LaVieEnRosie

Startitis...

It's a condition common to hobbyists of every sort but it seems to be especially prevalent in quilters.  The condition is caused by being visually over-stimulated - Instagram, Pinterest, quilt magazines, etc. - and it is cured by being granted 67 hours in a day, 12-day weeks and 73 day months.  A full-time chef, housekeeper and nanny can also cure the problem.  

Sadly.  I have none of those things so what I do have is several projects in the works right now.  

I was out of town last week, in California to meet up with my brother and scatter my Mom's ashes.  It was a nice trip - for the sort of trip that it was.  I loved spending time with my brother, maybe that's what these kinds of trips are supposed to be.  Yes, Rosie came with...

Rosie and I drove from Phoenix to San Luis Obispo, then up the coast on Highway 1 - the Cabrillo Highway - to Monterey.

As many times as I've been on this highway, I've never tired of it.  It's always the same - spectacular.  Breathtaking.  

After a nice trip where everything went well, I came home and tried to get back into some kind of a work schedule.  After posting some pictures on Instragram of things I've been working on, I was asked how many things I had going.  The answer is probably "too many" but I can explain.  First I should say that I've usually only got two or three projects in the works at any one time.  And no, I don't include "quilts that need a binding" in that grouping as it would dramatically swell the number.  

Let it suffice to say that I often have one or two in the planning - getting fabric pulled and prepped stage - while another quilt is being pieced.  I have a hard time with working on too many at the same time because... well... I'm usually not working with a pattern that's written down on paper yet.  It gets very confusing if I'm working on too many things at once... my little brain cells just don't work like they used to.  

So this my current list of WIPs...

1.  Wrens and Friends.  I've made a whole big bunch of HTSs and now it's time to piece the rest of the block.  These parts will be laid out and then more piecing is required.  I used the Wrens collection by Gina Martin and  a white Bella solid - starched and pressed.  This is eventually going to be a new Little Bites quilt.  It's the first of two versions of the pattern.

2.  These fabrics are being cut into 2" wide strips for the "happy" version of a new quilt.  I've already made the more traditional version of the quilt but I really wanted a brighter version of it too so I'm using the "leftovers" from my Scrappy Trips quilt.  Starching and pressing 120 fabrics is taking F.O.R.E.V.E.R.  The good news is that when the strips are cut, the quilt goes together pretty quickly.  

3.  This is my Project 48 adventure - I'm using Daiwabo prints and wovens to make a really scrappy version of Thimbleblossoms' Zipper quilt.  It's all cut out - I'll take a picture so you can see more of the fabrics when I start sewing rows.  

4.  This is my "never-ending" project.  By the time the quilt is done, I will have made over 1700 HTS.  There are going to be 210 blocks and I have 170 of them made.  The HTS for the remaining 40 blocks are waiting to be trimmed.  Once those are done, I'll lay out the blocks and start sewing them together... and then I'll make the 30 or so 1/2-blocks to finish the quilt.  That'll be another 120 HTSs or so.  Yep... can't wait for that.  I doubt this will be a pattern as it's a pretty basic, simple block. 

5.  This one has just started... I've pressed a couple of fat quarters and started cutting squares for some HTSs.  I wanted to see how the fabrics - Clover Sunshine by Alison Glass - looked with my background - it's the Linen Texture Background in Stone from the Bluebird Park collection by Kate & Birdie.  This is going to be a big quilt.  I had the blocks all figured out but I wasn't sure how I wanted to set the blocks.  I keep coming back to my first idea so I think I'm going to make my blocks and see what happens.  

6.  Squared.  Using assorted Jo Morton fabrics.  This is the sample for the Rosie Club thing I do at Olde World Quilt Shoppe.  I made the sample on Wednesday, class is on Saturday.  Nope.  I'm definitely not a procrastinator, I have lots and lots of time to spare. 

7.  This is a project that I started last year.  The blocks are done and now I'm in the process of making a big pile of quarter-triangle-squares.  288 of them.  Seriously, what twit came up with that idea?  No comment.  

