Accidentally modern

 Hi all! Well, the summer travel is over for us. Sadness! We did have some great trips, and we have now seen both ends of US1, but the good times are over for now and it's back to the grind. I will say that nothing makes you appreciate your own home quite like traveling. Especially your own bed. Good-smelling sheets!

If you've been around the blog for a bit, you know that "modern" is not really my thing. All that empty space! Most modern quilts look unfinished to me, though I do admire many of them. What can I say? I love piecing. If you don't, you do you! 

 

A few years ago, I attempted to make a temperature quilt. I failed miserably. It felt so much like a chore, making a small block every day, no matter how simple it was. And then life happened and I put it off for a few days, and then another, and another. . .you get it. I had made a temperature scale, though, and I kept it after I abandoned the project. It has turned into this:

Okay, it's a little odd, but I like it! This is long and skinny, something like 42 by 60, so it isn't really a lap quilt. I think it's just an art piece that I'm planning to hang in my hallway. That's why it has such a cute quilting design.

That it turned out at all and didn't get thrown away was completely accidental, of course. I think I intended to cut it up and at least save the Kona white from the sides. I never did, and when I was prepping some other quilts for the longarm, I also saw this and decided to quilt it up. The quilting pattern turned out perfect for this piece, I think. It's Daisy Swirl from Clothwerx and I love how it turned out.

The backing is just a leftover piece from another backing. If you look really closely, you can see that it has a very pale pattern on the back so it won't show through to the front.  The binding was surprisingly hard to choose. It took quite some time before I settled on this multicolored polka dot fabric, which is subtle enough that it doesn't give the quilt a hard edge.

So there we are! An old mistake turned into a nice piece for my hallway. I should say that the ceilings in there are 9 feet high, so this will look like just the right size in the space.

Hope everyone has a really good weekend. I'm doing laundry and getting my big stack of books ready to carry back to school. Meetings start this coming week. Oh, boy-- aren't meetings everyone's favorite part?

Sharing at Finished or not Friday, Brag About Your Beauties, and the Patchwork and Quilts linkup at Quilting Patchwork Applique.

Design wall updates

Hi all! Just taking a little time from this stupid paper that I'm writing to say hello and show a couple of things that I've pulled out to work on. I usually go to a conference early in June, but that's been cancelled this year, and I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be doing right now. Somehow sitting on the deck with a cool drink doesn't feel right.

Last week, when I was feeling pretty low (still feeling that way, but no politics today!) I started going through some of my project boxes to see the status of some things I have in there. It feels like forever since I looked at these, so it's like finding a bunch of projects started by someone else that I get to finish up. If I feel like it, you know.

First up is this project, if anyone remembers it:

I started this back when we lived in Wisconsin, which means it's been in that box for a long time. They aren't all on the wall, but I do have all the blocks and most of the pieces, just not put together. It looks like all I have to make for this is a bunch more flying geese and then it will be done.  There are some appliques, too, but I think I'll probably leave those off and not add the larger (unpieced) border. It will be a little smaller, but that's ok with me.

Then I pulled out these blocks, which are much more recent:

These are star blocks using some black fabrics I had and wasn't doing anything with. I think they look great together. I have the black pieces cut for 11 more blocks, which means that there are probably two more blocks in another box somewhere.  I have to cut the white backgrounds and the accent pieces that make the central stars, but then these should go together pretty easily.

Then I got distracted when I took the leftover pieces out of the box to put in a scrap bin and started on this:

Why not make a small fabric scrap basket like the ones I'm making for the RSC this year? No reason not to, except that I don't have much in the way of black scraps, except what I've already cut. Maybe I'll store some grays in there, too.

And then, of course, the modern blocks quilt top keeps growing:

This is turning out way better than anticipated. I'm just kind of sticking the blocks up there as I finish them, so I'm looking forward to playing with all the color distributions.

Whenever I wander into the sewing room in the next few weeks, I'll be working on one of these. I'm easily distracted, though, so who knows what will happen? There are a lot of fun things to work on in those boxes!

I hope everything is peaceful and calm where you are, and that you are enjoying beautiful weather.  I've been out walking a lot, and came across these beautiful flowers at a neighbor's mailbox:

These certainly cheered me, and I hope they cheer you, too! Have a good week!

Quaran-stitching

Hello all! How is your quarantine coming along? I'm hanging in there, still teaching and still putting in a ton of hours every week. I'm pretty sure when the semester is over I'm going to need to sleep for two solid weeks. Thankfully, I'll have the time since we're not going to go meet our new granddaughter yet. And if I think about that, I'll go down the rabbit hole of depression, so let's not go there! Let's talk stitching instead!

I've been distracting myself by organizing things in the sewing room, putting up some new shelves, and finally hanging up some of my wall quilts. I also finally made these:

These are the April blocks for the monthly color challenge at Patterns by Jen. The block on the right is freaking me out just a little. The picture is in focus, but the fabric looks like it isn't. Next month is green, so I'm kind of looking forward to that.  Speaking of which. . . look, there are leaves on those trees! This is what passes for excitement around here right now.

