Using Scraps - July ALYoF Goal

How do you feel about fabric scraps? Do you love them, do you hate them, or are you indifferent towards them? In this day and age of a "throw away" mentality I like to look at my fabric as every scrap being precious and they challenge me to use them up :o) Now, before we go any further, let me give you my definition of a "fabric scrap." A scrap is any piece of fabric which is so small it can no longer be folded and stored with cuts of fabric (fat quarters, half yard cuts, and larger.)

I use an over-the-door shoe organizer to sort and store scraps

Somewhere online I discovered this idea to use an over-the-door shoe organizer for keeping scraps sorted by color. I've been using this method for about a year-and-a-half now and it works great for me. I try to make it a personal goal not to accumulate too many scraps so that each individual pouch cannot contain it's color. If you look at the top row you can see the neutral fabrics pouches are getting a bit too full. Thus setting the stage for a good scrap-using project :o)

Here's the background for my scrap busting project: My local quilt guild, Winchester Modern Quilters, has recently started a fun guild activity...a Row by Row quilt. We are each making our own quilts using our own fabric, and it can be any size. Each member wrote a word or phrase on a scrap of paper (ie. stars, flowers) and we put them all into a bowl. Then, each month we pull out a word and use it as an inspiration to make a row for a quilt. It is completely up to each quilter how she wants to interpret the word. 

I am getting a bit behind on this quilt because I was away on a trip so now two inspirational words/phrases have been selected: stars, and girls night out. Therefore, my July ALYoF Goal (A Lovely Year of Finishes) is to complete my two rows for this quilt. I am going to be working from my scraps. First up is the row of stars.

I pulled my fabrics and organized them into piles. I will be making (6) six inch 8-Point Star blocks. I could not find a tutorial/pattern for the particular star I had in mind so I used Microsoft Word Drawing toolbar to create my own paper piecing pattern.

8-Point Star Block - front

8-Point Star Block - Back

Here's what the back looks like with the paper pieces still attached. This is really a simple star to make and the paper piecing ensures nice, perfectly formed points.

Once the star blocks are complete I have to represent "Girls night out" as a quilt row. I have a couple ideas floating around in my head, but I'd love to hear any suggestions you might offer. If you have an idea please leave it for me in the Comments :o)

I'm linking up with the July Goals Party over at Sew Bittersweet Designs & Fiber of All Sorts. My scrappy quilt rows is entry No. 78. You should pop on over there and check out some of the other great projects going on this month!

Quilts and Color

Recently I was blessed to be able to take a trip up New England. It was one of the best vacation trips I've ever taken and I cherish each day. One of the highlights of my trip was a visit to the Quilts and Color exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston with my aunt & uncle and friends.

Here is a short narrative from the museum introducing the exhibit, "Quilts and Color presents more than sixty graphically bold American quilts from the Pilgrim/Roy collection, one of the finest and largest collections of quilts in the world."

Wow! How to describe this exhibit...it was amazing...inspirational...and gave strong evidence to how the roots of quilting are really not so very different than what quilters are making today...be that traditional, contemporary, and even modern style quilts. 

We had no idea the collector, Gerald Roy, was going to be leading a narrated tour of the exhibit that day...what a treat! I tried to get a picture of him, but flash photography was not permitted and none of my photographs of Mr. Roy turned out. 

Here is just a small sample of the beautiful quilts on display at the museum:

Bunches of Grapes. Ohio about 1875

In this Bunches of Grapes applique numerous design elements {Optical Illusions} come and go from your focus on the quilt: The individual blocks with four bunches of grapes, the green circles formed by the leaves, and the large off-white diamonds created by the negative space. When I look at this quilt my eyes are in constant motion all over the top and don't really find one individual spot to settle down on.

Thousand Pyramids. Amish; Holmes County, Ohio, about 1930

Many of the featured quilts, such as Thousand Pyramids, exhibited sophisticated use of color and design {Harmony}. Mr. Roy pointed out that these quilts were made by accomplished women who understood the intricate details of fine design such as selecting a mix of fabrics that stand out or recede, and careful attention to placement. In our day and age these same women would probably be accountants, doctors, architects, and engineers (his words, not mine.)

