Cheese & Mustard

Scrappy Bow Ties: 2021  (Started: 2020)

There’s nothing better than putting together all those odd scraps that are too good to throw away but just never seem to be "just right" when planning a new quilt.  I certainly needed to find something to suit a bundle of squares I’d cut ages ago that were sitting idly in my scrap bin.  Enthused by Bonnie Hunter’s scrap philosophy, and the amazing results she achieves, I launched into her Cheddar Bow Ties pattern (2011).  

All I needed were 3 x 2 ½" squares of each fabric to be able to cut sufficient bow ties to make blocks for a decent sized quilt.  Bonnie used a cheddar fabric as her background. Yellow cheese is very popular in the US.  (US-ians like their butter white, too!  We think it’s a real hoot since we’re partial to white cheese and our yellow butter!).  Back to background choices…for some mad reason I went for a caramel colour (Dijon mustard, anyone?) which looked fine with my individual blocks but somehow became Doctor Strangelove and took absolute control when the top was finally pieced.  It was too late to make any changes, so I just had to go with the “flow” and try to make the best of a not-so-appealing background.  

This was supposed to be a “quickie” but I guessed machine quilting was not going to do anything to soften my background choice, so instead settled on hand quilting and using a thick perle cotton thread.  Deep in my thread box, I discovered some skeins of sashiko thread; a nice variegated red through green with an acid green/yellow as well.  I needed a crowbar of a needle, no hoop, miles of masking tape and lots of patience; but it’s finished at last.  The lines are ½” apart and I worked out each one took about 45 mins or more to do.  At best, I managed 3 rows a night, with regular breaks to rest sore fingers.  I’m holding off doing some Japanese boro work for a little while now.  Although I NOW have to confess to loving the look.

I tidied up the edges with a wild Aboriginal design full of colour and movement.  It’s Shirleen Campbell’s “Women Dancing for Rain‘.  It’s an unusual choice for me for this type of quilt but came about after (fabric) shopping with my quilting buddy, Yvonne.  It really does help to step back sometimes and consider other people’s opinions.  

Just for the Record:
Quilt Finished Size: 169 x 169cm 
Block Sizes: 10” (made up of 4 x 5” bow ties) 
Cut in: 12 Apr 2020 (started)
Pieced: 22 May 2020
Basted: 18 Jun 2020
Quilted: Hand: 28 Sep 2021
Quilting Thread: Japanese Sashiko Thread x 2 skeins
Quilt Type: Traditional 
Quilt Finished: 30 Sep 2021
Exhibited: 
Collection: Home #073
Pattern Name: Cheddar Bow Ties
Pattern Source: Bonnie Hunter, 2011
Fabrics Purchased: From the Stash…
Fabric Design: Prints, Stripes & anything to hand really
Fabric Style: Old to Bold
Materials Type: Printed Cottons 
Wadding Type: Cotton
Backing: Pieced using left-over remnants 

Further Reductions to the Scrap Box

Doll’s Bed Quilt: 2021

Little Miss came to stay and while I stitched some of her “clothing repairs”, I set her a task to make a pretty design using some 2 ½” squares I’d cut from leftovers for my scrap bin.  I’d been inspired by Pat Sloan’s very practical scrap sorting philosophy.  Let’s just say, it’s a fantastic idea and soooo organised…but a lot of work (just yet for me, anyway!) with my scrap box still fit to burst.

We decided that her design looked so nice it was deserving of being sewn up into a doll’s quilt.  I finished it off after she’d left for home, adding a cute little pillow and as a special surprise, finished off a cloth doll kit she’d been given as a gift. 

How wonderful to finish something in a matter of days! 

I watched quite a few great videos to work out sizing and this one by Treasurie (less than 4 minutes) was certainly helpful, particularly for making the pillow and pillow case.  Size depends very much on the doll and the bed you have. 

