Dot Dot Dot...A Finished Quilt Top

Finally, all my appliqued circles are finished and assembled into a finished quilt top!  I used the pattern Dot Dot Dot by Laundry Basket Quilts (Edyta Sitar) and lots of small pieces from my stash to make this quilt.  Every "dot" is a different printed fabric and the background squares are a scrappy selection of off-white to ecru neutrals from my stash.  The original pattern is for a full size quilt but I "downsized" it with fewer dots to make a quilt that will fit my wall hanging space.  

This project has been in the works a long time.  I turned the edges under on my circles, though raw edge applique and fusible web is a very reasonable alternative, then machine appliqued the circles to the background squares.

When I finished the applique, I began assembling the quilt on my design panels, which I had to do in two parts because the panels are not big enough to hold the whole quilt (40" by 58" finished, with border).  There was a lot of moving pieces around and obsessing during this process to get the rainbow effect with the best balance of colors.  I wanted the greens on the outer edges because I planned to use a green border.  This will hang in my kitchen wall hanging spot and the kitchen is green and white.

Eventually I was pleased with the placement and the actual sewing together went fast.  

Now to get this quilted.  Fabric starching is underway for my next project!

Starting Dot Dot Dot Quilt

Two weeks ago, Hurricane Isaias came near enough to us to take out our electrical power.  With no electricity from late Tuesday morning to early Friday evening, I had to abandon my machine sewing project and turned instead to cutting out circles for my future Dot Dot Dot quilt (from the pattern by Laundry Basket Quilts).

Earlier, I purchased a 2" circle template made out of acrylic from Paper Pieces.  It has a quarter inch seam allowance added and is handy for cutting out the fabric circles.  Thinking the cutting would be tedious and not in any hurry to complete this quilt, I planned to cut circles from fabric as I was using it for its original project.  However, being unable to use my favorite power tool, I began pulling bins of fabric from storage and cutting instead.  

The pattern requires 440 circles appliqued to the background; I have about 100 cut to date, mostly from my stash of purple (minimal), yellow (moderate) and blue (numerous) fabrics.  I want to do the rainbow arrangement like the original quilt shown on the pattern but am realizing my fabric stash is not ideal for this purpose.  First, many fabric prints don't lend themselves to this project.  Each dot needs to read as a single color so those that are multi-color prints, or two colors that aren't side-by-side on the color wheel (like red and blue), neutral colors like gray and brown, pastel or faded colors, and low volume prints won't work.  Second, I have very little purple and next to no orange in my stash.  

I'd like to participate in a fabric swap for making this quilt.  Are any of you interested?  My idea is to trade 75-100 2.5 inch squares of fabric suitable for the dots.  I have an abundant stash of blues and reds and quite a bit of yellow while I'm especially in need of orange and purple.  If three or four of us swapped together, it would increase our options for this quilt nicely, and I think this amount could be mailed conveniently in a regular business envelope.   If you'd like to participate, leave a comment here or email me.  

That brings me to another topic:  comments.  A few months ago, I was receiving so many spam comments that I switched to moderating comments so I could easily delete those that detract from the topic here.  Over the past few weeks, the spam has gotten worse.  For each legit comment from a quilting reader, I receive about 10 comments that are sexually explicit and two or three trying to sell bitcoin  or something else sure to be a scam.  Moderation allows me to delete these comments so blog readers never see them, but I'm wondering, do those of you with your own blogs have the same issue?  If yes, do you know of anything more to do about it? 

Like Sunshine on a Cloudy Day - A Finished Flimsy

The top is finished!

All 256 blocks are now assembled into the quilt top.  And it's a big one, 96 inches square, ample for a queen size bed.  

I love the blend of colors.  I made this quilt entirely from stash, including the back.  The binding will probably come from my stash too, though I haven't decided what to use yet.

Making this quilt emptied one plastic bin; of course, it will get refilled soon enough.  I store larger pieces of fabric (1/2 yard and longer) by wrapping them around cardboard into mini bolts; they go on shelves in the closet in my sewing room.  I store unopened precuts on the shelves too, along with fabric "pulls" for specific projects.  All my smaller pieces of fabric are in plastic bins.  I have four large bins (the size sold for under-bed storage) upstairs in our 3rd floor attic storage and seven (now six) smaller bins stacked in the closet.  They are organized by color.  I also have the Fig Tree Harvest basket, the one that never seems empty, no matter how many quilts I make.  And a 3-drawer rolling cart holding a combination of precuts and large cuts of fabric I bought to use as backing.

Well, time to get this one off to my quilter, then to work on the next project!

Pieceful Update

Thank you for your kind notes about Reggie.  We miss him but are adjusting.  Working on my current quilting project has been a great comfort.  Quilts in general are comforting of course, and having this hobby to occupy me has been a help.

