Quilt talk

I finally found a piece of fabric that I had enough of to make the third border.  It is the same piece that I used for the background in the center.  I looked good, I was ready to be done, and I hung it in the closet to age.

But, as quilts do, it kept calling to me and telling me that calling it finished was a cop out!

That is; trying to avoid doing something that one ought to do.

synonyms:

avoid, shirk, skip, dodge, sidestep, skirt round, bypass, steer clear of, evade, escape, run away from, shrink from, slide out of, back out of, pull out of, turn one's back on; So, I ignored it as long as I could. . . and finally got it out to see what I could do to improve the situation.

The color of the background fabric is truer in the picture below.

I decided to do Broiderie Perse all the way around the border.  I cut out the motifs from the fabric that I had used in the outside of the center around the wheels.  (see first picture)

I've only appliqued two of them so far and I like the way it looks.  But, it's not something that I can do very fast so this sweet little quilt's finale has been postponed.  The cop out turned into applique, isn't that what always seems to happen?

The quilt that is on the frames has a problem I haven't run across before.  I have had fabrics bleed when I washed them but never have they bled during storage.  Can you see the pink tinge on the corners above and below.  It's on the pieces that have a thick seam beneath so they stick up a little.

 

I think it is from the sashing fabric but I don't really know if that's the culprit.  The interesting thing is that I've marked it with a water soluble marker and when I spritz it with water to remove the marking. . . it hasn't bled at all.

I'm almost finished with the big stitch quilting and then it will get a long soak and a thorough washing.

Curiouser and curiouser ~

Robin

Aunt Mollie's quilt

 I just wrote a post about my great great Aunt Mollie and her quilts.  It is on my other blog

 click on     Every Quilt Has a Story

If you don't want to read her history then just scroll down so you can see her quilts.

It was amazing what she could do with a needle and thread.

Robin

Can't decide and SNOW DAY

The piece of fabric from this line "Meadow" by Blackbird Designs that really caught my attention is pictured below.  It's a beautiful slate blue with pink, mauve, and red blossoms.  So naturally I bought enough for a border.  That's what I usually do.  Then I buy a few more pieces from the line and make a plan.

My plan finally came to fruition last month when I decided to make a Wheel of Fortune quilt.

My decisions included what to use for the fans and centers which included the Meadow fabric and my Blackbird Designs scraps from Madeira and Chesea's Boutique.

I auditioned the pretty blue fabric for the background but it was too dark.  I got out a big piece of red Madeira fabric below and it wasn't right either.

I ended up using a creamy beige by Benartex on the inside and a beautiful light piece from the Meadow line on the outside.  I used the blue fabric as the cornerstones for the red sashing strips.

I tried to use the blue as the border but it was just all wrong.  This green piece of Chelsea's Boutique (with brown cross stitch on it)  worked out the best.

Then I added a narrow red border thinking I would add a wider blue border next.

But I again was hesitant about putting that blue border on.  The picture above just has the piece of fabric placed closely to the red strip, it's not sewn.  It just feels like the blue floral demands too much attention and detracts from the lovely center blocks.

I have 2 yds. of the toile from the Meadow line too and so I auditioned it for a possible border.
I'm not sold on that idea either.

I guess I'm going to have to let this quilt top age a little before the border decision is made.  Into the closet (the Big Top) it goes.  I was really hoping to finish it today - drat!

I'd love to hear anyone's opinion because I'm definitely in a quandary.

We are in the process of a delightful snowstorm.  I can say it's delightful because I don't have to go out in it.

Taken before sunrise

We have received over 10 inches so far.

It is a result of Lake effect

Here is my husband attempting to get our driveway clear.  He's trying to be so careful because he's still healing from breaking his rib.  He went to the doctor for a check up yesterday and they took another X-ray to see how he is healing.  It turns out he broke 3 ribs not just one!  He's healing slowly.  It makes a big difference when you are not 16 anymore.

Hope you have a lovely day.
Robin

Wheel of Fortune blocks and Universe Quilt

I've been working on my Wheel of Fortune blocks.  They can be quite time consuming. . .

First of all I had to cut out 412 wedges for 48 blocks.  I'm not very accurate cutting with a rotary cutter and a plastic template so I drew a line around the template on the back of the fabric and cut them all out by hand. 

I sewed 9 wedges together to make a fan and then sewed the brown curved piece to the center.

I'm not very experienced sewing curved seams.  In fact, I usually draw a seam allowance on my pieces and hand piece them.  It's quite accurate.

