One-third + one-sixth + one-half = Progress!

I'm working on three different quilt projects right now, and I'm at a good progress point for updating on all three. yay!

The first is the still on-going Diary Quilt; I'm busy adding what are called setting triangles to all the blocks I finished earlier. What that means is I take each small square and put a triangle on each side so that each block becomes a square within a square. I of course do not have pictures of this yet, because my camera batteries are, as ever, dead. But, I'm done with half the blocks! Yay!!!

The second is the Comic Strip Quilt for The Writer. He created this hilarious comic strip, Mt. NeverRest, when he was quite young; maybe 9 years old? I forget. Simple but so funny. In an effort to preserve his comics for him, I decided to turn them into a quilt. I bought printable fabric and will photograph several of his comic strips, print on the fabric and they'll make up the middle of the quilt.

The outside of the quilt will be in all blacks (on the left) and all white (on the right). The middle two columns (it will be 6 columns total) will alternate white and black, so that the overall look is interlocking teeth, similar to this design:

Which is Which quilt, by Mamacjt
originally seen on Pinterest, traced back to
this Flickr photostream (though not that page)
The maker of this quilt knows I'm inspired by hers and making my own, altered, version.

Today I finished assembling all the black squares. Hooray! That's one-third of the blocks, ready to go. They aren't joined yet but just having the blocks done is a big accomplishment for me. Each block is roughly 12x12, just to give you an idea of size.

for the Comic Strip Quilt
this will be the left third of the quilt when done

The third project is the Argyle Baby Quilt; I showed you recently the first column full of triangle pairs. I've finished another column's worth of triangle pairs since then. Woot! Making progress! It's a fun little project to work on, as the little triangles go together quickly.

I'm debating how to back it -- I originally bought enough of the lavender dot fabric to be the backing, but over the weekend I saw a lavender microfiber/microplush baby blanket that is the right size & color to serve as backing if I want. I'm researching how hard or easy it would be to use that, and thinking it over. On the one hand, it might make it more likely to be used, which is a good thing. On the other hand, I'm reading that it can be finicky fabric to work with, which is not so good. So, mulling it over. Anyone have thoughts on that? I believe it will behave similar to minky fabric, if that helps you. 

Today I'll be starting the white squares for the Comic Strip Quilt. Cold weather has arrived with a vengeance here, and I'd hoped to have the quilt done for The Writer at least before the end of our winter. Must get moving! The Diary Quilt has no deadline whatsoever, as it's just for me, and the Argyle Baby Quilt doesn't need to be finished until September-ish or maybe August, so I'm bumping the Comic Strip Quilt up in the line and working full speed ahead on getting that finished for my boy. Wish me luck! I do so want it to be done in time for him to enjoy it this winter!

Time to get to work! Happy Thursday, everyone!

Ready, Set, Argyle!

Well, it's begun! I spent quite a while a few days ago cutting little fabric triangles so that I can begin assembly of the argyle baby quilt I'm making.

I'm following this tutorial, more or less.

Except my triangles are 4.5" x 3.5" cut size. And then I'm making vertical columns instead of horizontal rows of triangles, because I want my diamonds for the argyle to be horizontal instead of vertical.  Yes, that makes sense; trust me.

But I did use the tutorial to understand how exactly to line up the triangles when I get ready to sew them into pairs. You can't line up point to point, or they won't be right when you unfold them. You have to scoot the top triangle down just a bit so that your seam allowance falls in the right place. I only had to read that three times and look at the photo for five minutes and then scoot, measure, scoot, measure something like four or five times before I got my first pair lined up correctly. The mechanics of sewing do not always come easily to me, what can I say. Luckily, once I got the first one I figured out what to do so that the rest of my triangle pairs are nice and properly pointy when unfolded.

What I didn't see in the tutorial is a much needed admonition to make sure that if your left hand triangle points up & your right hand triangle points down, that you keep it that way throughout. Because if you just go all willy nilly, grabbing a triangle, plopping one down the opposite way, without paying attention to if you have a Down-Up or an Up-Down arrangement, you wind up with pairs that don't go together.

on the left, an Up-Down arrangement;
on the right, a Down-Up
See how the Up-Downs cannot be paired with the Down-Ups? Oops.

