My latest strip quilt

Time for another change in direction!  Making strip quilts to donate is fun, and I’m really enjoying it.  It’s been a challenge to come up with a way to make them quickly, and I think I’ve finally figured it out.

Here’s a picture of the strip quilt I finished yesterday.  It went together very quickly, even though I got a little arty with piecing the back.  That was fun to do, though.

There’s no binding either.  I layered the quilt, backing, and batting and sewed them together, leaving an opening to turn the quilt along one edge.  I whipstitched the opening closed after turning it, and then pin-basted to keep the layers from shifting while it was machine quilted.

Pieced back of strip quilt

The quilting is long wavy lines along the long axis of the quilt. The quilting only took about an hour. Not bad!

This kind of strip quilt is very easy to do, and it’s fast.  By varying the width of the long pieced strips, getting a slightly different look is easy, too.

This quilt is about 39″ by 47″.  Haven’t washed it yet, but it will probably shrink up a couple of inches.  I’ll have to remember to measure it once it comes out of the dryer.

OK, so one challenge down.  Looks like I’ll be able to do some serious stashbusting this year, especially if I can make two or three strip quilts a month!

So what’s next? One of my other goals for the year was to develop my own style as a quilt artist. I got off to a pretty good start with “Winter Journey,” shown here.

"Winter Journey," my first AAQI Priority Quilt!

This quilt definitely was a stretch for me.  I had never done anything like this before.  Maybe that’s why I haven’t done another.  It did take a lot of time and effort.

But good stuff doesn’t come easy, does it?

So my new goal is to spend two or three mornings a week working on art quilts.  This includes dyeing fabric and playing around with new techniques.  I have some ideas that I want to explore.

I’ve also decided to join the Studio Art Quilt Associates.  According to their webpage, “SAQA is a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote the art quilt through education, exhibitions, professional development and documentation.”

I’d been tossing around the idea of joining, but kept putting it off because I didn’t think I was enough of an artist yet.  But Leni Weiner had a great post on her blog about why people should join SAQA, and she convinced me.  So I signed up earlier this evening.

I’m also thinking of entering Fabrications 2, a show open to quilt artists in the Upper Peninsula.  It’s being run in conjunction with a SAQA show, Points Of View, which will be on display this summer down in Escanaba.  Having never had the nerve to enter a show before, this is a big step for me!  So first, I need to make some quilts to enter, and second, we’ll see if I get through the jurying process!  Whatever happens, this is bound to be a learning experience.

Our house was built in the early ’50’s, so all of our electrical outlets downstairs were of the old ungrounded two-prong variety.  We wanted to upgrade the wiring so we could stop using those annoying little adapters to plug in stuff like computers and TVs.  Not to mention the safety issues, of course.

So the electrician was here all day yesterday and most of today.

We learned that whoever originally wired the house was very creative as far as circuits went.  One circuit in particular had the refrigerator, the coffeemaker, the microwave, AND the washing machine on it.  The electrician was amazed that I had never tripped the breaker, even though I regularly used three out of four of these appliances at the same time.  Another circuit runs all over the house, and took some detective work to figure it out.  All I can say is that this guy earned his money.  For a while I thought he might be a permanent guest, but he did manage to finish the job today.

So in between the electrician turning the power on and off and working all over the house, I did manage to work on the quilt-as-you-go strip quilt I started the other day.  I finished the blocks yesterday, and joined them today.

So what do I think of quilt-as-you-go?  Well, it’s definitely not a time-saver.  I had to resort to pinning to keep the quilt batting and backing from shifting when sewing down my strips.  Kinda fiddly.  But the blocks did look good when they were done.

What about joining them?  Easy, but mindless and time-consuming.  It takes five seams to join each block.  See this qayg tutorial for the details.  I thought I would NEVER get done sewing the 30 blocks into six rows of five each.  It does go faster when you’re sewing the rows together, though.

That said, though, I can see where this joining technique would be very handy when making larger quilts.  I think my next project will be made in panels, instead of individual blocks.  If I made four 10-inch wide panels that were 45 inches long, it would be a lot faster to join them instead of the individual blocks.  Perhaps like a Chinese coin pattern.   I could also piece blocks as I normally do, join them into segments, machine quilt the segments, and then join them, like the mile-a-minute quilts.

