Still Attacking the UFOs!

The beginning of another quilt which will be pretty long using these 4 leftover stack and whack blocks from very  very early on in my stack and whack history.  Have no idea where the original quilt is!

Here it is done with the blue strips from my large collection of strips.  They are darker than they appear here.  The quilt is about 40 x 65.  

I finally decided to divide up the Baltimore album leftovers into three quilts plus 3 pillows.  Each of the 3 quilts will be in this format and should be fairly long.  The ones I saved for the pillows are the fancier ones with lots of applique.  I was finding it hard to give them away in charity quits.  You can see I used more of the strips here and it was definitely a pain to cut these!

Here I was auditioning what fabrics I would use to frame these red and green blocks.  I wanted a fabric with both red and green in it and not a Christmas fabric!  I decided to go with the lowest one which is a wild abstract -- a fabric I really like but seem to have bought more than once!  I will use the red and green with the huge flowers as backing.  The tulips go back to the stash to back a smaller quilt.  

I still have to decide the fate of 3 more of these blocks.

 

Attacking the UFOs

We had a request from one of the RAFA members to contribute 6 inch square pieces to her for a charity here in Rochester called Empty Bowls where potters make bowls which are auctioned.  She is making some kind of wall hanging to go with the auction.  I utilized some very small pieces of leftover painted fabrics to make my bowls.  I had held onto these pieces, wondering what I would ever do with them as they were small and there weren't many.  Seemed like a good  use.  Each one is appliqued, batted and zig-zagged around the outside.

I decided to only use the Baltimore Album blocks instead of including the birds as they just were dwarfed.  I settled on this arrangement and then decided again to take the three more complex blocks and make pillows from them and then use the remaining 9 blocks in groups of 3, 4 or 5 to make the medallion type quilts which I have made with some of the other leftover blocks.  They follow!

Here is the first one completed.  It measures 42 x 60 inches and will be donated.  It is made up of 4 leftover stack and whack blocks and the columns are made up of fabric that I pieced, cut and recut and then never  used for any project but thought it was perfect for this.

I really liked how this one turned out!  It is made up of a runner I made to show some ladies how to do disappearing 9-patches.  I utilized a bunch of my marbled fabrics for the squares and the border is made from the huge pile of the strip yardage I made from leftover blue fabrics many years ago.

It measures 38 x 65 and I might just keep this one!  I found some perfect fabric for backing both of these quilt tops.

 

UFOs

I decided not to start any new projects for now as it would probably just be another stack and whack!  I have a box of excess blocks, UFOs, sewn together strips and other miscellaneous projects.  I did a cursory look through the box and pulled out a bunch of square blocks and some projects from long ago!

This was a runner that I did when showing a group of women how to do a disappearing 9 patch.  I didn't care for it as it was just too dark so never finished it.  I decided to incorporate it into a quilt with cuts from those huge sets of strips that I have.  Here is auditioning to see how it would look with the strips interspersed with white or off-white.  It's a go.

This was a combination of several leftover stack and whack blocks for a quilt I once completed (and I have no idea where it might be!).  I decided to combine it with some pieces that I cut up some time ago from another quilt that didn't make it.  I was going to use them in combination with some bird blocks I had bought for practically nothing from a guild member.  I will add some white and probably some solids strips to make it wide enough for a quilt.

This is my conundrum though!  I made this 40 x 40 inch top in a Nancy Crow class in 1992 -- yes 30 years ago when I found it even more difficult to leave the "block" concept in quilting.  It is made up of 25 of these blocks.  I would love to find a use for it and would donate it for a baby quilt but it may just be too ugly.  I am going to surround it with a dark border in hopes that will bring it a little bit together.  Currently it has a pale yellow border (not shown).  Is there any hope?

This was easily the most shocking discovery!  I had 13 blocks leftover from a Baltimore Album quilt started 40 years ago and finished about 5 years ago.  The 2 center blocks are the bird blocks and I think they have to go as they just look lost.  I have 2 more unfinished blocks and 1 that is slightly stained with red splotch.  I am thinking I am somehow going to resurrect two of these three and put them in the middle.  One thing I did decided, however, was to use the "quilt as you go" method to quilt this quilt.  This was a relief as I didn't want to hand quilt this one. (I did hand quilt the original).  One of the blocks is really from another class I took some time ago but it blends okay with the Baltimore Album blocks.