Fortunately I only had 5 pins in my little needle book at the time, so I only sewed 5 pairs of triangles together. Three of them wound up as Down-Ups and the other two were Up-Downs, so I quick decided the rest of that row would go with majority rule and be Down-Ups and set the errant two couples aside. I think I can use them in the next row if I do all Up-Downs for that row, though I'm not 100% sure that will work and I'm a little afraid to risk it.

However! I got enough triangles paired up to make the first row. Woot! This is double exciting because I needed that so I can figure the math that I messed up earlier.

all 20 pair; 40 triangles
takes most of the length of my dining room table
pardon the mess....

See, as I was deciding on size for this baby quilt, I remembered to subtract seam allowance and shrink each triangle from the cut size of 4.5" x 3.5" down to what will likely wind up being 4" x 3". Which means my rows, or rather columns, will each be roughly four inches wide, and depending on the size I make my argyle diamonds, I need either 12 or 18 columns.

I was originally thinking 12 and used that to determine -- aha! Twelve columns times four inches per column equals a width of roughly 48 inches. Perfect!  I say roughly because I learned on my first quilt that my seam allowances tend to be a smidge wide and thus my quilts tend to shrink a bit and be a little smaller than intended. Since this is not a pattern anyway, it's whatever I decide, so no problem.

Then I figured the length. I think I want somewhere around 45" x 60" more or less, so I divided that length of 60" by the width of each triangle, three inches. Lovely! I need 20 triangles per strip to have a strip that's 60" long!

Except, no. Because the two triangles go together topsy-turvy, so the base of one overlaps the base of the other. So the two triangles together are more like 4" (and really this will shrink more, I think, as each pair goes together....) when all is said and done. So I need forty triangles, twenty pairs. To make my sixty-ish inches. So I have a LOT more triangles to cut and then sew.

But! Still and all, today I paired up the first twenty pair of triangles (does one say pair or pairs for plural???), including the one that will be the point of the very first diamond for the argyle. Does it give you enough to see how the quilt will go together?

close-up of the bit that has the 1st diamond point
and so you can see the coraly-orangey-salmony color that I might match

I'm not planning to assemble the rows/strips/columns yet, as I'm still undecided on exact size of each argyle diamond, and also the color of that pesky center diamond. I had ruled out the green, thanks to a friend's suggestion, but then the more I look at it, the less sure I am that using the 2 purples I have will be enough contrast. So instead I might go with a perfectly splendid coral sort of color that matches the orangey-coraly-salmony color dots in the background, and is the print of the green floral I posted before. I'll post pics of that later; I forgot to take pictures of the fabric while I had the camera out.

Whew! My brief little update got really long! Sorry 'bout that! Wish me luck as I keep cutting and sewing, cutting & sewing. My machine goes to the machine doctor this weekend and hopefully I'll have it back soon, which will speed things up considerably. Meanwhile, it's fun handwork and easy to do a bit here & there.

Stay tuned for further updates as things progress! And soon a picture of The Writer's quilt progress, too.

Remembering Socks

I posted last week (was it just last week??) that our little kitten, Socks, was not well and needed to be put to sleep. The Chemist took care of that, holding and petting Socks all the while as the medicine did its job; the boys and I stayed home and kept busy.

The Artist, who was Socks' official owner, designed a little memorial mini-quilt as a bit of therapy and comfort for himself. He drew it out, chose the fabrics, and I cut and assembled for him.

The job was one done quickly, with more focus on speed than perfection, so it is not my best work. But it is a gift full of love and prayers for my boy as I sewed, that it might ease his grief, so in that regard, it's a smashing success.

The kitten was "fussy cut" (ie, I cut around a picture of a cat) from fabric that I bought The Artist sometime last year. The red, yellow & green were chosen as they are the colors of the catnip balls that Socks loved so dearly. The gray because that is the color of Socks himself.