The upside:  I’m using up strips and making quilts to donate, too!  Stashbusting is a good way to use up old fabric that’s been hanging around far too long.

I have to say that the back of the quilt looks really cute, with the sashing outlining the individual blocks.  Pictures will follow in a day or two.

This is the green from mixing a little black into the yellow dye. It's really a much nicer-looking green, not this washed-out gray!

Here are the results of my dyeing escapade the other day. Putting the heating pad under the fabric did seem to help set the dye, as very little dye ran off when I washed and rinsed the fabric. I’m somewhat annoyed with my camera, as its not showing the colors correctly. Probably operator error!

These aren't as blotchy as they look in the picture; but the colors are pretty close to reality.

For some reason, my camera decided this was pink, but it's really red-brown instead!

This was my attempt at color mixing. These are pretty close to how they really look.

Cat House Block!

Just visited Bumble Bean’s blog.  She has the cutest house block someone sent her with a sock monkey peeking out the window.  I love it!

Of course, not to be outdone, here’s my Cat House block.  It really is square.  I can’t seem to take a picture straight on for some reason.

There’s a story behind this.  Years ago when I lived in KY, I worked at the animal shelter, and also at the vet’s office.  Because I couldn’t resist a kitty in need, I wound up with seven cats!  The vet I worked for said I had the best little cat house in west KY.  So here’s to my kitty friends from many years ago!

The next two pictures are of my newest AAQI quilt!  Actually, I finished this one the day before yesterday.  This started out as a free piecing experiment.  I just sat down and started playing with scraps, sewing and cutting, and re-sewing.

AAQI Priority Quilt

Back of AAQI Priority Quilt

The finished quilt measures 9″ by 10.5″, and it’s machine quilted.

When I uploaded the pictures, it occurred to me that I need to come up with a name for it!  Any suggestions?

The Heartstrings Quilt Project is a group that makes and donates string quilts to local charitable organizations.  I joined because I’m definitely into string quilts right now!  For my first  Heartstrings project, I decided to try a quilt-as-you-go crib quilt to donate to the local women’s shelter.

First six quilt-as-you-go blocks

Ten-inch blocks seemed a little big for a crib quilt, so mine are seven inches instead.  I’ll need 30 blocks, which will hopefully result in a quilt that will be 35″ by 42″.

I thought it would be a total pain to cut out batting and backing squares, but it didn’t take very long to cut them out at all.

Here are the six blocks I finished this afternoon.  It’s pretty easy to sew the strips down to the batting and backing.  The blocks came out really well, and knowing that they’re already quilted is a nice plus.

Of course, they still have to be joined together, but that process doesn’t look too difficult.

Probably won’t get any sewing done tomorrow.  We need to go to the VA in Iron Mountain again, for a dental appointment, so that pretty much takes up the day.  Then in the evening, we’ll be going to see the start of the UP 200 Sled Dog Race.  Hey, we’ve gotta take advantage of all that snow!

Strip quilt ready for quilting!

Here’s the stashbusting strip quilt I’ve been working on this week. I meant it to be a crib-sized quilt, but it came out about 46″ by 48″, so I think I’ll donate it to the Hopes and Dreams Quilt Challenge for ALS.  I STILL haven’t mailed off the two quilts I’ve completed, so I guess I may as well wait another day or two to finish this one before I mail them all off.

I meant to practice quilt-as-you-go with this quilt, but it didn’t happen, mostly because of the bias edges on the outside of the quilt.  I was afraid they would stretch, and they did.  I hurried up and sewed borders on to contain the ever-growing edges, and they seem to have done the trick.

Tomorrow I’ll get the backing done, and get it basted.  If I’m feeling really ambitious, I may even start quilting it.  It should go pretty fast, as I’m not going to mess around and do anything fancy.  Straight-line quilting is the only way to go!

House block with kitty

V over at Bumble Beans is collecting house blocks to make quilts for BASICS, a group that helps homeless people in NYC.  She’s asking for 10.5″ house blocks; click on the link for the pattern and directions if you’re interested in making a block or two for her!

