Trilobites, aka Pickle Dish

 

One of our Guild members will be teaching this paper-piecing technique.  While I didn't sign up for her class, I DID get all excited and enthusiastic when I heard about it,  and even ordered a pattern and templates, coming all the way from Australia!  Talk about "squirrel" action!  It took me a while to re-learn paper piecing and discovered I'd done something similar, years ago.  You can see my Mom's real pickle dish to the left of the blocks.  To me, they look like fossil Trilobites.  Many of the quilt block samples I've seen are pieced in ultra bright values - not sure why - perhaps for the WOW feature.  I've made one block each day - they aren't difficult, just "fiddly".  I tried to make one at All Day Sew but again, it was too fiddly and not much was accomplished -- too many fabrics, colors, parts, tools, which didn't work especially well when not at home.  My goal is for 16 blocks.  I'll continue with the bright colors - especially attractive where the corners meet.  

Quilts from the cupboard, Pickled Orange Peel quilt pattern by ‪@emma_jean_jansen‬

Retreat project

Another triple 4-patch or is it quadruple 4-patch?  I've made this  previously -- it works up quickly.   This was my project at a recent 4-day sewing/quilting retreat.  Fabrics were already in my stash.  The border was 2 different too-bright whites, so I "blurred" the corner meeting points with fused bits of leftovers, and machine quilted right over them.  First I had to re-learn "Lite Steam-a-Seam 2" procedures.   It's about 64"x74".  

 

Below - if this perfect backing fabric was not yet in your stash, and you had made this quilt top, you would purchase it, so I did.  

Close up of other corner.  

Of interest - last year at a similar retreat, I had to return home early, due to exasperating back and shoulder issues, possibly because of poorly designed folding chairs.  So this year, I actually purchased a new sewing chair, with more back and shoulder support.  I made a practice trial run "will it fit in my small car" and brought it with me to the 4-day retreat.  Other quilters had similar special chairs - now I know why.   Additionally, I made a deliberate point to use the Hotel's exercise equipment several times during the days - nothing of great effort, just a few minutes wisely spent moving my joints.  So, if that small suggestion helps anyone, this was a succesful plan if a person has age-related joint issues.  

Pickle Dish - Trial block

 

mmm - a few kinks  needing help ... 

Despite the areas that need improvement, I'm amazed the technique is still in my noggin.  My Add-a-Quarter ruler has disappeared over the years, so that was replaced, then I had to purchase and install a new printer (for copies of pattern),  and my little old Bernina needed an extension table (wonderful  improvement in efficiency).  Trying new things does not always turn out perfectly.  (But don't those outer points look good!)  Not sure why I dislike this layout - those corners seem to be the problem - maybe just a regular square would be better?  It still looks like some creepy fossil thing that lives in a rock.  Feel free to pipe in with opinions about colors or layout or ? ( I recognize the crummy seam.  )

Sandwiching my layers, one method

 

While not a  perfect solution to a puckerless backing, the canned goods do a pretty good job, and even better, I can usually find these "weights" when I'm sandwiching a quilt before machine quilting.  

Zippity Blue Da, Pineapple

 

When your entire collection of fabrics seem to be ALL scraps and pieces, this is a perfect solution of what can be used.  Once again, I used a ruler and suggestion from Gyleen Fitzgerald, because it's smaller than the Creative Grid version.  I think next time, I'll try the larger one, just to note any difference.  This is 7 x 8 blocks, 8 inch blocks with a 6 inch border., about 68 x 76 in.  Note the difference made by the alternate block, with a slightly different value placement.  This is my 6th or 7th Pineapple quilt. 

Freeze warnings for tomorrow night - electric blanket installation time!  

Lovely Surprises, and a Disappearing Log Cabin

 From my daughter ...

 ...and a BIRTHDAY SURPRISE from a BUNCH of quilty friends ... (goodness, you'd think I could have arranged this collection of gifts in a more attractive setting).  There are even homemade food items in that amazing group of gifts which includes yards of fabric!  What a lovely and surprising day I had.  I'm feeling all warm and fuzzy inside.  8-)))  

Playing with Disappearing Log Cabin blocks.  

My final choice - because I didn't want to make more blocks  and end up with yet another huge quilt!   OK, I bet some of you are thinking of trying this one.  I got my instructions from that clever gal Suze, at Revelation Quilts.

