Avaland's 2013 projects

I have nothing to add here yet, but I will!

I have been gathering fabrics for the next (big) quilt. Once I have gathered the materials together I will set them aside and finish the previous quilt.

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I think I'm going to quilt it in simple wavy lines in the direction of the strips, with a multicolor thread and possibly an occasional line of a subtle gold metallic.

The fabrics for the next quilt. Still tweaking the lot:



The next quilt will use squares made from strips, as seen in the previous quilt, but they will be part of a block design this time, with some of the squares having a natural-colored spacing between. Here's the sketches:



Then a sketch of what one block, which full size is 16 x 16 inches, consists of:

I have a huge piece of batting tacked up on the 12 ft wide bookshelves in the bedroom as a 'design board'. I'm going to miss it when I have to take it down...put I have a plan....

I can't wait to see the first one quilted, and it sounds like the second will be gorgeous (plus I just love purple and green together).

>4 mabith: Maybe this weekend, mabith! I finally found where I put my top threads, and picked up a color for the bobbin thread. I had a crisis over binding. Every color and pattern I tried seemed to stop the visual movement of the quilt. So, I've decided to piece the binding with the colors it is against so it more or less blends into the quilt.

Beautiful!

Absolutely stunning against the snowy background. I forget as we are sweltering in the summer it is cold some place else.

I plan to tack my grand-daughter's cot quilt this weekend. Just a panel so nice and easy but it will get me back in the flow I hope.

Thanks, Staff and Fiona (and tacking the quilt just might do that!)

Gorgeous! I love how you did the quilting and the binding.

Lovely!

So, when should I expect to see that gorgeous quilt arrive on my doorstep, hmm?

>10 mabith:, 11 Thanks, gals.
>11 scaifea: Unless you live in London.... (nice to see you around, Morphy)

I continue to plug away at the components for the next quilt, as sketched in message #2 above. I'm working on the 2nd of 4 green strip sets now (each of which is about 125 strips sewn together), which I then cut into squares on the diagonal. I need at least 140 of each color and currently have 160 of the red-violets and about 40 of the yellow-greens. I only work on it a couple of hours a day to avoid stiff neck or back...etc.

Oh, lovely!

That technique/style just continues to blow me away! So pretty (plus I love purple and green together).

I am waiting to hear about a match for one of my fabrics for the red-violet/yellow-quilt (ran out! may have to come up with a plan B), but in the meanwhile I decided to finish this scrap quilt for my niece's upcoming high school graduation.

The blocks and rows are sewn together here, but it isn't finished (it's not even ironed!). I think I will have someone else quilt it because of all the seams, and I expect any quilting to be a simple pattern. It's going to be hard to let this one go, each fabric has a story (well, there are a few in there of which I have no recollection where they came from). There are fabrics from almost every quilt I have ever made, plus fabrics from clothing or other crafts I've done over the years. Though a majority of the fabric is from the last 15 years or so. I may have to make one of these for myself.

There is an average of 11 pieces per 6 inch block, so there are over 2700 pieces in the quilt, which is an oversized twin.



Another view:

Since some of you quilt, here's a photo that shows when on of these conglomerations of scraps are ready to be cut into blocks.



You will notice that the upper green area of the block on the right is a scrap from the other quilt I am working on! And the blue and orange triangles are leftovers from that blue and orange quilt I made for my son in 2011 (pictured here: http://www.librarything.com/topic/109392 post #55). There's a row of little rectangles on the bottom of the left piece that comes from leftover segments from a quilt made in 2000 or so, and pictured here: http://www.librarything.com/topic/132491 post#12

Note: I actually cut the 6 inch blocks using an 8 inch square template, not the 6 inch one pictured here, because somehow it's easier.

Wow, gorgeous quilt! That's really my favorite type of quilt for having on a bed - bright and colorful and random.

>19 mabith: Thank you. And because I worry about running out of scraps (an unfounded worry, of course), I went out and bought a bag of scraps from the local quilt shop (I am though waiting for my husband to purge his cotton shirts...)