I decided to take a break from the string quilt and make a house block this morning.  V said you could applique a heart on the house, but what’s a home without a cat?

I cut the kitty out of some fabric I had on hand, and fused it down.  Then I went around it with an outline stitch just to be sure he doesn’t go anywhere!  I love that grin.  Wonder what he’s thinking about getting into?

This block really is square.  My photography skills aren’t the greatest, I’m afraid!

Ice mountains along the Lake Superior shore

Went for a walk yesterday.  It was COLD out there!  The north wind definitely had teeth in it.

The constant wind has been blowing the ice up against the shoreline.  This area is usually open water, but you can see how the ice has built up.  The waves are breaking against the ice, which is way out from shore.

Snow drifts across the bike path

I couldn’t resist taking a picture of the snowdrifts on the bike path!  The wind comes in off the lake and dumps the snow right on the pathway.  There’s always an adventure around here.

Don’t forget to vote for Marquette in the Dozen Distinctive Destinations at the National Trust for Historic Preservation!  Right now Marquette is in first place!  Woo hoo!  But that could change, so we need to keep voting.

The beginning of my hand-dyed fabric collection!

Here are the fruits of my dyeing labors on Saturday!  It’s hard to see the yellow, but you can see a little mottling on the left.  The light blue and green are solid, and the dark blue and the fuschia are both mottled.  I’m really pleased with how well it came out.

I’m planning on trying my hand at batiking the yellow fabric with gel glue.  You paint your designs with the glue, and then dye the fabric again.  Then you wash the glue out, which leaves the designs in yellow.  I think I’m going to cut the yellow in two.  On one half I want to do spirals, and on the other little fish.  I think I’ll dye the spiral one orange or peach, and the fishy one green or blue.  But who knows what inspiration will strike down in my basement!

This fabric was white, with a white print. It's more purple than this. I wanted to show both sides of it.

The second picture is some white material that was printed with a white figure.  I never used it cuz I like colors, so I decided to try dyeing it.  Sorry the picture is blurry.  I turned off the flash so it wouldn’t wash out the color, but for some reason, turning off the flash makes it hard to take a clear picture.  It’s really a lot more purple than pink.  I really like how this came out.  I have lots more of this fabric, so it’ll be fun dyeing it different colors.

My first attempt at quilt-as-you-go!

The third picture shows another stashbuster I started working on yesterday.  This strippy baby quilt surprised me by coming out as a square!  I think it will finish around 40 inches on each side.  I didn’t really know where I was going with this design, but I’m pretty happy with it.

The center section (four strips) is sewed together.  I need to finish sewing the two triangular side pieces together.  I’m trimming the sides as I join the strips.  I’m not real happy with all the bias edges on the outside, but I stay-stitched them very carefully, which will hopefully keep them from stretching until I can do the quilting.

I’ll quilt the three sections individually, and then join them together, using the tutorial at Quilting Twin.

The next time I make this quilt, I’ll use a long strip instead of the squares, so there’ll be less sewing to do.  But I still have oodles of pink squares left, so I wanted to use a few up!  I  may modify the design so that it’s a rectangle, too.

Working out this design took a little time, but I think it will go a lot faster the next time I make it, especially if I’m not dealing with all those squares.

Barn Dance, finished!

Finally got around to taking some pictures yesterday.  Here’s my “Barn Dance” quilt hanging on the clothesline.  It was a bear to quilt, but it’s finished!  I have to say that I’m quite pleased with how it came out.

The next picture is of my “Rail Fence” quilt.  I like how the lights and darks zig across the surface.  It’s quite a lively quilt, with a lot of movement.  Not bad for just sitting down and sewing a pile of strips together!

I’ll get them packed up this weekend, and in the mail to the Hopes and Dreams Quilt Challenge for ALS on Monday.

Rail Fence Scrap Quilt

I went up to Alley Kat’s Quilt Shop yesterday.  All the fabrics were 30% off, including white PFD (prepared for dyeing) mercerized cotton.  Such a deal!  I got five yards for less than $18, including sales tax.   Ben Franklin is having a sale this weekend, too.  I have a 40% off coupon, so I think I’ll run over there this morning, and get another quilt batting.  With all the quilting I’m doing right now, it’s nice to be able to save a few bucks on batting.

