This and That

This and That Quilt

For Beth and Erik

Kept some selvage for added interest

 Last summer I started working on these awesome layered triangles. I loved them. A lot. And then I added some goldenrod fabric to make them into rectangles. And I liked them a lot less. So I folded them up and set them aside. I'd get back to working on them later... much later.

Then I read The Improv Handbook for Modern Quilters by Sherri Lynn Wood and was struck with the idea to adapt some of those techniques to my triangle-rectangles. So I cut off lots of the golden rod and began adding strips of scrappy beiges and yellows. I tried to not be too picky about symmetry, about the "perfect" colors, about wonkiness. I was just going to go with the flow. 

Used up lots of scraps for this small bit 

Three triangle-rectangles managed to get this treatment and then I just didn't have the energy or the heart to cut into the last one. It looked perfect now. I hadn't necessarily ruined the others. I just altered them. Significantly. 

Again, I folded them up, set them aside, and hid them from my view. Out of sight out of mind.

THEN I came across this Instagram link-up party called a Finish-Along. The goal was to share a any projects in the works that you wanted to finish by a certain date. If you met your goal you would be entered in a raffle for lots of nifty sewing/fabric prizes. Done. I was sold. The raffle would be great motivation, but really just the easy encouragement of publicly sharing my goal was what lit a fire under my tush. 

I finished one quilt, Modern Elegance, in January and then in March I finally finished this random, nearly-chaotic, scrappy gem. 

Whole backside

Closeup of scrappy addition

Recipients:

Throughout the entire process I knew this quilt would be for my friends Beth and Erik.  They work with their bodies. They work long hours.  They feed us. They are some kickass farmers! 

Now they have a quilt with lots of prints and busy-ness so if it becomes a comfort quilt out at their farm and gets dirty that is a-okay by me. ;) Please, quilts are a useful form of art. 

Modern Elegance

Modern Elegance

for Megan

The front

The back

My new fave quilting style: squares on point

Color choices
I chose a bold navy blue and rose fabric and paired it with a gorgeous near-white print. The ladies at Boersma's helped me choose the white fabric. We were pairing pinks, purples, greens and a soft yellow all because I was against using white. But when we paired the "painter's canvas" white with the navy blue, this very elegant tone was set. I was surprised to love the combination.

Process
When I chose to teach a couple friends how to quilt, I needed to make the quilt myself so I knew what they'd be getting into. This was my sample quilt. I took notes along the way to gauge how long it took me to do each step. So much time for squaring those half-square triangles! The backing used up scraps-- something I always feel is "true to quilting." Making do, you know?

As always, a label

Result
I love love love this quilt. Thanks to a sewing day with a friend I managed to finish the quilting in one day, followed by a day at home in which I watched movies and hand sewed the binding on.

Recipient
Megan, one of my best friends also quilts. She's given me two quilts which I use and love. It's been on my mind to eventually make a quilt for her and my "Quilt Camp" was the best excuse to do it. I'm so proud of the finished product.

Girls at Play

Happy November! I finally finished a quilt. I have not finished a quilt since July!! I've been busy in my sewing room (check instagram for proof) but I've been wandering from project to project. And of course, the real problem is that I dread that final step of quilting.

Thank goodness that a friend requested a baby blanket or else I might not have finished any quilts during the second half of the year.

I've used this pattern before... all with the same line of deer fabric. See my list below
Deer No. 3 in 2014
Deer Crossing in 2013
Deer in the Woods in 2013
So it was a delight to branch out of that fabric scheme.

The white fabric is from Sarah Jane Studios. The other fabrics are all from my stash. I collect a lot of those colors so it was easy to select what I wanted. If you zoom in, one of those orange fabrics has little bicycles and tricycles. Adorable, right?! There are also itty bitty strawberries!

The backing really excited me. I can't remember where I bought that blue fabric but I love it. I have to force myself to buy blue or green fabrics normally because they don't automatically draw my attention. And the triangles on the right side are from my first or second quilt that I made. You can deduce my introductory sewing level by looking at those blunt triangle points. I'm happy to see that early work get brought in with a more recent project.

Girls at Play 

38 in X 38 in.

(stamped and handwritten label included on back- added after the photos were taken)

The front

The back

The quilting

My first quilt from which the back triangles originated

County Fair Entry

First, some background. I submitted a quilt to my county fair this summer because I liked the idea of getting to see it on display. Okay, now read on to hear my ridiculous story.
---
In the car, on the way to the Yamhill County Fair to see my quilt on exhibit, I explain to my husband, "No, I probably didn't get a ribbon. I saw on Chuck's Facebook two days ago that he already knew that he got a ribbon or prize for one of his photos so they must call the winners. Today's the first day that the fair is open and he already knew."

We pay our phenomenal entry price (phenomenal considering that I just want to take a picture beside my quilt) of ten bucks each. We wander beyond the food booths and rides and animals and find the pavilion with the arts and crafts entries. I'm expecting a grand display of quilts, an emporium of photographs and little plates and platters to display the pies and cookies and breads. I skimmed through the fair guide and was impressed by how varied (and old-fashioned) the entries were. I had some idea of what to expect.

Instead, the pavilion felt cluttered yet disappointingly empty. Bright white lights and a tile floor. Air-conditioned, however, so that was relieving. I saw the quilts clustered in one area. I went up to them. Scanned for my quilt. Found it.

