(Not Quite on the) Design Wall Monday Plan B – 07/25/2011

When I was unable to find satisfactory substitutes for the last two fabrics needed for my Strips That Sizzle quilt, I decided to switch my focus to this quilt design by Evelyn Sloppy.

It is featured in this book.

Julie over at Julie Quilts uses her first version of this quilt as her blog header and she is currently leading a quilt along with this project.  I’m a late-comer to the quilt along, but this is a project I’ve wanted to do.  Since all of the fabrics I'm using, except the neutrals in the border and sashing, are remnants from my hour glass quilt, I guess you could classify this as a bonus quilt. 

Here is some of what I’ve already done.

Here are the sub units that will become the nine patches in the sashing cornerstones.  They will be a perfect leader ender project.

By the way, my spell checker does not like the word “sashing.”  I just had to pull the book out and look at how Evelyn spelled it before I felt okay making this post.

Surf on over to Judy's blog and see what others have on their design walls this Monday.

Fun Day with Quilting Friends

Wednesday was our monthly Civil War Chronicles quilt club meeting in Fredericksburg.  We got our kits for the next stage in the quilt and I was able to find a lighter teal to mix in with my fabrics for Strips That Sizzle.  Unlike the others, it is not a batik, but I believe it will work.  Thanks to Jeanette for spotting it after I had given up on finding anything.  I also purchased some Microtex machine needles.  I have not paid as much attention as I should to the kind of needle I use, and I’ve heard very good things about these.

I still need to find replacements for these two fabrics from the lavender/purple color way.  The one on the bottom has too many variations in value and I cannot place it in the value range.  The other has some words that were stamped on it at the end of the bolt that make it too small a cut.  It has been prewashed, but the printing did not come out.

Another flimsy and a mile marker

Last week was unusually busy and sewing activities were at a minimum.  Our oldest grandson, Charleston, was with us and we enjoyed playing tourist with him.  We visited the LBJ childhood home and ranch and on Tuesday Bob took him to the Nimitz Museum in Fredericksburg.  Thursday Bob and Charleston went to the ranch to fetch and clean up the boat for a lake outing on Saturday.  His mom and younger brother joined us on Friday, so the sewing room went from something resembling this (no it’s not usually anywhere near this tidy) …

to this. 

I managed a few stolen minutes, though, and my hour glass quilt, which I am told is a broken dishes pattern, is now a flimsy.  Once I prewash the backing fabric it will be ready for the frame the next time I’m at the ranch. 

It would have been more correct chronologically to make this post yesterday.  I chose to delay it, however, so that it would be my 100^th blog post.  Coincidentally, my first post approximately 11 months ago was about this very project.  Good thing I wasn’t under any kind of deadline pressure to finish it.

During the visit we had a temporary addition to our doggie pack.  Sparky is the cute pooch on the right.

It looks like everyone is struggling with the heat this summer...stay cool and keep quilting!

Prep Work Continues on Strips That Sizzle

My design wall is still empty following a visit from our daughter and two grandsons last week, but I am continuing to make and cut fabric selections for the Strips that Sizzle project I posted about last Monday.  Wanda, from Exuberant Color, suggested that I add an even lighter teal.  I will add that to my “seek and find” list when I visit a couple of quilt stores this week for Sit 'n Sew Day and Civil War Chronicles club.  The rest of the teals are cut.  

Here are the purples (maybe closer to lavender?) I have pulled from my stash. 

Two of the fabrics pose a problem.  One has so many variations in value that it is difficult to place it in proper sequence.  The other cut would barely be large enough, even if it did not have some end-of-bolt defects.  So I will also be seeking substitutes for these fabrics. 

Since I’m at an in-between stage on this project with nothing to really show, I am not posting a link to Judy Laquidara’s Patchwork Times this Monday.  I will enjoy browsing around her Design Wall Monday postings, however, and encourage everyone else to do so as well!

(Not Quite On The) Design Wall Monday – 07/11/2011

Matching those pesky points on my Hour Glass quilt has really slowed me down, but the end is in sight.  So, I have begun doing some prep work for my next project.  Ever since I saw some of the quilts Wanda Hanson has posted on her blog, Exubertant Color, I have wanted to try my hand at a technique in the book, Strips That Sizzle, by Margaret Miller. 

You can go to Wanda’s site and find a side bar link that will take you to some of her Strips That Sizzle quilts.  The basic technique requires a minimum of eight fabrics from two color ways.  The fabrics must be sorted in sequence of darkest to lightest and this is proving to be a challenge.  Perhaps making a black and white copy of the strips will keep me on the right track.  This will be (yet another) quilt in purples and teals and I began cutting my teal strips on Saturday. 

I ran out of time before doing the purples, and this post is a bit of a cheat since nothing is on my design wall.

The cutting mat and excess fabric have been put away for the week.  We are enjoying a very special visitor.  A grandson does have priority! 

A family heirloom…..

While organizing my quilts Monday, I came across this bedspread that was hand crocheted by my great grandmother.  She made it for my mother using the popcorn stitch.  I don’t know its exact age, but I believe it had to be made in the early 1940s or even earlier, since my mother was born in 1920.  Here is a close-up of the stitching and fringe.

She also made a separate piece to go over the pillows. 

The bedspread is not large.  I believe it was made to be part of her “hope chest” and was sized to be a topper for a double bed. 

When my mother broke up her household in 1997 she gave this to our daughter, who gave it back to me when we returned to Texas in 2006.  I hope to figure out a way to use it on our queen-sized guest bed. 

It’s not all about piecing….

Sometimes you have to stop and do some organizing.  As my collection of completed quilts has grown, I needed to devise a system for storing the ones not in use, especially since my husband has begun making comments about having no room in the linen closet for towels.  We don’t have the floor space for another piece of furniture, like a display cabinet or rack, but we do have shelving above the rods in our closets.  My goal was to figure out a way to protect my work from fading and dust, and also make it possible to identify quilts without having to pull each off the shelf in a search.

So, Monday I set up a template on the computer for making labels that identifies them by name, size and date completed.  I printed them out on regular paper and reinforced them by sealing them in clear packing tape.  I put each quilt in its own pillowcase and attached the labels with safety pins.  Our space is much tidier now.  It’s not the perfect solution, but I think it will serve us well.  Since this system will continue to evolve, I would love to hear how others store and display quilts.

Design Wall Monday – 07/04/2011

It is always such a relief when the monthly block for the Civil War Chronicles quilt is complete.  Here is installment six.  Time wise, we are half way through the year-long block of the month.  Check out what others are up to at Judy's.