What's on the Design Wall in May?

I was restrained, as far as buying fabric, at the Quilt and Craft Show the other week.  There was awesome fabric for $6 a yard, so I bought two yards.  Then a smidge here and there, adding up to a total of $28.00.  I did behave!  Then, as I waited for DF to catch up to where I was in the crowd, I found an iron that was being demonstrated.  My spouse has been nagging me to buy a new iron, as mine has a faulty steam selection switch.  P caught up with me and she has the same problem with her iron, so we waited for the sole person, in this booth, to tell us about this iron.  Well, we both bought one!  The show sale price was $220.00, and DF could not believe we both bought one.  It made my husband happy!  

My design wall has pieces from six different projects on it.  The one needing the most attention is the churn dash blocks at the top.  When that is outta-here, then the houses and trees doll quilt will be next.  The largest one is the Eye-spy layout, which I need to get moving on.  I have just completed quilting and binding a quilt that was constructed by a friend who only partially quilted it.  It has been interesting.  I have finally finished it up and need to deliver it.

During some pucker abatement, I had a pin come loose underneath, which I sewed right through.  That little green bird has holes in it's body now, so I know it is my lucky favorite amongst all the bird pins.  

This is a thick quilt and has been a challenge stitching-in-the-ditch, as the top is made from drapery fabric and the batting is kind of thick.  It is heavy and bulky, but I gradually pushed on and got it completed. Gradually means 3 1/2 years.  She will be surprised to finally get this back!

May is here.  I am going, with friends, to the Quilt and Craft Fair going on at the Fair Grounds tomorrow.  I have not been before, although it has come every year for the last four or so years.  It is more a chance to be with people I care about, than whatever this organization is offering.  I am hoping we will go out for lunch after, so we can spend even more time together.  I have been very good at sticking to using my stash instead of buying more fabric these past few months.  I pretty much used up my plaid shirting fabrics on this quilt, that I plan to donate.

I have more plaid fabric, but it is less calm than these plaids.  Currently, I am working on an actual "eye-spy" quilt.  This eye-spy quilt has considerably less fabrics to spy than others that I have made, but the others were not actually eye-spy quilts.  I am not sure that made any sense at all.  I have re-read that sentence, and it makes perfect sense!  When I say that I am working on the eye-spy quilt, it really means it is mostly on my design wall, but I am not making progress on it, as I have other priorities at the moment.  I have a furniture refinishing project I am in the middle of, two genealogical projects I am in the middle of, and I am the key provider of data and projects for the GF doll quilts blog.  Plus, I mowed the back and front yards, today, read more of the book I am reading and picked up my car from the auto shop.  On top of that I had to watch two episodes of "Wipe Out", since it is Wednesday.  Having stated all that, I have not practiced my violin.  It is getting late, and the kitty is waiting on her bedtime Greenies. 

Charity Quilt

I am sorry, I did not take a photo of this quilt while it was on my design wall.  Last September, I posted about two charity quilts I made.  This is another one, made with 5" X 5" blocks.  I threw in a few four patch blocks, and in the center are the blocks (which are bigger) I used in a demonstration last fall.

I made it less feminine, so perhaps some teenage boy will enjoy it.  There is something about old barns that really capture my attention and imagination.  I have been trying to photograph some of my quilts mounted on old barns.  This is my new favorite.  This barn has not long to live.  The house on the property is abandoned and the windows are broken.  It is a common story these days in Idaho.  In a year, I can expect to see a new business in here where this barn has been for so long.  It has a practically new metal roof on it, but developers don't care about that.  I can image an amazing quilting retreat space in this barn renovated, heavily.  I have a great imagination.

Round Robin Row Quilts

If you quilt, you may know how frustrating it can be to do a group quilt project.  I endeavor to not get involved in group quilt projects, just so my hair does not get grayer sooner than necessary.  In January, I failed at my endeavor to avoid this circumstance.  I am trying to be a team player and mentor, so I gave myself a talk and got on board.  We were supposed to be in teams of five or six, but we had nine people sign up, so we have one nice group of nine.  Our fearless leader made a fine chart of how these boxes of fabric, pieced rows, and instructions get passed to one another.  So far so good.  I was excited about this.  Then I got A's box and was confused about what her instructions were saying about the rows "had to be in rainbow order."  I visited A and got the straight poop on what that meant.  Each quilter only uses two of the solid colors provided and they have to be in rainbow order.  I went back to my house drew a chart showing the order of the rows and wrote each person's name next to the row they were to be doing, since we were on a determined schedule.  I also pinned each person's name on the two fabrics they "get" to use.

