Little pieces...

In between temperature fluctuations - thank you for the sympathy, empathy and suggestions - I actually have been getting some sewing done.

I've been working on a few different things this past month but with a monthly club at The Olde World Quilt Shoppe starting this past Saturday, I had to focus and get a couple of things ready for that.

Tidbit - one of the Little Bites - was the first month's project.  It was supposed to be Month 2 because I wanted the November/December project to be something small... something that wouldn't take months to complete.  I could make this in a day, right?

I did.  Except that I couldn't make just one quilt.  

This was the just-like-the-pattern-version of the quilt made using the kit we cut for the club.  Just for something different - for me and for the  club - I decided to frame this version.  The original version of the quilt finishes at 16 1/2" x 19 1/2" - not exactly right for a 16" x 20" frame so a tiny tweak to the top and bottom borders was required.  It would make a nice gift, don't you think?  And Christmas is coming... 

 The funny part of it all is that while this is the "first" quilt for class, it was the last one I made.  I'm a backwards, go-my-own-way sort of girl.  

This is the first Tidbit I made - twenty-five blocks, red accent setting triangles and scrappy four-patches in the corners of outer border.  It measures 21" x 21" and yes, I made it using the kit.

It's like this - when I thought about what to make for the club, I had an idea or two for a variation but I wasn't sure where I was going.  Not exactly.  So while I was at the shop, I selected the fabrics for the basic kit - a border fabric, 20 different light prints and about 42 different medium and dark prints.  By the time I got home, I had an idea for the first quilt - this one - and started adding to it from my stash "historical collection".  If I didn't have enough of it to add to the 50 kits waiting back at the shop, I couldn't use it.  That was easier than it sounds as it was a fat quarter for the prints and a half-yard for the backgrounds.  By the time I was finished with my quilts, I had added about a dozen mediums and darks and five backgrounds.  Some "vintage" Jo Morton and Moda made the kits a bit unique and more importantly, it allowed me to make more blocks.

If you have the Tidbit pattern and you want to make this quilt - Tidbit No. 805 1/2.

Three is a good number.  It's an odd number - and most design/decorator types will tell you that any assortment of whatevers should have an odd number of whatevers.  It was my excuse to make another variation - not that I really needed one.  

I have always loved this setting for the Buckeye Beauty block in Tidbit.  It's the stars.  

While there was enough of the red Jo Morton print in the kit for the sashings and borders, I opted to use something different.  I love this cross-weave by Diamond Textiles.  The lengthwise threads are a peachy-beige color and the crosswise threads are a green-ish brown, and the end result is a golden-tan texture that works beautifully with Reproduction fabrics.  At least I think so.  

This quilt has sixteen blocks and 40 half-triangle squares for the border, and it finishes at 22" x 22".  

If you're interested - Tidbit No. 803 3/4.

Both Tidbit variations were quilted and bound for class - thank you, Judy - but I forgot to take new pictures of them and they're still up at the shop.

With all these different quilts and extra pieces, it isn't surprising that I wound up with a few leftover blocks.  I can always do something with those...

Did I mention that Christmas is coming?  Okay, it isn't like I need that excuse as they also look really nice in a bowl in my sewing room.  And just like we might occasionally add something we've already done to our "to do" list just to be able to cross it off, a tiny finish still counts as a finish.  And some days, that's the best I'm going to do.

And then there are days when a small finish gives me an idea for something else...

It's just four little blocks with a simple border.  This took less than an hour.

It took me longer to drive to Aaron Bros. for the 8" x 8" frame.  There was a sale on frames... I'm not sure if that was a good thing.

Just so you know - the frames are square.  I had to prop them in front of something else for the picture.  I really am photo-lame.  

Anyway... I decided to do something different with this block.  I left off the border and I covered the cardboard in the back of the frame with a trimmed-to-size piece of brown Snovita wrapping paper from Ikea.  I love this paper - it's a narrow tone-on-tone stripe and it has a shiny side and a matte side.  I washed the block in the sink using warm water and a little bit of soap, and after wringing it out gently, I used the scrunch and press thing to dry it.  It has a nice crinkle and the edges have a little fray to them.  If I had the heart to sand it in a few spots and use some Instant Antique on it, it would probably look "vintage".  But I don't so I won't so it doesn't.

Okay.  I confess.  It probably wasn't a good thing that there was a sale on frames.  

On the cover of the September 2012 issue of Quilts Japan magazine, there is a beautiful pieced block with an initial monogram in a frame.  It was love at first sight - obsessed at first sight.  I wish I could tell you who made the block on the  cover but I don't know who it is as I don't read Japanese.  What I do know is this - it's a pieced block, I have a 12" x 12" frame, the rest is just a math problem.  And I have lots of scraps.  

I literally dumped out the scrap jars on my cutting table to make this - I wasn't expecting to find a 3" x 42" strip of red fabric in there, that was pure luck.  

