Getting Close to Arkansas

Slow and steady is getting me closer to having the blocks for Arkansas Crossroads completed - just three more to go.

I've run hot and cold on this one but the more blocks I make, the more I like it. It's taking me about half an hour to make a block so I'm finding bits of time to run downstairs for to keep the progress going. When I have all of the blocks together everything will get a good press.

Each of the white and grey blocks are made with stitch-and-flip corners and when I stitch them I automatically stitch a second line to create a remnant HST.

Hence the wee mountain of small grey and white HSTs growing near my machine. Heaven knows what I will use them for but I just can't bear to toss them....M

Spring Buttercups

Things are starting to bloom in the garden, particularly my peonies and irises, and Buttercups are in bloom on my sewing table.

These little buds will be added to the orphan blocks going to Quilts for Survivors in the fall (yes, I know specially made isn't usually how 'orphans' come to be, but it is a great excuse to try something new without committing to a larger project).

The blocks are 6" finished and sweet as can be. They would be lovely on point scattered across a quilt top in various shades of pink and green or worked into a border.

You can also make the block with a stem but I prefer the openness of the block without it....M

 

A Garden of Possibilities

Jane is a gardener and loves surrounding her cottage with a riot of herbs and blooms every summer. Now she's got a textile project that reflects her passion. 

Recently, she was gifted this handmade and quilted jacket by a friend who had picked it up at a thrift shop and ultimately decided that it didn't do much for her. Seeing the potential to bring those mossy greens to life, she has set about making a garden of it, adding large blooms overtop of the greens.

She's undertaking her own version of broderie perse (French for Persian embroidery), the only difference being that her background is pieced rather than a single piece of fabric. Historically, this technique used Chintz fabrics which, in the early 1900s, were very expensive. To make the most of the Chintz, elements such as flowers and birds were cut from it and arranged on another piece of fabric either as a central design or for borders and appliquéd in place.  

All of Jane's flowers were cut from a Kaffe Fassett print that's been in her stash for 20+ years; the scale is perfect.

And the butterflies that she sourced from a second fabric add an additional hint of whimsy.

Love how this posey is popping up out of a pocket!

She's attached them throughout the jacket with fusible interfacing and is now contemplating her next steps. The plan is to embellish the edges by hand with various colours of embroidery thread and, who knows, possibly the odd bead or bauble. 

It's going to be a beauty....M

My Reign Continues

These last few months I feel as though I have been crowned Queen of the Flip-and-Stitch Corner and, with my latest Quilts for Survivors flimsy, that reign continues. 

Those corners just seem to be prevalent in every project that I work on lately. First there were Scrappy Stars, then all of those delicate Snowballs, followed by Friendship Stars. Now I've started a quilt called Arkansas Crossroads. At least that's what I think its called. I've seen a version made with smaller blocks so I'm going with that.

The secondary pattern created by the white crosshatch blocks is really what captured my attention. Years ago I noticed a brightly coloured version of this pattern on the Missouri Star website and chalked it up to a 'some day' project; I guess 'some day' is now.

Mine is made using mostly delicate calicos that I'm very keen to try and move along to a good home - I've been looking at them for too long. Happily, my persistence is paying off as I'm getting to the end of a few pieces.

Just to keep things interesting, I've tossed in a bit of dark turquoise and deeper mauve, but the overall feel is still quite soft.

These are 16" blocks so I only need to make 12 of them to get me to a 48" x 64" flimsy and I'm half way there, but at times I get impatient with those grey corners. My kingdom for a batch of quick, straight seams! Just need to slow down and enjoy the process a little more....M

Simple Summer Stitching

I've been searching for an easy summer hand stitching project and finally decided to try and tame my supply of 2.5" squares and make scrappy Nine-Patch blocks.

Easy peasy, if you pay attention. Somehow I managed to fold this square back onto itself and stitch it down 😉.

Guess I was distracted by the view.

The squares seem to be multiplying in their storage container but surprisingly it's not always easy to find either four or five of the same print.

So I'm good with staying in the same colour family so that I don't end up cutting more squares. The idea is to use up as much of what's already cut. Works just fine....M

Friendship Stars and a Tiny Rabbit Hole

The opportunity to donate orphan blocks in addition to the larger 16" blocks, flimsies and quilts that we will send to Quilts for Survivors this year is proving to be a bit of a distraction, but a fun one. Enter my Friendship Stars.

Of course 'orphan' blocks' tend to be those leftovers from projects started and abandoned but after I culled my bags and boxes to see what I could find I've been using it as an excuse to try out blocks on my 'some day' list. And lately, my 2.5" scrappy squares have been my accomplice. 