I've also been making some more of the modern squares blocks. I have about half of what I'll need done now:

These are super satisfying to make, and very easy. These blocks are just kind of thrown up on the wall, not really arranged in any order. All subject to change without notice!  I really like these a lot more than I thought I would. I'm not seeing the X's nearly as much any more. It does look more like lattice to me now. I have a nice stack of squares all sorted out and ready to go, so I'll keep on making these.

Of course, you all know that I've also been buying some happy fabrics online from time to time. Here is my latest haul:

These are all intended as backgrounds for some applique blocks I intend to make this summer. I've actually been planning this quilt for a long time, and it's why I have several yards of Kona Bone. I'm sure this is a lovely and useful color for someone, but it made me so sad that I didn't even wrap it on a fabric board. There was no way that I could use it as a background. The green and the yellow above turn out to be too dark for backgrounds, but I know I can find a use for those pieces somewhere.

Want a sneak peek at my applique project? Here we go:

That's all I'm showing for right now, because there is a real story behind this project. I'll let you in on it once this crazy, weird semester is over.

Stay well, everyone, and keep each other safe! And stitch something other than masks, just for your own sanity!

Sharing at Patterns by Jen for the Color Challenge.

Mindless but colorful

Hello friends! Where did today go? Last night I went to write this post but had nothing but trouble with the Internet. It was in and out and wouldn't take any picture uploads. Somehow it never does that when I'm trying to teach. (Thank goodness!) So, I thought I would write it this morning, but I started working and all of a sudden it was 5 pm. I have no idea how that happens!

I have to start with a bit of happy news in the midst of the crisis we're all enduring-- we have a new granddaughter! She was born last Wednesday and is absolutely perfect. She and her mom and dad are doing great, though they were kind of kicked out of the hospital pretty fast. For those of you who are counting, she is grandchild number five. Just as happy as with number one!

Anyway, I'm feeling a bit better these days, and I've been stitching. I might be getting a little mojo back. Time will tell.  It helps that I'm just doing mindless things right now. Here are the latest mindless bits:

This was an RSC project, but I needed it not to be an RSC project any more. So I grabbed the handy dandy box of 2-1/2 inch squares and went crazy. I did sort out the colors so I get enough variety, and I started with the blue blocks as a nod to the RSC:

The I made yellows, and then the very few reds, and I started on the pinks. Oh, and some purples, too. It felt great! These go so fast and you get a lot of blocks made really quickly, which we all know is really gratifying. I may be starting to understand the appeal of modern blocks.

I started thinking about layouts, too, and started putting them up on the wall:

I don't know if I like the X's that are formed this way, though it does make the colors really stand out and look like they're floating. I'm going to finish up the blocks and then we'll give it a lot of the design wall and see how it turns out. I'm open to other ideas.

Making these has been really easy, and it has calmed my mind, too. The other thing I've done is make some masks for family. I had wanted to make some to donate to the (religious) Sisters at school, but I haven't had time. And I have no elastic! Here was my "hack" for some ties for the corners for the ones I did make:

I've always saved the ribbons and twill tape and such that come wrapped around stacks of fat quarters or other stacks of fabrics. Who knows why? I must have been deprived of ribbon as a child. Anyway, I've been using these! If you stitch the wider ones (like this one above) in half, it will be the right size and no one will ever have to see the printing on them. What can I say? It worked!

Hope all of you are hanging in there and are not going too crazy in quarantine. It's an odd time, but at least we'll have stories of bravery and goodness for the grandchildren. And handwashing, don't forget that!

Sharing at soscrappy for RSC 20.

Time out

Ever have a time when you just have to slow down a little with your sewing because it's starting to feel like work? That's how I'm feeling right now. Still recovering from Celtic Solstice, I guess. It was completely mentally exhausting. I've learned the hard way not to sew anything important in that state. I really want to finish the Dancing Nines quilt, but I just had to take a small break from the "have to" sewing for a little bit. Plus, have you checked the calendar? Aaahh!

 Not that I'm panicking or anything.

But that doesn't mean there has been no sewing! Here are a few things I did just to relax:

This is a start on another quilt. I thought it would be a baby quilt, but now I think it would make a great throw size so that you could see the secondary patterns. Last summer I did all 100 of the Tula Pink blocks and made three quilts from them, including this one:

and this adorable one that I am keeping forever:

Artsy pictures! I also made another one that I gave to my brother in law, but I never got a picture of it.

The black and white block above is made from Tula Pink's block #49. It's in pink and green in the baby quilt above. I think a different (more open) black and white would be better and make a nice quilt. This black and white is lovely on the bolt, but it comes out looking too gray and striped. It would be better in a different project.

Then there is this:

These are some of the more than 300 blue and white HSTs that I've been making as a leader/ender project for a while now, all trimmed and ready to use. I guess it's time to put that quilt together! 

I did a little shopping, too:

Stunning photo, I know, but this is the new orange that I picked out to use with the aqua triangle quilt. I think I also finally have a plan for it too, so that will come soon.

So, I'm doing some relaxed sewing for right now, but the Dancing Nines is still calling my name. I'll probably get to it as soon as I clean out the danged sewing room. Again. There are pink and green bits everywhere!

