fabricologist

fabricologist

Friday, January 31, 2014

Last Friday Finish for January

So I worked really fast yesterday to get this done for today.  I did have a backup plan in case I couldn't get it done. And fate laughed at me when I got home from work yesterday and the heat was not working. The sewing still happened, though, while I waited for the repair man.  Ready?

 It is all melty and muddy outside today, so indoor pictures it is.  Here it is on my couch...The Dotted Dresden quilt. I love those ombre dots as much now as I did when I bought them.

 Here is some of the quilting in the large, white areas.  Zigzags in the four corners and in between the side Dresdens.
 This is the best shot I can get of the center. It imitates the shape of the Dresden and then straight lines go out to the end of that area top and bottom.
 Here is the fun and funky binding I hinted at on Wednesday. More ombre dots.  Can't get enough and I thought it made a perfect finish.


Thanks for stopping by. I will show you my backup finish soon. Linking up with Crazy Mom.

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

WIP Wednesday...the one with the Dots

If you have been a reader of my blog for at least a year, you will remember when I made this block for a blog hop about a year ago...or maybe longer.

Anyway I was going to make a pillow out of it. Then I didn't because I decided to make more.
Then I decided to make them into a quilt, but each one was already quilted to the batting. So I took a page from Maureen and decided to quilt as I go. Each block and then my hubby helped me figure out a layout. After that, I cut white pieces and quilted them to go in between all the Dresden blocks. It took me forever almost.

Now I am finally done with that and I made a back and I am quilting the front to the back.  Yay me!
 You can kind of see some of the quilting on the white part here. I took this picture Sunday.

Here it is laid out and pin basted. I hope to get it done this week so I can bind it. Wait until you see what I have in mind for the binding!! See you soon. Linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced.

Monday, January 27, 2014

This Qulter's Journey, part 3

The next step on my quilting journey was to build a quilting frame for hand quilting. In those days (early 90's) all the quilting magazines had advertisements for quilting frames. Machine quilting hadn't really taken off yet. Most home quilting was still done by hand.  I loved the idea of having a quilt on a frame where I could sit down and take a few stitches whenever I had time.

They were pretty expensive, upwards of $300. I found one that would sell you the plans to build a frame and they sent you the plans and hardware. You bought the wood and the metal roller bars at the hardware store. So we did. My hubby helped me build and assemble it.  I think I quilted two quilts on it, and had this one on the frame when I had to take it apart and store it.

 The applique sections were made of old denim jeans and reds and yellow quilting cottons. They were fused on and zigzagged around. I loved the idea of recycling the old jeans.
 The star blocks were pieced, mostly from scraps left from earlier projects. I still had a very romanticized view of what a quilt should be. Scrappy was it.
 The pattern is in an old issue of Quilter's Newsletter Magazine. I have about 10 years worth, and haven't tried to find it yet.  I started hand quilting it in feathers  in all the white spaces.
 The whole thing is, I think queen size. It wouldn't all fit on the frame, so it is in two pieces. One big chunk and one smaller chunk.
 Here you can kind of see some of the quilting. My amateurish attempt at quilting feathers.


 I still love the look of this quilt and so much of the work is done on it, I know I should finish it. But I am stumped as to how. I already have an Irish Chain that I have been hand quilting on for about 5 years now and I just don't see this one happening.
If you have any ideas for me about how I can get this done, please, let me hear your ideas. For now, that is all from my quilting journey. I have lots more to say and show you. Talk to you soon.

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Sunday Stash #4

This week, I have something new to post because I won a giveaway! Such fun to get those soft squishy packages in the mail. My fabric fast is still going on, though.  This is a giveaway prize I won from Quilter's Newsletter on Rossie's blog.  If you haven't ever been there, check her out.  Now, on to the fabric...

 I won this sweet bundle of fat quarters and this magazine. The quilts in here are so pretty and vibrant.
                                               I love this one.
                                          This one is pretty cool too.
 And here is the fabric. 12 fat quarters of Caravan Dreams. That's 3 yards of new fabric and boy, is it pretty.  I plan to go stash diving with it to see what I can pair it up with.
All in all a pretty way to end up the week, huh?  Linking up with Sunday Stash at Sarah Quilts.