8.  My American Patchwork Tone-It-Down quilt.  It's been quilted and the binding has been attached.  Now all I have to do is stitch it down.  I'll start on that this weekend. But since this is binding, it doesn't really count.  

So, yes, I have a few too many "in the works" right now but that's okay.  I rather like it when I have choices about what to work on.  And yes, I'll let you know how everything is progressing.  

In the meantime, have a terrific weekend and I'll be back next week.   

 

About that Shuffle...

This one.

I've gotten all sorts of e-mails asking me for a little more information on how many squares I made, what yardage I used - and how much of it I used, how did I know which blocks were in the video and so on. 

Here's the whole story... a week or so after Thanksgiving, after all the fun we'd had making the Round and Round quilts, Cupcake and I decided that we needed to do something equally entertaining over the Christmas holiday.  Patterns were suggested and rejected, and then Cupcake mentioned Camille's video - 25 Half-Square Triangle Blocks.

Bingo!  A plan started to emerge.  I knew I had some April Showers on the way from Sample Spree and we both had Moda Bella Solid White No. 97 on hand.  As soon as fabric arrived, we both started making HTSs.  I finished the HTS before Christmas and started posting some pictures on Instagram showing what I was doing, and then showing finished blocks.    

I sewed on Christmas Day and finished my quilt that evening.  Cupcake finished hers a few days later - she had houseguests for the holiday.  She was much better about blogging about her quilt than I was.  I know, you're shocked.    

Now for the specifics of the quilts Cupcake has dubbed "Shower Shuffle".  It was going to be that or "The Camille Shuffle". 

Our finished quilts measure 75 1/2" x 75 1/2".  That's four rows of four blocks each in a straight setting separated by sashing strips.  The blocks finish at 15" x 15".  The sashing strips finish at 3" and the border now measures 3 1/4" wide.  After quilting, trimming and binding, it will finish at about 3" wide.  

Just so you know, we thought about making all 25 blocks but that sort of went against the "finish this in a couple of days" plan.  Sixteen big blocks was perfect.  

To make 16 blocks, you'll need a minimum of 256 HTSs - 16 HTS for each block.  That's 128 print squares and 128 background squares.  We decided to make a few extras - 280 HTSs - so we'd have a little room to play and some options.  So we both started with 140 print squares and 140 background squares.  

We both watched the video until we had memorized every single word, twitch and hand gesture.  Okay, so Camille doesn't say anything. I still watched the video more than once.  Porquoi?  Because I wanted a "cheat sheet" of the blocks in the video and I had to watch the video to get screenshots.  Fortunately, Camille has made it much, much easier for everyone - she created a printable download of the blocks.  (If you haven't already seen it... or just want to take another look at her wonderfully cute boys and her gorgeous APQ quilt-along quilt.) 

Blocks.  We cut our squares to measure 5" x 5" for two reasons.  First, some of the fabric came in the form of charm squares so they were already cut.  Second, both of us like to trim our HTSs down to size.  Technically, the squares could have been cut at 4 3/4" x 4 3/4" and still left a little room to trim but really, cutting them at 5" x 5" was probably easier.  The amount of extra yardage required - 1/4" per strip multiplied by 16 or 18 - amounted to less than 1/4 yard and we were both fine with that.  

Cutting - Background:

• Blocks - HTSs.  For 128 squares, cut 16 strips - 5" x 42" crosswise width of the yardage.  For 140 squares, cut 18 strips.  From each strip, cut 8 squares - 5" x 5".
• Sashing.  Cut 2 strips - 15 1/2" x 42" crosswise width of the yardage.  From each strip, cut 11 rectangles - 3 1/2" x 15 1/2".  Cut a total of 22 rectangles.
• Sashing & Border.  Cut 9 strips - 3 1/2" x 42" crosswise width of the fabric.  Set 8 strips aside for the outer border.  From the remaining strip, cut 2 more rectangles - 3 1/2" x 15 1/2" to make a total of 24 sashing strips.

Cutting - Prints:

• Blocks.  From charm packs, layer cakes, FEs, FQs or your scraps / stash, cut a total of 128 - or 140 - squares measuring 5" x 5".
• Cornerstones.  Cut 9 squares - 3 1/2" x 3 1/2".