Hell yeah! I won a Second Place ribbon at the County Fair!

... But wait. *walking around examining all the other quilt entries*
What? All the other quilts have a first place ribbon. Is this a joke? Ohmygod, my quilt is the joke. It's the only one that didn't win First Place.

"Zack, do all the other quilts have a first place ribbon." He had noticed this too and was secretly checking. He shrugged, "Yeah."

He tried to talk to the elderly woman in charge of the fabric entries to figure out how ribbons are awarded. "We have many different classes for these quilts. I take a look at them and....The pink ones* are from the ambassadors. They love to give out those ribbons to their favorites. Especially to the kids. It makes those kids feel so proud." *ribbons

Zack nudges me, "You should have entered as a child, Sam."
Gee, thanks.

We counted a total of 14 quilts there. It seems incredulous, that all but me earned first place. I went home and counted how many people could win a first place ribbon for a quilt. The qualifications for certain classes are so specific.
Quilt, machine-pieced, hand-quilted.
Quilt, machine-pieced, machine-quilted.
Quilt made by two people, machine-pieced, longarm-quilted.... etc.
Basically, yes, it was entirely possible. It was entirely possible for at least ten more quilts to win first place so long as they didn't overlap with the details of another one.

I must have been in a category of just 2 quilts. Two quilts under "Quilt, machine-pieced, machine-quilted." And I happen to be the bitter sap who got the short end of the stick.

I am very proud of that quilt and the quilting. I mean, I did it on my machine at home and I made it all converge into this star. How cool is that? The greater story of my quilt comes from seeing it whole. It's a simple pattern but intricately quilted. Bah. still trying to move on...

Anyway, next year I might volunteer to devise a way to hang up the quilts properly. They were mostly folded. You couldn't see any of the backings. The display was disappointing. If I'm going to pay to see my quilt lose, then I at least want to stand by it (not crouch by it) and have all of it displayed behind me.

I'm almost touching!

The whopping 14 quilts "on display"

 As bitter as I sound, I will say that I loved seeing all the other quilts. I wish I had taken note of the names of these fellow quilters for possible future friends. And by golly, yes, that quilt with the turquoise star and a circle of geese is Amazing!! Yes, I know. That quilter fully deserves that fancy ribbon in addition to her first place one.

Orange Star #3

Okay, so remember this Orange Starburst quilt from last year June and this Orange Tea for Bear quilt from last year August? Well, welcome to 2015 when I finished a Final version of this quilt pattern.

There's not much to say about it except that when I was in the process of making Orange Tea for Bear, I bought double the fabric and cut double the amount of pieces for the blocks. So I could make an extra one-- I'm not sure why I thought this would be desirable, necessary, or fun...

Front

Back

Quilting straight lines using scotch blue tape to guide me

Baby Elephant Quilt

In January my friend asked if I could sew a quilt for her sister-in-law who was expecting a baby. She specifically wanted it in yellows and grays and to include baby elephants and to be in a chevron pattern.

Most custom orders I do are very generic, like "It's for a boy," and that's all I need for directions. And it works well for me because I get to use fabrics that I'm naturally drawn to or that i already own.

But this one was so easy. The colors were already right up my alley. Nonetheless, I bought some more fabric, specifically the adorable elephant prints I found online. I made half square triangles and arranged them into a chevron pattern. Added that wide elephant border and voila. I had finished the quilt. From start to finish it didn't take me too long.

I had a sewing date with my friend and I finished the quilting up in her Portland apartment building's rooftop lounge. (We also did some shopping and ate nachos to to fuel us along.)

Quilting in progress

Quilting finished

New quilt label stamp-- a gift from one of my best friends!

Quilt Repair in Photos

Somewhere between Fall 2012 and Spring 2013
When I was working only at the bakery, a regular customer learned that I sewed and asked if I could repair a quilt for him. And he'd pay me for it. "Sure thing!" I said. I was still beginning to learn how to quilt when I agreed and adopted his torn up quilt, but I was confident that I could figure it out. When I brought it home and laid it out, I was overwhelmed.

A quilt is made of three parts: a pieced front, a batting, and fabric for the backing. In his quilt, there were chunks where all three layers were missing! How was I going to fix it?

I folded it and stored it in the closet until...

July 2014
I sent out a plea to two friends to review this quilt and help me make a game plan. Molly said, "Sounds like an SOS. I can swing by today to look at it." Her assessment was that I should rip out all the quilting and "start over" with a new quilt front and scrap the backing and batting.

So I set to it. For a few weeks I would sit on the futon at my friends house during our crafting social nights with this quilt and my seam ripper. Luckily the hand-quilted stitches were easier to remove than had it been machine-sewn.

Then slowly, as I had patience for it, I would patch small holes with a similar looking fabric. And for the much larger gaping holes, I made my own mock log cabin blocks to insert onto his.

March 2015
I finally finished this gd quilt! I felt really proud. And then sometimes I would look at it up close and think, "God, this is shit in comparison to his original, original quilt." And then I'd remember, "But oh yeah... his dog tore through it and made the whole quilt impossible to use and now this is a fully functional quilt!" Mission accomplished. : )

Held up to the window to check for the smaller holes. The bottom center part is one of the log cabin blocks that I sewed on already.

Getting ready to tie knots to keep this baby together

Details of tying knots

Cramped. Machine sewing on the binding

(poor photo quality) The finished quilt!