DJ2, Finished

I had a reservation on PCQ's long arm last weekend, so I was able to get DJ2 quilted, then bound on Monday. It's a finish!

I still like my first Diabolical Jane better, the purple one, but I've learned a lot from making this second one. It's all about the value placement and the shapes formed by the value and color changes. 

After much editing, I do like the fabrics DJ2; these are my colors. Here's one quadrant:

I showed DJ2 at PCQ's meeting Monday night and it got positive comments. The girls in charge of our club's display window in the Creative Arts building requested it for December, when the theme for the month is the birthstone Turquoise. After it's displayed, I'm keeping this quilt. I made it for me, not for donation.

Link up: Alycia Quilts

High Nine Blocks on the Wall

My recent teal Diabolical Jane project was challenging and required auditioning and replacing several fabrics. I ended up with a collection of unused cut pieces, 2-1/2 by 6-1/2". In an effort to not waste them or let them languish in my scrap drawer forever, I had to figure out something to do with them. 

The solution was a nine-patch variation that I'm calling High Nine. By pairing up two fabrics and cutting some of the 6-1/2" pieces into 2-1/2" squares, I made these blocks. They will finish at 6" by 10".

While I had a lot of leftover DJ pieces, I didn't have enough for a whole quilt top, so of course I had to cut some more strips and add more fabric variety. One WOF strip each of a light and a dark fabric yields two blocks, a light one and a dark one. Making them in pairs or batches works for chain piecing. Between my own stash (my teal basket runneth over) and a few pieces from PCQ's stash, I had enough for a 9 by 7 block layout, 54" by 70". 

An afternoon spent arranging them on my design wall and moving them around resulted in this layout. I think I managed to keep the same fabric from touching itself. And after checking my photos I got the blocks all turned the right way, I think. If you see something that looks like it's going in the wrong direction, let me know. 

I may replace that block at the center bottom. It looks awful in the photo but it may be okay in real life. The whole bottom half, especially the bottom row, looks too dark in the photo. I should have used my auxiliary light to light the bottom of the photo. 

Anyway, I now have High Nine on the wall, ready to number and kit up for future assembly. I'll probably take it to social sewing when I'm done with my current social sewing project. 

I think - but don't know for sure yet - that all the seams will nest when I sew the blocks and rows together. I was careful to always press the seams toward the dark fabric, and the blocks are laid out in checkerboard, so I'm hopeful the seams will all nest. 

As usual, this will become a donation quilt. But it will be much more satisfying to have a finished quilt than to have a drawer full of unused leftover pieces. 

Link up: Small Quilts and Doll Quilts

Block Mama Leftovers, a Finally Finished UFO

Back in 2014 when I was working on my book, Cut and Shuffle Quilts, the publisher asked me to use Kaffe Fassett prints in one of the quilts. Westminster Fibers generously provided some of the fabrics I requested, and I began the process. 

The premise of the book is to make a starter block nicknamed the Block Mama, cut it up, and shuffle the parts to create various other blocks. For the Kaffe fabrics quilt, I started with print squares and off-black frames for the Block Mama. After making 20 Block Mamas, I realized that the project would look better if I made the Block Mama centers black and used the prints for the frames. So I made 20 new Block Mamas, cut and shuffled the parts, and had 20 new Four Corners blocks. Here's an illustration from my manuscript. *

With some pieced sashing added, the blocks became this quilt, Heat Wave. 

In order to meet my book deadline, the original Block Mamas were set aside. They languished for years, because I didn't want to make another Heat Wave-like quilt. Finally, after a decade in orphan block status, a couple years ago I decided to do something with them so I took them to a retreat. I cut the Block Mamas into quarters instead of ninths. I framed the quarters with the same purple polka dot sashing as in Heat Wave. Then I set the blocks on point, and added off-black borders. 

What a completely different look!!!! I was surprised and very pleased when at retreat I saw the 3-D effect created by the black and the purple sashing laid out on point. This project went from "gotta use these leftovers" to "wow, I actually like this!"