Yardage.  The prints are easy - 128 or 140 squares measuring 5" x 5".  That would be 3 1/2 charm packs or 1 Layer Cake would be perfect.  Fat Eighths aren't the best option because cutting a 5" strip - or even a 4 3/4" strip - won't leave enough to cut a second strip.  Unless you want to use that for something else.  Fat Quarters will work - 3 strips plus a bit of leftover... enough for a scrappy binding.

Background - 4 1/4 yards is plenty for 128 squares / 4 1/2 yards for 140 squares.  It breaks down this way:  2 1/4 or 2 1/2 for the squares for the blocks, 1 yard for the sashing and 1 yard for the borders... actually, 7/8 yard but I like rounding up for something like this.  

Backing - Depending on the width of your fabric, you'll need 5 yards or 6 1/2 yards.  If you didn't mind piecing the extra strip with four pieces, you could piece a backing big enough with 5 3/4 yards.

Binding - 3/4 yard should be fine.  You'll probably need less but that allows for some options - straight grain, bias, width, straightening cuts, etc.  

I hope that helps... and if you decide to give it a whirl, either with HTSs you make specifically for the project or serendipitously find in your sewing room, I also hope you have as much fun making this quilt as I did.  

And yes, plans are already in the works for some kind of post-Market quilt-along.

I'd start now but my "business manager" tells me absolutely not.  

Still... something else might be in the works.

I have all these red, yellow and gray charm squares that need to be used...

 

 

So what's up next...

This isn't about what quilt is coming next... though there are a few of those on the "drawing board".  

This is about 2014.  Like so many people, this time of year lends itself to thinking about the year that was, and especially about the year that's ahead.  

I don't really make New Year's Resolutions, I prefer to think of it as finding a focus for the coming year.  I like to keep it simple - I'm easily distracted.  

So when I saw this sentiment somewhere online - Instagram? Pinterest? - I had to write it down.  It was exactly what I was feeling. 

 

I don't really know what it all means for me in the coming year but this has been noodling its way through my head for the past week.  

The "simplify" has already started - I'm cleaning, organizing and down-sizing my "stuff".  It has been scary and liberating and cluttery and entertaining.  From fabric to books, kitchen towels to clothing... if it doesn't "fit" me, out it goes.  Fit being a literal and figurative term - as in, I'm pretty sure I don't need those boots with the 4" heels.

I am making plans to go to Spring Market in Pittsburgh and I have this Pat Sloan Aurifil Block of the Month thing to work on.  And there's the Quilts 'n More Scrap Lab projects, more of those are coming too.  I think this all falls into the "work hard" part.

As for the rest, I'll let you know how that goes.  

It's only January 10th.  I have a little bit of time to figure it all out.

At least another week or so.  

 

Passion Project? Project Passion?

They're trying to confuse me on purpose.  

I saw something on Instagram about the ladies at American Patchwork doing something called "Project 48".  Because I'm a naturally curious - as opposed to nosey - sort, I investigated.

I could find Passion 48... okay, that sounded very interesting.  Forty-eight hours of passion?  Is Sting involved in this somehow?  No, but it was what I was looking for, that was the original title.  Though can I just say that in their effort to really confuse me, the URL calls it Project 48.

Whatever it's called, here's the gist of it - For one hour each work week, "we" all work on a project of our choosing.  "We" get four weeks off in case of vacation, sickness, or just being too busy. 

That's not the royal "we", it's the "we" that means Carrie's invited herself to join the ladies at APQ on their neat little idea.  

I've had this fabric for years and years... Daiwabo Taupes.

I love these fabrics.  I have seven packs of Fat Eighths, 8 pieces in each pack.  Each pack has a combination of printed fabrics and textural wovens.    

The hitch for me has always been trying to figure out what to make with them.  I knew I wanted something relatively simple, something that wouldn't detract from the gorgeousness of the fabric.  A "charm" sort of quilt was what I had in mind.

Something like this...

So this is my "Project 48" quilt to start the year.  

