Ruby Reds

I finally put together the Oakshott Ruby Red quilt top. I started with the Ruby Red pack of Oakshott shot cottons and paired them with some cool colors that I already had.

I made the blocks back in the summer and at the time thought they needed some sashing between them.

I chose a deep purple for sashing that was out of stock for a while.

Ruby Reds 3

The sashing fabric arrived Monday morning but when I tried them together I didn't like that look either. It was a bit boring. Then, I tried setting the blocks turned in different directions. The interaction of the blocks made it much more interesting.

Here's the full view.

If you haven't tried any of the Oakshott shot cotton, you really should. It has a beautiful luminescent quality that just can't be captured in a photo. Believe me, I've tried.

That brings the finished quilt top number to SIX that are ready for quilting. I'd better get busy.

Progress Report

I've had this Frippery Washi top finished for a while but hadn't gotten any photos until today. The pattern is Rae's Washi. On this version I did the plain scoop neckline.

I'm please that I was able to get the stripes to match at the side seams!

The Point Me quilt is quilted.  I still need to trim, bind, and wash it. I like the added interest of the unquilted strips. When it's finished I'll try to get a picture of the whole thing.

I've also been building bigger blocks from the wee stars. These are six inch nine patches.

It has been a productive couple of weeks here on the farm!

Point Me - King Size

I am working on a king sized commission quilt. I admit I'm proud of myself for getting it pin basted last night. I've never made a quilt this large before but I'm loving the challenge.

D was home and helped me move the couch out of the living room and get all of the layers spread and even. It's going to be 108 inches wide by 101 inches long. I'm making it a bit larger to allow for shrinkage in quilting and washing.

There is a lot of negative space to fill with quilting and that is a bit intimidating.  I'll quilt it with groups of wavy "straight" line quilting. I want the wavy lines to be close enough to interact with each other but I think quilting the whole quilt that close could be a bit overbearing visually. I discussed quilting options with Gwen Marston last week and she suggested doing the quilting in groups with a space between them. I thought that was a great idea.

This afternoon I marked some straight lines to help me maintain some order while quilting. I mentioned to D that a chalk line like those used in house construction might be helpful but that I didn't want to risk the chalk not washing out. He went to the basement and came up with this nifty laser level tool. I think I may be adopting it to live in my sewing room.

Isn't this the greatest tool EVER??? The boys came in with a friend this afternoon and I heard the comment "woah, EXTREME quilting!" I love when quilting impresses the boys!

I was wondering how to make sure I trim the quilt straight and square given that there are no blocks or borders to measure from. Problem solved!! I love that.  

Something New

I may have started another quilt last night.

I sort of fell in love with the hourglass block last week. Gwen had a number of medallion quilts that featured the hourglass.  Last night, on a whim, I went through the scrap bin and cut squares that will eventually be made into hourglass blocks. I'll use the same shortcut method that I used to make the hourglass portions of the stars in the quilt I made at retreat. The method I used is similar to this. (I cut and sew without drawing the line.) The good news is that I can now close the lid on the basket of scraps! 

Rossie Made Me Do It

I've really been busy sewing since school started. It's a great feeling to be able to sit and get things done! Here's another finished quilt top to show for my hard work!This quilt, Rossie Made Me Do It, was made using my swiss chard blogger bundle for Pink Castle Fabrics. I got a half yard bundle and used two thirds of it. The pattern is Honey from Elizabeth Hartman's Modern Patchwork. I plan to finish my quilt with a zig zag border instead of trimming the side blocks.  I like the scrappy look to it.

I think this quilt would also look great as a real scrap quilt. It would be a bit more tedious to make, though. For this quilt, you sew the white to other fabrics together in strips and then cut them into triangles. For a scrappy quilt you would have cut the triangles and then sew them individually to the white "grout" strips.

I started this quilt while at a retreat with the Ann Arbor Modern Quilt Guild in August. I brought the bundle to work on but didn't have a plan yet. Rossie suggested that I make the quilt on the cover of Elizabeth's book. I think it was a good suggestion. Thanks Rossie.

Now, back to sewing. Today I'm putting together a king size Point Me commission quilt using Denyse Scmidt's pattern. I'm on a roll!

My unquilted tops pile is really growing though. I feel a big quilting session in the near future.

Medallion!

Last week I attended Gwen Marston's 2012 quilt retreat. The theme this year was medallion quilts. I love the look of medallion quilts but I was a bit intimidated by making my own. It is not a style that I'm very comfortable working in.I was floored by the number of medallion quilts that Gwen had to show in her presentation, given that the quilts in her book, Liberated Medallion Quilts, are currently in a traveling show.  She shared many different styles and fabric palettes. She is an amazing quilter and I am grateful that I have been able to attend her retreats.

