Transplant to Quilt Crazy Blog

Is This An Actual Blog Update?

Why,  yes it is!  While sitting in the jury assembly room, it occured to me that it has almost been a year since that this 'lil blog has been updated.   What quilty things have I been doing?  I will have to post more pictures when I am back home but  for now will ask you to check out the pictures and links below.

I just completed this quilt for my son:

 and this one which is the last quilt I blogged about before my blog break:

 
Both were quilted by Jenny.

I've been hosting a fun Tumbler Party Swap and started a Mod Mosaic Bee.

I've been humbly serving as the Orange County Modern Quilt Guild President and also enjoying my LAMQG membership and Bee Happy friends.

I will be back soon to update my 2011 completed quilts, work in progress and other fun endeavors and projects but I must run for now as jurors are being called into courtrooms.

 

 

Kona Solids Pineapple Block Quilt - Oh yea!

February was my turn in the Bee Happy Bee and I decided on these blocks:   
I am so pleased with how they are coming along.  The pattern is Allison's Designs Crimsom Rambler  but I reversed the print/solid arrangement.  I do love this pattern it's quite simple yet yields stunning results (ppssst... no paper piecing). I used Kona Pepper and a variety of my favorite blues & greens from a Poseidon fat quarter pack.  And I had a few yards of Valori Wells Olive Rose print in the same colors which I added in for the center squares just for kicks!  

Stay tuned for more solid quilt works in progress :) I did mention I was on a solids kick didn't I?

Vintage Modern Quilt Blocks

I typed an entire history and top making process earlier but lost my internet connection and was not able to save my work ..uughh.. teach me to save drafts eh? ;-)  Here is the short version...

Got some vintage blocks from a lady who got them from a Menninite auction in Kentucky .. decided to honor the block maker by finishing what she was not able to.  I sashed them with Kona Sand to match the feedsack neutrual fabric the maker used... I sewed the blocks on to strips as one would if sewing a log cabin block.  I found this to help even out the edges of the block.  I am sure there is a "correct" way to do this however I found this method to work just fine.

.... look at her nice hand stitch work.. 

Pressed the blocks a lot ..
....They sure were wonky .. .

 Square 'em ...  12.5 inch blocks..  looking pretty!!

 

Found the perfect sashing in my stash  ~ Kaffe's Ikat Woven Streaks in pool!!  Lovely fabric...

Finished!!

 
 
 

 

Guess What I Am Doing?

String block fun!  These can get addicting.

Folksy Flannel Tumbler Quilt ~ Now What?

Yikes!   In order to avoid rows of 13, I made this quilt too long instead of too wide... it's about 90" X 54.  The only thing I can think of to correct this is to cut the side tumblers and add a strip of Forest Glow on each side.  What do you think?

Red & Aqua and Organic Quilting Fabric

I love organic products for cleaning and cleansing, I eat mostly whole food, prefer natural over anything artificial, buy local where practical and sometimes where not.  Many times I have thought about switching to using only organic fabric for sewing & quilting and besides bath towels have not done so.......... until now.  Please leave me a comment and let me know how organic fits into your contemporary quilting & sewing.

Just look at this lovely collection from Fabricworm ~ how could I resist?

 

Monaluna Circa 50 Woodland Chain Strawberry (Organic)
Riley Blake Cheery Circles Red
Rosmarie Lavin Spa Floral Outline Turquoise
Patty Young Blossoms Red
Felicity Miller Gypsy Round Flowers Pink
Monaluna Circa 50 Woodland Friends (Organic)
Monaluna Circa 50 Tree Stripes (Organic)
Robert Kaufman Pure Organic Solid Aqua

Anna Marie Horner Scraps

I am considering making a quilt from Anna Marie Horners voile fabric - these scraps are a mix of quilting cotton, voile and flannel. Should I mix them all into a quilt?

Heather Ross Coasters

My daughter-in-law gave me these a few years ago and they have been sitting on my desk ever since waiting for me to put a picture in them ~ these 'scraps' worked better.

Very First Hexie Blocks Cut

I have heard that hexies can be addicting and didn't realize just how much until I cut my first one!  I found fussy cutting to be as enjoyable as taking photographs. Once I've cut all the hexagon blocks I will machine piecing them together row-by-row.

 

Amy Butler Love Flannel Quilt

I woke up really early yesterday and spent some time making this quilt top. It was not my intention for the morning but I needed to make some space on the shelfs for more fabric coming ;-).  The quilt measures about 40"x 60". I stopped sewing because I think it looks perfect just the way it is and I was not sure where to go from here. I have about 1 yard of the tumbling roses and 2 yards of the paisley in lime.

Any thoughts on how to proceed? I could stop right here and use the remaining flannel for the back but I would like the quilt to end up just a little bigger.

Zig Zag Quilt Top Complete

Ta-da! I love the no triangle block technique My version measures 70x54 due to the 4" strips. What do you think, border or no border? Red binding?

  
 
  

Zig Zag Quilt ~ No Triangles

Today I finally figured out what do to with my cherry fabric.  Just added a little aqua and some zig-zags.  I found a tutorial from Crazy Mom Quilts. I used 4" instead of 3" strips and cut the strips into 7.5" square. I am not sure how large I will make the quilt yet though I am certain it will depend on how many strips I have left :-) ...  I am enjoying the simple fresh color combination.

