Back to Front

Here's the Front (top) that went to the back in the last post.  I still look at it and think hmmmm,  But I've got it quilted and half way bound now and It's a nice feeling to check another UFO off the list.

It was fun to quilt.  All those different borders provided lots of opportunities to doodle around!

 

I should have practiced my 'Japanese' water quilting pattern a bit before attempting this blue section.  I have not quilted that pattern in a long time I don't think I quite caught the flavor of it.   

Here's the back again.

The quilting resulted in some interesting effects on the back. 

I was going to donate this to Hospice but a friend came over and commented on how pretty she thought it was so I think I will surprise her on her next Birthday!

Hope you are all well and safe,

Peace, CW

Backings

I recently finished a top with a Japanese / Geisha theme.  I was not real thrilled with the project.  I'd saved the fabrics for a long time but when I finally got around to making it I could not really remember the original inspiration, except that I liked the apple blossom print that I intended to use in the border....Oh well press on!  I got the top finished and stuck it away for several months.

Meanwhile it made me think about my stash and how I have a stack of Asian fabrics that I've collected over the years and yet how few Asian themed quilts I've actually made!  Not to mention my collection of South East Asian Batiks and indigos from around the Pacific Rim and then there's the Yukata fabrics from Japan.  All of which I love to pull out and look at but rarely use.

I think the large Japanese prints are really beautiful, but who wants to cut them up?  The're so pretty just the way they are!  I decided maybe it was time to give them away or find another way to use them!  Which brings me back to the afore mentioned top.  What better way to use up some of those large scale prints than to use large pieces of them to make a backing for that Top!  Sounds like a win-win!

I know this is nothing New,  but I've always had what I might call 'backing fabrics' that were not great for one reason or another and I used those to put together backs.

But I always considered the fabrics pictured above 'to good' for using in backs.

But good heavens I have more fabric than I can use in 10 life times of sewing, so  I told myself get over it and use the 'good stuff' on the backs!

Going through my Asian fabrics yet again was a lot of fun.  And the simplicity of sewing the pieces together was fun too!  Win-Win!

Stay safe, Stay Healthy!

Peace, CW

More Orphan blocks

This project developed quickly and I'm happy with the results!  A cheerful kid quilt!  I might have to redo the lower left corner.  I think I should of put the coping strip on the inside of that block inside of on the end.  It looks like a dangling participle!  (Not sure that applies here but it sounds good!)

The boat hull was this really ugly brown so I just sewed the nice red over it and that tied it in with all the other  red blocks.  I wish all of my orphan block designs came together as easily as this one...or maybe not.  It's fun to struggle a bit and then work things out. 

Parting shot:  another of my favorite Spring blooms, Apple blossoms!

Let's hope for blue skies ahead for everyone!!

Stay home, stay safe!

cheers, cw

Two from One

I hope this note finds you all well and safe!  We continue to be "Sheltering at Home".  We stay busy.  We walk most days and we continue to garden.  And Of course I continue to SEW!

Last week I sewed a bunch of Masks.  Not really fun sewing but I thought I'd do my bit.  This week I spent more time in the garden and did some quilting.

Two from one refers to the fact that I took an old top and cut it to make 2 quilts.  The original top dates from 2012.  Barbara Brackman was writing a Blog about the 1812 War and quilts that were made in the early part of the 1800's.  A gal in Canada (sorry I don't remember the name of her blog)  decided to host a quilt challenge.  The details are a little sketchy in my memory now but I think the idea was to make a quilt the size of a soldiers bed roll.  It was suppose to be 36" x  60".

I thought I would make one and then donate it but when I finished the top I realized the dimensions were not really practical for a lap quilt. To long and skinny.  I put some more borders on it to make it wide enough to be used as a lap quilt but it still wasn't quite right.  So it joined the ever growing pile of UFOs.

Fast forward to Now and my resolve to finish that stack of UFOs.  I was determined to make something with this top.

It's just tooo long and skinny and then I thought maybe if I rotate it I can get two smaller lap quilts out of it?!

The middle part became one quilt and the two ends got sewn with another strip of the floral print to make a smaller quilt.

I tried several different configurations to join the two end pieces...

I finally settle on this one.

Since I've had a lot of sewing time I got both of them quilted and bound!

The one on the left is the right size for Wheel chair bound Vets (36" x 48") and the one on the right will go to a Hospice patient.

Using just two fabrics was kind of limiting for me.  But it was satisfying to solve the problem with the top and now it's done!!

Stay safe!  cheers, CW

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Virus Times

Spring continues to burst despite the C-19 virus.   Here are some spring blooms to delight and bring good cheer!

