Japanese Quilt Books

It was a three-day weekend for me but not for Mr. and Miss Main Street.  They had their usual Saturday class schedule, graduation on Sunday (lovely ceremony, all the faculty and underclassmen attend to give the seniors a big send-off), and exams began on Monday.  (When you are in independent school, you can make your own schedule and ignore holidays.)  So, I had a lot of time in which to entertain myself.  I got out my my collection of Japanese quilting books, had a good browse, and found some items to add to my list.

In this book, I found an idea for the seed packet panel. 

It is a kind of log cabin block variation where the center square (or rectangle) is large and the strips are very narrow.  I am thinking of doing this in green, with black as the final strip.

This book is pretty much all about making bags.  I found one that I might need to make.  We've got a family wedding over Labor Day weekend.  I'm planning to wear a dress that is eggplant colored, and don't have a suitable bag to go with it.  I need one that looks dressy but is big enough to hold my glasses and camera, which excludes most of the evening bags I saw at Nordstroms.

I have quite a stash of vintage linens and lace that I could raid and combine with some eggplant colored fabric (assuming I can find a good match to the dress).  The side gussets make the bag bigger than it looks in the model's hand, certainly large enough to hold the required glasses and camera (plus lipstick, hotel room key, and tissues).

The wedding is that of niece #2.  Niece #1, married almost three years, just announced she is pregnant.  Woo-hoo!  An excuse to make baby quilts!

Red, White, and Blue Quilt

It's time for the patriotic quilt to go up on my kitchen wall.

I have a space in my kitchen that is perfect for wall hangings so I rotate a series of mostly seasonal quilts in this space.  Memorial Day marks the start of the patriotic season, which will end shortly after the 4th of July.  I just hung up my red, white, and blue quilt.  The border fabric is a print of fireworks - perfect for this season.

I'm having a lovely three-day weekend so far, with plenty of time in the sewing room.  I hope you are having the same!

Seed Packets

While I was ordering the patterns, I "threw" this fabric panel into my "cart."  It is from a fabric line by Lakehouse called Annie's Farm Stand.

I intend to turn it into a wall hanging for our kitchen.  I just need to figure out exactly what to do.  Each seed packet is a 3.5" by 4.5" rectangle.  My (vague) idea is to put some kind of sashing in between or piece them into blocks - maybe use them as the center of courthouse steps or log cabin blocks.  But it needs to be something simple as the seed packets are quite busy looking.  I welcome any ideas!

Quilter-Chic Earrings

Flaunt your hobby with these cool earrings made from sewing machine bobbins.  Unique and cool, no?

They are the work of Rama Rejman and are available in several colors for $30 from her etsy site.

New Patterns

A big thank you to all the quilting bloggers who attend Quilt Market and post pictures of the booths and displays.  I love seeing all the new fabric and projects.  This time, a few patterns caught my eye so when I saw that Fat Quarter Shop had them in already (just days after Quilt Market ended), I placed an order.  My patterns arrived yesterday.

I've been wanting to try applique but been a little reluctant to start with a full size quilt, fearing it could easily turn into a UFO.  In photos of the Fig Tree booth at Market, I noticed several small wall hangings.  Each is approximately 18" by 22" which is a nice size to go in our powder room downstairs.  I couldn't decide which pattern to buy so ordered three.  I like them all but think I'll start with the robin.  This could be another hand work project for the summer.

Fig Tree has four of these patterns so far, but according to the copy on the pattern, there will eventually be 12 in the series.

Anglophile that I am, I could not pass up this pattern, called Victory Garden.  I thought it would make a good wall hanging for my kitchen (using just six blocks) but after reviewing the pattern directions, I see it is too big for that space.  Oh well, it will make a good lap quilt for when I watch Masterpiece on Sunday nights!  Or, I could Thelmasize the block.  Hmm...

I want to make my version using red, white, and blue floral prints.  I don't have much blue in my stash.  Oh well, must visit the quilt shop!

First Block

I finished the first block of the current projct.  Let me make clear, I have not made all 700 flying geese yet!  I've made in good start on them but needed to get an idea of what the blocks were going to look like, and feel some sense of accomplishment, so I made one block inorder to see how it all comes together.

I put the block on top of the fabric that I am planning to use for the sashing strips.  One of my inspiration pieces for this project is below; it gives you an idea of how the colors come together.

This quilt is rather labor intensive.  There are 81 mostly teensy weensy pieces in each 10" block.  I need to take it at a moderate pace or else things become wonky.  I'm hoping to have 10 blocks finished by the end of Memorial Day weekend. 

700 Flying Geese - YIKES!

I bought Sew Scrappy last fall (I think you can still get it at Barnes & Noble and maybe your LQS); it is a special publication from Better Homes & Gardens, the American Patchwork & Quilting publishers. 

The magazine has several projects I like a lot, not least of which is this quilt called Five-Star Tribute. 

Each block (five stars) finishes at 10" and each sawtooth star is 4" finished.  I knew this from reading the directions but it did not really sink in until I began cutting.  The pieces are tiny!  And there are a lot of them!  700 flying geese, each measuring one inch by two inches, finished size.  A bit of a challenge.  I've begun...

Here are some of the pieces, cut and organinzed on one of my new 15" block boards.  The block boards are coming in very handy - I highly recommend making up a few of your own.  The fabric is from an older Moda line by Blackbird Designs, called Beach House.