I had to see how the spiral looked with the blocks on point so I took the extra set of blocks that I finished making yesterday and put it on the design wall. It would be a square quilt, almost too big for a wallhanging and too small for a bed. I'm not sure if I'll sew it or just take the blocks and play with other designs.
I finished the binding on this quilt yesterday. Today it is on the way to its new home.
The reuinion birthday party was so much fun. There were 16 in attendance and we all looked great!!
In quilty news I won these 3 Kaffe's on ebay and one was only $1.50, the other 2 were $2.75 and $2.76. They are 3 colors that I didn't have in those patterns. I usually lose out because some of the pieces (fat quarters) go for over $5.
Another 45 log cabin blocks ready to play with. I still have a stack to add 3 more logs onto so I'll finish them before I start designing.
Even though it got pretty warm yesterday the humidity was way down so it was a great day.
No quilty picures today. It was all dust cloth and vacuum cleaner yesterday. While I was waiting for my company to arrive I decided to put a new picture in the header. Then I thought I would just audition some of the new templates. Mistake!! I couldn't get back to my old template. I was stuck. Then I called Mel (Fibermania) and we tried to get the old one back but then I lost all of my sidebar info. Yikes!! Not fun! I clicked back on the new template and my stuff was back, whew! But I still can't get my wide template back. Mel said to wait and maybe Blogger will cooperate in a week or so. I hope so. So for now I'll enjoy my company, have fun at my reunion birthday party, and think positive.
I'm glad I was inside teaching yesterday. It was really hot and humid. My neighbors who used my garage for their garage sale (after they moved) came by and picked up their remaining items in the late afternoon. What a hot day for them to be loading a truck. They are moving to Florida so this is the kind of weather they will have down there.
I have one day to finish cleaning the house because my company comes tonight. One more day to lose 20 pounds before I see my high school classmates tomorrow. I wonder if they are all thinking the same thing.
I taught the log cabin quilt classes through our local community college's community education program. I also taught it at several quilt shops. I always had one in progress to demonstrate on so I made lots of them.
This quilt was made during the mid 1980's. At that time polyester bonded batting was the only thing the machine quilters were using. This one has double batting! It said on the wrapper that you could leave up to 10" unquilted, so we did. I was a self taught quilter from a non sewing family so I did my best with what I knew.
I think I made this one in the late 1970's when there really weren't many cotton fabrics for quilting available. We were in the poly/cotton blend era.
This quilt has 13 different fabrics in the blocks and every block is identical. The first quilt, the navy and gold one has 7 fabrics in the blocks.
I made this one in 1984 while I owned a quilt shop. I had 3 employees and we spent a lot of time choosing fabrics for log cabin and sampler quilts for ourselves and the customers.
I used 7 fabrics in the blocks and all of the blocks are identical.
I enjoy scrap/multifabric quilts more now. For years I made quilts to demo on in classes and used the fabrics that were available at the shops I taught at. I felt limited in my selection. I enjoy the freedom of working from my stash now. I like to put at least 50 different fabrics in a quilt and if I can use 100 I'm even happier. Now you can see why I don't need more than a half yard of most fabrics.
I have a scrap quilt class to teach today and tomorrow night my daughter's family will be here for 2 days. I also have a high school class reunion birthday party to go to this week. Do you think I could lose 20 pounds by Thursday? I had another pretty visitor to my flowers yesterday. I think this one is a painted lady.
Well, it is all sewn together now. It is a perfect lap size, or large wallhanging size. Borders could make it into a twin size. I'll be pondering all of those things as I go onto the next project. I achieved the look of transparency that I like so well in the old quilts. It looks like a dark sheer layer has been laid over the top of a grid of light blocks.
I have never done a log cabin on point but that would make the design element rectangular and parallel to the sides of the quilt. Another idea to put on the list of maybes........
I finished the 4 blocks needed for this layout. I have never done a spiral layout before and I have made at least 20 log cabin quilts, probably closer to 30 really. Every time I make one I know what I want to different on the next one. The blocks will finish at 9" and the strips were 1.5" wide.
Some blocks weren't a terrific combination of colors but the values~dark and light~worked well. As an all over effect I think it is very successful. I think the reason I like batiks is that they have the feeling of a watercolor painting.
I like this block better than the one above but I know the combination of all of the blocks is what makes the design successful.
I hand stitched one more side of my binding, so I have 2 sides to go. That probably means 2 more days because my thumbs are really sore.
I finished the binding on "Chocolate and Caramel" but I couldn't get a true color picture of it in the basement last night. I will wait until I bring 2 design walls upstairs for a natural light photo. Meanwhile this photo of it folded will have to do.
I got one long side hand sewn on the second quilt binding.
I also finished the 16 log cabin blocks and need just 4 more for the first quilt.
We finally got some rain yesterday. I haven't checked the rain gauge yet so I don't know how much. It is our first decent rain in a couple weeks. The only good thing about that is that the grass hasn't needed mowing.
Several people lately have asked me questions, and even though they have Google accounts, their email is not enabled. The way to do it is to go to Edit Profile, put a checkmark in front of Show my Email Address and then scroll down and SAVE. Or as an alternative I also have an email link on the right side of my blog page and and email link on my Profile page, so if you really want an answer, you can email me directly.