Now that I have some white fabric to play with, I may do some dyeing today.  Fabric Dyeing 101 has lots of great tips for dyeing fabric.  I especially like her directions for making batik-like fabrics with gel glue.  I’ve dyed a lot of yarn, and even tried my hand at some socks last fall, but haven’t done any fabric yet.  Since I already have the pro mx dyes, soda ash, and everything else I need, I’m ready to go!

I also took a look at Fusing Fun!  Fast Fearless Art Quilts by Laura Wasilowski yesterday afternoon.  I am hooked!  What a fun book.  I even have an idea for my first fused quilt, once I get a few fabrics dyed.  I need to pick up some fusible web while I’m out today, too.  I have some Wonder Under around here someplace, but since I don’t want to tear into my closet, I’ll just buy some more and wait for it to surface, which it will, eventually.

Haven’t done any sewing the past couple of days, and don’t know if I’ll get any done today, but hopefully I’ll get back to it tomorrow for a bit.  Right now my brain is so full of stuff that I feel like I may explode.

Thill's Fish House, at the Lower Harbor in Marquette, MI

One last thing:  Marquette, MI,  my hometown, is one of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Dozen Distinctive Destinations for 2010.  Here’s what it’s all about:  “Since 2000, the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Dozen Distinctive Destination program has recognized cities and towns that offer an authentic visitor experience by combining dynamic downtowns, cultural diversity, attractive architecture, cultural landscapes and a strong commitment to historic preservation, sustainability and revitalization. In each community, residents have joined together and taken action to protect their town’s character.”

Between now and February 28,  anyone over 18 can vote for their favorite, as often as they want.  Marquette is trailing behind Rockland, Maine, and we can’t let that happen!  So please click the link, register (they just want your name and email) and vote for Marquette, MI!  Vote early and vote often!

Yay, Andrew made it home safely last night, around 12:30.  He was tired, but wound up, so it took a little while for both of us to calm down enough to go to sleep!

So of course nobody was up early this morning.  I slept til eight, which is late for me.  I let Andrew sleep til 9:30 before I woke him up.  I hated to do it, but I know he would have trouble sleeping tonight if I let him go too much longer.

I did manage to get some laundry done, but other than that, the day was a wash.  And there’s nothing wrong with that, either.  It was nice to sit on the couch with my honey and look at the pictures he took in TN and just talk.

Mary from Making Scrap Quilts From Stash was nice enough to send me a link for Mile-A-Minute Quilts.  This sounds exactly like what I’m looking for.  The idea is that you piece a long strip about 20″ wide, and then machine quilt the strip.  Then you join the strips. The strips are much smaller and easier to handle than a full-size quilt.  Love it!

I was tempted to order it, since I can get it for less than $5, but shipping always adds up.  So I ordered it inter-library loan!

Speaking of which, the first three books I ordered last week came in yesterday.  Of course, I had to walk right down to the library to pick them up.  Liberated Quiltmaking, Liberated String Quilts, and Fusing Fun! Fast Fearless Art Quilts are MINE for the next three weeks!  And I also have Thinking Outside The Block by Sandi Cummings and Karen Flamme on order, along with Mile-A-Minute Quilts.

Liberated String Quilts is great!  I’ve already gleaned lots of ideas from this book.  I need to make a few notes so I can remember them later on. I can’t wait to get started on my next project now!

Just started looking at Liberated Quiltmaking this afternoon, but didn’t get too far before I  nodded off.  I’ll look at it some more tomorrow, but it looks it’s full of great ideas, too.

I was going to take some quilt pictures today, but just didn’t do it.  Oh well, tomorrow is another day, as Scarlett O’Hara says.  I need to walk up to the little quilt store in the Village tomorrow since they’re having a sale, so while I’m outside, I’ll pin the quilts to the line and snap away. I know, going into a fabric store when they’re having a sale is dangerous, but I’ve already decided the only thing I will buy is some Wonder Under and maybe a couple of yards of white material to dye.