I enjoyed revisiting some of my favorite Kaffe prints that are no longer available.  "Jupiter" is one of the most versatile ever. 

The flimsy remained a UFO for a couple of years until I could get a backing made for it. I finally quilted it in October and bound it this week. The quilting is an allover meander in russet thread. Now the new quilt made from the leftover Block Mamas is finally finished. 

The new quilt measures about 62 x 74" and will be donated to a local family services agency. 

You may be wondering why the starter block is called the Block Mama. When I was working for a footwear company as a color specialist in the materials department, my immediate coworkers were in our Dong Guan, China facility. They had to be somewhat proficient in English. My job included sending them Color Standards, samples of the target color the materials were supposed to match. In English the industry term is Color Standard, but my China peers told me they call it the Color Mama. Cute! So since the Cut and Shuffle starter block is the parent for all the subtype blocks, I called it the Block Mama. 

Anyway, I'm pleased to have those leftover Block Mamas out of orphan block and UFO status and into a finished quilt. 

Link up: Alycia Quilts

* Cut and Shuffle Quilts has been out of print for several years. I'm not violating any copyright by using my own manuscript illustration and my own photo of Heat Wave. 

October Stash Report and Goals Update

October was a busy month. Some of what I worked on was behind the scenes, productive but not featured on the blog, including prep for a quilt show entry. Other projects were also moved along nicely: The "found" UFO was completed and donated. Another UFO was quilted. The Checkered Garden blocks have become a flimsy, and I'm making progress on several other quilting or piecing projects. 

The "Found" UFU

The other project that was quilted, Cut and Shuffle Leftovers, no new photo yet

The Checkered Garden top turned out nice; it's ready for me to find a backing and quilt it. 

For social sewing, the Double Four Patch Chain has been laid out on the wall, numbered and kitted up. I started assembling the blocks at the most recent social sewing day. I like the light chain against the dark fabrics. 

I figured out something I can do with the many unused cut pieces from DJ2. Since the DJ pieces are 2-1/2 by 6-1/2" and there are 8 of each fabric, I can make tall nine patch blocks from them. More blocks will be needed which means more cutting. This will either turn out okay, or will be a mish-mash. We'll see.

Now that the weather is cooler, I got back to the SID walking foot quilting on the the Kaffe Gradient project. I'm using invisible thread on the top and purple thread in the bobbin, and I ran out of all the purple threads I had. I finished the rest of the diagonal quilting and got about half of the horizontal quilting done. 

As I said, a busy month. I was gone for a few days and had a chance to shop at my favorite Pensacola fabric shop, so some stash enhancement occurred. 

October Stash Report

IN this month: 6 yards (6 yards from A&E Fabrics, Pensacola)
OUT this month: 9-1/2 yards (Checkered Garden top, est 5-1/2 yards. Backing for Cut and Shuffle Leftovers quilt, 4 yards.)

IN YTD: 93-3/4 yards
OUT YTD: 109-3/4 yards 
YTD Net change: 16 yards out 

Goals Update

October Recap

1. Piece backing for teal DJ2. Quilt it during my next long arm reservation on the 16th. If possible, bind and finish it. Change of plan due to availability of club batting; I pieced a backing and quilted a UFO for donation instead, the Cut and Shuffle Leftovers project. 

2. Assemble the Checkered Garden blocks into a top. DONE

3. Bind the Found UFO quilt and donate it. DONE

4. Assemble the Triangles (formerly with coins) into a top using the newly purchased fabric for sashing. No, not touched. 

5. Make progress on the walking foot quilting on the Kaffe Gradient quilt. Progress: Finished all the diagonal quilting and got about half of the horizontal quilting done. Ran out of purple thread for the bobbin. 

6. Continue planning for future projects, either something long-term and complicated, or several easier projects for donations. Yes, I have a project kitted up for social sewing and an idea to use up leftover DJ parts.