Wow. Love it! I very much want to make a scrap crazy quilt some day.

>21 scaifea: Start saving your scraps now then... :-)

>22 avaland:: Ha! I can't throw anything away, ever, when it comes to sewing and crafting, so I've already got a hefty bounty of scraps. Lately I've been buying up old flannel plaid shirts at garage sales and thrift stores and cutting them up to make a quilt with them. But you *know* that I cut the buttons off to save before cutting up the shirt!

Oh same here, I keep looking at all my fabric and scraps thinking I really must cull those piles but just can't bring myself to do it. I just know if I chuck something out, I will need it some time soon !!

Two kiddie quilts sent a favorite set of 5 year old twins:



There are 84 different pairs of squares in each quilt, and the two quilts only share 6 pairs. The backing of one is a yellow Kaffe Fassett fabric, the other a jungle print. I hope they are dragged around the house and lawn, and worn to a frazzle :-)

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Saturday at the museum library was very busy, with many quilters coming for the annual fabric sale. Unexpectedly, another library volunteer game in afternoon to help out, so I got to go to the other side of the building to take a peek at what was left at the sale (I did not want to be tempted to buy back the 70+ yards I donated!) and got around the whole room thinking "I can resist this stuff." Nothing really jumped out at me...that is, until I reached the door to leave and saw some large bags of scraps. $5 a bag, the person nearby said. I bought three.



The bags don't look like much in this photo, but there were yards and yards worth of scraps here, dating from the 1960s through the 90s. Clearly, this was some woman's scrap stash. What a goldmine!

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Oh, this is a little "tulip" bag I made about two weeks ago for a friend's birthday. The front (and back) are made from leftovers from the quilt I am working on (will be resuming work on...)—smaller 4 inch squares cut from the strip set scraps. And I happened to have unearthed the perfect color velveteen recently. The bead in the front was bought from a gift shop, made from recycled eyeglass lenses by a local artisan.

The quilts look great, and I'm sure they'll get a lot of wear. Definitely always a good to idea to buy cheap bags of scraps! Love the colors on the bag as well.

Love the quilts, and what a cute bag!

Thanks. I've been putting together the first block of the quilt which will use the squares in #14 (which is also where the scraps for the bag came from) It has it's challenges, but once I have the bugs worked out, it should work up pretty fast.

I have the first block of the quilt put together, but haven't really gone any further. This is 16 x 16 inches. Some spring weather has ushered in a rather overwhelmingly long list of things to do, a list that doesn't include sewing. Additionally, when I find myself with a few minutes in the sewing room, I spend the time cutting up some of the larger scrap pieces from those bags pictured in #25. A zen thing, I suppose. I want to give the quilt my full attention when I work on it, so I may have to wait until summer when the humidity drives me indoors to proceed.

Well, a month has gone by and what have I done? Hmm. One more full block of the above, and portions of 20 more blocks (10 of each of the above and 10 of its inverse), I will need 56 each of the two different blocks. Because this requires a bit more concentration, I sometimes just spend my allotted time cutting up a pile of scraps from the scrap bags (#25 above, plus two scrap bags from mybluebamboo.com), or making some part of those random scrap squares (#17 above).

My reading has dwindled to a few chapters in a book about every other night. Sad, isn't it?

I definitely feel you on doing the less concentration-heavy bits instead. I think I'm going to blame it on summer heat that's come to me, for the time being.

I really like the way the block looks though!

Thanks, Mabith. I haven't been up in the sewing room much in the last couple of weeks, at least not to sew. I've started putting the rest of my hubby's library into LT (he finally broke down and gave me permission), so I've put in over 800 books and scanned 50+ covers. We're reducing our collections, so there are books everywhere, and there has been a lot of shuffling them around, packing the "deaccessioned" ones up, and deciding where they are destined for. Only 800 or so more to go!

Yesterday, though, I purposely went in there to sew. I worked on the blocks pictured above, and started working on those mindless scrap blocks pictured in #17 (that quilt is due to come back to me from the quilters' late this week). The blocks are another zen sort of thing.