Farm Memory

 

I was born in Chicago, but when the 4th of us kids was due, my parents were concerned they might not be able to feed us all, so they decided to buy a farm in 1948, south of Chicago, in Richton Park, Illinois.  Dad still had his good job as a steel roller.   I personally think they were always adventuresome and they welcomed this "ridiculous" idea.  That is the farmhouse, my room was upstairs behind the right window, the huge barn was behind the foliage, to the right was a nice orchard with apples, pears, peaches and cherry trees.  A glimpse of the corn crib can be seen in the middle of the photo.  There was a huge, beautifully built granary out of sight.  The light "speck" in the driveway was probably Queenie, or some farm dog. This 1950 ish photo was our home, filled with incredibly valuable memories, until about 1960, when we 4 kids were grown and each had our own lives in other locations, and our parents sold the farm and built a lovely modern home nearby.   In the foreground was a field that sometimes flooded if the creek got jammed, where the pigs got out, and I saw my Mother in her homeade feedsack housedress, physically tackle one of those runway pigs!!!  The main road (Sauk Trail) was a poorly maintained 2 lanes -- today it is a 4 lane highway with with stop lights.   There is nothing left of that original place - it is all under asphalt, and apartment buildings except for one open space I've seen on Google, that remains a green field where I exercised my horses. 

Us 4 kids all realize we were incredibly lucky to have spent our growing years living this fortunate life.  

At last ... someting to post about

 

Old Lesson Learned ... Organizing my scrappy triangles.  I had all these lovely small  60 degree triangles made up into larger 60 degree triangles, each one more attractive than the previous but no matter how I arranged them, grouped them, turned them, NOTHING looked right..they just didn't "DO".  Finally I realized they still had no  STRUCTURE or ORDER, until I put that sashing in there.  Suddenly they looked good - immediately.  Some of our scrappy quilts end up ... blah ... and I am guessing they need order, or structure.  I'm hearing someone saying ... "the dynamics of the setting " .  My piecing was good with all these bias edges, but that didn't matter - the design needed STRUCTURE.  

One is Good, Two is Better

 

OK, so I got carried away - and despite the THOUSANDS of options for this simple 9-patch, I accidently made the very same design from an almost-the-same layout.  Not sure how it happened but ...  The first quilt  (left, posted a few months ago) was so much fun, and such a good use of leftover squares, I just HAD to make another, not realizing I used the same layout.  Each is about 60 inches square.

Some of you ask about quilting designs I use for FMQ.  I quilted lots of overall swirls with a variegated Metler silk finish cotton No 50 thread .

Strip and Slash - I LOVE her technique!

 

Strip and Slash, from Jackie Robinson (Animas Quilts) - these blocks are all small HST's and each block finishes to approx. 3 3/4 in.  Yes, they are small, like scrappy jewels!  I was not original in my finished design but made mine exactly as suggested - mostly because I was getting mixed up with all the various options.  Her method is exact and precise - that's what I love, and the construction is unique.  Look closely and you can see the many fabrics I used, all either LIGHTs and DARKs.  I've used this technique previously over the years and viewers are frequently surprised to see how the mixture of small scraps turns into something so precise and attractive.  

I checked my own libraary to find additional suggestions for HST quilt designs, and then found Karen Combs' Combing Thru Your Scraps, in which she includes many examples for HSTs, altho her method for construction is not the same.  (That venture turned into yet another project ... currently a WIP).

Here is a close-up, including a faux flange binding, which eliminates hand stitching and taught by guild member Jody.  (Oops, who sewed those blue pieces?)

Proof II'm still here!

 

Fooling around on a quilt mailed to nephew (nothing to brag about here but ...)  - he complained "why don't I have my own quilt when all my sisters have one from Aunt Elaine?"  ... So, now he has one.  Here's another view.  I tried to keep it somewhat gender neutral as I've only met his wife one short time.  I got kinda "stuck" on those quarter log cabin strip designs during these last several years.

They wrote back that their 11-ish  daughter noticed all the mountains, swirls, circles and heart designs that were sewn into the quilt.  I have to know that arty youngter a bit better!  The quilt was named "Listening" because I was hearing my Mom as I made it.    

Over the Christmas holidays I offered to make a queen-size quilt for a friend who wanted something for her adult son (below).  I agreed because she's a teacher and now THAT job I could never do, but I COULD make a quilt.  His mother had started the project but ran into difficulties.   We agreed - she would stay a teacher and I would stay a quilter.  And, since I'd never made a quilt specifically for another person, I wondered if I would still enjoy the process.  As it turned out, I LOVED making it and probably did a better job than if it had been for myself.  Who knew that would happen?  My friend had started with the star color theme, so I stuck with that.  

Here it is, in it's almost-completed form a few months ago.  I quilted it all on my Janome6700P, although I kept that last wide blue border separate, and added it QAYG, since the project was now very large.  The recipient was happy as well as his folks.  He then offered to help me put together a small sewing cabinet that had arrived in hundreds of pieces, so everyone was happy.    