Have a relaxing week friends!

Linking to Connie, Lee, and Lorna, as always!

Messy work in progress

It has been a few days of upheaval here. We've had a new shower installed (and you know what a mess that is), plus had some less-exciting home improvements done and some new furniture delivered. The place is a wreck! Plus, we're still waiting for the tree-trimmer to come back. He was up in our big locust tree and saw some lightning, so he wisely got right down and said he'd be back. Lightning every work day since. And pieces of tree still laying in the yard.

So, we are a little bit disheveled, but that does not get in the way of sewing! (Too much.) First, I started a new quilt, because all my old projects are finished. Ha! Just kidding. This is the quilt I started:

Pleated Patchwork, from this book by Amy Ellis of Amy's Creative Side:**

I really like this book. Seriously, I think I have a plan for every quilt in this book except one, and none of them are in neutral fabrics. Oh, well. Here are some of the fabrics that I chose for the Pleated Patchwork quilt:

This was a fat quarter set that I got a while ago from Shabby Fabrics. I've lost the little card with the fabric collection name, but they are very nice florals. The quilt calls for 42 blocks and this set will give me enough for 20, so I need to add some others. May need to shop again. Darn. Here is one of the pleated blocks:

Super easy blocks, and they turn out well. The hardest part is finding the half-inch mark on my machine to stitch the pleats. I've got 1/4 inch well-marked, and 5/8ths is pretty much branded into the machine, but I had to mark the 1/2 inch line with tape.

I also worked some more on the HST projects. I'm still making the blue and white fields and furrows blocks for one quilt, but I finished the center for the brown HST mini quilt:

I can't decide if these are beige triangles pointing up or brown triangles pointing down, but I like it a lot. Plus, it used up all my bonus triangles! I miscounted and thought I had 69, but I actually had 73, so this used up 72 with one lonely little one left over. Yay! I have a small bit of the original fabric left over, so I want to put some borders on this by the end of this week. Right now this is 16 by 18.

So, some sewing is going on amid all the hammering, sawing, and people walking on the roof. I also did get a little fabric shopping done:

Wonder what I'll do with those?

Hope everyone is having a productive week and that things are less messy where you are. Or at least that you don't have branches and other pieces of trees laying all over your yard.

Linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced and Let's Bee Social. And Needle and Thread Thursday if I remember. Come on over and get inspired!

**Just wanted to make clear that I don't know Amy Ellis (though she has a nice blog and I'm sure she is a lovely person) and I'm not paid to promote her book. I'm using it because I'm really enjoying making quilts from it. No sponsors here! I bought the book myself!

Fiesta pinwheels

It should not surprise anyone that it is raining here yet again. Just showers, not a storm, but I can't be the only one who's tired of it all. The good news is that it did not rain on commencement, so it was a great day for our graduates and their families. I end this school year grateful for my colleagues, my friends, and my students. I don't know how I got lucky enough to work at a job I love with people I really respect.

The rain has also made the garden EXPLODE, mostly with weeds, so we spent a bunch of time cutting grass, pulling weeds, seeding bare patches, and yanking out the tiny trees that have grown from chestnuts and such that the squirrels buried and forgot. It was a good, though tiring, weekend.

So now it's back to sewing! I am taking the rest of May to recover from the semester, so I will have some extra time to sew. (And clean. And maybe paint the family room.) I was looking around the sewing room this weekend (no, I wasn't cleaning! don't be silly!) and I pulled out this book:

This book is by Amy Ellis, who I just found out also blogs over at Amy's Creative Side. (I must be the last to know this.) This is a fantastic book! I love every pattern in here, in spite of my very mixed feelings about "modern" quilts. The quilts in this book are very creative and done mostly with simple shapes and easy sewing. No set-in seams or anything like that. I have a plan to make the cover quilt, but for now I am drawn to this one:

Digital pinwheels! A great pattern that will make a very nice quilt.

So. . .I love the patterns, but I am not much of a neutrals person. Making 30 beige and tan pinwheels would put me straight to sleep. So I dug out these fun fabrics:

Wow, that will wake you up, won't it? I have enough of the yellow for the background, and made some sample blocks to determine how to use the other colors. This is option 1:

Looks good! Here is option 2:

Hmmm. Could be a better picture, but I like the block. Option 3:

I like them all! I don't know if I can choose a color scheme; they're all so good. What if I put them all together?

Whoa. Party in the sewing room! About as far from neutrals as I can get, I think.

The yellow makes a great background color for this quilt. At first I was sure that I liked the turquoise center best, but now I'm leaning toward the red center. Or maybe all three colors together, because there are 30 blocks and that would allow for an even distribution of colors. I'm not sure! If you'd like to help me out, please leave me a comment.

I may not be sure about the exact color scheme, but I know that I'm planning to call this Fiesta Pinwheels. I think that name says it all. It kind of reminds me of Fiesta ware, the very colorful dishes that I wish I owned.

That's what I'm working on this week! Hope you are working on something festive as well!

Linking up with Judy at Patchwork Times and  Linky Tuesday and Show and tell Tuesday! Stop by and join the fun!