Sunday, September 15, 2024

More photos and editing................


More cutting etc. today for my destash sale this week.  I will start writing the blog post on my WandafulQuilts blog today and have it ready to post tomorrow morning.  I'm hoping to get everything sold and shipped before I get my new pacemaker on the 26th.

I found this block yesterday while looking through "stuff".  I should probably make some more of them.  I know I have a bag of small Kaffe collective scraps.

 

Saturday, September 14, 2024

Working on destash...............


 No sewing yesterday. I had one more batch of Laurel Burch fabric I had to iron before I could cut it.  Iron, cut, fold, photograph, and package.  That was my day.  I hope to have everything listed for sale on Monday.


Oh, and I also had to water the tomato plants and all of my pots.  We are in a dry spell, no rain in sight.  There are a few areas east of me that are already in the drought area.  We are in the abnormally dry area and will soon also be in the drought area.

Friday, September 13, 2024

Some blue choices...................


I decided to look for some Kaffe collective dark blue fabrics to go with the light triangles.  Most of the darker blue fabrics have other colors in them so I tried to choose ones that had a larger percentage of blue.  One of these is a Brandon Mably fabric and the rest are Kaffe's designs.


I think the one at the top left is Kaffe's and the rest are designed by Philip Jacobs.  I will probably look for a couple more light blue fabrics too and then I'll be ready for cutting.




I had 2 dishcloths almost done so I finished them while I watched Who Wants to be a Millionaire.  I had missed a couple episodes over the summer and last night's episode had millionaire winners.  They were teams of 2 for this season.

Thursday, September 12, 2024

Some things I found..................


I did my grocery run yesterday morning and I couldn't settle on doing any one thing the rest of the day.  I started going through things in a bookcase and found these 2 magazines, from 1997 and 1998.  The Beanie Babies at that time were so hard to find because everyone was buying them.  I have given all of my Beanie Babies to the great-grandchildren, a few at a time.  It is so hard to throw pristine magazines into the recycling bin (but I sure don't need these).


Then I was cleaning out a bin on a shelf in my studio and found this box of Kaffe Fassett thread that is too pretty to use.  Pathetic, I know.





Next I was looking through the project boxes in a little shelf unit made especially for the boxes.  I know I started cutting these triangles before May 2011 because that is when I bought my Studio die cutter. From that time on I cut the triangles with a die, and the corners are nipped off the triangles on the die.  These triangles have sharp points so they were rotary cut.  I'm really not interested in this color group any more, rust, purple, green and gold.


Then I decided to open the box of blue and green 6" triangles.  This is the same box the pink (pink/gray quilt) triangles were in.  There were a few squares already sewn, leftover from my pink/blue triangle quilt so I laid out a pinwheel block.



The rest of the blues in the box could be considered light fabrics so I could cut some 6" triangles from dark blues to pair with them and make a quilt top.





I decided to sort through the greens while the box was open and then it was late and time for bed.  Not a wasted day, just a day of miscellaneous.

 

Wednesday, September 11, 2024

First finish for September 2024...............


The name of the free pattern I used was Spa Quads and I think that had something to do with the fabric line they designed it for.  I need to come up with a new way to refer to it.  Graffiti comes to mind but it's not quite what I want.

It is 59" x 79" and has Hobbs 80/20 batting in it.  All of the fabrics, front, back, and binding are from e Bond's fabric lines (I believe there are 3 lines: Glyphs, Ravel, and Root).


This pattern was perfect for large prints.

 

Tuesday, September 10, 2024

Trimmed...................


I started out yesterday morning by baking a rhubarb cake.  It will be my breakfast for a few days.

Then I went to the basement and trimmed the quilt from a free pattern called Spa Quads and made with 3 lines of e Bond's fabrics.  I chose the black print for the binding because it is one I didn't use in the quilt top.  I am planning on doing this binding all by machine.

