Scrapabilities

Since retiring from public employment I've decided it's high time I organized by quilting studio--again. (You understand what I mean, right?)  It's in the basement, with no windows and some unhandy-man construction and decorating from previous owners. (I could tell you stories--but that's another story.)  Until I can afford a complete gutting and reworking I'm looking to make some small, gradual changes that will better organize and "perk up" the space.  No, it isn't a stalling tactic so that I don't have to pull everything off the shelves and do some rigorous purging.  Not much, anyway.

While I was in Cedar Rapids waiting for Nolting to do routine maintenance on Bertha Longarm I stopped at the local quilt shop and found a pattern for a bin made from fabric and, eureka!   I can make a bin for all the large-ish scraps that are just on mesh shelves, next to the larger yardage of fabric.

Each bin is going to be made from fabric to match the color of scraps that will be stored in them, so I need one for reds, golds/browns, greens, blues, and purples.  And neutrals.  Oh, and Christmas.

Yesterday I finished the first one, for reds.  (I learned some things while making it, and I will do a couple of things differently next time.)

Here is the pile of scraps that is destined for the bin.  You see the problem--and reds are the smallest stack.  King Kong couldn't scale the pile of browns.

So, I have a few choices here:

1) Call it a nice idea, put some patterns in the bin--it  won't nearly hold all the patterns I own--and be done with it.  It also seems vaguely cowardly.

2) Make more bins.  This would be pretty, but counter-productive to my original plan to better organize things and get the scraps in hand.

3) Make larger bins.  See #2.

4) Commit to keeping the scrap level to what can be kept in the bins.  Wow.  I have a lot of scraps to deal with, but that was my original plan. 

Sigh, I'm going to have to choose Door #4, which means I have to do something with the scraps, either cut them up to standard sizes to use in scrap quilts (and go into yet other bins--double sigh) or use them.  Honestly, I don't have an attention span that will happily stand and cut odd-sized and shaped scraps into squares and strips; I cut them with what I have left after cutting for quilts but cutting existing scraps, especially an overwhelming number of them, gives me hives.

My plan, then, is to start cranking out crazy quilt blocks, to be embellished later.  (Or maybe not--they might just go into quilts as is.)   That means finding space to store those blocks or quilt tops.  (It just never ends!)  I'm hoping that Quilts from the Bluffs might find plain-ish crazy quilts useful for giving to community organizations and homes.

You all may need to keep me honest--ask me periodically how it's going.  I'll start with the reds.  And I promise I won't just transfer the scraps to the Christmas stack, to deal with later.  :-)

Crazy Hexies

Last Saturday, as part of my LQS's 1st anniversary celebration, I demonstrated the Hickory Nuts rulers/templates from  Hickory Hill Quilts.   Hexies are a popular shape these days and I ordered the large Hickory Nut with, admittedly, some hesitation.  I like rulers, but I'm not a big fan of buying rulers that have a single function, especially if I can do the same thing with a ruler I already have.   I wondered why I couldn't just cut hexagons of 2 different sizes, and save the money.  It turns out that the nested quality of the rulers is important--or, at least very useful, in making these self-bound hexies.

The instructions come with the ruler, and there are some nice videos on YouTube, but I added a step that I think might be useful to some, so I'm going to outline the steps here. (And it may serve as a reminder to the folks who stopped by the demo last week.)

Using the center template, I fussy-cut the focus fabric and a piece of batting.  I like to use a thin batting, a good thing since I have plenty of thin cotton batting floating around the studio.

The outer template is for the backing (which is also the binding).

The outer template is also a placement template for the focus fabric and batting, so they are perfectly centered on the backing--important for the binding step coming up.

However, I add an extra step that makes the binding more even and consistent (at least, for me).  I use the center template to cut a piece of oak tag (or manila file folder).  Using the outer template placed over the backing piece, I place the oak tag piece in the center of the back and pin it.

Then I use the oak tag piece as an edge so I can press creases on all six sides.

Remove the oak tag, and again use the other template as a placement tool, this time to center the focus fabric and batting.  (You can see the batting peeking out a bit.  I did that on purpose when I set up the photo, so you could see that it was there.  :-)  That's my story.

Then the rest is simply a double-fold binding, done one side at a time.  The pressed crease serves two purposes here:  1) it provides a crease against which to line up the edge of the fabric for the first fold, and 2) it IS the fold for the second fold of the binding.