That's what I did for these blocks;

I had an interesting experience hand piecing circles.  I made the quilt below quite a few years ago and decided to enter it into a show.  When I got the judges comments back I was surprised because I was marked down for my curved piecing around the big circles. The judge even instructed me a little on how I could improve my machine piecing.   I wasn't discouraged though - if the judge thought that my applique stitches were small enough and even enough to look like machine sewing - I took it as a compliment.

I have sewed all 48 fan blocks and need to decide what color to put in between them.  More curved piecing.

 I arranged the block (ignore the raspberry carpet) and cut some outside curved pieces, way more than I will use - sigh~

What I had in mind for background is to do a neutral on the inside and do the outside using the same fabric as the border.

It didn't look quite right.  Although I have to admit nothing goes with my carpet!!!

I've come up with another idea - I'll see how that goes.

I quilted a big stitch using black #12 DMC crochet cotton

I finished my Map of the Universe quilt for my 6 yr. old grandson.  He went to the dentist (poor little guy) and when his mom came back to pick up the other children, he wouldn't come in.  I guess his mouth felt funny because of the Novocaine and he had had a rough time.

So, I folded up the quilt and took it out to the car.  I was hoping to get a picture of him with the quilt but it wasn't to be.

Here is what the whole quilt looks like.

It is finish #3 for the year on this last day of January.  If I keep up at this rate, I'll really get a lot of things out of that storage closet.

I can dream anyway. . .
Robin

I'm in a rut.

I've been noticing lately that I seem to be in a rut.  I want to finish up old (yep, old old old) projects but they are all blending together with the same shades and colors.  I wonder if when I haven't been able to finish up something - I've just gone to the store for some retail therapy and end up buying fabric/patterns/kits similar to what I'm already sewing.

Just in case you can't tell, there are 3 projects in the picture.  It's understandable that you might think they are all the same project because they are the same colors over and over again!!!

The other conclusion is that I tend to like certain color combinations but something brighter demands my attention so that the left over projects are all the same.

The current quilt on the frames is from a fabric line called Portobello Market by 3 Sisters - Moda.  It came out in 2008 and I bought a layer cake of the fabric.  I just wanted to sew one day.  I didn't want a lot of decisions or pressure, I just wanted to sew.  So I grabbed a pattern called Rosettes by Fig Tree and just slapped it together as fast as I could - phew!  It satisfied my need to stitch and the top was carefully folded and stored.

Needs pressing desperately

I started another quilt in 2015 with fabric I found in Ye Old School House in Cedarburg Wisconsin.  I got interrupted and the rest is history.

Recently I wanted to spend time in front of my sewing machine so I decided on a pattern and went looking for fabric.  I decided to use my stash of fabric from Blackbird Designs.  So I got busy cutting and cutting and cutting.  It needs 412 wedges to make the Wheel of Fortune quilt below.

I want to make this quilt pattern.

Guess what?  I picked out the same colors AGAIN!

Am I in a rut or what?
Robin

Mid-winter's Eve

 I put this quilt on the frames in October because I knew it would take me a while to finish.  I didn't finish it for Christmas but it was a delightful Christmas season working away on it.

I finished it on January 2nd but didn't have anyone who could hold it up for a picture.  If you remember my husband broke a rib last month and he's still not ready to hold up a
 75" X 94" quilt.  One of my sons and his family recently moved across country and are now living only 25 min. away.  So when they visited today he was glad to hold it up for me.

I had so much fun making this quilt.  The pattern is called "Sleigh Bells" by Jan Patek.

The snowman was my favorite block.

The church with the crooked steeple.

I like how the windows have lights in them because it is in the nighttime.  The quilting shows up in this picture where you can still see the white chalk marking line and the yellow thread.  I used four different colors of thread in this quilt; gold, black, red, and cream for the snow.

Here is a picture of the quilting lines.

I also finished this little quilt.  The pattern is by Cheri Payne.  It is so simple but is a nice combination of red and green.

It measures 24" X 18"

I brought the backing to the front for the binding.

I hand quilted this little beauty and put some little motifs in the setting triangles.

I backed it with a piece of Jo Morton fabric from about 2012.  It didn't take long to quilt but it sure took me a long time to get around to it!

So, two finishes already in January.  What a good start!
Robin

I couldn't leave it alone.  The border wasn't working and so I had folded it up and put it away.

Then I saw Audrey's post and loved the way her lettering looks.  I was reminded that I had borrowed the "Word Play" book from my friend with the intention of doing the lettering on this quilt.  I've changed my mind so many times on this border including;
1.  Appliqued words
2.  Words all around the border
3.  Pieced letters using alternate methods
4.  Various color combinations. . .

But nothing satisfied the vision I had in my head until I used the "Word Play" method. 

There are sheep in the fabrics I used, hence the scripture.  Thanks for the reminder Audrey.

I love it!
Robin