Incidentally, I DID have those hanging squares perfectly meeting at each corner (yes, using my special formula for that tedious technique) but decided it truly was just too much!   So after removing a few, it truly was better - a good solution to remember.  I have a permanent image of me dragging a partially finished large quilt from room to room, meeting my demise by tripping on it and breaking a hip!  I wonder if a quilt would break my fall and then ...... 

Happy Independence Day July 4.  

Shaded 9-Patch

 

Humble Shaded 9 Patch.  From a box of scraps, and some 2 1/2" strips.  I used Karen Comb's book,  Combing through your Scraps, to help plan a design so I wouldn't have to get up and down from the floor/rug.  This finishes at 60" square.   Yes, one mistake .  I liked it that way, just to be stubborn.

I am quilting non-glamorous swirls in the dark areas and a wandering leafy thing in the lights, starting in the middle dark, then stopping at a border area to change thread.  I guess my  concentration skills applied only to the quilting part, and not on the value under the needle.  I "forgot" 3 separate times - you'd think a person can remember to STOP when moving between lights and darks!   Lots of picking threads out when I realized, too late, that my quilting just kept on going, crossing over border lines.  

  

Trunk Show to Guild Members

 

(I have no idea why these photos were difficult to post  few days ago.  I tried again, and voila! )

Thank You, Peg who posted these photos from my recent Trunk show.  After displaying my quilts, I left then out on the dais for closer inspection for an hour or so.  The subject of most comments and questions was the deer outline quilted in the borde. Perhaps the viewer has not been looking closely in previous shows as I've always put various critters, handprints, silliness, etc., in the quilting.  (Hope you can see it.)

Here is larger photo of the above Star in the Forest, thinking about a much-loved bicycle trail in the Smoky Mountains where I pedaled years ago.

 

The previous quilts have all been shown on my blog.   And  YES, that Jacob's Ladder is made up of 6 inch blocks, and is hand-quilted (by me) .  Again, the re-engineered log cabin second on right is my best of all, and where I learned to machine quilt because it was professionally quilted by the astonishing quilter Judy Woodworth, who was a guild member long ago.  I saw her amazing work on this quilt and I wanted to DO THAT MYSELF and now use her creativity for my own inspiration altho my quilting is more free-motion style on my DSM.   I call this my Water Logged Log Cabin, and what you cannot see, is a "million" tiny, hand-sewn blue beads on the corners, suggesting under sea bubbles.  Again, the ladies never noticed the bead bubbles until they saw them close-up.  

I'll again show this Quarter Log Cabin  treasure, held by friends Jody and Tina.   Most of these blue scraps came from the Free Table.   Inspired by their beauty, I had the quilt finished with 2 months.      

The pattern just WORKS doesn't it?  I've made this design 5 or 6 times recently.  The Logs are sometimes too wide, or too narrow - I didn't worry.  I believe it WORKS, every time, because of the contrast of lights and darks.  

It was a good day! 

A Trunk Show

 Last week I presented a Trunk Show to my Guild, followed by giving a class on the Kaleidoscope block.  It turned out well, and I' had planned on thanking Peg  for her photos.  Unfortunately, I don't know how to translate them into Blogger, but then, I've posted them over the years so ... you've seen them all.  In the meantime I have to learn something new ... again.  And I AM working on "trying new things".

Lesson 48624:

If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you already have.  

Plenty sewing, one photo

 

Trying new things ... a friend asked me ... can't show more ... staying busy ... one more border ... QAYG.

Minor adjustments to border width

  My packages (3 quilts) finally arrived at destination, safe and sound, but very much later than expected.  One less thing to cause stress.

 I always disliked the width of the border on this string quilt.

Me and my trusty Clover Seam Ripper made it better by cutting off about 2 1/2 inches all 'round.  Much better.    Yes, it's got a slight curve to it.  

Where is my package?

 Mailed USPS 1/08/25 to a niece in Wisconsin.   Expected delivery was supposed to be 1/13.  Today is 1/18.    Sometimes the tracking number indicates the package made it and has stopped moving within a    warehouse in Wisconsin, other times the  message says the (same) tracking number is incorrect.  Other times the recording indicates fires in Califorrnia have caused delivery issues.    What gives?   The surprise has become an anticlimatic gift after hearing  confusing or erroneous delays.   

In honor of niece's "Guard Rooster".  This  one started at my hands, I gave it away unfinished to a friend who has chickens, but it came back to me as a gift, and I'm sending it to a niece who owns a Guard Rooster who protects his territory.  

A good floor mat for visiting babies.

One stitch off

 

Faux flange binding -  "ya gotta sew either all ON the binding or all OFF the binding" not wiggle/waggle back and forth.  This one worked well, first time around.   Every time I use this technique I have to fiddle with measurements, they seem to vary each project.   That tag is my small label, folded inward.  

Here's the back fabric, too cute to pass up.  This goes to a niece.