Just make your way around the six sides, double-folding as you go.  I have used some clips here to prepare a couple sides ahead of my stitching, but I have also done it by simply folding a side just before top-stitching it.  Oh, and the nice thing about binding this way is that you don't have to worry about that awkward angle at the corners--the miter takes care of itself.

The hexies in the photos are made with the Extra Large Hickory Nut, and they would work fine on their own as mug mats or a trivet on a table.  If you want to join hexies, as I have done with some Large hexies for this table mat,  you can just butt the edges up against each other and zig-zag with a matching thread--or a contrasting thread and a decorative stitch. I like the effect of the binding all around the hexies--it adds another dimension, and looks as if you spent a lot of time putting mitered borders on each one.

I decided at almost the last moment before the demo that a crazy quilt hexie quilt  might be kind of fun.  I pieced a crazy hexie on a muslin background cut just a bit larger than the center hexie template, did the stitching and beading, then trimmed to the correct size and followed the procedure outlined above to finish it.   I will eventually (maybe by the time I'm 116) make a quilt but, in the meantime, I can enjoy this as a small, standalone piece.

I'm thinking about doing a four-seasons crazy quilted piece, using batiks, and with a hexie for each season.  There is at least some hope that I'll finish that in my lifetime!

The little things

It's the little things--or little bits of things--that can make a huge difference in a design.  I suppose I've always known that, in a abstract fashion, but it's becoming more clear with each quilt I design.  A difference of an inch, or half an inch, in the size of a piece or sashing can make all the difference in the success of a design.

There have been two recent quilts that have been good examples, and have also taught me some patience in working through a design.  (There will be no blue ribbons for me in the patience class, so this is a bigger deal than you might think!)

The most recent is my "Abacus" quilt.  I started out with a design in my head, then on paper.  There were two possible designs for the beads and I liked the pointed ones better.  But, my family shares photos on a photostream via our iDevices, and my sibs pretty nixed that pointed one.   That was okay because, really, I didn't like either of them all that much; the proportions just weren't right when translated to fabric.

 Back to the drawing board (design wall) and a change in the width of the beads.   Those were better (though they ended up another 1/4" narrower) but the rods were too wide.  I cut those in half but the length wasn't right.   Let's just say that's it's a good thing I had purchased extra fabric!

In the end, I liked it quite a bit.  So far, it's not a favorite of friends and family, but I like it and it's pretty close to the picture that had been in my head.  I might yet make one with the pointed beads.

The other recent example is for a design I'm calling "Baskets" for the time being. (The pattern, and a batik version,  are in the works.)  I don't even remember how many versions of the sashing I went through before settling on the final, narrow sashing and cornerstones.   There was a point when I was ready to just settle for the latest width and be done with it but when I tried this size, it was so perfectly what I wanted that I was glad for the patience that came from somewhere outside of me.   

Staying with it and tweaking until it's just right is worth the frustration--lesson learned!  Here's hoping that the patience gene will awaken in me. 

Crazier all the time

I dabble in crazy quilts (well, blocks, anyway) from time to time and a Craftsy class (Heirloom Lace Edgings) stirred my interest in hand-knit and crocheted lace edgings to include in my crazy quilting. 

To begin, I looked back at few of my past and ongoing crazies.  I don't know if it's true of real crazy quilters, but I seem to never quite be finished with a crazy block--there are so many blocks in progress that I should feel guilty about even thinking about starting a new one.  But that's quilting, right?  I've learned to put aside that guilt and move on. ;-)

One of my favorite pieces is a small quilt that sits on the fireplace mantle in my den.  I think it looks pretty complete and doesn't really need any additional lace edgings.  I don't look too long, though, or I might find a little corner that teases me, wanting just a little piece of stitching or tiny button.  No, Karen, just move on....

There just isn't room on the itty-bitty crazy, so there's no question of adding lace.

 

My first crazy quilt, stitched years ago, now looks VERY unfinished to me now, but there really aren't any seams to edge with lace--they have stitches which need more embellishment, and I want to add some button clusters, motifs, etc., but I'm not seeing a place for lace edging.

 I might crochet or knit a lace motif around which I can embroider and embellish to my heart's content but not edging.

A Christmas block has been in the works, off and on, for 3 or 4 years and it could use some more but I'm not sure a lace edging is going to work anywhere; maybe a very delicate one along the edge of the green with the red button cluster....maybe....

