Trunk Show and Class

 At the PCQ holiday luncheon back in December I gave a trunk show to the PC Quilters. Part of it featured my book Cut and Shuffle Quilts (now out of print). Here are photos taken at the event: 

Positivity

PAussietivity (Aussie fabric)

Scoot

Heat Wave

Singing the Blues

Labyrinth

Zen Garden

The book is out of print but I had held back my last 12 copies knowing I would eventually move to Arizona. My last copies are now sold out.

As a result of the trunk show they asked me to teach a cut and shuffle class, which took place earlier this week. I had 10 students, and they all did great. I love it when students come on time and prepared! For those who didn't get a copy of the book, I had a stand alone pattern of the Positivity quilt available for them. 

We made one sample of each of the blocks in the book. We started with a framed square called the Block Mama, cut it into pieces, shuffled the parts, and reassembled them into the blocks. First we made the Plus block used in Positivity.

Cutting the Block Mama

Shuffling the Parts

The Plus Block

Simple concept, and everyone had fun with it. 

Next we made the Four Corners block, my favorite and I think most everyone else's favorite too. 

Parts for the Four Corners Block

The Four Corners Block

To assure accuracy we talked about several methods of marking either the cutting mat or the ruler with tape, and we taped down the blocks so the parts wouldn't shift while cutting. 

The third block we made was the Labyrinth block. It looks a bit wonky by itself but laid out in a quilt it works. 

Parts for the Labyrinth Block

The Labyrinth Block

We have a nice, bright sewing room with plenty of workspace, cutting stations, and ironing stations for a class of 10-12 students, but the room is much too small when a larger group is present and someone is using the long arm. We get pretty crowded at social sewing!

I think everyone had a relaxed and fun time at class, and I certainly enjoyed sharing my cut and shuffle method with these new friends. 

Design Wall Monday: Blue Strips

Another project inspired by Carla's first box...  Remember these pieces? They're leftovers from her Tumbling Blocks quilt. So pretty, but not enough here for a whole quilt. 

I found some prints in my stash that harmonize nicely and cut more of the same shape. The plan is to sew all the parallelogram shapes into rows. Some of the pieces were not full size, so there's variety within the rows. 

Now the rows are on my design wall: 

With a little adjustment I can get all the rows to a consistent length of 52" after the slanted ends are trimmed off, so that will be the width of the quilt. The rows will be 3" wide finished, and I'll add solid dark blue strips between them to make the quilt about 62" long. Prepping the dark blue strips and joining the rows together will be my next project for social sewing. 

A print backing for it in a harmonious shade of blue also came from Carla's donation, the one at the lower left below:

This will be another donation quilt for PCQ. A win all the way around! Carla got to destash some unwanted things; I'm designing and playing with them and have a project I can do at social sewing; the club gets another donation quilt; and eventually a recipient gets a quilt that I hope gives them a quilty hug.

Link ups: Small Quilts and Doll Quilts,  Love Laugh Quilt

Tumblers

 This grouping of fabrics was from Carla's first box. Inspired by the large burgundy floral print, I pulled these fabrics together to make a top for the hospice the PC Quilters support. 

I thought they'd work for a Tumbler quilt using the club's 6" tumbler die. There were not enough light colors here so I raided the club's stash for a few more, and added a dusty blue and a geometric print from my own stash. 

It took a morning at social sewing a few weeks ago to cut all the tumblers. Here they are on the wall, but I see some problems with the layout that have to be fixed. One of the fabrics, the golden brown, just doesn't play nicely with the others, too yellow. And obviously some of the fabrics need to be moved around. 

A week later we - because at social sewing it's great to have everyone's input - got the fabrics rearranged and I got the rows sewn. Then last week I finished sewing the rows together into a flimsy. 

A close up of some of the fabrics: 

Yes, these are old fashioned colors but I'm sure someone in hospice and their family will appreciate it. 

The backing will be pieced from the rest of the burgundy print plus another floral, and the binding will be the stripe. Perfect! I'll piece the back, prep the binding, and cut batting the next time I go to social sewing, then I'll leave it in the "To Be Quilted" for someone else to long arm. It would be at least another month before I could get to it on the long arm machine, and there are lots of people who want the long arm practice. 