So I made more progress on my super scrappy Fig Tree project, code named Pieceful.  When I last posted about this project, I had finished a few blocks like this, Block 1.

For the design to come together, Block 1 gets combined with Block 2 (below).  I'm nearly done with all the Block 2s.  I need 25 of each block.  (Actually, I need 49 blocks in total, 25 of one and 24 of the other.  But I'm not sure which block I want to go in the corners so I'm making 25 of each one so I can test out both layouts and go with the one I prefer.)

Block 2 has allowed me to use all the cream colored prints, the backgrounds and "neutrals" that I did not use in my other Fig Tree Harvest quilts.  In my prior projects, I used just one background or neutral, usually a solid white or tone-on-tone.  But Pieceful is super-scrappy, with even the background block being pieced from lots of different fabrics.  

I laid out a few blocks to see how they look and I like the way they come together for the Irish Chain effect.  I think this might be a quintuple Irish Chain.  

By the way, in case you are wondering, I cut each piece 2 inches square (1.5 inches finished) so each block is 11 inches square (10.5 inches finished).  The finished quilt will be about 72 inches square.

Organizing My Sewing Space

Have you ever been to Target and bought something that wasn't on your shopping list, just because you liked the look of it and the price was right?  Ha!  Do birds fly?  Here are my latest impulse purchases.  First, this wire basket (only $3!).  I thought I could put it on the floor under the table and use it to collect scraps, the ones that are too small to re-fold but too big to throw away.  Good idea but it is filling up fast.  Temporary solution but not long term scrap storage.

I also found these baskets that look like they are knitted but are made of plastic.  Also very inexpensive so I bought a few.  This smaller one is holding leftover binding I'm saving for a future unknown project where I just need a short piece.

I'm using the larger version to hold fabric I pulled from stash for a planned project.  I have two of these going now (but I have about 12 projects planned in my head).

As you may have surmised from my destash sale, I've been cleaning out and re-organizing my sewing space, or sewing "studio" as I've begun to call it.  Studio sounds so active and professional.  The gym I go to refers to their facility as the studio, which certainly sounds better (though less accurate) than torture chamber.

Getting fit and strong at OTF

Pulling my stash fabric out of the closet, refolding it, and putting it back in the closet was quite the workout.  Next up, the space around my sewing machine table.

Quilts And More, Fall 2014

I picked up the latest issue of Quilts and More in Barnes & Noble on Saturday.  I've been trying to resist buying more quilting books and magazines because I have enough projects already to last a long time.  But Quilts and More focuses on smaller projects and this issue has a few that I can really see myself making. 

 

The magazine has a regular feature called ScrapLab where three designers are challenged to each make a project from an identical set of fabric pieces.  The fabric for the Fall projects was set of 20 6" by WOF strips of batik fabric. 

Carrie Nelson of Miss Rosie's Quilt Co. made these framed pieces.  I think this is such a good idea for gifts or your own home.  Each of the three here are sized to fit standard size frames which can be purchased fairly inexpensively in many chain stores. 

 

 

These decorative pillows were designed by Joanna Figueroa of Fig Tree & Co and use covered button accents.  I can see these in some Christmas fabrics for the holiday season. 

 

 

 

Zig Zag and Chevron quilt designs have been very popular lately and I like this unusual take on the look.  This design is called Good Vibrations and is by Kari Vojtechovsky.  While this design uses 2.5" strips, it requires more of each print than is in a jelly roll.  Too bad, I still have the jelly rolls I bought in Hawaii (though I do have a plan for them).

 

There are more projects in this issue but the other thing that caught my eye was an ad for a sew-a-thon that American Patchwork & Quilting is holding Sept. 19-20 as part of their 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge.  If you live near Des Moines, you can go to the live event at the Meredith Corporation.  Those further away can join virtually.

More Scrappiness - Elaine's Happy Quilt

After reading my last post on scrap quilts, Elaine Peltier sent me some photos of her curent scrap quilt project.  She says she seems to have an ever abundant accumulation of scraps and was racking her brain to figure out how to make use of them when she saw the cover of the June 2013 cover of Quilt magazine. 

 

Elaine said that as soon as she saw this quilt on the cover, she knew it was the answer for her pile of scraps.  The quilt designer is Brioni Greenberg, who is one of the Fat Quarterly crew.  The quilt is 90" square.  (You could down-size the blocks to make a smaller quilt.)

 

Brioni showed this quilt on her blog, flossybossy, a little over a year ago.  She said it used about 18 yards of scraps from her stash.  I call that a real stash buster!