Tone-on-tone is a favorite look in crazy quilting for me and a pieced, but un-embellished block has been on the design wall for awhile.  It seemed like a good time to take it down and think about some embellishing with lace edging, as it's basically a blank canvas.

The smallest knitting needles I had at the time I started this knitted edging thing was a 2.  Using a size 10 crochet thread the lace looked a little larger than I was looking for. (Though, it is a more appropriate size than with alrger needles and yarn.

 
So, I ordered some 0 - 000 needles and, while it didn't change the size appreciably, it did make the work look more tidy.

The edging looks OK on the block (and I also added an Irish Lace rose that I crocheted a few months ago) and I can make it work with lots of beads and embellishment but I really would like some even smaller laces.

 The 5/0, 6/0 and 8/0 needles arrived yesterday.  (Just look at the size of those 8/0s; have you ever seen anything so darn cute?)

The 5/0 needles have been put to work, this time with size 20 crochet thread and the lace is getting smaller. (Compared to size 6 needles, even with laceweight yarn, they look downright diminuitive!)

It would be easier if there were a greater contrast between the color of the thread and the color of the needles, and good light is a necessity but smaller needles aren't as big a challenge as I feared.

 Of course, I haven't tried to 8/0 yet but it won't be long.   They're so fine that it looks a bit as if I'll be knitting with insect pins and sewing thread but what's the fun of crazy quilting if you don't try some crazy things?

Some lace edgings will be in upcoming posts--after a bit of practice.  :-)  I like this wave edging (shown here with size 000) and it will be my target edging for the 5/0, and perhaps the 8/0, needles.  Stay tuned. (Keep me honest!)

Designing: Autograph Quilt Block

There is probably an autograph quilt class, and perhaps a presentation, in my future and, while I will likely want to do some traditional autograph blocks, I'd also like to try my hand at some new designs.   Working through it will (hopefully) illustrate one of the processes I use for designing--so those quilters who tell me they aren't creative or designers can see that it's not a mysterious process, or one that requires a Rembrandt sort of brain. If I can do it, anyone can--it's a matter of confidence, a bit of quilting experience in order to know what might be easier to piece and, frankly, a whole lot of luck and trial-and-error!

So, let's see what we can do about designing an autograph quilt block.  In a previous post I shared what I look for in a signature/autograph block, but to review (because we'll keep referring to it
1) Bounded area for people to sign; we don't want them to have to know about leaving us a quarter-inch seam; even quilters forget.  :-)
2) As close to a rectangular shape for signing as possible.  Diamonds seem to be difficult, for example.
3) Large enough area to sign, so people don't feel intimidated, or worry about making a mistake because they aren't sure they'll be able to fit it in the space.
4) Symmetrical enough (at least unilaterally) that there isn't a "right side up" and "wrong side up. (All right, I added this one after I wrote the previous post.)
5) Easy enough to piece that the quilter won't lose her mind making many of them. (Yes, I added this one, too, after I started thinking about making 120 of the things.)
6) Stabilized signing area, so the fabric doesn't "squirrel" around on them when they're trying to sign.

So, let's get started.  (I'm using EQ6 to do the designing; couldn't live without it; thanks, Electric Quilt!)

Here's the basic setup I'm going to use:  it's designed to get started with basic criteria:  bounded signing area, symmetrical enough that it doesn’t matter if they sign it one way or the other, large enough area to sign, rectangular, easy enough to piece so that I can make a lot of them without losing my mind…So far, so good.  On we go!. (BTW, this is an 8" square I'm working with here, but it could be adjusted, if 1" doesn't seem large enough for signing.)

Continuing with the strip sort of design that the setup lines create, here's a block (with the center left plain, for signature). 

 It's all right as a design, and put into a quilt it has a certain graphic quality to it:

But can you imagine matching all those seams?  Ugh.   You could press seams on the top row one direction, and those on the bottom the other direction, but how can you ensure that someone won’t sign it “upside down”?  (You could strip-piece the rows, but those seams…!)  Still, maybe.. if you could figure out a way to make them sign “right side up.”

Let's go back to our basic starting point to adapt the theme a bit, so we don’t have to worry about matching seams. 

Adding a long strip means fewer seams to worry about matching; it's still symmetrical enough that someone can sign one way or the other, and we could do some strip piecing so it would still be pretty easy to crank out a lot of them.