"Y" Seams!! YEA I did it ~ 8 Pointed Star Test

I took this blurry picture right before the camera batteries died.

Blooming 9 Patch From My Past ~ Weekend Sewing

  I cut this blooming 9 patch before I knew how to stop a ruler from slipping when rotary cutting and that squaring up meant making all your squares the same size.  I pulled the box of partially sewn rows and uneven blocks and stared at it until I got the courage to see what I could do with it. The rows are completed, some sewn together and I might just get this one completed pucker free.  I think this was the second quilt I started and now will finish in 2010... yea! 

Leaders & Enders ~ What To Do With These Scraps

With the leftover denim & flannel from rag quilts I've been making these four patches.  Any ideas on what I should do with them? This is also my "leader & ender" project. I keep the box by my machine and sew one patch at the end of whatever else I am making ~ in addition to making progress on this side-project I don't have to deal with those long threads.  Constant chain piecing!

Kaffe Spring Log Cabin ~ Top Is Complete!

Well it's finished .. I zigged where I should have zagged on four of the blocks and didn't realize it until I had three rows sewn together. Had to get the seam ripper out to start over and thus the delay. 

What do you think of the fabric below for the backing?

 

Quilting Activity Today

I am ready to finish the Kaffe Spring Log Cabin quilt today however I am not sure I'll be able to escape into sewing today.  I also found an awesome quilting board and am doing some fabric trading. I have to get some inventory ready to ship to traders so perhaps that would be a good activity.  Of course I have lots of flannel and denim to cut so maybe I'll go start that.   We had to put Hairy, our family dog, down last night and I am sure you can imagine how sad that was ...  you can read more in the Hairy category if you like. 

some progress on quilts - no photos yet

 
I finished the Spring Log Cabin block and started the rows and realized some of the chevron stripes were facing the wrong way :-( so I had to get out the seam ripper and take them apart ... there are three incorrect blocks. I didn't feel like fixing them this weekend so instead I made a pair of pajamas and a purse/bag from scrap demin and the left over pajama fabric ... photos to come later ....  I cut some more demin and flannel tumblers and made one tumbler row...  I was looking forward to finishing the log cabin .... next weekend!  The flower you see in front of this quilt came from a bulb and I am not sure what it is.  I dumpped a bunch of potting soil from smaller planters into a whiskey barrel and this came out ... I seem to recall it's an african bulb of some sort. Any ideas?

Scrap Flannel Tumbler Quilt

I had more left over flannel scraps then I thought!  1764 blocks to make a quilt 42x42 blocks or 2016 for a 42x48 which would be ideal....we shall see ... still not so sure I am liking the rainbow look....

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The scrap flannel tumbler is beginning to take on a rainbow effect. I am not sure if I like it yet but I will keep sewing rows of 42 until I have enough and see what happens.   Making this quilt is motivating me to make more dontation rag quilts so I can get more scraps :-) ....... 

Scrap Circle Demin Quilt - Use Up Old Jeans

Below is a photo of the demin quilt with red/white squares instead of the batiks - looks much better.  Soon I will add to it and zig zag the flaps down.   I still have left over little pieces of demin - if I can't make these circles, I am making 2.5" squares. I am making the scrap tumbler flannel quilt and also cutting the leftovers into 2.5" squares.  I am thinking of a scrap flannel/denim Irish Chain  ..... at least until I think of something else to do with them. 

Circle Denim Quilt ~ Test Complete ~ Use Up Old Jeans

I grew tired of using old jeans for rag quilts plus I have way to much flannel to use up so I thought I'd try something new.  I found the idea here: http://www.straw.com/equilters/library/jeans/jeans_gallbaros.html and modified it a bit.  I pieced the squares at the same time I sewed the circles together. I used a temporary adhesive on the squares to keep them in place and it worked!   The circles are 5 1/2 " and squares 4". After I took the photo below I zig-zag'ed all the flaps down. I am debating to continue with the batik squares or instead use some red/white squares I've been saving up.  Red seems to go better with denim don't you think?  I have about 50 circle thus far and 100 squares.

Kaffe Fassett's Spring Log Cabin ~ Quilt Romance Book

I picked up the book Quilt Romance & was so drawn to the fussy cut big blooms in the center of the logs I just HAD to make this quilt ~ I am using most of the fabrics shown in the book but changed the Big Bloom fabric to red from pink.  All strips are cut and most of the center squares. 

Jamaica ~ Traditons With A Twist Quilt

Look! The quilt top is complete. I deviated from the pattern with the border a bit. I do like the aboriginal prints with this pattern.  Next weekend I'll piece the backing and send it off to the quilter as this one is too big for me to quilt.

Without borders:

With Borders:

Quilts In Progress

Like most quilters I know, I work on multiple projects at once.  I tend to hang quilts and projects in process over the upstairs balcony. 

The bargello looking pieces are top and bottom stripped piece panels. I intend on finishing the remaining two panels this weekend and maybe even the border. The pattern, Jamaica, is from the book Tradition with a Twist  Do you find it odd that I chose aboriginal fabric for a pattern called Jamaica?  I am making it for my son who likes Flamenco style ~ Does anyone have fabric suggestions for this?

The flannel tumbler block strips are rows in a scrap quilt in progress. I am using the left over flannel from rag quilts to make this quilt. I have 42 blocks in each row and will make 42 or more rows ~ thus far I only have about 350 blocks and need at least 1764.