Other: Developed a plan for using up the unused DJ cut parts and started piecing blocks. 

November Goals

1. Piece backing for teal DJ2. Quilt it during my next long arm reservation on Nov 8. If possible, bind and finish it. 

2. Find or piece a back for Checkered Garden, request batting, and quilt it on Nov 29.  

3. Get purple thread and make progress on the walking foot quilting on the Kaffe Gradient project. 

4. Bind and finish the Cut and Shuffle Leftovers quilt. 

5. Continue piecing the DJ Leftovers project. 

6. Continue piecing the Double Four Patch Chain at social sewing. 

7. Work on piecing the Triangles project.

8. Work on planning future projects.

Looks like November is going to be pretty busy, too!

Link up: Alycia Quilts 10/30 and Small Quilts and Doll Quilts 11/2

Scrappy Four Patch Chain

Behind the scenes I've been prepping a new project to take to social sewing. A while back I made a lot of light/dark four patches, and now they're on the wall with dark squares, in an Irish Chain layout. 

I'll clip these pieces in four-patch batches for blocks, number them, and kit it all up to take along. First, though, I need to replace that busy rust print that calls too much attention to itself. 

My husband saw this on the wall and said he really likes it, likes the colors. He rarely comments on my quilts. My recent ones have all been much brighter than this. 

This will be a donation quilt for Hospice, 56 x 72". They often need quilts for men, and while this does have light pink in it, the overall look is masculine. The pastels in the chain (leftovers from other projects) help give it a little liveliness and sparkle. 

I was hoping this project would help deplete my scraps and use up some of my older, duller, unloved fabrics. Wishful thinking, I still have plenty.

Link ups: Small Quilts and Doll Quilts 10/19 and Alycia Quilts 10/23

The "Found" UFO, Finished

A couple of months ago I needed a project box for something, and I pulled out one that I thought was empty. Surprise! It had a partially assembled top in it. I had taken it to a retreat as my extra project in case I finished whatever else I was working on and still had time. The center of the top was complete, it just needed borders, which were cut and in the box. I guess I put the box back in the cabinet and forgot about it. The top was a quick finish.

I had a donated length of fabric that was perfect for the backing, so I prepped it for quilting when I could get a long arm reservation. Quilting happened at the end of September. Binding was added yesterday, and now it's finished and ready to donate. 

I used black thread for the quilting, a bold choice, but with such simple squares I wanted the quilting to add interest. Yes, it's just a meander, but it adds movement and texture. 

The backing was a donation to PCQ's Community Service Committee back when H. was the chair. She handed me a pile of black and white prints and said, "Do something with these."  The black quilting looks good on the back, too, like it's part of the print.

 

The colored squares in this quilt were left over from the Confetti and Streamers quilt in my blog header. That had to be 2012 or earlier. They sat in a baggie in my scrap drawer forever. Some of the black and white prints in the top were donated by Quilt Diva Julie, and the print with inspirational words was left over backing from an earlier charity quilt. 

This quilt measures 57 by 73" and will be donated to the local family services agency. We learned a few years ago that their teenage girl clients tend to choose quilts that include black, so most of the quilts I've made from the donation of black and white prints have gone to this agency. 

One last photo - An overcast and windy day here! 

Linking up with Small Quilts and Doll Quilts 10/12 and Alycia Quilts 10/16

PS - for those of you who knew we were vacationing in Perdido Key last week, and were concerned about Hurricane Isaias, we cut our vacation short and flew home Thursday. At the time we changed our plans, the storm was predicted to make landfall at the Florida/Alabama state line, right where we were. We made it home with no problems. 

Checkered Garden Blocks Complete

I fixed the offending block I mentioned in my previous Checkered Garden post. Now I'm much happier with the blocks. This is the final layout, and I can sew the blocks together. 

The color is much closer to real life in this photo, too, compared with some of the earlier photos. 

Link up: Alycia Quilts