Checkered Garden Progress

As usual, a project that requires designing blocks one at a time has consumed me. I'm drawn to it every day, usually laying out one block. My sewing room is a mess, with potential fabrics, cut pieces, and scraps piled up on every available surface. 

Here's my progress so far. 

I have only enough of the inspiration fabric left for the corners in one block, and centers in three others. Careful placement of the substitute fabrics - same value and tone - will be needed. 

The block on the left with the dark corners bugs me. I think I need to replace the corners with a lighter purple that contrasts more with the orange, or else replace the orange with something lighter. Ether way, some seam ripper activity is needed. 

Link Up: Small Quilts and Doll Quilts

Floral Picnic X and Plus

I taught a class featuring the X and Plus block to fellow members of PCQ in May. Several of my students were planning to go to the same retreat as me in July and they were planning to work on their X and Plus projects at retreat. The more the merrier, so I decided to make another X and Plus quilt, this time a donation quilt in floral prints. This palette is totally unlike most of the other versions out there, and very much unlike the Kaffe/black and Christmas versions my friends were making. 

I searched through PCQ's large stash of florals as well as a handful of my own scraps. Some of the prints are used once, some twice. Mostly I wanted variety. 

Everything was cut and ready to work on before retreat so I was able to get the center of the top pieced there. My plan was to add a light stop border and a green solid-ish outer border. But I couldn't find anything of sufficient yardage in my stash or the club's that harmonized with the top. 

One of the girls at retreat was making a picnic quilt that had a bold gingham border. When I found a yard of green gingham in my stash, I took a page from her book and used it for the border. It would make the quilt look more youthful and more casual. 

I cobbled together the back from the random leftover floral prints and a few leftover block quarters. Basically a "free" backing, and no leftover prints to go back into the scrap bins. I quilted it using a pale green thread, bound it in one of the leftover florals, and donated it. It's going to either the local family services agency or to Hospice.

It was fun to work on the blocks at retreat with my friends who were also making their own versions. But I have to admit, this is not my favorite quilt,  But it's a donation quilt and I'm sure it will go where it's needed. 

Link Up: Alycia Quilts

Checkered Garden

 Recently Linda of Kokaquilts has been making a Checkered Garden quilt, inspired by vivid floral prints in pink with caramel. I'm liking the Checkered Garden concept. 

I have a focus fabric that I like that I thought could be the foundation for another Diabolical Jane, but I want to take a break from Jane for a while. My inspiration fabric could work in Checkered Garden blocks. My inspiration fabric features soft orange and plum on an ecru ground. The fabric came from an unknown estate sale so I don't know how old it is. There was part of the word Gallery in large black script on the selvage but it's definitely not an Art Gallery Fabric. This square is about 8" of the print and looks a bit darker than real life in this photo (on my screen). 

I posted earlier this month about my first block. Since then I've made a few more. 

I was hoping to use the focus fabric in each block, 20 blocks, but I don't think I'll have enough. I've been collecting fabrics that harmonize, using stash and scraps, pieces from PCQ's stash, and a friend's fabrics. Thanks, Linda!

I think I want to alternate light and dark corners of the blocks, so I've spread them out on the design wall to audition possibilities. The darks are actually lighter than they look in this photo; purples always photograph darker than they look IRL. 

I have about 6" of the inspiration fabric left, enough for three or four blocks. I have another print that reads the same value and density, but only a fat eighth left. I'll work on finding substitute prints that I can use in at least two blocks each for the remaining blocks needed. 

My Checkered Garden quilt will end up looking totally different from Kokaquilts' version. But I love the concept of being inspired by other quilters, especially halfway around the world!

This will end up being a donation quilt, 20  14" blocks, 56 x 70" with no borders. 

Link up: Small Quilts and Doll Quilts

Diabolical Jane

When I posted about DJ2 earlier this month I went looking for a photo of my finished original Diabolical Jane quilt and realized I never photographed it and posted its finish. Let's fix that. 

I really enjoyed making this. I had backing fabric for it from a friend, but then I found something much better. 

The construction is the same, but the placement of light and dark values is different at the ends of the arms and in the side triangles in my second version. 

I like the first version better. 

Will I make another version someday? Maybe...

Link up: Alycia Quilts

This Is Not Working

Before you go any further, check out this inspiration image. This is the look I was going for, with a palette of teals, yellow-greens, a few reds, and neutrals. Warm, a lot of pattern, a lot of dots. 

I pulled fabrics from my scraps and stash in these colors, made triangles, and put them on the wall. 

Oh, no, this is awful. It's much worse in real life than it is in the photo. Just a horrible assortment, very hard on the eyes.

The problem isn't the concept, it's the color palette. Even though the colors were selected to be similar to the inspiration photo, I just don't like it. 

To salvage the project, I took away all the triangles that had any red or orange in them, which was about a third of them. Then I made more triangles using only teals and yellow-greens. When I put them on the wall, I changed up the columns slightly.

I like this much better. 

Rather than columns of stacked coins like the original, I think I'll look for one fabric that will work for the alternate columns. 