It's been fun to dig and see if I can find enough squares of the same print to make a block.

Sometimes making the centre square different helps me squeak one, like this...

Or this.

Just love the bees and this chartreuse together.

When that fails, I settle for monochromatic. It's interesting to see their distinct personalities.

Because the HSTs are being made with two 2.5" squares using the stitch-and-flip method I'm ending up with a batch of even smaller HSTs from the trimming that I can't seem to ditch. You know where this is going, right?

Of course you do. Even tinier stars! The original is a 6" block and the smaller version will be just under 4". Borderline crazy making, as so many rabbit holes are, but oh so cute!...M

Delicate Snowballs

I've got another pinkish quilt top to share with you today - Snowballs and Nine Patches is now a flimsy, and a very delicate looking one at that.

This is another Quilts for Survivors project and started with me on a mission to use up several peach and pink remnants from Jan and one or two of my own that I'd like to see the end of. Adding the large pink floral and a bit of mauve makes it just a little more interesting. Like many of my squirrel projects, it started on a whim, but I didn't expect it to turn out quite so pretty!

I'd love to have one like this on one of my beds, albeit a larger version.

The snowballs and nine patches are 6" blocks and work really nicely together. I tried desperately to ensure that the same print didn't touch itself but inevitably there were a couple of spots where that happened. Such is the life of a scrappy quilter.

And I'm still loving that wonderfully scrappy & pink Flying Geese border.

We don't quilt all of the flimsies that we make to send north but I am going to suggest that we quilt this one, just so I can spend more time with it. I'm thinking a cross hatch that runs through the snowballs and on the diagonal through the nine patches would work nicely....M

Fresh Off the Frames

This week our quilters will be moving to 'summer hours'😊, cutting back from meeting two mornings a week to just one, just because summer is a busier season and it will give us time in our gardens, for getaways, and slowing down a bit. But that doesn't mean that QFS production is slowing to any great extent. Here's our latest finish.

It's another lap quilt - one that Jan made -  and is very similar to the Cowboy Quilt top that I finished up for Jan in February only this time she didn't piece the squares. I think I prefer it this way - a little easier on the eyes - and the fabrics are very pretty. The narrow border that matches the diamond works really nicely.

I'm a sucker for cross-hatched quilting so this one really speaks to me. 

In looking at those Cathedral Window embellishments it occurred to me that you could get a very similar look by using stitch-and-flip corners as well and not have to worry about the curves, etc.

The bright pink backing and binding is the cherry on top!....M

A Magical Mystery Tour

Well, everything in the Double Wedding Ring box is now pressed and organized, but there were no instructions enclosed so I've spent some time looking at what is already together for assembly hints. Finally I looked online and found this great tutorial.

The end pieces on the ovals are slightly curved compared to the squares used in the tutorial so I've had to figure out how to deal with that, but, by and large, I think I've now got a technique that works.

As I mentioned, the fabrics look like they are from the 80s but there are also a few terrific vintage-y looking pieces like this gem scattered throughout. Not sure if it is or it isn't.

Some of the ovals have very dark fabric combinations so I've been digging through my scrap bin as I go and will incorporate a few lighter bits. It's slowing a slow process down a bit further but I think it will be worth it. I'll have to ensure that they are well incorporated when I lay the rings out with the two columns that are already sewn together so that things are well distributed....M

It's a Quilt-in-a-Box

Jan's generosity to our Holy Trinity quilters continues to shine through. This week I unearthed a box filled with the makings of a very scrappy Double Wedding Ring quilt, basically a quilt-in-a-box (do they even make jack-in-the-boxes anymore?). I ended up bringing it home because no one else was willing to tackle the curved piecing required to get this to the finish line. 

There's been so much work done already to get it to this point that I just didn't want to see it waste away on a shelf someplace for eternity. From the look of the fabrics, I'm thinking that it may have been cut in the 80s. Jan couldn't confirm but she did say that she bought everything as a kit, so it looks like someone else may have cut all of the pieces.

Just about everything that I need to get started appears to be here: several oval sections either completed...

or in progress.

There's also a bag of pieces all bundled and ready to sew.

And I think that all of the oval and ring centres are cut, too, with some to spare.

There are two columns of seven rings already assembled. I'll have to measure but I think I only need to add three more columns to get it to the 48" x 64" needed for Quilts for Survivors. It may be a little long so there's a chance that I'd take two rings off the bottom in order to make the proportions work.

Job one is going to be sorting all of the bits and bobs and then giving everything a good press. Once I know what's what, it will be time to sit down at the machine and figure out just what I've gotten myself into!....M