The picture is meant to represent Socks resting on The Artist's bed.

I quilted a very simple and loose heart around Socks and then just straight lines radiating out from the heart; loose and fast quilting, just to get it done. The Artist is pleased, and says that he feels closer to Socks and less sad when he looks at the mini-quilt. Mission accomplished; job well done.

What things have you found to help you or a loved one over a patch of grief or sadness? 

Winter is Coming....

Today feels like winter. It's not here to stay, yet, but the signs all point to "soon."

	Today	Tonight	Tomorrow
Partly Cloudy	Mostly Sunny	Partly Cloudy	Partly Cloudy
68°F	82°	59°	83°
Feels Like: 68° Get FREE weather on your desktop	High	Low	High

You will note, in the forecast above, that right this minute it is 68* outside. That is COLD. At least to my tropical living self it is.

Aside from the weather report, which you may or may not believe means winter (yes, I see we'll reach 82* today....), here is how I know it's coming:

*we had to turn on the electric hot water heater last night in order to get warm, not even hot, showers
*the blankets we keep on the couch are cold to the touch when we get up in the morning
*I've switched our bed sheets from the summer sheets to the winter sheets
*I'm going to pull out the extra fuzzy blanket for my side of the bed today
*I'm wearing socks all day long now
*and jeans and a sweatshirt, just to stay comfortable in the house
*the boys are asking about hot chocolate
*and The Chemist wants to make soup for dinner
*all of which means, winter is on the way

Sadly, the quilt for The Writer is nowhere near ready. My sewing machine is being a little glitchy, so I'm working by hand at the moment. I've found a place to get the machine repaired, though, and will take it this weekend for a little tune-up and hopefully be back to machine sewing in the near future. Fortunately, The Writer doesn't mind, is quite patient, and we do have plenty of blankets. I just had hoped to have his quilt done in time for winter. Looks like that is not going to happen, unless winter stalls out.

Of course, adding in the baby project I'm working on means even slower going for The Writer's quilt, but I'm alternating and working on both, so that's fine. My quilting friends all voted and one brave soul suggested "Why not leave out the green all together???" which I deemed to be a brilliant plan, so the baby quilt will have the adorable background as pictured and then a center diamond in the purple floral and the two side diamonds in the purple marbled fabric. I am very excited about this combination, and so thankful for the sweet girl who suggested it.

What's the weather like in your neck of the woods? 

Fabric Choices: HELP!!

I mentioned earlier in my quilt updates that a person in our life (who shall remain nameless)(but is most definitely NOT me) is expecting, and I had the design all ready to go. You might remember it...

isn't it lovely in the pinks & blacks?!

Then the person found out she's expecting a GIRL!!! Hooray!!! I was all set to go and buy the perfect pink, hot pink & black fabrics I'd chosen for this delightful quilt.

But then the person selected the bedding she wants for her little girl's nursery, and it's much softer and feminine and lavender. With purple and moss green accents. Which is very much not pink and black.

Since the store offered several pink/black baby bedding combos, I have to assume that this person -gasp- actually prefers lavender/purple to the pink/black which I really really really wanted to make. And since I want this person to LOVE, not just "like" and definitely not hate, the baby quilt, I decided I'd better use the colors she likes, not the colors I like. Hmph.

still nice, but not as pazazz-y if you ask me
I am counting on the actual fabrics to fix that.

Making gifts is way less fun when you do not love the color choices, let me just say that, right now. Then also, keep in mind that my fabric shops here are about the size of a very small bedroom. As opposed to fabric shops in the US which are about the size of a house. In other words, my selection is limited. And I already had picked out the absolute *perfect* fabrics in pink and black, so finding something just as good in purple and green was  hard. I had huge mental blocks to hurdle, limited selection making it more difficult, and, well, purple and green just do not make my heart sing the way the other colors do, so it was hard.