Molly perched on the arm of the couch

I’ll close with this picture of Molly.  She was so funny last night.  While Andrew was gone,  I usually went to bed around 11:20, after watching the local news and weather.  Last night, of course, I was going to wait up for Andrew, so I didn’t go to bed like I usually do.  Poor Molly was just having a fit!  She started jumping up on the back of my recliner around 11:25 pm, and was obviously agitated over something.

I got up to see what her problem was, and she led me straight to the bedroom!  I told her we were going to stay up and wait for Daddy, but she wasn’t convinced.  She finally did settle into my lap for a bit before Andrew got home.  Poor kitty.

Moon peeking through the tree branches. Andrew took this one, don't know where or when.

My last post was about new beginnings.  Well, a new beginning is in progress around here.  No, I’m not pregnant!   I’m 55, and my baby days are through.  However, I’ve had an epiphany of sorts…

Machine quilting, at least with my current set-up, sucks!  No kidding, huh?  After spending three fun-filled days machine quilting “Barn Dance” and “Rail Fence,” change is definitely in the air.

First, crawling around on the floor pin-basting a quilt has got to be a recipe for a trip to the chiropractor.  When I’m done, either my knees hurt, or my back hurts,or my wrists hurt, or my neck hurts.  Or all of the above.  Plus I’m going to rip up that nasty old carpet next summer, and put in laminate flooring, so there won’t be anything to pin the quilts to in a few months.

Second, repeatedly horsing forty inches of quilt, batting, and backing through an eight-inch opening on a sewing machine  is REALLY not fun.  Also, it makes it very hard to have any semblance of control over the quilting, even if  your quilting is composed mostly of what is supposed to be reasonably straight lines.  I doubt my sewing machine enjoys this process much, either.  After all, this isn’t what she was built for.

Third, if my goal this year is stashbusting, I gotta get a lot faster at making these quilts.  Selling them is my eventual goal, but if they’re time sinks, making a living is impossible.

So, what are my options?  Investing in a machine quilting system?  I have considered this, but most of those systems are pretty pricey, and they’re geared towards people who want to do it as a business.

Paying someone to machine quilt donation quilts doesn’t seem too cost-effective, does it?

Soooo, what’s the answer?  Quilt-as-you-go, also known as QAYG.  This involves sewing the strips or pieces directly to the batting and backing that’s already cut into block-sized pieces.  I’ve tried this in the past, but having to join the blocks by hand is a long and time-consuming process.

I should have known that someone would come up with a way to join the blocks by machine.  Here is an excellent tutorial detailing how to do this.  Quick and easy!  I can’t wait to get started.

Most of the QAYG blocks I’ve seen involve strips.  This is good, but I want to do something different.  There will be a joining strip in between the blocks, so I need to take this into account and use it as a design feature.  I’ve been mulling this over, and I think I have come up with a design that will utilize some of the the nearly 200 four-inch squares I’ve got on hand.  I’m pretty excited to get started on this.

My fisherman is heading home today! I sure have missed my sweetie. (If you want to know, I think that's a king salmon on the left, a lake trout in the middle, and a coho salmon on the right.)

My big news is that my honey is on his way home today!  He may make it home tonight, if he feels up to driving through.  Today is a good travel day, as there’s nothing major on the radar between here and TN.

It’ll be good to have him home.  I’ve kept busy, so the week has passed reasonably quickly, but I’m ready for him to come home.

Found another quilt challenge.  This one is from Julie Bagamary, and it’s called More Blessed To Give.  She is challenging everyone to make one item a week to donate.  The best part about this one is that you don’t have to be a quilter.  No matter what you do, whether it’s knitting hats or crocheting blankets, or even making soap or jewelry, make one item a week to donate to a good cause.

Since I’ve been on a roll lately as far as stashbusting goes, I thought I would look for a local group here in the Upper Peninsula that might be able to use some quilts.  And I found the Marquette Women’s Center, a shelter for domestic violence victims.  I sent them an email this morning, and hope to hear back from them next week as to what size quilts would be best for them.  I have enough blocks on hand for probably two more lap or crib-sized quilts, so I can have a couple ready pretty quick.