Elaine has already started work on her version; this is her work in progress on her design wall. She is calling it "My Happy Quilt" and I can see why.  Not only is is made with happy colors but is a happy solution to the over-flowing scrap basket dilemma.

Are you inspred?  You should be able to find Quilt magazine at your local quilt shop, Barnes & Noble, or you can order if from The Fat Quarter Shop.

 

Scrap Quilt Ideas

My primary project right now is the LeMoyne star Scrap Basket Sunday project. I'm making my stars out of partial fat quarters from my vast Fig Tree Quilts fabric collection.  I still have a lot of fat quarters and other large-ish pieces of fabric to work with in my Fig Tree Harvest project, but it is only a matter of time before I am down to true scraps.  So I started "collecting" scrap quilt ideas.  I saw Camp Randall from Primitive Gatherings on Linda's blog (she quilted the original) and went absolutely nuts for it!  I immediately ordered the pattern.

The photos Linda took look even better than the pattern cover photo.  I'm saving my small Fig Tree pieces in order to make this one; I'll have to find a unifying fabric to use in place of the navy used for the original. 

And I've been saving scrap quilt ideas on a Pinterest board. 

Here are some more scrappy quilt ideas:

Frequent Flyer was my last true scrap quilt.  It uses uneven 9-patch blocks and a flying geese border.  The pattern was in an issue of American Patchwork & Quilting. 

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The Dresden plate block lends itself well to the use of scraps.  Summertime is scrappy but I used fat quarters. 

Tilted Spools, from the book Pretty Patchwork Quilts by Cyndi Walker.

 

 

Six-pointed stars in a block called seven sisters.

 

 

A Quilt For Alice, a pattern from Red Crinoline Quilts.

 

 

 

With so many scrappy designs vying for my attention, I may need more scraps!

 



Scrap Basket Sunday - Week 2

Six blocks made in my long term project.  I'm making a few scrappy lemoyne star blocks each week.  Eventually, I'll have enough for a quilt. 

 

My blocks are 7" square.  I wrote about the construction technique using the Rapid Fire LeMoyne Star ruler in last week's post. 

 

Head over to Kim's blog to see more Scrap Basket Sunday projects. 

 

Scrap Basket Sunday - Week 1

I have some progress to share on Scrap Basket Sunday.

Last Sunday, I told you about my decision to join Kim's Scrap Basket Sunday sew-along.  I'm making LeMoyne star blocks out of fabrics left from my Fig Tree Quilts projects.

Here is my test block.  It came out pretty well if I do say so myself; look at how those points match in the center!

 

My blocks will be 7 inches square, finished.  I chose this size pretty much at random, not having a final vision for the layout of the quilt in mind yet.  It just seemed a good size for the scale of the prints I will be using. 

 

I am using a tool called the Rapid Fire LeMoyne Star ruler, designed by Deb Tucker.  The special construction technique using this ruler allows you to strip piece units and assemble the block without any Y seams.  So far, so good; my blocks have come together easily and accurately.  The block above has been trimmed to size.    Deb's video tutorial for the block is here; she does a better job of explaining it than I can.  The ruler comes with illustrated directions for use which I found very easy to follow.

 

I bought my ruler a couple of years ago at a quilt show.  Deb Tucker was vending at the show.  What a dynamo!  She has a lot of very original ideas for easier construction of traditional blocks.

 

In the directions, she gives the option of pressing the final seams in one direction or pressing them open.  I decided to give both a try.  I pressed the seams in my first block (above) to the side and that worked well, then I tried pressing the seams open on the next block.  That worked even better so that's how I am proceeding.

My three finished blocks, hanging on my design wall. 

Go over to Kim's place to check out the other scrap basket projects.

Out Of The Scrap Basket And Into A Quilt

I resisted at first, trying to stick to one project at a time, then I realized I have the perfect project for...

 

I'm joining Kim (and lots of other quilters) in whittling down my supply of scraps.  My Quilts to make in 2013 Pinterest board holds images of scrappy LeMoyne star quilts.  And I have the scraps, sitting there in my very own magic basket. 

 

 

The idea of Scrap Basket Sunday is to work on my scrappy lemoyne star blocks once a week (or thereabouts).  If I was to work singlemindedly on these blocks, I'd probably get bored after making 10 or 20, and I need about 100 for the quilt.  But interspersing them with other projects will keep the novelty going longer, at least that's my theory.  Of course, it does postpone the finish, but since I don't know yet how I will set the finished blocks into a quilt, that's ok with me.

 

This will be my fabric palette for the lemoyne stars.  I have lots of partial fat quarters and other bits and pieces in my Fig Tree Collection basket, pieces left from peviously made quilts. 

 

 

It's time for a test block.

 

If you would like to join us for Scrap Basket Sundays, go see Kim.