I am going to commit to working on it one hour a week until it's done.  I'm including my "prep" time at the start - I'm going to starch the fabrics before I cut them.  

The biggest challenge is seeing if I can make this without changing something... well, other than making it completely scrappy.  Since I'm cutting strips from a Fat Eighth... I may cut my strips a skosh wider...

Any guesses on how many weeks it will take me to finish?  

I'm hoping to have a nice lap-quilt by next Fall... wish me luck.  

Still quilting along with APQ...

I had a plan when I started this quilt.  I really did.

Rosie thought I did too.

My thought was to make each block with a single background fabric and assorted reds and pink-reds for the "chains" in the block.  So far, so good, right?  So I was a little disappointed that there wasn't a stronger contrast between the red and the pink-red, I still loved the blocks.  That was what mattered.  The gray in the sashing would be the perfect finishing touch...

Except it wasn't.  

My original plan was to make the sashing using the gray prints.  I had several options.  I could use one gray print for all the sashings... except that's not really "me".  And with my color scheme, it would also make that print the most dominant aspect of my quilt.  I could use different gray prints for each sashing piece - I've done that sort of thing before and I always love the results.  Or I could piece them - been there, done that too.  There were multiple options for piecing the sashings but when I put up the gray pieces... the beautiful soft creaminess of my blocks disappeared.  Completely.

Okay.  Plan B.  Make the gray part of the sashing smaller.  So I added 1 1/2" cut - 1" finished - strips of the same background fabric to each block, making my "blocks" measure 19 1/2" x 19 1/2".  The gray sashing would finish at 1" wide.  Sounds good, right?

Not really.  I tried straight strips.  I tried pieced strips.  I even tried really pieced strips.

The squares in the sashing shown here measure 1" x 1" finished.  

(Just so you know, this is the best picture of my blocks as they "finished" with the extra row of background.  I added a straight strip of the background to each side of the block, and there are 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" red squares in the corners - assorted, of course.)

I wasn't in love with this so I put up more strips and "lived" with them for a few days...

I liked it - mostly - but I didn't love it.  It was that simple.  

It finally dawned on me that there were two things "bothering" me.  First, after looking at the creamy soft  blocks for a few weeks, that was the "look" I had fallen in love with.  Second, I'm going to blame the holidays.  The red, pink-red and cream color scheme seemed very Christmas... adding that bit of gray just didn't fit "the season".  It was totally a "mood" thing - a whim.  That's how "crushes" go.  So out with the gray, in with the ???

More cream background.  But which one? 

All of them.  I strip-pieced 1 1/2" x random length strips to make the sashing strips.  It would "continue" the scrappiness of the red and pink-reds of the blocks.  Or at least that's what I hoped it would do.  

My hope was that it would keep any one fabric from becoming too dominant - and keep a little bit of a "make it do" quality to the finishing.  

For those sashing strips, I did two things.  First, I didn't use a 45-degree angle for the join.  I used a 60-degree angle.  Porquoi?  Because I felt like it.  

Really.  It was a purposeful choice - perhaps even a design choice.  Using a 45-degree angle is standard, as is a straight seam.  Both work fine - and there are really good reasons to use one or the other.  But when joining different fabrics, even those with the same background color and value, I think a 60-degree angle is "softer".  Sometimes the straight seam or the 45-degree angle is still fairly noticeable - more noticeable than you might want.  The 60-degree angle is still noticeable... but for whatever reason, it seems to be less sharp.  And it's my quilt so I can do what I want, right?

The "quilt police" can... well, you get the idea.  Just so you know, I love rules... because it makes me happy to know I'm doing what I'm not supposed to.

After the sashings were added and the rows joined, I finished the quilt with a 2" cut "border" or more pieced background strips.  I also put 2" x 2" squares in the four corners of the quilt.  Porquoi?  Again, because I felt like it.  It also made my quilt a rather nice size - 78 1/2" x 78 1/2".  

It's at the quilter now so I'll have another picture to show of it soon.  

One last thing, I was asked about how I clipped the seams on the wrong side of the block.  