So, another community quilt. Thanks Carla and everyone else who donated fabrics. Thanks, girls, for all the help with the layout. And thanks in advance to whoever quilts it.

Link up:  Alycia Quilts

More Goodies from Carla

 Carla continues to destash. In December she passed me a big box of fabrics, orphan blocks, etc. and told me to take what I like to use for donation quilts and put the rest in the PC Quilters' charity quilt stash. Since then, she has passed me another box and a tote with more goodies. Oh, my! 

This box, too, is overflowing with goodies! 

UFOs, orphan blocks, and Christmas fabrics. The child's quilt (upper left) and exquisite Pine Tree blocks (upper right) will go to the club as kits, where someone can finish them. The patriotic fabrics will go to the club's veterans quilt committee. The Christmas fabrics will go into the club's stash. I have a plan for the black and white quarter log cabins (center) and there's enough blocks here that, with sashing, can make a kid-size quilt. 

Precuts, and some of them coordinate. I have ideas for some of these and the club will need kits prepped and ready to sew, so I may make kits using these bundles. 

Backings and juvenile flannel. I measured the backings, wound the fabric on bolts and put them in the club's Backing Fabrics cabinet. Isn't that Hawaiian print gorgeous?!!!

More backings, and some low volume yardage. The club is low on light colors we can use for backgrounds so these are most welcome. 

Speaking of Hawaiian prints, look what was in the tote Carla passed along. There's 4 yards of that scenic print there, another addition to the club's Backing Fabrics cabinet.

Some of Carla's UFOs will be passed along to the club for someone to do something with the blocks, maybe kit up a sampler quilt.
 

And last but definitely not least, a One Block Wonder WIP, including the book to go along with it. Carla has repeatedly told me I can keep what I want for myself, but I have felt strongly that her generosity should go to the club's charity efforts. Well, this one is tempting. 

Very, very tempting. There are a lot of completed blocks and carefully cut and grouped parts for more, plus yardage of the same background fabric. So here's what I've decided: I'll keep this kitted up to take to retreat in July. Then I'll see how many blocks there are in total, put it together, and decide whether to keep it or donate it. 

Thanks so much for your generosity, Carla. It may take me awhile to get some of these projects kitted up for the club, but rest assured, they'll get there eventually. 

Link Ups: Small Quilts and Doll Quilts,  Love Laugh Quilt

 

Flannel Flimsy

 One of the goodies in Carla's box was a stack of pre-cut flannel squares. Most of them were more or less 4-1/4 to 4-1/2" and the fabrics were mostly dark. Not enough by themselves for a project, but they were a good starting point. 

I trimmed them up to a consistent size, found some light colored flannel in the club's stash, and cut more squares of the same size. For more dark squares, I used some repurposed flannel shirts from my own stash. The plan was to end up with simple alternating light and dark squares, in masculine colors. 

After being sewn together at social sewing on a couple of recent Wednesdays, Carla's discarded flannel squares, along with a few friends, are now a finished flimsy. 

Because I won't be able to quilt this soon enough, I've given the top to the club so someone else can quilt it and we can get it donated before it gets too hot for a flannel quilt. The top measures about 53" x 67" so it's a good throw size. 

It may not be the prettiest quilt ever made, but there's a need for masculine donation quilts and I hope this one brings a quilty hug to someone who needs it. 

Link ups: Confessions of a Fabric Addict,  Alycia Quilts

No-Reply Comments

 Hello friends, 

I try to respond to all the comments readers leave for my posts, but if you are a no-reply commenter I'm unable to reply to you. Lately I've had more no-reply comments than usual. I love the comments and I'm glad you visit my blog. 

If you've left a comment on a recent post and I haven't replied, please know that I do appreciate your comment. Next time be sure to put your email address in your comment so I can get back to you. 

To those who've asked about the No Shame Train: Yes, I'll continue to post about the group after each monthly meeting and I'll share my progress. 

Thanks for visiting,
Jan

No Shame Train

 The No Shame Train is a sub-group of the PebbleCreek Quilters whose purpose is to get UFOs finished. The group is facilitated by two energetic teachers who are good motivators and presenters. They've run the No Shame Train in past years so they have "lesson plans" for each meeting. The No Shame Train is very popular; so many people signed up that we don't all fit in the Fiber Arts room, so we're meeting in one of PC's ballrooms. 