Just for the Record:

Quilt Finished Size: 37 x 40cm

Pillow Finished Size: 19.5 x 11cm
Mermaid Finished Size: 36cm tall
Block Sizes: 2”(quilt & pillow) finished
Cut in: 18 Aug 2021 (started)
Pieced & Basted: 25 Aug 2021
Quilted: Machine: 25 Aug 2021
Quilt Type: Doll Quilt
Quilt Finished: 28 Aug 2021
Exhibited:
Collection: Gifted #23
Fabrics Purchased: From the Stash…
Fabric Design: Prints, Stripes & Dots
Fabric Style: Brights
Materials Type: Printed Cottons
Wadding Type: Cotton
Backing: Pieced using left-over remnants

TideMark

Tidemark: 2021  (Started:2019)

I just love scrap quilts and after a rather too-long hiatus and an overflowing scrap bin, I felt the urge to search the net for inspiration.  Thanks to viewing an “extreme” (well, for me) quilt collection makeover by Pat Sloan, dying of envy for Jeni Baker's (In Colour Order) organised stash and suggestions by my friendly quilting buddies to check out Bonnie Hunter for her scrappy quilts, I present to you my take on Bonnie Hunter’s 2014 leader & ender challenge quilt.

Bonnie’s original design inspiration came from an old quilt named “Stained Glass”. It was made in 1890 by Frances Clarke Westergren of Boston and can be found in the book “Massachusetts Quilts, Our Common Wealth”.  It looks just fabulous as it is but also serves as great design to mess about with and to add your own personal touches. 

My scraps were not so much scraps but fabrics from a Moda Metro Mixologie Layer Cake pack lying dormant in my “Collections” box just waiting for the right moment to present itself.  I wanted a modern look, and if anything, thought using this selection of fabrics might lead to the quilt looking a bit too samey-samey (bland!).  Perhaps to rescue it, I decided on a black and whites for the corner blocks.  Not wanting to waste any of my Layer Cake pieces, I modified Bonnie’s block to suit, i.e. larger pieces.  Now that took some math effort! 

I’m normally fairly lazy when it comes to cutting – lulled by the ever-accurate rotary cutting instructions in Judy Martin’s books, so this came as quite a shock for the old grey matter.  Never-the-less it worked out and my math held up, until after a loooong break in proceedings, I inadvertently cut my remaining corner squares the wrong size.  Back to the drawing board, hi ho!  I now cut shapes then store them in sandwich bags; all clearly labelled with sizes.  

I’d planned to make this for a friend’s 60th (it did take a wee bit longer though) as the colours seemed to suit those chosen for her house renovation.  And the modern design, highlighted by the black & white corner blocks, looked great.  To me, it was very much in keeping with her outlook on life.  She loves the water, and as the quilt looked rather like tiles in an exotic swimming pool, I chose to finish it off with a medium stipple (or meander) pattern.  

For those interested in Pat Sloan’s stash management process, here is a link to her blog post.  Pat offers a quick and easy approach to sorting out the bags, boxes and suitcases full of scraps into functional scrap sizes. Now all I need is the time to be so organised - ha ha!   

The garden is a bit too shady to show the quilt colours at their best

Just for the Record:
Quilt Finished Size: 159 x 190cm
Block Sizes: 4.5 x 8.5” rectangles; 2 ¾” squares (incl s.a.)
Cut in: 17 Jan 2019 (started working out pattern size)
Pieced Started: 21 Mar 2020; Finished: 28 Dec 2020
Basted: 2 Jan 2021
Quilted: Machine: 15 Mar 2021
Quilt Type: Modern
Quilt Finished: 24 Mar 2021
Exhibited:
Collection: Home #071
Pattern Name: Lozenges
Pattern Source: Bonnie Hunter 2014 (PDF pattern here)
Fabrics Purchased: Moda Metro Mixologie layer cake…
Fabric Design: Prints, Stripes & Dots
Fabric Style: Brights
Materials Type: Printed Cottons
Wadding Type: Cotton
Backing: Pieced using left-over remnants
 

Progress underway in 2020

Cross Roads

At this point (the start of 2021) and with time at home to think, I found myself dithering over where and how to organise my posts featuring finished quilts.  When I started this blog, it was easy to list quilts by "year started" as all I had was a photo of a finished article.  Now I am at a cross-roads with UFO’s.  I have bits & bobs here & there and lots on the go in the WORK BOX too.  Not to mention quite a few unfinished items.  I wonder (to myself loudly) if it wouldn’t be easier to change mid-stream and begin tagging projects by year finished.  What a beat-up!  What a lot of work!