Center Medallion Tied Child's Comforter, Missouri, 1910

Looking at this wool medallion quilt (note the bold orange ties!) one would think it was straight from an Instagram, flickr, or blog feed, and yet it was made 104 years ago! This quilt happens to be my favorite from the exhibit and falls into the {Singular Vision} grouping. This grouping features quilt makers who..."audaciously employed unconventional colors, materials, or techniques to make their individual statements." I can guess that this particular quilt was quite unconventional for 1910 both in the color choices, the design of the top, and the color choice for the ties. It's brilliant!

I hope you enjoyed this mini tour of the Quilts and Color exhibit. If you find yourself with the opportunity to go see this exhibit be sure to seize it :o)

~Quotes come from the Quilts and Color museum program. 

Little Lone Star and other June Adventures

June has been a busy month with the school year drawing to a close and a much anticipated trip to New England. I was not sure just how much time I'd be able to devote to sewing so I made sure I set my June ALYoF (A Lovely Year of Finishes) goal very do-able. Previously I'd stitched together a little lone star using English paper piecing, however it sat for more than a year waiting for the background pieces to be attached. So, my goal for June was to get the background attached so the star would be finished.

 

Now I love it more than ever. Quite a while ago I purchased a half yard of the Etchings print by 3 Sisters just to stash. As I was looking through my fabrics for background for this patriotic lone star it stood out as the perfect choice. I'm so happy to be using this lovely fabric on something I really like :o) I'm not sure what the next step will be for this little lone star...will I just leave it this size and turn it into a wall hanging, or will more be added? I'm going to hang it on my design wall and look at it for awhile to see where inspiration leads.

 

I always think it's fun to see what the back of a quilt top looks like, so here's how the back of Little Lone Star looks. The paper templates are still basted in...I have to admit I like the back as much as the front! I'm linking this post up to the June Finishes Party over at Sew Bittersweet Designs.

So, what else have I been doing this month? I'm so glad you asked because I have a couple fun things to share :o) 



I have a dear aunt & uncle who are so special to me and they enjoy birding. So, back in January I bought this sweet bundle of Charley Harper organic cotton fabric thinking these prints would make a super fun Jane Market Bag. One of my favorite "happy accidents" is the little Nuthatch peaking out from under the strap :o) If you've never made one of these bags I absolutely give it high scores for a well written, great pattern. There are a lot of options for adding custom touches, too. I like to top stitch the seams and add a strip of trim fabric across the top of the pockets. I also added featherweight interfacing to both the straps and the lining. The pattern does not call for interfacing, but I like the bit of structure it adds. On a previous bag I used a heavyweight (Pellon 809) interfacing which made the bag stand on it's own. 

Before leaving on my trip to New England I prepped a couple of hand work projects to take along for quiet moments here and there. I've made some progress on the hand stitched Flickering Stars pillow. 

2010 Issue of Sew Scrappy, Volume 1

This is the first of four stars. Again, I think it is so informative to see what the back looks like so here's a picture of this block being sewn together.

I grow to love hand sewing more with each new project. It is so relaxing and not at all hard to be precise in matching up star points and seams. In this picture you can see the pencil lines used to mark the stitching lines. Accurate pinning on these lines is the key. I learned a lot about hand piecing from one of my students at school ;o) She was in 7th grade and had a lot of experience with hand piecing. She explained how to stitch all the way around the seam allowances when joining rows together - it works beautifully!

June was a productive month in the sewing room. I'd love to hear about what you've been working on :o) 

Summer handwork {sewing & crochet}

Something about summer just makes me want to do handwork. Whether it's sewing or crochet it's just so relaxing to have a portable project to take outside. Last week I reached into my unfinished projects and pulled out my English paper pieced Lone Star and got started with adding the background fabric. I knew it wouldn't take me very long to get it done, and in fact it's almost finished. I'm getting ready to take a trip and have been searching for something to take with me for some down time. So...I guess I'll just have to start a new hand piecing project to take along...darn :o)



A couple years ago I bought this magazine, Sew Scrappy, by Better Homes & Gardens. I've looked through it many times - there are some really great scrap quilts in it. I've had my eye on a few of them...just waiting for the right "need" to come along :o)



This quilt, Autumn Twilight, really caught my eye! I've always been drawn to stars. I don't need a quilt, but I do need new covers for the pillows on our couch. The current covers fell victim to a teething puppy quite a while ago...we've just been living with them. I'm thinking four stars per side will do nicely for new covers. 