As a quilt it's OK, but let's keep playing with it a bit.

I think it might be better if alternate blocks are rotated—assuming you’re okay with some signatures running up and down; I think it’s all right, but others may not like it.  

There’s a bit of a pinwheel design where the block corners meet.  So, we might consider doing all the corners in the same fabric or color—distinct from others in the quilt—so those pinwheels stand out as a secondary design.

Here that is, with corner pieces in black, and a black border to help pull that all together.  I kind of like that.  This is a maybe. (Sometimes designs grow on me, especially after I see them in fabric, instead of just “on paper.”  There’s just something about fabric, isn't there?)

So, that’s a possibility.  But back to playing.   What if it were more of an alternating long and short—a log cabin sort of effect?

This really isn't what I had in mind.  It looks only vaguely log cabin-y doesn’t it??  Sort of,  if you squint just right.   But it’s not entirely bad.  It actually would give us three places for people to sign, but one is twice is “tall” as the others. Maybe with some changes in strip widths, and possibly changing to 9” block, this might work.

Doesn’t do much for me, laid out in quilt, but at least the signatures would be the stars of the quilt!

It's better with alternate blocks rotated but, again, only if you're okay with half the signatures running up and down.

Here, also, you could do the corner strips in the same fabric, to accentuate the secondary pinwheel effect.

Sigh.  I like that one enough that I’m going to have to go back and work on adjusting the proportions  so the signature areas are at least the same height, if not the same length.  Or, I may be okay with it this way.  Actually, I kind of like it just as a modern sort of quilt.  Hmmm. Stay tuned for a pattern, probably!

  But first, another stab at making it more log-cabiny, with the proportions of this original block.

Not much of a change here; We’ll see if it makes enough difference in the quilt to make it worth piecing that one extra little square. (And, there is now just one spot for signatures.)

And in a quilt layout:

All right, well, not a real “wow” here; maybe if we rotate alternate blocks…

Not bad, and it could be a way to use up some scraps, especially those pesky 1-1/2” strips I’ve been cutting when I’ve had strips left over from previous projects.  If I want to make this as a scrap quilt, I could increase the block size so that the strips are a bit wider;  if they were cut at 2”, finish at 1-1/2” this would be a 12” block.

This could work; I like it.

But I’m still thinking about a version with 3 strips for signing—it would give us a bigger bang for our buck, at least where a signature block is concerned. So, back to the drawing board to design that so the signature spaces are the same height.  Wish me luck!  Diving back in....

And here it is, this time a 14” block.  That seems large for a signature block but you get three signatures per block, so I think that’s reasonable.. 

  I like this better as a signature block, but I think that if I were planning just a quilt (not for signatures) I might like the uneven sizes of the light spaces in the previous blocks.

Let’s test it against the criteria for a signature/autograph block: 

1) Bounded area for signing?  Check.

2) Rectangular(ish) shape for signatures?  Check.

3) Large enough area to sign?  Check.

4) Symmetrical, so there is no "upside down" when signing the block?  I guess you'd want all three signing  a block to sign in the same direction; maybe 3/4 Check, because there's at least one in every crowd?

5) Easy to piece, so many blocks can be made without driving the quilter crazy?  Check.

Looks good to me!  Now, down to the studio for the real test.  I'll report on that later. Do yo have suggestions for changes to the block to make it even better?

Autograph Quilts Revisited

Since my last post I've been doing some more work on autograph quilts, looking for patterns to use for blocks to take to several retreats and conferences that are coming up for me this Fall.  There are many choices, but over the years I've developed some criteria by which I evaluate a block.  From experience I have learned that a good block for signing, especially by non-quilters, should:

1) have enough room for them to sign.  We're accustomed to signing on some pretty short lines on myriad forms we have to sign, but quilt blocks seem to be different.  Maybe they seem more daunting, particularly to those who haven't done it before, and people are afraid they'll mess it up.

2) have "boundaries" for the signing built in.  It's not reasonable to expect people to allow for a 1/4' seam, even if you ask them to, or explain why.  It is much easier for everyone if the piece they are signing is already pieced, all the way around, into the block.  My retirement signature quilt had a bounded piece for friends to sign, and it seemed to work perfectly.

3) be a shape as close the to a rectangle as possible.  (Though, the larger an odd-shaped piece, the easier it seems to be; see #1)  I've asked people to sign diamond-shapes, in a Square-in-a-Square, and it's harder to "map out" how to fit your signature into the shape.  After the fact, of course, I realized that I would probably be scratching my head, myself, if faced with a small-ish diamond shape.