But this great idea has since hit the floor with a thud… Everything would have to be re-arranged and perhaps nothing would make any sense.  There would be no apparent logical order.  And the world as we know, loves order.  Yes, even finding it in chaos. 

However, I've since had an epiphany. My plan now, after all this wasted time on “will I or won’t I” debate, is to note:

   1. The FINISH & START year in my post sub-headings. 

   2. The FINISH year in a "label cloud" making it easy to search.  

All dates will still be located in "Just for the Record" notes of each finished quilt and every post will still be dated according to time/date posted.  In all, this organisation should allow me to easily find key quilt dates, and enable linking of posts (perhaps), even in-progress reports (if I'm super-keen).  I’m so very slow to finish quilts, some taking years (and years) to finish so it is easy to forget details.  And doesn’t everyone keep digital photos and an excel spreadsheet (a documented quilt list) of their wonderful creations?

There, that feels better.  Now, did you really need to know this? 

Wildflower in the Blue Mountains

 

Shopping from Home - oh, stash...

 Making Christmas Gifts (Japanese Rice Bags) 2020

In the interests of “shopping from home” for Christmas gifts in 2020, I decided to make simple bags from my stash for family and friends.  I wanted something that was a useful size, not too complicated to sew and yet looked a bit different.  Take a bow, the humble Japanese Rice Bag, Komebukuro.  Stuart Hillard offers an easy-to-follow tutorial that makes fun viewing. (Link to his Japanese Rice Bag tute here).  Stuart’s pattern is a classic box shape but I wanted something a little more tote-like (probably not a rice bag, then?) with handles.  I’d also seen a pattern with ties rather than handles, a Furoshiki Tie Bag but the pattern was rather complex and used quite a bit of fabric.  BeBe Bold had a nice one but they don’t appear to stock it any more.  It did require quite a bit of fabric making it somewhat of an expensive kit.  This one by Kokka Fabrics looks good too – but I’ve not tried it yet.  (Now that I look at it, the Kokka pattern was similar to the one included in the BeBe Bold kit!) I really loved the little tie handles that made it just so sweet.

Margaret uses hers for her knitting 

Eventually, I settled on a pattern from SewCanShe.  Her Japanese Tote comes together very well and I managed to make two, maybe three bags a day, once I had everything cut up and ready to sew.  I also used wadding leftovers rather than interfacing to strengthen the bag.  I didn’t add drawstrings, they pulled the bags and made them look a bit too unstructured for my liking.  The bags worked up a treat, were relatively simple to make and I think, were well received.

A fun print and who doesn't love polka dots?

Of course I gave them all away before taking a photo.  As you do!  And as we're not quite out & about so much these days, it may take a while until I can locate one for the blog shot... 

(Ed: Visits made and photos finally taken...only 18 months later!!)

A Sunshiny Day

 Summertime: 2020  (Started: 2016)

This quilt was something of a mis-adventure.  I just loved being able to paper-piece these wonderful Sue Ross circles and so, for quilt #3 in this design, decided on using a selection of blacks and whites I had acquired over the years.  Yes, including a stash of FQ’s purchased from Keepsake Quilting in 1999.  So, in early 2016, I began piecing up my B&W Circles of Fun.

I kept at it for a while but something was just not working and so it was stuffed, forthwith into the UFO Box.  Fun it was not.  March 2019 must have been a watershed moment because I don’t often unpick a quilt to basics.  But this one needed it. 

Thus, after lingering for another 12 months, it assumed priority as a project to complete during my “early pandemic” therapy.  I really just wanted this B & W monstrosity finished and off the books.  So as to speak!  Its rebirth took most of 2020; I trimmed down the size, removed those hideous pink circles, and turned the border into the backing.  And voilà, all ready for quilting.  By 25^th December 2020, I had another long-term UFO finished.  I added a final touch of bling with some of my grandmother's black buttons to tone down the little yellow centre circle. In honour of it's December finish and bright vibe, it was named “Summertime”. 