I did it, though. I picked out a really great background fabric, and then a dark purple and a moss green. You might note that in my conceptualized drawing, above, I have a light spring green as the center and moss green as the criss-cross. Fabric reality here is that there was not one single acceptable light green fabric, so I swapped that around. See how complicated this is??

I did find, but didn't buy yet, the perfect little thing to be the criss-cross of the argyle. I can't wait to go back and get that! It will really make the quilt. Cute little fabric daisies that make a ribbon of sorts. Different sizes of daisy, not just totally symmetric equal sized daisies in a boring little row. And the fabric has a bit of sheen to it. Not shiny or metallic but just a hint of sheen. Oh my heck it's going to be so cute!

First, though, I have got to decide on this purple and green. The Writer says I'm over thinking it. His logic is, the recipient can't hate the quilt. I assured him she can. He replied, in his witty way, "Well, she can't tell YOU she hates it, so you'll never really know. She'll only say to you that she likes it...." He does have a point, but still. I want her to love it.

Here's a sort of mock-up of what it will look like when done, just so you get the full view as well as the close-up view:

I absolutely LOVE the background fabric, though it's less tone-on-tone than I originally wanted. 

Which is where, finally, you all come in. Which two fabrics work best with each other and with the background???

Green Swirls & Purple Floral

Green Swirls and Purple Marbled

Green Floral and Purple Floral

Green Floral and Purple Marbled

PLEASE leave me a comment telling me which purple and which green, or be honest if I need to keep shopping. I do have another fabric shop I can try which might have something different. The Chemist will love you for that one....LOL!

I can't start cutting fabric until you guys vote, so don't let me down!!

Quick Quilting Update

My project list is far greater than my skill level, amount of available time, or fabric budget. In fact, my project list is probably greater than all three of those other things combined. I have very clear ideas, visions, in my head of what each of these future quilts ought to look like, and very little idea of how to get them from my head onto paper and into fabric.  Luckily for me, people who love me are sending a present my way that should help with that part. (thanks, guys!)

Because part of my problem is fear which causes me to procrastinate and not start on stuff, I'm going to briefly (ha!) outline each one of the projects here. This way, I have to start them sooner or later. And you guys can pester me for updates to make sure I do.

In no particular order, the stuff in my "to make some day" idea folder....

The Brazil Quilt -- this one is completely my design, and will be based on the cobblestone mosaic patterns of the sidewalks in Brazil. The center will be a typical flower design, with the side borders (there is no top/bottom border) being the famous wave pattern. There will also be a bird or two, and probably some little favela in the corner. It will divide on the diagonal, top left to bottom right; the left/bottom will be in the colors of the sidewalks -- blacks, beiges, creams, tans. The right/top will be in the colors of nature -- blues for the waves, bright tropical colors in the flower, etc.  So far I have a rough sketch and have bought all the fabric for the quilt top.

The Writer's Quilt -- this will be the one I work on first, and is in fact already started. We'll highlight some of his own work (a comic strip he created), printed on fabric sheets that are 8 x 11. Each of those will be framed out in red, and the rest of the quilt will be black & white, with a pieced border in grays. The design will be oversized rail fence blocks; one side in all blacks, the other side in all whites, but the sides will interlock. The middle 2 columns will showcase the comic strip, and the seams where the halves interlock will be outlined in red. I was inspired by this quilt and then adapted it to fit. So far I have 5 of the black rail fence blocks done.

black rail fence blocks; laid out, not sewn
this is what 4 blocks will look like put together; each block is around 12 x 12

what the white ones will look like
same as above, not sewn yet, just laid out, 4 blocks, each 12x12

The Storybook Quilt -- this is way way way down the list, but it's going to be amazing when I ever get to do it. Simple rows, straight across like a bookshelf. The bottom row -- scenes from children's books, things like Goodnight Moon and that sort of thing. The top row -- scenes from grown-up books, like Lord of the Rings. Along the way, we'll visit Harry Potter, Narnia, the If You Give a.... series, and I'm really not sure what all else. I'm sure Pooh will be there somewhere. And probably a Mockingjay. At the bottom left I'll have a tiny caterpillar, cut from the trademarked Eric Carle Hungry Caterpillar fabric; at the top right, the butterfly from same. He'll munch his way through the books; a Books quilt block will separate each scene. I've got a few rough sketches of this, but I'm sure it will change and grow as my boys discover old favorites and introduce me to new ones. I have no idea how to execute this quilt, which is why it's in perpetual last on my list of quilts to make.