This is a slightly lopsided picture of the horizontal seams joining the rows of the block.  Do you see how all four seams on the pieced units are pressed toward the plain background pieces?  After stitching the long seam, I clipped into the seam allowance about a 1/4" from the seam junction.  I do this any time I'm sewing rows together with alternating blocks - it means I can press toward the plain square most of the time.  Does that help?

The one thing with clipping seams - use only the tips of very sharp scissors.  If the scissors don't cut at the tips, find another pair that does.  Do not try to clip the seam with the fabric deep in the "v" of the scissors!  You only need to clip to within a few threads of the seam, the iron and pressing will do the rest.

Don't forget to see how everyone else is doing - they're all getting close to being finished too.

 

• Lissa Alexander ~ ModaLissa
• Jennifer Keltner ~ Jennifer Keltner
• Amy Ellis of Amy's Creative Side
• Anne Sutton of Bunny Hill Designs
• Jane Davidson of Quilt Jane  (I'm really in love with Jane's quilt.)
• Kimberly Jolly of It's Sew Emma, the Fat Quarter Shop & The Jolly Jabber
• Camille Roskelley of Thimble Blossoms
• Sherri McConnell of A Quilting Life

 

I only have one problem now... what am I going to quilt-along to next?

Sewing with friends.  I'd forgotten how much fun that could be.  

Shiny and new...

That's always my favorite thing about a new year.  It's bright and shiny and full of infinite possibilities - that whole "clean slate" thing.  

While 2013 won't go down in the books as one of my favorite years, it wasn't all bad.  And it did end on a really nice note... well, all except for the part about Rocco ordering the wrong doors, Lowe's delivering the wrong doors - and no, they weren't even the doors Rocco ordered, the computer-board on the washer going a little nut-so... 

No.  Really!  It was good.

I made this...

You thought Miss Cupcake made up our little Shower Shuffle Sew-Along, didn't you?

And no, I wasn't scrambling to finish my quilt last night.  I finished mine the day after Christmas, I've just been busy getting the garage put back into some kind of order... and the house.  I'll show you that soon - I promise.  

I'm not sure how it all came to pass but the gist of it is this - we were both looking to make something that would be entertaining as all get out, produce some hopefully cool results, and that involved some spontaneous experimenting.  Done, done and done.  

The plan was to use Camille's video - 25 Half Square Triangle Blocks with Camille Roskelley - for our "pattern".  (Camille - Thimbleblossoms... of course you know who I mean.)

 

After some figuring on sizes, we settled on 15" blocks.  Each would be made with 16 HTSs that were trimmed to 4 1/4" x 4 1/4" to finish at 3 3/4" x 3 3/4".  Why the odd size?  It just worked for our purposes.  We decided to make just sixteen blocks for our quilts and we both wanted finished quilts that measured about 75" x 75" finished.  With a 2 1/2" to 3" wide sashings, we both felt that 16" finished blocks were probably going to make our quilts a little bigger than we wanted.  And given the busy-ness of the blocks, I was pretty sure the wider sashing was going to work best.  Since we were using charm squares - it's what we had - the slightly smaller size of the HTS also gave us a little more wiggle-room with trimming.

We also decided to shamelessly copy Camille on something else, her color scheme from Puddle Jumping.  (I love that quilt - pattern and colors / fabrics.)  We each made 280 HTSs - 20 each of 14 different fabrics.  And then we were on our own as to which blocks we made and what we used to make them.

I decided to use eight fabrics in each block - 2 matching HTSs per block.  It was entertaining to have to work within those limitations - even though it was an arbitrary, self-imposed "rule", that really was part of the fun for me.  

Now that it's done, I absolutely love it.  It'll have to wait until April Showers arrives in the quilt shops to be finished... maybe sometime in March or April.  

As for the rest, I really have been busy sewing.  I finished the binding on my Christmas Round & Round quilt on Christmas Eve... and slept under the quilt that night.  I also finished the bindings on Scrumptious Morning Joe and Momo Round & Round, and I finished my APQ Quilt-Along quilt.  I've even started work on a few new things... and yes, I'll get pictures of everything up this week.  

It's one of my goals this year - be a more frequent blogger.  

It's a shiny new year... anything and everything is possible.