I got a lot done yesterday but nothing ready to take pictures of so instead here is a picture of some of my new Kaffe Fassett fabrics. I only have a few inches of binding left to hand stitch on "Chocolate and Caramel", I have 16 log cabin blocks 2/3 done. I got the rest of the binding sewn on the quilt I quilted last week. This hot weather gives me a lot of 'inside time'. Tomorrow is supposed to be the hottest day.
I saw this butterfly last week but by the time I got the camera it was gone. Yesterday it posed for me.
I didn't get a full wing spread picture.
The goldenrod is just getting ready to bloom by the Rose of Sharon.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
When I started making the log cabin blocks I made 2 alike, or almost alike. Since I have decided to make 2 or more log cabin quilts I decided to break them into 2 groups now and then continue making blocks.
There are a few blocks that are one of a kind too so I ended up with 26 in one group and 36 in the other. I need at least 54 blocks for the first quilt so I'll just continue making blocks. I'm having fun!
A butterfly on the butterfly weed!! How exciting, especially since there were hardly any butterflies last year.
It flew over to the milkweed before it took off for the back yard.
There are milkweed pods where the flower cluster was earlier this summer. The rudbeckia is blooming in the background. Now if we would just get some rain I could pull some weeds.
I was having a really relaxing day, sewing the triangles into squares.
I started in the center because it was easier to keep track of where I was.
As I took them out and sewed them into squares I transferred them to a different design wall. I could just glance back at this and figure out where the pieces that I just sewed were supposed to go.
I was making good progress...........
and even losing track of time I was enjoying this so much. And then the phone rang. It was Dad. He said he had a nosebleed and had to go to the emergency room. I went right over and could tell it wasn't a bad one and we could take care of it but he wanted to go to the ER. An hour and a half later we were picking up burgers to take back to his apt. since he had missed his evening meal (and I hadn't eaten either).
I finished sewing blocks when I got home and then started sewing rows. I was exhausted from the stress (of the ER) so I stopped after 4 rows. I can't sew the rows together until I add more to the ends of the rows since I need it to be bigger.
In case anybody out there doesn't know what Bindweed looks like, here it is wrapped around one of the tiger lily plants (center of picture).
Here is another view where you can see the ends of the vine reaching out trying to find something else to hook onto. I will go out today and snip it with scissors and start unwrapping it.
I made 16 more log cabin blocks yesterday to add to the 10 that I made on Sunday. I already had my double wall busy with another project so I couldn't transfer these blocks and add the new ones. I did change the layout on this design wall though.
This is what I started on the double design wall. One of the ladies in the QOV group had cut triangles with her Accuquilt die cutter. She just cut a variety from the donated fabric. This is the center of the new project.
A few more rounds added.............
and some more added.......
This is where I have stopped on it. I need to sew some of it together so I can estimate the finished size. If my calcuations are right, I think it will be about 42" square. I need to get it up to 55" x 65" for a QOV quilt. After I sew this I can transfer it to a single design wall to free up the double one for the log cabin quilt.
I made 10 more blocks and finished reading book 6 in the "Bones" series. I can't say I did much more than that. It was another hot day.
While I watched the 10 p.m. news I sorted through the strips in their boxes and sorted them by darks and lights so I could see what I need to cut for continuing variety. I have 2 strips of most of them so I also sorted out the single strips. Just busy work for fingers that don't like to be still.
I went outside before it got too hot yesterday and trimmed all of the low branches on the redbud trees, cut the suckers off the trunks, and cut volunteer trees. My brush pile is ready for pickup 2 weeks early. Last night I quilted this quilt. All it needed was an all over meandering pattern. Then I sewed on a test binding and pinned it to the back. I think it will work so I'll cut more strips today.
The outer round is sewn on the 12 blocks I showed yesterday so I put them up on the design wall too. It is time to transfer the blocks to one of my double design walls so I played around with some traditional layouts too.
Sunshine and shadow on the top half and straight furrows on the bottom.
Barn raising on the top and straight furrows at the bottom. I need at least 34 more blocks for the size I have in mind so I'll keep sewing a few a day.
I'm also still hand stitiching the binding on the "Chocolate and Caramel" quilt. I'm half way done.
Yesterday morning it was 60 degrees and low humidity. I put on long pants and long sleeves and went out to the front flower garden and attacked the Bindweed that was wrapping itself all around my bushes and getting into the air conditioner. If you don't know what Bindweed is, it looks like Morning Glory and in fact is called wild Morning Glory. It's a good thing I did it because it had wound itself into the air conditioner and I had to use tweezers and a piece of wire to get it out. While I watched the noon news I sewed some Bento Box blocks. I had started this when I cut kits for my class a couple months ago. I'm going to add in some of the new 2010 Kaffe fabrics. Yes, I have purchased some. Surprised???
Last night I watched the "Julie and Julia" DVD and made some more log cabin blocks. I still have to add one more round to them. I tried to convince myself that I wanted to quilt something yesterday, but piecing won out.
I finished the binding on this quilt yesterday. Today it is on the way to its new home.