The Artist's T-Shirt Quilt -- The Artist gets attached to his shirts, particularly souvenir type shirts. He hates outgrowing them, because they have to be removed from his closet. So I told him about t-shirt quilts, and a pile is growing in the sewing room. When there are enough shirts there, I'll make this quilt for him using Jules' favorite t-shirt quilt pattern.

The Argyle Baby Quilt -- I've designed a baby quilt, inspired by a pair of socks, and prompted by a baby quilt contest. Only, I couldn't bear to spend the money on fabrics for a quilt with no recipient in mind so I am not entering the contest. Still, I'm excited by the design and just waiting for a family member to find out what she's having so I can go buy either pinks or blues. The quilt will be pieced, and more detailed than this drawing, but here's a basic drawing I did in paint. Colors subject to change depending on baby's gender. Quilters, I plan to do this by strip piecing and then cutting the strips into diamond shapes (or, squares but turned on the diagonal). The argyle fine line in the main feature will be either ribbon or rick-rack, depending if said family member is having a girl or a boy.

background will be a soft pink, not dull yellow
not sure the color for the ribbon/rick-rack
and if relative is having a boy, will be a soft green with dark blue & green.
Something like that. Will not be solid, but pieced from a few fabrics in the background color.

Some kind of Quilt for The Adventurer -- I want to do a quilt for each boy, but The Adventurer has no idea and neither do I. Maybe something Nintendo themed. Or fish/swimming themed. We'll see. Since we've neither one of us got any idea, his will come after The Writer's and The Artist's.

The Artist's Main Quilt -- I know I already said about the Artist's t-shirt quilt, but that's a years-later thing; I also want to do him a now quilt, probably cat themed or a simpler adaptation of the storybook quilt. He asked for something based on Warriors, a cat-themed book series, so I'm brainstorming and trying to come up with something he'll like yet not quite so specific to one particular book. He's my little bookworm, so hoping to talk him into something broader. We'll see. He is also the cat lover of the family, so cats work well for him too. His will be after The Writer's quilt, and maybe after The Brazil Quilt depending on if I figure out what The Artist wants before then or not.

A Songs series -- I made a small wall hanging as a gift for someone, based on a song that I love. I'd like to make a 2nd version of that for myself, and am debating doing this as a series of wall hangings based on other songs as well, or as blocks to fit into the border of the Diary Quilt, or as a separate lap quilt in & of itself. Still toying with that idea; we'll see what shape it takes.

And I still have to finish the Diary Quilt. Blocks are done, which I need to finish showcasing here, and I'm adding the setting triangles to turn them into the right size for the quilt size I want. I'll be finishing this one by hand, so it's easy to work on between other projects.

That's my list, so far. My goal is to have The Writer's quilt done by our winter -- June-ish. I'm not sure I'll make it, but we'll see. The blocks go together quickly, it's the finishing up that worries me. I've still never quilted a quilt before, so.....wish me luck. And keep asking how things are going. I need the accountability if I'm ever going to get any of these done.

Red White & Blue is DONE!

After a very long time working on this project, or rather, a little while working on it, a very long time not working on it, and another little while working on it again, it is finally done.

This was the first pattern and fabric I bought to try my hand at quilting. I had, at that point in time, barely managed to piece a single block for a friend's Guild President's Quilt. She laughed at me all through reading about that particular little project, because my skills were so insanely pathetic. Only she laughed in the most encouraging manner so that I didn't give up.

