally been getting some rain here on the Central Coast, which means I've had an excuse to stay inside and sew. Good timing, as the UFO's were starting to stack up. 

Here are a couple of lap quilts I just finished. Each year our guild members make somewhere around 100 of these and deliver them to the VA hospital in Palo Alto for the wounded soldiers.

The first one is another rail fence quilt, which is easy and an excellent stash buster.

I really like the look of overall stippling on quilts like these, but alas, I am not keen on trying to learn and perfect free motion quilting on my home machine. Instead, I've been playing around with alternative quilting methods I can do with a walking foot. The wavy line works well, and is stress free and actually fun to do.

Here it is, hanging on the porch rail in natural light.

This one is Sheryl Johnson's Joyful Jumble pattern, from her book Return to Temecula. I increased the block size to six inches, which keeps the scale the same, but increases her mini to a lap size quilt.

I think Annette Plog (Petite Quilts.com) and I must have come up with the same idea at the same time, as she just finished her version, which is huge! I think hers was a block exchange for more variety.

This time I thought I'd try making the wavy lines closer together and overlapping in some places. I really like how it looks, and the overall feel of the quilt once its washed and dried. There's a heck of a lot of thread in this quilt, and it took about twice as long to quilt it as the rail fence one, but I love the result.

I used Superior Threads Micro Quilter 100 wt. thread in a medium neutral for both quilts, which is perfect for going over a variety of darks and lights without standing out.

Another porch rail shot. Hopefully you can get an idea of the texture of these quilts from some of the pictures.

Another flea market find for this groovy back on Joyful Jumble. Kinda makes your eyes blur just looking at it! 

This one is easier to look at.

 Next up....   labels! I have way too many quilts, recent and old, that need them. I really don't even know how many. I've been terribly remiss (insert: lazy) in this. I got a few done last week, but there are many many more. 

I recently had an "aha" moment while watching a friend sewing labels on multiple quilts for a project she's doing. Glue basting! Why didn't I think of that? You're probably all nodding "yep.." Anyway, better late than never, learning this little time saver. I should really look up some tutorials and see what else I can learn.

I long ago gave up making fancy labels, but I still like to give them some character.

OK... back to the sewing room! 

love,
Sandy