 

My Baltimore Album Style Quilt is Finally Done After a Mere Thirty Years!

Well, it is finally done!  If I get truly inspired, I may add some more ruched roses in the border but don't hold your breath!!  It is 90 inches x 90 inches but may never find its way to a bed!  It was hard to find a place to even take a picture!!  My fingers are still chewed up from all the hand quilting.  However, that whole cloth quilt top that has been sitting in my closet for years might be the project of the year for next year's trip south as I do like having a quilt to hand quilt.  All my early quilts were hand quilted but the past few years that has changed -- mostly because the type of quilts I do has changed a lot!!  

This is a closeup of one corner where  you can see the ruched flowers and the hand quilting.  Note to self:  don't add applique after your whole quilt is finished including the hand quilting!

When I started quilting almost 40 years ago now, I thought I would be doing hand and machine applique and took my first quilting class just because I thought I couldn't call myself a quilter unless I knew the basics of piecing!!!  I always tell people to try anything as they never ever know what they will like.  It was advice I gave my kids when they went off to college as well encouraging them to try a bit of everything.  My first dyeing class was taken just because I had to choose three classes to enable me to get into an Elly Sienkievicz class taught at a local venue 30 years ago!!  

 Here are the remaining four quilts that will be in the Genesee Valley Quilt Show next weekend.  You can see how eclectic my quilting is.  This uses fused applique and machine quilting techniques and contains my hand dyed fabrics.  Called Colin Deconstructed.

 This is one of my many Serendipity quilts called Snowflakes.  It is machine pieced and machine quilted.

This of course is my Serengeti Lions drafted from a picture my daughter took in Africa her last trip.  It is totally machine pieced and machine quilted and contains my hand dyed fabrics.  Pictoral quilts are really my favorites so maybe I am not as far from my origins as you might think!

Another of the Serendipity quilts from Sara Nephew's books.  This one is called Calypso because of the colors.

 The snowy winter was wonderful for our azaleas which were more colorful than I have ever seen them!

 Dear Husband planted this fragrant lilac in our yard this spring!

 He has also been purchasing more and more hibiscus which we cart down to NC each winter.  I think the van will only have space for plants this next trip.... I do like this white one though!

Our neighbors have planted these beautiful tree peonies and I got some pictures just as they unfurled!

 Another of the new hibiscus plants.  

Purse Making Weather Has Finally Gone!

I think there are still two missing but these are most of the puses I have made over the past couple of weeks.  The weather had been cooler than normal and I am babysitting kitties so have spent more than the usual amount of time indoors.  I have had a wonderful time making all these purses, putting extra zippers in a lot of them.  I am going to combine a lot of the techniques and come up with my own purse design.  At this point I feel pretty "purse literate".  

I am very very happy to report that I finished all the quilting on the inside of the Baltimore Album style quilt.  Most of these blocks are from various Elly Sienkiewicz books.  I still have four or five more blocks to find a use for.  I am doing lines parallel to the vine in the border outside.  Lines will be about an inch apart.  I wanted something different for the outside and something more organic.  Now just have to finish the corners.  The quilting in the border is going quickly so I will probably have it done for our quilt show in June!

I think the Mourning Doves are pairing up.  I believe they mate for life.  These two were hanging out on a gorgeous day down at Ft. Fisher.

I couldn't resist this Laughing Gull who was meandering right in front of me.

In the winter, the Ring Billed Gull was the most common one down here but now it is the above Laughing Gull.  Everyone is moving north I guess!

My Oystercatchers were down at the beach but I couldn't get anywhere near them -- they remain my favorites though!

The next few days are the Azalea Festival down here and luckily I have a friend coming from up north so I will have an excuse to get involved in some of the festivities!  Our first trip will be the Nature Conservancy Tour on Bald Head Island though!!  Hopefully we will see something interesting!

Quilt Progress Before the Guests Come

The mola quilt is coming along nicely and I have the patterns drafted for the four corners.  These will be the half Mariner's Compass blocks that are in the book just drafted a bit bigger.  Haven't auditioned the fabrics that will go in them though -- probably turquoise, the bright green, orange and yellow with the black background of course.