When packing, I went through my pile of unfinished projects looking for something that I could use for the center of the quilt. I found several applique pieces that I had done about 10-15 years ago. Not knowing really what I was going to do or what might inspire me when I saw Gwen's presentation, I chose three applique pieces and fabrics to go with each of them.

In the end, this purple batik block was the one I worked with while at the retreat. The center applique design was from Elly Sienkiewicz's Baltimore Beauties and Beyond: Studies in Classic Album Quilt Applique, Vol. 1.

I started with the applique and thinking that saw teeth look good on pretty much anything, I added those first. Then I made the star blocks. The size of the finished star blocks dictated the size of the greenish border that came between the saw teeth and the stars. A narrow purple border with green corner stones came next.

At this stage, I decided to set it on point - which doubled the area of the quilt. I added strips of half square triangles and then let the large scale of the the fabric do the work in the rest of the corner. The last round in the medallion is border of the same purple fabric used earlier. I love the way it made the little green corner squares appear to float.

I am thrilled with the results of the medallion building workshop. Maybe some day I'll make medallion quilts from those other long forgotten applique pieces. I am inspired to try different techniques and border styles. As always after retreat, my head is spinning with ideas.It was lovely to spend a few days relaxing and sewing at the retreat.

White Birch Lodge, Elk Rapids, MI.

Washi Dress

I love the dress version of the Washi pattern. Anna Maria Horner's new Field Study fabric was a perfect choice. School started Tuesday and I've been working like crazy in the sewing room trying to get caught up and organized.

I did a bit of cleaning and discovered some fabric bleed on a few of the tiny stars I've been working on. Yikes! I spray tested a bunch of fabrics and threw out the ones that bled. Now, I'll be spray testing all of the finished stars before putting them into a quilt.  These blockes were sprayed with water and pressed. The blue one on the left had fabric bleed before even being sprayed. I'm glad I discovered this before piecing the whole quilt. The good news is that my cutting table is now actually clean enough to use! For months I've been using a smaller cutting mat on my sewing table.

I have a few other quilts that I'm working on that I hope to share with you soon. I seem to have been on a quilt starting kick lately... I'll be working on some quilt finishes as fall progresses.

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Twenty Five Years

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B and I took a little trip to celebrate our TWENTY FIFTH wedding anniversary!We left our truck on the mainland and took our bikes on the ferry to Kelleys Island in Lake Erie.

The island is small and we were able to ride our bikes all around and see the sites.

The glacial grooves were pretty impressive.

Our second day we took the bikes on a ferry from Kelleys Island to Bass Island. It was a bit more tourist oriented than we usually like but we enjoyed having a picnic lunch down at the campground on the south shore. We even saw a bald eagle there.

These photos were taken by the light house on Bass Island.

It was nice to have a wee bit of time away from the routine of home - and thanks to the boys for watching miss P while we were away.Now it's time to get everyone ready for the start of schools on Tuesday.

End of Summer Sewing

I told you before that I was thrilled to be making clothes for me that actually fit. Well, it's true. I'm really on a roll with the Washi pattern. This one is made from Tula Pink's Birds and the Bees fabric.

Yeah, I know, it's August, I live in Michigan, and these are sleeveless tops. I'm thinking about that too. That's why when I took miss P shopping for school supplies today, I picked up a couple of cardigans in coordinating colors.

I've started a dress version of the pattern in Anna Maria Horner's Field Study. That turquoise sweater will look great with the dress too!

In the evenings this summer I've been relaxing with handsewing and scraps. As soon as I cut out the Tula Pink top I used some of the scraps in the hexy project. I love that with scrap projects, anything goes. How about a little 1994 meets 2012?

That cat print is left over from a star quilt of cat print fabrics that I made for M when he was quite small.

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Family Time

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We've been trying to squeeze in a bit more family time before everyone heads back to school. Yesterday we went for an early morning boat trip and picnic. We must have gotten M up a bit too early.

We saw a number of Sandhill Cranes.

It was a lovely morning.

We have one more week before the school routine starts up again.I'll miss having everyone around but I'm kinda looking forward to a bit of uninterrupted time in the sewing room while miss P is at school. I have a lot of projects to work on. 

Instagram Photos

Narrow hand appliquéd bias strips. 1/16” quilting lines not going over the appliqué. I’m about a month in on the quilting and ALMOST finished. Whoop! Quilted with Invisalign on top and Decobob in the bobbin. Threads by @wo
This summer we watched my two oldest grand kids one day a week. Towards the end of the summer they started making projects on their own in the sewing room. They made lots of little projects from my scrap basket including pillow cases and tiny quilts
Here’s the layout with all but one block done. I’ll finish that last block when I get more of the baby poop green/mustard fabric. I put out the call and the internet provided! This top will be finished soon! This is a remake of an 1870s
I’m finally getting around to putting these stars together. I made the stars a few years ago and have been on the hunt for the perfect setting fabrics. These @carolynfriedlander prints are the perfect match for the 1800s reproduction prints in