Temptation is always there to go out and buy new supplies, but I've got more than enough fabric to meet the needs of most any small project so I've reaching into my stash instead. My plan is to go with an assortment of red stars {the center one with the curling ribbons may not make the cut} and use the low volume cream for the background fabric. 



This is my little hand sewing kit. It's all stocked up ready to begin the pillow covers. I made the square and triangle templates from scraps of cardboard I keep on hand. The pattern in the magazine calls for 6" finished blocks, but I resized my hand stitched blocks to finish at 10" in order to fit the 20" couch pillows. 



I believe I'll also take along some sock yarn to get started with a new pair of socks. Ever since I made these mean-green hunting socks for my brother-in-law I've been wanting to make a pair like them for myself. I like the toe section from one pattern, and the heel section from another pattern. For the foot and ankle I'll probably follow what I made up for my brother-in-law's socks. 

I do believe that between these two projects I'll have enough handwork to last me through a summer of enjoying time outside on the deck. How about you? Do you like to fill your summer with any handwork projects? If so, I'd love to hear about them :o)

A Bit of Paper Piecing for June ALYoF

Well, as is evidenced by now the month of May got the better of me and I did not have a "finish" for my May Lovely Year of Finishes goal. Sometimes reality steps in and it calls for an honest assessment of what really can be accomplished. While I enjoy doing machine applique completing four borders is going to be a long-term undertaking. 

So, that brought me to the current month...June. Should I just continue on with the same goal and try to bring the borders to completion? Looking at the calendar and all that it contains I'm seeing a lot of time away from my sewing machine in June so I'm thinking a hand sewing project is more appropriate for June. Not wanting to begin anything new (well, I really do want to begin something new, but I'm not going to!) I came across my English Paper pieced Lone Star.



This star is waiting for the setting squares and triangles to be added so it is a complete block. It just so happens I even have the paper templates all cut out and ready to use. The background fabric for this patriotic Lone Star is going to be Etchings by 3 Sisters.



I've been holding on to this lovely Etchings fabric just waiting for just the right project to put it to use. It will be perfect with the Lone Star!

I'm linking up with the June Goals Party over at Sew Bittersweet Designs & Fiber of All Sorts. My Lone Star is entry No. 91. You should pop on over there and check out some of the other great projects going on this month!


Meanwhile, happy stitching!

A Little Bit of Quilt Market Came to Me!

Well how much fun can one girl have on a Friday afternoon? After a long day at school {spent mostly looking at a computer screen} I stopped by my LQS, The Scrappy Apple, on the way home...as is my usual Friday routine. It just so happened the Moda fabric rep. was there and my friend, Kelley, was placing orders for Fall fabric deliveries. Kelley asked me to look at the upcoming fabric lines and help pick out what to order! Can you believe it :o) Gosh there is beautiful fabric coming out this Fall!

I'd seen pictures of many of the fabric lines from all of the IG #quiltmarket postings and blog posts, so it was super fun to see them in person. Digital pictures just don't do the beautiful fabrics justice.

It seems kinda funny to write a blog post and have no pictures to go with it, but I don't feel I can legally post any since I do not have pictures of my own. Instead, I'm going to direct you to some I've found online. Hope you enjoy!

• Modern Building Blocks kit featuring Moda Bella Solids...this just may be my very favorite! I've already committed to buying this one!!
  
• Aurifil thread and quilt kits. These sweet kits contain spools of Aurifil thread, a package of coordinating Moda precuts, and a quilt pattern. So cute!!
  
• Moda's Future Groups of fabrics...take a few minutes to browse and enjoy...such prettiness! 

Kelley said the next time the Moda rep. is scheduled she will call me to come in and help her again...I can't wait! Maybe I can take a few pictures to share...