Guess we all have those 'zen' things that comfort without minimal thinking.

I must have only thought that I posted here earlier - I love the block in #29: the white sashing (? proper term?) makes it look so clean and bright. Love it.

The ones in #29 have been my favorites.

Thanks, Amber and Morphy. I think I will have to photograph the two different blocks, so you can see where I'm going with it. Maybe I'll put it on Photoshop and mock up a bigger sampling of the design (already, while working on this, I've thought of two or three more quilts I want to start....)

Oooh, that's really lovely!

Beautiful

Finished pictures of Dana's quilt. I finished it Saturday while sitting near this pool. Usually I like to spread it out on the grass somewhere and take a full picture, and hang it off a branch for a more casual photo, but having neither, I hung it over the fence.





I spent an hour or so just looking it over when I was done, perhaps saying goodbye to it, and discovered:

--It has fabric from every major quilt I have made back to my first in 1981. And scraps from various craft projects like quilted pillows, potholders, tablerunners, totebags....etc.
--It has fabric from two button plaid shirts I wore, a favorite outfit from the 90s, a maternity dress I made in the 80s, one of hubby's dress shirts, and fabric from a couple of the dresses made for the girls when they were little.
--There are scraps that were from my mother's stash.
--There are scrap pieces included in this quilt from several friends also.

Oh, how beautiful! And I love the story of all the various fabric histories. Wonderful.

I really have three quilts ongoing at the same time now!!! Quilting ADD!

1. The quilt in #29. The rest of the white fabric has arrived, so I may be able to get back to that.

2. Another scrap quilt similar to #39. Scraps from two purchases have been added to the mix so I expect it to be not quite as bright as this one was.

3. I cut out most of the pieces for another scrap quilt made from 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 rectangles. I am using only certain colors: rose, purple, blue/blue violet, green, deep teal, and lighter shades of the same (and black). When I've cut up enough, it should work up fairly easy.

Thanks, Amber (and Judy!) That's what I miss about so much of modern quilting - the stories behind the fabrics.

That's absolutely gorgeous! Scrap quilts are my favorites, for the stories and for the look.

It's not ADD - it's multitasking!
I know that I'm enjoying having a quilt project going at the same time as at least one other sewing project; this way, I won't get tired of any one project.

>43 mabith: Thanks. It turned out much lovelier than I imagined it would when I first started playing around with the scraps in this way.

>44 scaifea: Sure, if you say so... :-)

All are lovely, but I especially love the first one. So gorgeous!

Lovely! I love the idea of a crazy quilt and really want to make one some day.

>47 mabith: Yeah, that's the kind of stuff I prefer to be doing, but the other two are just sort of zen.

>48 scaifea: Then remind me to send you some scraps ;-)

Ha! No, thanks! I've already plenty (read: I'm swimming in fabric) of my own!

>50 scaifea: If you are still 'swimming' you haven't got enough yet. You need to be 'drowning'!!!!!! ha ha.

Love all of it, every scrap, every patch, every quilt, and that dear velvet purse. The greens in those pieced patches are swoon inducing!

>50 scaifea:: *snork!*

Have not yet got Quilts 2 and 3 to the quilter. I have quilt 2 in 5 - 4 row segments, and quilt 3 in 2 half segments, so all I need to do to make them ready is shift focus from the house projects to the quilts, stitch and iron, but I seem to be having trouble making the shift. Sigh.

I did manage to get the backing for quilt 2 washed and ready though.

Good work getting things done! I think this time of year is hard on the productivity (or it is for me, anyway).

>55 mabith: I think I might have to make a date with the machine quilter. I think I might work better with a deadline. :-)

Again, avaland, gorgeous quilts and I absolutely love your colors!

Thanks, Rita. Everything has been on hold as I have been busy painting and spiffing up the sewing/office area, the upstairs bathrooms, further cleaning out closets...etc. I think I'm going to have to call the machine quilter and book a date to bring those two quilts overs in order to force myself to finish up and iron them! The first of the three still needs the blocks constructed.

However, I took some of my fabrics out of their bins and put them in my closet (who needs clothes, eh?)