Linking up with Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts

DJ2 Finished Top

One of the things I wanted to get done in August was to attach the borders to my second Diabolical Jane quilt and finish the top. This happened, at the very end of the month. 

This version, DJ2, gave me more trouble than my first version. I miscounted the number of pieces needed, had to make adjustments, and this version ended up a little larger at 65" square. Although it doesn't look flat and square in this photo, it actually is. 

I like this version; these are my favorite colors, teal and coral.

I have fabric to piece a back for this so I can quilt it. I have a reservation on the long arm at the end of the month, but I have something else ready to quilt, so I don't know how soon I'll get DJ2 finished. 

Might I make another Diabolical Jane quilt someday? Maybe. Now that I've made two of them, I keep seeing fabric combos that could work. For now, though, I think I'll give Jane a rest and focus on other projects. 

Link Up: Alycia Quilts

PS: I looked for a post about my original Diabolical Jane and couldn't find one about the finished top except as part of my April retreat recap, so here's a photo of the top. It's actually quilted and finished now, so I'll have to photograph it and post it. 

August Stash Report and Goals Update

I spent a lot of time in my sewing room this month. It's been over 100 degrees, often over 110 degrees, all month, too hot to do anything except stay inside in the air conditioning. We're actually having a bit of a cool-down this week, but next week it'll be back up in the 110s again. And no, it's not a dry heat; the humidity is up during our monsoon season. 

PC's Creative Arts building has been closed most of the month for maintenance, so no social sewing. The fitness center has been closed for refurbishing all month and won't reopen until October. I went out to lunch with friends a couple of times, but other than that, it's the season for cabin fever here.

DH and I did take a little weekend trip up to a cooler area and I visited a very nice quilt shop, Pine Top Star. So of course, some fabric had to come home with me. 

Since I spent so much time on quilting-related things, what did I accomplish? 

I pieced the back and the batting for the floral X and Plus quilt which goes on the long arm tomorrow morning. I quilted and donated the second Mary's Triangles quilt. I finished the Christmas Tree for my son, which involved a lot of quilting on my domestic machine. I started a new scrappy project involving triangles and stacked coins. I pulled a palette for another project that I'm thinking about called Checkered Garden.

The 2nd Mary's Triangles quilt

With all the fabric ins and outs, let's see how my stash report looks. 

August Stash Report

IN this month: 10 yards (5-1/2 yards from Bob's Variety. 4-1/2 yards from Pinetop Star QS. )
OUT this month: 9-1/2 yards (Backing for second Mary's Triangles quilt, 1-1/2 yards; Binding, 1/2 yard. Christmas Tree back and sleeves, 2 yards; Binding, 1/2 yard; Case with pockets, 1 yard. Backing for Floral X and Plus, 4 yards.)

IN YTD: 83-1/4 yards
OUT YTD: 86-3/4 yards
YTD Net Change: 3-1/2 yards OUT. 

Moving in the right direction! 

Since I knew I'd have a lot of sewing time, I had a lot on my goals list. I made a lot of progress, and as usual I started something new....

New triangles and stacked coins project

August Goals Update

July Recap: 

1. Bind and donate the two purple wheelchair quilts. DONE

2. Make backing for the second Mary's Triangles project and find or piece batting.  DONE, also quilted, finished and donated.

3. Make progress on the walking foot quilting on the Kaffe Gradient project.  No. I did a lot of other walking foot and FMQ on my domestic machine this month, but didn't touch this. 

4. Get Christmas print fabric for backing, sleeves and storage bag for the tree project. Talk to Gary about dowels. Yes, tree quilt is quilted and finished except for the final few hanging loops. Gary made the dowels and hooks for hanging it. I made the presentation case/storage bag. Gary is making a pottery star for the top which needs to be glazed and fired when the CAC reopens. 

5. Add borders to DJ2. DONE.

6. Pull "Found" UFO and determine next steps. DONE. It just needed borders, which were cut and included in the project box. It's now a finished flimsy. Also found/pieced backing for it. 

7. Piece batting together for X and Plus quilt. DONE.

Other: 

 - Started new scrappy Broken Dishes and Coins quilt. 

 - Added coping strips to Edna's veterans quilt that needs to have bad quilting removed and go back on the long arm. 

Eric's Christmas Tree

September Goals: 

1. Work with Edna to remove bad quilting and re-quilt the veteran's quilt. 

2. Quilt and finish the floral X and Plus quilt. 

3. Quilt and finish the found UFO quilt. 

4. Make backing for the teal Diabolical Jane quilt. 

5. Work on the Triangles and Coins project. 

6. Work on the other new scrappy piecing project, Checkered Garden inspired by Linda of Kokaquilts.

7. Plan a long term and complicated project for future sewing. 

8. Make progress on the walking foot quilting on the Kaffe Gradient quilt. 

I should probably add Write Blog Posts as another goal. I have a couple projects that need to be photographed so I can post about them. It's hard to get good photos with the intense sun and the wind here now. 

2nd Diabolical Jane top

Hopefully all that will keep me busy during another hot month!