These dainty little flowers are called Spraxis sp.

They grow from a little corm (looks similar to a freesia corm only smaller). 

I planted these many years ago.  It took a while for them to establish in this garden bed but now each year they push up through the blue grass and put on a wonderful display of color. 

It seems there is no end in the variety of shades of pink, red and orange!

When the flowers are fully opened they are about 1.5" across.

They don't make very good cut flowers, they fad quickly.   But as a garden bed flower they will bloom continuously for a month or so. 

I think this blush pink might be my favorite.

We are surrounded by a lot of worry, pain and suffering right now but it's important to stop and take stock, be in the moment, and notice simple things that give us joy.

Stay well, take care, CW

Surreal Times!

Last week while writing on my blog I was thinking of normal things;  grocery shopping, what to quilt next,  what part of the yard to weed next etc. etc.  This week I'm wondering if my flight on Sat. to Indiana will be cancelled because we Californians may be quarantined?!   And I heard on the radio about noon that San Fransisco and 6 other Bay Area counties will be quarantined as of Midnight.  Surreal indeed!

We have kind of hunkered down here.  We still run errands but only the most necessary and our social interactions have become very limited.  Anything involving groups like Bridge club, Quilt guild etc. are all cancelled.

I feel fortunate I still have quilting in my life!  It is a home based activity that I can do rain or shine whenever I want.  It fills many hours with interest, fun and productivity and tho' it can be social it can be solitary as well.  Between the C-virus and the rain I have been doing a lot of sewing and quilting!

Here's the latest:
I got this quilted and bound last week.

Quilted in my usual simple style.

With a nice flannel backing. 

I pieced the batting for this quilt and the next one.  You can just make out the zig zag seams.  It does not take much time for these lap size quilts to piece a batting and it sure saves all those trimmings from being thrown away!

I've got this quilt pinned and prepared for quilting.  Another old UFO from the 'Tops' archives! 

Some comments I've been getting lately have encouraged me to dip into my orphan blocks and leftovers.  The rational:  This is not starting something new, but simply a variation of my UFO program.

I like that logic!

(It feels a little like cheating but it's so much fun!)

A work in progress...

This is a composite of 6 different sets of leftover blocks.  It still needs some work but it's getting there.

I hope you and your's stay healthy and safe!!!!  Peace, CW

What's more fun; Starting an new project or Finishing an old one?

For me starting new projects is way more more fun than finishing.  On the other hand finishing something that's been hanging around for awhile is very satisfying!  My self imposed program of no-more-new-projects-'til- further- notice continues but I've decided to cut myself a little slack now and then.  So my pix today have a few finishes and one "Quick Start".

First from the UFO file:

This UFO represents some serious ancient history.  I could not remember when I finished this top.   I went back in my photo archives to find a date 'cuz I generally take a picture when I finish a top but I could not find a picture which means it was  probably finished before 2013.  That's when my old computer was stolen.  Before that my records are kinda sketchy.  Anyway the top was probably 10yrs. old give or take a year.

I know it looks like a pretty basic quilt.  Why wait so long to finish?   I found in my teaching that it was a lot easier to transport tops as class examples than finished quilts.  I could cart around a lot of samples that way.  This one was suppose to illustrate a type of strip piecing.  I'm not doing much traveling these days so I'm trying to finish some of the old class samples and give them away.

Flannel front and back makes for a very snuggley kid quilt!

Next up is this T shirt quilt I finished for my daughter.

Pretty wild I know but that's kinda how T-shirt quilts are right?  It's the nostalgia we're going for here not the art work....

"Inner Vision is the Physician, art is the Prescription." 

It's hard to read but in the green iris of the eye it says, "Art Heals".

I tried wearing this T-shirt but there was too much paint on the front,  it felt like I was wearing a billboard.  But I do like the graphix and the sentiment and my daughter liked it to so we included it in the quilt.

I generally back my T-shirt quilts with a plush Throw.  This one felt particularly soft and wonderful!  Saves on batting too!

It's fun to quilt these on the long arm you can wonder around and create all kinds of drawings.  Even the mountains of Antartica  and an ice field for penguins to play in.

Last up is the "quick start" that I eluded to earlier.  This started as a backing for a quilt that I was preparing to quilt.  But then I found a nice flannel for that project so this backing became a quilt top.  I used up almost all the leftovers to make this top that were left from the large quilt in my previous post! 

It's funny how some fabrics keep coming back to delight (or haunt) you.  

Maybe I will get this one quilted sooner than later.  Ha!

Have a great week!

Peace, CW