4) have some sort of backing to stabilize the fabric.   It could be freezer paper ironed on the back. or a piece of foundation fabric on a string-pieced block, or the paper foundation of an English Paper Piecing piece.  One of my quilting friends said that painter's tape could be used instead of freezer paper.  I haven't tried that but I don't know why it wouldn't work.  I think you wouldn't want to leave the tape on for very long, though.

So, here's the design I've chosen for the next quilt; they'll be signing the larger hexies, which will be pieced around the paper templates but not yet sewn to the stars.  That means that I can have the 120 two-inch hexies basted ahead of time but won't have to worry about having all the stars finished.  That many hexies and stars will make more than one quilt, so one quilt will have blue and purple stars and the other will have....something else, to be decided later.  That's the beauty of this one--I can do the signed pieces ahead of time and finish it up later.  

 It wins 3-1/2 stars:  the hexies are 2" on a side so they're large enough; they have boundaries built in (the pieces are whip-stitched together, so seams are already set by the basting around the paper); it isn't a rectangle but at least they aren't sharp points to work around they're big enough to mitigate that issue; and they stabilizer is also built in, in the form the paper that the fabric is basted around.

(Oh, and as a bonus, this can be another sample for the English Paper Piecing class!)

What blocks would you nominate as good signature blocks?

Hugs from friends: signature quilts

Friends and colleagues signed quilt blocks instead of a guest book at my retirement party last month, and today I finished the binding.  Binding is always a wonderful, meditative activity for me but this one was even more special as, sitting under the quilt as I sewed, it felt as if I were being hugged by all of those friends.
(BTW, the display rack I now use for photgraphing quilts is fabulous--I can set it up and make all the adjustments by myself; I bought it from Craftgard.)

Autograph and signature quilts have long intrigued me and I have made occasional forays--or, at least starts, into signature quilts.  I am thinking about doing a series of classes on signature quilts and various blocks and have dug out some pieces from those forays/starts.


Fifteen years ago I made traditional Chimney Sweep blocks for visitors to my home to sign.  I don't remember why I stopped making them, whether time or sheer forgetfulness or who knows what, but I have enough of them to make a small quilt--provided I do alternate plain blocks.  I am still working on layout and fabrics (and pressing!) for the alternating blocks and side triangles but it will be finished.  Sooner or later--and now I'm sure it will be sooner!

Some years later I embarked on another signature quilt project, again from people visiting my home (which, by this time, was a house instead of an apartment).  I remember liking this one very much, and the blocks would certainly take less time to make but, again, it went by the wayside.  It re-surfaced, coincidentally, a couple of weeks ago and looking at it now I can see that I am a better piecer!  It will be something of a challenge to put these blocks together accurately but I would like to resurrect this one for visitors to my home.  I have some catching up to do!



My retirement was from public employment and I am enjoying my new "job" (how can you call something that is so much fun a "job"?) as a quilt teacher and designer.  I love teaching, and learn so much from students; I'd love to have autographs from students in the classes I teach and I have started yet another signature quilt.   I have a bit of catching up to do, from a few classes that I have already taught at Cut Up and Quilt but I'll start with the classes I have coming up in the next couple of weeks.

Many years ago I started yet another signature quilt. (Are you seeing a trend here?  It's time to break that trend, don't you think?)  This was an applique quilt, with autographs from librarians attending an annual continuing education retreat in a woodsy setting.  Each librarian signed a leaf made of fabric, to be appliqued to....well, that was the problem.  I never made a decision about what the background would be.   There's something abstracty in the back of my mind and one day soon it will come to the front and manifest itself.  :-)   (I DO know where the leaves are.  That's a point in my favor, I think.)


I also have a plan in mind for autographs from people who may be part of larger gatherings.  With luck, that will be ready for a short return into my pre-retirement library world this fall.  We'll see how that goes.

The signature quilts are wonderful reminders of places and events of my life but, more importantly, of the people.  Looking back at the names on the older blocks I remember friends who have passed out of my life, one way or another, as well as those who are still a vital part of it.  They all piece together into my life, past and present.  And in the future the quilts that friends are signing now will remind me of these days, and the part of my life that bring me to that point.   I will be hugged, even when I am alone.