Friday, January 24, 2014

Mosaic Tiles Quilt Along

So I got this great book for Christmas Modern Bee: 13 Quilts to Make with Friends. I had been perusing all the pages, drooling over the quilts, wondering which ones I could actually make by myself without too much fuss. Then, Lindsay at Craft Buds, whose book it is, posted a Quilt Along with the January quilt which is Mosaic Tiles. The quilt was actually made by Suki Newbold, with the help of her bee mates. This, I thought, is a great place to start. So I did and here, today is my take on the quilt.
 I have to tell you up front, that I am sewing from my stash. I am trying so hard not to buy fabric, although my husband has said I could if it was a very special fabric, or a very important line in quilting world. So far, no purchases for 2014. I had most of a charm pack of Simple Marks Summer, by Malka Dubrawsky. I love the saturated colors of this line and have been trying to come up with a way to use it. I had a couple of yards of City Scenes by Jane Dixon for Andover that I bought to use as a possible backing for a quilt.
I loved how the colors popped against the grey and I loved how the grey was not plain and flat with all the black and white lines. The only thing I didn't have was the red that I wanted for the cross piece. Since I elected to start this project so early, I was able to buy the red, Simple Color, from an earlier line of Malka's. I always get to buy some fabric at the 35% of new year's day anniversary sale at my LQS. So really, I haven't broken my fast since I hadn't started yet at that point.

 I did audition some other reds for this space, but none would do. I decided to make a smaller version of this quilt, since I had less that one full charm pack of the fabric to work with. I ended up making 13 blocks and putting the 13th on the back.
 I used some already cut, extra strips of th City Scenes for the binding. I didn't want to detract from the rest of the quilt.
 I quilted the red cross pieces in straight line 1/2 inch apart, going in the direction of the cross, and turning corners so it started and ended at the edge of the quilt.
 The back is all greys from my stash of leftovers from other projects. There is the 13th block and the rest of the City Scenes.
 Here you can see the quilting. I quilted loops on the rest of the quilt using a lovely reddish orange shade of Auriful.
And here is my label in the bottom corner. I had one warmish day to take pictures outside and I grabbed it, even though the quilt has not been washed yet, so it lacks the crinkly goodness.
One more fun pic before I go. Thanks to Lindsay for putting together a great book. I will definitely be trying some of the other projects in there this year, as I sew my way through my stash.

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

WIP Wednesday and I am Taking a Class

I am chugging along on all my projects, but this is the one I am sharing today.  This is the Sasparilla Quilt I am making for my youngest grandson.
 This is the cutest line of fabric. It reminds me of the 50's and my brothers cowboy things.  I bought two colorways and am mixing them together. Right now I need to make a bunch of flying geese blocks for the star points.
 But everything is cut out and in a tote to help keep it all together. That was something I started doing last year with my projects. It helped to be able to put it all way in one place. I need the help keeping my sewing room clean.
I just had to sew a couple pieces together to see how it looked. I am going to love this! I hope B does too. I will show it again when more progress has been made.

Now, I said I was taking a class. On the right side of my blog, you will notice a button for Color Intensive. This is an on line class that Rachel at Stitched in Color is teaching. I am hoping to learn how to get more out of my stash and use it to its best advantage. I can always use more knowledge about color and I think this class will be fun too. Hop on over to Rachel's blog and take a look. Maybe it's something for you too.  See you soon.
Linking up with Freshly Pieced.

Monday, January 20, 2014

My Turn to Wake Up to Kona

I have been very eager for this day to arrive. I am loving this hop so much. When Madam Samm announced this one, I thought "YES!" It was the excuse I needed to be able to make a project using all Kona Solids. When she posted the pictures of the bundles of Sunrise and Sunset, I knew I was in love with the Sunrise. Maybe because I am a morning person. But anyway. I began to get the beginning of an idea from that first day. I ordered a Kona Sunrise jelly roll and so my project began.

The first thing I did, after looking at the beauty, and of course unrolling it, was to sew all the strips together in the order they were rolled. This is the result. Then, I knew I wanted to put one small silhouette on it, but what should it be? I turned over many possibilities in my head.  And settled on this:
Now this next part is lots of pictures...

 I quilted the sun's rays from the center up. I quilted wisps of wind by the dandelion and a few hills near the bottom in the green grass.
Carolina blue sky.



Bound in grey.


 This last picture is Sunrise Sunset, after it slid right down the rock! I hope you enjoyed my quilt. I have a couple more ideas to try with Kona jelly rolls, once I am off this fabric fast.  Many many thanks to Madam Samm and Carol for this wonderful hop. I can't gush enough about what a great job they both do.  Now hop on to see my fellow Kona sewists.


January 20
                                                                Sew Incredibly Crazy


Sunday, January 19, 2014

Sunday Stash #3

So I am trying to document my stash here to you all. I am stash fasting, although I didn't actually "join" the official group. I do have plenty of stash that I acquired during the last year so that is what I am going to show as we go through the weeks.  Ready?

 These are 1/2 yard cuts of Confetti Dots by Dear Stella. I had been wanting more dots in my stash. When these came out, I knew they were for me. I had a hard time choosing colors. I wanted them all, but in the end, I bought these 6.
When I bought the Confetti Dots, I also found these on a clearance sale. These are also by Dear Stella. I love their stuff! Unfortunately, I don't remember the name of these and the selvedge only say by Dear Stella. I bought a whole yard of each of these.  Thanks for dropping by. Linking up with Sunday Stash at Molli Sparkles.