A holding photo until I can get a better shot - I'm learning lots about photographing quilts too!
And now that I look at it, I think that centre yellow circle may have to go too...

View the top pre-makeover.  All I can say is, that at the time, it was getting there.  Where-ever "there" is.  Now, I know for sure it’s not the best thing I’ve ever done, but at least its finished and was fun to make.  A foray, if you will, into the world of modern quilting that de-railed a bit but as it’s often said, “the next quilt is your best one”.  That’s rather like “free beer tomorrow” offered at your local.  We’ll see.  

And if you want to share some sunshiny too, here's Jimmy Cliff.

Just for the Record:
Quilt Finished Size: 131 x 131cm
Block Sizes: 21”
Cut in: 13 Feb 2016 (started)
Pieced (1^st try): 8 Apr 2016
Still in Work Box: 24 Jan 2017 (not loving it)
Reconstruction: 26 Mar 2019
Top Pieced: 20 Feb 2020
Basted: 25 Feb 2020
Quilted: Machine: 20 & 22 Dec 2020
Quilt Type: Mostly Modern
Quilt Finished: 25 Dec 2020
Exhibited:
Collection: Gifted 3 Oct 2023
Pattern Name: Circles of Fun
Pattern Source: Sue Ross
Fabrics Purchased: The Stash & B&W Medley purchased in 1999…
Fabric Design: Prints, Stripes & Ethnic prints
Fabric Style: High Contrast B & W with a dash of yellow
Materials Type: Printed Cottons
Wadding Type: Cotton
Backing: Pieced using left-over remnants of original borders

Louisiana Charm

 LeMoyne Stars: 2020  (Started: 2020)

By April 2020, I’d realised that living with COVID was going to be challenging.  I belong to a (non-quilting) group with a small membership who had been unable to meet but we hoped to have a Christmas gathering in order to raise funds for those more deserving.  I thought a simple quilt would make a suitable auction item and help out a bit.

I settled on a Lemon Star pattern from Jenny Doan, Missouri Star Quilts (her fab tutorial 28 Feb 2020, is here) and a nice subtle colour palette of pinks, maroons, greens and creams.  It became my first introduction to making multiple HST’s (half square triangles) which worked out simply and easily, especially with being able to watch Jenny closely and learn from her tips & tricks. 

With little fuss, and seemingly in no time at all, I had a nice top ready to quilt, with time to spare (just) before the gathering.  I normally take at least 2 years to make a quilt, so I was actually rather worried about meeting my deadline.  It all worked out well in the end.  The quilt found a lovely home, a tidy sum was raised, and my stash is slimming off…albeit rather too slowly.

Scrappy stars, pretty in pink (hanging from the "sail loft")

To my mind, the finished quilt had a bit of a French air about it.  The traditional LeMoyne Star block is thought to have originated about 1834 and is named after the Le Moyne brothers who settled in the French Colony of Louisiana in 1699.  Later, in 1718, they founded New Orleans.  The State is home to the Mississippi River, wet-lands called bayous, shrimp boats and oil rigs.  Think vibrant jazz and foot-tappin’ zydeco.  And alligators.  Let’s not forget the ‘gators. 

Out in the garden with that cranky helper, again... 

Just for the Record:

Quilt Finished Size: 190 x 190cm 

Block Sizes: 10” 

Cut in: 17 Apr 2020 

Pieced & Basted: 22 Oct 2020

Quilted: Machine: 1 – 11 Dec 2020

Quilt Type: Traditional

Quilt Finished: 12 December 2020

Exhibited: 

Collection: Home #069

Pattern Name: Lemon Star

Pattern Source: Missouri Star Quilts Tutorial 28 Feb 2020

Fabrics Purchased: From the Stash…

Fabric Design: Traditional Prints & some Stripes

Fabric Style: Soft

Materials Type: Printed Cottons 

Wadding Type: Cotton

Backing: Pieced using left-over remnants & blocks

Underway & trying to find the right balance
of colour for the borders..as you do!