I’ve  been working away on my Rail Fence quilt.  It may have looked easy, but I’ve had more trouble with this particular scrap quilt than I’ve had with any project in a long time.  Do you think I could keep my pattern straight?  Noooo-oooo.  I swear, I sewed things together backwards and upside-down, and I still think there’s a mistake in it someplace.

I pieced together a batting from leftover pieces that have been banging around in my closet forever.  That was a challenge, but I finally got it done.  Then when I started the machine quilting, I messed it up, and wound up having to pick out two LONG rows of stitches, diagonally across a 50″ by 60″ quilt!  Sigh.  At least they were long stitches.  I messed up on my second try, too, but this time I had enough sense to stop before I got too far.  More stitches to pick out.

The third time was the charm!  I think I may actually finish the quilting this morning, but I don’t want to be too sure of myself!  If I manage to finish it, then I’ll get a backing and batting together for my Barn Dance quilt, so I can get that one done as well.

Andrew is still in TN.  Now they’ve had an ice/snow storm down there.  Hope they still have power.  I haven’t heard from him since yesterday, so if he doesn’t call me, I’ll give him a buzz later to see how things are going there.

It’s been COLD here, in the single digits during the days, below zero at night.  I think the temperature might have struggled up to 11 degrees yesterday.  Since I was out of milk, bread, and half-and-half (essential to life around here), I got brave and bundled up in my long underwear and down coat (a Goodwill purchase in MN) and walked up to the store.  I have to say that the right clothes do make a difference!  The only part of me that got cold was my nose, and I pulled my scarf up to protect my face.

Molly looking cute

Still no camera, so I’ll close with this picture of Molly.  She loves to sit on the table and watch birds and squirrels out the back window.  She’s been a lot of company for me this week, although she thinks I should spend more time playing with her, and less time quilting!

The big news for today is that Brody made his appearance yesterday afternoon!  Sorry, don’t know what time he was born, but mommy and baby are both doing great.  Andrew had hoped to be there in time for the birth, but the trip took longer than he expected, and he wound up staying over in a motel north of Indianapolis.  I talked him into it, since I could tell how tired he was when he called from the road on Tuesday night.

And the quilts I sent along were a big success.  Nora was happily playing on hers when Andrew left for the hospital, and Elise, Brody’s two-year-old big sister, wrapped herself up in Brody’s quilt and in general acted cute.  So all the work last weekend to get those two quilts done was more than worth it!  I love knowing that they’ll be well used.

Can’t send any pictures of what I’m working on, since the camera is in TN!  But I’ve been working on a rail fence quilt.  Basically I sewed a dark and a light 2-1/2″ strip together, and cut them into 4-1/2″ squares.  Then I laid them out, alternating them, so that the dark/light was horizontal in the first block, and vertical in the second.  It’s pretty fast and easy.  I should finish piecing it this morning.  That will give me two more quilts to machine quilt, so I’ll work on coming up with backings for both quilts this afternoon.  Hopefully I’ll get them both quilted in the next couple of days.  After a trip though the washer and dryer, they’ll be on their way to the Hopes and Dreams ALS Quilt Challenge.

I’ve been looking through a couple of library books, Reverse Applique With No Brakez, by Jan Mullen, and Nature’s Studio, by Joan Colvin.  I’m intrigued with the idea of reverse applique, and I want to do something with it for my next AAQI quilt.  Jude Hill has some amazing ideas for reverse applique on her blog, what if.  So all these ideas are spinning around in my head right now…

I’ve also ordered some books interlibrary loan.  I can do it all online, which is very cool.  I have the original Liberated Quiltmaking and Liberated String Quilts, both by Gwen Marston,  and Fusing Fun! Fast Fearless Art Quilts, by Laura Wasilowski, on the way.  Don’t know when they’ll turn up since they’re all coming from libraries downstate, but that’s part of the fun.  It’ll be like Christmas when they do show up!

I’ll close with this video.  Nellie from Nellie’s Needles sent it to me cuz I have a kitty. It was so cute I just had to share it with you!  The scratched up bedframe and the kitty toys scattered hither and yon look a lot like it does around here!