 I have been diligently (up until a few nights ago)  been working on the grid quilting in the Baltimore Album style quilt.  It is slow going but I am seeing progress finally.  My approach was to quilt from the outside in.  I was able to mark the grid on the green border fabric and then I mark on the intersections of the blocks.  Then I take the 1/4 inch wide masking tape and make the long rows and quilt away.  I first worked all the way around the outside and then went around again a row in and think I may have it past the halfway point.  The marking and quilting has been going faster until recently.

 Just another view of the bottom row with my one rather obvious  mistake as the green block is in upside down.  There is a little basket in the middle of the block that is the giveaway!  Maybe that will keep people from seeing the wonky nature of some of the gridded quilting!!

Yet another closeup.  Although the rows are somewhat wonky, I do quilt with very small stitches and the front is white cotton sateen so lovely to quilt through with the wool batting and the sheen shows up the quilting.  I don't want to do the grid in the border so will have to decide what to do there.

Unfortunately I managed to strain my neck a few days ago so have been pretty much stalled on everything as I am spending much of my time with first ice packs and now heat.  It is improving but probably a few more days before I dare do any of the focused quilting activities although I am pretty sure that was not the root cause as I hadn't done it the day before but who knows.  I finally managed to get a decent night of sleep even waking up three or four times.  At least I was able to go back to sleep last night which had eluded me for about three days!  With some luck I will get the Baltimore Album style quilt done for our quilt show!

Bags and Birds

Well, I have made a lot of these Market Bags in the past following the pattern.  However, my oldest daughter says they are just too small so I decided to measure the bags she had and make some more to her liking.  Of course the original bag nicely fits on a yard of fabric without any messing around.  Needless to say, adding two inches to each dimension takes a bit more fabric!  Of course, all I had were assorted half yard pieces that I had grabbed to bring down to the beach with me so I did my best and did by a little fabric for the lining of two of the four bags I cut out.  These don't stand up quite as well as the original bags.  I had to use two different fabrics as they really take about 1 1/4 yards with the new measurements for each bag.  These two are flying as I write out to Seattle for my younger daughter (no, my kids don't ever read my blog so it is safe!)  I do like the new size (14 inches x 16 inches x 8 inches).  The only measurement that stayed the same was the 8 inches!  I also changed the handles to come out of the top between the lining and bag rather than attached to the sides as they are in the original.  Really, the only thing left of the original pattern is the reverse French seams, a treatment I really like!

I also made a "Potato Chip Bag" (Pattern name) making the straps much, much shorter for my 3 1/2 year old granddaughter -- I thought it looked about the right size for her.  Hopefully she will like it.

I finally finished all the quilting and the binding on the fourth of the "serendipity" quilts I have made.  This is one of my favorites and has been claimed by my oldest daughter but first I think I will enter it into our quilt show next spring.  I am very happy with how it turned out even though you really can't see the quilting (and there is a lot of it).  It is about 76 inches by 56 inches.

Hopefully you can see some of the quilting in this closeup of one of the center blocks.

I have started the long process of hand quilting the background of the Baltimore Album style quilt.  I am doing the classic mattress padding in 1" grid.  Hopefully, I will get this done.  It is fairly easy quilting and sateen is very nice to quilt through so maybe....    

 There haven't been any new birds at Carolina Beach Lake (well, the weather has been a bit nasty until today) but this is a female Scaup and there seem to be quite a few of both males and females, Greater and Lesser there each day.

This is the male scaup and you can see a little of the irridescence on his head here.  The Ruddy Ducks, Long Tailed Duck, Grebes,  Buffleheads, Cormorants and Coots are all there as well as the mallards.  I am missing seeing the Northern Shovelers though!

I am looking forward to my new camera for Christmas though -- just a slight upgrade with a few more megapixels to crop down!  These pictures have all been taken with my little Canon point and shoot with the 35x optical zoom recommended by Lillian Stokes!  It's ability to get some of the longer range pictures does  compensate for being so much slower than the SLR!