When I bought the pattern, I had two thoughts -- a jelly roll pattern (something using pre-cut long strips of 2.5" width) would be easiest, since I would only have to cut the strips to the right length, and I knew I didn't want any triangles. The triangles in my friend's block gave me fits.  It never crossed my mind to worry about anything else, which is the benefit of being clueless when you start --- you don't know enough to know what's hard and what's not, so you are willing to tackle anything. At least, I was.

The helpful staff at the quilt shop where I bought the jelly roll and the pattern were encouraging, until I talked to the lady who wrote the pattern I was buying, and tweaking. See, she wrote the pattern for a 4-color way jelly roll. It was meant to have four colors in it, plus the black for the background. I wanted to do the whole thing in red, white & blue. Even with light blue and dark blue, that was four colors total, including the cream that would also be my background. She wasn't thrilled at the prospect of a baby beginner like me, with no confidence at the time, rearranging her pattern. She was really worried I would not get all the tweaking just right and would wind up discouraged. She was wrong.

Still, she was helpful. She figured roughly how much extra of the other colors I would need to compensate for using one less color than intended, helped me think through what I was getting into, and very dubiously set me on my way. She was more than a little concerned about accurate piecing since I was so new and doing this all by hand. I took that as a challenge, ignored her doubts and vowed to do a fantastic job.

Mostly, I did.

Now, I won't be winning any awards or anything, and my quilt did turn out a few inches smaller all around than what it is supposed to have turned out, but it also ended up where all my seams but one match up pretty well and the whole thing is square. When you put the borders on, you are to measure across the middle, top and bottom and average the three measurements to determine how long to make your border, and then work the fabric of the quilt into fitting that length. I did this and was delighted to have less than a half-inch difference between top, middle, bottom each time I measured. Now, maybe a time will come when an eight-inch difference bothers me, but for my first project and having heard from my mentor friend that a customer quilt of hers had a 2 to 3 inch difference, I was thrilled.

I finished all of the piecing and borders in time to take the quilt top with me, along with the backing fabric, to Colorado where Kim had a domestic machine and a long arm kind of machine and promised to help me quilt my quilt.

close up of the pantograph design we used on my quilt, "stars & loops"
I used Superior's King Tut variegated thread in a light to dark blue.

Turned out, having never used any machine before, I was not so good with the long arm. I managed most of one row, with several stops and starts, before deciding it really made me nervous.  Kim was just finished restoring a quilt for my grandma, and was to the point of hand stitching the binding down, which she graciously let me work on while she quilted my quilt. Whew! I was thrilled to have someone skilled driving the machine, and Kim was delighted to have binding work done. Bonus -- I got to "help" with the quilt for my grandparents.

the quilt, all spread out
the binding turned out, totally by accident, to be blue on the blue sides and red on the red sides,
except the side shown to the right which is half and half. Total accident, but lovely!

We sewed right up to the day I was leaving Colorado (having not started until the end of my trip; it wasn't a long project, but the restoration quilt was the priority, and rightly so) so that I still had to do the binding once away in Texas. But I did, and it's done, and my very own quilt is now laying over my couch, right there in the living room where everyone can see it and use it and I can think, "I made that!!" every time I walk by.

There are purists who will say that since Kim quilted it, I didn't make a quilt, I only made a quilt top. I'm okay with that (and the label, which is not on yet, will have both names; I'm proud to share credit with Kim on this one!). Seeing it on the couch, though.....wow. I kind of still can't believe I did it. Even part of it.

flipped so you can see the backing fabric, which I love.
We keep the quilt folded on the back of the love seat when not in use.

I have several projects waiting in the wings, which I'm sure I'll share about here soon. I need to finish up a few small items and then I'll get back to work on the diary quilt (yes, I know I still have a few stories to tell on that one; I'll get back to it soon) and then start on one of the others. My mind is full of ideas, my stash closet is filling up with fabrics I purchased for some of those ideas, and now I have a sewing machine to help things go faster.....hopefully I don't begin to bore you all with nothing but sewing talk!

Any new hobbies you have found this year? Or plan to start? Get back to? I'd love to hear about it.