I still haven't decided if I am going to quilt this, I might wait until I make another one.  Yes, I am going to make another one with my initial on it.  I also think I'll make the next one a little brighter - fewer Reproductions.  

This one includes one of my favorite quotations - "Take your needle, my child..." from Oliver Wendell Holmes - printed onto the background fabric.  I did the usual - I ironed a piece of the background fabric onto a piece of freezer paper so I could run it through the printer.  The biggest challenge there was sizing the text to fit within the rectangle - it had to be readable, suitably pretty, not look too squished and seam allowance!    

Just so you know, there are 124 little print squares in this block, not including the red squares.  I decided that I wanted each square to be different but instead of cutting and assembling all those little squares, I cut small strips from my scraps.  I made little strip sets and cut pieced segments from those.  Even though some of the strip sets were long enough to cut more segments, I only used one segment from the strip set and I saved the leftovers.

And because I know you have scraps too - Take Your Needle and the quotation.

Now I just have to figure out what I'm doing next month.  

Thank you again for all the suggestions and commiserations.  I've been lucky, it really hasn't been that bad - just an adjustment.

Comments

[kathie]

wow now your talking my fabrics and of course I want to make them all! Love the quote that is wonderful and 1.5" squares I have some of those laying around here , LOL!!!
I am staying focused but if I wanted to stray a bit you will catch me making one of these :)
Kathie

[Loris Mills]

Thank you, Carrie! these are so lovely! Such sweet ideas for your class and for gifts.

[Mary]

The quotation is perfect for me right now - my 4-year-old granddaughter wants me to teach her how to sew. She wants to make a quilt for one of her dolls.

I love all the different settings you showed! There really is such a difference in the finished quilt depending on how we turn the blocks.

[Mary Kastner]

Thank you Carrie! I love it and will definitely make it for a friend and/or sister. Hope you are feeling better. You might have your thyroid checked out. Ask me how I know.

Best wishes,
Mary

[Sandie @ crazy'boutquilts]

Wow! I love them all! Thank you for the pattern! It is perfect. About the 'personal sauna's'~ yep, have the thyroid checked. ;-)
Have a great weekend!

[JoAnne McPHerson]

Wowser!! If you haven't been blogging, you sure have been creating and what a treat to share all of these patterns!!! Thanks so much!

[Lesley]

You have been so busy, and so successful and continue to be so inspirational to the rest of us. Love the tidbits, and each and every quilt and block you have shown us today...even the extra blocks and pincushions are just adorable. Thank you for always making me want to sew!

[Jocelyn]

I missed your last post, but went back to see what all the excitement was about. It's amazing how many of us are members of the totally female club. Funny I have had the chills too, not too much heat. I am always going around the house turning up the AC to my families displeasure. Good thing I live in Florida. I can always step outside for a little warm up. I've not gone with hormones, but I did read that a little bit of soy in the diet helps. Maybe that's why I don't experience much heat.

oh BTW, I did find the crushed walnut shells at Petco. They are the English kind too :-)

[Nancy E]

What great little quilts and love them frames, too. You are using my kind of fabrics! Love it you calling your stash "historical collection". Maybe you have called it that before and I just miss it.

[Helen]

Thanks for sharing your creative process with your pattern. I love all the different rifs you have taken with the pattern. I especially liked 803 3/4. The pincushions are adorable as well.

And I also liked the Take your Needle project. Thank you for the pattern and the quotation. I like the initial too.

[Cathy]

Wow, you have been busy. What great little projects, thanks so much for sharing!

[Jan]

Love the new little projects! Thank you especially for the wonderful idea of framing them. And the quotation block is wonderful.

[Gloria]

Wowza! These are simply adorable little projects and I appreciate you sharing them with me, errr.... us! Give Rosie a snuggle from me, thanks!

Oh... get one of those squirt bottles with a built in fan, they come in handy at times.

[Malinda]

Love, love, all these projects! I want to make them all! I'm not sure I can bombard my family with any more new quilty decorations, I'lljust have to sneak them into the rotation! Thanks for sharing your many talents!!

[ina]

Wow! You HAVE been busy!! I love all the framed pieces...just beautiful! ;p

[Sandy M]

You are such an overachiever, making us all look like slackers! Lol! Thank so much for sharing the add ons to Tidbit, and that framed piece is just too beautiful!
I hope you enjoy your students and I'm looking forward to your adventures next month!

[Chris]

Love the leftover block projects x

[Mary]

Beautiful! Love all the little blocks and ideas and because I have an addiction to quotations, I especially love that project and thank you for it!

[carol]

I love all of your pincushions, they are just wonderful.
www.cherrypiedesigns.com

[ColleenM]

They are all beautiful. You are so talented.

[Sherri]

So...I'm catching up on blogs after market (finally) and thinking that I should start making some Christmas gifts...thank you so much for all of these wonderful ideas and patterns!