I realize I have to declutter my workspace in order to prepare the house for selling, and I have put a lot of my fabric and sewing/knitting/embroidery/fabric in storage, but I have to have the basics, and clearly this color sanctuary is one of them! (the bins on the shelves are strips and various sized squares). This is also an audition for how I might like to arrange my sewing space in the new, probably smaller, house (in 2014)

Oooooh, so neat and organized! I love it!

What a splendid array of colors -- so inspiring!

So pretty! I love seeing fabric and craft supplies arranged by color.

Whoa, is that Maggie O I see? :-)

Thanks. I think I might buy a couple of those shelving units from Lowes/Home Depot...you know, the ones with the 9 cubbies. These shelves are about a foot deep, which seems perfect for fat quarters (or pieces one can fold like a fat quarter).

Well, quilts 2 and 3 are finally with the quilter. I had to call her an make an appointment in order to give me a deadline to finish sewing the last few seams and ironing them. Hopefully, I'll get them back later in October.

Everything got juggled around when I painted the room and moved a lot to storage (or my closet).

I'm planning to avoid most house projects next month, so perhaps I'll get around to finishing quilt #1.

Meanwhile, I have some quick curtains to make, and a bit of crafty home decor to put together. Will post when finished with any.

I can't wait to see the quilts once you get them back!

Your crafty cupboard looks like a dream. I haven't yet filled one tub with fabrics. I have a way to go I think! It is hard to fit everything in though. Home stuff gets in the way of my crafting aspirations too.

I have 8 tubs full to the lids with fabric and Lois says I'm a rank amateur, Judy. hehe

>65 judylou: Yeah, lots of stuff gets in the way of our aspirations, doesn't it?

With regards to the stash, in some circles I'm the rank amateur! I am trying to downsize a bit, selectively, of course. Don't know how much room I will have when we move.

Quilt 2 of 3 is complete except for a label which I will do at a later date. It's 20+ degrees here, well below freezing, and the wind is howling, so my outside photos are less than stellar. This quilt is done exactly like the one made earlier this year for my niece's graduation. This is queen-sized with a bit more length on the overhang. 6 inch blocks are arranged 16X19.





To see all the photos, one can try this link for the slideshow. It has a photo of the entire quilt (with tree shadows across it!) and a few more close-ups: http://s208.photobucket.com/user/avaland_photos/slideshow/Quilts%20and%20Quilt%2...

I also have Quilt 3 here to bind. Quilt 1 is still, of course, under construction.

This is so joyous, Lois! I just love the bursts of colour, the higgledy-piggledy of it all.

beautiful!

Quilt 3 of 3 done! The colors come from a gorgeous Asian fabric that I think I've posted before. I wasn't sure I liked this when I finished the top. The colors don't blend at all, and the pieces are so uniform, but the quilting merges it nicely. It a certain light the jewel tones colors have a light of their own, and I'm tempted to just roll in it.

I think it's perfectly lovely, with the purple hues coming to the fore, offset by the black.

I love the colors, and love quilts where the effect up close can be so different from the effect at a distance.

Oooh, lovely!

Thank you. I have the blocks together in rows for the big quilt (the first of the three). Putting the rows together should not take too long, but I'm laboring over how I will have it quilted - allover pattern or target specific areas...here's two rows together:

Oh wow! I love the contrast of the white with those bold, bright colors!
And this may be a weird thing to say, but i love your flooring! Are those tiles?

That is going to be the prettiest quilt. I like it more every time I see it.

>76 scaifea: Thanks! That's the floor in the three season room. When we had it built I picked those tiles because they are the terracotta color of plant pots. Better yet, it has radiant heating (I walk around the house barefoot a lot). It's going to be the room I miss the most when we move.

>77 mabith: Thank you.

Ooooh, radiant heating! That sounds wonderful! When I was in grad school I would occasionally house-sit for a faculty member, and they lived in a house that was very nearly a mansion. They had heated tiles in the bathroom, along with a towel-warmer. I was in heaven.

>79 scaifea: That does sound heavenly!