In the afternoon I started ironing all of the Laurel Burch fabrics.  Now I can start cutting them into fabric packs for a destash sale.  Saturday I had sorted through all of them and pulled everything smaller than a half yard and put them in my pile to keep.  I will have to have at least a half yard if I'm going to cut fat quarters.  

Monday, September 9, 2024

More Kaffe fabric..............


Sometimes I order the 6" rolls of the new Kaffe collective fabrics, especially when I think there might be a few I want to order but I want to see them first.  There are 20 fabrics in a roll.

This year they were labeled Cool and Hot.  This photo is most of the ones in the cool pack.  There were a couple I might have to have more of.


These 3 were also in the pack but I have already purchased a half yard of each of them.  I'm always happy when they have fabrics that read as one color prints.




This is the Hot group and there aren't any I would order from this group but I have a 6" strip in case I need one of them.





These 2 are possibilities that I may have to buy.  The one on the bottom is a really large print and very pretty in a few of the colors.  It is a Philip Jacobs fabric.


Pink trends (from yesterday's post) were discussed in a few of the comments yesterday and in emails.  One mentioned it was Mamie Eisenhower's favorite color and I had forgotten that.  In the 1950s my grandma talked my grandpa into pink wool carpeting for their living room and my mother painted our kitchen pink.  My 1954 house has pink ceramic tile in the bathroom.  Someone mentioned a revival of the pink/gray, maybe in the 1980s.  I'm not sure what year but I do remember that.  Now the pink is all Barbie pink after the movie came out.  For all of us who love pink we don't need to wait for a reason to use it.

Sunday, September 8, 2024

Memories - 1956................


Sometimes when I cut too many pieces they are a burden.  I spend too many hours trying to figure out what to do with them.  In this case I had gone to the bin with all of the Kaffe "Spot" fabrics and saw a good size piece of this gray/white one.  I had just opened the box with the leftover pink, blue, and green 6"  triangles a day or so before.  This one was meant to be.  I counted the pink triangles (170) and then figured out how many gray/white triangles I could cut out of the piece I had (2 1/2 yards=144 triangles).  I don't know why I had such a large piece of the dotted fabric; it must have been in a really good sale.  This top is 66" x 79".  There are several Tula Pink fabrics in this top as well as Kaffe collective fabrics.

The combination of pink and gray immediately reminded me of the pink/gray trend in 1956.  The guys dressed in gray wool suits with pink dress shirts for all dress up occasions.  It was also the time of the pink felt circle skirts with a gray poodle on them, commonly just called the poodle skirt.

Saturday, September 7, 2024

Sewn, ready for pressing................


The top is sewn as of 9:30 last night.  I'll press it and photograph it today.  I just love the pink and gray combination.  Now I'm not unhappy I overcut the number of pink triangles I needed for the previous 2 quilts.  It made this one a fast project.


I always pre-order some new Kaffe fabrics that come out in February and end of August.  This one is my favorite so I got 1 yard of it.





This was my next favorite so I got a little of each color.



 

Friday, September 6, 2024

Slow going...............


There are 12 cross seams to sew and I didn't get very far yesterday.  I finished the seams in the first direction in the morning and then started the cross seams last night.  Three of twelve are sewn.  I spent a couple hours yesterday looking for something that doesn't want to be found.


I have two more quilts ready for trimming and binding.  The one on the right will be done all by machine so it will probably get done first.

This week is the Sandwich Fair (DeKalb County fair) and the weather is cooperating nicely.  Today is supposed to only be mid 60s after 80s yesterday and I think a lot of people will enjoy the cool down.


 

Thursday, September 5, 2024

Sewing started..................


I have 6 of the 11 columns webbed together.  I should be able to finish the top today.






If you want a preview of the quilts in Kaffe's new book Quilts on an English Farm you can go to Glorious Color's website shop  because she offers kits for lots of them.  Click on 'Kaffe Fassett Quilt fabric packs by book' and then click on the book title.  If you click on each photo it will enlarge a little.  The photos are a little dark so the ones in the book are prettier.