I'm Back and So Are My Coots (American Coots, That Is)

The first of my American Coots are back at Carolina Beach Lake.  Last year the first day I saw them, there were ten.  This year there are nine but the count seems too double almost daily until they reach a flock of about a 100 that winter over down here in southeastern North Carolina.  Hopefully soon I will see more of the winter visitors!  It went down to just short of freezing last night which was almost a record cold but still nice enough this morning to drink my coffee out on the porch in the bright sunshine.  Last year was exceptionally mild and hopefully this year won't be too cold.

I took a lot of pictures of this beautiful Great Egret who was fishing in the Lake.  There are a lot of fish there and I was surprised I haven't seen the birds feasting there before.  He didn't seem to mind me taking his picture too much.

I just thought this was a nice picture so didn't put it in the collage!

The Yellow Bellied Sliders have come out of the water to sun which means the water is getting cooler. You don't see them in the warmer weather.

Most of the butterflies have headed south but I have been seeing Monarchs lately including this one that was on one of our palm fronds.  I always keep a camera next to me when I am out on the third floor  porch so that if I see something interesting, I don't miss it.

At LJ's, I sat out on her screened in porch with her kitties and read and took pictures.  This is through a screen and I believe is a Hairy Woodpecker.  I also saw Cardinals and another Yellow Rumped Warbler but the screen just blurred them too much!

 This is one of Lisa's handsome kitties (Paka) who was instrumental in me not getting as much quilting done at her house as I would have liked.  Kitties just love to sit in the middle of quilting hoops.  He just looked at me a purred!  Other times he just plopped on my shoulder and purred in my ear.

Despite kitties, I have made a lot of progress and have 17 out of the 25 motifs quilted around.  Now to get the final 8 done, do the border quilting and then the background (I still have to figure out how to mark that as it will just be straight lines).  The quilting really makes the appliqued motifs pop out.

Maybe if we have some of the predicted rain, I will get some of the machine quilting done on another king sized quilt.  It is going very slowly because of machine problems and weather much too nice to spend much time inside!!

I Do Wish I Had Brought My Dyes and Some White Fabric With Me...

I am actually doing some quilting down here finally -- both machine and hand quilting.  This pictures shows the first block I have outline quilted.  There are 25 blocks and I will hand quilt around each of the appliqued pieces and then I will fill in the white background with cross hatch.  I started this quilt probably 30 years ago and all the blocks were done probably in those first five years.  They sat in a box but over the past couple of years I have sewn the blocks together, then appliqued a border (last winter's hand project), and finally pin basted it and am now hopefully going to finish all the quilting this winter.

 This is the first of the quilts I am machine quilting.  Right now I am just straight stitching in the ditch up and down and then cross wise which will effectively outline all the triangles in the quilt.  I will probably  add some additional quilting in the centers of the hexagons but we shall see.  This is a king sized quilt which is destined for the master here which has soft blue walls.  This is one of the few quilts I made for a specific bed!

However, it occurred to me the other night that I have the ideal setup here for doing ice dyeing!!!  Why I didn't think of this before is sad.  I have this wonderful refrigerator here that not only dispenses ice cubes forever but also crushes ice for you as well.  So I could just fill a bucket from my fridge!!  However, I didn't bring any dye or white fabric.  However, if I do find some at Joanns, there may be the first dyeing in NC done while I am down here.  I don't want to make any big investments in fabric or dyes but who knows.....

 The weather has been a little iffey the past couple of days (thus the machine quilting finally) but I did get to the secret beach.  Warren insisted (I ran into him on the beach) that there were no "critters" but that is only because he didn't look too hard!!  My everpresent Ruddy Turnstones were busy as usual as well as the other common visitors (Sanderlings, Willets and Laughing Gulls).

 This is the beach at low tide.  In the distance you can see the sandbags which have been employed to keep the units at the end of the beach from washing away in the next storm!  This strange rock formation is called coquina rock (and I assume is made up of the tiny coquina shells that you see at the surfline at the beach -- they are small and come in all sorts of pastel colors.)

Yesterday, I spotted this double rainbow between the storms.  The darker rainbow was a full arc in front of the house.

 Another butterfly identified -- the Spicebush Swallowtail at my neighbors.  Taken from quite a distance.  It took me several shots to identify the Swallowtail.

This is the pile of remaining quilts ready to be machine quilted this winter.  Hopefully one or two will be good enough for the quilt show next June.  After this batch, I think all the beds will be covered down here!