It was magical.  I later told A that once her quilt was finished by everyone, they were going to think she was one anal bitch.  So now things are going alright, and I am bearing up fairly well with what is coming around.  At our meeting at the end of March, it was announced that one participant has become incapacitated, so we would be changing how the boxes get passed.  Okay.  Two weeks later, one of the group is at my house and we are working on best practices for squaring up other peoples' rows, since they "may be" left ragged and in someone else's hands. Suddenly, it occurs to me that now the names of people I have placed on fabrics and a chart in A's box, are no longer in the right order!  What is a trying-to-avoid caos quilter to do?  So, I rounded up J's phone number and give her a call.  I know she has A's box.  She answers and says, "I was wondering when you were going to call me, since I already have my row sewed."  Was I too late????  NO.  J has it all going on!  I need to let her husband know that.  She recognized the situation and moved M2's tag on the fabric bundles to the last one, and then moved everybody else's up.  All was right with the world.  I am so excited, because I really want to post photos of these things.  However, we are not to let the owner of the original row know what they look like until the big reveal at the end.  I have been photographing them as I get them, so I will be able to post how they started out, then how they look after all the rows are added.  It just so happens, in case you have not figured it out, I am the anal bitch.  I did it for A, so her quilt comes out right.

Since no one reads my blog anyway, what am I worried about?  In case you were wondering, about "rainbow order," this is it.  A made the first row (top), as it is her quilt. M made the second, and I made the third row down.  So far it looks fabulous.  I surprised myself and was happy with how my using only two fabrics came out.  I think A is going to love it!

Betsy Quilt

The "Betsy" quilt is completed.  Mochi hogged the kitty quilt I sent down to Reno in December, so I made a special quilt just for Betsy.  When I make kitty quilts, I just use scraps that are in my basket of strip scraps.  I just sew them together and anything goes.  The butterfly fabric is sweatshirt fabric that I actually sewed to the bunny fabric, so it would have some stabilization.  This one turned out more aesthetic than most.  I almost wish I could keep it and hang it on my wall.  But it is for Betsy.  I hope to get it in the mail this coming week.  

It measures 21" X 25".  I think I should make several of this size, each one with a different name on it.  But I have a nice list of projects, I need to finish, already. I think the main thing is, I have almost used up that darned bunny fabric!

Still Scraps Remain

Greetings!  It is finally springtime in Idaho.  The crocus are in bloom along my front walkway, so that is something.  I have moved on from black and white quilts forever, I hope.  I won't say never.  I am still working on that pile of quilt tops that need quilting.  I am down from six to three; half-way done!

This is the Black & White Mostly #4 quilt.  It started out as a quilt back for number 3, but I liked how it looked so much it had to become a whole nother quilt.  I am sure you understand.  You can click on the photo to enlarge it, so you can see the details better.  I used some courthouse steps blocks, in here, and a couple of Deb Rowdin's hearts.

    

                   video of how #4 went together:  click HERE

I have been honing my video making skills and I know I did better on this video than the previous one, so give it a chance . . . and have a view, please.  It shows how it went together from scraps remaining from the previous one, to the scraps remaining after this one.  Still scraps remain.  

I still had some scraps after I finished #4, but they are finally significantly less. I stuffed these on the shelf with my black and white fabrics, but I should move them to the bin with all the strips for making another "random" quilt.  It will need bits of b&w.

Black & White Mostly (#3) Quilt is Finished and Photographed

Black & White Mostly #3 is wider than an outhouse.  It looked like an outhouse, but maybe it was a pumphouse instead.  Finally, it has quit snowing, sleeting, and down right down-pouring long enough for me to get out and take some photos of my finished black and white mostly quilts.  This one I finished in February.  Please, check my Dec 29, 2022, post called "Taking Stock", to read all about how I created this quilt.  There is also a video.

After Teresa and I finished the first two B&W Mostly quilts, there were lots (tons) of scraps left over.  I unearthed that pile in December and decided it needed to go . . . . into a quilt.  I started making a backing from the still remaining scraps, when I liked what I was seeing and decided it was not a back, but a top.  Thus, we have B&W #4, which I will take you through in my next post.  It is simply a lovely day in Treasure Valley.