 

Wednesday, September 4, 2024

Final layout.......................



 

This is just a quick photo of the final layout of this pink and gray quilt.  It is my insurance in case I mix up some of the fabrics when sewing.  I decided it didn't make any difference if the dotted fabrics  were all turned the same direction.  If you look closely you can still see some dots run in straight rows and some in staggered rows, but this is a fast fun quilt.  I decided the pinks would just be scattered in a random way.  It will be a throw quilt.  I have the rows clipped and ready to sew.


This book arrived yesterday.  I have only scanned quickly through it as I had other things I needed to do yesterday.

Tuesday, September 3, 2024

143 blocks........................


The last 32 pink triangles were cut yesterday and sewn to a dotted triangle.  I can see now that the dots are printed in straight rows along one grain and staggered rows on the other grain.  I will have to be careful when I do the layout to keep them all going the same direction.  A few of the prints are Tula Pink designs and they are one way designs.  I hope this doesn't become a nightmare.  I will design it on a double design wall in the basement while I do laundry today.

Monday, September 2, 2024

Triangles.................


Not much happened here yesterday.  We had beautiful weather and it was a good day for relaxing.

I have 111 of 143 triangles squares sewn, none pressed yet.  I need to cut a few more pink triangles to continue.  I was able to get 144 6" triangles out of 2 1/2 yards of the grey and white dotted fabric that is paired with a variety of pinks, leftovers from 2 other projects. 


I rarely buy panels with Marcia Derse panels being the exception.  This one could be cut up in used in many blocks or maybe as a section of a backing.  Meanwhile I'm just enjoying looking at it. 

 

Sunday, September 1, 2024

August 2024 Monthly recap............................

"

 I had 4 finishes in August.  Pink Hearts and 4 Patches is 59" x 76".  The top was finished in February 2023.  Printed cottons and batiks.

Fonthill, my interpretation of a Kaffe quilt by the same name, is 62.5" x 75".  The top was finished in July 2023. It is at least half batik fabrics in the 2" triangles, and a mix of lots of other print fabrics.  Many are Kaffe collective fabrics.

The Square Within, Karla Alexander's name for the original quilt, is 51" x 73".  Kaffe collective and Martha Negley fabric.  The top was completed in October 2022.

Neutral Triangles and Checkerboard is 49" x 65".  It is all batik fabrics and the top was completed in January 2023.

All of these were quilted by Robin Diaz.


Two quilt tops were completed.  Neutral Batik 16 patch is 72" x 96".  The blocks were made in 2018.

Single Irish Chain is made of fabrics by designer Terrie Mangat.  The simple pattern with large blocks was perfect to showcase the wild fabrics.  I am slowly cutting another quilt with these fabrics.


When I got my mail yesterday I noticed the shaggy center Red Coneflower has lots of new buds and several new blooms.  I don't water this garden much because perennials are pretty hardy.  The old blooms had started drying up and I figured it was done for the season.  Then we got over 4" of rain in several storms combined and it came back.  This photo is in bright sunshine (and not so great) and I meant to go back out when it was in the shade and take another photo.  Maybe on another day.

Thanks to everyone who spoke up to help me with a decision on the Laurel Burch fabrics.  I was surprised by how many said half yards.  Only about 5 of the fabrics are several yards, the rest all half and full yards with a few 2 yard pieces.  I hadn't considered fat quarters, was thinking straight quarters.  Most of the prints are small to medium, only about a fourth of them are large prints.  Here is a quilt I made with some of the prints.


This is a baby quilt and the largest pieces are only about 4" x 7.5".  It is made with 7" squares and 4.5" strips and after assembly the blocks are cut off center in both directions, pieces shuffled, and sewn back together.  The quilt is about 48" square.  

I will start measuring the fabrics and try to decide how to sell them.  The first thing I need to do is to cut a piece off all of the ones I want to keep.  The rest will be sold.