The first meeting was in December and the homework assignment was: 

- Write down how you define UFO

- Gather all your UFOs in one place and photograph them. 

- List them all or create a spreadsheet.

The second meeting was yesterday. We broke down into small groups and discussed our definitions of a UFO, and why projects end up in UFO status. We also shared ideas how we can help each other move forward. 

The No Shame Train leaders use the term UFO very inclusively, encompassing any WIP, kit, unstarted project for which fabric and a pattern have been pulled, and any other hobby such as scrapbooking, knitting, or whatever generates UFOs. It doesn't matter if it's a current project or many years old. 

In our small group there were as many definitions of UFO as participants. Such was the case in all the other groups as well. It doesn't matter, all are welcome and it only matters how you define UFO for yourself.

For myself, I define UFO and WIP separately. WIP is any project started within the last 12 months, or any ongoing project that can only be worked on periodically such as a BOM or my WIGSP. A UFO, to me, is any started project that's more than 12 months old. I don't buy kits and I don't count fabric pulled for a potential project that hasn't been cut. 

Because I moved last year I purged a lot of UFOs and WIPs before the move. I donated finished tops to someone who could quilt and finish them for a charity. I abandoned and discarded or gave away other projects that I was never going to get to. I had a couple of my mother-in-law's UFOs that I once had good intentions of finishing but never did, so I gave them to my sister-in-law and she will have someone from her church finish them. 

So that left me with the following projects, some of which I had completely forgotten about: 

 1. Winding Ways, hand pieced bee blocks, probably from about 2015 or 2016. I think there's one block missing and I don't have any more of these fabrics.

2. Sample for Kristen's quilt, 2014. My niece thought she'd like to make a quilt when she was about 12 so I created a simple pattern for her. I cut pieces to sew along with her so I could send her tutorials for each step. She never did start her quilt. She's in college now. 

3. Mineral Plus flimsy. Was going to be a Hands2Help donation a few years ago but it's kind of big for me to easily baste and quilt. Then life interrupted. 

4. Bright Strippy Race flimsy. Was an experimental strip pieced project from 2019(?) that I thought might become a patio quilt for my someday Arizona home. Or a donation quilt. 

5. Tessellated top, marked for quilting, with backing fabric. Pre-2008. At the time I lacked the skill to machine quilt it the way I wanted it to look, and I didn't want to hand quilt it. At 52" square it's an awkward size for an adult and the colors are not suitable for a baby. 

6. Star Spangled Spiral. Technically not a UFO to me, this unquilted top was a remake last summer for a pattern and teaching sample. My plan is to leave it unquilted for a teaching sample, then someday if I'm no longer teaching I'll quilt it and donate it as a QOV. 

7. Scrappy Nine Patch Stars flimsy. Made several years ago, also a teaching sample deliberately left unquilted. 

8. Kid quilt from squares given to me by Wanda in 2019. Kitted as an extra project to take to retreat in case I needed another project to work on. 

9. Also less than 1 year old, Batik Race. Since I cut way too many batik strips for my patio pillows and put the strips together race-style, this is left over made-yardage. There's enough here to make a large throw quilt, but I have no plans for it.

10. Self Round Robin. Started as a personal challenge to use a set of curved templates. Life intervened.

11. Leftover blocks, 2014. All Kaffe fabrics, from when I was making quilts for my book Cut and Shuffle Quilts, but I revised the pattern after starting them. I already have a Cut and Shuffle quilt in these fabrics. 

So this month's homework is to: 

1. Create a priority plan

2. Start

3. Set a goal for next meeting in February

4. Bring any completed projects for show and tell. 

YIKES!!!
I already have a lengthy list of goals for January and I'm teaching a Cut and Shuffle Quilts class later this month which is my big priority. I haven't taught it since before Covid so I have some prep to do. Plus, my book is now sold out and some of the class attendees didn't get one, so for them I'm creating a stand-alone pattern of one of the quilts in the book. Something is probably not going to get done this month, and this No Shame Train stuff is lower priority than my other stuff. I guess that's how come these projects are all UFOs. Wish me luck! 

PS - Could there be any more acronyms?!!! :-)